New to Forum, been around fish for a while

**Chiefacorn** · 07-20-2013, 05:46 AM

Hello Everybody!
I'm Ian, I've been keeping tanks for many years in various sizes.
Currently I have a 20 gal. with 7 or 8 Asstd Cichlids (I can never remember, nor do I really keep track), and a common Pleco. That tank is just my dining room setup, with a small powerhead attached to an undergravel filter (unsure of the gph, it is fairly old) and a HOB rated for a 30 gal tank. It stays clean for the most part, however I do have to rinse the filter fairly often since I have so many fish. I typically do monthly 25% water changes. Most of the fish in there are over 2 years old.
I also have a 55 gal. with way too many fish. I'm a fan of full looking tanks. I typically bring my tank to capacity when the fish are small, and gradually sell back the fish as they grow larger. Since this tank has only been up for a few months, it is still in it's "overstocked" stage. I have 5 Black Skirt Tetras, 5 Serpae Tetras, 5 Silver Tip Tetras, 5 Buenos Aires Tetras, 2 Australian Rainbowfish, 2 Blue Gourami, 2 Angelfish, 1 Chinese Algae Eater (LFS claimed it was an albino Oto (guess who's gullible), however I know this is not the case as in the last month is has grown to just over 3"), 4 Comets (will be first to go, used them to cycle the tank), 4 Bala Sharks (I know they get huge, but I can grow them up and sell them to recover some of the startup costs), 1 Balloon Belly Molly (The GF is obsessed over "fat" pets, and I don't want any Fancy Goldfish crowding up my tank, she loves it because it is "tub-tub"), 2 Whisker Shrimp (I've tried to do research on these, but I can't really find any congruent information, some people say they get huge and eat the fish in the tank, some say they max out at 2" and are docile, I guess I will just have to find out), 2 Fiddler Crabs (I don't have any land, but they swim up and sit on the powerhead power cord and air lines from time to time, and seem to be content with that), and a Four Line Pictus Cat. There is one plant in there now, but I will be adding more soon, obviously I have a huge bioload, and I want to try to help out my filters, which so far have kept the water crystal clear. I have 2 powerheads hooked up to an undergravel filter and a HOB BioWheel filter. The powerheads are rated at 295 gph each and the HOB at 300 GPH, for a total of 890 GPH for the tank. So my tank is turned over approx. 16 times per hour.
I've had success with this method before, so I don't see any major issues coming up. The only real danger I ever have is when the fish get stressed due to overcrowding. So far with this setup, the only things that get grumpy are the Cat, who claimed an area under a rock, and the two crabs, and that is only when another fish runs into them.
Well, that about sums it up. I am interested though, has anyone had any luck with ordering plants online? I've found a few sites that offer a nicer selection than is available from my LFS, I'm just skeptical about paying the exorbitant shipping fees, and having the plants die.