tell me if im stupid

[bnjamin10]

I've been lurking for awhile after some friends got a tank to try and get a feel for what type of tank I would want in the future. The plan is to get a 55-75 gallon tank depending on what craigslist can land me for a GT and maybe some danios/ barbs for filler while the gt is small.

After doing some research I think i want to use an external filter since I'd rather have too much filtration rather than too little, but does anyone have any suggestions on what brands are the best value? I also am completely lost on what type of lighting to use and need some suggestions on what lighting will be best to bring out the colors of the fish. (I plan on using black gravel as a substrate and from what i've read GTs hate plants so thats not really a concern of mine). I'm in the columbia, sc area and I've scouted some petsmarts and a couple of lfs on my lunch breaks, but if anyone familiar with area have any recommendations on where to buy fish/supplies or even some red flags to look for I'd appreciate it.

I'm still a month or three away from the pulling trigger on this project so if anybody has some recommended reading before I try to tackle this thing, that would be appreciated also. Sorry for all the questions, but if I'm going to spend a good chunk of change on this tank I'd like to get it right. This would be my first tank since the failure of 10 gallon in gradeschool, but from what I've read up GTs are pretty hardy fish and would most likely be able to withstand my rookie mistakes. Thanks for the help and please tell me if i'm being stupid.

 

[kdrun76]

Most tanks on Craig's list will come with lights and filters, making your questions irrelevant. Use what they come with!

If you are buying... get a Marineland Emperor 400 as your primary HOB filter.

With a really low bioload it will be all you need. As your fish grow you will want more filtration.

A generic rule for filtration, you want all of the water in your tank to flow through your filters 5-8 times an hour. Five times an hour is a lightly stocked tank, 8 times is for a typical tank stocking. If your stocked real heavy, just get a bigger tank!

An Emperor 400 moves 400 gallons per hour, divide that by 55 gallons and you have 7.2...Perfect! Divide that by 70 gallons and you only get 5.7, acceptable but low.

Personally I think all tanks should have 2 filters. Filters fail. Period. Its a fact. One day you will come home from work and for some reason the filter isn't moving water. (Plugged hoses, lost syphon, power outtage and it didnt' restart, GFI tripped....) If you have 2 filters running you have a MUCH higher chance of coming home to live fish.

If you get the 70 an Emperor 400 paired up with almost any other filter you want would be grand. With the 55, you might want to go smaller than the 400 and get a pair of Emperor 280s as almost anything paired with the 400 will be a LOT of water current.

 

[cichlidfish]

I say you are smart for thinking a head and planning. I would try and get the largest tank you can (75g) for the GT. Canister filters are the best, because they hold a greater voloume of water, but power filters are good too. I use rena xp3 filters and emperor 400 filters together on my 55g and 72g. Over filtering is always better, but is no substitute for water changes. Over filter + weekly water changes=healthy fish.
Hope that helps..

 

[jclyde13]

For filtration on a tank that size, it's really just personal preferrance as to whether you get an HOB (hang on back) or a canister, since some HOB's have flow rates up to around 400gph. You'll need about 300-400gph for your setup (300 for the 55g or 400 for the 75g) so two AC110's would work fine. For canisters, probably the cheapest option (that would still be a reliable filter) would be a Cascade 1500, but a better (and twice as expensive) option would be a Rena XP4.

For your substrate, I'd strongly recommend sand rather than gravel. With gravel, waste material decomposes and falls into the space between each pebble making it much harder to clean (which can result in ammonia and nitrite issues), whereas with sand, everything sits on top where it can easily be sucked up with a siphon or python. If you do go with sand, make sure it is aquarium safe and won't effect your pH or water hardness, and also I would try to get a larger-grained sand so it won't get sucked into the filter and/or siphon.

 

[Natalie]

Your plan sounds like a good one. You mentioned looking around LFS and Petsmarts for supplies. I rarely buy any aquarium equipment in stores, because almost everything is much cheaper on sites like www.fostersmithaquatics.com, www.petsolutions.com, and www.bigalsonline.com. Canister filters are usually the absolute cheapest on ebay, so if you search around you should easily be able to find the best deal. I recommend having canister filters on any tank larger than 30g. They just do a much better job in cleaning up after large fish, in my opinion.

Also, you mentioned you're a rookie so I have to ask: how are you planning to cycle the tank? I'd definitely plan on preparing the tank before you add your GT, because although it's a fairly hardy cichlid, the cycling process is pretty damaging and can compromise the long-term health of the fish.

 

[FishingOut]

Not to derail you but I really would really advice if your just getting started into the hobby try something other than Green Terrors. They are notorious for intestinal problems, and IME then have to have exceptional care to remain healthy.
If you are only looking to have 1 specie in the tank maybe a Red Devil or Severum or Jack Dempsey. A nice personable hardy fish like that really is best for starting out. Plus you still can have whatever dithers you decide to go with.
Any aquarium light fixture and lights are fine. Blue cool lights bring out colors the most. For filtration, All filters will have a rating per gallon. Just be sure to have enough whether you go with a canister or HOB. A good heater, and you will be all set to grow some fat healthy cichlids.

 

[jclyde13]

Not to derail you but I really would really advice if your just getting started into the hobby try something other than Green Terrors. They are notorious for intestinal problems, and IME then have to have exceptional care to remain healthy.
If you are only looking to have 1 specie in the tank maybe a Red Devil or Severum or Jack Dempsey. A nice personable hardy fish like that really is best for starting out. Plus you still can have whatever dithers you decide to go with.
Any aquarium light fixture and lights are fine. Blue cool lights bring out colors the most. For filtration, All filters will have a rating per gallon. Just be sure to have enough whether you go with a canister or HOB. A good heater, and you will be all set to grow some fat healthy cichlids.

+1 Although, don't go with the RD or JD unless you get a 75g (75g minimum for both).

 

[R0B]

Not to derail you but I really would really advice if your just getting started into the hobby try something other than Green Terrors. They are notorious for intestinal problems, and IME then have to have exceptional care to remain healthy.
If you are only looking to have 1 specie in the tank maybe a Red Devil or Severum or Jack Dempsey. A nice personable hardy fish like that really is best for starting out. Plus you still can have whatever dithers you decide to go with.
Any aquarium light fixture and lights are fine. Blue cool lights bring out colors the most. For filtration, All filters will have a rating per gallon. Just be sure to have enough whether you go with a canister or HOB. A good heater, and you will be all set to grow some fat healthy cichlids.

He makes a good point and I can agree with him that GTs are prone to internals so some caution should be taken, but if a GT is what you want you can protect your GT, as long as you feed a pellet with garlic like the NLS's Thera A formula, never feed live and always keep your tank clean, you should not run into problems with internal parasites. It could still happen but not likely.
Like others have said you need to cycle your tank. The best way I have found to do this is to use a bacteria booster and add your filler fish around the same time. The reason you do this is because just adding the bacteria booster to your tank will not properly cycle your tank by itself. It needs a source of ammonia (the filler fish waste) for the bacteria to work on. Add your GT a week to two weeks later.

Hope this helps, Good Luck!

 

[Morledzep]

ok, just for a different opinion, more options are always better.

on a 75 gallon tank i would have one canister filter, in my house they are all fluvals, so i would have a fluval 404 or 405 depending on which you can find for less money on ebay. AND a minimum of 2 foam Hydro V Pro foam filters driven by a Fusion 600 air pump.

on my 100 gallon tank (that is overstocked) i have 4 Hydro V Pro foam filters and a fluval 405. and i do a 30 gallon water change twice a week.

i know there are other canister filters that are less expensive, and from what i hear from the folks on this forum, they are reliable and do a good job. But i've been sold on Fluval filters, i KNOW what they are capable of and there is room to add bio rings, and additional filtration if you feel you need it.

like i said, just more options. things to consider.

 

[FIN01]

On the filter topic, I love my Rena xp3! I agree a canister is the best option for a tank this size. I also run sponge filters in each of my tanks. In the end though, go with what is provided in a deal on craigslist. If they don't give include what you were looking for in filtration then add on. Aquaclears are awesome, too! I also think maybe something other than a GT would be a better choice, but there are a number of great pellets that include garlic. I personally like Omega One foods as a staple pellet.