125g CL feature tank!

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CoryWM

CoryWM

Candiru
MFK Member
Jan 13, 2008
368
11
48
Everett, Washington
www.tankgeek.com
So I have a non standard 125 tank. It's 48Lx18Wx30H using the calculator it shows it's actually 112g.

So I want a CL feature tank. trying to gather some ideas. wonna make something really magnificent out of this.

Tank is acrylic with a black acrylic backdrop, drilled for sump, have a decent sized sump, bigger than your normal... it has 700 bioballs in it. sponges for the bubble wall. Quiet 1 model 4000 to pump it back in.

How many Cloan loachs? Will upgrade when they get bigger. I'd love to have a 300g+ with big clowns!

Heres what I want to plan before I start this tank!
1. Substrate choices
-pea gravel- non sharp edges
-pool filter sand- light color(clowns more active with darker substrate?)
-3m colorquartz S grade black(dark, and fine.. a pain to clean)
-flourite? for plants...

2. Housing - What will my Clown loaches hang out in?
-PVC DIY caves? trying to make them not look hiddeous...
-Coconut caves? once you remove the meat, how long to they last submerged?
-Driftwood? find some and treat it, as bog log etc is too expensive around here, 8 dollars a pound... I'm not sure it'll provide enough cover as well.
-Rocks- bulky, not enough spots to hide.
-Flower pots - not as pretty as i'd like..
-Plants? I was thinking of having a ton of longer grass like plants. that they could rummage through... imagine a lion layin in the grass :ROFL:

3.Plants
-do they like a full ground cover? like dwarf hair grass up front, longer grass in the back etc? or rather just rummage around in the sand/3m?

4. Lighting. This is a tall tank.. So if i want plants, gonna need more lighting... Also, if I had a ton of plants/caves, would strong light be ok, as they have plenty of retreats/grass cover when it gets longer?

5.Tank mates? I'm thinking of having a giant schoal of clown loaches... Maybe having a giant school of neon tetra or cardinal tetras? Something to take up the higher portions of the tank.

- I already have a community tank, and a cichlid demosani/yellow lab tank... And have been wanting more clown loachs, and seeing a giant school of neons... Or some other schooling fish.

- Considering food also... Something that wont take eachother's food. sink stuff to bottom for the CLs... something that floats for the tankmates?

*****Cool ideas******
Ideas on stuff you wish you'd of done before you setup your tank. Stuff I'm considering... undergravel jet system.

Possibly making a fun current for them to play in? I have a hydor 4 koralia.

Cool lighting setups? put leds in caves/homes etc?

I'm gonna post some pictures soon. Still cleaning the tank from a saltwater setup. I got it used. it's a pain to clean, with it being acrylic, and so deep.

Please weigh in, wonna do this setup right :)
 
A clown tank, definately the way to go :nilly:

Good size volume wise to start with too.

Substrate wise; I use sand in all my tanks, which I mix with a course gravel. With some of the botia species, pictures from their natural habitat show very little gravel substrate.
Have a look at the kubotia pictures-no/very very little sand. So I think any gravel that is rounded and smooth would be fine.
http://forums.loaches.com/viewtopic.php?t=11667&start=15

Housing, I use big pieces of bogwood, I have also found pipes are highly enjoyed by all the botia loaches Ive had in with them, slate held up by stones is also great for creating little caves of various sizes.
To make the pipes a bit more appealing, get some silicone seal and mix with sand, cover the external parts of the pipes-least this way they will be a bit more pleasing to the eye.

Plants I would give a miss, unless you want to constantly replace them.... or use fake-they will almost likely be ripped up at some stage or another.

Lighting, Ive use marine white now-its very bright, and Ive also used a yellow light that gave a very murky look-my lot arn't bothered, I assume if you have enough hiding places, a big enough group, some good dithers, and a bit of time to settle in, the loaches will be out and about.

Tank mates, barbs are great, especially some of the larger 5-6inch plus species. Rainbows also make very good dithers.

Another thing to note-they appreciate a decent current, a couple of good sized powerheads/internal filters would work great, the barbs and rainbows (depending on species) will also love the flow.

I would say a group of 10-12 would do well, more the better but depends on the stocking of other fish that you want.

All I can think of for now :)


Ashleigh
 
Sounds like fun! Pack it full!
 
Ashleigh;1610542; said:
A clown tank, definately the way to go :nilly:

Good size volume wise to start with too.

Substrate wise; I use sand in all my tanks, which I mix with a course gravel. With some of the botia species, pictures from their natural habitat show very little gravel substrate.
Have a look at the kubotia pictures-no/very very little sand. So I think any gravel that is rounded and smooth would be fine.
http://forums.loaches.com/viewtopic.php?t=11667&start=15

Housing, I use big pieces of bogwood, I have also found pipes are highly enjoyed by all the botia loaches Ive had in with them, slate held up by stones is also great for creating little caves of various sizes.
To make the pipes a bit more appealing, get some silicone seal and mix with sand, cover the external parts of the pipes-least this way they will be a bit more pleasing to the eye.

Plants I would give a miss, unless you want to constantly replace them.... or use fake-they will almost likely be ripped up at some stage or another.

Lighting, Ive use marine white now-its very bright, and Ive also used a yellow light that gave a very murky look-my lot arn't bothered, I assume if you have enough hiding places, a big enough group, some good dithers, and a bit of time to settle in, the loaches will be out and about.

Tank mates, barbs are great, especially some of the larger 5-6inch plus species. Rainbows also make very good dithers.

Another thing to note-they appreciate a decent current, a couple of good sized powerheads/internal filters would work great, the barbs and rainbows (depending on species) will also love the flow.

I would say a group of 10-12 would do well, more the better but depends on the stocking of other fish that you want.

All I can think of for now :)


Ashleigh
Click to expand...

after seeing those pics, I think the pea gravel would work well. It's really cheap at home depot. full of tan and brown rocks.
 
Sounds like it'll be awesome once you get it up and running! Keep us updated...I got the same thing going just waiting on the cycle.

1. I personally really like pool filter sand. If you can get it I've heard the 3M stuff works well and I think black would look awesome personally.

2. I'd go for driftwood, rocks, and plants for decor. PVC pipes and flower pots while they may provide cover just don't do much for looks. You can really make some good hiding spots with driftwood and plants all around it. While you may want real driftwood, I got some nice looking "fake" pieces at petsmart. To me it looks pretty good and you dont have to worry about treating it. As for rocks, I went to Home Depot and picked up some flat landscaping rocks. I made two stacks of them and laid a bigger piece accross the top and made a cool looking cave out of it. Just some ideas.

3. I would cover everything with grass if thats what you mean. I think they do like to rummage through sand. Plus if ya have too many plants you may never see them :)

4. I'd go with as little lighting as possible. I understand though with real plants you'll need more lighting so I think as long as they have lots of hiding spots they'll be okay. But really try and get only the amount of lighting needed and don't go overboard.

5. I think neon tetras would also be cool. Angelfish I think would work well too. I plan on doing 10 clown loaches, a pleco, and a few pictus or cory cats.

I'm fairly new to the hobby and in the process of setting up my clown loach tank so just my thoughts and views :)
 
I had a new Idea, reguarding the plants/caves. Putting egg crate down on the bottom to help the plants hold onto.. nothing new there.

Has anyone used flower pots cut in half, then say, java moss on em? What is the growout time on it? And i've been told that the flower pots are pourous and plants will grow to them. I am just wondering how long it would take to take hold. I could always set it up, then wait a couple months to put in the loaches to let the plants take hold. Just having the tetras in there. Also does anyone use fertalizers with loaches? might be a way to keep the plants going strong with lower light.
 
Found a maybe for caves for my tank. DIY coconut caves with java moss growing on it.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.petfish.net/pix/arts11-07/caves1ac2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.petfish.net/kb/entry/792/&h=300&w=400&sz=26&hl=en&start=6&um=1&tbnid=GaCW0cMsTUIAHM:&tbnh=93&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3DDIY%2Bcaves%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den

My question is there anything else we could use? Could I use a pvc pipe, and drill a ton of holes, and sew it together like that? The goal is to get the java moss to stay on there, after the string gives up the ghost.

Trying to think of other options, as I don't know how much coconuts are in washington state... As well as, I'll need some bigger caves when the clowns get bigger.
 
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