Thinking about a 60 gallon

[Fishies4Ever]

Not sure what forum this would be good in. I am thinking about getting a 60 gallon tank in about a year or so. I was wondering what kind of filter a 60 gallon tank needs as well as a heater and light. Would it be ok if I got a used tank cause you never now if they used like soap or something I guess? My water is hard and my ph is in the 6.8 range I’m pretty sure so what fish would be good. I am thinking about maybe some cichlids. I currently only have a 10 gallon tank with 3 neons, 6 black neons, 2 flame tetras, and 4 serpae tetras so the tank is a bit overcrowded. I am planning on re homing the serpae because of aggression. The other fish seem ok with each other at the moment. I don’t really want to have them in a 60 gallon but I am kind of attached so I’m not really sure what to do about that if we’re to re home them. Any help or suggestions would be great!!!

 

[vince82]

My 60g has 3x 18 inches nicrew lights and a sunsun filter, and a external heater, all pretty low budget hardware from Amazon. More details in the link in my signature

 

[Byron]

The filter depends upon the intended fish. Also, if live plants are intended. Plants do the filtration on their own (assuming all else is equal, not overstocked, overfed, etc). Water current is the main filter aspect, and different fish have different requirements when it comes to current. The tetras mentioned do not want strong currents. Neither would most cichlids but that needs to be thought out once you know the species. Dwarfs will obviously match the tetras here. The dimensions of the tank will factor in when it comes to the type of filter, as well as the fish.

What is the GH of your source (tap) water. "Hard" has been used by water authorities to describe soft water up to quite hard water. Check their website and post the number and their unit of measurement.

All the tetras need larger grops, I would say 10-12 of each species you intend having. This makes a very big difference to the stress level of the fish, and their aggression. Yu are wise to re-home the Serpae, they may well have issues already from the number of them plus the inappropriate tank size which also causes these problems. We all live and learn.

 

[vince82]

Rather than a used tank, I would recommend what I got, which is a 60G breeder from aqueon. They are inexpensive, I think I paid the tank 140$ (Canadian).
Lights are 3x45$, the heater is 70$, the filter is 125$.
So a grand total of 470$ Canadian.
For a 60G it's quite cheap (although I thought it was cheaper, never look back at your purchases guys!)
Result is nice though. Here it is right now, with minor algae issues.

 

[Fishies4Ever]

The filter depends upon the intended fish. Also, if live plants are intended. Plants do the filtration on their own (assuming all else is equal, not overstocked, overfed, etc). Water current is the main filter aspect, and different fish have different requirements when it comes to current. The tetras mentioned do not want strong currents. Neither would most cichlids but that needs to be thought out once you know the species. Dwarfs will obviously match the tetras here. The dimensions of the tank will factor in when it comes to the type of filter, as well as the fish.

What is the GH of your source (tap) water. "Hard" has been used by water authorities to describe soft water up to quite hard water. Check their website and post the number and their unit of measurement.

All the tetras need larger grops, I would say 10-12 of each species you intend having. This makes a very big difference to the stress level of the fish, and their aggression. Yu are wise to re-home the Serpae, they may well have issues already from the number of them plus the inappropriate tank size which also causes these problems. We all live and learn.

Thank you for your advice but I have a well so there is no website I just have to get it tested.

 

[Byron]

Thank you for your advice but I have a well so there is no website I just have to get it tested.

As you may only need to do this the once, see if a local fish store will test it for you. Jut be sure to get the number and their unit of measurement. Otherwise, we still won't know.

I see you are in New York...don't know about the entire state's water, but NY City has very soft water. GH may well vary across the state depending upon the water source.

Since you mention a well, some people have water softeners installed, this can be dangerous to fish depending how they do the softening.

 

[Lillypad101]

New tanks are more trustworthy than used tanks, but I’ve bought used tanks and washed them out with vinegar/bleach. Bleach is a very toxic chemical to fish (and so is vinegar but a little bit less so) and the tank must be washed out many times after bleaching a tank. You could get a canister filter or a hang on back, Fluval is a good brand for both. I use Aquaneat lights, they go up to 48”. As for fish, if you have a lower ph, many tetras would be good. You could do a community setup with different schooling fish and a center piece like a gourami. Or you could do a huge school of neon tetras or other smaller tetras. For cichlids, you could have an apistogramma, they are peaceful (unless breeding), or rams (there are many more cichlids you could have in a 60 gallon aquarium, like angelfish and shell dwellers, but those two fit better into community settings.

 

[vince82]

In my 60G I went with a large school of emperor tetras, corydoras, and otocincluses. Real nice natural look to it.
I haven't added a "centerpiece fish" yet because I am not sure what I want

 

[Fishies4Ever]

This is kind of my plan for my 60 gallon with the picture below. Under the big rocks I would have a cove for shell dwellers or Neolamprologus caudopunctatus with a substate of sand just in that area. Then for the rest of the substate I would have dirt or a substrate good for plants and have a carpet plant across the rest of the tank, It will have hills and texture. Ill also probably put some plant on the rock formations. I am going with a lake Tanganyikan theme. I was also wondering if I could have another kind of fish with shell dwellers or Neolamprologus caudopunctatus or if they would have to be alone.

 

[Byron]

This is kind of my plan for my 60 gallon with the picture below. Under the big rocks I would have a cove for shell dwellers or Neolamprologus caudopunctatus with a substate of sand just in that area. Then for the rest of the substate I would have dirt or a substrate good for plants and have a carpet plant across the rest of the tank, It will have hills and texture. Ill also probably put some plant on the rock formations. I am going with a lake Tanganyikan theme. I was also wondering if I could have another kind of fish with shell dwellers or Neolamprologus caudopunctatus or if they would have to be alone.

I would not waste money on a so-called plant substrate. They are not needed, and can be more trouble than benefit. Plants will grow in sand or fine gravel just as well. Vallisneria would be a good plant here, as it is native to Lake Tanganyika. So far as I know, this lake has no carpet type plants. Assuming you want to be relatively authentic to the lake's biotope.

But what is the GH, KH and pH of your source water?

 

[Fishies4Ever]

I would not waste money on a so-called plant substrate. They are not needed, and can be more trouble than benefit. Plants will grow in sand or fine gravel just as well. Vallisneria would be a good plant here, as it is native to Lake Tanganyika. So far as I know, this lake has no carpet type plants. Assuming you want to be relatively authentic to the lake's biotope.

But what is the GH, KH and pH of your source water?

Thank you I am going to try and go with the what it looks like in there natural habitat I just haven’t gotten around to that yet

 

[Fishies4Ever]

Does anyone have any advice. I did want to go with a lake tanganyika theme but I really just want the most amount of cichlids possible I guess. Like what kind of cichlids can I put together because I want some different colors and kinds like I herd African cichlids can go together a lot of the time but in like what ratio for the 60 gallon.

 

[Byron]

We need to confirm your water parameters. African rift lake cichlids are hard water. South American cichlids are soft to very soft water. Central American cichlids are moderate. These are subjective terms, but the fish have cler needs and planning any cichlid without knowing the GH (and pH) is not the way to go assuming you are concerned over the well-being of your fish. I will say that combining Central American species and/or South American is very difficult, depending upon the species and tank size. Africans are completely opposite. Members experienced in these fish can explain more.

 

[Wills]

Does anyone have any advice. I did want to go with a lake tanganyika theme but I really just want the most amount of cichlids possible I guess. Like what kind of cichlids can I put together because I want some different colors and kinds like I herd African cichlids can go together a lot of the time but in like what ratio for the 60 gallon.

This sounds like a really interesting project! As @Byron says you really need to know your hardness, especially with Rift Lake Cichlids.

In a 60 gallon tank you could definitely have a couple of different species in there. The Caudopunks are a great choice to start with as a rock/shell dweller (mainly rocks), the best choice would be a group of Cyprichromis in the upper levels - quite a few colour variants available but males are more colourful than females, I'd avoid any of the 'Jumbo' species.

You could go for a true shell dweller to live alongside the Caudopunks like Occelatus Gold you'd just need to construct the tank well to accommodate both species but I think its possible. I'd avoid Leleupi, even though they are beautiful very aggressive. You could also look at some other species like Altolamprologus, Daffodil or Fairy Cichlids or Julidichromis.

In terms of planting Vallis and Anubias are good ideas but forget a carpet, the cichlids will dig and move substrate around so all but the toughest plants will suffer.

Just as a curve ball have you considered Malawi? In a 60 gallon you could have 2-3 species of Mbuna or possibly an all male Peacock and Hap tank - the latter is harder to do but as an example of a Mbuna tank you could look at 4 groups of 5-8 of the following - Chindongo Saulosi, Labidochromis Perlmutt, Iodotropheus Sprengerae and maybe something like a Metriaclima Callainos or Estherae - but the blue strains of either. That would give you bright blue with black bars, bright yellow, metallic white with yellow fins, lavender and orange and a solid metallic powder blue! But no plants in this tank as Mbuna are herbivores.

Wills

 

[Fishies4Ever]

This sounds like a really interesting project! As @Byron says you really need to know your hardness, especially with Rift Lake Cichlids.

In a 60 gallon tank you could definitely have a couple of different species in there. The Caudopunks are a great choice to start with as a rock/shell dweller (mainly rocks), the best choice would be a group of Cyprichromis in the upper levels - quite a few colour variants available but males are more colourful than females, I'd avoid any of the 'Jumbo' species.

You could go for a true shell dweller to live alongside the Caudopunks like Occelatus Gold you'd just need to construct the tank well to accommodate both species but I think its possible. I'd avoid Leleupi, even though they are beautiful very aggressive. You could also look at some other species like Altolamprologus, Daffodil or Fairy Cichlids or Julidichromis.

In terms of planting Vallis and Anubias are good ideas but forget a carpet, the cichlids will dig and move substrate around so all but the toughest plants will suffer.

Just as a curve ball have you considered Malawi? In a 60 gallon you could have 2-3 species of Mbuna or possibly an all male Peacock and Hap tank - the latter is harder to do but as an example of a Mbuna tank you could look at 4 groups of 5-8 of the following - Chindongo Saulosi, Labidochromis Perlmutt, Iodotropheus Sprengerae and maybe something like a Metriaclima Callainos or Estherae - but the blue strains of either. That would give you bright blue with black bars, bright yellow, metallic white with yellow fins, lavender and orange and a solid metallic powder blue! But no plants in this tank as Mbuna are herbivores.

Wills

Wow thank you for all this advice!!! It sounds like an amazing variety of cichlids. I can live without having live plants in there cause they are difficult to keep after. Would this be an all male tank or would there be some females to? Would it be possible to go with the red variant of the Estherae?