The Aquarium. => Tank Logs. => Topic started by: mossy on January 15, 2008, 05:26:13 pm
Title: 5ft biotope help?
Post by: mossy on January 15, 2008, 05:26:13 pm
as some of you may know im waiting for a 5ft x 24"H x 15 tank to arrive my plan is to turn it into a community tank, so i just have a few quick Qs i was thinking of a amazon biotope is this the best idea or maybe a different area will give me a larger fish choice ? or would it be better just to brake the rules of biotope and just pic what i like? a idea of the type of fish i was aiming for is a shoal of mid water fish tetras,rainbows,barbs and a nice group of bottom dwellers clowns,corys,chain . the main fish of say 5 or 8 angels,or any other form of cichlid and maybe a odd ball with a clean up team of shrimp ?? so if you have any suggestions on anything or of types of fish it would be a huge help
thanks :)
Title: 5ft biotope help?
Post by: johnny70 on January 15, 2008, 05:31:33 pm
I was going to do a amazon biotope for my apisto's but decided it was daft because there were just too many fish and plants I liked from all over the place:)
Nice shoal of clowns would be my choice:) but thats me. you could have a lot of corys in there, then some mid and top dwellers.
If you do want some biotope idea's have a look HERE (http://fish.mongabay.com/biotope.htm) a very good site for info o what suppose to be true.
JOHNNY
Title: 5ft biotope help?
Post by: mossy on January 15, 2008, 06:02:22 pm
thanks m8 :) yep i love clowns and they wer my 1st choice but they seem very common, a huge shoal of corys sweeping across a 5ft tank would look awesome
Title: 5ft biotope help?
Post by: johnny70 on January 15, 2008, 06:14:27 pm
yeah, sp00ky put a you tube video of wild corys, looked awesome.
JOHNNY
Title: 5ft biotope help?
Post by: johnny70 on January 15, 2008, 06:20:09 pm
Found em:D
HERE (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWIVCdLOImw)
HERE (http://youtube.com/watch?v=uX8UUSqLdcE)
JOHNNY
Title: 5ft biotope help?
Post by: plankton on January 15, 2008, 06:33:12 pm
I wouldn't suggest mixing clowns and corys. The corys will look magnificent, but the clowns will be astounding in a 5' tank.
Title: 5ft biotope help?
Post by: clownman on January 15, 2008, 11:18:45 pm
aaaaah but how many corys could you have in 5ft…:D in my 5 joe is 10 angels 4 biiig plecs, 3 clowns a couple of whiptails, 5 zebra loaches and a pair of firemouths (soon to move out) angels are the star attraction… if you want to plant it then dont have plecs in there… well not big ones anyway, they have destroyed mine :(
Title: 5ft biotope help?
Post by: minipol on January 15, 2008, 11:59:43 pm
The Amazon bassin is to big to make a "biotope" out of it. It's huge, so you might be better of choosing a side river or even an area. What would look cool is sand, wood, some rocks, huge shoal of cories, different L numbers, group of pictus (yeah i like catfish :)), group of angels, a couple of mesonauta and a big shoal of cardinals.
Title: 5ft biotope help?
Post by: mossy on January 16, 2008, 09:48:46 pm
well i think the clip johnny posted has made me defo want a try of cory hmm maybe 10 or 15 :O . and yep J i do want it planted only 1 plec going in no matter what .. as i just cant get rid of him hes a albino sailfin BN plec ( who also trys to eat peoples fingers if they poke the glass) im thinking angelfish corys plec ( maybe a pair of somthing abit spesh ) and tetras ... just hope the angels dont get too nasty
Title: 5ft biotope help?
Post by: clownman on January 16, 2008, 10:15:30 pm
joe put the tetra species you want to keep in before the angels then get some very small angels to grow up with them, they should leave them alone then, big shoal of cory's maybe 30, big shoal of cardinals maybe 40 or so… be fantastic
Title: 5ft biotope help?
Post by: mossy on January 16, 2008, 10:29:36 pm
thanks for the tip J :eek: 30 40 i wasn't thinking that big thats huuuge !!! will i be able to do that ?? and should i stick to a size minimum because of the angels? oh this may sound like a reeaaallly stupid Q to ask but i was planing to carpet half of the tank with some kind of short plant but will that not stop the corys getting to the sand ??
Title: 5ft biotope help?
Post by: clownman on January 16, 2008, 10:44:47 pm
it will a bit, but they'll probably enjoy foraging in it.
dont see any reason why you cant have that many, as long as the filter is up to it.
not sure what you mean about min size mate
Title: 5ft biotope help?
Post by: johnny70 on January 17, 2008, 07:09:04 am
You need at least 30 corys to get that effect mate:D that will look fantastic:D:D:D
Are you meaning minimum stockiing level Joe? because of the angels?
You could use dwarf hair grass for carpeting and the fish can still forage in that.
JOHNNY
Title: 5ft biotope help?
Post by: CATFISH mick on January 17, 2008, 10:24:03 am
I'm liking this SA biotype tank setup Joe and I would agree with the big school of cories (sterbs or pandas) in these numbers would look really special.
Maaate you gotta do a tank log from start to finish for all of us that would be something really grand. Can't wait.
Title: 5ft biotope help?
Post by: mossy on January 17, 2008, 05:15:45 pm
just got the phone call its in !!! picking it up sunday! yes i will do a tank log :) sorry J i meant do i need to keep the fish above a certain size like nothing too small because the angels will eat them or will it not matter?
Title: 5ft biotope help?
Post by: clownman on January 17, 2008, 05:19:06 pm
as long as you introduce the small fish to the angels while they are small, everything should be fine. just dont be tempted to introduce new small species when theyre adults or they will probably become food…;)
Title: 5ft biotope help?
Post by: mossy on January 17, 2008, 05:41:57 pm
ok will do ... 1st things 1st i need to sort out how im going to filter 300ltrs of water without using a external filter as its in my bed room . i looked at getting a jumbo juwel filter but my lfs said im looking at about £100 £150 i also thought about having 2 fluval 4s in it but lfs said it wont be any good ??
Title: 5ft biotope help?
Post by: cabbie on January 18, 2008, 01:34:32 am
why are you so worried about externals, i have never had one leak on me yet. but i have had 2 tanks leak. whatever you do dont go for fluval internals.
Title: 5ft biotope help?
Post by: johnny70 on January 18, 2008, 07:11:10 am
have you had a look on eaby or aquarist classified, normally people selling them on there when they rip them out. or a wanted add on A.C. may work, just a thought.
Whats the ltr volume of the tank?
JOHNNY
Title: 5ft biotope help?
Post by: clownman on January 18, 2008, 08:54:44 am
joe, i have a 405 on mine, while its a faff to prime it doesnt leak, though you will need to supplement it with something else… for my extra filter I took a cheap 1200lph powerhead and a piece of pipe that fits the bottom of it cut slots 1mm wide in the pipe at 5mm intervals along 2/3 of the length, blocked the end with a hot glue gun and pushed the pipe into a piece of sponge, bit ugly but it does the business
Title: 5ft biotope help?
Post by: mossy on January 18, 2008, 07:48:58 pm
its 300ltr johnny yep il have a look around at a juwel just wasn't sure if the juwel jumbo would be enough ?
Title: 5ft biotope help?
Post by: johnny70 on January 18, 2008, 07:52:09 pm
Have a look on juwel website about Jumbo's capacity, mine is a compact for the 180
JOHNNY
Title: 5ft biotope help?
Post by: gratts on January 18, 2008, 07:57:43 pm
Is it upstairs? Make sure it won't go straight through the floor, 300 litres will weigh a fair amount :eek:
Title: 5ft biotope help?
Post by: mossy on January 18, 2008, 07:58:47 pm
yep they do a 300 and a 400 comes with a 1000ltr pump i may up it to a 1500.. and yer live in a old house i did have 6 tanks all lined up will defo take the weight also have a sofa tv weight bench in my room .. not realy a norm bed room.. found a jumbo for £50 with everything even a 300wt heater
Title: 5ft biotope help?
Post by: clownman on January 18, 2008, 09:05:12 pm
you may need another heater as well joe, i have 2x 300w in mine, but see how you go, as being upstair the ambient may be a bit warmer anyway
Title: 5ft biotope help?
Post by: johnny70 on January 18, 2008, 09:13:29 pm
I have the 1500 powerhead on my 180, its a monster:)
JOHNNY
Title: 5ft biotope help?
Post by: mossy on January 20, 2008, 10:18:40 pm
Never again !! getting the tank in my room nearly killed me and my dad it wasnt light and my stairs are steep but we got it in in the end looking at the length of it will a juwel jumbo be up to the job ?? or should i go for a filter at each end ?
Title: 5ft biotope help?
Post by: clownman on January 20, 2008, 11:13:29 pm
:24: i should have warned you about that joe… not the lightest of things are they:D
i got 2 in mine, 1 external 1 internal
Title: 5ft biotope help?
Post by: mossy on January 21, 2008, 08:40:00 pm
no they are defo not J had to stand it on end at one point .. i was like "dad if i slip on a step remember .. save the tank!" so what would you do in my case as i cant have a external have 2 internals ?
Title: 5ft biotope help?
Post by: clownman on January 21, 2008, 08:45:41 pm
if i had to go internal in something that size then i would take minipol's idea, (which i partly do), he has 2 big powerheads sucking through sponges (how i described a few posts back) overfiltering something that size is a bit of tall order
Title: 5ft biotope help?
Post by: mossy on January 21, 2008, 08:57:26 pm
ok m8 il prob have a go .. if i cant talk dad into a external;) ... this is a quick pic of it too :D
[attachment deleted by admin]
Title: 5ft biotope help?
Post by: Hayley on January 21, 2008, 10:28:32 pm
Now that's what you call a tank!!
Title: 5ft biotope help?
Post by: gratts on January 21, 2008, 10:42:57 pm
Bedroom doesn't look too shabby either with ya widescreen HD! :cool:
Title: 5ft biotope help?
Post by: mossy on January 21, 2008, 10:59:00 pm
yep im chuffed with it i think Chelsea ( the boxer ) thought it was for her kept poking her head in it :D haha yep lcd tv and vodka on the floor what more do i need
Title: 5ft biotope help?
Post by: Sharon on January 21, 2008, 11:15:22 pm
Joe, that is quite the tank!!!:D Can't wait to see it filled...I can't recall if you've mentioned what your stocking plans are?????
Title: 5ft biotope help?
Post by: johnny70 on January 21, 2008, 11:38:59 pm
Nice tank mate! we were looking at big ones today:o
Nice boxer too, you need to get some pics of her on her too:)
JOHNNY
Title: 5ft biotope help?
Post by: cheriewalpole on January 22, 2008, 12:26:39 pm
Wow what whooper of a tank ...i wish i could fit one that big in my house !!!
Title: 5ft biotope help?
Post by: plankton on January 22, 2008, 08:08:18 pm
Looks very nice :)
Erm, you did test for leaks BEFORE you took it upstairs, I take it ?? (he said playing Devil's Advocate......and you don't mix that with vodka ;) :D )
Title: 5ft biotope help?
Post by: mossy on January 22, 2008, 08:53:18 pm
going to be a community tank sharon . thanks johnny we got her last year (rescue ) yep il get a better pic of her... and the other 3 ;)( not all boxers ) ..and no ian i have not filled it yet touch wood *touches head * it should be fine if not, well i will prob have a mental brake down and wont need a fish tank in a padded cell :D ...P.S i painted the wood on the tank black today
Title: 5ft biotope help?
Post by: johnny70 on January 23, 2008, 12:01:36 am
good job on the resuce boxer mate:D we had a boxer, she passed a couple of years ago, had a bad heart:) mad dog's:D
You decided on your stocking/planting yet?
JOHNNY
Title: 5ft biotope help?
Post by: mossy on January 27, 2008, 09:54:45 pm
yep i kind of have it sorted out m8 but things may change still getting the tank it place and moving dif tanks around. thanks yep boxers are fantastic dogs