Spritzy’s first build - 100 gallon

Hey, all! I posted an introduction on the welcome boards, and now I’m ready for some ideas for anyone so inclined. I’ve picked up our first big tank (100 gallon), and I would like to turn it into a freshwater community tank. I’ve got two small kiddos who I know would love to see some fun, active schools while I teach them about good animal husbandry. So far the tank is still completely empty. I haven’t bought any equipment or substrate because I want to make kind of a master plan first: decide which fish we’ll aim for then which substrate the bottom dwellers will prefer, if anybody needs or will destroy live plants, what kind of filtration will be ample, who needs what lighting, etc. Just hoping to minimize mistakes along the way!

Possible wish list (and remember I’m a total novice so I may be wanting something unreasonable):
-Shrimp would be cherries on the cake. Love to look at those little guys!
-Snails
-Some active, colorful schooling fish
-Possibly a centerpiece fish or two (or three or four?). Like a dwarf gourami species or some such?
I’m open to any suggestions and seriously appreciate the suggestions and advice. I know there’s a separate board for equipment, and I’m sorry for asking so many weighted questions in one thread. One question in particular: what size quarantine tank do most people keep? 10g? 20g? I figured I’d get both tanks up and cycling with equipment as quickly as possible. The fish I’ll introduce slowly as they require. I have patience! I want to do right by our future fishy friends. Thanks in advance!!

 

If you’re doing shrimp I would drop the gouramis, when molting shrimp are extremely vulnerable to predators like them. If you have relatively soft water then a huge school (maybe 40) of them would look pretty cool . If not then I would aim for a hardier tetra species like blood fin tetras who have good colors when they feel comfortable.
For a full stocking I would suggest
40x Bloodfin tetras
10x Neon or head and tail light tetras
As many cherry shrimp or Amano shrimp as you want
For a centerpiece you might be able to get away with a betta depending on temperament. Otherwise you could do a few different variations of bristlenose plecos? They help clean the algae and depending on type look pretty cool


EDIT: I would do a 20g quarantine so if you have an outbreak of sorts you can isolate the infected fish without cramming them.

 

If you have relatively soft water then a huge school (maybe 40) of them would look pretty cool .

The tap water where I live is super hard, but we have an RO system in the home. We’re out of city limits and have our own well so the water isn’t treated either. Out of curiosity, I see places like the major pet stores carry pre-mixed tank water. The local shop where I got the aquarium also sell pre-mixed fresh and salt water by the jug (the owner also does tank maintenance around town). Do many hobbyists buy the bottled stuff and if not, why is tap preferred? Thanks for the build idea, too! I’ve always been mesmerized by tetras.

 

The tap water where I live is super hard, but we have an RO system in the home. We’re out of city limits and have our own well so the water isn’t treated either. Out of curiosity, I see places like the major pet stores carry pre-mixed tank water. The local shop where I got the aquarium also sell pre-mixed fresh and salt water by the jug (the owner also does tank maintenance around town). Do many hobbyists buy the bottled stuff and if not, why is tap preferred? Thanks for the build idea, too! I’ve always been mesmerized by tetras.

Im not sure, I think most aquarists use their own water since it’s more fresh but I don’t think any major issues would come from using the bottled water . It probably is more cost effective to use your own water but I understand why some people use it for nano tanks if their short on time.

 

Personally I would rule out the shrimp as a big tank with lots of activity would be hard to keep a shrimp population going up.

For centerpieces I suggest something like keyholes and festivums?

 

Personally I would rule out the shrimp as a big tank with lots of activity would be hard to keep a shrimp population going up.

For centerpieces I suggest something like keyholes and festivums?

Both the keyholes and the festivums look pretty cool! Several sites said finding keyholes may be a little hit or miss, but I think they’re super attractive if I can find any. Several images even had them swimming in community tanks with tetras so that’s absolutely perfect.

So I’m thinking possibly build around the keyholes and do a sandy substrate with some live planting, 2-3 schooling fish types, and snails. Anybody see any flaws so far? Would 6 keyholes be reasonable for a 100 gallon?

 

6 keyholes are fine.

For schooling fish, lemon or diamond tetras are a favorite for larger tanks.