Grr tank planning.

[Sharkscott2]

Last December I purchased 8 Syncrossus Berdmori knowing full well I didn't have a tank which could serve as a permanent home for them. However my wife and I were determined to purchase a house this year. Knowing this I promised myself and the loaches that they would get a substantial tank upgrade. Currently all 8 of them reside in a 40 gallon long which is strewn with driftwood caves, bamboo caves, and java fern.

Well about 2 months ago we purchased a house and not too many weeks ago I acquired a 6 foot long 125 gallon tank off of craigslist. I have nearly finished constructing the plumbing to make it a river tank and I'm getting near some decisions which I haven't quite made yet.


First: Should I place a layer of Peat moss under whatever substrate I install? I've done this in small tanks before to inject tannins into the water and to provide nutrients to my plants. I had great success growing vals and swords in it and would like to try it again on a larger scale.

Second: What should I use for the rest of the substrate? Our product of choice is Eco Complete. But i've also read good things about. This stuff. Any other options?

Third: Stocking options:
Fish I already own which are moving over:
2 5 inch BN plecos (one is already housed with the loaches)
8 4-5 inch Arulius barbs
1 5 inch Siamese Algae Eater
8 2.5-4 inch Syncrossus Berdmorei

What else should I add?
At my loacal fish store of choice they have had two more Berdmorei loaches and two Syncrossus Hymenophysa (labeled as queen botia) for several months. I'm driving up there tomorrow should I pick these guys up if they're available? They also had some Helodes up there, but I'm not sure I want the tiger loach with the worst rep.

Should I pursue Skunk loaches or Y. Modesta? Between the two which are more visually appealing (sorry but pretty fish make the best tanks). Should I keep it a Syncrossus Loach only tank?

Top to mid tank fish:
I currently have the 8 Arulius barbs, I would love to get 2 more but would also love a second school of fish.

Rainbows (I worry my water has a GH of 40 ppm which may be soft for them)
Giant Danios (would they be ok in water temps of 78-80)

Maybe a large school (15+) of smaller barbs like Checkerboard barbs or Black Ruby barbs?

If tiger barbs are too common for me does that make me a fish snob?


Thanks for your input...

[andyroo]

Y. modesta will top-out at about the same size as your tigers (8-10", though the tigers seem to grow a lot faster). Skunks are a lot smaller (4"), though I'm not sure how much difference that will make.
Nice, well kept Y. modesta will be the pride of your tank: blue/purple flanks and orange fins. Very pretty, very curious/bright.
And yes, I am bias.
A

[Northern Monkey]

What is Grr ?

[andyroo]

Onomatopea.
The sound grouchy carnivorous mammals make.
Grr-tanks tends to be populated with angrier/grouchier species, in this case loaches like tigers.

[Sharkscott2]

Well I picked up two more S. Berdmori including one large fiesty one and I purchased 4 Syncrossus hymenophysa.

The river manifold is constructed, glued, painted (with krylon fusion) and tested.

I have a large stump on the back deck which is full of hidey holes and twisted roots. I've cleaned it but i'm not sure how long it'll take me to sink. Or even how i'll fit it in the tank. I may have to break it up a bit to make it fit.


Substrate should go in this week . I'm just waiting for it to be delivered.

[bookpage]

pics, pics, pics.....

[Sharkscott2]

Well here's some I took tonight with the cheap camera. I need to borrow the nice one from my father in law to get some respectable pictures.

New Grrr Tank










I'm hoping to get this stump into the 125 I think it'll fit standing up leaning on the back glass. If not I may split it into two pieces.



While I had the little camera out I figured I'd snap a few pictures of my 40 gallon which currently houses 8 S. Berdmori loaches and 1 Bushy Nose Pleco. I didn't design this tank for looks but rather for the needs of the loaches, so it's kind of....Jumbled looking. This camera does not do the tank justice though, as messy as it is, it looks much nicer in person.












The much quieter tank above the Syncross tank.




I tried to get some pics of my new fish but they are hiding in their Q-Tanks.

[bookpage]

Pictures are very good. Thanks for taking the time to take them.

[glenna]

I think the tank looks GREAT . Functionality is more important that pure esthetics, but that aside from that, it also LOOKS nice. BOTH are important,....especially if you live with a person who is not FISH oriented!!!

[Sharkscott2]

Well my wife is fish oriented, I seem to do all the work but she encourages me to do it and appreciates the results.

Last December my wife took some photos with much better equipment and as such they turned out much better. I posted them on another forum (there are even a few loach shots).

[piggy4]

Hi Scott, some great looking fish in your tanks if you did decide to get skunk loaches , even though not as large as the Syncrossus they would be fine , though they have a reputation for being a bit feisty , they should be okay with your choice of tank mates

[andyroo]

Scott
Some quick and entirely mercenary questions:
Where did you get your bamboo, where was the original source (where was it grown) and what did it cost?

[Sharkscott2]

There's a guy on a little twisty back road in Maryland who has a huge stand of bamboo on his property right next to the road. I guess it's like a privacy thing. Over time large pieces of it die off and fall, I just go by and pick them up.

I haven't been by in a year or so but i've heard a rumor that he cut it all down the chipped it up. I hope he left some to grow back so I can grab some down the line.

Most bamboo I see in my neck of the woods is very small diameter, this stuff is huge though, and is great for aquariums.

[Sharkscott2]

I put some substrate in the aquarium last night. Petco had some Activ-flora and Flora-max on sale for 9.99 a bag. So I figured what the hell and picked up 3 bags of the Activ-flor and 1 of the Flora-max. Both were smooth looking so they should be safe for barbles.

Since I didn't glue many of the joints in my plumbing together I was able to place the substrate in and then pour water into the intake tubes and have it fill the tank from the bottom up. I was hoping this would cut down on dust from the substrate and it seems to have done just that.

I also test fitted the stump in the tank, it fits front to back but is probably 2-4 inches too tall. So I went outside and did a little cutting. To my surprise while cutting I started smelling the wood. I'm no expert on the scent of different types of wood but this thing smells suspiciously like pine. I'm thinking I may need to adjust my decor strategy.

Another concern of mine is that the primer and cement which was used with the PVC is still giving off some minor fumes. It's drinking water safe and I gave it 48 hours to set (the instructions only required 4) so logic tells me it should be fine, but my nose makes me worried.

[andyroo]

Carbon in your filter should deal with the PVC cement toot-sweet. If worried just make sure the carbon is fresh.

Love the bamboo, keep us posted on how it performs. As it gets a "pong" (stink) and/or white bacteria/fungal fuzz leave it- don't take it out. Let the fish get a taste for it. Plecos, RTS and synodontis munch it up, as would most rasping bottom grazers, i imagine. Your filtration looks like it will be able to deal with this process until the fish get into it.
Interesting that this bamboo grows in Maryland, but i guess pandas eat the stuff in the snow so I shouldn't be surprised. >1000 species, some must do fine in cold.
Brilliant setup.
A