Water level

5xevy

5xevy

Member #62,749
Jan 3, 2007
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Upstate, NY
I'm starting my first "real" freshwater tank this coming week (fishless cycle). I know a heck of a lot about saltwater fish and tanks, but barely anything about FW. :)

It's a 60G hex. What would you stock in there? I know it has less surface area so I won't be able to stock as much as if it was a rectangular.

Also, when I look at a lot of freshwater tank pics, how come I notice some where the water level seems low- below the top of the tank, by a few inches? Is this beneficial in some way? I don't really see the lower water level pics with saltwater tanks.

Thanks in advance.
 
preference, really. i keep my tank filled to a level where the water is pretty high, but the HOB filter still breaks the surface tension at the discharge.
 
i tend to keep my water level at or just above the bottom of the black trim on my tanks.
 
I keep all of mine at the same basic level as J double R does. I like to have some surface agitation going on, but not let it get inch or inches below. Water's starting to have more concentrated dissolved solids if you allow that kind of evaporation before a water change.
 
i keep mine as high as possible, so theres less noise from my HOB power filter. other people can probably keep it lower if theres not much "splash" noise from their HOB's. it could be from evaporation as well. or just preference.

what are you looking for in terms of fish? do you want a community type, a couple of semi-large fish, a biotope, etc? tropical? planted/nonplanted?

if you know saltwater, then freshwater will be a breeze. like saltwater, you'll need to cycle the tank first (fishless cycle, biospira, media seeding) etc. many of your marine products you may probably use in your freshwater tank. (water conditioners, equipment, maybe even some foods)
 
Yes, I'm definitely doing a fishless cycle. I honestly don't know freshwater fish. I'm thinking maybe a few tetras and cories? I don't need anything large.

I was not thinking of planted...well, perhaps some java moss or fern. The reason is because I already have enough maintenance with the saltwater (and getting another tomorrow to start a reef). I really don't think I'd have the time to take care of plants too, unless they're really simple to care for.

I wouldn't mind platies either. I already see myself frequenting this board often in the very near future. :)

I really need to research which are compatible with which. I have a month or so to do so, considering I'm going to be waiting on the cycle. Basically I just want a few fish that have personalities. Cories?
 
I forgot to add that I've always wanted a Dalmation Molly as well. I heard they can be either fresh or saltwater- is this true?
 
True about the Molly I have also been wondering about water levels having seen them quite low.. :)
 
if you want ultra-low maintenance, go for fake silk plants (i see you have a lot of SW tanks to manage) but java fern and java moss are good low maintenance plants that don't require much in the way of special lighting needs.

you can turn the 40G into a livebearer tank for mollies and platys. just be sure you keep the population in check, because you will get a lot of babies if you start out with a lot of them. understock the tank so when babies are born, you'll have room for them. plus you save some money and actually breed some fish (i know its pretty hard in SW tanks). and yes, mollies can live in fresh, brackish, or full on SW.
 
I was thinking of turning my 20G QT tank into freshwater (don't have a 40G).

Are Mollies schooling fish? It's hard to believe, yet great, that they can live in basically all different salinity levels. There really isn't one condition that they thrive in more than another, or that's preferred?
 
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