Need help with new 180 gal

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dexman1349

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Oct 25, 2007
167
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Denver, CO
First off, the largest tank I have ever owned was a 55 (and I have 2 currently), so any analogies to it would be helpful.

I just bought a new 180 gallon tank to move my community cichlids into. A picture is below. I managed to find one on Craigslist for $250 for everything (stand, lights, UGF w/ 6 powerheads + 3 more in the box, and a bunch of misc other things). I know it needs a serious cleaning and that will be addressed over the next few nights and this weekend. The green box on the bottom right is filled with driftwood which also came with it.:headbang2

Every tank I have ever had used an HOB filter, but from what I've learned from everyone here is that they do not apply to many tanks >75 gallons. I don't have a ton of money to dump into this, so I was curious as to what kind of filtration is necessary? Would the UGF w/ ph's be enough?

As far as getting everything cycled, I would assume it's similar to smaller tanks: Introduce ~10% of the total expected fish into the tank, wait a few weeks (testing the water frequently), then slowly introduce the rest of the fish by adding ~15-20% more every couple of weeks (more or less depending on water quality).

The fish I have in another tank and would be transferring into this tank are:
1 - Black calvus
1 - Masoni Peacock
1 - Ngara Flametail Peacock
1 - Neolamp. Lelupi (firecracker orange)
1 - Yellow Lab
1 - Arcocentrus Centrarcus
1 - Gymnogeo. Meridonalis
1 - Cryptoheros Spilirum
1 - Thorichthys Mixteco
1 - Firemouth (thor. Meeki)
2 - Pictus Catfish

The CA/SA's are all 2-3" and the Africans are 1.5-2.5". I'm expecting all to reach a full grown size of 5-6" but this tank will look seriously understocked even when they are all full size.

Any ideas on any additional fish that would fit well into this tank? I'm looking for fish of compatable size (obviously no 4' eels, or RTC's), that are relatively peaceful. I'm considering adding a couple more pictus cats, another Firemouth, yellow lab, perhaps some female peacocks. Any thoughts?

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maybe you can make a DIY wet/dry unit with one of the spare 55's you have? That'll give you plenty of bio filtration (and you can use that as your primary unit), while then supplementing w/ the HOB filters you already own.

There are some really innovative designs by fellow MFKers here in the DIY section. :) Might be worth a shot.
 
dexman1349;1322644; said:
I don't have a ton of money to dump into this, so I was curious as to what kind of filtration is necessary?

Would the UGF w/ ph's be enough?

As far as getting everything cycled, I would assume it's similar to smaller tanks: Introduce ~10% of the total expected fish into the tank, wait a few weeks (testing the water frequently), then slowly introduce the rest of the fish by adding ~15-20% more every couple of weeks (more or less depending on water quality).




quote]

You can look on ebay to find a used canister filter or you could go for a FX5 which is just a godsend. If it is cheaper, then a large canister filter plus 1 or 2 HOB's is all you'll need untill you can afford more powerful filtration. Keep in mind the fish are only small.

Ditch the UGF's and sell them for cash. You can use the powerheads for current or sell some aswell. I recommend keeping 2-3.

Now with cycling, set up your filtration first, meaning to connect all the hoses, pipes etc add decor then fill 'er up. Next step is to grab every dirty filter cartridge or even moderately clean one and thoroughly rinse it into the new tank. This helps to seed the new filters and gives them a kicki start in the cycling process. At day 3 or so, you may want to toss in a large market shrimp or two. This decaying shrimp will cause ammonia which is gladly absorbed by the beneficial bacteria which is a very good thing. Makes them multiply.

Test your water every 1-2-3 days for Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate. When you test for those 3 things and find 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and nitrates under 50 ish, then you may add fish.
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Are you going to keep the 55G tanks running or just ditch them for the 180?

Actually UGFs have their place...they are a bit primitive but do work and work well when used properly, but they are kind of high upkeep and are often out done by canisters and power filters. I definatly would not use that UGF as a sole filtration system tho. If you wanted to use it, id get ATLEAST 3 Emp 400s to go with it. Actually Id probably get myself 3*XP3 canisters and 3 Emp 400s.

Personally if this were my tank(obviously its not) Id do a larger ca/sa community tank of more peaceful cichlids and a large group of red hook silver dollars with a big shoal of pictus cats and a couple of large flame plecos. But I dont know jack about africans so..Im of no help in that department. It should be a lovely tank when complete...good luck with it!
 
You could also use three aquaclear 110's and customize the media like run one with double foam, one with foam and double carbon, and one with all bio, or any combinatiln in between. The three filters would give you enough filtration for a 330 gallon tank, so should be plenty, also with the UGF the water curculation will be excelent.
 
A bit OT, but I remember when AC110/500s were like 35bucks online, now the cheapest you can get them is like 60bucks. Guess the rise in popularity also made for a rise in price :)
 
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