# New 450 litre Clown Loach tank



## michael.woolford (Mar 18, 2011)

Hi guys,

I would appreciate you taking the time to read through the below and see if you can offer any advice. I have rambled on so apologies in advance!

Like most beginners I bought a small tank (120 litres) and put in the wrong fish. I have had 3 clown loaches in this tank along with a variety of smaller fish including 3 black skirt tetras, 3 white skirt tetras, 2 x neon tetras, 1 x Bristlenose and 3 x red rainbow glossolepis for the last year and a half.

Twice weekly water changes have become the norm! 

To cut a long story short I have now decided to have a Clown Loach tank, with the possibility of adding tiger barbs and keeping these 2 species together. 

I love the striped patterns on both of the fish, and believe that the barbs will complement the loach's shyness as they are a more active fish. I imagine if i had a loach only tank the loaches would spend all day in a cave and I would have a very bare tank to stare at!

So I have bought the tank and i'm picking it up on Saturday. This is it:








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If you can look past the tacky ornaments I think it will definitely provide my loaches with a good home for the next few years until I have to upgrade to a 8 foot tank when they start to mature. I got this whole set-up for £300 so not bad in my eyes at all! *w3

The tanks measurements are: 

Tank size (W x D x H, without hood): five feet (150cm) x 17” (44cm) x 27” (70cm)
Stand Size (W x D x H): five feet (150cm) x 17” (44cm) x 26” (65cm)
Total Height with stand & hood: 57" (146cm)
Glass thickness: 8 mm

Spec i'm hoping to get:

Lights: built in two x 24W T5 + two x 39W T5
Fluval 405 cannister filter
2 x 300w heaters
1 x 600 litre per hour air pump
1 x Koralia Evolution 2800 power head

The tank is coming with the following different fish: 

2 clown loaches, 3 tiger barbs, 1 amazonian puffer, 3 gouramis, 2 plecos and 1 chinese loach.

The tank will have a sand substrate (apparantly it's best for clowns), plus numerous large pieces of bogwood., caves and hiding places for the fish. 

Now I need some advice. Over the next few weeks I am going to be cycling this tank, and if i'm honest not sure on the best way to do it. Of course I have all my current fish plus a load more from the current owner so i'm going to have to give a load a way or sell them if possible. 

As clowns are sensitive species i'm thinking it may be best to do a fishless cycle or to use some of the more hardy fish I have in my 120 litre (such as the tetras).

Basicaly I want your opinions and advice on the best and fastest way to cycle my new tank.

Also any comments on my tank spec would be appreciated - always looking to improve!


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

Looks like a nice tank. I would do fishless for the loaches. One suggestion is to get a larger filter like the FX5. Add lots of plants and wood.


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## michael.woolford (Mar 18, 2011)

Not long until i pick up my tank 

How many tiger barbs and clown loaches can i fit into a 450 litre tank? Anybody ever done anything similar?

Also, how long until I need to upgrade to a larger tank? My biggest clown is around 5inches and the other 2 are around 3-4inches.

Thanks,

Mike.


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

I have 5 in my tank that is 831Ltr which will house them for a long while. Once they get big I wouldn't want anymore than that in there. You can probably house 5 for a few years. On the barbs I think I would do 15 or 20 at least to start out with and see how it goes.


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## michael.woolford (Mar 18, 2011)

Quick update.

Tank is now in my flat - Can't believe how heavy it was! Luckily my flat is on the ground floor. No way would I have been able to get it up a flight of stairs! 

The tank came with a huge variety of fish so I took some to the LFS and sold some too. Got a little money for the Gouramis and managed to exchange some other fish for Tiger barbs at the LFS 

Here's the tank so far. Still have lots of work to do:



I ran the play sand through water but still had a lot of cloudy water. It's settling down now though.



Still have lots more to add such as a load of bogwood that is currently soaking. I'll attach Java fern & Anubias to the wood.

My only concern with these plants is they will take a while to grow and will only really cover the bottom of the tank. Can anyone recommend plants that will grow higher (bare in mind I have clown loaches going into the tank and i know from experience they chew through most)

Thanks!


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

You can drain the tank, then refill using a plate to deflect the water before filling. Will be a lot clearer. You can add a sword plant that will reach the top of the tank, also vals and stem plants that get tall.


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## michael.woolford (Mar 18, 2011)

I wouldn't want to drain it as it has a lot of water from my previous tank, so i'd be getting rid of a load of bacteria. 

Do you have these plants in your clown loach tank?


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

There is very little bacteria in the water, basically it resides on hard surfaces. I have swords, and lots of stem plants with mine, but the tank is changing out to a cichlid tank and will mostly be swords and rocks.


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## michael.woolford (Mar 18, 2011)

So the tank has had a few more additions including some bogwood and a few variety of plants. I wanted to keep the plants to hardy species, especially as i have clowns going in which will obliterate anything.

I have some fast growing Echinodorus across the back to give a good background once they start groing tall, and I've also attached Anubias to the big slab of bogwood in the middle. Also have some established Java fern in the bottom left corner on more bogwood.

What do you guys think so far? Any advice / tips on how to make it look better?





To do:

Need to put a Koralia 5200 powerhead in which is being delivered tomorrow. Might also see if I can get another ext filter perhaps the Fluval FX5 or another 405 which combined with my current 405 should keep the tank in pristine condition. 

*c/p*


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