# My Log: Natural Stream Tank



## fretfreak13 (Feb 21, 2012)

Hi folks,

I'm about to create an "as natural as possible" stream tank for the ecology section of my highschool before I leave. We have a huge room in the center of our school called the Vivarium. In there already we have a koi pond and lots of plant tables for study. My teacher's favorite aspect to teach seems to be river and stream quality, and at the moment we have a stagnant, empty 180 (I think?) in there. I've personally been into keeping saltwater reefs for the past five years or so, so I have a lot of that sort of equipment I can put towards this tank. I always ask questions in bullets, so here we go...


*What kind of fish do I want? The sorts that are located in ohio streams, rivers, lakes, and ponds. I'm hoping for some smallmouth bass, darters, bluegill/sunfish, shiners, and maybe a catfish or something. Not all of these are going in there, obviously, just some ideas. What would you put in?
*I have an extra T5 fixture I can donate to the school. It'll take a little tinkering and wont cover the entire tank, but will that spectrum be alright for keeping a few freshwater plants?
*What kind of substrate should I use? Right now its got rocks that are a bit bigger than your average gravel and I think it looks like crud. 
*Is there a safe sort of driftwood I can buy from somewhere thats dark and would look nice? All the stuff I find around here is bleach white and I don't think it looks right. 
*What kind of plants could I put in there? I'm probably going to have some pretty decent flow going to simulate the stream movement.
*I understand cycling and all that jazz, but from a saltwater point of view. What's different between the two? What should proper freshwater levels be at for maintaining fish, inverts, and plants?

Phew...thanks ahead of time for any help. I'll probably be using this thread for everything about this tank. Expect pictures soon. =)


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

what part of ohio are you from ? see if you can get the rocks and gravel from you local streams and rivers..you will also need some big rocks for fish to hide behind out of the current..
check this place out for fish...contact them and let them know what you are doing with your school....they may well be happy to help you out with information and possibly even to donate a few fish...

www.jonesfish.com


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## fretfreak13 (Feb 21, 2012)

Thanks for the link, and will do! I'm from the northeastern area, near both the Cuyahoga and Grand rivers. I can easily go in and get rock for structures, thats what my dad did for his 1500+ gal koi pond. ;]


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## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

This will be awesome on completion! The T5 light will be fine, you'll just need to get mostly white bulbs, and ditch all but maybe one of the blue bulbs. Ask us anything else you need, and keep us posted!


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

ok...you are just east of me..i'm in cleveland...best looking gravel you will ever see is right on the shores of lake erie..have you given any thought to small natives like darters and minnows and such...lots of amazing colors..

http://www.google.com/search?q=darter fish&biw=1672&bih=860&sei=6WRtT-GOB4O42wXjxKTxAQ&tbm=isch

for driftwood i would use the malaysian stuff..


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I think the main difference between salt and fresh w/regard to cycling is the nitrates. Freshwater nitrates are usually removed mainly by water changes and some by live plants. 

Isn't there is usually some kind of anaerobic nitrate to nitrogen conversion in SW? It can be done in FW as can chemical methods and refugiums full of live plants or algae, but none of these are common.

In FW w/o plants the goal is 0 0 0 (ppm ammonia, nitrite, nitrate). More realistic is 0 0 10-30. With a goal of keeping below 40 at all times and less for sensitive fish like discus. With plants, many people target keeping nitrate at or above 10 because plants will suffer if they run out of nitrate. Fish people just add more fish or cut back on water changes to raise nitrate, serious "aquatic gardeners" have been known to add potassium nitrate.


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## fretfreak13 (Feb 21, 2012)

Funlad - Thanks! I think its just a two bulb fixture, so I'll put only whites in it. Atinic out compleatly, since 50/50 is probably no good.

loha - Definetly have considered darters. Probably some daces too. The end of my street opens up to the shore of the lake, so I'll get some gravel from there, thank you! And for the driftwood advice. =) And to be more specific on location since you're near me, I'm in Euclid but my school is in Mentor.

emc - I'd like to stay away from a fuge because I think it would be cool to just have the plants in there. I'm at work right now (I work at the Greater Cleveland Aquarium! =) but when I get home I'll draw up what I'd like it to look like aquascape and function-wise. I'm not looking to dose anything like potassium nitrate because I want the tank to be easy to care for for beginners when I leave and graduate. I'll be back there periodically to check on and fix it, but basic maitenence needs to be as easy as possible.

New question!
**I have an RO/DI unit at home for mixing my saltwater. Do people use those to make nice freshwater too? Will it take care of the cholrine problem that I reading about with tap water? I never checked cholrine levels with salt.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

we are not that far apart...i live right by I-71 off of w. 130th st..used to live on e. 252nd st off of babbit..went fishing , gravel gathering and driftwood collecting at neff road..
are you a member of the Cleveland Aquarium Society..we meet the first tuesday of the month at 7:30 P.M. at the cleveland zoo education bldg..every spring we go on a native fish collecting outing...i'll have to check when this year...usually in may.

there is no need for RO/DI water in a native or most tropical tanks..our water here is almost perfect for it...i don't use any kind of conditioner or dechlorinator unless i do more than a 35-40% water change..


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