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Afternoon, all.

I'm going to be converting my 38 gallon river tank back into a standard community tank. Yeah, I know it normally goes the other way, but with me being away at college, I want to make things a bit easier for my parents in regards to taking care of the tank. The river tank, while admittedly very cool, can be a bit of a hassle (especially with a really nasty sort of brush algae that I just can't shake).

So, my plan for later on this week was to tear down the tank, sterilize everything, and set it up as a peaceful community with moderate stocking and live plants.

Intended stock:
2 dwarf gouramis
12-14 smallish tetras (glowlight, cardinal, or some similar species. I need to see which looks best at the store)
8-10 medium sized corys (not sure on the species yet. I'll have to see what is in stock that catches my eye)
6 otos
A Bamboo shrimp if I can find one.

Any comments/suggestions on the stock are appreciated.

Plants:
Probably some java fern and vals, as those are the plants with which I've had the most luck. My substrate is mixed flourite and gravel. Light is 92 watt PC, so I have about 2.5 WPG.

My main question is about the filtration. It's been a couple of years since I've had a regular type filter (HOB, canister, etc.) because the filter on my river tank was a modified sponge/powerhead doohickey. I'm not sure if any great strides have been made in filter technology that I haven't heard of, but I figured that I'd ask for recommendations for a filter less than $70 (as I'm burning up all of my Christmas presents from people trying to convert this tank. All told, it'll probably take around $300 to do). I know that probably excludes me from any type of canister filter, but I'm more than happy to use a good HOB filter. So, what kinds of HOBs do you guys like and have success with, or, alternatively, can anyone suggest a lower-priced canister filter?

Thanks a bunch.

Joe Potato

Any comments/suggestions on the stock are appreciated

The stocking looks good. You may have some trouble with 2 dwarf gouramis...even in that size tank. I suggest getting 3 (1m/2f) if you can find females. If you can't, then I'd go with just a single male.

I'm not sure if any great strides have been made in filter technology that I haven't heard of, but I figured that I'd ask for recommendations for a filter less than $70

You can get a Rena XP2 cannister filter for about $78 plus shipping. That is out of your price range, but it would be worth it. I'm setting up a 38g planted community and will have one of these on my tank. If you really want to stick to under $70, then I'd go with a HOB. An Aquaclear 70 would be great for that size tank, or if you'd rather not have so much overfiltration, you may be able to get away with an AC50. If you think your parents might slack a little on tank maintenance, you might want to go with the AC70.

With 2.5wpg, you might want to get more than just Java Fern and Vals. You'll have a pretty wide plant selection, so I'd suggest some stem plants, just so you won't invite algae in the tank (medium light and slower growing plants=algae). If you can find Bacopa, Hygro, Rotala, or Ambulia, they should all do well in your light.

*Kristin*

Thanks for the reply, Kristen.

You may have some trouble with 2 dwarf gouramis...even in that size tank

I was worried a bit about that, but I was hoping that with the size of the tank they would have enough space. I might substitute with something a bit more peaceful like Honey Gouramis.

With 2.5wpg, you might want to get more than just Java Fern and Vals. You'll have a pretty wide plant selection, so I'd suggest some stem plants, just so you won't invite algae in the tank

For whatever reason, my aquatic greenthumb about matches my terrestrial green thumb. I had some Bacopa and Dwarf Hygro in there previously, and despite all my efforts, they kept dying. I figured some sort of nutrient deficiency was to blame (the plants were yellowing out) and dosed some ferts, but any time I did there was an algae explosion. Definitely something to think about, though.

I checked out the filters, and while the Rena looks very nice, it's probably a bit complicated maintenence-wise for my parents. I'd prefer to make it as easy as possible for them, and the Aquaclears look great; if I can actually get the plants to take hold this time, maybe I can get by with the AC30.

Joe Potato

You would think, that in a bigger tank, DGs could get along. But I've heard people's experiences where 2 males DGs fought in a 55g, so really I wouldn't chance it. You could get lucky and have 2 that get along, but you wouldn't know unless you tried it. Honey gouramis would be a better choice IMO.

For the plants, you shouldn't have a problem growing them in that light. I do suggest dosing some fertilizers weekly though. You can get some Flourish (just the regular kind) and some Flourish Potassium, and with a nice fish load, that should be all that you need. If you just dose weekly, what is recommended on the bottle, you shouldn't have an algae outbreak like you would if you dosed daily or every other day.

Just plant the stems, dose weekly, and trim as needed. You shouldn't have a problem growing any low or medium light plants IMO.

The Rena's aren't that hard to maintain, but the AC is definitely easier. The Rena's have the disconnect thing on the top (where the hoses go into the cannister) and you just lift the lever up slowly and then take that part off. Then you can take the cannister itself to the tub or whatever to do maintenance. I have filter floss in mine and I replace it and rinse the foam pads in old tank water on my XP3s monthly. It sounds complicated, but its not at all.

For the AC they would just have to take it off the tank and rinse the sponges, so it would be easier if they will be doing most of the maintenance.

*Kristin*

Maybe I just got lucky, but I have two dwarf gouramis in a 10 gallon. They love each other, they practically school together. After the first few days I have not even seen them chase each other.
They are by far my favorite fish.

Well, I did the first part today.

I actually found a Rena XP1 (a bit smaller than an XP2, obviously) and got that. I had a hell of a time trying to get that to work, though. For some reason, it primed okay but the impeller wouldn't pull water. After about 2 hours of tinkering, I finally found out that I had put the top plate of the media basket upside down, so the impeller housing didn't form a tight seal. Once that was taken care of, it worked like a dream.

Basically, the rest of it just involved a deep cleaning of everything else (driftwood, aquarium walls, etc.), addition of a heater, and removal of the old filtering system. I'm going to finish up a bit more housekeeping on it tomorrow, and then probably next week get going on planting the tank and stocking it.

Joe Potato

My dwarf gouramis killed each other in a planted 55g with numerous caves and hiding places. Unless you want to try to get lucky I think it's best to keep one to a tank. The bamboo shrimp while not really high maintenance do require some attention to water quality like most other shrimp. Absolutely no ammonia or nitrites and low nitrates or you'll have dead shrimp very quickly. Being filter feeders they benefit from frequent feedings with a soft or powdered food(mostly anything but pelleted foods). Shrimp pellets predisolved before feeding or very finely crushed flakes dumped in front of them works but they really enjoy when I put a capful of liquid marine invertebrate food in front of them. They also need a piece of driftwood preferably in front of the current. They evolved to blend into driftwood and filter feed from moving water so get stressed when those needs aren't met. A fairly hardy shrimp if keep those few things are kept in mind but I know plenty of people have killed them off because they didn't pay attention to those details.


I'd either remove one of the bulbs or add some other plants. Even just something cheap and fast growing like duckweed or hornwort can help balance out the tank so the algae doesn't use the light to grow. Floating plants also block some of the light to lower in the tank so help stop algae that way. Other than that some of the hardest to kill plants I've kept are wendtii crypts, crinums(water onions), and marsilea crenata(aquatic clover). They grow in all my tanks even when quite neglected and tolerate a wide range of water parameters including rather low to high light levels.

Well, the plants and some of the new stock were added today.

I got 10 Paleteus corys and this (the Riverbed pack). I do have a question on the Java Moss, however -- what's the best way to attach that to something?

Already in the tank, I had around 9 WCMMs or so. My original intention was to remove them for store credit, but catching them was a bit of a challenge. With the plants in there now, they're never coming out; hence, they'll be my small schooling fish. Probably next week, I'll find the small gourami species to add. What opinions does everyone have on Sparkling Gouramis?

Pics to follow once everything settles down.

Joe Potato

I have used both cotton thread and fishing line to attach moss to driftwood or rocks. Both work.

*Kristin*

I've used the cotton, the fishing line, just cramming it inbetween rocks, nooks and crannies in driftwood, it'll attatch to anything.

If you can't cram it between something, use the cotton. It'll degrade over time and will be gone by the time the plant attatches, whereas the fishing line won't leave without a fight.

I finished the stocking today. I added two dwarf gourmais and five otos.

I know that the gouramis can be aggressive with each other, but I watched these two (they were the only two at the LFS) interact for some time and they got along great.

I wanted to get them over the weekend but one of the hoses popped off my filter on Friday and spilled a bunch of water on the hardwood floor ( I went out the next day and bought some actual pipe clamps to replace the cheap little plastic ones that came with the filter). As such, I had to drain it halfway to make it light enough to move so I could dry the floor before the wood was ruined. I wanted to let the tank settle for a few days after such a large water change.

Anyway, they're currently acclimating. I'll snap some pics tonight after they've settled.

Joe Potato

Final got some decent pics.

The Gouramis

Oto

Gourami Hiding

Left Side of Tank

Whole Tank

I couldn't get any pictures of the corys. They're a bit shy unless it's feeding time, and at that point it's like trying to take a picture of a Tomahawk missile.

Joe Potato


Edit: Well, one of the dwarf gouramis died. Please look at my hospital thread and give your input.

I love your tank Joe!

All that blue & green & then that big driftwood really makes the tank!

I just stumbled on this thread & saw your pics hiding in it. I don't pay much attention to stocking threads. You ought to put these nice pics in the photo booth where everybody can see them!

Thanks for the complement, Patty.

Well, I think the other gourami is happy. He's spent the past 12 hours building a bubble nest.

Joe Potato

I like the tank a lot Nice shots of the gouramis and the oto. Sorry to hear about the loss though

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There is water at the bottom of the ocean