fish addiction

Hi all

recently setup a tank and i am becoming a bit of an addict. Always looking at websites or trying to get to fish shops to have a nose and see how other people setup their tanks. I setup my tank with the usual gravel, artifical plants and a sunken ship. It is not bad for a first attempt, went for a 3d backround which was a huge success.

I have to hold myself back NOT to tinker with the layout of the tank as i want to have a definite plan in my head or else it will probably end up in a mess. The tank will be staying as is for another couple of weeks till i finalise everything and get a few quid up!!

So after that long winded waffle this is what i am after people, i am after a tank setup that will give me the largest scope to house the largest variety of fish. At the moment i am leaning towards a tiger barb setup with a mixture of different barbs but i want the flexabilty to change my mind and house something else, I know its asking alot:blink:

i have a few general questions i hope you guys can help me out with

Sand or gravel, pro or cons of each. I like sand but i am thinking it might be more hassle than it is worth and will it limit my fish choice??

Live plants, do all live plants need Co2 and can they be grown in sand?
Any easy plants to grow and maintain?

Any good site for aquarium layouts, design styling contents etc.

Any other advice comments gladly welcome

Cheers GB

GB, that’s a big question, can we have a pic of your tank and work from their?
If you want plants, you need a good substrate

Stick with gravel in fresh water until your happy with your tank then you can look at sand.

C02 is not needed yet, but if you want c02 in your tank it will cost you about 170 euros for a good setup (this can be done cheaper)

Any good site for aquarium layouts, design styling contents etc.

There are loads but get your substrate sorted first

hi GB
I have always used gravel myself just prefer the look of it (by gravel i mean standard pea gravel not the all colours of the rainbow type you can get in the shops)

Plants -- i prefer real plants,quite a few plants are quite easy to grow,you dont necessarily need co2,my own tank was planted up using a selection of plants which i ordered over the internet from a firm in the UK,I received a decent selection quite cheaply,since the tank was planted i have noticed a few brown leaves here and there but i think this may be more to do with shipping in december (cold) than the actual plant quality,at the moment i'm looking at a co2 setup but i'll see how i do without for a while

What fish are in the tank at the moment...?

Hi LB

A few pics of tank, quality probably not that good





Stupid question but is it not better to pick substrate first before i plant? just thinking that if i keep the gravel and plant the tank, then decide on sand, there will be alot of messing with the plants?


Cardinal

Have pea gravel at moment the standard stuff, no pinks, purples or reds:cheer:
Current fish are a few guppies, neon tetras, platies and gouramis.

Cheers lads

GB

GB
The tank and background looks very well,what size is your tank..?
just thinking about sand,i would imagine that it would be quite inert ie; tend to settle quite a bit and then starve the plant roots of oxygen,has anyone here planted into sand over gravel another way around it would be to use the "tights method" have a look at a thread called "leaves going brown" that may be the way for you to go as that way you can move the plants without too much disturbance to the root ball

Re fish
you mentioned earlier your thinking of Tiger barbs great little fish but the have a reputation for fin nipping,your guppies may end up tailess,bear in mind when buying fish what you already have and weather or not your prospective purchase will fit in,if you see something you like in your LFS then before you pay your money go away and read up on the fish or ask plenty of questions of the guy behind the counter (tho that can have its drawbacks too,recently heard the assistant in the local pet store tell someone that you have to buy new plants every few weeks because the fish eat them )

I think Sand is a better substrate on the eye personally but the fish also like it,particularly the bottom feeders such as corys,plecos and others. I have a few plants in my sand substrate and I agree with Cardinal that it is abit more difficult to plant them,I needed to regularly put either rocks and sand back over the roots as they used to get dug up from the corys and other fish. However it can work,once the plant begins to get settled it will grow fine,I often just move around the sand at the base of the plant without actually distrubing the plant.It tends to give the room a place to grow out if you like.

Ive got one or two plants in my pea gravel substrate but its too early to say how successful they are as Ive only started planting them recently.Indeed Im trimming my tank today so will be using the cuttings to put into the other tank.
I have no Co2 in any of my tanks.
As for the question of being able to change around abit when it comes to tiger barbs,Im afraid you will limit yourself to the fish you can keep with tiger barbs. They are fin nippers and can be aggressive,even towards their own. You certainly wont be able to keep any flowing fins in the tank. Perhaps you should look at the option of cherry barbs,lovely fish and very colourful also,lots of movement and they wont bother any of the other fish you introduce.
Also Cardinal is spot on with his advise re reading up on prospective fish,never buy a fish on impulse. Ask the shop to hold it for you if you want but research it before you buy it.

Finally the tank looks really well GB,love the background,lots of open space there also,Id be tempted to throw a shoal of rummys in there!
Gavin



Gavin

Cardinal

The tank is a Rio 240 so it is 4ft approx in lenght. I would of loved to go bigger Rio 400 but was restricted by a shagging fireplace:angry:
Will have a look at the tread you mentioned.

Gavin

Very impressive looking tank you have.Like yourself i am really leaning towards sand at the moment but i am a bit scared to change till i do a good bit of research and get some advice of people with sand in their tanks.
What type / grade of sand do you have?
How do you clean it?
Do you have to disturb or rotate the sand in the tank to stop any chemical build ups or reactions?
What plants do you have in at the moment, i am intested in live plants but if i can get away from using Co2 it is a big bonus.
Does you filter not clog up when you are putting the sand in or when you mess with the sand?


I realise lads that if i go with the tiger barbs that i will have to loss a few fish, i was hoping to find a few loaches or something similar that would mix alright with the barbs. Any suggestions??
I went on impluse before on buying fish , i think everyone will do it at least once no matter what they are told but once bitten twice shy. well i think thats how it goes.

thanks again lads for the response

GB that is a great looking background

What I would do is take out the gravel and put down a good layer of something like tetra substrate or similar this stuff has nutrients in it and is ideal for plant roots



then you can put your sand or gravel on top personally I prefer gravel because with sand you get a build up of gasses in it and it compacts also with sand I find you notice every bit of debris on it and with a planted tank its hard to keep it clean if you do go with sand play sand or sliver sand is fine just give it a good wash first

As for loaches personally I love clown loaches just make sure to give them a cave or something to call home

LB

Cheers LB, i noticed you have a soft spot for clown loaches and i have to say i only seen a few today and they were very impressive. Do you know if they will mix with tiger barbs?? Also how big do they grow to, the ones i seen today were small but i am guessing they get alot bigger.

When you say a cave LB do you mean buy one of the artifical ones or make one out off a few pebbles.

I think the plant idea is out the window for the time being, just found out there are a few babies on the way, wife is having twins:woohoo: I still plan to revamp the tank after xmas but once it is setup i will need a tank as low maintenance as possible so i think looking after the water will be my limit for at least a year:blush:

Cheers
LB

Well GB
Congrats to you and the wife
are these the first GB juniors...?? i'd imagine you'll want to get the tank revamp done ASAP before your swamped out by nappies .. Best of luck with it all though

GB clown loaches are grand with barbs
If a planted tank is out for now I would get a good few pieces of bogwood and cover it with java moss like my old one below it will make a grand hiding spot for loaches you could also have moss balls and floating plants almost no work with any of them. My clown's used to live in the ornament in the pic below too, they were like a fishy santa used to swim straight down the chimney and thats where they slept



LB

Thanks cardinal, yea these are the first babies and probably the last. Oh the stress:P

I am planning end of Jan or early Feb the latest to have everything in place for my tank change. Trawling the net for info and ideas but at the moment it is a sand substrate and a mixture of the tiger and green barbs. Clown loaches are really appealing to me at the moment but would like something else to go with the barbs, a bit of a show piece. i know i am restricted with the barbs but any suggestions??

How is the moss grown on the bogwood LB and do you have to do anything to the bogwood before you put it in the tank? Where is the best place to get it.

Cheers

GB

GB how about a few severums 2 yellow like the 1 in the picture above and 2 red spotted?

The java moss is just tied on with fishing line no work at all in looking after it just take out the wood every few months and clip back the moss

LB

Impressive looking fish these severums LB will definitely have a look at these.

Thanks for the moss info seems quite easy to manage.

How is your own tank going these days LB I think you were planning a few changes yourself. Hope all is well.

GB

The tank is going good GB
as you can see from my sig starting to get lots of color, must update my thread soon

LB