Greetings fellow AC members - new member here! =) :hi:
Thanks for taking the time to read my posting. I've been an aquarist for.....well, not very long. Hehe.
Here's my deal and hopefully someone, who has much more experience than I, could give me their opinion:
Currently, I have a 20-gallon tank with a Green Spotted Puffer and a Blue Gourami. In another 10-gallon tank, I have just one Green Spotted Puffer (They were both together originally, but the bigger one kept taking chunks out of the smaller one, I needed to separate them immediately). Puffers are doing great (eating well - brine shrimp, snails, frozen plankton, etc.). Happily buzzing around the tank in their little "blimpish" bodies, checking out decor and occasionally "napping" in a corner. I keep them older one in a medium SG (~1.010) and the smaller puffer and gourami in low-end SG (~1.005). The older puffer is kind of stressed (no stress-lines, but he possesses a dark face....therefore I need to take immediate action to get this puffer in his rightful home and environment). Eventually, the Gourami will have to be in a tank that does not possess the SG the puffer will require as he matures (sad, they get along so great).
I recently came across a 55-gallon tank (With stand! How rare!). I understand that GSPs require AT LEAST 30-gallons a fish - therefore I am taking the necessary steps to do so. I understand tanks should be filtered at a rate of 10 times an hour (meaning a filter that cycles 550 gph). I wish to add substrate (aragonite) instead of gravel (what a pain).
In order to get this tank cycled properly - I have but a few questions:
1 - Bio-Spira / Turbo Start: Bunk? Which would you suggest to use, or not to use, and why? Or any other suggestions pertaining to cycling a tank.
2 - Safe to put both of the puffers in the same tank again? Given that I provide plenty of hiding spaces, heavily stocked, etc., would it be wise to keep them separate or safe to try?
3 - Substrate: aragonite. Okay, this is where I'm a newbie - I've been using the gravel and cleaning with a gravel vacuum. How in the world does one clean sand? Do you stir it (I can't imagine that it would be very effective in terms of floating particles)?
4 - Sufficient water movement: how much is sufficient? I understand the proper aeration of the aquarium is not necessarily "bubbles", but rather the gas exchange at the top (bubbles that pop at the top). How much is sufficient aeration for proper dissolved oxygen in the water? Is there such a thing as "too much"?
Again, I greatly appreciate your time in reading this post. Newbie here. Hehe.
Thanks in advance,
Emily
Thanks for taking the time to read my posting. I've been an aquarist for.....well, not very long. Hehe.
Here's my deal and hopefully someone, who has much more experience than I, could give me their opinion:
Currently, I have a 20-gallon tank with a Green Spotted Puffer and a Blue Gourami. In another 10-gallon tank, I have just one Green Spotted Puffer (They were both together originally, but the bigger one kept taking chunks out of the smaller one, I needed to separate them immediately). Puffers are doing great (eating well - brine shrimp, snails, frozen plankton, etc.). Happily buzzing around the tank in their little "blimpish" bodies, checking out decor and occasionally "napping" in a corner. I keep them older one in a medium SG (~1.010) and the smaller puffer and gourami in low-end SG (~1.005). The older puffer is kind of stressed (no stress-lines, but he possesses a dark face....therefore I need to take immediate action to get this puffer in his rightful home and environment). Eventually, the Gourami will have to be in a tank that does not possess the SG the puffer will require as he matures (sad, they get along so great).
I recently came across a 55-gallon tank (With stand! How rare!). I understand that GSPs require AT LEAST 30-gallons a fish - therefore I am taking the necessary steps to do so. I understand tanks should be filtered at a rate of 10 times an hour (meaning a filter that cycles 550 gph). I wish to add substrate (aragonite) instead of gravel (what a pain).
In order to get this tank cycled properly - I have but a few questions:
1 - Bio-Spira / Turbo Start: Bunk? Which would you suggest to use, or not to use, and why? Or any other suggestions pertaining to cycling a tank.
2 - Safe to put both of the puffers in the same tank again? Given that I provide plenty of hiding spaces, heavily stocked, etc., would it be wise to keep them separate or safe to try?
3 - Substrate: aragonite. Okay, this is where I'm a newbie - I've been using the gravel and cleaning with a gravel vacuum. How in the world does one clean sand? Do you stir it (I can't imagine that it would be very effective in terms of floating particles)?
4 - Sufficient water movement: how much is sufficient? I understand the proper aeration of the aquarium is not necessarily "bubbles", but rather the gas exchange at the top (bubbles that pop at the top). How much is sufficient aeration for proper dissolved oxygen in the water? Is there such a thing as "too much"?
Again, I greatly appreciate your time in reading this post. Newbie here. Hehe.
Thanks in advance,
Emily