New tank questions

So im looking at getting a new community tank, but hoping to breed some peppermints aswell. The tank im looking at is an Aquaone "AquaStyle 850" as a friend has one second hand. Adding a Sponge filter and off it goes.

Alternatively would be just a simple 4 foot tank and stand/cabinet coupled with either a fluval G3 or a fluval 405. Also a large sponge filter.

Heating i was considering either one 300W, or 2 150W for redundancy incase one breaks. Lighting will be pretty basic, just enough to keep the plants kicking along and i intend on retrofitting some moonlights into either tank.

Im also considering a Fluval U4 instead of the 405, having never used either im not sure which will be easier/more efficient. Im assuming the external will provide better filtration but i have no experience to base that on, just a gut feeling really.

Obviously both tanks would have the same driftwood and plants so thats not a huge concern. I already have an airpump so im not overly worried on those grounds.

Of the two which would you look at. The tanks wont be hidden away so would prefer something thats not to noisy.

Currently i have a Ghost knife, around 3', 2 gouramis each about 2.5' an assortment of guppies and a siamese spread across a few smaller tanks(40L or so)

The large tank will house 2 perppermint pair, thetetras, the gouramis and the ghost. My current tank/s will house the siamese and the guppies. Hopefully that should also free a spare tank as a hospital/breeder tank for sick fosh or guppy birthing.

Does anyone have any recomendations, would you go a different way or? Cost is not a huge concern, i would rather get it right from the start and buy quality equiptment then skimp and have it bite me in the ass in a few months time.

When time and space prevails i plan on setting up a seperate tank just for breeding but for now space wont allow it.

hey mate,

sounds like you have a good idea already

I would def recommend going external filtration instead of the internal. Even though the filtration rate (flow rate) is the same, the external filters filter the water much better as the water passes over the filter media much more slowly, giving the bacteria more time to do their thing and detoxify the water.

I would make sure that there is plenty of places to hide in the tank as Ghost knifes have been known to attack an exposed bristlenose, espcially thier eyes. so just keep an eye open for that. most likely wont be an issue but being prepared is best

apart from that sounds like you have it covered. I personally like the basic tanks rather than the more fancy versions. I think making the tank and cabinet too pretty takes away from the beauty inside the tank. but that is pure personal opinion and I must say I have seen lots of aquastyle tanks that I would love to have in my house, guess im just jellous cos i cant afford one!

Pics are always welcomed too

So the new tank is in and set up. In the end I went with the aquanova 1200 plus fluval 405.

I have also managed to get my hands on approximately 500g of ceramic noodles off a friend out of his tank. I'll be putting in my sponge filter that's currently running in my tank. What sort of cycle times should I expect. I don't really want to jump the gun so to speak but i have never played with close to 300 liters of water and external filtration. I've read 6-8 weeks is not unreasonable but I don't know what changes to the timeframe there are out of using bacteria laden media. If it helps the tank is set to 26 degrees and has been stable at that temp for close to 11 hours now (logging on a multimeter).

Thanks for your help

Cycling is one of those big unknowns in aquarium. If you waited 6-8 week then im sure you would be safe. The use of ready cycled filters and media will help reduce that time down but by how much is not known as it depends on too many things. For example, if you filled the tank with tap water and did not treat it, then added the media the chlorine in the water will kill all of the good bacteria and you will be starting from scratch.

If you used water from an exsisting tank as well as media that was already loaded with good bacteria then the tank may be ready for fish in as little as two weeks. What you need to do is get the water tested, either by yourself, or get a shop to do it for you. What you are looking for is the cycle process. First the ammonia will spike, then bacteria will move in and eat that, they will produce Nitrite, which will spike, then another group of bacteria will move in and eat that and produce nitrate which should slowly rise.

Once there is not ammonia or nitrite in the water its good for fish.

This is a VERY VERY simplified version of the cycle mind, there are lots of other things that will speed it up of slow it down. one of the best things you have already got right is making sure the tank is stable. changes in the tank will cause the bacteria to die off, resulting in the cycle slowing.

hi, sorry only just saw this post. just thought i'd comment on the fluvals as i have one of each (405 and u4). i have the 405 on my 4 foot cichlid tank which houses around 50 fish and does an amazing job! its over 2 years old and runs as if it was brand new so definitely money worth spent. the u4 is on my 3 foot peppermint tank and also does a great job, its quiet and i love it, but you can see it and it takes up space. but i got it for free so im not complaining. but canisters i believe are the way to go. i have matrix in all 4 trays in my 405 coz i know they will last for years without replacing.
anyhow i think you made a good choice!
good luck!

Thanks both for your help. Tank is ticking along nicely as i hoped. To keep track of everything i have made an excel spreadsheet. For anyone interested i have uploaded it to GoogleDocs. Its pretty plain at the moment (1 entry) however over time might prove to be interesting to see the cycle.

In any case here is the url: https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AnjlwIIse4ahdDYwQkcwZlVLbWJ0bGU3UVkwbUVwWnc&hl=en

Thanks once again for your help.

cool idea

The google docs link has changed as i updated the spreadsheet to have graphs within, Unfortuantely for some reason the graphs still arent showing however if anyone has any interest in viewing the full chart let me know and im happy to find a better way to share it

Ive decided to stop logging temps as they havent changed for ages now. PH is quite stable at 7, which brings me to my next question. I have quite a bit of driftwood soaking at the moment, 2 BIG bits and a few smaller bits, am i likely to run into trouble when adding the wood?

Also what are everyones thoughts on carbon in the filter? Im not sure i like it so only use it in 1 of the "boxes" in the 405. I have enough noodles to use them exclusively if i wanted to...

Make sure it pre-soaked. then just throw it in

and carbon in the filter...def not! Only use carbon if you are trying to remove something in particular from the water. and only use it for a maximum of a few days.