100 Gallon Tank My new (to me) 100 gallon tank!

So I picked up my 100 gallon tank today which is now plopped rather inconveniently in the middle of my office. I think I got a good deal... I got the tank, the stand, the canister filter (filstar xp3), two additional HOB filters, heater, glass tops, 48" light w/ 3 additional bulbs, 2 air pumps, and a ton of decorations (that I will NEVER use LOL) for $400. The tank and stand is in really good condition (though a little dusty). The filter needs some new tubing, filter media and some elbow grease, but otherwise seems to be in good shape. The rest of the equipment all seems to be working fine.




Over the next few days (and even the next couple of weeks) I will be working on setting up this tank as my main display tank. My current 55 gallon tank will be moving into my office. I'll post some updates and pictures as I go along if you guys would like to see the progress.

In case anyone is interested, I'll be attempting a planted tank with dirt. Yes, I said dirt. If you don't know anything about dirted tanks then check out youtube and look for Dustin's videos. Everyone told him he was crazy but his tanks look awesome! There still seems to be a great deal of controversy over this method of planting a tank but I have read just about EVERYTHING I can find on the subject and I have decided it is worth giving a try. If it doesn't work out, I can always redo it with gravel later.

Here is my grand master plan for this tank:

-Organic topsoil mixed with some API First Layer Pure Laterite and some gavel for the bottom of the substrate which will then be capped with 1.5 inches of black sand.
-Heavily planted (plants still to be determined).
-Black vinyl static cling background.
-Dual T5HO lighting.
-Pressurized CO2 injection*
-Dry fert. dosing with PPS-Pro method*
-Driftwood decorations.

* CO2 and Dry Ferts may not be needed... at least not for some time after initial set up in a dirted tank. But I have them in case I need them.

Stocking plan:

- Blue Marbled Widefin Angelfish
- German Blue Rams
- Neon Dwarf Rainbowfish
- Zebra Loaches
- Cardinal Tetras

So that is about it. Wish me luck on this big new project... I think I am going to need it. If you have any tips, advice, suggestions or other words of wisdom... please feel free to share!

 

Congrats on the 100 gallon tank and welcome to the dirt club. My 100 gallon is also a dirted tank.

 

Congrats on the 100 gallon tank and welcome to the dirt club. My 100 gallon is also a dirted tank.

Woohoo! That means I know who's brains to pick when the dirt hits the fan...

 

Congrats on the new tank! I've dirted a couple tanks in my time. Loved them all! I'm actually planning another lol. But it's just a 20 gallon lol.

Black sand wise, I recommend using the Black Diamond sand from Tractor Supply. Nice and cheap . I have it in my tank. Needs some cleaning though, but what sand doesn't.

Stocking wise, skip the loaches and replace with kuhlis or corries. Most loaches like Zebras, Yo-yos and such will pester Angelfish if they get the chance. Some do it and some don't. Hm.. that's confusing. Let's put it this way. In Discus tanks you don't want plecos because sometimes plecos develop a taste for the Discus's body slime. Same thing with loaches and Angelfish fins. Doesn't happen all the time but there is a chance.

 

Congrats on the new tank! I've dirted a couple tanks in my time. Loved them all! I'm actually planning another lol. But it's just a 20 gallon lol.

Black sand wise, I recommend using the Black Diamond sand from Tractor Supply. Nice and cheap . I have it in my tank. Needs some cleaning though, but what sand doesn't.

Stocking wise, skip the loaches and replace with kuhlis or corries. Most loaches like Zebras, Yo-yos and such will pester Angelfish if they get the chance. Some do it and some don't. Hm.. that's confusing. Let's put it this way. In Discus tanks you don't want plecos because sometimes plecos develop a taste for the Discus's body slime. Same thing with loaches and Angelfish fins. Doesn't happen all the time but there is a chance.

Thanks for the loach tip! Maybe I will go with some of these guys instead?


As for the black sand... Tractor Supply was already the first stop on my shopping list for tomorrow. Great minds think alike!!!

Thanks for the help and input! Every little bit counts.

 

Sure, those work. But you'd need a largish group if you wanted them to stand out .

 

Okay then... what is a good bottom feeder fish (that isn't too big or too small), that will go with (or at least not clash with) my blue fish theme.

There aren't any blue iridescent cories are there??? LOL!

 

Corydoras nattererI is sort of blue. There is a purplish kind but I can't think of the name...

 

Yeah those are cute and have a little bit of a blue tint to them. The trick will be finding some for sale somewhere. But, I'm getting ahead of myself. I haven't even got the tank set up yet.

Today I bought a ginormous-sized bag of the Organic Top Soil. I also got a box of Laterite and two bags of the Black Diamond "sand". My black background that I ordered should be here Monday or Tuesday, and later in the week the hoses and misc. items that I ordered for the filter should arrive.

I'll start working on the substrate tomorrow... after I have moved my 55 into the office. Oh boy, it is going to be lots of fun tomorrow playing musical tanks. First we have to move the new tank OUT of my office. Then we have to move some other furniture around inside the office. Then we can empty the 55 gallon tank (mostly) to move it into the office. Finally the new big tank will be moved into it's permanent location. Geez... I'm tired already just thinking about it! HAHAHA! The sad part of it is, that I'm so short and this tank is so high up I'm going to need to use my step-stool ladder in order to reach inside the tank LOL! What did I get myself into?

 

Hahahaha sounds like you have your work cut out for you!!

 

Will you be mineralizing your soil first since you mentioned that you got Lauerite?

 

Will you be mineralizing your soil first since you mentioned that you got Lauerite?

Yes I was going to try to mineralize it. I've read about several methods of doing this... like baking it, boiling it and the good'ole wet/dry/wet/dry/wet/dry method as well. I'm leaning toward the wet/dry method but I also know how impatient I can get. I'm afraid I will just say "to heck with it" after about a week or two. LOL!!!

 

Nice thing about a used tank is that no one will know it's used

 

Yes I was going to try to mineralize it. I've read about several methods of doing this... like baking it, boiling it and the good'ole wet/dry/wet/dry/wet/dry method as well. I'm leaning toward the wet/dry method but I also know how impatient I can get. I'm afraid I will just say "to heck with it" after about a week or two. LOL!!!

Here is a good link on how to mineralize topsoil:



My advice for you, take your time with the process because it will save you heartache and worth it all the way.

 

Here is a good link on how to mineralize topsoil:

How To: Mineralized Soil Substrate | Visual.ly

My advice for you, take your time with the process because it will save you heartache and worth it all the way.

Thanks for the link, I already had that one bookmarked. My biggest enemy is going to be my impatience. I will be fighting the urge to just fill the darn tank with water every... single... day...
But I am certainly going to try my best! We'll see how far I actually get!

Well we did it... the tanks are moved. Barely. If I had known how much of a pain in the butt it was going to be to move that 55 gallon tank into my office I'm not sure I would have actually decided to undertake the project.

Two hours, one aggravated hubby, 30+ stressed out fish, one frantic angelfish, and a huge mess later... the deed is finally done. I still don't have everything put back together yet... air pumps, pressurized CO2, lighting, etc. and the front half of my house looks like a tornado went through it. I had no idea I had that much aquarium stuff!!! I have boxes of stuff EVERYWHERE right now LOL!

Anyway, I got the 55 gallon into my office, filled and running again. The filters and heater are running and the fish seem to be settling back down. Although they seem to be a bit confused because while I had the tank emptied I moved some of the rocks and driftwood around. Right now the bolvian rams seem to be in territory claiming mode. I haven't seen this much sparing and flaring since I got them months ago.

The big tank is now in its permanent home although I haven't done anything to it yet. In the morning I will begin mineralizing the soil. Yay!

Thought I would update with a few pictures!

I decided to put the soil in a plastic bin so that I can fill and begin to cycle the aquarium and filter separately, while the soil undergoes the mineralization process. Also, I can take the bin outside on sunny days for extra drying power. Additionally, I was worried that I may have trouble working the soil with my fingers while I was perched on top of a step stool ladder and bent half way over a 25" tall piece of aquarium glass. By setting the soil bin up on an extra desk in my office, it will allow me to work with it more comfortably, and at waist height.

Here is my muddy soil... doesn't it look yummy?



Here is my 55 gallon, now finally installed in my office:



Any lastly, this is the new 100 gallon, I started filling it just a little to make sure that there are no leaks:



Tomorrow I'm going to put the new back background on the tank and (assuming I don't wake up tomorrow with several gallons of water on my hard wood floors) I will fill the tank the rest of the way and hook up the canister filter.

Another quick update...

Filled the tank today and set up the filter with the new hoses and media that just arrived this afternoon (along with quite a lot of cycled media from my 55 gallon tank). To me, the filter sounds a little bit loud but appears to be working well. It is certainly not as quiet as my SunSun canister filter. Does anyone have experience with the Filstar XP3? I'm thinking I may take apart and clean out the rotor and impeller assembly tomorrow. See if that helps quiet things down a little. Also, I added a 300W heater.

Next, I added about 8ml of pure ammonia. I'm REALLY curious to see how long the cycling process takes this time around now that I have generous amounts of extra cycled filter media. Last time it took me 46 days (starting from scratch with no seeding material at all). Anyone want to take a guess as to how long it will take this time? I'll say... hmmm... 11 days?

I didn't get around to putting up the background yet... because my son came down sick with strep throat. I ended up having to spend several hours this morning/afternoon going into town to see the doctor and then wait at the pharmacy FOREVER! By the time I got home, I only had time to set up the filter and then it was time to make dinner.

So after I get the background up tomorrow, I'll try to post some more pictures for you guys to have a look.

UPDATE:

Been super busy so haven't had a lot of time to post lately, but here is the current status...

The Fish - I have ordered 12 Angelfish fish from Lee Gordon at that will be here on February 13. Yay! They will be tiny (about dime size) and I will only be keeping 6 pairs in the end. The rest will be given away or sold after they get bigger.
Angelfish Image

The Cycle - My guess about how long it would take to cycle the tank with seeded filter media from my 55 gallon was RIGHT on! It took exactly 11 days. I've been adding about 5mil of ammonia every other day for a while now, just to keep it cycled.

The Substrate - The dirt is almost finished with the mineralization process. I ended up splitting the dirt into multiple bins because it was taking too long in one bin due to the fact that it was so deep. Once I split it up the wetting and drying process started going really fast. The black sand is here and sitting in my garage.

The Background - Finally got the background up even thought it was kind of a quick and sloppy job. When I empty the tank to put the substrate in, I will move it out from the wall so I can get behind it and do a better job. But for now, it looks okay.



The Driftwood - One piece of driftwood has arrived and another one will be here on Monday. The one that is here already (it is sitting inside the tank in the picture above) is the smaller piece that will provide a little covered bridge area and the majority of it will be covered in Riccia. The one coming on Monday will be the main display piece. It has a round stump base, and the length is 30" long from branch to branch. It will be sitting upright on the stump and I will be attempting to attach Christmas Moss to the tips of the branches to create an underwater "tree" effect. I'll post pictures when it arrives, but here is a rough idea of what it looks like:



The Lights - I will be moving the 48" 108W Dual T5HO light fixture from my 55 gallon to the 100 gallon. I ordered a 48" Dual T5NO light fixture for my 55 gallon. I have found that the High Output light is too much light for my 55 gallon and I have had to reduce the photoperiod down to 5 hours a day just to keep the algae away. However, it should be just right for the 100 gallon. I'm hoping the Normal Output light will be just right for the 55. Both lights will be running one white lamp and one pink lamp.

The Plants - I have already ordered my plants which should be here on Tuesday or Wednesday. I ordered a lot of plants and I will be taking a large amount out of my 55 gallon as well. I've been playing around in my graphics program to try to come up with a basic layout plan for all the plants and driftwood. This is what I have come up with so far (click below). If anyone has any suggestions about which plants should be where please chime in! NOTE: It seems I missed a plant on the key... the plant in the top right corner is Anacharis.



Well I think that is about all for now. I will post again when things start to come together and I can take more pictures!

 

Wow... I love all your planning! I'll be watching this and can't wait to see your pictures of the finished product!

 

I fiddled with the plant layout a bit to include the Anacharis and a few other goodies. Here is the updated version:

Wow... I love all your planning! I'll be watching this and can't wait to see your pictures of the finished product!

Thanks gingerone! I appreciate the encouragement... and I will be sure to keep updating with more photos. I'm so excited for my big driftwood and plants to get here, I can hardly stand it. Just a few... more... days... LOL! I'm just sick of staring at an empty tank.

 

Your plan looks great. I will be checking back to see how it turns out. What brand fixture is that light pictured on your 55 gallon in your office?

Awesome, you added Breeding Stones. I assume for the Rams? If so, I suggest dusting some sand over them. Your rams with clean them off regularly. It's neat to watch. And any chance you logged your 100gal fishless cycle similar to your other log?

 

Your plan looks great. I will be checking back to see how it turns out. What brand fixture is that light pictured on your 55 gallon in your office?

The light on my 55 gallon office tank (which will be moving to the 100 gallon tank) is an Odyssea light.

Awesome, you added Breeding Stones. I assume for the Rams? If so, I suggest dusting some sand over them. Your rams with clean them off regularly. It's neat to watch. And any chance you logged your 100gal fishless cycle similar to your other log?

I'm sorry I did not log the cycle this time. The first time I did it mostly because it was a learning experience. I wanted to be able to study and analyze the data so I could get a better understanding of how the nitrogen cycle works and how all the little things we do (adjustments to the tank) effect the cycle. I have since then cycled a few other smaller tanks too and I think I have a pretty good grasp on this topic now. But if you are interested, I hope this will help you:

This time, I just grabbed a huge amount of cycled media from my 55 and started adding 8ml of ammonia each day for a week. The 8ml raised my ammonia level to approximately 5ppm. I started my water testing on days 8, 9, 10, and 11. On day 11, I was finished with the cycle. Since then, I have just been adding 5ml once every other day (technically I should be doing about 2.5ml a day now but I'm too lazy to do it every day). LOL!

Awesome, you added Breeding Stones. I assume for the Rams? If so, I suggest dusting some sand over them. Your rams with clean them off regularly. It's neat to watch.

Yeah, the stones will be for the German Blues Rams.... they are cute little fish. I have Bolivian Rams in my 55 gallon and I love to watch them play in the sand... especially when they start to breed. My Daddy ram really gets into it... he gets his whole body down in the sand and digs out HUGE holes! Sometimes he even uproots my plants. I'll come down in the morning and open the lid to feed them, and I will see a bunch of plants floating on top and I immediately know that they are breeding again.

 

Thanks for the help. Ill be doing my first fishless cycle this week. And GBRs are my favorites!

 

Thanks for the help. Ill be doing my first fishless cycle this week. And GBRs are my favorites!

Hey good luck with your first fishless cycle! You are doing a VERY good thing for your fish, so two thumbs up for you!!! If you run into any problems or have any questions be sure to send me a message. I will do my best to help you out.

Another quick update:

My big driftwood came in and my hubby helped me mount it to a piece of slate. I think it looks good, but I was hoping it was going to be longer horizontally... but because of the angle of the big branch it goes upward more than to the side. But I still like it. I think the contrast of the light wood is going to look great against the black sand and black background.




Also, yesterday I got a pair of GBRs from a local fish store. You can read about that in . But I thought I should also post their pictures here too because they will be going into the 100 gallon tank.






And the last big piece of news is that my Angels are going to be here in 4 days! OMG! When I ordered them it said they would begin shipping the new blue marbles on the 12th. So I was not expecting them until the 13th! Now I'm in total crazy panic mode! I still have to get the substrate in the tank tomorrow and then get all the plants in and do several large water changes! I really didn't want to have to put all 12 angels into my tiny 10 gallon quarantine tank (even though they are only dime size). I just wanted to put them in the big tank right away and actually quarantine them in the big tank while my GBRs did the quarantine in the 10 gallon. I guess it just goes to show that no matter how much you try, nothing goes according to plan! LOL!

 

Very nice! Sounds like progress is going well .

Pair of GBRs? Those look like both females.

 

You are my hero Musey! I want to be 1/2 of the aquarist you are when I grow up! Like others here, I look forward to seeing you completed tank! Good luck and enjoy!

 

Well I just finished filling the tank back up after putting in the substrate, the driftwood and the plants.



I still have a lot of work to do (like tucking the airline tubing and smoothing out some of the sand in places)... but... it is late and I'm tired. It took me about six hours to get this far. I started draining the tank at 2pm and actually started putting the substrate in about 4pm. My back is killing me! If I never have to get up and down on that stupid ladder again it will be too soon... LOL!

Very nice! Sounds like progress is going well .
Pair of GBRs? Those look like both females.

I'm in agreement. I asked them to bag up a male and female... but they are still very small and juvenile. The lady was having trouble sexing them and so was I. After I got them home, and watched them for a long time I started to realize that I had two females. I will be going back to try to get another male next weekend.

You are my hero Musey! I want to be 1/2 of the aquarist you are when I grow up! Like others here, I look forward to seeing you completed tank! Good luck and enjoy!

That is so funny. If you saw what a mess my house was in right now... I'm not sure you would say that. I didn't even feed my husband and son dinner tonight!!! And I totally ignored them both all night and when they complained about being hungry I just growled at them and said that I was too busy to play Mommy tonight. LOL! I think they managed to fix some soup on their own... I have no idea. Yep... that's me... Super Hero Muse!

 

Feeding famiy is optional... Tending to fish, mandatory!

 

Hahaha that is so very true!

 

Looks fantastic. Love that driftwood.

 

Thanks AmazonPassion! Appreciate the feedback!

My Angelfish will be here tomorrow... and I'm stressed out about putting them in there. I was originally planning on having about another week to let the tank settle, but then I found out the Angels would be here a week early. Even though I know the tank is cycled it just worries me because I've never used dirt before... but my only other option is to put all 12 baby angles into a 10 gallon tank (where my 2 juvenile GBRs are currently being quarantined). I did test my water parameters this afternoon and everything was normal... although... the water is a bit cloudy today. I did a big water change after dinner, which did not help at all... still just as cloudy. I'm going to test the water again in the morning. If everything is still good, then I will probably put the Angels in the there. It is just so worrisome! *bites nails*

 

Good luck with getting your tank to clear up. Although I too would be a bit apprehensive about introducing new fish to quickly a cloudy tank, if water parameters are good, I would move ahead to "let 'em swim" in their new spacious home. Can't wait to see pictures of your newly stocked tank!

 

Thanks rcarp! Yeah I'm thinking the cloudiness will clear up in a few days on it's own. It is probably just dust particles from all the dirt and sand... possibly the laterite too. I do have purigen in my canister filter so I'm hoping that will help. As long as my ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels are okay in the morning, then I'm going to give myself the green light... although I will be watching like a hawk for any signs of distress.

I'll take some more pictures after the Angels arrive, so you can see them!

Update: I almost just had a heart attack! I walked by the tank on the way to the kitchen and noticed a couple tiny things on the glass... looked really close and they seemed like little bugs creeping along slowly!!! Total panic mode! Grabbed the magnifying glass and an LED flashlight... and... I have baby snails!!! LOL! I was like PHEW! They are kind of cute too! They must have hitchhiked in on the plants, but what a scare that was.

I've never had baby snails before... I bought my zebra nerites online (which don't breed in freshwater) and they were already fully grown. These guys are soooooo tiny... like the size of a pinhead. I thought for sure I had something terrible that was going to ruin my day tomorrow! But now.. at least I have something to watch in my tank (until tomorrow) besides watching the plants grow (or melt, as the case may be)!

 

Like a LaQuinta Hotel commercial, I have one thing to way about your tank..."You snailed it!"

 

UPDATE: Pictures of my new babies!!!

Please excuse the fuzz growing on my driftwood... it will go way on its own... but is still rather embarrassing. :-[

I'm sorry if some of these are somewhat blurry, my camera isn't that great.













Overall I am very happy. The fish arrived on time and in very good condition. All fish appear to be happy and healthy... and VERY hungry. LOL! They are definitely quality fish that were well cared for and packed well. Also, I only ordered 12 fish but I ended up getting 15!!!

My only complaint (and I'm sure that I am just being petty), is that all of the Blue Marbled Veils (6 in total), just look too black. Each has at least 80-90% black coloration and very little white. I understand that they have not turned yet, so they are not showing their blue colors yet and that is okay. However, with soooo much black coloration in their marbling, I really doubt they ever will show much of the blue (even after they turn). I'm thinking that they would need more of the white marbling for it to show up well. So that is rather disappointing.

 

congratulations on a a really good looking new brood and tank...!

 

Thanks! They are very energetic and have already figured out that I'm the one that feeds them.. LOL! Didn't take them long at all. Also, two of them are just beginning to show a hint of the blue color.

 

I imagine that their color will improve as they become more used to their new habitat...

 

From what I understand, the blue color gene (which is actually not really a color gene) doesn't show up on the babies. They have to get older before it starts to show. It is actually some kind of iridescent gene?

Anyway they will get nothing but the best food from me... so I'm sure they are going to look great!

 

I look forward to seeing how they develop as they mature.

 

Good luck with the angels from what I heard is that they will come to the front of the tank and follow you because they always want to eat

 

LOL! But isn't that true for most fish? Some just seem to learn faster than others.

 

Ummm... Musey... can you design my 55 gallon for me?