New 90 Litre Fluval ..

Hello All !


Recently Got a 90 litre fluval Roma tank . Getting it set with slimline rock background and subtrate etc . We kinda want to do a single species tank , minimal kind of look , with just rocks and a bit of wood ( vine or moor ) .. The mrs wants Tiger barbs ..

Anyone got any good advice for a single species tank ( differant that just cichilds , shell dwellers etc ) .. Or indeed an intereting community tank that could do well and be easy in 90 litres ?


All and any ideas very welcome ...

Cheers ,

Brian .

Tiger barbs are a great choice if you fancy a single species setup. They do best in groups of eight or more. They are boisterous and nippy and can be aggressive towards other fish, especially towards slow fish with trailing fins. Ive kept them with polkadot loaches and golden barbs without any problems. Here is a quick vid of a tiger barb setup I did a while back. Like yourself, I tried keeping it simple and to a minimum.



Best of luck with them if you decide to get tigers. Great fish.

Jay

Viperbot wrote:

Tiger barbs are a great choice if you fancy a single species setup. They do best in groups of eight or more. They are boisterous and nippy and can be aggressive towards other fish, especially towards slow fish with trailing fins. Ive kept them with polkadot loaches and golden barbs without any problems. Here is a quick vid of a tiger barb setup I did a while back. Like yourself, I tried keeping it simple and to a minimum.

Best of luck with them if you decide to get tigers. Great fish.

Jay

Thats really nice Jay , cheers for that .. I like your set up . Would some corys be ok with the barbs ?

Also , what size is that tank in the vid . Our is a 90 litre , will that enough space for say 10 barbs , and maybe 3 cats ?

Thanks again ,

Brian .

That tank is a 120ltr Lido. Corys should be fine with the barbs but I would get more than 3. Most do best in groups of 5 or more. There are some guys on here who are cory mad and could guide you better on them. The 90ltr should be ok for 8-10 barbs. Tigers can get pretty stocky so you would be pushing it but I would certainly give it a go.


Edit: Looking back on that video I cringe at the sight of the airline and diffuser. Once you have sufficient surface agitation you dont need these and I would personally leave them out nowadays.


Jay

Anyone got any advice on the background ?

I Have one of the 3d slimline limestone ones , but not sure if we really like it now , dont think i want to fit it . Thinking of painting the tank back black ( i see yours is black jay , quite like it ) .


Good idea or not .. any good example to see ?

Have a look in to the BlueRam post :
www.irishfishkeepers.com/index.php/fforu...0033-black-backround

IMO best idea and I'm using it on my own.

Dan.

AquaticGardenShop wrote:

Have a look in to the BlueRam post :
www.irishfishkeepers.com/index.php/fforu...0033-black-backround

IMO best idea and I'm using it on my own.

Dan.

thanks Dan , looks good , anyone know whats its called ?

its simply car tint film, jet black colour, most car accessory shops should stock it

sheag35 wrote:

its simply car tint film, jet black colour, most car accessory shops should stock it

thanks , i will try and find some i think .. looks like a good idea

There is a french dude running a tint shop up at Airside Retail Park opposite the Texaco garage if you want to check them out. Ask for the limo black shade for the desired effect.

Jay

Viperbot wrote:

There is a french dude running a tint shop up at Airside Retail Park opposite the Texaco garage if you want to check them out. Ask for the limo black shade for the desired effect.

Jay

haha , thats gas !! , I happened to be out that way today and called in . They gave me some black avery graphics window cover , an off cut to the size of our tank . We just fitted it , perfect , howvever its shiny ! almost gloss like I would say .

Does it have to be matt ? would a black gloss like finish annoy the fish when they are in it ?



I still have the back to nature limestone background , thinking now of putting that in again. Altough the black back does look great I think , its just that shine !!

confused ... want to have it right before any water etc ...

just been reading that black gloss or matt backgrounds will makes no differance once the water goes in . Is this correct ?

don't know how it is with black ones, but i'm using mist effect foil in my tanks and it is mat effect. The foil is uside on the outside of the tank so water wan't change the surface or effect of the foil that much.

Dan.

think im happy now with the shiny black back , thinking of using black substrate too ?


am i mad ? black on black ?

peter in aquapaws once did a half black half white tank, one side black backing black substrate and coal the other half white backing white substrate and white marble, he stocked it with black and white mollies when the black mollies where in the black half of the tank they where virtually invisible and vice versa with the white mollies but when they went into the opposing half by god did they pop, maybe stock the tank with something like this which will really pop against the black substrate and backing

Now were thinking white / limestone colour subtrate on the tank floor ..

Defo going for a Tiger Barb only tank .. therefore , what ya think , black or white bottom . The Backgound is now a nice even shiny black .. anyone got any good examples we could see ..

Thanks a mil

We have it running now , water added etc . .. Looks great , however there is not too much top water agitation happening . The filter is a Fluval plus 2 , i have it set quite close to the surface . I do have an air bubble line thing . Should I add this , or do I need another filter maybe ? ( hope not ) .

Planning on letting it run for a week as is , will add heater tomorrow ..

Cheers ,

Brian .

I do have a small 4 watt aquael mini filter , suitable for a 30 litre tank max .. Woiuld I need to add this , or am i being too fussy .. Its a bit a noisey so I dont really want to add it if I dont need to ..

bmcg38 wrote:

We have it running now , water added etc . .. Looks great , however there is not too much top water agitation happening . The filter is a Fluval plus 2 , i have it set quite close to the surface . I do have an air bubble line thing . Should I add this , or do I need another filter maybe ? ( hope not ) .

Planning on letting it run for a week as is , will add heater tomorrow ..

Cheers ,

Brian .

Hi,

The Fluval Plus 2 filters are top class IMO but are only suitable for aquariums up to 90L. When stocking your 90L I'd keep levels low to be on the safe side. The venturi (the little black thing) should be placed above the water level for best effect; just make sure that it's clear by blowing through it to remove any possibe blockages. Also be sure to turn the dial on the filter up to its maximum to obtain the maximum flow. If you don't have the venturi, a piece of air hose will do exactly the same job. You should then have loads and loads of bubbles and surface agitation.

Hope this helps.

Dave

DJK wrote:

bmcg38 wrote:

We have it running now , water added etc . .. Looks great , however there is not too much top water agitation happening . The filter is a Fluval plus 2 , i have it set quite close to the surface . I do have an air bubble line thing . Should I add this , or do I need another filter maybe ? ( hope not ) .

Planning on letting it run for a week as is , will add heater tomorrow ..

Cheers ,

Brian .

Hi,

The Fluval Plus 2 filters are top class IMO but are only suitable for aquariums up to 90L. When stocking your 90L I'd keep levels low to be on the safe side. The venturi (the little black thing) should be placed above the water level for best effect; just make sure that it's clear by blowing through it to remove any possibe blockages. Also be sure to turn the dial on the filter up to its maximum to obtain the maximum flow. If you don't have the venturi, a piece of air hose will do exactly the same job. You should then have loads and loads of bubbles and surface agitation.

Hope this helps.

Dave

Thanks Dave . Venturi ? no idea what this is .. I have the filter turned to its max , near the wtare surface . It just has a blue funnel bit pumping the water through .. So i guess the venturi is an addtional bit you stick to this ?

Some people place that 'funnel bit' ever so slightly above the water level to get lots of surface agitation but it's not necessary with the venturi and probably won't do your filter any good by using that method. I've a couple of spare here if you want one - no probs. Based near Christchurch or I'll stick it in the post for you.

Dave

DJK wrote:

Some people place that 'funnel bit' ever so slightly above the water level to get lots of surface agitation but it's not necessary with the venturi and probably won't do your filter any good by using that method. I've a couple of spare here if you want one - no probs. Based near Christchurch or I'll stick it in the post for you.

Dave

thats really great of you !! Im not to far from you , Dublin 5 .. Could meet you tomorrow around midday if that suited .. maybe at jurys or on thomas street somewhere ?

Thomas Street is perfect. I'll send you a PM with my number. You won't need an air pump either for that tank - don't be wasting your money!

Dave

DJK wrote:

Thomas Street is perfect. I'll send you a PM with my number. You won't need an air pump either for that tank - don't be wasting your money!

Dave

super Dave .. yeah , already spending a fortune , and i imagine it will get worse and worse

Ok , next to the lights !

Currently there are two 18 inch whites in there , standard I assume . Can i change these for colours from say woodies , or do they have to be aquarium rated etc .. ?


Thanks all ..