Retired and reviving 300-gallon tank

[pondholler]

Wow, that's going to be gorgeous. So cool how it is displayed in the wall like that. When I set up my tanks, I like to do it in this order: any "large" rock pieces, I put in first for the sake of stability. I don't want fish tunneling under them and causing them to tip and squish fish, plants, or worse - damage the glass. Then I add my sand (or whatever your choice of substrate is), then driftwood, and then plants. Most plants can handle the cycle no problem. Btw, not sure how much experience you have with live planted tanks...but a lot of plants are sold not fully transitioned to being under water. In other words they were grown with roots in water and leaves out of water. So what happens is shortly after planting them in your tank, all the leaves will die back. But as long as the roots are healthy, they will regrow leaves that will now be adapted to living underwater. The new leaves will be smaller, because they dont get as much light and carbon underwater. Anyway, just don't worry of your plants seem to be dying, it's usually a 2-3 month conversion process. With a tank as large as yours you could get away with putting a few fish in there during the cycling process, but it is safer just to wait and not put them through that. So patience is best. My 220 will already be cycled, so I'm in a different situation and will be adding fish right away.

Very helpful info. Where do you get your plants? From a shop, or online distributor or what? For that matter, where are folks getting their fish...from a bricks and mortar aquarium, or shipped directly from an online distributor, or...???

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Very helpful info. Where do you get your plants? From a shop, or online distributor or what? For that matter, where are folks getting their fish...from a bricks and mortar aquarium, or shipped directly from an online distributor, or...???

The best source for plants I've found is buceplant.com. Crazy selection, good prices, high-quality plants. Sometimes I order plants from ebay just for the interesting invertebrates that always seem to be along for the ride. Fish are harder. Online places often tend to have higher quality fish (It's hard to beat the Wet Spot in Oregon, in my experience; I'm sure there are great places on the east coast too) but shipping is expensive. Local fish stores are a mixed bag. Mine will special order fish, not make me pay shipping, and often sell them to me at cost because they like me and enjoy meeting all the weird fish I order...but their distributor isn't the greatest, and the fish are often sick. If you're lucky enough to have a local place that actually can get in quality stock, that's definitely the way to go, pricewise.

 

[ChasingFish]

Very helpful info. Where do you get your plants? From a shop, or online distributor or what? For that matter, where are folks getting their fish...from a bricks and mortar aquarium, or shipped directly from an online distributor, or...???

I've been lucky enough to find everything i have at my LFSs, plants and fish. I guess because of that I haven't shopped much online, plus the live shipping costs are more than I want to pay. But if money were no factor, I would take advantage of the greater selection available online. Also, if you're on Facebook, sometimes find local people selling fish/plants/equipment on FB marketplace.

 

[2tank]

Very helpful info. Where do you get your plants? From a shop, or online distributor or what? For that matter, where are folks getting their fish...from a bricks and mortar aquarium, or shipped directly from an online distributor, or...???

fish from the store, and sometimes plants but the store often doesnt have rarer types or enough of the plant I want.

 

[2tank]

Hi not sure if you answered this earlier but, what are your ideas for planting such a large tank, also what sort of lights does it have?

 

[sharkweek178]

Very helpful info. Where do you get your plants? From a shop, or online distributor or what? For that matter, where are folks getting their fish...from a bricks and mortar aquarium, or shipped directly from an online distributor, or...???

I've had pretty good experiences buying plants on Etsy. Whenever I have questions or in the rare event that something goes wrong, merchants have been very responsive.

 

[Stan510]

I have a 240 and went with boesemani Rainbows- half blue and half orange. Tend to be hardy and long lived. You could grow natural aquarium with plants and small fish- just that they have a tendency to die young compared to larger fish like the Rainbows. Altum Angels was my backup choice..they like a big calm aquarium.
Use hardy plants and make it easy on yourself.once they start to fill in you appreciate them more than an expensive CO2 needy plant!

 

[pondholler]

The best source for plants I've found is buceplant.com. Crazy selection, good prices, high-quality plants. Sometimes I order plants from ebay just for the interesting invertebrates that always seem to be along for the ride. Fish are harder. Online places often tend to have higher quality fish (It's hard to beat the Wet Spot in Oregon, in my experience; I'm sure there are great places on the east coast too) but shipping is expensive. Local fish stores are a mixed bag. Mine will special order fish, not make me pay shipping, and often sell them to me at cost because they like me and enjoy meeting all the weird fish I order...but their distributor isn't the greatest, and the fish are often sick. If you're lucky enough to have a local place that actually can get in quality stock, that's definitely the way to go, pricewise.

Thanks for the helpful suggestions!

 

[sharkweek178]

The big problem with ordering fish or plants online right now is the winter temperatures. Most of the places I've ordered from offer special weather packaging and heat packs for an extra fee. That's kind of hit or miss on the effectiveness. I work from home so I could bring the package in as soon as I got a delivery notification. If you aren't in a position to do that, you could request the package to be held at the post office so that your plant isn't sitting out in the cold for a few hours.
I don't know if I would chance ordering fish online in winter. Some places won't even ship them if the weather is forecast to be below a certain temperature in your area.

 

[pondholler]

They big problem with ordering fish or plants online right now is the winter temperatures. Most of the places I've ordered from offer special weather packaging and heat packs for an extra fee. That's kind of hit or miss on the effectiveness. I work from home so I could bring the package in as soon as I got a delivery notification. If you aren't in a position to do that, you could request the package to be held at the post office so that your plant isn't sitting out in the cold for a few hours.
I don't know if I would chance ordering fish online in winter. Some places won't even ship them if the weather is forecast to be below a certain temperature in your area.

Thanks for the good advice. I hadn't thought about the temperature!

 

[pondholler]

Hello pondholler. All I can say is awesome! This is a great idea. I have a 300 gallon myself and have Goldfish. A couple of years ago, I actually had new fry. They're close to three inches long now. There's about 15 in there at the moment and their color is very nice. They range in size from about 7 down to 3 inches. This should keep a couple of retirees busy. I'm retired too and keep several other tanks. The weekly water changes alone will keep you guys "hoppin'". Have fun!

10 Tanks

Wow, reproducing goldfish! We thought about goldfish but hubby wants tropicals. Sounds like you're having fun!

 

[pondholler]

Angel fish usually won't eat cardinals, provided that you introduce them at the same time. In other words, if you introduce baby angelfish and baby cardinals, and they grow up together, you won't have a lot of predation. Probably. Cards are just a little bit big for angels' preference anyway. But if I were to introduce baby cardinals into my established school of angelfish, they'd surely get eaten. Neons? Think jellybeans.

Angels have a bit of an attitude. Keeping five or more and giving them plenty of space to get away from each other is the key. They are very social and quite intelligent, as fish go. Give them the numbers and space they need, and it's really fun to watch them interact.

Great info... I've been looking for Dwarf Angelfish, but no one seems to have them. Are they a myth, or is there a supplier or two out there?

 

[pondholler]

The best source for plants I've found is buceplant.com. Crazy selection, good prices, high-quality plants. Sometimes I order plants from ebay just for the interesting invertebrates that always seem to be along for the ride. Fish are harder. Online places often tend to have higher quality fish (It's hard to beat the Wet Spot in Oregon, in my experience; I'm sure there are great places on the east coast too) but shipping is expensive. Local fish stores are a mixed bag. Mine will special order fish, not make me pay shipping, and often sell them to me at cost because they like me and enjoy meeting all the weird fish I order...but their distributor isn't the greatest, and the fish are often sick. If you're lucky enough to have a local place that actually can get in quality stock, that's definitely the way to go, pricewise.

Thanks for the reference. Their site looks great!

 

[pondholler]

Welcome to TFF

The thread title reads "tank", but your username suggests "pond"

If it's a tank, where has it been stored for the last 13 years? That's alot of real estate, lol

Regardless, I'm sure I speak not for me alone when I'd like to see pics, in it's present condition...

We've been very busy the past few days getting things laid out in preparation for water and plants. Not quite ready yet as we're waiting for more sand but I do have a pic of the work in progress. It's hard to get a good shot because the aquarium is see-through and there's lots of confusion (and light) in the background. It doesn't distract when there are fish to look at, but it's hard to really see as is. Anyway, here goes...

 

[pondholler]

We've been very busy the past few days getting things laid out in preparation for water and plants. Not quite ready yet as we're waiting for more sand but I do have a pic of the work in progress. It's hard to get a good shot because the aquarium is see-through and there's lots of confusion (and light) in the background. It doesn't distract when there are fish to look at, but it's hard to really see as is. Anyway, here goes...