Time To Purchase The Plec?

[2101]

Finally i have my peramiters of the water staying at 0 thanks to the mature media i got from fluttermouth ! The Tiger Barbs seem a lot happier at last and healthy, though one of the males seems to have stubby fins and just chills in the reeds a lot since he can't swim that efficiently lol.

Ive noticed a growth of green algae starting to form on my wood and a rock i have in the tank, is this a good sign its time to get my self a plec? I noticed at the LFS they are all babies and small, but they have the odd well grown ones for sale also, which is best to get?

Cheers in advance!

2101

 

[fidjet2]

where you thinking of a common pleco? if so, your tank is too small. But if you were thinking of a bristlenose then I appolagise

 

[2101]

Ive been looking at BN's I read the forum section that has the list of Plecs under 6"

But is it time to get one? Too early maybe?

 

[ZoddyZod]

the presence of algae is no indicator as to when you should get any plec. Although some do graze on it (like the BN), the majority of their food needs to be provided by you in the form of specialized plec foods and pieces of vegetable or fruit (broccoli, potato, apple, etc).

 

[2101]

Just wondered if it was time for me to get my plec now, since there is something for the BN to graze on and I've been keen to get one since i setup, but knew i had to wait.

 

[coldcazzie]

how long have your levels been stable at 0?

 

[mike455555]

dont get a big plec if its well planted... i recommend otocinculs there about an inch big (get afew) but big plecs tend to eat plants/ uproot them

 

[ctsv510]

Rubbernose (aka bulldog) plecos may be a good options, as they don'e really grow over 5 inches. I'm not sure of whether they are plant friendly or not though.

 

[2101]

Levels have been 0 for a week now. How long should i wait?

It will be around 30% planted total in the end. Ive read that slate caves with a slate bottom will stop them from uprooting?

Was looking at a Starlight Bristlenose Catfish, L183. Go to about 4" I've read.

 

[coldcazzie]

Starlights are beautiful, they'll get same size as other BNs, so 5-6 inch. What is your filtration, you'll need a good filter for a plec, they poop like nothing on earth. Otos are a good alternative as mentioned above, and a shoal of those looks lovely, although I'm unsure how compatible they are with tiger barbs (ie, would the tigers pick on them?)

 

[Proxo]

Clown pleco? not sure what they're like with plants though but i've seen them in a few planted tanks.

 

[2101]

Im not sure if the Tigers will be staying in this tank, i think they will go into my second tank that arrived this week. So i can have a better selection for my planted community tank.

The Starlight was agreed between me and my girlfriend who wanted a 'pretty one' lol.

I have an Interpret Internal PF3 filter (came with the tank). What filter have you got on your community Caz? I was looking in that thread the other day but didn't see what it was.

 

[coldcazzie]

Im not sure if the Tigers will be staying in this tank, i think they will go into my second tank that arrived this week. So i can have a better selection for my planted community tank.

That's fair enough. I've not kept them myself but I would simply be cautious with them. I have heard them likened to chav bullies and football hooligans in the past fine by themselves, but not with anything else. But other people have them in communities just fine.... so I would say play that by ear

The Starlight was agreed between me and my girlfriend who wanted a 'pretty one' lol.

Heh, starlights are gorgeous. I really miss mine, and may try to get some more.

I have an Interpret Internal PF3 filter (came with the tank). What filter have you got on your community Caz? I was looking in that thread the other day but didn't see what it was.

Which one? Lol. My 180l has an APS EF2000+ on it, and my 240l has a Tetratec EX1200 on it. However, I am hoping, in the next couple of weeks to swap the filters over (but keep the media with the tanks). The tetratec has a much better real time flow rate than the aps and I need a higher turnover for the 180 as it's planted. The 240 on the other hand will not be planted at all, so a higher turnover is unnecessary, but the larger media capacity will be useful with several larger fish. When I upgrade the 240 I plan to add another external filter, either an EX2400 or an FX5.

The only experience I've had with interpet filters was an external and it was broken, so I don't know much about them... how big is it? Dimensions I mean? And does it have a l/h rating on it anywhere?

 

[2101]

I will have a look at it when i get out of the bed , got to love student life now and then! All i know is that the filter is good for tanks upto 136Ltr if i remember right. L/H? Do you mean a low to high rate? If so i have it on high at the moment to cause some current in the tank.

Maybe maybe my tiger barbs will be ok, will have to just wait and see. The seem to have paired up since i lost two. Two very healthy males and two females have paired up with one another, though one of my males I've nick named Stumpy, he seems to not be growing and has very short fins, hence why he chills in the plants most the time, but the other male now and then goes over gives him a nudge to make sure he's ok ! All rather amusing to watch really.

 

[coldcazzie]

No l/h means litres per hour.

Thing is with filters, is usually the manufacturers are rather liberal with their claims about how many litres per hour the filter can so and what tank it is suitable for.

For example, my APS filter is apparently 2000l/h. However, when I actually tested how much water it was outputting it was more like 900l/h. It's because they test the pump without any filter media in it, and (in the case of externals) without taking into account any inline heaters or diffusors, or how long the filter pipes are. 2000l/h is what the pump will put out just on it's own, but once you cram it full of media and make it push the water up into the tank through an inline heater, then the actual output is much lower.

And yes, I guess being a f/t student does have it's advantages!