# New tank!!!



## molliefan09 (Sep 21, 2009)

YAY!! I just got my new 55 gallon tank!! I bought it from my neighbor who used to keep reptiles. I have it set up in my driveway filled with water to check for leaks!! so excited!!!:-D


----------



## Angel079 (Feb 14, 2007)

:greenyay::blueyay::redyay:
AWESOME :thumbsup:

When are you bringing it in, setting it up, what fish do you wanna keep, when are the pictures coming???:-D


----------



## molliefan09 (Sep 21, 2009)

im getting ready to post pics of it now. im not sure of the stocking list yet. my boyrfriend wants a freshwater aggressive tank....so im not sure yet.....i REALLY want lake malawi mnuba cichlids...but who knows.....hopefully we will have it up and running early next week but im gonna TRY a fishless cycle....


----------



## molliefan09 (Sep 21, 2009)

pic of new tank....


----------



## Muni (Nov 20, 2009)

*WARNING! WARNING! *

Make sure its an actual "aquarium" tank and not a reptile tank. Most reptial or snake tanks are NOT meant to hold water just keep the little scalies in the tank. They are made of much thinner glass and can easily explode from water pressure. It may fill up nicely. But one good bump from fish or keeper can land 55 gallons in your living room.


----------



## Angel079 (Feb 14, 2007)

Looking good! Cichlids sounds like a very nice idea and there's SO MANY beautiful ones to choose from too.
Did you have any leaks while testing? Just measure and see how think the glass is should be around something like 1/4-1/2", just make sure it not the super think glass like the old windows at granny's house type glass


----------



## molliefan09 (Sep 21, 2009)

the glass is about 1/4" thick.....same thickness as the one they have set up at the LFS (went by there to pic out possible inhabitents)....it is still holding water we will probably empty it and bring it in tonight. although the black plastic around the bottom edge is cracked at one corner, this shouldnt affect anything right?! any way to get rid of scratches on the INTERIOR of the tank, i am assuming it is from the iguana scratching t the glass


----------



## Angel079 (Feb 14, 2007)

You mean that plastic wanna be molding they put around the tanks? Now that don't matter, just put the tank in a way that this crack will sit on the 'back' so you don't see it 

No whether glass or acrylic tank, there's nothing you can really do. Except for: Face that side to the back (and hope the crack is on the same side, so all 'ugly' parts are in the back) and just plant in front of it, won't see it 

What inmates did you check out?


----------



## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

congrats on the new tank 
are the scratches on both sides of the tank,if not them if possible
perhaps turn the tank so the scratches are to the back,
i'm not sure if there is anyway to perhaps buff them out,would you be
able to speak to a glazier(sp)


----------



## molliefan09 (Sep 21, 2009)

yes the wanna be molding around the base and top.....unfortunaley no they are on opposite sides:-?.....my boyfriend is a true superglue fanatic and says superglue will fix it (the molding) LOL so we will see.....once it is set up and has new fish i dont think anyone will notice the cosmetic flaws. The only thing that suck is that the only real place we have to put it is in front of one of our living room windows (we have VERY heavy curtains and blinds)...however, i am trying to sucker him into getting a new tv ;-) because at the moment the place I want to put it is taken up by a big ol'sit on the floor tv....so..........im trying to work it in that it would look nice to have a tv hanging on that wall with the tank under it....still working on that8)


----------



## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

you need to make him think he's thought of the idea !!


----------



## molliefan09 (Sep 21, 2009)

yeah well.....we were just sitting here and he wants oscars....4-5 in this 55....and whe i try telling him otherwise he tells me im crazy....so im not happy about this anymore......


----------



## Muni (Nov 20, 2009)

Multiple Oscars need a lot of room. They get big.


----------



## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

molliefan09 said:


> yeah well.....we were just sitting here and he wants oscars....4-5 in this 55....and whe i try telling him otherwise he tells me im crazy....so im not happy about this anymore......


This is very sad. And I mean both the idea of 5 oscars in a 55g and his attitude. It's comparable to getting a horse and keeping it in the basement; yes, it will remain alive if you feed it, but is it "living"? An oscar will grow throughout its life to a maximum of 12-15 inches or more, and one should not put a fish in an aquarium in which it will not be able to turn around when grown. Here's a good site with an explanation why this doesn't work:
Oscar Fish Tank Setup - Installing an Aquarium for Your Oscar - Oscarfishlover.com

This site mentions one oscar is the limit in anything less than 100 gallons.

B.


----------



## Angel079 (Feb 14, 2007)

Yea just glue the molding then and turn the scratched up parts to the back then.
Heck yea wide screen flat panel LCD and a tank...that idea would only get one reply from my husband "Where's the car keys lets go" (thou he has his 42 flat panel and 8ft projector screen stuff, so no room to talk for him there)

I'd really reasonably explain him why no Oscar, I have faith he's old enough to understand. And then y'all go pick some nice Cichlids together!


----------



## molliefan09 (Sep 21, 2009)

he wants to hear it from "the fish people" at the store himself. i then tried explaining that while they are infact knowledgable they use it to their advantage for people like him who will rely only on thier advice. they WILL sell you the oscar and tell you it will be fine because when it dies.....you go back for more. I dont spend all the time i do researching fish and getting the advice from here just to have him tell me i dont know what i am talking about!!! he is more of a trial and error kind of guy which is good for somethings but not when it comes to anothers life.....i dont know, hopefully i can get him to reason with me on some of the more appropriate types of cichlids that will work for our tankl....it just kind of took the fun out of allthis for though.....


----------



## Angel079 (Feb 14, 2007)

Have him googel it himself and have him read the adequate requirements himself.


----------



## molliefan09 (Sep 21, 2009)

i think he has calmed down and was a little more willing to listen. he thought i just didnt like oscars so i didnt want him to have one. and when i explained that i infact DO like the oscars just when we get a 125+ gallong tank i would love to have some oscars he was a little better


----------



## bearwithfish (Sep 29, 2009)

congrats on the new tank !!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## fish999 (Nov 11, 2009)

gratz! very good choice on tank size, I say. ^^ It's gonna be so much fun!. What kind of cichlids are you gonna have? Some of them are very beautiful. Maybe you can do an original cichlid biotope! 

Gratz again... have fun I know you will.


----------



## molliefan09 (Sep 21, 2009)

i was thinking lake malawi mnubas. i really like their color variations.


----------



## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

shame you're so far away from me,you could have had mine.
glad things are moving back up for you.


----------



## fish999 (Nov 11, 2009)

You mean like these?
liveaquaria


----------



## Angel079 (Feb 14, 2007)

I'm glad he seems to have understood, sorry it caused you such a headache there for a while.

Uhhh, now if I had my way in your tank, I'd get Yellow's again (Labidochromis caeruleus) I loved them guys sooo much and a school in a 55g is guaranteed entertainment.

Will you use gravel or sand in there?


----------



## molliefan09 (Sep 21, 2009)

yes fish, THOSE:-D!!! 
Angel, Yes i have fallen in love with the labs! i have always wanted a yellow lab, but the furry four legged ones are a bit too hyper for me :lol: lol. he finally said "merry early christmas" last night so that made me VERY happy!! iam planning on using sand, probably playground sand but i am still not sure. what do you guys think?? i know they like moving the substrate around and if they ingest sand i am concerned about them getting impacted......


----------



## Muni (Nov 20, 2009)

I don't think the sand will be too much of an issue. 

But I've always seen gravel used. Usually of a the heavy courser type to keep them from digging up everything.


----------



## Angel079 (Feb 14, 2007)

I had playsand with the yellow's and they all were cool with it, expect for my 'bob the builder' I had 1 guy in the gang that really needed to re-arrange their living quarters DAILY, he was too cool to watch thou. I personally just don't like the look of the big gravel, but everybody got a different taste right!? 

Here's one pic of my old tank (unfortunately the ONLY pic I got of them guys)


----------



## molliefan09 (Sep 21, 2009)

wow angel thats beautiful!! I really want to go the planted route but i dont know if i want to spend all the money on live plants just to have them uproot it....im looking into some really nice rock work....

what kind of plants are those?? are they live or fake?? (knowing you i probably should ask that question!!) lol

what do you recommend by way of filtration?!


----------



## Angel079 (Feb 14, 2007)

Well now I have to say Yellow's vs Planted thank is an issue, the ONLY thing as you can tell by the pictures I was able to have in the tank and stay in there w/out being torn up by them guys was the Hygrophilia's; anything else that had went in, in the beginning wasn't approved by them later on 

LOL yes live plants, you guessed right, this very form is called Hygrophilia Angustifolia. They root very well (which is needed for a proper 'anchor' with the Yellow's) And I just started out with maybe 3 plants, let them grow out (and they grew super quick for me), cut the tops off, replanted them and so on.

In any of my tanks >40g I always used the Eheim 2213 which you can get for a very good price & free shipping here atm EHEIM Classic External Canister - Filtration & Circulation - Fish - PetSmart
I just don't like HOB's and amongst the canister's this is my fav as far as lil to no maintenance, super quiet and really last forever and a day etc.


----------



## Angel079 (Feb 14, 2007)

Another fish you may like is the Boeseman's they're nice and colorful and grow to be a fairly large fish AND they work nice in planted tanks, below pictures of them guys with a Danio and their tank.


----------



## molliefan09 (Sep 21, 2009)

wow, beautiful fish! i will look at the filter you recommended. i still need to do a good cleaning on it. i guess it has been previously re-sealed....any rec on how to removed the sealent that they managed to get on the bottom 1-2" of glass?!?!


----------



## molliefan09 (Sep 21, 2009)

another ? this tank came with a metal mesh top.....would this be ok or should i DIY a new lids?!?! i checked out your DIY angel......you are so handy......im terrible at things like that....


----------



## Angel079 (Feb 14, 2007)

Well getting the excess silicon off w/out ripping the actual parts out that are sealed is the tricky part, so be careful there. What works well is the plastic putty knifs, you can use the regular metal one's just be careful to not go at odd angels and scratch the glass then. Also what works nice is the ice scrapers you'd use for cars, but being in FL I doubt you got one 
Any other general cleaning out I'd do with vinegar, rinse out hot, let sit in the sun for a lil while and done, that's the standard makeover my used tanks get lol

Trust me I'm far from handy - ask my hubby - that was the first time I met power tools doing this hood, I was just REALLY REALLY determined on what I wanted. 

I donno but you don't don't plan on stocking any 'jumpers' a open tank would be nice with plants growing out of it, maybe get some Mangroves when you're out and about in the waters in FL and have a normal but nice fluorescent fixture hanging off your ceiling with fish bulbs in them (such as life glo). I can't offer you pictures of my open tank just this second, but will go digging for some tonight. Just a thought thou...


----------



## molliefan09 (Sep 21, 2009)

hmm.....open tank sounds nice.....i just always worry...i have a bird that like to fly around and heaven forbid he decides to go swimming:shock:


----------



## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

my cichlids are very good were the plants are concerned,
i have giant Vallis and they don't bother them at all.

what birdie have you got ?


----------



## molliefan09 (Sep 21, 2009)

a sucicidal cockateil


----------



## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

aww.......cute.........until they bite you. :-D


----------



## molliefan09 (Sep 21, 2009)

yeah....i have had him since april and he is 14 years old. He is a feather plucker and the previous owner wasnt able to treat him....he is not a hand friendly bird AT ALL!! however, he does enjoy whislting with you and will let you pet him while he whistles.....


----------



## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

aww,are his feathers growing back,or is he too into plucking now ?


----------



## molliefan09 (Sep 21, 2009)

well, he only does it under his wings so it is not visible unless he spreads his wings. and yes.....he still does it. he had an elizabethian collar on for about 8 weeks and it healed up nicely....but hes back to his old habits....


----------



## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

i hope he gets better. 
x


----------



## Angel079 (Feb 14, 2007)

As for the fish-bird combo, I don't see a prob there, just leave the net you have right now over top the tank (maybe cut SMALL wholes for stem plants in it if you chose to go that way (eg. Golden Pothos is easily found in the home store plant section and is beautiful for these open tanks).

For the birdy...One of ours once start this habit and we had some spray that you'd mist him with every day or so and that help for good with him. So I hope yours gets well soon too.


----------



## molliefan09 (Sep 21, 2009)

ive tried everything with that bird.......hes just a head case lol.....hes happy so i just let him be.


----------



## Angel079 (Feb 14, 2007)

You mean he needs someone with a nice soft couch to meet & talk to once a week?


----------



## molliefan09 (Sep 21, 2009)

lol


----------



## fish999 (Nov 11, 2009)

Molliefan09, if you get play sand it will be yellowish. Their is another type of sand that is light grey/whitish which you can also get at home depot or lowes... its mortar sand, it comes in 3 grades (fine, medium, and coarse). It's usually close to the mortar mix and etc. yes it's clean sand no concrete or additives, though you will need to wash it. i bought a 50lb bag for about $7...

by the way those tank pics are beautiful. I like the plant arrangements.


----------



## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

Interesting, the "play sand" available at Home Depot in Canada is very dark gray. It resembles the sand of the Rio ***** in SA co-incidentally.

Personally, I would not go with a light/whitish sand, it reflects light and this distracts from the tank and there are issues with the fish. The darker and more neutral the substrate the better.

B.


----------



## 1077 (Apr 16, 2008)

I agree with Byron. I have kept fish over many different colored substrates and fish will nearly always present better colors and be more comfortable over darker substrates. White or light colored substrates may be pleasing to our eyes,but it is in my view ,unnatural for the fish and some species,will not venture out at all unless they feel secure in their surroundings.


----------



## Angel079 (Feb 14, 2007)

Just for thoughts...here's 2 pictures with dark ground, one is my newly set up 10g (to house shrimp one day) with black sand and the other the Ex Killi tank with fine dark brown gravel.


----------



## molliefan09 (Sep 21, 2009)

darn it!!!! i just went and bout 100 pounds of the regular old white play sand  well i guess i will go back to home depot tomorrow and change it out....


----------



## Angel079 (Feb 14, 2007)

Why? If YOU like it, do it, its your tank not ours...could look something like the Cray's tank here that was playsand too


----------



## molliefan09 (Sep 21, 2009)

well, i just want my fish to be happy. i suppose i could give it a go and see how it goes


----------



## fish999 (Nov 11, 2009)

Went out yesterday and got 1/4 yard of "washed bedding pea gravel" which is 3/8(-) river gravel mixed with sand. It is dark brown, dark red, grey, and a little dark grey mixed when it is wet. I plan to screen it down to 1/8 - 1/4. Amazing what you can find if you look around. The little tiny 1/4 pumice bits are really cool looking.


----------



## Angel079 (Feb 14, 2007)

All of y'all remodeling tanks...you realize this needs PICTURES afterward right!?!?!?!


----------



## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

molliefan09 said:


> well, i just want my fish to be happy. i suppose i could give it a go and see how it goes


It is not all that easy to change substrate afterwards. And yes, relaxed fish means healthier fish and more natural colours and behaviours. I know we all may want an aquarium to look like this or that, but we forget that the prime purpose is to house living creatures--fish that have evolved over thousands of years to specific environments. I am a firm believer in providing fish in an aquarium with an environment that is as close as reasonably possible to their natural habitat. This assures more probable good health and less disease if fish are not stressed out by bright substrates, unstable water, no hiding places when they need them, etc.

Byron.


----------



## molliefan09 (Sep 21, 2009)

i know changing out the substrate can be a real pain as i did this in my 20 gallon. i think im just going to return the playsand and get something a little darker. 

also, regarding hiding places....are the red terracota planters ok or will they leach red back into my tank? AND can i just free stack the slated rocks or do i need to use some sort of adhesive to keep them together??


----------



## Angel079 (Feb 14, 2007)

If they're the natural ones, which actually look a little brownish-red then you won't have troubles (I use the mini ones of these in the shrimp tank too) if they're read red looking, they're painted in some way or stained, that I'd keep my hands off. To be safe: Just toss them in a bucket of water for 1-2 days and see what happens.

If the Rocks are large sized ones and you want to stack them over top one another you'll be fine, UNLESS you have some digger- cichlids in the very tank you want to do this, then I'd use aquarium silicone and glue them together.

Ideally if you want to exchange your gravel anyay, place the rocks on the bare glass and then add your new gravel after they're in place.


----------



## molliefan09 (Sep 21, 2009)

it will be in my cichlid tank that i will be doing this and from what i have read about the tpye of cichlids i want they are infact diggers.....

you know....i was just thinking.....i am going to have close to if not more then 700 pounds of substrate, water, rocks and fish in this tank........it facinates me that these aquariums can bear this kind of weight...also i have one of those wrought iron looking stands....do you think this is sufficiant or should i invest in a different kind of stand?!?!


----------



## teddyzaper (Aug 30, 2009)

if its builts as a tank stand it will most likely work, although i would put some water and wieghts outside.


----------



## molliefan09 (Sep 21, 2009)

i filled it and let it sit for 16 hours outside....no weights though.......


----------



## fish999 (Nov 11, 2009)

Byron said:


> It is not all that easy to change substrate afterwards. And yes, relaxed fish means healthier fish and more natural colours and behaviours. I know we all may want an aquarium to look like this or that, but we forget that the prime purpose is to house living creatures--fish that have evolved over thousands of years to specific environments. I am a firm believer in providing fish in an aquarium with an environment that is as close as reasonably possible to their natural habitat. This assures more probable good health and less disease if fish are not stressed out by bright substrates, unstable water, no hiding places when they need them, etc.
> 
> Byron.


That's always been my reasoning as well. Actually it's millions of years, not just thousands... so there are built-in triggers in every species that a conscientious aquarist would try to emulate. I guess that's why fish die cause they haven't evolved to breath ammonia (yet) ;-)


----------



## molliefan09 (Sep 21, 2009)

fish999 said:


> Went out yesterday and got 1/4 yard of "washed bedding pea gravel" which is 3/8(-) river gravel mixed with sand. It is dark brown, dark red, grey, and a little dark grey mixed when it is wet. I plan to screen it down to 1/8 - 1/4. Amazing what you can find if you look around. The little tiny 1/4 pumice bits are really cool looking.


 
where did you purchase it??


----------



## fish999 (Nov 11, 2009)

molliefan09 said:


> where did you purchase it??


I went to a local sand&gravel yard. They have big piles of rocks and gravel of all different sizes used by contractors for fill and landscaping. The stuff I got was called "washed bedding sand" ... at least thats what its called around here. I found it by going there and looking at all the different piles. We called ahead asking for "3/8(-) pea gravel" (rounded) and after looking around saw the washed bedding sand. It has sand in it but goes up to 3/8 gravel and all sizes in between. 

It cost $3.65 for about 300 lbs.


----------



## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

I've done the same. Landscape or stone places often carry various gravels and sands. I got some nice dark mixed "birdseye" gravel locally. Just make sure to test it for minerals; calcareous gravel will raise the hardness and pH. But if it is inert, it is very inexpensive.

Byron.


----------



## fish999 (Nov 11, 2009)

Byron said:


> I've done the same. Landscape or stone places often carry various gravels and sands. I got some nice dark mixed "birdseye" gravel locally. Just make sure to test it for minerals; calcareous gravel will raise the hardness and pH. But if it is inert, it is very inexpensive.
> 
> Byron.


Thats a very good point to remember, testing it first. It's probably not safe to just eyeball it as I was going to do :shock: ... thanks Byron!


----------



## long time fish luver (Nov 28, 2009)

hey i no im interupting but how do you start a conversation
im neew to the forum


----------



## long time fish luver (Nov 28, 2009)

hey willow how do you start a forum


----------



## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

long time fish luver said:


> hey i no im interupting but how do you start a conversation
> im neew to the forum


Find the section of the forum that fits what you want to discuss, for example general freshwater topics can go in this section we are now in; questions about planted tanks can go in that section, and so on.

Then at the top of the list of present threads you will see a blue button "New Thread", click on that and a window will open for you to type your post. You can preview it and edit. When finished, click the "Submit Reply" button under the window. That's it.

Welcome to the Tropical Fish Keeping Forum.

Byron.


----------



## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

Byron covered it perfectly.
welcome aboard,you'll learn very quickly,if i can do it so can you. :-D


----------



## molliefan09 (Sep 21, 2009)

Byron said:


> I've done the same. Landscape or stone places often carry various gravels and sands. I got some nice dark mixed "birdseye" gravel locally. Just make sure to test it for minerals; calcareous gravel will raise the hardness and pH. But if it is inert, it is very inexpensive.
> 
> Byron.


i do i test it??


----------



## Angel079 (Feb 14, 2007)

molliefan09 said:


> i do i test it??


I'd always suggest to test gravel that's picked from the home store or alike as well as rocks collected outdoors. You don't want to wind up setting your tank up with all that just to find out a few days later that they were so rich and calcareous that they up your hardness to a forum of liquid concrete as I call it.
Just drop some Vinegar on it see if it bubbles up for not, it'll fuzz a little if its very calcareousrock you're dealing with, then don't use it for your tank.


----------



## molliefan09 (Sep 21, 2009)

and if it doesnt fizz then it should be ok?


----------



## molliefan09 (Sep 21, 2009)

ok so this is the gravel i ended up purchasing and i have put in the the aquarium, still looking for slated rock to make hidy holes....


----------



## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

That will look very nice I think. Quite natural stream substrate look. B.


----------



## molliefan09 (Sep 21, 2009)

thanks byron...so far in the empty tank it does look nice....cant wait to get everything in and get it up and running so i can get it cycled and put my fish in!!!!!


----------



## molliefan09 (Sep 21, 2009)

here is my POTENTIAL stocking list....

pseudotropheus Lombardoi x2
Melanochromis Auratus x2
Metriaclima Callaines x2
Labidochromis Caeruleus x2
Melanochromis Johannii x2
Metriaclima Estherae x2

any advice, opinions?? Is this too much?? If so which ones would you rec. omiting??


----------



## Angel079 (Feb 14, 2007)

Looks like same color scheme I got going in the 55g  I think (and I'm a fan of dark substrates normally lol ) it turned out pretty neat after it was planted.
For slate and/ or larger rocks, your best bet if more then likely the gardening section of your favorite home store.

I won't comment on the stock list as some of these I do not know and don't know their behavior (territorial or not etc) maybe it will help your decision reading up on them guys here Tools - Seriously Fish


----------



## molliefan09 (Sep 21, 2009)

i dont recall the name of the site i used but it was a cichlid site that had the compatability and that is how i choose those specific fish. they are all mnuba species. but i will also check out the site you recommended as i want to gain all the knowledge possible before adding fish. I know i AM getting the Labidochromis Caeruleus (yellow lab) so i will need to add fish based around them


----------



## Angel079 (Feb 14, 2007)

Yea it always helps to read up a bunch and then buy, rather then the other way around 

Had I mentioned I love the Yellow's, miss my guys, had a whole gang set up in a 55g just for them, they were too cool to watch digging up the sand.


----------



## molliefan09 (Sep 21, 2009)

Angel079 said:


> Had I mentioned I love the Yellow's, miss my guys, had a whole gang set up in a 55g just for them, they were too cool to watch digging up the sand.


 
i couldnt agree more, but i would like to have some color variation in the tank. I used to have some color variation in my 20 gal. community tank but my orange molly keeps dropping orange fry and they have taken over:shock:. i am currently trying to find homes for 3 fry (only 8 days old)


----------



## Angel079 (Feb 14, 2007)

Lemme just show off my Yellow's one more time....loved them guys, miss 'em...

:lol: yea Molly's do tent to do that...you know what kept it at a decent level in my very first 55g with them in it...2 Angels :-D


----------



## molliefan09 (Sep 21, 2009)

all your tanks are beautiful!!


----------



## Angel079 (Feb 14, 2007)

Thank you  The old one's you mean....
I'm not too convinced yet on any of the 3 new ones :-( But I guess that's how it goes when you gave up nicely established tanks and start from scratch, doesn't seem just "right" yet....


----------



## molliefan09 (Sep 21, 2009)

you will get there!!


----------

