Hey guys, so I'm going to be building a tank very similiar to a 33 gallon long in the next few weeks and I'm trying to figure out what I'll need in terms of substrate, lighting, etc. to make the proper habitats. So, for fish I have Rainbow Darters, Bluebreast Darters, Variegate Darters, Slenderhead Darters, Redline Darters, Southern Redbelly Dace, Mountain Redbelly Dace, Blacknose Dace Various Shiners, a Suckermouth Minnow, a Bluehead Chub, and a Central Stoneroller. Now, I know it sounds overstocked, but I only have a few of each species, and I'm also going to be running a 100 gallon filter on it, if not a fluidized bed. For habitat all I know for sure is I'd like to have an area on the far left side (Where the flow will be coming from) that will only be about 6" deep and a foot or so long, sloping down to deeper water, but otherwise I'm clueless, hence why I came here! Thanks for your help, guys!
Habitats and Substrate in a 33 Gallon Long
Started by
Guest_Yeahson421_*
, Feb 19 2013 12:37 AM
7 replies to this topic
#2
Michael Wolfe
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- Board of Directors
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- North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage
Posted 19 February 2013 - 10:11 AM
I know you are asking about the bottom of the tank, but I am going to advise you to pay attention to the top of the tank... those dace are going to jump... particularly if you are building a long low tank. So I am going to advise you to make a nice lid, or a screen or something for the top of your tank. That is going to be very important for a tank like this.
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin
#3
Guest_Yeahson421_*
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Posted 19 February 2013 - 02:57 PM
Thank you, and yes, I lost all of my Redside Dace due to a poor cover, so I've learned. I'm thinking an 80% glass, 20% screen cover to make for some good ventilation. I'm even considering going as far as, for the cutouts around the intake and output, putting a rubber gasket to ensure there's no way a fish could jump out.
#4
Guest_gerald_*
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Posted 19 February 2013 - 03:17 PM
Needlepoint screen from craft stores is pretty good for fitting tight around filter tubes and outlet chutes, and it's fairly rigid. Regarding the bed materials, its tempting to use coarse gravel and cobble like a real riffle, but that traps a lots of food and waste that will rot. I would use sand because it doesn't collect as much crap, then press larger pebbles and cobbles into it to make it look like a riffle.
Edited by gerald, 19 February 2013 - 03:17 PM.
#5
Michael Wolfe
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- Board of Directors
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- North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage
Posted 19 February 2013 - 04:04 PM
Agree with Gerald. I had a 55 set up with just egg stone. It looked cool at first but later was disgusting and crashed. Now I have a sand over soil (red Georgia clay from the backyard) and it is much cleaner with a lot more fish in it.
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin
#6
Guest_Yeahson421_*
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Posted 19 February 2013 - 04:30 PM
Okay, thanks! Would any of those fish prefer some purely sand areas? What about plants?
#7
Michael Wolfe
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- Board of Directors
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- North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage
Posted 19 February 2013 - 09:22 PM
None of those fish would care, they would all be happy with stones... but a hogsucker would appreciate sand, or silverjaw minnows, for example.
The plants will appreciate the soil substrate under the sand.
The plants will appreciate the soil substrate under the sand.
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin
#8
Guest_Skipjack_*
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Posted 19 February 2013 - 10:26 PM
Thumbs up on the fluidized bed. Unreal filtration. They can be troublesome if you have a power outage, they will often not restart just from pump pressure, and you have to catch it quick, so that you do not lose your good guys. I ran a 240 with a trickle filter made for ponds, and a FBF, and had (I weighed them) over 20 pounds of fish in the tank. Granted they were tilapia, but obviously the filters were doing their job. Overstocked tanks are completely underrated.
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