JK Posted December 20, 2007 Report Share Posted December 20, 2007 Well sometime over the christmas break I will be looking to set up my new tank. It's been a couple of years since I last had tanks so have been re-familiarising myself with the process I need to go through to get it all up and running. The tank is 3 foot and approx 120ltrs and has the inbuilt filter in the hood similar to the aquaones. Are these types of filters sufficent or does one need an undergravel as well?? In the past Ive always had 2 foot tanks and run undergravel filters plus a small external but would be nice not to need to run an undergravel on this setup if possible. Also in terms of substrate, I would like to go sand. Again I'm new to this and have just used good old standard gravel/pebbles from my LFS. From what I have read on here from searching it appears best to start with about 2cm of aquatic mix and then go sand on top. How much sand are we talking here? Another 2-3cm sound about right? I've read about Daltons Propogating sand, is this the one to look out for or just one of many options available? This tank will eventually be a pretty basic community tank with a few rainbows, tetras, corys, pair of blue rams, etc, nothing too hardout. Interested on your thoughts on the above and anything else I may need to consider? Thanks and merry christmas! JK Btw - will keep updating this thread through the tanks lifecycle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkLB Posted December 20, 2007 Report Share Posted December 20, 2007 Hi JK. I can't help with the substrate questions but I think the tanks with inbuilt filters are quite sufficient. A couple of people I know run them without under gravel filters. Merry Christmas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidb Posted December 20, 2007 Report Share Posted December 20, 2007 you can't run an undergravel filter with sand. If it was me I would use just the filter which is on the tank. if you decide you need more later, you can add an external filter as well. You only need aquatic mix if you want plants too... But yes sand has the same function as gravel... A couple of cm cover over the daltons aquatic mix will stop the aquatic mix dirtying up the water... the other benefit of sand is that it looks cool, and it is much easier to see when your substrate needs siphoning. There are other alternatives to daltons sand, but make sure they are suitable for fish tanks by asking on here first... sand from the beach typically isn't a good idea. Cheers, DB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JK Posted December 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2007 Cheers guys You hit the nail on the head re the undergravel filter and the sand David - thats the reason I wanted to go without the undergravel filter so I could go sand. yes will be wanting a fair few plants in the tank so sounds like the aquatic mix is the go. So am I correct in thinking you need to plant into the aquatic mix and then layer the sand on top of the mix around the plants? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidb Posted December 20, 2007 Report Share Posted December 20, 2007 you don't NEED aquatic mix. I used to have a tank which just had about 10cm of sand as base and it was fine. Aquatic mix just provides more nutrients for plants, and is beneficial if you want to keep some more challenging plants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JK Posted December 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2007 Will probably go with aquatic mix anyway if beneficial. I presume that with sand you need to be careful when siphoning out water otherwise the sand will get sucked up and all disturbed? or do you just siphon like normal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curviceps Posted December 21, 2007 Report Share Posted December 21, 2007 for sand, look for something inert like silica sand which you can buy very cheaply as pool filter sand or from placemakers. since you're going to keep fish like blue rams, etc, that like low pH, you don't want your sand to be buffering to high pH. to siphon, just hover the siphon a centimeter or so above the sand and that will do the trick. do not do it the way you would with gravel (ie stick the siphon into the substrate). u don't need a lot of sand - i personally only go with 1-2cm or so. i think this helps reduce the possibility of getting pockets of poison gases trapped and then one day released. churning the sand once in a while also helps to prevent that. regarding filters, it depends on your load. you could always add an internal power filter or an external canister filter at a later stage. even if you used gravel instead of sand, i personally would steer clear of using undergravel filters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JK Posted December 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2007 Thanks - someone else actually told me something like that today. Said that sand would cause my PH to be too high around 7.5 for what i wanted to keep. Good to know that certain sand will be ok though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JK Posted January 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 Picked up all my bits today. Ending up going with black flourite (sp?) sand. Apparantly its excellent for the plants but can make things a wee bit cloudy when disturbed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JK Posted January 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 Rightio I gave the black fluorite a good wash and also mixed it with some dark grey fine gravel. After washing it I've put it in the tank, filled with water and put in some Aqua Plus. Filter is running and I've also started to cycle the tank but shoud I have actually done this if there are no fish in it? Should I put a wee bit of food in there to create some waste and get things all happening? The tank was still looking a bit cloudy last night (whitish/smokey) but its clearing a bit more each day. I have some rocks and drift wood to put in the tank and set up today. Next thing will be plants. Will also take my first readings tonight and see how things are looking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 Sounds like its all going well.. Regarding cycling your best to have it all running for a few days, but if you don't add any ammonia you wont cycle adding food could do it, I personally would wait a few days for everything to settle and pick one of the smallest fish you wanted to add or a guppy or something and add that it is so small it wont create a large bioload and the tank will cycle, if you have test kits keep an eye out but I doubt it will create anything that will make a difference, then slowly build up your stock a couple of fish a week or 2.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JK Posted January 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 Cheers mate Just got home and the tank is looking alot clearer now. Will look to introduce a small hardy fish to get things going on the weekend and also do the 2nd dose of cycle then as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted January 13, 2008 Report Share Posted January 13, 2008 JK post some pics please...can't wait to see your substrate in particular! Caper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JK Posted January 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2008 Will do Caper. It's looking pretty basic at the moment. Only has a couple of rocks, some driftwood and a few plants plus a couple of neons getting it all going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JK Posted January 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2008 As I said, shes pretty basic at the mo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted January 14, 2008 Report Share Posted January 14, 2008 OH, I like I like Caper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JK Posted January 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2008 OH, I like I like Caper Well thanks Caper! Always good to get positive comments! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gill Posted January 14, 2008 Report Share Posted January 14, 2008 Wow it looks great. I am setting up my first tank and i have used the aquatic mix and gravel on top but when we were trying to get the filter to work it all got stired up. I think i need to get a gravel cleaner so i can get rid of the aquatic mix which is now sitting on top of the gravel. So to be honest right now i am not that impressed with the mix as my plants dont look to be doing too good either ,i wonder if they have been planted too deep . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JK Posted January 20, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2008 Got a couple of bristlenose today from my LFS. They are about 4cm and seem to be enjoying their new home Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishkeepa Posted January 21, 2008 Report Share Posted January 21, 2008 Bristlenoses are great fish for most tanks active and playful just remember they generally need to be fed. Cucumber and zuchinni are great as they have high water content so they breakdown without polluting the tank much. Otherwise spirulina tabs/wafers are good too. I found if you feed them they grow faster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JK Posted January 21, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2008 They are real characters alright, one keeps trying to swim up inside the filter lol Been feeding them some tabs with algae and spirulina in them plus them seem to love the wood. Will try some fresh greens tonight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JK Posted August 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2008 Quick update Took a pic of the tank today - been a long time since any update but here it is At the moment its stocked with a male Blue Ram (lost my female so after another), a pair of Neon Dwarf Rainbows, 6 x Glowlight Danios, 2 Giant Danios, 2x Juli Corys, 2 x Dwarf Loaches. After a couple of bristlenose, a female blue ram and I'm not sure what else is on the cards....open to ideas :-? Might take a few better pics and start a thread in the right section when I have the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkLB Posted August 17, 2008 Report Share Posted August 17, 2008 Your tank looks great :bounce: and I'm not sure what else is on the cards....open to ideas :-? How about some more Corys? Until yesterday I had 2 Sterbai Corys in my planted community and I seldom saw them. I got another 6 and now they swim around in a school. It's very cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicmack Posted August 17, 2008 Report Share Posted August 17, 2008 awesome tank - what are the high grasses at the back? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JK Posted August 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2008 awesome tank - what are the high grasses at the back? Not 100% sure but it bloody grows like wildfire! Got given a few strands from a mate a few months back and since then it has really taken off. Have had to cut it back every 2nd week or so. About time i revised the planting setup and put some decent quality stuff in there. Thinking about rearranging the whole tank when i have some time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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