new to plecos, Tank setup

Pretty much explains itself really. If you have questions about tank set-ups, tank furniture, (caves etc) chuck them in here!

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rynwilliams
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new to plecos, Tank setup

Post by rynwilliams »

Hi,

I have kepts tropical and marine fish tanks in the past so i am not a complete beginer but wanted to get some info on setting up a tank for the L046 zebra pleco.

I am looking at getting a 125l tank
After reading the forum it looks like i will need a power head and a filter, are internal filters any good or do people recommend external filters, any model suggestions or specific features would be great.

What is the best to do regarding the water? i have an RO unit so can use that if necessary, i live in a very hard water area.
What else would you recommend i do to get the water correct? apart from heat to 28C

I was looking at a no substraight method of keping these, and am looking at putting the tank in my spare room, It has a large window but will be out of direct sunlight, and i wont put any lighting on the tank is this ok?

Anything else people can recommend would be great.

Also if there is anyone in the Uk with any for sale drop me a message.

Thanks
Ryan
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TwoTankAmin
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Re: new to plecos, Tank setup

Post by TwoTankAmin »

Welcome to the site-

It would help to know numbers for your water in terms of hardness, KH and pH.

As for filtration- just make sure you are adequately oxygenating the water.

Tank setup depends on how many fish of what size and then if you are trying to spawn them or not.
What makes the common person uncommon is common sense.
rynwilliams
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Re: new to plecos, Tank setup

Post by rynwilliams »

I will get a testing kit for gh/kh/ph and post the results.

So would an internal filter be ok, I have read that a larger filter is recommended to turn the water over quicker, what sort ofr l/ph should i be aiming for in a 125l tank?
Also if i get a power head should it be on the same side as the filter or the oppoiste side?

I was looking at maybe 4 or 5 fish and yes with the intention to breed.
rynwilliams
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Re: new to plecos, Tank setup

Post by rynwilliams »

My tap water is coming out at PH9, I havent got a kit for the kh as yet but hope this helps.
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TwoTankAmin
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Re: new to plecos, Tank setup

Post by TwoTankAmin »

That is too high for zebras. I would look into an ro unit to make water to mix with your tap to get the levels down. The odds are good with that pH level that your TDS will also be on the high side as well. The KH will not be as important as the hardness (GH) although both contribute to TDS. You can get a TDS or conductivity meter pretty cheap online these days. I paid under $30 for mine delivered.
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rynwilliams
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Re: new to plecos, Tank setup

Post by rynwilliams »

I did check the tds and it was about 380ppm

I also do have a RO unit i use for my orchids, would a 50/50 mix work best or just mix it untill i get to 6.5PH
rynwilliams
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Re: new to plecos, Tank setup

Post by rynwilliams »

I have got my tank setup now, using RO water i got it to 20ppm and PH 6.6

Is this ok for Plecos?

How often should i be doing water changes?
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TwoTankAmin
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Re: new to plecos, Tank setup

Post by TwoTankAmin »

Bear in mind that unless you have wild zebras you really dont need to be that low in TDS. The only numbers I have seen from the wild in terms of the Xingu water params basically showed the TDS equivalent for the actual conductivity readings made showed the TDS during the dry season around 80 ppm and during rainy season at about 14 ppm.
The Xingu is the easternmost major tributary of the Amazon entering from the
south. The Tocantins if farther east & considered by some to be a tributary of
the Amazon, but is actually a tributary of the Rio Pará. As Pete reported
previously, it is a white water stream. Stawikowski recorded the following
conditions for the Xingu near Altamira in September 1988 (low water): pH 6.5, 1º
dGH, 1º dKH, e.c. 120µS/cm @ 32ºC (90ºF). Lacerda measured the Xingu in about the
same location in March 1996 (high water) as follows: pH 6.7 - 6.9, e.c. ~20µS/cm.
The water temperature was cooler, probably around 80ºF.
From http://www.thekrib.com/Apisto/A-xingu.html

My tap currently runs in the 80-85 ppm range. I recently used CaCo3, Epsom and minute amount of baking soda to get mine up to the 150ppm range for a dry season so when I dropped it back down into the mid 80s this would give me a 60-70 ppm change.

Zebras are pretty forgiving- up to a point. So there really are no ideal numbers which are needed but rather a range which will work.
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rynwilliams
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Re: new to plecos, Tank setup

Post by rynwilliams »

So would you recommend i change out some of the water so maybe mix 70% Ro water to 30% tap, this will increase my Ph i think so i will need to get something to reduce this.

Anyone from the uk with Hard tap water, what do you use?
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