Finally got a tank

[EOD]

Today I bought a 120G tank with stand and canopy. The person who previously owned it just couldn't keep up due to medical issues. He also provided 2x ToPlanet LED Aquarium lights that look quite nice but need to hang from the ceiling, which I cannot and really don't want to do. I would prefer to find a light that can be hidden inside the canopy. Can you all make any recommendations? He also gave me a doser machine which I've never seen before, a very large CO2 tank with 2 regulators, 2 wavemakers, and more. I'm going to snap some real quick pictures of everything he gave me for $700. I'm working diligently over the next few days to clean the tank and then I can get started on setting it up so I really need advice as far as what equipment/chemicals I may need to buy. He had 3 inches of black flourite (i think thats what its called) so I bought 3 Home Depot buckets and filled them up with that cycled substrate. It ALSO came with a HUGE FX6 canister filter that I kept the water and filter media in to help with cycling. There were a bunch of plants, some small neon tetras, a tiny puffer, and a few shrimp that he threw in a bag for me. The substrate was clearly overwhelmed with what look like those pesky pond snails so he recommended me adding salt to the substrate and leaving it to kill them, then washing it and putting it in the tank. Is that the best way to handle not getting them in my tank or should I just use new substrate? I would love to sell the 2x LED lights and get something that can be attached to the canopy or rest under it. Please help, I'm overwhelmed.

 

[Rbishop]

For me, Id get new substrate even though it would be an additional expense. And if the substrate is that infested with snails, most likely so are the filters and the media in them. It also looks like the inside of the canopy needs some serious work on sealing as it is water damaged.

 

[EOD]

So I should clean out and replace the filter media, use new substrate, and sand/seal the inside of the canopy. What sealent do you recommend for something that close to the water? Any recommendations on a good light bar that would either attach to the bottom of the canopy or rest on the top of the tank? Apologies, I've been out of the aquarium hobby for a while and I never had a tank this large before.

 

[Rbishop]

Though not the prettiest, I'd use thin coat of pond armor, but that's just me. I'm positive the build threads for ponds and for plywood tanks may offer many more possibilities.

 

[EOD]

I cleaned out the filter with aquarium water, ordered more ceramic filter media and some fritz bacteria and fritz dechlorinator. I also spent 2 hours rinsing all the substrate and put it into the tank. It would have been better to buy some but it's very expensive. He gave me what looks like manzanita wood but it needs to soak before it'll sink. I placed the lights that are supposed to hang right on the glass covers. Its probably not recommended but I don't think it's that bad. Opinions? More pics to come once it all clears up.

 

[EOD]

Any recommendations on stocking this tank? I've got some plants he gave me but I want much much more. I didn't realize scaping and planting would be so hard since the tank is so deep.

 

[the loach]

What will the temperature be, and what is the pH/KH of the water you will be using?

 

[dougall]

What would you like to keep?

And just how planted would you like it to be?

My instinct is that the lights you have really shouldn't be on the glass (especially due to the weight, not just heat) and are likely reef lights, so the spectrum will look kind of strange for a planted aquarium.


You have CO2, so plants should propagate pretty quickly if necessary. I'd personally go for about 100 pseudomugil... but that's my tastes... you realy should keep something you're interested in.

 

[EOD]

I got more neon tetras (over 30 now) and twenty white cloud minnows. I got 2 corydoras, 2 algae eaters, and 2 bristle nose plecos. Many of the rooted plants aren't doing well so I think I'll be pulling them all out. I purchased a fluval 3.0 to replace the lights I had. If anyone wants to buy the old ones let me know. I also ordered plants from aquarium coop. I hope they are a good source. I've got some fritz chemicals (bacteria) and biological Media coming in because the fx6 didn't come with very much.

 

[EOD]

I decided to get 3 discus to be my showpiece fish for this tank. One of them died 5 minutes after being in the tank. I did drip acclimate and my water quality is good so I don't know what happened
Can someone tell me how much flow is too much? Which direction should I focus it? The FX6 has 2 nozzles. Should I aim them generally upwards to disturb the top or towards the other end of the tank? Should I add one of the two small powerheads I have?