Help With Surprise Christmas Tank!

2163 Views 20 Replies 9 Participants Last post by maggi, Jan 30, 2017

maggi

Discussion Starter · Dec 30, 2016

Hello, My dear sweet husband surprised me with a tank upgrade. While I was away he upgraded my 65 gallon tank with a shiny new 120 gallon tank. The problem is I would have set it up differently starting with the substrate as I want a planted tank. The only substrate he put in the tank was the gravel from the old tank. My question is, what can I do at this point to add growing medium to the tank without starting over? Do I even need to do that or can I get away with a planted tank using the substrate as it is with just fertilizer? Any and all advice appreciated! The tank has been up for 2 days.

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sharambil

· #2 · Dec 30, 2016

I personally would restart the tank to perfect the substrate, but you could purchase root tabs (look up osmocote plus) and place them next to the spot you place the plants. A method that is easier is the pot method. You can buy terra cotta pots, fill them with dirt, cap the dirt with gravel, and place aquarium plants in those. That way, the tank is easy to keep clean and you can move your plants around.
@Bettasbetta
@Econde

Both of these peeps are more knowledgeable than I am, so ask them any further questions.

Bump: Also, what is your budget? You could setup a really pretty scape with that tank.

Econde

· #3 · Dec 30, 2016

Wow how thoughtful of him. You could plant in that gravel if you'd like. It will be semi difficult. I've never changed substrate midway. The only thing I can think of is adding sections of new substrate a little at a time til you have your desired outcome. Mind you, usually moving substrate around should call for a water change so keep that in mind. I'm sure others more knowledgeable will chime in on this matter. Congrats again!

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maggi

Discussion Starter · #4 · Dec 30, 2016

Thanks for replying, sharambil. The thought of draining the tank and starting over is more then I want to do, mostly because I don't want to stress the fish more then they already have been. My husband told me that all of the roseline sharks jumped out of the 5 gallon bucket they were in at the same time. Fortunately for the fish the cats were not in the house at the time or they would have been history. I really don't want a repeat performance. As for budget...we really don't want to spend a fortune, but since this tank will be a focal point in our home we are willing to invest what it will take to make it a showpiece, even if that means doing it a bit at a time.

Bump: Bump:

Econde said:
Wow how thoughtful of him.
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Yes it was, which is why I didn't give him a hard time about not consulting with me before he set the tank up.

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BettaBettas

· #5 · Dec 30, 2016

maggi said:
Thanks for replying, sharambil. The thought of draining the tank and starting over is more then I want to do, mostly because I don't want to stress the fish more then they already have been. My husband told me that all of the roseline sharks jumped out of the 5 gallon bucket they were in at the same time. Fortunately for the fish the cats were not in the house at the time or they would have been history. I really don't want a repeat performance. As for budget...we really don't want to spend a fortune, but since this tank will be a focal point in our home we are willing to invest what it will take to make it a showpiece, even if that means doing it a bit at a time.

Bump: Bump:
Yes it was, which is why I didn't give him a hard time about not consulting with me before he set the tank up.

I have had to drain my 75G before just to change the substrate (and to move) and I can see why you wouldn't want to drain a 120! :grin2:
As for the substrate, I in all my tanks use just regular sand (looking to use ADA Aquasoil in the near future

) with no added nutrients to the soil. The roots on my plants are HUGE and white which is a good sign of the root system thriving. So I think with just regular gravel such as yours you should get away just fine.. what kind of plants are you looking to add? Also is your lighting pretty bright or..? But in conclusion I think that if you add some root tabs (or osmo) It will definitely help!

Also thanks @sharambil for saying im smart :nerd: ROFL
I can definitely see where sharambil is coming from though when he says he thinks restarting the whole tank is the best option, having something for years that you know isn't perfect to your eyes is pretty difficult to look at everyday (im ocd so I would be all over restarting it LOL). And if you do decide to restart the whole tank I suggest saving all that good cycled filter material(s)... As well as some water (like a 5 gallon bucket or 2 full), as for substrate that's up to you.
and I wish I got a 120G tank for Christmas with a stand c'mon Santa where's my goodies xD

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maggi

Discussion Starter · #6 · Dec 30, 2016

BettaBettas said:
I have had to drain my 75G before just to change the substrate (and to move) and I can see why you wouldn't want to drain a 120! :grin2:
As for the substrate, I in all my tanks use just regular sand (looking to use ADA Aquasoil in the near future ) with no added nutrients to the soil. The roots on my plants are HUGE and white which is a good sign of the root system thriving. So I think with just regular gravel such as yours you should get away just fine.. what kind of plants are you looking to add? Also is your lighting pretty bright or..? But in conclusion I think that if you add some root tabs (or osmo) It will definitely help!
having something for years that you know isn't perfect to your eyes is pretty difficult to look at everyday (im ocd so I would be all over restarting it LOL).

Since this was a surprise I haven't really had the time to think about what kind of plants, I'm in the process of figuring that out now. As for lighting. The tank came with s natural daylight fluorescent lights. I am assuming that I will need brighter lights. I'm okay with the gravel, so looking at it for years to come will not drive me crazy, but I would have preferred sand. The think that is going to drive me crazy is the background he put on the tank, it's shiny black and every wrinkle is visible. Fortunately that should be easy to remove and replace with something else that will calm my ocd.

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BettaBettas

· #7 · Dec 30, 2016

Sounds good

Also pretty looking fish! didn't see them before!

maggi

Discussion Starter · #8 · Dec 30, 2016

BettaBettas said:
Sounds good Also pretty looking fish! didn't see them before!

The tank has 6 Roseline Sharks, 2 Clown Loaches, 1 Rainbow Boesemani (I had 2 until recently) and a very large Pleco. They have all been living in the 65 gallon aquarium for years. They seem to be enjoying their new environment. I'm looking forward to adding to the community. Any suggestions on additions?

BettaBettas

· #9 · Dec 30, 2016

maggi said:
The tank has 6 Roseline Sharks, 2 Clown Loaches, 1 Rainbow Boesemani (I had 2 until recently) and a very large Pleco. They have all been living in the 65 gallon aquarium for years. They seem to be enjoying their new environment. I'm looking forward to adding to the community. Any suggestions on additions?

Ive never kept a fish over 5" to I couldn't say any recommendations of large fish lol

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KayakJimW

· #10 · Dec 30, 2016 (Edited)

maggi said:
The tank has 6 Roseline Sharks, 2 Clown Loaches, 1 Rainbow Boesemani (I had 2 until recently) and a very large Pleco. They have all been living in the 65 gallon aquarium for years. They seem to be enjoying their new environment. I'm looking forward to adding to the community. Any suggestions on additions?

Cool fish! I would add another clown loach or two, they're really playful in groups and I'd add some more Rainbows too. Other ideas would be one group of six+ of any of the following: Congo Tetras, Columbian Tetras, gouramis, or a pair of kribensis

I hate to say it, because you may be attached to that pleco, but having him in a plant tank will be like Godzilla running through the streets of Tokyo. Maybe swap him out for a couple rubber lip or BN plecos

edit: I took Odessa and Gold barbs off the list because I've heard of them eating plants, although I haven't experienced it...

maggi

Discussion Starter · #11 · Dec 30, 2016

KayakJimW said:
Cool fish! I would add another clown loach or two, they're really playful in groups and I'd add some more Rainbows too. Other ideas would be one group of six+ of any of the following: Congo Tetras, Columbian Tetras, Odessa Barbs, Gold Barbs.

I hate to say it, because you may be attached to that pleco, but having him in a plant tank will be like Godzilla running through the streets of Tokyo. Maybe swap him out for a couple rubber lip or BN plecos

Thank you for the suggestions! Yes, we are attached to the pleco (one of the reasons my husband got a bigger tank). But I am not opposed to trading him in. The issue of course would be getting hm out of the tank, at this point it may require a fishing pole! :wink2:

BettaBettas

· #12 · Dec 30, 2016

maggi said:
Thank you for the suggestions! Yes, we are attached to the pleco (one of the reasons my husband got a bigger tank). But I am not opposed to trading him in. The issue of course would be getting hm out of the tank, at this point it may require a fishing pole! :wink2:

lol, also I agree with a fish that has a big group of six plus! Congo tetras get fair sized and are beautiful looking

KayakJimW

· #13 · Dec 30, 2016

maggi said:
Thank you for the suggestions! Yes, we are attached to the pleco (one of the reasons my husband got a bigger tank). But I am not opposed to trading him in. The issue of course would be getting hm out of the tank, at this point it may require a fishing pole! :wink2:

Haha, The easiest way to do that is to get a bucket ready and just reach in and grab the pleco. Place your palm on his back, holding him down, thumb above one pectoral fin, forefinger above the other pectoral fin and lift him out and into the bucket. (Call your LFS ahead and make sure its cool to bring him in.)

He's so big his fins could snag in the net causing damage to net and fins

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DirtDevilDTOM

· #14 · Dec 30, 2016

I would pull the entire substrate and start over if possible - I know it can be a super pain but it will be worth it when you are done.

I used both the standard painted gravel and some eco complete in my tank. No matter how many times I try to scoop off the top layer of larger gravel, the smaller stuff (ecocomplete) always finds itself getting buried under more of it. Tough to plant anything with that stuff. But I know the feeling of draining the tank and replacing it which is why I haven't done it yet either. I'd love to plant some HC but cant because it requires a finer substrate.

I would get some more rainbows of different types to add to your bosemani. I love my rainbowfish.

natemcnutty

· #15 · Dec 30, 2016

Well, switching to sand isn't as bad as you would think and can be done a little at a time if you want.

You will want to pick up two remnant pieces of acrylic or something that you can use as barriers, create a part in the gravel and use this piece to create a separation.

Now, use a garden hose or something large enough to suck up the gravel if possible. Otherwise, scooping works well too. Once you've removed all the gravel, lay down your sand in the now empty section. Simply repeat this process until you've replaced all of the gravel with sand.

I would recommend black diamond blasting sand if you like dark sand or pool filter sand if you like white sand. Both are very inexpensive and should cost you like $30 at most

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maggi

Discussion Starter · #16 · Dec 30, 2016

natemcnutty said:
Well, switching to sand isn't as bad as you would think and can be done a little at a time if you want.

You will want to pick up two remnant pieces of acrylic or something that you can use as barriers, create a part in the gravel and use this piece to create a separation.

Leaving the fish and the water in the tank? I like it! Thanks for the suggestion.

natemcnutty

· #17 · Dec 30, 2016

maggi said:
Leaving the fish and the water in the tank? I like it! Thanks for the suggestion.

Yup, leaving the fish and water in the tank (minus whatever gets siphoned out if you go that route). I'd do bit by bit with every water change.

Turningdizzy

· #18 · Dec 30, 2016

natemcnutty said:
Well, switching to sand isn't as bad as you would think and can be done a little at a time if you want.

You will want to pick up two remnant pieces of acrylic or something that you can use as barriers, create a part in the gravel and use this piece to create a separation.

Now, use a garden hose or something large enough to suck up the gravel if possible. Otherwise, scooping works well too. Once you've removed all the gravel, lay down your sand in the now empty section. Simply repeat this process until you've replaced all of the gravel with sand.

I would recommend black diamond blasting sand if you like dark sand or pool filter sand if you like white sand. Both are very inexpensive and should cost you like $30 at most

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

The Black Diamond is a good low cost choice. Around $30 is like for the whole tank. A 40 or 50 pound bag (can't remember which) is about $8. Using the partition to take about a third of the old gravel out, you can leave it in place and wait a week or so before you take another third out and wait a week or so. That way you can give the beneficial bacteria time to settle a bit onto the new substrate.

maggi

Discussion Starter · #19 · Jan 30, 2017

Thank you for your comments, everyone. I was going to use the black diamond sand but I cannot find a source for it near me. The closest source is about 100 miles away. I am rethinking the black sand, now I'm thinking white. Any recommendations for a white sand substrate?

SueD

· #20 · Jan 30, 2017

You can see if the pleco will use a long cave of sorts. I used bamboo caves for my BNP's, but PVC pipe might work also. When it came time that I wanted to rehome the BNP's, I simply had to pick up the cave and move it and him to the bucket. I did this for 2 of them and they never came out of the cave, even when transferring again to the LFS tank.

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