300 gal almost complete, need advice

[Pilze]

What filtration would you recommend for my new 300gal? I have 12 clowns and 3 kubotai in it right now. 2 clowns are around 5.5", the rest are about 4" or less. I would like to gradually increase the stock to 25 clowns and 13 kubotai. The filtration on it right now is 2x Rena XP2, 2x Hydor 4, 2x Hydor 1, and one magdrive 9.5 with prefilter operating as a rivertank manifold. The Renas are setup with inlet/outlet at opposite ends and the Koralias are strategically placed to provide eddies. I can tell that I would like a slightly faster current from end to end. To increase the filtration I was thinking about a inline external pump because I can't easily install a sump (design flaw). I think I want to use the pump with a prefilter and some flow accelerators at the surface to increase flow and agitation in the upper column. I have no idea what brand to get or if such a filter is the right choice.

Also I need advice for some dither fish. I have lots of Malaysian driftwood in the tank, so I would like to stick with Malaysian stock. I really want something that will "grow into" the tank faster than the clowns. Is there a Malaysian barb or rasbora that will grow to 6" relatively quickly?
I will post pictures as soon as the tank is "complete". The fish are really shy right now. They haven't been eating during day time feedings, so I drop a shrimp in before I go to bed. They come out very late at night and early in the morning. I will increase the temperature once the circulation is increased and I get an airpump going.
I need to deworm the whole fishtank because I noticed some signs of skinny disease while moving the fish. I have not dewormed any of the loaches because I haven't been able to find the right meds locally.

[Keith Wolcott]

For dithers, I would recommend rasboras. I have Rasbora trillineata (scissortail) andrasbora borapetetensis (brilliant rasboras) in my 300 gallon tank. These only get to 5 and 2.5 inches TL, but I think that is a nice size.

[Diana]

With a tank this large I would look into larger fish as dithers, but I do not know what fish are specifically from which areas.

I would go with Congo Tetras (Wrong continent) but they are schooling, colorful and thrive in the soft water and high temperatures that most of the Loaches like.

I am sure you will find something from the area to maintain the biotope.

For filtration I would do just what you are doing: Set up what you think will work, then add more.
By dropping various fish food into the water you can get a feel for how the current moves at different levels.
Do you think the sponge intake over the mag drive is slowing it down? If you remove the sponge and put your hand over the intake pipe is there a REALLY strong suction? If so you might get better performance by adding another intake and larger pipe leading to this pump.
Similar note about the Renas. I have built an intake manifold that has 4 sponges that T into the Rena intake pipe. Slightly better performance, and it takes longer for the intake to plug.

[mickthefish]

not knocking the trilineata Keith, i think for a tank of this size to make a show of it i would rather have Rasbora caudimaculata, they only get to 6 inches but that tail is a show piece.

mick

[Mad Duff]

not knocking the trilineata Keith, i think for a tank of this size to make a show of it i would rather have Rasbora caudimaculata, they only get to 6 inches but that tail is a show piece.

mick

Just make sure any gaps in the lids are closed off, I have lost 10 caudi's over a few months and some of the gaps they have come out of I couldn't fit the dead body back through , but they are a stunning fish and the red when in good condition really stands out.

[mickthefish]

you must have got really skitty caudi's Mark, the ones i've had in the past have never bothered getting out.
another Rasbora that gets better the larger it gets is cephalotaenia, but all this depends how readily you can get different Rasboras.
over here we don't have much trouble in getting different species.

mick

[Keith Wolcott]

I would prefer Rasbora caudimaculata too. I have just never seen them yet.

[helen nightingale]

R caudimaculata sprung to mind for me too

Mark i found a R ennalepis between the bracer bar and the cover glass. i have no idea how it got there, as it was under the bit of cover glass not on a slide, that never moves. i am sure some rasboras find invisible holes

[Pilze]

Cool ideas thanks a bunch. I really like those red-tailed rasboras, I might ask the LFS if they can order me some. However, I really think I am going to bump up the shoal of kubotai first. Unfortunately, I can't spend another dime on fish until my tax return arrives.
I think the Magdrive flow rate is being reduced by the pressure caused by the filter and spray bar. Tomorrow I am going to make the spraybar a little bit longer. Monday is my day off, I'll try and fashion a more permeable prefilter.

Everyone was much more friendly today. Almost the whole bunch came out for bloodworms in the afternoon. Many of them were begging at dinner time, so I tossed in a shrimp and it was devoured quickly.

[Chancey]

I think you may be happy with Puntius denisonii. They get large, are very pretty and swim in schools. They are from India, so that may count them out.

[chefkeith]

I've had success with Boesemani Rainbowfish. They are the most peaceful dithers I've kept and they have thrived in my clown loach river tank environment. The only problem is that you must keep the water conditions spectacular or they'll develop columnaris disease. A UV sterilizer can help with that, but small water changes still need to be done consistently a few times per week.

[chefkeith]

How much and how often you feed the fish is the question. If you feed heavily, you'll need filters than can handle ammonia spikes at all hours. You'll want a turnover rate of atleast 10x per hour for the biological filters. Powerheads and pumps don't count.

I think you'll need a few more large canisters or a sump tank or both. If the main tank is planted, then you can probably get away will less biological filtration.

[Pilze]

Cool. I think I am going to use the magdrive to build a wet/dry filter and start looking for a deal on a Fluval FX5. I don't think that will get me all they way to 10x/h. I might pick up two if the price is right. I can't do plants without a ton of light because it is pretty tall.

I am setup to do 55gal changes every other day.

[Pilze]

So I've pretty much finalized my stocking list and filtration.
I got two FX5 filters loaded with foam from tax money. I got my Rena xP2s set up with micro-filtration pads and ceramic rings. I have my Koralias working up a good bit of surface current. I'm working on setting up the wet/dry w/ the magdrive 9.5. I am thinking a new rivertank manifold is in my future as well.
I couldn't pass up two B. kubotai last week. They were a good inch larger than I normally see them. I'm ready to start adding some more varied stock. Next week, I'm going to get five more clown loaches and begin quarantining them and treating w/ prazipro. In addition I'm going to get 9 clown barbs. I'm hoping that the barbs will help socialize the loaches a bit as they are quite shy around new people. Continuing to add fish slowly, I want to build up the following total numbers.
25 clown loaches
13 B. kubotai
13 Ghost Catfish
11 Greater or regular Scissortail Rasbora
9 Clown Barbs
Finally, I've decided to go with a small school of 5-7 Bosemani Rainbowfish.

[Pilze]

I picked up four new 5" clowns in Milwaukee. So I finally made a short video. The decor is boring, I haven't decided where I want to go with it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDnZvH02NYM