Upgrading Loach Tank Need Input: 120 gallon

[loachmom]

Yes, I read about that in this thread

Click Here

[LoachOrgy]

I just ordered the larger one from petco. its 130 with all taxes and codes. it says its for up to 175 gallon tanks. I thought this was a good deal. I can still change it and cancel the order. Does anyone else think I should just go for the two 14" canisters for 150$?

[Tinman]

I threw a used piece of filter media in to help start mine Loachmom.Took right off.In 24 hours my water looked incredible. Two is cool so you can clean one every 2-3 weeks and not affect your tank as much. The additional flow is great too .I turn over about 1400 Gallons per hour in my 150.Which lesser package Nancy? Do you mean it should come with? Tinman

[MTS]

I'd worry about chemicals in the pot scrubbers. Get Eheim's Ehfisubstrat or ceramic rings that you'll only buy once. Then buy extra foam pads since you can only wash them out so much and they most likely will be cheaper by mail-order than your local store.

[MTS]

If you are keeping the HOB too, you should be fine with the canister you ordered.

[LoachOrgy]

Nancy, Thanks for all the links. Your awesome! I just canceled my petco order and ordered 2 from petsmart. I actually stopped by petsmart and petco today to look at the filters. They looked good. But the store boxes were open and they only had one. Also the price was around 180$. They had the xp4 for 250$.

Thanks for all the info everyone. I am so excited now. I got two xp3's from petsmart. I found the intake filters that are roughly 6-8" long like tglassburner suggested from home depot. So now I am halfway there. I was planning on cycling the tank for two months before I actually add any loaches. I was thinking of adding the cherry barbs and some cory cats to cycle the tank. I was also going to add some of the bio media from my current aquaclear to the new renas right before I start cycling it.

I think I am going to stick with this light colored sand that I have now. I already have the sand and don't see any reason that I can't still use it. I have double the amount of river rocks that I have in the tank now. And when I initially setup the big tank. I will plot a large image background from the giant format printer at work. I like designing my own background. Its fun. I have a place set aside for both tanks in the new apartment. The tank will be the centerpiece of the living room. The 55 gallon initally will be setup in another room. This larger new tank will cycle in the living room where it will remain for another year or so. It will be cycling until its ready. Then I can make the move all at once. I am going to transfer the tank from the current apartment to the new apartmen as well. This will be quite easy with the amount of 5 gallon buckets I have. I have also read the fyi about moving tanks. I have also moved tanks several times so I am not worried. Its only about two blocks away so the move is simple and easy.

[Tinman]

You will be happy with this decision and so will the fishys

[NancyD]

Tinman--I was thinking the xp3 came with the ceramic stars (as in filstars) I must have remembered wrong, I think about buying 1 every time there's a good sale.

MTS-- It's tglassburner that uses them, I don't think there's anything on them. Here's the thread with a pic http://forums.loaches.com/viewtopic.php?t=5868&start=15

I've read of using different things for the biofiltering-- plastic hair curlers is 1 I remember.

[crazy loaches]

I'm a bit late chiming in (been out of town) but wanted to add a couple things. The XP3 typically does not ship with any bio media, just the foam filter pads and the micro filter pad (and a carbon pad or bio-chem zorb or whatever it is). I think their bio-stars are way overpriced too. And one thing folks often overlook is that you dont have to buy media from the same company, bio media is bio media. In one XP3 I am using Seachem Matrix bio media and the other I am using plastic pot scrubbers. I'm actually doing some experiments right now with mechanical filtration since the 'stock' filtration seems to clog quickly and reduce flow. Once I get some data I'll post it for anyone with XP3's (or 2's or 4's).

I do like the Rena Filstars but they are way overrated, one wouldnt dream of running a tank as big as they say they can do. I'd rate an XP3 for the 55-75G range max without supplimental filtration. On my 75G I run 2 XP3's and also 2 powerheads and I still get dead spots, but I have lots of obstacles and an pushing the stocking limits. BTW dont be fooled by the large print 350gph rating on the xp3, thats the pumps rating. The actual filter rating (with media) is like 187gph if I remember correctly. I have also used the Eheim Pro II and am very happy with it, even though it cost double the Rena.

[loachmom]

I'll be watching for your results from your experiments, crazyloaches.
Thanks

[MTS]

Just noticed your original post and was wondering about black sand. Have you found black sand that won't affect pH? I have a black and white sand in my cichlid tank and really like the look but it keeps pH high so I can't use it for the loach tank.

[LoachOrgy]

MTS, I don't think I am going with black sand now. I saw something on caribesea's website with black sand.

http://www.carib-sea.com/pages/products/super_nat.html

not sure if it affects ph. it does say its not good for barbels.

[ckk125]

IMO, dont use a substrate of 1 strong colour only.

For example, plain black will result in clowns being very very dark..as if they got burnt in ashes..

Think wisely.

As for whether it hurts the barbel or not, i doubt it would be because of the sand, if yes, it would be nothing compared to when clowns sparring with each other.

[Martin Thoene]

On the subject of cannister filter rating to tank size advised by manufacturer's, these tend to be largely irrelevant. They are normally based on averagely stocked "community" tanks.

Loaches are a specialized form of fishkeeping compared to "community" tanks. Such sizing rule books should be thrown away. Going for the largest filter you can house or afford is usually the best way. Choosing multiple, slightly smaller filters is probably even better for long-term sustainability and maintenance purposes.

I like Renas actual filter a lot, but generally I've found the hosing accessories to be junk (my opinion). I don't know what the current fixtures are like, so I may be off-base, but the first stuff they provided when these filters were released was laughable. I just switched to Fluval intake 'J' tubes and spraybars. Cheap but effective.

As regards biomedia, I use ceramic rings. Years ago, I built a home-made humungous overhead filtration system for a tank. It featured a huge trickle tower that was filled with home-made media. I used 'Cardex' (sure there's probably other brand names). That's the plastic board used for signs, etc. Two sheets of plastic divided by vertical walls that make up a thin box-like structure. I cut this up into pieces about as big as half a postage stamp. At this size, they fit together en-mass in a very irregular way that creates multiple surfaces for bacterial growth and avoids "tracking" of water through the media. i.e. it has to move all over the place to get through, which increases the dwell time with the bacteria.

Pot scrubbers work too. Make sure you buy the ones without a detergent capsule core. Hair curlers are more applicable to really large scale commercial trickle towers rather than home-aquaria sized systems.

Martin.

[crazy loaches]

IMO, dont use a substrate of 1 strong colour only.

For example, plain black will result in clowns being very very dark..as if they got burnt in ashes..

Think wisely.

As for whether it hurts the barbel or not, i doubt it would be because of the sand, if yes, it would be nothing compared to when clowns sparring with each other.

Every tank I have seen done well with all black substrate really looks stunning, every color in the tank really pops out. Not sure why you think it would cause them to be dark, or is it a pigment response like greying out? Its often overlooked but some sand is very rough and abrasive, more so than you typical aquarium gravel. It just moves out of the way easier so its abrasive affects are diminished, but still there. The black sand I am considering, 3M ColorQuartz (s grade) is quartz sand encapsulated with colored ceramic making an alomst perfectly spherical and smooth particle. TMS is also not any cheaper than 3M is here, so there is no benefit( for me anyhow) to get the TMS other than the extra drive with my truck to get the 3M.