Daniel Posted March 25, 2006 Report Share Posted March 25, 2006 Hey guys, i won a bid on a 60L tank on ebay on thursday, and picked in up today, got it home, measured it beacause i thought "wow thats big for sixty litres", it measures 70x40x41 and via the measurement converter thing (Thanks Vicki) its about 114L Bigger is Better Right? i was going with a tropical community tank, just wondering if i could get some general advice about some equipment such as lighting, filtration and plants. As well as some advice on community fish, i was thinking a school of neon tetras (about 10) and maybe two albino bristle-nose catfish, and something else...not overly large. Any advice would be great! Thanks, Daniel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Posted March 25, 2006 Report Share Posted March 25, 2006 Bigger is Better Right? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Congrats on your win! I love winning things on Ebay!! School of Tetras are good White Clouds even!! BN will grow up and be a bit unhappy. Depending on your stocking, I would go for filtration of about 300-400L per hour, that is around 5-6 x per hour. (I have a 4ft (200L) and I have 1100L per hour filtration, cannister and internal power filter = 20x per hour, its a bit full on but I am planning on changing my setup *Story of my life*) Lighting, go with a 2 tube light.. As you progress with the tank and make decisions on what plants take your fancy you can change the tubes without uprading too much. Instead of a community you could have a biotope tank. So the fish (and plants to your best ability) are from the same place. I have an Orinoco Basin biotype (Venezuela) I keep Blue Rams & when I find healthy stock of Cardinal Tetras OR Pristella Tetras at the shops, I will add them. I have sandy soils and peat to make the water stained. Gorgeous tank with the Rams breeding every 3 weeks resulting in nudda Or you could go with a community tank and stock fish at different levels, top swimmers, middle swimmers etc.... What about Corydoras? instead of BN's a few of those on the bottom (prefer river sand) gorgeous and VERY entertaining funny little creatures. edit: typos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted March 25, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2006 Thanks for the reply faewyn , i was thinking about buying one of those aquaone internal filters it does 400l/h something along these lines : http://www.aquaria.com.au/catalog/product_...roducts_id/8105 thanks for the ideas about the biotype tank, i looked up blue rams on google, however they said that they should not be used in beginner aquariums because they are heavily affected by nitrate levels or something. corys sound great, do they need caves? and as per the substrate another site was talking about using pool filter sand which sounds perfect! as well as some large pieces of driftwood and some amazon swords. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Posted March 25, 2006 Report Share Posted March 25, 2006 That will do the job! You are right about the rams, however they seem tougher coming through wholesalers these days and do not drop dead by looking at them the wrong way! Cories like caves for breeding. I have clay posts covered in java moss that some of the shy ones sit under when I have my arms in the tank. River sand (from your local garden/sand supply place) will do the trick and it is much cheaper then a fish store. Washing it clean is a pain in the bum, but it settles quickly enough. I have heard of people using Pool sand, that would look awesome. Oh! you can get special bulbs for lhoods that cast beautiful shadows over the sand from the ripples on the surface of the water, cannot remember the names of them. Someone will know!! as well as some large pieces of driftwood and some amazon swords. Now your talking!! Natural Aquariums: http://naturalaquariums.com/main.html Biotopes: http://www.mongabay.com/fish/biotope.htm .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted March 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2006 Thanks for the links to the biotype aquariums Faewyn, i might have a go later down the track... i got some pool filter sand and spent all morning cleaning it, my hands are now well and truely exfoliated , i didnt find the sand to be too visually apealing i thought it was going to be a lot lighter but not to worry, whille i was their the Pool Guy asked me whether id like to try some "volcanic Rock" which apparently soaks up excess ammonia, however i resisted temptation and decided to stick with the basics. PICTURES: "THEY LOOK KINDA BORING" The Sand and two rocks i found floating around looks kinda zen. The Caves for the bottom dwellers, they should be totally inert, found them down the side of the house years ago, they are terracotta and both are covered in my mums stocking for root development and attachment. So thats all ive done today and probably for the rest of the week, as i wont have time to visit a LFS until next weekend Thanks for all the advice Faewyn and hopefully its up and running in the coming month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Figure_8 Posted March 26, 2006 Report Share Posted March 26, 2006 sounds like its going to be a beautiful tank :photo: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callatya Posted March 26, 2006 Report Share Posted March 26, 2006 LMAO! you've raked it! thats REALLY zen! I like the caves, and with a few live plants in there, you'll come up with something, maybe more rocks, maybe less You need a background. Not for you so much, as for the fish, covering one area helps them feel more secure as they can be sure nothing big and scary will come and attack them from that angle. I use black art paint, some people use blackboard paint or spraypaint, or you can use cardboard, alfoil, or buy backing at the LFS. What sort of fish do you like? the BNs are ok, but they do get pretty big pretty fast, and if you were going to do that I'd say you'd need a small cannister filter to cope with the waste output (they are messy fellas) I like kuhlies for the bottom. I'm not a great fan of cories, but I know most people adore them they are very amusing with all that glass swimming and air bubbles Neons are fun, but so are cardinals and rummynoses and cherry barbs And platies, they come in awesome colours Endlers? Guppies? White clouds? Threadfins? So many choices! even danios are fun If you don't want to risk rams (which you could do, but just not add them for a month or so) what about kribs? they are pretty small and cichliddy? maybe a dwarf gourami? Or blow all this fish talk and get a yabbie :) BTW, what colour was the 'volcanic rock' he was talking about? was it that red lava rock? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckie Posted March 26, 2006 Report Share Posted March 26, 2006 You need a background. Not for you so much, as for the fish, covering one area helps them feel more secure as they can be sure nothing big and scary will come and attack them from that angle I second that. it will stop the algae growing due to the direct light coming in from the window behind too. And it looks better IMHO :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted March 27, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2006 Thanks to Mouse, Callatya and Lilli for their comments I plan to get a background, not sure what type probably just a plain colour. I've been trying to source lighting online, because i havent been to a LFS for two weeks, and by the looks of it ill have to pay big bucks for lighting i know that it will be worth it in the end, i just cant believe the prices they charge for fluoros, i was looking on age of aquariums at the compact fluoros (which are pretty cheap!) http://www.ageofaquariums.com.au/prod801.htm i know that this model is too small by 9cm would it be alright if i used it anyway, because there is no way ill be able to get a light to perfectly fit a 69cm/27inch tank. Oh and does anybody know if LFS sell compact fluro bulbs? (Does any one know where i can get cheap fluoroescent lighting?) Ive looked through the list of fish Callatya, and i like them all! which makes my job more difficult LOL I wanted really bright schooling fish for my first community tank which is why i think i'll go for small bright things like the neons and maybe the endlers, i love some of pictures ive seen of corys, Kuhli loaches are the black weird eel looking wavy edged things, right? i like platys and swordtails as well. The Volcanic Rock, was just a passing comment, he was bringing out the bag of filter sand and said "have you tried volcanic rock before, because apparently it soaks up excess ammonia" or something like that. But Volcanic Rock and Lava Rock are different, so i'm not really sure which one he was talking about in the end. Anyway Thanks All For Your Comments!!! Edit: I Can't Spell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Posted March 27, 2006 Report Share Posted March 27, 2006 That fluro is enough and will work fine. Kuhlis are amazing little things, I have 6 in one tank. They are very funny to watch play together! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Figure_8 Posted March 27, 2006 Report Share Posted March 27, 2006 black widow (black skirt) tetra's are nice too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VickiPS Posted March 28, 2006 Report Share Posted March 28, 2006 For hardy, attractive schooling fish that go well in a beginner's tank, rasboras are good fun. To get a really Zen feel, try colour-coordinating your fish to a simple theme. How about 4 or 5 albino corys, a school of harlequin rasboras and a school of glowlight tetras? Plain matte black cardboard makes a good effective backing. Add some tall plants for the fishies to lurk in -- it'd look good with a massed clump or two of all the one plant, maybe java fern or crispus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halszka Posted March 28, 2006 Report Share Posted March 28, 2006 black widow (black skirt) tetra's are nice too. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I just bought 7 for my community tank to fill out the room left by some departures. They are the liveliest little fishies I've seen in a while! School in groups of 3 or 4 and zip around everywhere :blush: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted March 30, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2006 Hey People, Just some updates on my tank. I found a rock to put in and bought some driftwood for strictly's today. still not much yet, i should receve the light and heater in the mail tomorrow/saturday/sunday (i ordered on tuesday) from Age Of Aquariums with a 100 litre sponge filter i get to run until i buy my larger one. I have to go to cambelltown tomorrow so ill probably pop into the strictlys there, (i went to blacktown the other week i was very impressed ) At the moment im looking for prices on and avaliablity on plants: Riccia (if im able to grow it) Nomaphila var. Cherry Leaf (if lighting permits) as a feature plant Vallisneria contortionist (for the backgorund plant) or Vallisneria asiatica Heteranthera zosterfolia (apperntly it can be turned into lawn) and java ferns, i have java moss :poke: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Posted March 30, 2006 Report Share Posted March 30, 2006 Cool! You should of bought your heater from AOA at the same time, they have good prices :poke: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted April 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2006 HI, Ive been slack and havent posted pictures and havent really been active on the site for the last week due to half-yearly exams , last weekend i slowly filled the tank with water, put in the sponge filter, and heater, i added one of the fish yesterday and the female early this morning, after a trip to stricty's at yagoona/bankstown today, ive finally got one of the plants i was looking for (not that i've looked much!!) Vallisneria contortionist (corkscrew val) to use as a screen for the back of the tank, chucked in some pebbles and to-dah, its kinda organised chaos, i might re-vamp the whole thing im not really ecsttic about the look. Please excuse the murkiness of the tank, i've just finished and have stirred up all the silt, and the camera and lights have issues the love-birds ^^ btw i did order the heater from AOA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Posted May 12, 2007 Report Share Posted May 12, 2007 Bump! Daniel, How is this tank coming along? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted May 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2007 its progressed, sorry didnt notice your bump jess, ill try to find some photos not going s well at the moment just did a rescape over the weekend Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluebetta Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 I would put more plants in. That might just be caus I love the look of tanks that look like a jungle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted July 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 You bumped up a really old thread heres some newer picks, when it was looking much better mostly swords, they are my favourite species of plants, all the amazon swords have come from one mother plant, and have filled in... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluebetta Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 I am glad that i did. That looks awesome now. Just how i like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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