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Thread: Upsizing to 3ft tank... help needed

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
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    Upsizing to 3ft tank... help needed

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    Disclaimer: My priority for this new tank is to provide a better environment for my fishes.

    Hi Guys,

    I have read through almost 10 pages of threads to get as much info as i can but still some questions remain unanswered as mine is a fish oriented tank rather than plant oriented (Perhaps some questions are too nub).

    Basically i have been keeping fishes with my wife for almost 2.5yrs. Started in a 1ft tank and now what we are having now is a 2ft tank with the following fishes

    1. Clown Loaches - 12 (ranging from 4 inches to 2 inches), all been with us for 2 years

    2. Oto - 2

    3. Cory - 12

    I know the tank is super crowded even if i upgrade it to 3 ft, thus when the time comes i will give some fishes away to maintain their comfort.

    To build a nice new home for them, i will need advise on the following

    Gravel

    Currently i am using small pebbles as gravel (only 1-2cm thick). For this new tank i will like to use sand of even soil but my noob question is how can i gravel clean for these media? (Since they are so fine don't they get suck up together as well?) I currently gravel clean every week and i do remove a hell lot of dirt. If i can't gravel clean soil or sand, won't there be a lot of dirt lingering at the bottom of the surface?

    Plants and Lights

    The clown loaches are my wife's baby and she will go to the end of the world just to make them happy. As you know loaches are bottom dwellers and don't like light very much. Thus ever since we upgraded from 1ft to 2ft tank she don't allow me to switch on the tank lights anymore (and her bedroom is rather dark and only get occasional sunlight in the afternoon). The resulted in the death of whatever plants I put into the tank (compound by the destructive nature of clowns). My question is: What type of plants are suitable in this situation that is hardy and yet doesn’t require much light?

    Filter

    Currently we are using a top load filter and I am contemplating to switch to canister type. May I ask for such canister how often do you change the sponge considering the large number of fishes in my tank?


    That's all for general enquiries for now, i will start shopping for the new tank over this weekend.


    Thanks for all your inputs and suggestions!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
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    Re: Upsizing to 3ft tank... help needed

    If I were you, I'd

    Get a 4FT or even a 5FT tank with a sump filter. A sump filter has bigger filtration capacity to manage heavy bioloads. Clown loach do outgrow 3ft tanks.

    Turn on the lights. Clown loach are not afraid of the light. They just need some time to get used to it. Get some hiding place for them incase they feel like it. There is no point having a dark gloomy tank where you can't see the fish properly anyway.

    Once the lights are turned on, get some Java fern tied on driftwood. These are quite clown loach proof.

    A thin layer of fine sand they use for cory tanks is enough. You do not need to vaccum every spot, just whatever bothers you. And so it carefully. There rest can be taken care of by the waterflow and constant poking by the bottom feeders.
    Suckerfish no eat poo poo.

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