Retired and reviving 300-gallon tank

[10 Tanks]

I think if I ever get a tank this big, I'd just go all the way and run plumbing to it. I sure as heck would not be doing those water changes with buckets. I'm tough but not crazy!

Hello Whistling. I gave up the buckets years ago. Finally, I got too old to do all that lifting. I went to the Python to drain the water and then got a faucet attachment to fill it. I can do the 300 gallon tank in roughly 45 minutes.

10 Tanks

 

[Rocky998]

I can do the 300 gallon tank in roughly 45 minutes

And I can't even do my two 20 and 10 gallon tanks in less than an hour

 

[10 Tanks]

And I can't even do my two 20 and 10 gallon tanks in less than an hour

Hi Rocky. Oh, the Python is the only way to do things if you have multiple tanks! I have a 75 foot Python that I can run from each tank to the shower drain. I drain the water by half and add the water treatment to a small pitcher of water and pour that directly into the tank. Then, I hook up a garden hose to my faucet and set the faucet to cool water and turn it on. The tanks fill in no time.

10 Tanks

 

[pondholler]

I'm getting a 220 gallon on Saturday (already paid for, just gotta pick it up) - and I will be putting about 19 angelfish in it (we'll have to see if I add more over time). It's going to be a planted community tank, I don't want to hijack this thread (I already have my own "in too deep", if anyone wants to see more specifics). But to answer the OPs original question, I'd make it a planted community tank. With that much space, there's so much you can do to make an exceptionally beautiful aquarium.

Educate me please.... Are angelfish aggressive? I'm planning on having some, but worry that they may eat the cardinals and other small fish.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Educate me please.... Are angelfish aggressive? I'm planning on having some, but worry that they may eat the cardinals and other small fish.

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.

 

[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...

"Pondholler" is actually the name of our farm as our house overlooks the aforementioned spring-fed, 3-acre pond and there are six other ponds on the place. I didn't think about the confusion here on this forum where folks actually set up and manage ponds, I was just trying to choose something that was easy to remember (I'm 73, lol). The 300 gallon tank is set in our living room wall and can also be seen from the master bedroom on the other side of the wall (in the attached pic, you can see through the empty tank where my husband is napping, lol). We spent all day yesterday cleaning out the tank with vinegar and a lot of elbow grease, so it is quite empty now. You wouldn't have wanted to see it before we cleaned it. The two pumps and the filter (blue balls, don't know what else they are called) and the plumbed-in faucet and drain are all under the tank and accessible from the bedroom side. I am thinking that our next step is to add the sand and landscaping rocks and driftwood, then fill and cycle the aquarium. Is this right? And at what point do we add plants, before or after cycling? Thanks for your attention, questions and good advice. So glad we found this forum!

 

[Slaphppy7]

"Pondholler" is actually the name of our farm as our house overlooks the aforementioned spring-fed, 3-acre pond and there are six other ponds on the place. I didn't think about the confusion here on this forum where folks actually set up and manage ponds, I was just trying to choose something that was easy to remember (I'm 73, lol). The 300 gallon tank is set in our living room wall and can also be seen from the master bedroom on the other side of the wall (in the attached pic, you can see through the empty tank where my husband is napping, lol). We spent all day yesterday cleaning out the tank with vinegar and a lot of elbow grease, so it is quite empty now. You wouldn't have wanted to see it before we cleaned it. The two pumps and the filter (blue balls, don't know what else they are called) and the plumbed-in faucet and drain are all under the tank and accessible from the bedroom side. I am thinking that our next step is to add the sand and landscaping rocks and driftwood, then fill and cycle the aquarium. Is this right? And at what point do we add plants, before or after cycling? Thanks for your attention, questions and good advice. So glad we found this forum!

Wow, I could go for a swim in that thing!

You are correct regarding your next steps...what until you've cycled to add plants, is what many will suggest, though I've added plants during a fishless cycle, and they did just fine with the small amounts of ammonia added to cycle

Glad you joined the forum, this will be fun to watch progress...

 

[ChasingFish]

Educate me please.... Are angelfish aggressive? I'm planning on having some, but worry that they may eat the cardinals and other small fish.

I have never seen my angelfish eat any of my other fish (I have a school of green neons, which are the smallest of all the neons) and I still have 15, zero losses. The concern for aggression is, when you have more than one - if you end up with a male female pair - at some point when they are mature enough they will start displaying spawning behavior and if in a community tank, they may kill other fish that get too close to their chosen area. I lost 2 german rams and 1 apistogramma because my angelfish killed them when they got too near to their eggs. They didn't "eat them" but took a chunk out of their head. Unfortunately, it happened while I was at work, but my boyfriend caught them in the act of chasing down one of the rams. That's why I'm getting another tank to separate them into. If you can figure out the sexes and separate them, you should have no problem. But that is difficult until they get older. Or just buy one, and it will be fine. Personally, it will be my first time keeping them in such a large tank (mine 220 gals) so maybe even when they do go into "breeding mode" the outcome won't be so severe because there is A LOT more space for the other fish to get away and hide. But the problem I find is that once they lay eggs, the other fish cannot resist trying to swoop in to eat them - and that's how they end up with their heads nearly bitten off. Sorry to be so graphic, but the angelfish are quite brutal when it comes to protecting their eggs.

 

[ChasingFish]

Wow, I could go for a swim in that thing!

You are correct regarding your next steps...what until you've cycled to add plants, is what many will suggest, though I've added plants during a fishless cycle, and they did just fine with the small amounts of ammonia added to cycle

Glad you joined the forum, this will be fun to watch progress...

Well the tank isn't going to have to go through a true cycling, since it's been set up for years at the LFS. We are just draining it, removing everything into buckets, moving it to our house and refilling it. Everything that will be going into it, wood, rock, established filter, all should carry over the beneficial bacteria. Only thing "new" is we plan to start with fresh pool sand as substrate.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Well the tank isn't going to have to go through a true cycling, since it's been set up for years at the LFS. We are just draining it, removing everything into buckets, moving it to our house and refilling it. Everything that will be going into it, wood, rock, established filter, all should carry over the beneficial bacteria. Only thing "new" is we plan to start with fresh pool sand as substrate.

I was replying to the OP , but good luck with your multitude of setups, as well!

 

[ChasingFish]

"Pondholler" is actually the name of our farm as our house overlooks the aforementioned spring-fed, 3-acre pond and there are six other ponds on the place. I didn't think about the confusion here on this forum where folks actually set up and manage ponds, I was just trying to choose something that was easy to remember (I'm 73, lol). The 300 gallon tank is set in our living room wall and can also be seen from the master bedroom on the other side of the wall (in the attached pic, you can see through the empty tank where my husband is napping, lol). We spent all day yesterday cleaning out the tank with vinegar and a lot of elbow grease, so it is quite empty now. You wouldn't have wanted to see it before we cleaned it. The two pumps and the filter (blue balls, don't know what else they are called) and the plumbed-in faucet and drain are all under the tank and accessible from the bedroom side. I am thinking that our next step is to add the sand and landscaping rocks and driftwood, then fill and cycle the aquarium. Is this right? And at what point do we add plants, before or after cycling? Thanks for your attention, questions and good advice. So glad we found this forum!

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.

 

[ChasingFish]

I was replying to the OP , but good luck with your multitude of setups, as well!

There I go hijacking the thread again, sorry!

 

[Byron]

Educate me please.... Are angelfish aggressive? I'm planning on having some, but worry that they may eat the cardinals and other small fish.

@WhistlingBadger responded, and I agree. You have a large tank, but to the fish especially angelfish it is still small. Angelfish are cichlids, and like all cichlids they have instincts when it comes to territories and tolerating other angelfish. You must have a group, I would say seven or more here. You should consider a backup to deal with whatever may occur. If a pair forms and bonds, they will spawn. Any other angelfish will be unwelcome. In the habitat this is never an issue because all the other fish can remain at a considerable distance. In any aquarium this is way more difficult to do. Fish communicate with chemical signals, pheromones, and these carry in the water. The individual nature of each fish also plays into this. There are male angelfish that may tolerate other angelfish in this tank, and there are male angelfish that will rip to shreds any rival. Just b aware of the issue.

 

[pondholler]

I have never seen my angelfish eat any of my other fish (I have a school of green neons, which are the smallest of all the neons) and I still have 15, zero losses. The concern for aggression is, when you have more than one - if you end up with a male female pair - at some point when they are mature enough they will start displaying spawning behavior and if in a community tank, they may kill other fish that get too close to their chosen area. I lost 2 german rams and 1 apistogramma because my angelfish killed them when they got too near to their eggs. That's why I'm getting another tank to separate them into. If you can figure out the sexes and separate them, you should have no problem. But that is difficult until they get older. Or just buy one, and it will be fine.

Thanks for the helpful info!

 

[pondholler]

@WhistlingBadger responded, and I agree. You have a large tank, but to the fish especially angelfish it is still small. Angelfish are cichlids, and like all cichlids they have instincts when it comes to territories and tolerating other angelfish. You must have a group, I would say seven or more here. You should consider a backup to deal with whatever may occur. If a pair forms and bonds, they will spawn. Any other angelfish will be unwelcome. In the habitat this is never an issue because all the other fish can remain at a considerable distance. In any aquarium this is way more difficult to do. Fish communicate with chemical signals, pheromones, and these carry in the water. The individual nature of each fish also plays into this. There are male angelfish that may tolerate other angelfish in this tank, and there are male angelfish that will rip to shreds any rival. Just b aware of the issue.

Yikes -- maybe should forget about angelfish in a community tank?