# New 60g aquarium



## LykeOMGee (Apr 23, 2014)

I joined this site a while ago now to read and browse, but I haven't actually posted anything..

Well I just recently got a 60g tank and I've been trying to figure out what I should stock it with! I originally wanted to have a lot of plants, but my boyfriend has informed me that he is bringing his 16-18in common Pleco to out into my tank as its in a tank that is too small at the moment. So now I am reconsidering the whole planted aspect. Or at least not as heavily planted as I wanted.

What are some good ideas for fish that will live well with this Pleco?
Are there plants I can still grow and have in the tank with the Pleco?
Is sand a good substrate or should I stick with gravel?

I'm going to have lots of drift wood and possibly some medium sized rocks as well. I also haven't got water or anything in the tank yet as I wanted to figure out what I'm doing before I start so I can have everything as perfect or close to perfect as I can. Should I cycle the tank bare just to get it started or is it better to have at least substrate down first?

I currently have a 40g tank with driftwood, live plants, guppies, platys, a weather loach and an albino bristle nose Pleco.

I've been keeping fish for almost 6 years now but I still feel like there is so much for me to learn and experience. Especially since I've only ever had small fish, oscars, plecos and jack dempseys, but I want to try something new.

Any input and advice is more than welcome! Thanks


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## Rockman (May 19, 2013)

Hey... welcome to the forum. Congrats on the new tank. Should be fun.

Although technically, the BF's pleco will pretty much completely fill that tank. It's still too small for a pleco that size, IMO. In terms of swimming space I'd probably recommend something with base dimensions of 6'x2' minimum for a catfish that size. I've got a 10" common (a Pterygoplichthys joselimaianus... there are a bunch of different 'common plecos' of different sizes) in my 90 gallon and that's about as small a footprint as I'd want to do (upgrades are on the horizon... pending space and funding). A pleco that size would also be taking up most of the bioload space as well (you might be able to fit a moderate size shoal of tetras or maybe a middling sized cichlid or two).

Plants with big catfish are tricky. You can try some of the more sturdy rooted plants (my guy hasn't dug up my amazon swords _too_ much... but I have to box them in with stones); but you can't have lots of them because plecos get caught up in them and beat the stuffing out of them. Floating plants are on the table though. I've got frogbit and duckweed in mine. Helps keep the water clean.

I tend to like sand substrates personally. The catfish will dig through it somewhat (I get shifting sand piles in my tank... I don't mind though).


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## Flear (Dec 8, 2012)

so your b/f is deciding what to do with your tank by getting a fish that needs several times the dimensions of your tank to swim around in ???
as rockman said, a 60 gallon is way too small for a pleco that size, ... for any fish that size your tank is a fraction of the space needed for the fish.

LykeOMGee, if you want to learn, there are a couple pleco specific forums online, ask in those places about considering that pleco

i'm scared to think of what he is considering "too small" for that pleco currently. 

personally, it's great you are doing what you can to learn more in the hobby, ... it might be time your b/f flex his intellectual muscle and learn a thing or two (at least).

oh ya, and if you consider the requirements of that pleco are too much try getting rid of it, a pleco that size you are going to be very hard pressed to find anyone who wants it. (an area where the common pleco is proving to be one of the worst investments in the hobby.

might want to consider building a tank, for the requirements of the pleco you are going to be looking at a tank large enough it may be more cost effective to build a tank over buying one.

the requirements of the common pleco:
it's more of a carnivore over omnivore (especially at that size)
i don't think that pleco really cares about wood requirements in it's diet at all
plants are ... i would really look at the pleco specific websites on the net for more specific information.

be sure to inquire about digging, a different pleco (don't remember which) is recommended to remove any stones of significant size as the fish is known for pushing rocks around and breaking the tank glass as it does so.


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## LykeOMGee (Apr 23, 2014)

Thank you for letting me know! The reason why he is bringing it to my tank is because his buddy is giving him the Pleco. I called it his because it will be soon. I definitely want to invest into another larger tank, but I cannot at this current moment. I don't even know what size tank he is currently in, but it can't be bigger than mine that's for sure and I always hate hearing about big fish in small tanks.. Even though mine is still going to be too small I was really hoping it would be okay for now, or at least better than what he's in.

I'll have a look at those websites today and hopefully have a chat with my boyfriend about it. What size tank would you say is big enough for this Pleco? I do also have a large pond in my back yard, but it needs to be cleaned up a bit and has some goldfish in it.

I definitely won't be putting any rocks in the tank for now then, I really would hate to have the glass break and have water everywhere!


I think I may cycle my tank, put sand substrate on the bottom and a large clay pot just for now until I know what I'm doing with this Pleco.. Thanks for the advice and information!


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## UnderseaGal (Mar 4, 2014)

Welcome!
While I have no experience with large fish, I would cycle the tank with the substrate already in it. For one thing, bacteria attach to the substrate (which is a good thing), and for another, the substrate can sometimes have an impact on water parameters, which could impact an established cycle.

Good luck with the big pleco!
I have a tiny one (< 2 inches) and he's digging all these holes in my soil already!


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## LykeOMGee (Apr 23, 2014)

UnderseaGal said:


> Welcome!
> While I have no experience with large fish, I would cycle the tank with the substrate already in it. For one thing, bacteria attach to the substrate (which is a good thing), and for another, the substrate can sometimes have an impact on water parameters, which could impact an established cycle.
> 
> Good luck with the big pleco!
> I have a tiny one (< 2 inches) and he's digging all these holes in my soil already!


Thanks! I also have a small albino bristle nose that I fell inlove with as soon as I seen him/her! Who just might take over my 60g once I figure out what to do with the other Pleco.

I want to eventually have plants so is it better if I lay sand down with gravel on top? Or does layering substrates not matter too much? Also what's the black sand called so I can try to find it easier? Thanks


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## Rockman (May 19, 2013)

LykeOMGee said:


> Thank you for letting me know! The reason why he is bringing it to my tank is because his buddy is giving him the Pleco. I called it his because it will be soon. I definitely want to invest into another larger tank, but I cannot at this current moment. I don't even know what size tank he is currently in, but it can't be bigger than mine that's for sure and I always hate hearing about big fish in small tanks.. Even though mine is still going to be too small I was really hoping it would be okay for now, or at least better than what he's in.


It probably is better than what he's in now. You could probably keep the water fairly clean with some effort (50% WC's twice a week maybe). But yeah... in terms of having a reasonable amount of room you'd be needing to upgrade to something in the 180 gallon range (ideally larger). It's a pretty big commitment. If it were me I'd probably decline to make that my headache (as cold as it sounds... it's not something I could really do properly).



LykeOMGee said:


> I'll have a look at those websites today and hopefully have a chat with my boyfriend about it. What size tank would you say is big enough for this Pleco? I do also have a large pond in my back yard, but it needs to be cleaned up a bit and has some goldfish in it.


A pond probably won't work. It'd be great in the summer; but unless it's heated you'd need another plan for the winter.

I did a quick run through the classifieds section just to get an idea of what's available. There's this one; which isn't half bad (although it's not quite wide enough at 18"... ideally you want something wider than the fish is long). This one would be pretty nice (although it doesn't sound like it includes filters, heaters or lights... maybe tack on another $500-1000 for that). This one would fall into the 'pretty sweet' category (it's been up for ages too... I've seen it before. You could probably talk the guy down in price a bit... which will be nice when you have to hire an engineer to design you a new floor!).



LykeOMGee said:


> I want to eventually have plants so is it better if I lay sand down with gravel on top? Or does layering substrates not matter too much? Also what's the black sand called so I can try to find it easier? Thanks


Plain sand or gravel substrate isn't really what you want with plants (although you can make it work... it's better to have a plant substrate). My preferred poor man's planted substrate at the moment is pond soil capped with dirt (example in the shrimp tank tank journal in my sig); but it's decidedly not pleco friendly (or anything that might dig... which is true of pretty much all layered substrates). They do also make commercial plant substrates that range in size from silt/clay to sand or gravel. Haven't really tried those though (they tend to be moderately expensive).


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## LykeOMGee (Apr 23, 2014)

So I did a little looking around at the stores where I live and it shouldn't be too hard for me to get a heater for my pond. Less than $100 is better on my budget than $1000+ for a new tank right now. Frequent water changes shouldn't be too hard for me either for now until the pond is cleaned up. I'm just running out the door so I can't write much at the moment, but in the future I definitely want to build my own tank around at least 125g. Thank you for the advice!!!


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## Rockman (May 19, 2013)

Can't say I know much about ponds or pond heaters. It might be an option; although you'd need to make sure you've got enough wattage to keep the pond temperature fairly high (lethal temps for plecos are apparently around 11 or 12 degrees C) during the coldest parts of the year.


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## Flear (Dec 8, 2012)

copy/pasted from another forum
i asked the cost to build aquariums, ... the concensus is it's cheaper to build than buy at around 150+ gallons

285 gallon acrylic tank for $900
540 gallon glass and plywood aquarium for $900
150 gallon acrylic aquarium for $500
pair of 200 gallon acrylic aquariums for $500 each
a 240 gallon plywood tank for $400

... if you know what you're doing you can make a tank big enough that the pleco might seem a bit small for a reasonable cost, ... provided you have that much to spend on the project to start with, ... if that's the case a temporary 60 gallon is plenty acceptable i think


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## Flear (Dec 8, 2012)

or keep your eyes open on the buy/sell section of this forum/site, always amazing deals


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## Flear (Dec 8, 2012)

i'm also looking up alternatives
(from amazon.ca)
i don't trust this one long term, but in a pinch, 8' round for $30, hard to beat
http://www.amazon.ca/Intex-8-Inch-18-Inch-Fish-Snapset/dp/B00005O6TY/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1410035942&sr=8-4&keywords=pool

12' for $200
http://www.amazon.ca/Intex-12-Foot-30-Inch-Family-Round/dp/B000BVKO0E/ref=pd_sim_sbs_lg_33?ie=UTF8&refRID=0KDJEC89S5DEM9DDA4HR

but if i could find something like this i would be happier
but i think this is US, i don't want to imagine what it would cost to get it shipped here
$300 8' diameter
Fun Pool 8' X 2' Poly

they're alternatives, ... i stayed away from any inflatable ones as, ... i'm sorry i just don't trust those, especially for indoors

Edit:
i would prefer the stock tanks out there, ... amazon.ca doesn't seem to have any larger than 100gallon, ... there are some pretty large ones out there, saw one at 9' (actually from the agrisupply.com site (last link)


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## LykeOMGee (Apr 23, 2014)

Wow thanks so much you guys have been incredibly informative! I never even thought of using a kiddie pool for any fish either! Though I'd definitely have to keep my 4yr old away from it! I had a quick chat with my bf about it on the phone and he's going to possibly get our big pond all cleaned up. It's at least 2-3 ft deep and rather long/wide, but worst case we can just empty the water and extend it (which is what I want to do anyways) all I would need is a pond heater which I found one for around $70. Luckily living right on the coast I don't get a whole lot of snow maybe one day, and if it gets too cold even with the heater running then ill home him temporarily in my tank and/or a kiddie pool in the basement! 

So now that I've somewhat got that figured out I think I'm going to set up my other tank as well. It's a 29g tall I do believe and maybe use it to get my planted tank fix.. Maybe shrimp and very small fish schooling in it... Though maybe I'm getting too many things on my list at once!


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