Sanity Check - 29 Gal. Stocking

aakaakaak

Superstar Fish
Sep 9, 2010
1,324
0
0
Chesapeake, Virginia
#1
So, after mathing everything out on AqAdvisor and looking all the fish up, does this look like it would work?


With the standard Top Fin/Tetra Whisper 30 gallon waterfall filter it tells me:
99% Filtration
21% Weekly Water Change

I have a log that I cut down a year ago that I'm going to split, bleach and leach for the pleco. How do live plants fair with plecos?

My Natural PH is 7.6
Ambient temperature is 79-81 F

Yes, I'm well aware of the whole cycle your tank deal. I used gravel and dirty water from my 10-gal to kick it off and have a couple-three fish in there now to keep the cycle.

The mollies and plants will go in first for cover.

Have I left any glaring holes in this plan?
 

Jun 18, 2010
135
0
16
Lima OH. USA
#2
sounds pretty good to me so far, and my pleco leaves the plants alone, however i am not sure on bleaching the log, wood is very porous and i am sure bleach will not come out completly, unless someone has done it here?? i really have no clue
 

ryanoh

Large Fish
Mar 22, 2010
858
0
0
#3
I second the pleco thing. Mine generally left mine alone, but he sometimes ate the algae off of them. I think the only time he ate them was when I went out of town for two weeks and he got through the fish vacation blocks I left him.

How essential is driftwood for plecos?
 

prsturm

Large Fish
Aug 13, 2010
100
0
0
#4
How big is the piece of wood? Can't you just soak it and boil it? Bleach is generally a giant no-no for anything going near an aquarium. Generally you can just soak and boil a piece of wood. You'll have to find a way to anchor the wood, since native wood picked up off the ground will float, and will float for months, and it takes forever to sink.
 

aakaakaak

Superstar Fish
Sep 9, 2010
1,324
0
0
Chesapeake, Virginia
#5
Not actual bleach guys. You use lemon juice or Vinegar then leach it out with the tannins over a few weeks in successive hot water baths. The "second" bath, after the "bleach" is supposed to be a dechlorinator bath. The log I'm planning on doing is about 20 inches long.....oh hey...I might have something big enough to boil...maybe. Boiling assists in the decomposition process though. I'll figure it out when I get to that point.

Thanks on the pleco info. From everything I've read the wood is critical for pleco digestion.
 

Aug 16, 2009
1,318
0
0
SW Pennsylvania
#6
How essential is driftwood for plecos?
I've never kept plecos before, but I constantly hear all the pleco owners advising newbies that plecos absolutely positively need driftwood.
I love zebra plecos, and while my largest tank is stocked and I don't plan on adding anything other than a couple more cories, I didn't know that zebra plecos could live in a 30 gallon tank.
 

aakaakaak

Superstar Fish
Sep 9, 2010
1,324
0
0
Chesapeake, Virginia
#7
Everything I'm reading on Zebra Plecos (Albeit not too horribly much yet) say they only grow 3-4 inches (up to 10c) compared to the other much larger plecos that outgrow tanks.


Edit: on further research I'm gonna need a different bottom feeder. $200 is not what I'm wanting to pay for a fish. They're not wood eaters either. Anybody got any suggestions?
 

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