View Full Version : switch tanks???
rinmouse
08-12-2007, 9:01 AM
Hello,
I was looking for some advice. I currently house 3 largish angels, 6 hatchets, 3 cory cats, 4 lemon tetras and about 10 neons ( I know, I know, the angels will eventually eat them, but my husband REALLY wanted them) in a planted 55 gallon tank - 48x12x18. I just got a new 60 gallon, that isn't a hex but not really a regular rectangle shape either. It's 41 along back wall, 30 along front wall, 22 high and a width of 11 to back wall, 18 to front wall.
I want to put african cichids in one of the tanks, I haven't decided what species yet. But I was thinking that they would probably be better in the longer tank, even though the new one is a bit bigger 60g vs 55g. I would prefer not to switch them over if I don't need to as it's an awful pain. What do you think? Also, looking for stocking advice for the new tank :)
dieselman
08-12-2007, 9:54 AM
That sounds like an interesting shaped tank, can you post a picture of it?
rbishop
08-12-2007, 10:04 AM
Beveled front hex. I'd put the "africans" in the 55. You may need to do some research and narrow down the choice of "africans". There are many different ones with various food and water requirements.
rinmouse
08-12-2007, 1:52 PM
So here's the new 60g. Got it for a steal as our superpet is converting over to petsmart. reg $1171, got it for $247...
rinmouse
08-12-2007, 1:54 PM
I've been researching as to what will work, but would like suggestions. Obviously the huge africans are out.
rbishop
08-12-2007, 2:12 PM
Any particular Lake?
tarheels910
08-12-2007, 2:26 PM
Yes you should pick a lake. Eaither lake Malawi or Tanganyika. If you chose Malawi you can do haps, peacocks, or mbuas. I would do the africans in the new tank. It would be a pain to switch over the other tank.
rinmouse
08-12-2007, 2:28 PM
well I've been looking at malawi mbunas, some of the smaller ones like Pseudotropheus saulosi , Pseudotropheus sp. "Acei",Labidochromis caeruleus ,Metriaclima estherae smaller as in 5" or less... but as I said, I'm open to ideas. Unfortunately cichids don't seem to be particularily popular where I am, so I might have to order online to get anything, which I am a little hesitant about...
tarheels910
08-12-2007, 2:37 PM
Well I personally wouldnt order online because its cheaper to go the pet store. Well the Saulosi are going to be really hard to find. As for the Yellow Labs, Acei, and Red Zebras are some of the more common and easy to find Mbunas. In the 60 gallon, 5 of each of those 3 species (totaling 15 fish) and some type of syndontis catfish would make a good stock. The tank should consist of lots of rockwork and no live plants. Good luck setting up the tank.
rinmouse
08-12-2007, 2:47 PM
so you really think the 60g will be ok for them even though it's a bit shorter?
tarheels910
08-12-2007, 2:55 PM
Yea. It would be better than going through the trouble of taking everything out of the other tank and putting it in this one. I still cant believe you got that tank for $247. Im so jealous.
rinmouse
08-12-2007, 3:02 PM
it was ridiculous. We got a new maple stand for our 55g reg $289 for $72. I wish I had have gone in sooner as all the 70g and 90g they had were already sold, which is why I ended up with that one. Hell, it was such a good deal I had trouble not buying the other mahogany(sp?) stained oak 60g that's the same as the one I got!
tarheels910
08-12-2007, 3:08 PM
I would have bought like 3 tanks.
Don't they call that tank a FLAT BACK HEX???
rbishop
08-12-2007, 6:05 PM
Don't they call that tank a FLAT BACK HEX???
I think you are correct...
rinmouse
08-13-2007, 7:29 PM
So I decided to make the switch. We had to empty pretty much all the water out of the 55g to put it on the new stand anyway, so I figured might as well move everyone over and put the cichlids in the longer tank. It didn't take TOO long with both of us working on it. I moved MOST of the water over, but still had to add more tap water (conditioned of course) to the new tank than I would normally do with a water change. Unfortunately, or fortunately as the case may be, our tap water has a pH of about 7.6, bad for angels and neons, good for africans. So because I ended up adding quite a bit more new water, my pH has gone up considerably... Hopefully everyone will be OK!
rbishop
08-13-2007, 7:38 PM
Looking very nice!
star_rider
08-13-2007, 8:31 PM
that is going to make a good angel tank..lots of vertical room.
now you have an excuse to go shop for a centerpiece driftwood for it ;)
tarheels910
08-13-2007, 9:04 PM
7.6 isnt too much for angels. Africans like it 7.8-8.2.
rinmouse
08-14-2007, 1:06 PM
do you think this will send my tank into a cycle? I read on another post that switching tanks can do that. I used all my old gravel and filter media and all the plants and rocks/wood are all from the other tank as well. I thought there would be enough bacteria to keep me from entering a new cycle. Feeling a little paranoid, so I checked my levels ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate10
Should I bother checking my ammonia/nitrite daily?