Grow out tank

[Acpape0]

Just picked up a 20 gallon high tank. To use as a grow out / nursery tank for my cichlid fry. I put on a emperor 400 (lower flow) and it came with sand. It came with a bunch of decorations and I was thinking about pulling all the decorations out. Is sand a good substrate for a nursery or should I swap with gravel?
Any suggestions for a tank of this purpose?
So this tank came with residents that will need to be relocated but that is a different thread .


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[Acpape0]

Close up


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[jonclark96]

I prefer to have my grow out tanks heavily aquascaped. In my experience, it gives the fry more security with plenty of places to hide. There is also more surface area for algae and micro organisms to grow on for the fry to graze on during the day.


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[Acpape0]

Well I have a lot of slate I can use some of it after I empty current residents.


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[Acpape0]

How do you buffer the ph in your grow out tanks? I have Florida Cora in my sump on my show tank and iced in the gravel on my fry tank but this one has sand and I am not looking to buy holey rock (to much $)
Could I just mix in with sand or is that a bad idea ?


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[frankoq]

crushed coral

 

[frankoq]

is this for fry or a grow out? I keep reading the grow out should be at least 29g.

 

[Acpape0]

I have a 5.5 for the fry, this will be for when they get a little bigger. Not a full blown grow out but something that is good enough for now


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[Raven20]

Adam,

Are you growing them out to keep or sell?

 

[Acpape0]

Growing more for fun..may keep some but not most. I would give them all away but the wife will yell. So anything that is born at my house I will get rid of for $1 or less


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[Acpape0]

You can hold me to that


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[frankoq]

You can hold me to that


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snapshot taken of this message for evidence.

 

[frankoq]

I have a 5.5 for the fry, this will be for when they get a little bigger. Not a full blown grow out but something that is good enough for now


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got it.

 

[jonclark96]

I think that food and water quality are more important than tank size, to an extent, when talking about grow out tanks. Although I would agree that a bigger tank is always better, you can get good growth with appropriate feedings and lots of water changes.

 

[Acpape0]

What kind of feeding schedule do you use? I was always a less is more kind of person, but I am pretty sure that would be counter productive in this situation


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[Acpape0]

How often do you feed fry?


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[rsretep]

I feed my fry two to three times a day, varying the food on each feeding

 

[rsretep]

I use breeder nets for new born and am currently using a twenty long for grow out of archocentrus centrarcus,rusties, and yellow labs. Works for me