Help with substrate and other items

[nmace85]

I've got 2 existing freshwater tanks (a 20 gal and 30 gal) with plain gravel as the substrate. I've also got a java fern and an Anubis plant, both of which seem to be going well on liquid fertilizers.

I'm getting ready to setup a new 125 gal freshwater tank that I just purchased. It will have silver dollars, clown loaches, possibly some angels, and possibly a knife fish in it. I also plan on mixing in some live plants with some fake ones.

I would like to use black sand as my substrate instead of gravel. I'm looking at Oynx black sand from SeaChem or CaribSea's Tahitian Moon Black Sand. I've heard good/bad things about both. Does anyone here any experience with one or the other of these products?

I'm also looking at purchasing two Aquaclear power filters for the tank. I'm looking at two 110 gallon capacity filters. Anyone have experience with the Aquaclear brand? How do you like them? Is that enough filteration? Too much?

Thanks for your help with this!

[Dave66]

I've got 2 existing freshwater tanks (a 20 gal and 30 gal) with plain gravel as the substrate. I've also got a java fern and an Anubis plant, both of which seem to be going well on liquid fertilizers.

I'm getting ready to setup a new 125 gal freshwater tank that I just purchased. It will have silver dollars, clown loaches, possibly some angels, and possibly a knife fish in it. I also plan on mixing in some live plants with some fake ones.

I would like to use black sand as my substrate instead of gravel. I'm looking at Oynx black sand from SeaChem or CaribSea's Tahitian Moon Black Sand. I've heard good/bad things about both. Does anyone here any experience with one or the other of these products?

I'm also looking at purchasing two Aquaclear power filters for the tank. I'm looking at two 110 gallon capacity filters. Anyone have experience with the Aquaclear brand? How do you like them? Is that enough filteration? Too much?

Thanks for your help with this!

If you have live plants with silver dollars, you'll have no live plants and a bunch of fat silver dollars. The whole clan of Metynnis and Myleus silver dollars are vegetarian pirhana as far as plants are concerned. Obviously, you'll have to keep them fed in fresh vegetation (Romain lettace, corgette, cucumbers, pears etc.) if you do decide to keep silver dollars.
Depends on the knifefish. All are preditory, but the Black or Brown Ghost knifefishes are the most common. They are shy, retiring fish, and don't do well with active nor aggresive tankmates. Most all the others available, both those from south america or asia, get too large for your tank. The few that don't are very rare in the hobby. The Blacks and Browns both eat small crustaceans and insect larvae, and they will eat fish small enough to fit in their mouths. They do most of their feeding at night, so plan accordingly.
The Onyx sand tends to buffer your tank in the neutral to slightly alkaline pH. The Tahitian Moon will make your water quite hard and you'll be battling diatoms constantly.
I'd suggest using a pair of canister filters with your 125, rather than a pair of HOBs. A 125 is too large for them to circulate the water properly, so go with canisters. I'd also put a phosphate/silicate removal substance in a basket or two of your canister filter. It will solve many ills.

Dave

[nmace85]

If you have live plants with silver dollars, you'll have no live plants and a bunch of fat silver dollars. The whole clan of Metynnis and Myleus silver dollars are vegetarian pirhana as far as plants are concerned. Obviously, you'll have to keep them fed in fresh vegetation (Romain lettace, corgette, cucumbers, pears etc.) if you do decide to keep silver dollars.
Depends on the knifefish. All are preditory, but the Black or Brown Ghost knifefishes are the most common. They are shy, retiring fish, and don't do well with active nor aggresive tankmates. Most all the others available, both those from south america or asia, get too large for your tank. The few that don't are very rare in the hobby. The Blacks and Browns both eat small crustaceans and insect larvae, and they will eat fish small enough to fit in their mouths. They do most of their feeding at night, so plan accordingly.
The Onyx sand tends to buffer your tank in the neutral to slightly alkaline pH. The Tahitian Moon will make your water quite hard and you'll be battling diatoms constantly.
I'd suggest using a pair of canister filters with your 125, rather than a pair of HOBs. A 125 is too large for them to circulate the water properly, so go with canisters. I'd also put a phosphate/silicate removal substance in a basket or two of your canister filter. It will solve many ills.

Dave


Well the silver dollars are in one of my existing tanks, and have destroyed the live plants except for the java fern and anubis. Those two plants seem to be thriving. Maybe silver dollars don't like to eat those?

The knife fish is a "maybe" at this point. But the silver dollars will be put in this tank for certain, they are almost too big for the tank they are currently in.

Any thoughts on what good tank mates would be for silver dollars and clown loaches? I've read angel fish would work well, which is why I mentioned them in my original post. What about leaving out the angels and putting in an Oscar (single)?

Taking the live plants out of the equation, what about using sand as a substrate? Is there a third "brand" of black sand that I don't know about? I don't particularly want to have the side effects you listed (or are they easy enough to correct? maybe I'm blowing it out of proportion). Is there another type I can use? Or is it those two or gravel?

What is the purpose of the phosphate/silicate removal material? What happens if you don't have that?

How do cannister filters compare to power filters? Are they more expensive? do they require more maintenance? Or less? I've heard they require more maintenance than a power filter, but they may or may not be true.

[Dave66]

Well the silver dollars are in one of my existing tanks, and have destroyed the live plants except for the java fern and anubis. Those two plants seem to be thriving. Maybe silver dollars don't like to eat those?

The knife fish is a "maybe" at this point. But the silver dollars will be put in this tank for certain, they are almost too big for the tank they are currently in.

Any thoughts on what good tank mates would be for silver dollars and clown loaches? I've read angel fish would work well, which is why I mentioned them in my original post. What about leaving out the angels and putting in an Oscar (single)?

Taking the live plants out of the equation, what about using sand as a substrate? Is there a third "brand" of black sand that I don't know about? I don't particularly want to have the side effects you listed (or are they easy enough to correct? maybe I'm blowing it out of proportion). Is there another type I can use? Or is it those two or gravel?

What is the purpose of the phosphate/silicate removal material? What happens if you don't have that?

How do cannister filters compare to power filters? Are they more expensive? do they require more maintenance? Or less? I've heard they require more maintenance than a power filter, but they may or may not be true.

Taking from the bottom up. The difference is quality and quanity of filtration with canister filters that HOBs can't match. They don't need any more maintanence than HOBs; there's simply more media and sponges that need to be dealt with regularly; say once a month or six weeks. In general, canister filters are stronger and more powerful than HOBS, which you need in a tank your size.
Just FYI, I use a minimum of three canisters on my tanks.
The phosphate/silicate removal compounds are based on the attraction iron oxide and resins have for phosphate and silicate, which algae and diatoms need to get going. Having them in your filter will prevent many ills. Your fish produce the phosphate as a product of their metabolisms, and the silicate is present in those substrates you mentioned and is present in many tapwater supplies. Also google Boyd's chemi-pure. Another very good thing for your canister filters.
I use black or black and brown gravels over my planted tanks' substrates. Its better to buy gravel that doesn't have a polyethelene coating on them, as over time, they can leach out into the bulk water, causing all sorts of problems. You could get away with the Onyx sand no problem, but I'd suggest mixing it with a like-colored pea gravel.
What species silver dollars do you have? You could go with dwarf cichlids with them. The Oscar is pretty passive for a 14-inch cichlid, but he can be a bit of a bully especially where food is concerned and could be a bit hard on the silver dollars. Check out the Cichlid genus Laetacara for some possible small, colorful cichlids which would be ideal with the silver dollars.
As the SDs frequent the middle levels, the Cichlids and your loaches would be on the bottom third. The top third could be for larger characins, like Congo tetras or similar.
I'd view those SDs with a jaundiced eye as far as the fern and anubis are concerned. They may leave them alone for ages, then decide they are tasty . . .
I'd leave out the knifefish all together, as they are too retiring and passive for my tastes. I did keep a glass knife (Eigenmannia virescense) for many years and they are more forward than the Sternopygus, but they get too large for even your tank. Of course his name was Mack . . .

Dave