Movin' On Up!

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wolfsburgfanatic

wolfsburgfanatic

Fire Eel
MFK Member
May 17, 2008
1,121
5
68
Frederick, MD
Currently cycling a bigger tank for my Violet Goby :headbang2

I was planning to wait a couple more months but I saw this tank advertised in the paper with stand and accessories for a price I couldn't refuse. The women said it was a 55g, but I checked the dimensions and its actually just a 40g. Still has a nice footprint though (48x12.5x16.5 - exterior). Currently running with the 2 AquaTech 30-60 filters that came with it, but it seems to be producing a pretty intense current in the tank, so I may take one off before its time to stock the tank (I put a leftover fake plant in the tank tonight to check, and it looks like a palm tree in a hurricane). I decided to use the same black/red gravel set-up I have in my 20G since its a breeze to clean and my Goby seems happy enough with it.

Currently cycling the tank with FW and planning on gradually upping the salinity once the tank is established and the fish are in and adjusted. I know the BB can be very sensitive to changes so I'll be mindful of that when the time comes.

Any ideas/suggestions/constructive criticisms are welcome; I know I'm a Noob, and I'm here to learn :D

My boxer was unimpressed:
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Looking Better:
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why not make it brackish now so the bacteria won't be affected by the rising salinity later
 
Honestly I've been going back and forth on this since I filled the tank saturday night. I can't acclimate the Goby in his current 20G due to his tankmates and I don't want to just throw him straight from fresh into brackish. I have heard of at least one person who basically put the fish in a bucket with water and slowly added salt to that until it was the same salinity as the tank and then put the fish in, but I don't know if thats what you're supposed to do or if that would be too quick and drastic? :confused:

Plus I'm using a gourami I had in an established tank to cycle this one so I know I'm not introducing any unwanted disease or parasite to the tank. But I guess I could just use guppies if I were to cycle it brackish...
 
I'm glad that you're moving up to a bigger tank. It looks nice so far.

Not to overshadow the event of you getting a more suitable home for your goby, but just today I got a Perfecto 210 gallon tank for $450. The dimensions are 6' long, 2' wide, and 30" tall. It was from a guy who had had it in his wall for about a year down in Florida. He moved up here and his wife made him sell it because it is too much of a hassle to transport it again (They're moving again). It has an overflow system, for which I still have to buy a pump and tubing, and a light, but no lid (which is bad because violet gobies are known to jump). It'll be awhile before it's ready for my gobies (violet and bumblebees).

For the whole acclimation thing, I would make it brackish, then get some guppies and acclimate them to brackish water using the drip method (put them in a bucket and drip in salty water), and add them to the tank to cycle it, and then use the same method when you introduce the goby. But, that's just my opinion.

Oh and, if you have the money, I would suggest sand over gravel, because it's less likely to damage the fish's fins, especially when it digs. You could compromise by having a mixture though.

Nice dog BTW.
 
I agree on the sand. Just 1" thick though or you're going to have to do a lot of weekly stirring of it. I'd cycle the tank at the SG the goby is at now.
 
Dragon cqzzzzz<;1913036; said:
Oh and, if you have the money, I would suggest sand over gravel, because it's less likely to damage the fish's fins, especially when it digs. You could compromise by having a mixture though.
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I thought about doing sand in the first place, but it seems that everyone who has it is always complaining about the upkeep. Plus, the filters I'm running would make it impossible to cover with a sponge like most do for protection. I might go ahead and remove some of the gravel and add some sand, but it'll have to wait a week or two.

Any suggestions for keeping the sand out of the filter?

Dragon cqzzzzz<;1913036; said:
Nice dog BTW.
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Thanks. Just got her about 3 months ago, but she's definately made herself part of the family :D Congrats on the new tank, btw. I wish I had the room and money for something bigger...


I appreciate the responses!
 
IMO. The more filtration the better, I would keep the second filter and pack it with BIO media or add a canister or something similar. The sand shouldnt be that bad. fine vs course sand may get sucked into the filter a bit more. It will just require replacement of your impellors a bit more often. The upkeep is really not that much more than gravel, you can vacum it pretty easy. If you want to do it- dont wait until your fish are in and your already cycled.....that will jsut be a mess.
 
I've never had problems with sand.

My only real complaint about sand is that I have a lot of guppies and when they poop on it the waste doesn't sink into the substrate, but collects on the surface and looks nasty. It's easy to vacuum it off though, and if you reach down and move the sand around, it releases a lot of waste that has sort of dissolved and collected beneath the surface. I usually kick up that stuff before I clean.
 
gavigan1;1919636; said:
IMO. The more filtration the better, I would keep the second filter and pack it with BIO media or add a canister or something similar.
Click to expand...

Might do that- Would Bio-Balls do the trick or would you recommend something else? I've looked through the Beginners Guides in the Filtration section, but admittedly I'm still pretty clueless on that end of things.


SAP627 said:
nice dog
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Thanks, I think she'd spend all day on MFK if she could type :ROFL:

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BTW, both of those tanks have been redone and look much better :D
 
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