New Tank Set Up

[barnsleyfisherman]

I've had a tropical fish tank for around 4 years, but on Friday I bought and set up a brand new tank and am wanting some good advice. New tank is the JEWEL TRIGON 190 LITRE. The tank is allot larger than the previous one, but all water was moved across and small amounts of gravel (majority is new). Brand new ornaments in there and one piece of old bogwood from the tank. At the moment no plants in there, but should have them in by Friday once local supplier gets a delivery.

So what I need to know

1) The old tank I had a under gravel filter. The new tank as the filter box and I have fitted the sponges etc that were supplied. Not used this type before so a) how often do I empty the filter and clean the sponges. B) Silly question, I got a packet of the white pads and I put them all on the top of the sponges. Is this correct?? How often do I change them??

2) Saturtday the water appeared rather cloudy, will this be down to the new gravel or something more severe (it was cleaned by me prior to putting in tank)

3) The tank water does have a strong smell to it at the moment, is this comman in a new tank??

 

[catxx]

are there any fish in the tank yet?
cloudy water is normal for a newly set up tank, it will settle. if it lingers for a while it could be a bacterial bloom, a common new tank thing.

i'm not familiar with your type of filter. a rinse of sponges in old tank water during a water change is fine, thats where your bacteria lives, changing it completely or washing it in tap water is a big nono!

 

[barnsleyfisherman]

Sorry, forgot to mention I already have fish from the previous tank in there now.

1 Angel fish, 2 clown loaches, 1 cat fish, 7 guppies.

I think the filter is the Juwel Compact Internal Filter. Does that help

Last question, fish tank size is W 39" X H 52" X D 28". What is the max amount of fish I can go for in there??

 

[catxx]

what kind of catfish is it? a plec?

have you tested the water since you set it up? it may go into a mini cycle as the filter is new despite adding some old gravel, this could kill off fish in there. this could also account for the smell.

you have a 50 US gallon tank, a corner tank yes?
as for other fish, i'd leave it a while for the tank to settle before adding anything.
usually people would say the inch per gallon rule, but that does not apply to you.
the angel will get to about 5" tall, the catfish we need to know the type of, some stay small some grow enormous.
the clown loaches will get to a foot long each, but this can take many years, so unless they're huge already you're ok.
the guppies are the only fish that apply to the inch per gallon rule, what male/female ratio do you have?

 

[barnsleyfisherman]

Took a sample to the local tropical fish centre and they said that the water is fine. (They are very reliable and educated in tropical fish so no reason not to believe them).

Im trying to find out what cat fish it is. Basically we got it by accident when we bought some plants from the local store. Was caught up in them and gave us a shock when we were rinsing them.

 

[catxx]

hmm, i would invest in a test kit of your own. sometimes, no matter how well you know and befriend them, an LFS will bend the truth in order to get you to buy fish nownownow. they're in it for the money after all.

 

[barnsleyfisherman]

This store isn't like that Im pleased to say. They promote free weekly water checks for anyone, and under no pressure to buy. I do understand what you are saying though because been to a few stores just like it.

Anyone able to answer the question on the filter or potential stock size?

 

[barnsleyfisherman]

One of the clown loaches is quite big already (3 years had it) and the other allot smaller. The ratio of guppies is 5 females and 2 males.

How come the inch per gallon rule doesn't apply to me?

 

[catxx]

the inch per gallon rule only applies to slim bodied fish under 3". so it works for small fish tropical communities.

 

[demonmagus]

btw you haven't cycled the filter

I would suggest removing them and putting them back into the other tank if it is still running, also, do a search for fishless cycle and follow the instructions

good luck

 

[dwarfgourami]

Anyone able to answer the question on the filter or potential stock size?

I have three Juwel filters. Basically you have a series of sponges, blue, green and black. The black is the carbon- if you are going to use this it needs replacing regularly according to instructions on the packet- I have replaced mine with another blue sponge. The blue and green sponges are fine with rinsing out in old tank water once a month- best to stagger it so you rinse out one sponge a week or so, rather than doing them all in one go. It should be possible to keep the same sponges for a LONG time, until they start disintegrating. The white pads are filter floss- one of these is placed on top of the sponges, supposed to be changed once a week but I have found you can save money by rinsing them out in old tank water and only changing them every other week.

As for the stocking, the reason the inch/gallon rule might not apply is that this is designed for small slimbodied fish that only produce a moderate amount of waste per inch- a fat constantly pooping 10 inch catfish is going to produce a lot more waste and so add a much greater bioload than 10 slim neon tetras. When it comes to fatter, bigger, messier fish there isn't really a good rule, it's more about experience and a general feel for the tank. But there are people on here who will be able to advise you.

The clowns as you have already been told will grow big, but slowly, so you might be able to get through some small-bodied shortlived fish like guppies before they have grown very much. It is important to know what the catfish is, as their bioload varies a lot.

 

[barnsleyfisherman]

Cheers for your help everyone. Water test again this evening at the local tropical shop and all OK (Before anyone says it, they told me to wait 2 weeks before getting anymore fish).

Have to see how I go with the filter...... Think I messed up abit by putting all the white filter flos in rather than one sheet!!!!! OOOOPPPS!

Current fish from old tank looking very happy and energetic

Will update