New to the Hobby

[Pickrel]

Hey Everyone,

I am relatively new to owning fish etc... I am looking into a 100 gallon corner unit Aquarium, My question is how many RBPs would be suitable for that size tank? what sort of requirements will I need for the tank?

Keep in mind I havent a clue what different sorts of filters etc... atleast by brand or what not, so a simple list of things maybe would work better?

I am hoping to get the tank this weekend, but the woman who is selling it currently has fish in it, a couple of parrot fish and 9 clown loaches and a 18 inch Catfish, and as I want RBPs I wouldnt think they would like the current fishmates that are in it lol,

Also any suggestions for decoration and tank setup etc.. would be much appreciated

 

[jp80911]

Hi, Welcome.
with 100g I would keep 5-6 red bellies but water volume is the not the only considering factor here, the footprint of the tank is also important and depends on the dimension of your tank the number of fish could change.
does the tank come with any filters? if the current owner has fish in there she must have filter, see if any filter is included and which kind. it may be sufficient enough and you don't need to purchase any new filter. you'll also need a heater as piranhas are tropical fish, unless your room temperature is enough to keep the water at 78-82F.
as for decoration you can go with sand or gravel substrate, real plants or fake plants, real driftwoods or fake ones. its really a personal taste thing. check out the media section to see which setup you like and try to do something similar.
if you decide to go with live plants, depends on the type of plants you may need strong lighting. best to let the plants establish first before you add any piranha, you need to cycle the tank anyway so you won't be getting any piranha for sometime.

 

[Pickrel]

Thanks, when you say cycle, what exactly does that mean. as in set up the tank, and let it filter the water through etc... sorry just havent owned fish in a long time,

 

[Otherone]

Thanks, when you say cycle, what exactly does that mean. as in set up the tank, and let it filter the water through etc... sorry just havent owned fish in a long time,

He is refering to the nitrogen cycle - ammonia is generated thru decomping waste and changed into a harmless gas. Two kinds of bacteria participate in this cycle, Nitrite Bacteria (Nitrosomonas), and Nitrate Bacteria (Nitrobacteria). This process of breaking down aquatic waste is called Nitrification. Best you do some online research for beginner fish keepers theres a few things to know about this process that you will have to be proactive weekly esp. with piranha because they are very messy eaters.
You are however in a unique postion - her tank is "cycled". Best thing to do is empty some aquarium water into 5 gal buckets and put all the gravel/sand, removeable internal filter parts (Media), rocks, wood, any ornamants into those buckets. Bring it all home - when tank is empty and clean put substrate and it's water from the bucket into the tank, line the bottom with cardboard, add dechlorinator for 100 gals, fill tank with fresh water approx 75 degrees, remove cardborad,add dechlorinator again for 100 gal., then place all the orniments into the tank, set up the filter reusing al her media. At this point you will be as close to cycled as you can possibly get. Should be ready for fish with little worries - I'd start with 3 and add 2 more a few weeks later. If you don't like her orniments change them to your liking after 4 weeks. This is what I would and have done numerous times to spare myself "the wait".

 

[rain21]

have a good start, dont know how to answer your question... Bump

 

[jp80911]

also make sure you get it setup within few hrs as without food source those bacterias will soon die off. if you have well water the shouldn't be worrying about chlorine but if you have municipal water then make sure you add dechlorinator(Seachem Prime is what I use but there are more brands out there) as chlorine will kill off those good bacterias.

 

[jp80911]

if have to start new cycle, sometimes I do the following. drop a piece of shrimp or fish fillet in the tank (produce ammonia as it decompose) and dose the tank with bacteria supplement such as Seachem stability, replace the ammonia source every day or two and monitor water parameters with water test kit (ie, API freshwater master test kit). once the water is ready you an add fish, shouldn't take too long. ammonia and nitrite should be at 0ppm and try to keep nitrate under 20ppm (via water change).
once you find out what filter comes with the tank we can figure out what filter media you need or if any filter upgrade is required.

 

[Pickrel]

Hey there, I have found a better suited tank, not quite sure the gallons of it yet, but the dimensions are 4FT long x 2.5FT Tall by roughly 18-24 Inches wide, and most sites that I have tried cacluating the Gallons of those dimensions is roughly 120-150 gallons, so roughly a 4ft length by 2.5ft tall, is that a good tank for Red Belly's and how many could I have in there (keeping in mind I am talking as Adults etc...)

 

[Laticauda]

Also, you can use plain janitorial grade ammonia (bought at Ace Hardware) and add drops per day until you reach 4ppm. Or, you can calculate out the total amount of ammonia you would need to make your tank's capacity 4ppm ammonia. It's much cleaner than using fish/shrimp.

 

[jp80911]

Hey there, I have found a better suited tank, not quite sure the gallons of it yet, but the dimensions are 4FT long x 2.5FT Tall by roughly 18-24 Inches wide, and most sites that I have tried cacluating the Gallons of those dimensions is roughly 120-150 gallons, so roughly a 4ft length by 2.5ft tall, is that a good tank for Red Belly's and how many could I have in there (keeping in mind I am talking as Adults etc...)

The height of the tank isn't too important, the width would be more useful as piranhas don't up and down too much.
I would keep about 6-8 fish in there if it's 24" wide and make sure you have enough filtration.