ethan44 Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 Hi there, I have decided to change my cold water tank into a new planted freshwater tank. The tank is 600mm (L)x 320mm (W)x 360mm(H). I have a few questions to ask; A) What are some good fish the would be able to go into this tank, I'm pretty keen on getting some angelfish but not sure how many or if they would fit. Also what fish are they compatible with? B) I have recently collected some sand from Oriental Bay in Wellington and was wondering what are some good ways to clean the sand? C) Do plants grow well in just normal beach sand or do I need to go buy some Daltons Aquatic Mix as well?, though I don't really need a 15kg bag of it. D) What are some good looking plants that will go well in this tank? I would like quite a heavily looking planted tank, so a few different plants would be greatly sought after. E) My current filter is a basic Elite 15 Stingray filter, would I need to upgrade this and what are some good (preferably cheap) options to get a good filtration system going? Thanks in advance for all responses and sorry about all of the questions, I just would like to do this properly and not waste money on things that are not needed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael.qian Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 first of all your tank is quite small so you can't really have that many fishes, some neon tetras maybe don't know about angelfish I think they need a bigger tank. Some fish are small in pet shops but be careful a lot of them will grow very big very fast. Don't know about sand but normal gravel will be ok for planted tank, or you can add some kind of fertiliser, like the aquatic mix. Not sure about how to clean the sand but with gravel to clean it thorough you would boil it for a while, maybe the same way with sand? You filter should be ok as long as it's doing the job now, since you tank is qutie small. Lots and lots of plants you can choose from, though some have high lighting requirements so if you don't have too much lighting you should avoid those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 When I was breeding angels I used to keep one pair only in a tank the size of your one. I would stay away from fish that will end up large and stay with smaller fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 The tank is 600mm (L)x 320mm (W)x 360mm(H). A) What are some good fish the would be able to go into this tank, I'm pretty keen on getting some angelfish but not sure how many or if they would fit. Also what fish are they compatible with? B) I have recently collected some sand from Oriental Bay in Wellington and was wondering what are some good ways to clean the sand? C) Do plants grow well in just normal beach sand or do I need to go buy some Daltons Aquatic Mix as well?, though I don't really need a 15kg bag of it. Hi ethan44 A) I have angels, they are 18 months old & now are very large & kinda out growing there 200L tank (1000mm) B) I washed my beach sand in a large plastic container by turning the hose on full for overflowing the tub while stirring the sand with my hands for about an hour. C) Your plants will do better with some fertiliser but 15 kg i think will almost fill your whole tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ethan44 Posted April 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 Ok thanks I will stay away from angels for now till I get a bigger tank. Smidey, haha no the mix comes in 15kg bags but I wouldn't even need half of that. And thanks for the advice on the sand. I currently have some wcmms' in my tank and heard that they can live in warm water as well, could someone please verify this, and also what other fish could live with these? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 Ok thanks I will stay away from angels for now till I get a bigger tank. You don't need to stay away from them just perpare to get a new setup as they get bigger. I started with a 11/2 foot tank & had 4 angels that were about the size of the new 20c piece. they grew so i got their current 1000mm tank. they grew some more & now i only have two as they paired off & became to agressive. it has been great having them & watching them grow & its a great excuse to upgrade your gear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ethan44 Posted April 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 haha yes it is an excuse, but it doesn't help if you don't have the money to buy a new tank. Seeming as I only bought my tank about a month ago, I'll have to wait a good while before I manage to afford a new tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 yes, i had the same prob with my wife..... Me: But dear, we can't leave those angels in that small tank! We'll have to sell them........... Magic, big tank next week! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GZ_Loach Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 haha yes it is an excuse, but it doesn't help if you don't have the money to buy a new tank. Seeming as I only bought my tank about a month ago, I'll have to wait a good while before I manage to afford a new tank wait a bit and a bargain will pop up soon enough. i got a 3ft tank for $50, 90L 45H 45W approx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meesheelly Posted April 10, 2007 Report Share Posted April 10, 2007 another thing to consider is lighting. It generally determines how well your plants will do and what ones you can have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ethan44 Posted April 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 Ok thanks for all of that. Does anyone know where I could get some plants from in Wellington, I have looked at a few pet shops and they don't seem to have much range or stock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted April 11, 2007 Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 Join one of the Wgtn fish clubs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted April 11, 2007 Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 A) What are some good fish the would be able to go into this tank, I'm pretty keen on getting some angelfish but not sure how many or if they would fit. Also what fish are they compatible with? Sounds like you've decided against the angel fish. Good. How about some zebra danios? Easy to look after, active, stay small. You would need a school of maybe 8 to 10 fish to keep them happy. Otherwise, how about a couple of female bettas (Siamese Fighting Fish)? They can be very pretty colours and have great personalities. Note: I wouldn't advise keeping the danios and bettas together. The danios can be a bit nippy and pick at the betta's fins. B) I have recently collected some sand from Oriental Bay in Wellington and was wondering what are some good ways to clean the sand? Personally I don't use sea-sand in my tanks. Full of salt, and potentially lots of shell fragments that will raise the pH of your water and make it hard to keep a lot of types of fish. For the price of some gravel (not much for a small tank like that) I would buy the proper stuff rather than getting sand from the beach. (If you lived nearby I would give you gravel - most fish-keepers seem to have a bucket or two sitting around! Any offers from locals...? ) C) Do plants grow well in just normal beach sand or do I need to go buy some Daltons Aquatic Mix as well?, though I don't really need a 15kg bag of it. If you want to get into planted tanks seriously, the dalton's is good. For your purposes I would recommend you keep it simple and grow some really easy-care plants. Most of them will do just fine in plain aquarium gravel. If you like, once your tank is settled you can add a fertiliser tab under the gravel for the plants that need it. D) What are some good looking plants that will go well in this tank? I would like quite a heavily looking planted tank, so a few different plants would be greatly sought after. Depends on a lot of things but the biggest factor is lighting. The good news is with a tank that size it's fairly easy to get the light to penetrate all the way to the bottom of the tank and get good results. This is a big question - maybe start a new thread in the planted tank section? E) My current filter is a basic Elite 15 Stingray filter, would I need to upgrade this and what are some good (preferably cheap) options to get a good filtration system going? Depends on what you're keeping in there. With just a few smallish fish you may not need to upgrade your filter at all. If you fall into the dreaded trap of over-stocking, you'll need to upgrade. And that costs money. Go on, see if you can be the rare fish-keeper who keeps your senses in the face of temptation, and stocks your tank sensibly! Good luck! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ethan44 Posted April 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 Thanks Whetu. I set up my tank today while I am on school holidays, only took me about 2 hours. I now have about 2cm of Daltons Aquatic mix, about 2cm of sand (thoroughly washed) and a scattering of medium-small pebbles. The tank water seems to be a little bit murky, but I believe that this will eventually go away after a few water changes I have kept in my old plants that I had in my freshwater tank, just testing out if they will survive with the new heater that I have now placed in the tank. Currently I have just my 9 White Cloud Mountain Minnows in the tank, they don't seem to like the light on top though (Jebo JB09) and hide under the large rocks that I have placed in the tank like a tunnel. I still haven't decided on what fish I will eventually get, though I am interested in these small golden sucker fish (unsure on the name). But I will research the ones that people have advised. Thanks all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cichlid7 Posted April 11, 2007 Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 I still haven't decided on what fish I will eventually get, though I am interested in these small golden sucker fish (unsure on the name). But I will research the ones that people have advised. Do you mean GBA's See Pic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ethan44 Posted April 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 I'm not sure if they were gba's or not, very similar, but smaller, probably just younger. Anyone know how big they grow to? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meesheelly Posted April 12, 2007 Report Share Posted April 12, 2007 around 10-12cm. GBAs are awesome. One of my favourites. TimTam is selling some in welly, http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/3-vt20295.html?start=30 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ethan44 Posted April 12, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2007 Would I be able to fit a GBA in my tank(600x320x360)? and what else would go well with them? thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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