Freshwater Sharks Tank Setup and Care Suggestions

Well, first check what the wattage is.
Then take that number and divide it by the gallons in your tank.
That will give you the WPG (watts per gallon)
Anything below 2 wpg is low light, anything lower than .7 most likely will not grow plants.
You can always upgrade your lighting, but that can get costly. And then you'd need to have CO2 injections, so high light is more complicated.

 

Well, first check what the wattage is.
Then take that number and divide it by the gallons in your tank.
That will give you the WPG (watts per gallon)
Anything below 2 wpg is low light, anything lower than .7 most likely will not grow plants.
You can always upgrade your lighting, but that can get costly. And then you'd need to have CO2 injections, so high light is more complicated.

CO2 injections? What is that?

Sorry for my ignorance, please be patient with me.

 

I'm not actually all that savvy on CO2 injections myself.
I know that it released CO2 into the water b/c the higher light makes the plants grow at a faster rate. This in turn makes the plants need more CO2. It's for high light aquariums.

 

I'm not actually all that savvy on CO2 injections myself.
I know that it released CO2 into the water b/c the higher light makes the plants grow at a faster rate. This in turn makes the plants need more CO2. It's for high light aquariums.

So having an air stone, I have one, wouldn't aid in that instead?

 

So having an air stone, I have one, wouldn't aid in that instead?

Oh, and by the way, you know more about this than I do, so don't sell yourself short!

 

No...and airstone released O2 into the water.
That's good for the fish!! Won't hurt the plants.

 

No...and airstone released O2 into the water.
That's good for the fish!! Won't hurt the plants.

Oh yeah, that's right! Duh!

HHHHHMMMMM!!!!!! What to do, What to do!!!!

So each has it's pros and con's. What is yours set up like, as far as plants are concerned?

 

As of right now, I have all artificial plants.
I have to replace one more bulb, and then I'll be ordering some plants this spring.

 

I'm thinking of just going that route, but I like how a tank looks with live plants, gives it an elegant look.

I just saw the link that Red1313 posted about the tanks! I couldn't believe my eyes! They were beautiful! I guess you can grow pretty much anything in them!

 

Yeah, those were all Saltwater reef tanks.
I would love to have one some day, but they're much more expensive than Freshwater tanks.

 

They are very nice!

Sorry about that, got off the subject completely!

Anyways, it was nice meeting all of you, thanks for everything! If I have anymore questions, I hope ya'll won't mind! It's just about that time for me to get on out of here, work that is!

TTYL!

 

OK, I'm back! arky

I found out what the name of the additive I'm using. It's from Tetra, and it's called EasyBalance with Nitraban. I was told to use this weekly to reduce the frequency of water changes, along with the water conditioner, which is made by Top Fin. Also the bulb is only a 20 watt bulb.

 

I've got all sorts of new questions for ya'll!

First, when I do the water change, will I need to remove the sharks? Can I change it with them in the tank?

Also, what do you recommend for food? Live food? Flakes? Since I have so many different kinds of sharks, do I need to put different things for each? Right now I'm giving them tropical flakes with a touch of goldfish flakes, a pinch of bloodworms (only on the second feeding), and a few sinking shrimp pellets. The Algae Eater gets his sinking disk once a night. Is that ok?

Any help will be greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

I've got all sorts of new questions for ya'll!

First, when I do the water change, will I need to remove the sharks? Can I change it with them in the tank?

Also, what do you recommend for food? Live food? Flakes? Since I have so many different kinds of sharks, do I need to put different things for each? Right now I'm giving them tropical flakes with a touch of goldfish flakes, a pinch of bloodworms (only on the second feeding), and a few sinking shrimp pellets. The Algae Eater gets his sinking disk once a night. Is that ok?

Any help will be greatly appreciated, thanks!

No, you do not need to remove the sharks to change the water. Do you have an aquarium vacuum? If you do, just siphon about 25% of the water out while sucking up some gravel to remove debris from the bed.

The food you are feeding them sounds fine, they are not finicky, and a varied diet is healthy for them. Just do not overfeed, as this will cause your nitrates to skyrocket!

Have you tested your water yet? It seems that your tank is very over-crowded, and I know you were thinking about upgrading the size.

How is everyone behaving? Any territory issues yet? I think it's amazing that your tank is still peaceful after reading everything about the sharks you have. Do you have pics yet?

Sorry for all of the questions!
H

 

Seems like the above post has you covered,
can't wait to see some pics!!

 

No, you do not need to remove the sharks to change the water. Do you have an aquarium vacuum? If you do, just siphon about 25% of the water out while sucking up some gravel to remove debris from the bed.

The food you are feeding them sounds fine, they are not finicky, and a varied diet is healthy for them. Just do not overfeed, as this will cause your nitrates to skyrocket!

Have you tested your water yet? It seems that your tank is very over-crowded, and I know you were thinking about upgrading the size.

How is everyone behaving? Any territory issues yet? I think it's amazing that your tank is still peaceful after reading everything about the sharks you have. Do you have pics yet?

Sorry for all of the questions!
H

Cool! I was a little more than just a little worried about that! I was beginning to think "Where am I going to put all those little critters?". I'm looking into getting one, any suggestions?

As for the food, I only give a couple of pinches at the most, and for the most part they gobble that up in a couple of minutes. They almost seem as if I never feed them! LOL!

No I haven't tested it yet, (sorry Amanda! LOL!) I know I need too. I will get that done tonight!

None so far, well except for one of the little Red Tails, he's just a little aggressive just before feeding time, other then that and a couple of chase downs by the Rainbows, nothing else to report on that front!

I'm working on the pics thing, I'll have my wife send me a couple to download here.

No problem! I don't mind at all, it's the only way one learns! Thanks!

 

I like the self-starting vac's personally.

 

There are some that self start? How would that work out? Wouldn't it suck up my ghost shrimp?

 

they have a one way valve so you pump them up and down in the water and it starts siphoning on their own. You'd have to keep an eye out for the little guys. I don't have any experience with them however.

 

I guess I would have to get one I operate myself to avoid that then! I've got tons of other stuff to ask, but I'm drawing a blank right now!

I'll remember at 3 a.m.! LOL!

 

Well, most likely at least one person will be around.
Gotta love insomnia.

 

yep!

One question that came to mind while reading some other threads on here is when I do get my new tank, I'm going to have to do the whole cycle thing on it, right? How long does this normally take?

 

Well, it's been 4 months, running on 5, and all is well in the land of the sharks! All are happy and healthy and doing great! In fact we've added two dalmatian mollies. I want to thank all of you for all your comments and suggestions.

 

Has the blood bath happened in your tank yet?

And if not, are you still in the 20 gallon (or whatever it was).

Kind of hard to believe that you have that many fish in an uncycled tank with no problems to be heard of.

Do you have pictures?

 

Surprisingly, nothing! Except for the occasional run down, they are all very well behaved! I do realize that I will have to get a bigger tank very soon (current is 25 gal.) but it's worked out just fine. I think sometimes you just have to let things just happen, they'll take care of themselves!

All in all, it's been really cool watching them grow and get used to each other!