Setting up new tank - many questions!!

[HeliAngel]

I am in the process of setting up an Aqua One AR980 to give my 18cm pleco (that I was kindly given months ago as a 3cm bristlenose!!) a more spacious home than his current 20L abode.

I have filled with cold tap water (my 300W heater hasn't arrived yet), have the filter going and have added some washed, coarse black sand substrate.

The filter seems quite noisy and I wonder about using an internal cannister type instead. Would 700-1000L/hr output be enough? Can you even overfilter a tank?

Will the tank "cycle" effectively if the water is cold or will I have to wait until I have the heater?

I'm intending to use some mature filter media from my 20L tank to get things started rather than just transfer the fish into the new tank as I only have 5 black neons, a golden gourami and the pleco and A) I don't want to lose them and B) I don't want to subject them to high ammonia levels and burnt gills.

Does this sound acceptable or is there a better way to cycle a new tank?

I have several pieces of driftwood that I have been soaking and regularly changing the water to remove tannins and get them waterlogged. They don't float now but are still slowly releasing tannins - water mildly discoloured after one week.

Can I put these in the tank now or do I have to keep soaking until the water doesn't change colour at all?

Any and all advice gratefully received, 'cos at the moment I'm a seriously floundering fish mum!! :nilly:

[F15hguy]

Well done on the upgrade. unfortunately a lot of big plecos end up in tiny tanks.

have heard this about the AR980 filters, mine is silent though strangely enough.

if you go for a canister filter you may have to do a few minor modifications to the tank to fit in the pipes. being a 212L tank 700-1000LPH should be fine. its very hard to over a tank, it just turns into extra space normally. The tank will begin to cycle while cold, but since i prefer live fish cycles then a heater would be preferable (plus gets rid of the waiting) until then you'll need to be adding some form of ammonia to get the bacteria starting. easiest way is to add a small amount of food every day until your heater arrives, test your water for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates then add some of your fish. tbh just the 5 black neons would probably be too light a load for the ammonia to get to dangerous levels anyways.

btw what kind of gourami is it???, gold honey gourami = small species, Golden Gourami = needed a new tank as well.

if your worried about the driftwood tannins you could try boiling them, or just flick some activated carbon into your filter. they are normally harmless and personally I quite like the look of them in certain situations.

[F15hguy]

also if you state your location someone locally might be able to provide you with some live filter media to speed up the process. or you could just steal the media from your current filter to seed it.

[HeliAngel]

F15hguy, thank you so much for your advice!

The filter seems to have quieted down somewhat thankfully!

New problem is that the water has gone cloudy, is this just an algal bloom or have I seriously screwed up somewhere? :tears:

I will use 1/2 of the filter media from my little tank to set up the new filter/cycle process.

My golden gourami isn't a dwarf variety and looks just like a blue gourami only yellow and without the spots on the sides.

Whenever I changed the water in the the driftwood container, I filled it with boiling water and just let it cool so I'm guessing most of the tannins would have leached out by now?

The tannins are what is making the little tank look like someone has peed in it, yes? (I have a piece of driftwood in it with java moss growing on it)

I'm beginning to think that I should have just given the pleco and gourami to my brother and gone with guppies instead of a new big tank? :digH:

[F15hguy]

I'm beginning to think that I should have just given the pleco and gourami to my brother and gone with guppies instead of a new big tank?

never say that, you always have to go bigger!!!!, but don't neglect the small tank, try something a bit different i.e. planted dwarf puffer/licorice gourami tank

if the water is a greyish coour then it is just a bacterial bloom and will clear up once the filter settles down a bit, if its reen then its an algae bloom and will settle down with a black out. or it could just be left over "dust" from the gravel and filling process.

yeah tannins make the water look like pee to some people. I like it if done right, looks like a natural slow moving forest stream or pool.

Cambodian black water biotope tank (but looks like some of the streams I frequent)

don't forget that it takes a LOT more tannins to stain 200L of water than 20L so it shouldn't be a problem.

the gourami will eventually grow to around 15cm.

[HeliAngel]

Wow!! That tank looks way darker than my little one at it's worst!!!

Mine looks like someone maybe peed in it once, not for a whole week like the photo!!

It does rather look rather like the still, wooded creeks with all the rotting leaf mulch at the bottom.

Nicely done!

The big tank is definately a milky greyish cloudy colour. Do I just leave it be or do a partial water change?

I've just googled Licorice gourami's - they're gorgeous!! I love the blue fins and striped bodies!!

Are they available in NZ? Where from?

I didn't realise that Golden would get so big, she's only 4cm-ish now so she'll being going in the big tank!!

[Joe]

Yes Licorice Gouramis are available in New Zealand. The species we have here is Parosphromenus bintan. I'm not sure if they are available in the shops anymore. I bought two males and three females which are all doing really well and are very healthy. I currently have some Apistogramma trifasciata with eggs so after I hopefully manage to breed them then I can have a go at the Licorice Gouramis.

[F15hguy]

I have 3 left at work. awesome little fish.

I'd do a PWC (25-50%) and wait a couple of days.