meesheelly Posted July 1, 2006 Report Share Posted July 1, 2006 Hey guys i have just got a new tank, 1000mm X 500mm, which is just the right size for me at the mo, i would like bigger but until we move and i stop being a student this will do. :lol: Went to bunnings today to buy wood coz i am building a stand. Hopefully getting that finished but next weekend and i will start to set it up then. I want to do a planted tank so any suggestions for setup would be appreciated, i am a bit unsure as to what substrate to use... So my octagonal tank will be up for sale in a couple of weeks if anyone wants it. But yay, now i get 250 litres to play with! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted July 1, 2006 Report Share Posted July 1, 2006 i have aquatic mix and sand, some have aquatic mix and gravel, some have just gravel/sand etc etc. i like to have the ferts under my substrates, its especially helpful for heavy root feeding plants. i also push the 7's balls by the plants for the greedy ones and use excel. if only my light was sufficient they would be growing wonderfully :lol: i find its best to set up your tank and plant it, then wait for it to cycle with the plants in it and no fish, that gives you time to fiddle around with everything. doing a cycle with fish in is alot more work and isnt that great for your fishy buddies. congrats on the new tank and have fun planting and stocking it, make sure to post some pics of it too :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meesheelly Posted July 2, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 2, 2006 Thanks alot. Where do i get aquatic mix from? I have heard about lacerite, is this good? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted July 3, 2006 Report Share Posted July 3, 2006 i got my aquatic mix from the pet shop, it looks like bag of clay. i have no idea about laterite though :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meesheelly Posted July 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 I have now built my stand although i think i may give it a few cosmetic touches this weekend before i set the tank up. I am going to get some of that aquatic mix, and my driftwood has been soaking for a week. do i let the substrate and water settle for a few days or do i plant it at the same time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meesheelly Posted July 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 Heres the stand... Also what are some good plants to use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
me love fishy Posted July 7, 2006 Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 Hiya I would put some of the water from your existing tank in the new one (if its still up and running), that will help with the cycling of the new tank. I did this when I bought a new tank and waited for 3 - 4 weeks after set up was complete before adding fishies and did a partial water change once a week and I didn't lose a single fish when I added them. Just beware that some plants like brighter light than others when buying, I have made that mistake before and wasted money because of it. What fishies are you thinking about putting in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meesheelly Posted July 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 yeah i was going to put water in, and some gravel. I want to do a planted tank so i will try to invest in a decent light, but i will also make sure i dont get any with high light requirements. Im not sure on fishies yet, will most likely be a community tank. Any suggestions on what fishies i should have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
me love fishy Posted July 7, 2006 Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 I have a four footer and I have some golden gouramis and blue gouramis and a couple of angels as well as a few smaller but rounder bodied tetras (round bodies so they don't become lunch for the angels) I also have some golden rams and a plec a siamese fighter and a chinese algae eater. I really like the gouramis and angels and find them very easy to keep, they seem pretty tolerant to disease and water changes too, from what I have seen, I have had some of them for over a year. I did try discus orginally, I had two but they both died and since they cost $90 each I wasn't keen to try again so opted for angels instead. I also have a little tank and was so pleased to be able to finally have a few bigger fishies and glad I can have them too. Not wanting to promote any particular pet shop but if you are near an animates they are having a special on 15th July for lots of things for aquariums. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meesheelly Posted July 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 i know animates is going to be so packed. Its in my diary already! I was thinking angels, coz my boyfriend like them, and he also likes swordtails, they can be his fish. I like bettas and i have some honey gouramis at the mo. I like chilids but i am not to sure about them. :-? Im still quite undecided. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted July 7, 2006 Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 Big ones! (lol) Joking. Cichlids! :-) lol Careful with that, its only been a week and my baby Firemouths have learned the fun way to wake up neons in the morning is to suck on their head Hopefully they learn sleeping near the gravel isn't the best idea. I love the Discus Cichlid + Cardinal tetra combo, failing that I'd have to pick community with Cardinal or Neon Tetras, swords/platty, maybe a pair of small angels, maybe collect a few fancy guppies, yano the usual. Piece of driftwood and some bristlenose plecs. As for plants, baby tears looks quite good in my new tank, haven't read up on it, but its growing strong and doesn't flop about. There are others I like but I have no idea what they are called. I used the 7 balls. I didn't use an aquatic mix substrate because I tend to move stuff around a lot, and I wanted to be selective to which plants got the extra fertiliser. Also using a DIY CO2 setup, having no problems with pH but I think this is helped by running the setup with harder water. In the last week most of my plants have grown about ~20% or more, and Java fern looks less like death. At 1m length, probably a dual 3Ft fluro setup would do nicely, with your choice of 2 tubes, then add another set later if you need and as budget allows. Think they're about $150ish from memory. Have fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meesheelly Posted July 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 yeah i was going to go for a dual 3 ft. are chilids hard to keep? do they get on well with other fish? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meesheelly Posted July 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 i heard that i layer of daltons aquatic mix, followed by a layer of daltons propagating sand then topped by gravel is good. What do you guys think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted July 7, 2006 Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 angels are cichlids the thing about cichlids is they can be agressive and they can be territorial, it ranges from species to species though. angels can be ok, some are nasty and some are placid as except for breeding. all breeding cichlids practise parental care and thats when their nasty nature can come out :lol: it depends what type of cichlids you want to keep. angels are generally ok for fish that dont have long fins. like all fish if it can fit in their mouth theyll eat it, and it very often happens with them and neons. a few of the other commonly kept cichlids are rams, discus, kribensis etc. im not sure of any sites that could give you some pics of different cichlids but it would be worth doing some research, you want fish that are commonly placid if theyre to be kept in a community situation. good luck choosing your new fishies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meesheelly Posted July 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 i like kribs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meesheelly Posted July 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 too many choices!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted July 7, 2006 Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 there is no such thing as too many choices, its called not having enough tanks to put the lot in :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meesheelly Posted July 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 so we have added a back and sides now. I cant add cupboards though because i wont be able to open them where it will be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted July 7, 2006 Report Share Posted July 7, 2006 Hi meshelley! I like your stand Very nice job. You are lucky to have so many fishies to choose from, we don't get many different kinds here Plants, I only have artificial too chicken to try to the real ones 8) What do you have in your other tank that you are selling? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meesheelly Posted July 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2006 platies, betta and honey gouramis. ive had guppies and neons. I wanna try something a little different this time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted July 8, 2006 Report Share Posted July 8, 2006 Like discus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted July 8, 2006 Report Share Posted July 8, 2006 Nice work on the stand! Puts me to shame. :lol: Could be some money in that yano Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meesheelly Posted July 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2006 i just hope it will hold the weight of the tank :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meesheelly Posted July 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2006 so i have been trying to decide on fish. this is what i have come up with... 1 male and 1 female betta 3 dwarf gouramis 4 angel fish 8 Harlaquin Rasbora 1 Red tailed shark 1 Bristlenose I will eventually add these to my 250L tank How does this sound? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meesheelly Posted July 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2006 oh and here is the tank and the stand. im just finishing off the hood tonight. and waiting to get some plants and then i will actually fill it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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