New Member introduction/Tank owner

Good Day;

I was googling around for information re/ filters and found this site...so thought I'd start to join in on my new expensive hobby. I am in San Diego (David's my name) and am just getting into putting a freshwater tank in my home. I just received my 36" stand and am waiting for my tank to arrive. I ordered a 25x25x36" high 95 gallon Hexagon tank. I also ordered 2 filters, although I may be returned the Emporer 400 as I'm thinking it may not fit the top of the Hexagon-shaped tank. The other filter is the Fluval 406 filter. I am going with 2 filters probably (one power and one cannister) because I read that it is good to have 2 in case one fails and also to keep the water conditioned real well! Thoughts? While waiting for the tank to arrive I am considering what kind of substrate is best, decor (rock or wood?), and the fish of course. The tank should be arriving next week.

Figure that will be it for now. Any thoughts/suggestions would be most appreciated. Thanks for reading and looking forward in discussing all things fish water and tank to have a great setup in the living room!

David.

 

Welcome to fishlore! Are you thinking cool water or tropical tank? Peaceful, semiaggressive, aggressive, oddball?

 

Welcome to the forum!
Wow! That sounds like an awesome tank.
I agree with two filters and I do the same, canister and hob (hang on back), for my larger tanks. I also add power heads connected to pvc pipe under the substrate with several water jets to keep the water movement going on the bottom. That keeps the stuff (fish waste) moving up into the water column and more likely to be picked up by filter intake (not all, but vacuum during water change gets the rest).

Substrate is preferential and dependent on what kind of fish you will be stocking. I personally prefer sand using pool filter sand found at most and home improvement store. I put in a bucket about 1/3 full and rinse with a water hose on jet setting until the water runs clear to get all the trash out. Gravel should also be rinsed.

There are so many fish to choose from that your tank can support. Can you let us know whether it will be fresh or salt water? What are you leaning towards? Smaller schooling fish, larger, oddball?

I would highly recommend fishless cycle to get the tank ready before adding fish. There is a great post on this site or you can just google fishless cycle to learn about the nitrogen cycle.
https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfishforum/threads/ammonia-instructions-for-a-fishless-cycle.19627/

Good luck! It will be neat to pictures as you progress along.

Oh yeah, I have a hodge podge of caves, plastic plants etc and wanting to change over to more natural looks with rocks, live plants and large driftwood. I will slowly re-do as I have many tanks.
The decor should be what you like since you will be enjoying it every day, but also keep in mind the needs of the fish you choose. Do they need caves or bushy plants or driftwood, etc.

 

Welcome! And don't forget...post pictures of your tank as you progress!

 

Welcome to the forum and glad you joined us. Looking forward to pics eventually. Alison

 

Your questions totally demonstrate my newness at this: I've no idea! Frankly I'm open to anything. What are major differences between cool water or tropical, although I'm assuming I'd have to get a heater, 'cause depending upon the fish one chooses, isn't that what you're suppose to do? Live plants not fake. As for the fish I was thinking about snails and plants that are conducive to clearing algae, one school of fish in the neighborhood of 10 to 12, and 2 other pairs of fish, all peaceful. Would you be able to recommend anything?

 

You've got lots of options. Your stocking options depends a lot on the width of your tank. With it being a 36 inch tank this is what I would do based on the fish I like and keeping it peaceful.

3 pearl gourami 1 male 2 female
1 or 2 bolivian ram
10 - 12 kuhlI loach
10 - 12 rummynose tetra
1 bristlenose pleco or 6 otos

I suggest going to the fish store hand writing down all of the names of the fish that catch your eye and then bring those back here and we can help you stock your tank

 

A 95 gallon hex! What a fun way to jump into the hobby! Sounds great. Nerite snails are great for eating algae and have few patterns to choose from.

 

Ooooh tyguy7760 has made some great suggestions! I will second that, lol. If you really want snails just substitute for the bn pleco or otos. Snails are great cleanup crew. Someone else will chime in if there is a compatibility issue with gourami's. I don't know of any.

If you decide on kuhlis, I would recommend sand as they like to dig and bury themselves. They are hiders, but bigger schools helps them to feel secure enough to come out more. 10-12 is a great number. The black ones seem more visible and social for me, but I love the banded so I keep a mix of both. Love my kuhlis!

You will definitely need a heater.

Take your time and have patience. The biggest regrets happen trying to quickly get a tank up, running, and stocked. Enjoy the journey!

 

Since no one has asked I will have you ever heard of the nitrogen cycle?

 

Not until I read about it on this page! Yes read up on it and plan on cycling my tank for a least a couple of weeks before putting in some cheap 'tester' fish to check the water. Hey quick question: still waiting on the tank, but I was planning on setting it up with my decor, (rocks or driftwood), and plants, then letting filters run for a few weeks...at what point should I do that first filter change? How about the water change...about once a month? Thanks Sarah!

 

Thanks so much! Yeah I'll take your list to the fish store after I've cycled my tank for a few weeks and when I'm ready see what they have, and what they'll recommend. Thanks again !

 

Not until I read about it on this page! Yes read up on it and plan on cycling my tank for a least a couple of weeks before putting in some cheap 'tester' fish to check the water. Hey quick question: still waiting on the tank, but I was planning on setting it up with my decor, (rocks or driftwood), and plants, then letting filters run for a few weeks...at what point should I do that first filter change? How about the water change...about once a month? Thanks Sarah!

I would recommend fishless cycling with ammonia to get your tank completely ready for fish. No tester fish required. If you prefer a fish in cycle use tetra safe start and reach out. There are some experts in that method on this forum, but what I have read, many become really stressed when they hit hiccups in the cycle. You can use TSS to speed up a fishless cycle as well.

I don't change any of the filter media until I have a fully cycled tank for a week or so. Afterwards, I am careful to only change what is necessary, like carbon and purigen giving the rest a good cleaning in a bucket of tank water to remove debris. After that, weekly partial water changes vacuuming the substrate and monthly filter maintenance is the standard. For sand there is a technique to pull up the stuff sitting on it without sticking the vacuum in the sand. All the stuff sits on top and does not settles into the sand which I like, but others hate because it's so visible. I use my eheim submersible vacuum that runs the water through a filter and back into the tank in between and right before water changes. That and getting the system that hooks to my sink for draining and filling have been godsends for me. If you decide on gravel then you would jam the vacuum down in there to pull up all the sludge that settles in between the rocks.

 

If you want to do a fish in cycle I would suggest picking out some fish that you plan on keeping long term that are more hardy and putting them in 24 hours after putting prime in the water along with a bottle of TSS+. I believe the general rule is 1 fish per 10 gallons. I usually do 1.5 or twice the dose of TSS+ as is recommended. Feed sparingly and keep a close eye on your fish for two weeks. After that, test the water with an API master test kit and make sure you have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and >0 nitrates. If so you are ready to add more fish.