# My new 720 l tank



## Mantas (May 16, 2017)

Hi everyone. I've been passive forum visitor for a while and this is my first post ever so be patient with me.

I thought will share my story with this new tank and hopefully will get some advise or ideas how to continue in the future.

All started I'd say 12 years ago or so when I've purchased 360l tank, and had my first African Malawi tank. Then had to move country and Aquariums were only in my dreams :zz: so been dry for 7 years  
Then lucky enough purchased the house so was able to start dreaming more realistically. The plan, as we all probably do, was to get second hand 300 - 500 l tank, not too expensive as budget is tight especially with so many work around the house. Well and probably it is easier to get wifes approval if you not disclose final price of the whole idea 

Before even ordering the tank I knew that I wanted to keep Geophagus as I've seen them very long time ago and liked so much but 360l tank was too small for me at that time.
So in march I've ordered tank measuring 200x60x60 and while waiting started building my own stand, did not do a lot of photos at that time but have few to share:



The idea was to build my own stand and fit with ready made door. I've decided to go with IKEA kitchen doors so stand was made to fit dimensions of IKEA doors



While I was waiting for tank to arrive was planning on filtration and decided to go with sump. Lucky enough was able to find second hand sump which fitted tightly into my cabinet, size: 75x55x45. Return pump I am using is Jebao DCS-5000 which probably gives somewhere around 2500 l/h return given my head pressure. I have around 8 litres of ceramic rings loaded into sump and water is being filtered through filter sock and extra filter floss (cheap option taken out of pillow). Water goes back into sump over the overflow where I have to return pipes one is running on full syphon and other is just as security. Sump also housing 2x300 watt heaters 
Sump in working order:



Next tank arrived, So made a hood with led flood lights, 2x20w warm white, I've found them not bright enough and too yellow so added 3x10w cool white:



Once all that was done it was time for getting to hardscape. I don't want any plants so decided to go with branch and few stones. Also knowing that I wanted Geophagus I've chosen quartz sand. In overall I think hardscape worked out pretty well but always open to suggestions from tank community people 





I've done fishes cycle with household ammonia and it took around 3 weeks to get ammonia and nitrite levels to 0 even though I've seeded aquarium with sponge from established tank from my friend.

Once all was settle down I've purchased some bottom dwellers such as Ancitrus (7 pcs) and Corydoras sterbai (12 pcs), for some reason Corys doesn't feel very well in the tank as I've lost few of them already, at the moment I think 6 or 7 only left and can't figure out why they dying as water parameters seems to be fine. Any suggestions?

And finally last week my order of Geophagus arrived into local fish store. I've got 8 of them and so far they are doing well. Sizes raging between 1"-1.5" They are marked as Surinamensis but I think they most likely are Altifrons. Anyone able to identify, more than welcome to do so. Original plan was to get Geophagus Winemilleri but no one could deliver them to Ireland.





I need to get my camera and make better quality photos 

So water parameters so far:

Amonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 10, I am a bit worried about readings of test as I have never had Nitrates higher than that so I wonder why because it should still accumulate some sort of nitrate levels
PH 7.8
Temp 28 C
doing water changes once a week but very little as don't see the point at this stage as water parameters looks stable. If you look at sump photo you will see water filter cartridges, I am using tap water for water changes and passing it through small particle and carbon filter to get rid of Chlorine, not sure how this effective but tested for chlorine and it did not registered any of it, so fingers crossed this method will work for me in the future as I don't have place to store tanks for water storage.

Future plans:

My wife wants Discus so not sure but probably will have to add them too. Was reading a lot online and seems that people keep them together with Geophagus and have no issues. Any suggestions welcome too.

Questions and recommendations:

I feel that I am lacking mechanical filtration as water in the tank seems having a lot of floating particles. I am waiting for internal filter Fluval U4 to arrive shortly and hope it will improve the visual quality of water. Any suggestion how to make water filtered mechanically better as it seems that overflow is not caching everything what is in the column of water. Do you think adding extra current would make things better.

Other question is regarding Nitrates. Should I be worried or is it something normal knowing that tank is very big and bio load is minimal at this stage.

Thats all for know and everyone is welcome to comment and share a bit of knowledge on my project 

Thanks for looking


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## Opulent (Jan 20, 2012)

Very nice, and great work considering you've built much of the setup yourself. :thumb:

The trick with having an overflow/weir is to get the water to circulate around your tank in a way that the particles and waste get pushed towards and up to the overflow. You might be able to do this with your return pump outlet nozzle, or you may need to use a powerhead to help direct the flow towards the overflow.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Wow. Excellent looking aquarium!

I second the need for a tweak to your circulation. I like the circulation pumps that mount with a magnet. On a 6' tank 1400 GPH works well.

Are you also using a dechlorinator along with your carbon filter? You would need to add enough at each water change for the entire volume of your tank. Not sure how efficient/quickly your system removes chlorine or chloramines, but a quality dechlorinator is essentially immediate. Seachem Prime is probably the best bang for your buck, but I don't know what's available for you in Ireland. No need for a storage tank to remove chlorine/chloramines.

Nitrates are low and that's good, but nothing better than fresh, clean water. I'd be looking for a 30% change per week while keeping an eye on nitrates. As they rise while the fish grow larger you can increase that percentage. 50% seems to suffice for most. Plan on changing water as the nitrate reading approaches or reaches 20 ppm.

I have no personal experience with discus, but I'd skip them for this setup. Angels would be a better fit. Look for tank raised fish in your area, as your pH is on the high end for South Americans.


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## mambee (Apr 13, 2003)

I love the look of your tank. I have a 150 gallon tank with 6 Altifrons and 6 Angels, plus about cories, and 5 BNPs. I find that Angels and Geos mix well as they occupy different levels of the tank. A school of large bodied tetras would look great too.

I've become a big convert to live plants. Besides looking great, I think that they do a good job of reducing nitrates. I grow various species of Anubias, Java fern, crypts, Java moss and duckweed in all of my tanks. My plants grow like weeds under my LEDs, and some of my Anubias are outgrowing my 150 and 90 gallon tanks. The Anubias and Java fern work well with Geos since you attach them to driftwood and they won't be uprooted by the Geos.


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## Mantas (May 16, 2017)

Hey Everyone again

Thanks for ideas.

Today found one ancitrus dead  ancitrus and corys are in tank for 3 weeks already and they keep dying one by one for some reason even though seems to be feeding well and swimming actively. I've checked dead fish and can't see any decease showing. No spots, belly is not bloated :-? some corys though lost they barbels.

Maybe anyone of you could shed some light on it. Is it possible that they still dying just because they did not acclimatised in my tank very well or maybe they meant to day because I got them from the store that way? My water parameters are good too so really strange one. I am worried about my Geos as they might start dying too.

Fluval U4 made some improvement on tank water but still not happy so need to play with currents. My return is on the same side as overflow so current needs to be added to the left end of the tank so it will push everything up.

I know Geos don't mind current as even now they like to stay in it from time to time but how about Angels will they mind currents in the tank as if I would add extra powerhead it will make even stronger?

Angels might be good idea actually must look into it. Never liked Angels before but all the time I used to see them in small tanks so I suppose they never reached they full potential but now just googled and see pretty nice specimens online.

Thanks again for posting and hope I can solve mistery of my fish dying slowly without any symptoms


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## mambee (Apr 13, 2003)

Maybe ph is too high or water too high? What was the ph of the store water where the cories and BNPs were purchased? Maybe add more driftwood to help acidify water. It's a shame to lose cories. I have some that are over 20 years old.


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## mambee (Apr 13, 2003)

I meant to say maybe your water is too hard.


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## Mantas (May 16, 2017)

Hey Mambee

Thanks for the input. I also thought that PH maybe is a bit on high side. Hard to read the test as it is dark green but I don't think it's reaching to Ph8.0 so thought it should be somewhere around 7.8 - 7.9 mark even that is very high I presume.

Does it make sense adding some peat into tank, knowing that it is so large how much of peat I would be looking. Will it stain water much?

Some of Geophagus has few white spots which shows ICH in the tank. They still very active so not sure if I need to take serious action including some medicine or just do water changes and raise temp. I hope it is all just new tank syndrome as what I am worried about is that maybe wood is leaching something nasty into the tank. I was not able to boil it as its so big. I've collected that piece from the beach and it looked like as it was washed ashore and been in sea for some time.

When it come to Ancitrus and Corys I've heard that they are hardy fish and was surprised that they keep dying.

Also question on Angels. Do they not get aggressive once they start to breed. Will they not touch Geophagus tails?

And the last one. When I do water changes I have to switch off my return pump. It stays idle for maybe about 1-1.5 hours while I drain water and refill again. Is that safe for bacteria colony in the sump or you would consider its too long. My water pressure is not greatest from the tap so unfortunately it just takes so long. If thats a risk I might consider maybe closed loop or extra little pump to circulate water while I am doing maintenance on the tank. What you think?

Thanks everyone again


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

It's fine that the filter is off that long...even longer.

You don't have new tank syndrome with those test results...keep searching for the solution...I don't have any ideas on that though.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

I'd lean towards the high pH/water hardness or chlorine/chloramines.

Do you have a gH & kH test kit? 
Get a dechlorinator. Dose the proper amount before adding new water.


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## mambee (Apr 13, 2003)

Regarding Angelfish, they breed in my tank on a regular basis and don't bother the other fish. Also, as a rule fish with long flowing fins aren't likely to be nippy. Plus the Angels stay up high and the Geos down low.

If you have ich, you need to address it quickly before it gets out of hand. Personally, I have never had any luck treating with just heat. The last time that I had an outbreak, I didn't cure it until I ordered some Esha Exit and had it shipped from the UK.

You should always dechlorinate your water. I use Seachem Safe which is the dry powder version of Seachem Prime. It is very economical. I would also go heavy on the water changes until your fish stop dying. Do you use a Python or similar hose? I use gravity to drain directly to my toilet.

Good luck.

I have problems with low ph and soft water, so I can't offer you any advise regarding lowering your ph.


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## Mantas (May 16, 2017)

Hey everyone

Will get some medicine for ich even though it is almost invisible few little grains on couple of fish. They do some flashing to the sand occasionally. Ich seems to be on geophagus but not visible on Corys or ancitrus. One cory had little air bubbles around his nose (looked like bubbles stuck to his skin) I wonder if that would indicate some sort of decease?

Also will get dechlorinator and see how it goes.

Do you think I would need air pump for my current set up. Geophagus seems feeling great not going up to get air and also very active. They come begging for food when I open the lid of the tank but corys go up from time to time to the surface. How to know if you don't have enough oxigen in the water?

Also question regarding Geophagus. Do only males fight? reason for asking is that few of them started to show dominance and showing of to each other. So I wonder if that way is possible to sex the fish by behaviour


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## mambee (Apr 13, 2003)

You need to add aeration if fish are gasping at the surface.

Geophagus do best in harems. I have 6 in my tank of both sexes. They jostle with each other but no damage is done.


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## Mantas (May 16, 2017)

Hey everyone

Little update on situation. Since last fish died a week or so ago I haven't lost any so far. What changed: started adding Seachem Prime on every water change. Doing it once a week around 30-35%. Also last time mentioned that had Ich on few fish. It has gone since without any medicine. Raised temperature and added salt it seems did the trick.

Question about feeding: is overfeeding bad because water quality worsen or it just bad for the fish itself. My Geophagus are 1-2" do they require freequent small portion feeding. Or twice a day is sufficient?

Now I am feeding them several times a day but very small amounts, nothing falls on the sand and more less everything is eaten in 15-30 secs. I am feeding them with flakes and sinking pallets for baby fish (1 mm crops) and occassionally give them frozen blood worm (they go mad for it  ). Flakes and pallets are meant for discus (says so on the box), I've got them from my friend. I wonder if discus food good enough for my fish, I thought they are both cichlids and from same region so diet must be similar? I wonder if the food I am giving to Geophagus good enough or I should think of something else.

Tell me what you think or what you feed your Geophagus with.

Thank you


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Overfeeding is bad for the fish (just like humans), but it does not sound like you are overfeeding. Regarding water quality...if you overfeed the fishkeeper has more work to do but it is assumed you do the extra vacuuming and water changes to keep nitrates < 20ppm even if you overfeed.


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## SantaMonicaHelp (Oct 1, 2012)

Mantas said:


> Hi everyone. I've been passive forum visitor for a while and this is my first post ever so be patient with me.
> 
> I thought will share my story with this new tank and hopefully will get some advise or ideas how to continue in the future.
> 
> ...


Hey Mantas,

Thanks for sharing your story!
Your tank looks so lovely  How many fish do you have?

Zhenya


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## Mantas (May 16, 2017)

Hi Zhenya

Thanks 

I have 8 Geophagus. Since I got them they doubled their size so for me they looks like growing fast. I work from home so can feed them very often small portions maybe thats what gives them that boost. Also doing water changes twice a week while they are growing.

I also had 12 corys where only 4 left now. They kept dying since I bought them so think maybe was bad batch or maybe acclimatisation went wrong. Also have 6 Bristlenose plecos which are also growing 

Plan is to get 6 Discus (Blue turqoise) but saving some money as they are pricey.


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## Mantas (May 16, 2017)

Hi everyone is there a way to update origin post so I can fix links to my pictures. I've moved to Imgur.com as photobucket stopped working


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Mantas, I will check with the forum owners and tech team to see if they will permit editing 'lost' pics due to the new PB upgrade.


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