Eying up a new tank on e-bay, dreaming of what to put in it??

[Marne]

At the moment I just have my 120ltr tank (after getting rid of my other tanks), I have guppies and 5 bristle nose plec's.

I'm looking for a bigger tank and have found one on e-bay I like that's just over 4ft, not sure how many ltrs (maybe 200 ish?).

The only problem is it comes with some fish which I may need to rehome ( most 2nd hand tanks seem to come with a common plec so i'm trying to find out what fish are with it).

I'm thinking of getting rid of my guppies and getting something bigger but I want to keep my bn plec's. What can I keep that will be ok with my plec's, do I go for a community tank or something else?

I'd go for a South American community for a tank that size. Something like your plecs (not sure if 5 is too many though, maybe you have to lose a couple), apistos, rams, a shoal of neons, cories. Ach, you need soft water for a community like this. Is yours soft? What is the ph? Might be talking gibberish if your water isn't right for a SA community.

Your suspicions will probably be right, this is the usual way to dump unwanted tank busters on unsuspecting bargain hunters. I'd avoid anything that comes with fish, even if the seller tells you what's in there they might leave something off the list and when you arrive to collect you'll be given the choice of accept the surprise pangasius or it goes down the loo.

Our water is quite hard here ( or it can be at times, at the moment I have it under control ), plecs are my favourite, I have 5 as I have been trying to find a breeding pair, sadly so far I have not been successful ( could be due to high ph ), I'm not sure if I could part with them. I like my guppies but with them in the tank I don't want anything bigger as I feel guilty when their fry get gobbled up ( at the moment I have quite a few fry but will sell these in a few weeks ). I would like some bigger fish but havn't got much experience of anything other then live bearers and plecs. I want something pretty and something exciting to watch.

What is your pH at the moment? I remember you having trouble with high, fluctuating pH.

Ok, so if you want something bigger and you could keep the ph to under 7.5, maybe you'd like a pair of sajica cichlids? Mine bred in a ph of 7.4, so it is possible. They ate all their babies after a few days though . They would go with the plecs. I wouldn't put anything else in it though as they can turn into aggressive little shits while breeding, but would leave the plecs alone. They have lots of personality and are simply beautiful.

Just seen, they can do with a ph up to 8, so definitely a possibility for your water.

Have a look

My Ph was 7.5 last time I checked (that's after slowly bringing it down from around 9) so I do struggle with ph. I love Cichlids, have been eyeing them up for a while so might have to go for that option if I can keep my ph down. I have bought lots of new bogwood which seems to have helped a little.

The pH in your tank or the pH of the tap water? How did you bring it down? If you're using tap water for your water changes then the pH will be fluctuating with water changes, that can be very dangerous to fish. If your tap water pH is still around 9 then you might want to consider getting an RO unit.

Thanks Eau, I have just found a tank on gum tree which looks like a bargain, its a 3.5ft tank and comes with a RO unit (as it has been used for discus), seems to have everything I need with it and its not up and running so no fish ( no common pleco ) , just waiting for the man to get back to me (fingers crossed it hasn't sold). Its worth the £125 price tag just for the RO unit and the amount of bogwood which comes with it.

If I do get the tank how do I cycle it? can I use my media from my internal filter to put in a external filter (have never had a external)? I am planning on getting rid of my guppies before switching tanks over so there will only be my pleco's in there until I decide what i'm going to put in.

Wow, that does sound like a bargain- fingers crossed!

Are you just moving everything over from your other tank and not running them both together? If so, then you can just move the sponges from your old filter into your new one and move the fish over (if you need then, I can give you more details if this is the method you want to use).

If you want to run both tanks alongside each other then you can use a bit of sponge from your internal filter (don't take too much, no more than half) and bung it in to the external filter. I'd put it in the bottom where the water goes in, but it doesn't matter too much. Then you just cycle the tank as you normally would. The extra bacteria kick should speed things up a fair bit.

Don't forget with the RO, you need to add minerals to it before you can put it in the tank. It depends what species you get, but you can buy additives that you just tip in, they are dead easy to use.

I am keeping my fingers crossed, waiting for a e-mail It has only been on gum tree for a couple hours so hopefully it hasn't gone yet.

I can run both tanks alongside each other but ideally It would be easier to just switch them over. I have no idea how a external filter works, is it the same as a internal? also havnt got a clue how the RO unit works so if I get it I will be on here shouting for your help.

Not sure what fish I will be getting, I like fish that breed but I think its time to say 'goodbye' to my live bearers and get something a little bit more exciting. We had a look in the local fish shop today and saw lots that we like but cant remember half of their names, dd1 likes glass fish and clown loaches, dd2 likes the red tailed sharks and I like the discus and Malawi cichlids.

Yes, it's the same principle; the water goes through a load of sponges and other media, the poo gets filtered out and the bacteria get rid of all your ammonia and nitrIte. The main difference is that it's gravity fed and the pump pumps all the water back into the aquarium. This means that you have to prime it to get it started, but if you switch the valves and filter off in the right order when you clean it, you shouldn't have to prime it again.

A fully grown discus will be too big for that tank (did the fella before use it as a spawning tank maybe?). Malawis are ace, they need a special set up though so no good if you want to keep your plecs. There are some gorgeous S American cichlids that would do well with your plecs if you like cichlids. Clown loaches get massive but there are similar smaller loaches. RTBS are lovely fish, don't put anything snack-sized in there with them though!

I had a feeling discus would be too big , I cant part with my male plec (might get rid of a couple of the young ones though).

Still no reply from the seller so not looking good, there will be other tanks though and i'm willing to wait for a bargain .