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Tropical Fish Keeping => Gallery Showcase => Topic started by: Matt on December 03, 2017, 09:10:06 AM

Title: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on December 03, 2017, 09:10:06 AM
8 otocinclus
10 galaxy rasbora
8 cardinal tetra
8 rummy nose terta
8 harlequin rasbora (mix of normal and purple)
8 sparkling gourami
4 german blue ram
4 checkerboard cichlid
10 pygmy cory (I've decided to give these a go, especially now I can get a larger shoal)

I'd like my tank to look something like this:


<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVJWKpyaCyM" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVJWKpyaCyM</a>


Though a low tech version eg. without carpeting plants.

I'm going to use a fluval U4 internal filter as these get very good reviews which I will hide behind the wood.

Above is my thinking over a year ago in anticipation of upgrading my tank to a 200litre Aquaoak. Well, as you may have seen in the Gallery thread for my current tank, this is now finally becoming a reality, though due to a slight miscalculation on measurements previously the tank I'm getting it actually rated as 220litres. Given the exterior dimensions of the tank the calculated volume is 220.9litres.

This probably leads to my first question... the filter I'm now going for is an external with inbuilt heater as I really want to keep as much equipment outside the tank as possible. No good hinging a U4 and not a heater! If I take a cm off each dimension to allow from the thickness of the glass on both sides and allow a bit of room for an air gap at the top of the tank I get to 205litres. As most of us know, you should extract 10% of the water volume from your stocking calculations to take account of the volume taken up by substrate and decorations etc. my tanks are also heavily planted. So... my question is, do you think Ill be OK on with a filter rated for a 200litre tank? It's not that its significantly more expensive or anything than the 300litre rated filter, I am a more worried about the noise of the larger filter. It's going in my sitting room and so the quieter the better.

Also thought I'd share my latest favourite YouTube video regarding the aquascape for the tank 8) !... https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_dBQfPo4Ec (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_dBQfPo4Ec)

As for lighting, I'm thinking about the Fluval Aquasky, does anyone have these? I'm trying to find out if they will work off a normal plug in timer so I can continue to have a siesta period in the middle of the day.

As for stocking, my thoughts have developed but only slightly...:
3 otocinclus
3 cobalt blue goby
10 galaxy rasbora
10 ember tetra
8 cardinal tetra
8 rummy nose terta
8 five band barbs or harlequin rasbora
4 honey gourami
6 rams - 2 German blue, 2 neon blue, 2 golden
checkerboard cichlid - if I can get hold of them I might add a pair
6 false julli cory

Deepening on exact choices, that puts me at 80-90% stocked using the internal filter option on the community creator. My water hardness is 160ppm so I think the all works...  I also like kuhli loaches and maybe hatchetfish for the top and and and and and...  :vcross:

Other thoughts:
Plants - existing, plus... narrow leaf java fern, eleocharis montevidensis
Rocks - not the current ones but can't decide if I like dragon stone, not sure what else looks better (more research required!!)
Substrate - like the video, sand in front possibly graduating from gravel near the rocks, and I was thinking ADA aquasoil behind the rock work as it helps reduce hardness though this stuff is expensive so filler of crushed lava rock underneath (may encourage denitrifying bacteria see https://www.aquaessentials.co.uk/blog/2015/11/the-hidden-benefits-of-lava-rock.html (https://www.aquaessentials.co.uk/blog/2015/11/the-hidden-benefits-of-lava-rock.html))

I'm going to try and write up my plans for transferring stuff over to the new tank, filter media, fish, decorations etc as I'd appreciate any thoughts on this.

Have I missed anything?? (Winner of the long post award right here)
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Sue on December 03, 2017, 09:35:39 AM
Most decent quality external filters have adjustable flow rates so a filter rated for a larger tank isn't a problem. That's the only real downside to getting a larger filter, it can create too much flow. Apart form the gobies, all the fish in your list prefer gentle flow.
I would imagine that all the filters in the same range by the same manufacturer make the same noise regardless of size. It is certainly true of Eheim Aquaball internals - I have had the largest and the smallest (for the QT) and they sounded the same.


What lighting comes with the tank? Is it the aquasky or are you thinking of upgrading to that?



Don't forget that rams need to choose their own mates. And if the two fish that look like a pair in the shop tank haven't bonded that closely, they could well swap partners in your tank.
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on December 03, 2017, 09:42:27 AM
Thanks Sue. Good to know about the noise levels with externals, the oversized one would cettainly give me a lot of confidence in things.

It was the aquasky that i thought about getting. I bought the tank withowithout any accessories as the range offered to go with it was limited and i wanted to be able to go away and research things/look at prices on the net etc.

Thanks for the warning re the rams too, I'm also concerned 6 might be too many for the size of tank, but both of these things are risks I'm willing to take especially as I will now have a spare tank on hand if required.  I'm a huge fan of this species!!
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Sue on December 03, 2017, 10:24:14 AM
What is the footprint of the tank? That would determine how many rams you could have. Of course you could always keep the ones you have now in your current tank and get some more but fewer for the new tank   ;D
I forgot to mention before that having 2 species of cichlid (in this case rams and checkerboards) in the same tank can be risky.

I have also read of problems using timers with the aquasky. If you don't mind not having all those colour options you could go for an Arcadia light bar. http://www.arcadia-aquatic.com/product-category/led/



Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: fcmf on December 03, 2017, 11:24:43 AM
I'm actually salivating in delight at reading your proposed stock - if only I had the space...

I don't think there's much I can add to Sue's comprehensive advice other than that potentially increasing the numbers of otocinclus to the recommended 6 in Seriouslyfish - I know they're not a shoaling species but I wonder if it's their timid nature which causes that site to recommend 6. The section on Behaviour & Compatibility makes interesting reading re it not being an ideal community fish and "should be kept alone or at most with diminutive, non-aggressive characids, smaller callichthyid or loricariid catfishes, and perhaps freshwater shrimp" but I know you've had them for some time and it seems yours have settled in fine as they are (with the existing stock anyway). Having more cichlids might make them feel a little more timid, in which case this may be the time to increase the number of otos.

Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on December 03, 2017, 04:24:28 PM
I managed to have a play with the Aquasky today and found out it does work with a normal timer. It also has a lot of features I like, including a cloud cover mode which very gently and subtly simulates clouds passing over head by modifying the brightness.  Some of it is a bit gimicky light the lightning effect but this is really nice. I also want to be able to dim it in the evenings rather than use a blue light as i always think this looks very fake and apparently Ive heard it encourages algae.

I'm still no further regarding rocks... I need to see if there is a proper aquascaping shop I can find myself conveniently nearby at aome point!

@Sue  The tank is 94 by 47cm

@fcmf Good point about the otos, I always used to worry about them starving whilst I was away and couldnt feed algae wafers. I think what I'll do is review how many I should add once the tank is a bit more mature. I can increase gobies first if they are fighting then go from their for oto numbers.

Right time to try and write up the transfer plans...
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Sue on December 03, 2017, 04:34:24 PM
Ah, with that footprint it might be risky having more than 1 pair of rams, just possibly 2. I wouldn't go for 3 pairs though. I wasn't sure if it was a long tank or a tall tank. My 180 litre has a 107 x 45 footprint but it is not very tall or I wouldn't be able to reach the bottom.
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on December 03, 2017, 04:39:09 PM
Ok so I'll go for 4 rams of different colours at first and go from there.  They live in the wild with checkerboard so I'm assuming that combo will be ok...
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Sue on December 03, 2017, 04:55:11 PM
I just looked up checkerboard cichlids and they are another one that likes higher than usual temperatures - Seriously Fish recommends 27 - 30 deg C. It doesn't say anything about keeping them with other cichlids though.
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: fcmf on December 03, 2017, 05:27:38 PM
If you're keen on the checkerboard cichlids, then their profile on SF suggests they might (just about) be ok in your 64 litre - well, the footprint of it anyway, even if the height might be slightly short. An option might be to base the 64 litre around those as the key inhabitants.
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Helen on December 03, 2017, 11:26:04 PM
My contribution is going to be more technical! I don't have the aquasky, but I've got fluval's other LED lights. The main question for me, is what controller was it working off? I bought the Fluval controller, which is also marketed for the aquasky, but would not recommend it. It is an extremely basic 2 channel power 'dimmer'. My LEDs have the ability to dim and be blue, but that functionality is operated by the remote control. Hence, I never use it because I have my lights working off analogue socket timers (which, incidentally are the noisiest bit of kit associated with my tank!) I imagine in the future I will invest in a decent controller, but that's pretty far down my list at the moment.

My other comment is about the crushed lava rock as a filler. I would just be careful how much you crush it. The article you linked, suggests it's benefits are because of it's porous nature. I would worry that you'd lose a lot of that if you crushed it too much.

In the past I've had Cardinal tetras and harlequin rasboras (with kuhli loaches). I won't be putting cardinals back in my tank (for no reason other than I fancy a change) but the harlies and kuhlis are staying. Kuhlis are my favourite fish - the only ones I will keep restocking. Though not very often as they're long lived. And I intend to stock five band barbs, when I get there. So I think your choice of fish is great. :cheers:
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on December 04, 2017, 06:22:28 AM
Thanks Helen, I'm with you on Fluvals controller. It also cant do a siesta period in the middle of the day which rules it out completely for me.  When i saw a sunrise and sunset controller on Interpet lights it actually put me off - the reds are too harsh/fake looking. 
Thankfully you have confirmed again that it works of a plug socket timer.  I also find the analogue timers far too noisy and so recently went over to using silent digital timers. These are a bit more expensive than the analogue ones but are completely silent. The clocks in them also keep running if their is a power cut. I'd highly recommend them.

Lava rock - not sure why I used the word 'crushed' - it's 1 to 2cm pieces  :)

I'm very tempted by kuhli loaches.. I'd have a tank full of bottom dwellers though if I wasn't careful.  The rams would not be happy with me!  I keep wondering if I should do a layout with more floor space to accommodate the both of them... It's either have the planting substrate across the back two thirds of the tank, or the same but leave the sides free also - like an island layout but without the space behind it.  Decisions decisions...

My wife wasn't a fan of fivebands barbs... or cetainly preferred harlequins anyways. Not a problem by me they are a marginally smaller fish so... more room for other fish (those kuhlis maybe lol...) and ive always liked the thought of mixing the normal harlequins with purple and gold ones (like you might do with gold and green tiger barbs). So that might be an option too.

With some of the tweaks I've made (fewer rams, harlequins not fivebands...) I'm now down towards 80% stocking. 70% when i select oversized internal (seeing as the filter will now be an overrated external). The addition of rummynose terra brought that back to 80%. I need to wait a few days now without changing things I think to see if that stocking plan still works for me...
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Helen on December 04, 2017, 09:44:30 AM
If you do manage to find / make space for the kuhlis, I'd suggest that you don't need to leave open space for them. Based on the behaviour of mine, I would expect to receive kuhlis draped over rocks (if you go for a design like the George farmer nature tank you linked).

I'd kept space clear for my kuhlis, but even with dither fish they didn't come out much, only really for feeding. When my tank was neglected, the crypts spread over pretty much the whole of the substrate and I found that the kuhlis would come out a lot more. As long as they have crypt leaves over their heads, they seemed happy. I never succeeded with parva, so my crypts are all small to medium. Ie the leaves sit between 5 and 10cm above the substrate. This is enough to make the kuhlis feel comfortable without actually obscuring the substrate from my view.

As I rearrange, I'm increasing the number of plants that provide cover, but higher up. The kuhlis also seem happy with this. The area of substrate that looks 'clear' (and will eventually be replaced with sand) has java fern narrow leaf and bolbitus providing shade to it. I'm hoping that with the sand, this will become the kuhlis favourite place.

Also the harlies swim amongst the leaves - which is a nice effect to watch.

What timers do you have for your lights? I'm also intrigued with which controller you're thinking of for the aquasky. Will it allow you to program the different colour effects?
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on December 04, 2017, 12:14:44 PM
No controller for me.  Just a digital timer like this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Electronic-digital-mains-Socket-Display/dp/B002P7RF9A/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1512389403&sr=8-3&keywords=Digital+timer (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Electronic-digital-mains-Socket-Display/dp/B002P7RF9A/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1512389403&sr=8-3&keywords=Digital+timer).  This wont do different colours at different times of course, the lights just remember the previous setting they were on. If it ramped up then that would be nice but i want the siesta more than it ramping up...
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Helen on December 04, 2017, 02:35:17 PM
I'm the same - value the ability to have a siesta more than the ramping function. But I'm still on analogue timers!

I'd wonder whether it is worth the extra money for the bells and whistles of the aquasky if you don't plan to use that extra functionality?

I would be extremely interested if you do (decide to look and) find a controller that allows you to use the extras.
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on December 04, 2017, 04:41:28 PM
Try the Current USA Ramp Timers. I dont know how well they work with Fluval kit, but apparently they do...
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on December 07, 2017, 12:25:34 AM
Here is a write up of version 1 of the process I'm hoping to follow when I upgrade to my new tank. I would welcome any thoughts you may have to improve it.

Step 1 - Putting new tank in place
I want the new 220litre tank to be sited where my current 64 litre tank is already. Therefore I plan to remove as much water as possible from the current tank, before moving it to a temporary location a few feet away. I realise that ideally all water should be drained from the tank for this step but I feel that this is the best compromise rather than stressing the fish overly by attempting to catch them etc. I will store 24 litres of water removed from the tank in buckets. I'll have maybe an inch left in the tank - 10 or 15 litres whilst it is moved and then will refill with tap water as if Ive done a large water change. I should be able to gently lift the cabinet the tank is on with the water removed and move it slowly across to its temporary location.
Step 2 - Doing the hardscape in the new tank
I have produced a sketch of the layout for the new tank which I can follow in this step and so I know what I need to purchase. The substrate will be a combination of sand and ADA Aquasoil separated by rocks, and volcanic rock will be used as a filler under the aquasoil .The aquasoil releases ammonia initially which is great for plants getting started but not for fish.  I know I want to use this substrate as it gently lowers hardness and pH a little which is something important to me for my rams. But the release of ammonia from the aquasoil makes things a little complicated.  Heres the plan...
Step 3 - Taking the plunge
At this point I cant get much further without adding water so the plan would be than the following day I would do another 'water change' on the current tank, using the removed water to begin to fill the new tank (I know theres not much bacteria in water but I feel like I may as well), to plant the first plants. The first plants to go in would be the carpeting plants. Some of which I am growing currently and some of which will no doubt be new. At this point the water level in the tank need only be far enough above the substrate that I can get the new filter running. The new filter will be set up to include some media (no more than a third initially) from the existing filter (placed first in the direction of flow).
Step 4 - Water tests
Wait for stable water parameters in the new tank. If ammonia gets too high for any reason, add water from mature 64 litre to dilute (and fill tank).
Step 5 - Adding the first fish
Following stable readings, and the substrate ammonia release having subsided, I then need to add a new source of ammonia to the new tank to keep the bacteria alive in the filter and the plants fed. I would plan to move across the harlequin rasbora first as the hardest non territorial fish. If the water level needs raising at all or if nitrates are high, this can be done at this time again using water from the current tank as part of a water change. Water testing to follow ensure no ammonia/nitrite spike.
Step 6 - Increasing stocking and planting
Further water tests will then identify when I can transfer over the galaxy rasbora (smallest fish so lowest bioload) then the corys, and finally the cardinal tetra (largest bioload). This means adding 8cm fish to 9cm existing stocking, then 9cm to 17cm, then 12cm to 26cm stocking. I feel that this is workable as the filter should be capable of dealing with about 18cm of stocking from the start due one third of the media being transferred from the current filter.  I can then add more as I add the corys. The riskiest bit would the be the addition of the cardinals (increase of 46% which would not be accompanied by more media as there would only be the large sponge left. I will also be doing some additional planting in the new tank at this stage with newly purchased plants and there will still be very few fish in a large volume of water. I think this is therefore doable. I will need to start doing regular water changes anyway by this time on the new tank as part of my routine maintenance and these can be timed appropriately.
Step 7 - Moving existing plants and wood into the new tank
At this point I cant progress further without starting to break down my current 64litre tank a bit as I want to reuse most if not all of the plants and the wood. These will therefore be moved into the new tank at this point.  However, the 64litre tank could become very bare as a result. The remining stocking will be x1 goby, x1 otocinclus, x2 rams. The rams will need structure of some kind to form territories and the other 2 fish will get stressed if they cannot hide away if the rams pester them. As such I will add an old bogwood piece I have back into the tank and will go to the lfs to colect the new additional rams and then add them to the new tank along with the current rams at the same time. This will mean all rams enter the new tank at the same time and will stop any territories being set up before new ones are added, mitigating the risk of any in-fighting. This will add approximately 14cm of stocking (new ones not fully grown) to a filter running 38cm. This is a 37% increase and again a few fish in a large volume of water so I believe doable without too much risk.
Step 8 - Transferring remaining fish
The other inhabitants of the 64 litre tank would then be added to the new tank once water parameters are confirmed to be stable. At this point the 64 litre tank will be empty of fish. Decorations would be removed (stones, bogwood and a couple of plants) temporarily whilst an attempt is made to move as many shrimp as possible into the new tank trying my best to move only the best looking and reddest specimens (i have some older orange 'cheap' shrimp too). I realise I'll never be 100% successful in getting them all which is fine as I intend to keep the current 64litre tank running and am happy for this to contain shrimp and for subsequent transfers to be made. The 64 litre tank will then need some rescaping to make it look reasonable again and I need to add some fish back in to keep the filter bacteria alive. I believe I could add about 9cm of fish (x3 3cm fish) at this point as the filter will be able to cope with 7cm just transferred out to the new tank and some dormant bacteria from rams etc being removed aprox a week ago. Again copious water testing throughout. Im not certain what I want to do with this tank long term and will make use of it in the short term as a quarantine for new fish so stock added will be used to increase schoal sizes in the main tank.
Step 9 - Further increasing stocking in the new tank.
Increase schoal sizes of existing fish starting with corys (as only 9cm additional required) leaving gobies and otocinclus till last due to ditoms and algae needing to grow. Add more red cherry shrimp to increase the gene pool. Then adding new species, make use of quarantine throughout and ensure building 'stocking' level for quarantine tank back up slowly with each purchase.
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Sue on December 07, 2017, 04:50:13 PM
Step 1 - as long as you are very careful not to slosh the water you should get away with moving the tank with a bit of water in it. It's the sloshing around that twists the joints.
Step 4 - from things I have read it could take several weeks for the soil to stop leeching ammonia, so be prepared for the temporary tank position to become semi permanent!
Step 5 - as long as the plants are growing well, they should help use the ammonia leeching from the soil and they should protect the fish as you move them over. Moving filter media may not help much as the small tank is heavily planted so the filter might not have many bacteria in it.
Step 7 - if you remove all the plants from the small tank, there is the small chance there won't be enough bacteria for the few fish still in there. keep an eye on the stats in that tank,
Step 8 - yes the shrimps will prove quite tricky. When I closed the 50 litre tank I caught 92 shrimps from adults down to newly hatched babies, and probably failed to find a lot of tiny ones.
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on December 07, 2017, 08:02:42 PM
Thanks Sue, I had the same thoughts re plants meaning that the filter doesn't actually hold much bacteria. I struggled to quantify this and so have simply gone with the best plan I can.  It will ultimately be a balancing act between filter media and plants being moved to match with the transfers of the fish depending on the test results in both tanks.  I just hope that I dont have 2 fish-in cycles on my hands!!

I am sort of hoping that I can have this done by mid Feb if at all possible when we have visitors staying with us.  Of course, the fishes health with have to have to be the priority but it would be nice to be in a good place by then.

Fortunately in line with the above, I got the call from Maidenhead today... the tanks arrived!! Even they couldnt quite believe it... I suppose they must have had a cancelled order or something!
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: fcmf on December 07, 2017, 09:56:01 PM
Fortunately in line with the above, I got the call from Maidenhead today... the tanks arrived!! Even they couldnt quite believe it... I suppose they must have had a cancelled order or something!
Fantastic news!  :cheers:

I'll have another read through your post and see if anything else springs to mind but, on the initial reading, it certainly seemed like you'd all covered - I do hope it all goes smoothly for you.
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on December 08, 2017, 11:30:08 PM
Time for version 2. The aquasoil was a step too far I think... The ammonia release made everything massively more complicated, plus the fact you cant gravel vacuum it really put me off in the end.  Also the ability of the substrate to soften the water is much debated and probably wont make much of a differnece is seems... So I've gone back a step in my thinking and gone with an option I had previously researched - Caribsea Ecocomplete (lol... the cheap option... sounds like me!!)
Again, I would welcome any thoughts you may have to improve my plan.

Step 1 - Putting new tank in place
As per previous plan:
I want the new 220litre tank to be sited where my current 64 litre tank is already. Therefore I plan to remove as much water as possible from the current tank, before moving it to a temporary location a few feet away. I realise that ideally all water should be drained from the tank for this step but I feel that this is the best compromise rather than stressing the fish overly by attempting to catch them etc. I will store 24 litres of water removed from the tank in buckets. I'll have maybe an inch left in the tank - 10 or 15 litres whilst it is moved and then will refill with tap water as if Ive done a large water change. I should be able to gently lift the cabinet the tank is on with the water removed and move it slowly across to its temporary location.
Step 2 - Doing the hardscape in the new tank
I have produced a sketch of the layout for the new tank which I can follow in this step and so I know what I need to purchase. The substrate will be a combination of sand and Caribsea Ecocomplete, separated by rocks to form a path - I'll attach my sketch tomorrow to show what I mean. The Ecocomplete and rocks I want will need to be ordered and so this will likely take a few weeks to complete. As I will wait till after Xmas to move onto next step anyway (to ensure I dont have any distractions from daily water tests etc.) this isn't a problem. Set up electrics, lighting and filter pipework.
Step 3 - Taking the plunge (After xmas)
Do another big water change on the current tank, using the removed water to begin to fill the new tank so I can plant the first plants (I know there's not much bacteria in water but I feel like I may as well). Some of which I am growing currently and some of which will no doubt be new.
Step 4 - Water tests
Fill up and wet test tank and filter. A quick water test to confirm suitability for fish.
Step 5 - Adding the first fish... and some plants and filter bacteria
The new filter will now be set up to include half the media from the existing filter (placed first in the direction of flow) and fresh media will be added to the 64litre filter.  I plan to move across the harlequin rasbora, cardinal tetra and galaxy rasbora first (about half the stocking of the 64 litre) as the hardiest and non territorial fish.  My research has shown that the corys prefer a mature tank so they will remain for the time being.  Water testing to ensure no ammonia/nitrite spike. I will also transfer some plants over at this stage as well because these are likely to be responsible for some of my filtration capacity at present.  Of course if I identify any funny reading in one of the tanks I can transfer stocking or media between them to balance things out and take a more gradual approach if required.
Step 6 - Increasing stocking and planting
Gradually increase the numbers of harlequins, cardinal tetras and galaxy rasbora and the planting of the tank (by transferring plants from the 64litre into the 220litre. As such this will act to increase the biological capacity of both filters. Add the corys and increase their numbers.
Step 7 - Moving remaining plants and wood into the new tank
At this point I cant progress further without starting to break down my current 64litre tank as I want to reuse the wood and most if not all of the plants. These will therefore be moved into the new tank at this point.  However, the 64litre tank could become very bare as a result. The remaining stocking will be x1 otocinclis, x1 goby and x2 rams. The rams will need structure of some kind to form territories and have places for the other fish to hide, so I will add an old bogwood piece I have back into the tank and will go to the lfs to colect the new additional rams and then add them to the new tank along with the current rams at the same time. This will mean all rams enter the new tank at the same time and will stop any territories being set up before new cichlids are added, mitigating the risk of any in-fighting.The other inhabitants of the 64 litre tank would then be added to the new tank at the same time.
Step 8 - Transferring remaining livestock
At this point the 64 litre tank will be empty of fish. Decorations would be removed (stones, bogwood and a couple of plants) temporarily whilst an attempt is made to move as many shrimp as possible into the new tank. I realise I'll never be 100% successful in getting them all which is fine as I intend to keep the current 64litre tank running and am happy for this to contain shrimp and for subsequent transfers to be made. The 64 litre tank will then need some rescaping to make it look reasonable again and I need to add some fish back in to keep the filter bacteria alive. I believe I could add a maximum of 15cm of fish (the amount just removed). I now know what I want to do with this tank... but that's my secret for now!!! (I'll cover this in the 64 litre tank thread soon).
Step 9 - Further increasing stocking in the new tank
Purchase of new species of fish for 220litre. Then increasing numbers of gobies and otocinclus (left till last due to ditoms and algae needing to grow). Adding more red cherry shrimp to increase the gene pool.
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Sue on December 09, 2017, 10:31:30 AM
Something I should have mentioned after plan #1. Gravel. If you want rams in this tank you need sand. They can live on gravel but they do much better on sand. Not to mention that fact that the gobies like to bury themselves and tunnel under decor, which would be a lot more comfortable for them with sand.

How gravelly/sharp is the eco-complete? The reason I say this is because of the way rams feed - if they try to take up a sharp substrate it could damage their mouths.
And I had a Bolivian ram get gravel stuck in her throat. It's because of this that I would now never keep any fish that feeds by sifting substrate on gravel. And I've now seen the way apistos and cories take up mouthfuls of sand, sift the food out and expel the sand through their gills.


A lot of people say that plant substrates are a waste of money. After about a year, they become inert and you have to feed the plants the same as you would if you'd started with much cheaper plain sand/gravel.
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: fcmf on December 09, 2017, 04:45:22 PM
A lot of people say that plant substrates are a waste of money. After about a year, they become inert and you have to feed the plants the same as you would if you'd started with much cheaper plain sand/gravel.
Having no experience in this area, I decided to google 'Caribsea Eco-complete inert' and it threw up quite a few threads from elsewhere on this issue, including comparing Caribsea to ADA Aquasoil, etc, as well as the fact that they tend to become inert over time - worth a look.
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Helen on December 10, 2017, 12:14:02 AM
I have the eco complete substrate in my tank and have done so since I set it up nearly 8 years ago. I had read all the stuff about it being inert after a year. I don't remember, but when searching this site for information about substrate, I found a post I made several years ago about whether I needed to refresh my plant substrate. The conclusion then was no and several years later I still don't plan to replace the eco complete.

My plants didn't get the benefit of the liquid that is part of the eco complete (because my tank cracked - but that's another story), but I wouldn't say it did them any harm. And I don't think I've particularly noticed any point in my tank where things have changed because the substrate has become inert.

I think the Eco complete is a similar texture to the gravel I have. But it is a mixture of grain size. I am trying to keep as much of the Eco complete in my tank as possible and only remove the gravel (as I reduce the amount of substrate). But I have now bought a sieve, so can sort out grain sizes.

The only thing that I'd query is, if you do the aquascape that you linked - the substrate in the middle at the back seems quite deep. I've spent many years worrying that my substrate was too deep. That said, I'm not convinced my tank has suffered any of the ill effects of deep substrate. But it has been clear that the plants had pretty deep roots and seemed to take advantage of the deep eco complete layer.

Overall, I'm very happy with having used eco complete. I almost recommended it for your tank, but you seemed quite set on the aqua soil and I couldn't think of any reason why the eco complete would be better. Without having ever used aqua soil, it seems to be to be equally suitable for your aquascape.
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Helen on December 10, 2017, 12:23:54 AM
One thing I should add is that I've never had to use root tabs in my tank. To me it appears that the caribsea eco complete seems to 'hold onto' the mulm and therefore is able to continue to almost produce it's own fertiliser lower down in the substrate. I wonder if this has anything to do with the variety of grain size. Because physics means that over time it sorts itself out so the smallest grains are at the bottom and the grain size increases as you get closer to the surface of the substrate. Therefore the mulm falls in between the larger grain sizes at the top, but very little actually makes it all the way to the bottom of the substrate.

Also every time I move or remove a plant, the roots always have bits of eco complete stuck to them. In these cases, it seems porous and my plants seem very reluctant to let go! So over the years I've probably thrown out a fair amount with root trimmings.
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on December 10, 2017, 07:09:22 AM
Wow, thanks Sue fcmf and Helen... super useful!  :cheers:

Fcmf, when I originally read your post I thought that I'd already read most reviews of the product, but then I found an article by George Farmer on his experiences with multiple different substrates. He is someone who a) knows his stuff b) has actually tried them all - so I feel this is a trustworthy source of info
https://www.ukaps.org/index.php?page=guide-to-substrates (https://www.ukaps.org/index.php?page=guide-to-substrates)

Sue, I will have sand in the tank, this is for the planted areas. Eco complete is smooth enough for fish with barbells so shouldn't damage the rams, I intend on most of it being covered with carpettng plants anyway. I have rams with gravel currently, so this is a step in the right direction. I can't wait to see the sand sifting behaviour!!

Helen, The reason you don't need to change your eco complete is two-fold. Firstly it doesn't turn to sludge over time like clay based substrates (ADA Aquasoil for example) and secondly it has a high cation exchange capacity (CEC) meaning it absorbs nutrients from the water and stores them, making them available to the root systems of plants as it does. It's annoying that I'll have to sort it to remove the larger particles though... the alternative in the article would be seachem flourite black sand, this is twice the cost though!!. Eco-complete it is then!
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on December 10, 2017, 07:37:34 AM
Here is the sketch of the layout I promised showing two sections of wood, coming from 'rocky outcrops' with plant substrate behind them and sand in the valley floor.  The photo below it is the best match I could find, though as you can see, I want a larger sand path. The guy who was making this decided to go in a different direction with the tank after this photo, so the planting is also not developed.

My filter arrived yesterday, Eden 522 with integrated heater. It took me a while to get over how big it is!  :yikes:
Anyway - the pipework etc has been built up and the filter itself disassembled and reassembled - so I feel confident I know how it all works now  :)

I'm hoping to go and get the tank and lights today and move my existing tank as per step 1 below - the weather/roads look ok so fingers crossed... I will put the filter into the new tank dry so it's ready and get the lights set up. I have an extension lead where each socket has its own switch arriving tomorrow so that will need to be installed then before the tank can be put into its final position. Then I need to get my act together a bit and order the substrate and rocks, and buy sand so I can do step 2... it's all happening so fast...  :-\
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Helen on December 10, 2017, 10:08:08 AM
I like the idea of having the sand area in between the planted areas, rather than infront.

You don't have to sort the eco complete - just if you only want the small grain size. I'm hoping that sieving mine will remove the larger gravel and most of the eco complete will be small enough to go through the sieve. I would say that I'll let you know how it goes, but I think you're moving faster than I am!
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on December 10, 2017, 09:51:25 PM
Right... here's how things have ended up tonight... the aquarium is in, the lights installed (wow its bright on full power  :yikes:). Filter also installed including the plumbing.

I stopped off at Aquahome, Leyland and bought some beautiful rocks. Really happy with those - I didn't think I'd find anything quite that nice  :)

Next job is to install the extension lead into the rear of the cabinet so it is off the base and nice and tidy   :D. Then I need to set to washing the rocks. A quick scrub and a dunk in boiling water.  A sticker on the aquarium says not to put any water in it till 12th December... Presumably to let the silicone harden fully. I will need to give it a quick clean too.  Then I can set about starting to lay out the rocks.
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on December 11, 2017, 08:41:09 PM
I didn't quite get round to the rocks...
Ive installed a frosted background to the tank which hides the pipework etc behind the tank. Most aquascape photos you see online include a frosted background.  I hate installing thigs like that as you always end up with a bubble or a bit of dust... let's just say after about a million attempts I was happy with it!

I have also tidied up the cabinet, sticking the extension lead to the back near the top and I bought a plastic tub thing to put the filter in in case of any leaks.  I also managed to pick up some sand.

I had to reinstall the filter tubes after doing the background, and have now got the inlet on one side and the outlet on the other.
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Andy The Minion on December 11, 2017, 09:58:01 PM
This is all looking very excellent @Matt :) Two things crossed my mind, if you can fit a filter foam to the intake to prevent the larger particles entering the canister, it will save you a ton of work by cutting down on the build-up and keep it visible rather than let it hide in the external and produce Nitrates. I know you want to keep the tank uncluttered but this is worth a compromise or perhaps consider making something compact that suits. Secondly the tub is a good idea but don't rely on it, if a leak does start it will very quickly overfill. I have used a shallow tray before now, something considerably larger than the external to catch the drips and splashes when maintaining the filter. Low sides allows you to lift the filer out easier and also mop up spills. Oh and a third, if the cabinate edges aren't sealed run a bead of clear silicone to stop water wicking into the joints.
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on December 11, 2017, 10:21:07 PM
Hi Andy - thanks for the words of encouragement and the tips  :cheers:

The filters design is such that any solids are caught in the first filter chamber on a sponge which is cut at an angle to the incoming flow (more surface area). I realise this means that any particles are in the filter, but are you concerned about them getting into the bit with the biomedical (noodles) or just the filter in general? This is my first experience with an external filter so sorry if that's a daft question! I can always get some black sponge to cover the intake if needed.

The filter contains a 300w heater, it is very tall, so a taller container seemed to make sense but you make a good point about splashes etc.  I guess I will need to put a towel around it if I do filter maintenance. A shallow tray sounds like a really good idea... I will have to keep an eye out for something like that.  I need to have look for some shelving/draws to go in the cabinet too as the storage is just a large space at the moment - no way of organising it.

I like your tip about the bead of silicone - will do.
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Sue on December 12, 2017, 10:41:37 AM
I think Andy meant that if you use a pre-filter it will mean you will have to open the external less often to clean that sponge in the first chamber. There are sponges you can buy specifically for this - usually a hollow cylinder that slots over the tube that takes the water out of the tank - or any sponge can be used, you just need to cut a slit in it so it goes over the tube.

The goo that builds up in filters is a nitrate factory so it needs to be removed before there is a lot of it. With an external, that means opening the filter casing on a regular basis, so anything that catches the bits that form the goo (fish poo, uneaten food, bits of dead plant) before they can enter the canister, the better.
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on December 12, 2017, 06:12:34 PM
That makes sense, though do most of the bits not just fall off the sponge on the inlet pipe when the filter is turned off/when you remove it from the tube? Should I siphon them off?
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Sue on December 12, 2017, 06:26:35 PM
Not having an external myself, I don't know. But I do know that the sponges in my internal have to be squeezed quite a lot to get the brown goo out of them.
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Helen on December 12, 2017, 08:45:12 PM
I like the idea of putting an extra sponge pre-filter.

I noticed that when I put corries in my tank several years ago, I had to clean my filter more often.  Which makes sense, because by turning over the substrate, they're putting the mulm into the water and it then gets sucked into the filter.

But I've never been able to decide whether it's better to vacuum the mulm from the tank or to wash it out of the filter.

A tip for maintaining an external filter is to get a tub of silicone grease. (I repurposed the one from my scuba kit). Wash the silicone band and slick a bit of grease on it before putting everything back together. The grease does two things, it improves the seal, but it also prolongs the life the sealing band.
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: fcmf on December 12, 2017, 09:44:40 PM
Every filter seems to have its own set of rules, so it may be a matter of seeing how it goes. For example, I have two internal filters in my tank - the older one (20+ years old) is much more reliable* and less prone to brown goo and I could probably get away with giving its sponges a gentle squeeze in old tank water once a month although I do it fortnightly, whereas the newer one is prone to clogging very quickly and especially since I've had live plants and needs its brown goo squeezed out twice a week otherwise the filter output reduces to virtually nothing while a slight expansion of the filter sponge can also reduce the filter output to virtually nothing.

* They don't make things like they used to!  :isay:
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on December 12, 2017, 09:49:55 PM
Those pre filter sponges are as cheap as chips (literally!!) so they looks to be a no brainer.  :cheers:

Mrs Matt will be so pleased that I need to spend more money on fish!! I'll save silicone grease for another day... :o

Here's what I got up to tonight... Aquarium and rocks given a quick clean. First attempt at laying out the rocks is as per the attached. (Sorry I know this will win the worst photo ever award). Tomorrow will involve tweaking this I'm sure, then having a think about whether I can build some shelving from some MDF and other bits of wood I've got spare.

Not sure how much further I can get than that before filling the tank. I still want to wait till after Xmas for this as it will be so much easier to stay on top of water testing etc once all the festive stuff is out of the way.
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on December 17, 2017, 12:09:44 AM
Well work has been incredibly busy the last few days hence the lack of updates... no progress to update you on.

I was never quite happy with the rock layout in my previous post... it just didn't look natural. But today I started having a play with the wood I had been soaking... I thought this would be a quick thing whilst I changed the water it was in and then I would put the wood back in to soak over xmas.  I found though that by working with the rock and wood together I could create a much more natural feel by intertwining the wood and rock together rather than treating them as two separate things. I also got more height out of the rocks (with the help of a little polystyrene) which had also been playing on my mind. 

I've ended up with the image below for one side of the tank.  This took hours of playing to achieve this look and to do so without using up most of the rock on this one side, so I hope it comes across in the photo!!   ::)  There's loads of nooks and crannies, not just ones suitable for anubias, but ones which will work for other plants too as aquasoil will reach them, so im really pleased.

The left side of the tank is currently just the spare rocks I didn't use layed out in a similar way to my previous post for the time being. The wood I'll be using here will be the stuff currently in the 64 litre tank, so that will have to wait for another day.

Tomorrow I'm going to put some planting substrate in behind the rocks on the right hand side. Ive ended up going with JBL Manado. Not particularly nutrient rich, but high CEC, low weight, inexpensive and fine grain size with no problems for barbelled fish etc. I've had some in a glass of water for a few days and tested it and there is also no ammonia release to contend with. I'll be putting some Tetra Initial Sticks in with it to provide some nutrients. First though i need to cut away as much polystyrene as i can or it will just float when I add water and destroy my hard work. There will no doubt be some hoovering to do after that, it's messy stuff! 

I'll also be adding the sand to the right side of tank tomorrow. I can deal with any cloudiness through water changes. Again ive tested the sand I've bought in a glass of water and its surprisingly undusty so not causing much cloudiness at all. Doing the layout on the left side later on will not be inhibited by a bit of spare sand in the area.. and besides I'm too eager to sit on my hands anyway!!  :))

After all this, and a couple of photos, I will put about half the wood back in to soak. The rest is tied in with rocks so will remain, else I'll have to undo all my hard work again.  The wood didn't leach much tannins from the initial soak so hopefully having one unsoaked piece wont cause too many problems further down the line. It also cant float when the tank is filled due to the aforementioned rocks.

I'm glad this is the last weekend before Xmas as I feel like I'm already starting to rush things a bit so the festivities will be a welcome distraction. I'm staying strong and not putting any water in the tank till after Xmas when there will be more time to look after the fish which will inevitably follow and their water quality.
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Fishbeard on December 17, 2017, 09:22:09 AM
It looks like it's really taking shape now (or the right-hand side at least!) and I look forwards to seeing the next steps and, eventually, the finished article.
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on December 17, 2017, 09:58:44 AM
That looks great.  :cheers:
It's amazing how much time can be spent rearranging decor to get the right look.
I have used aquarium silicone in several tank, and it can also be used to attach polystyrene to the tank to avoid it floating.
I'm looking forward to seeing further updates.  :)
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Helen on December 17, 2017, 10:03:57 AM
Looks good. I'm excited to see how it looks when it's planted. 😁
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on December 17, 2017, 11:23:40 AM
Thanks everyone.

Your right about time spent 'faffing' with layouts till you get them looking right @Littlefish.  Mrs Matt was not impressed!

Here we are now after today's efforts. Taking a break now to clean the car, do the washing... ...back to normality...
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: fcmf on December 17, 2017, 02:45:53 PM
Ooooh, I like that very much.  :cheers:
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on December 17, 2017, 07:51:11 PM
Thanks @fcmf   :cheers:
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on January 01, 2018, 08:57:55 AM
Step 3 - Taking the plunge (After xmas)
Do another big water change on the current tank, using the removed water to begin to fill the new tank so I can plant the first plants (I know there's not much bacteria in water but I feel like I may as well). Some of which I am growing currently and some of which will no doubt be new.
Step 4 - Water tests
Fill up and wet test tank and filter. A quick water test to confirm suitability for fish.
Step 5 - Adding the first fish... and some plants and filter bacteria
The new filter will now be set up to include half the media from the existing filter (placed first in the direction of flow) and fresh media will be added to the 64litre filter.  I plan to move across the harlequin rasbora, cardinal tetra and galaxy rasbora first (about half the stocking of the 64 litre) as the hardiest and non territorial fish. 

I had a bit of down time yesterday morning so I tried to flesh out the plans I made above for getting the tank filled and stocked. It was quite a good way of doing it as I kept coming back to modify and improve it as the day went on and different things occurred to me... anyways here goes:

DAY 1
1.   Purchase sponge filter intake cover
2.   Remove some of the sand from the new tank where possible using a piece of paper to scoop it up
3.   Wash removed and additional sand thoroughly to minimize clouding
4.   Remove existing filter and take out filter balls, add additional sponge media and replace in tank
5.   Wash new filter media, add seeded filter balls first in the direction of the water flow, remove carbon, re-assemble filter and fill with warm, dechlorinated water, attach hoses
6.   Remove wood from tank, ensure no anubias remains attached
7.   Put old piece of manopi wood in right hand side of old tank to provide hiding spaces
8.   Trial wood and rock layout for new tank
9.   Transfer final layout to new tank and add sand, small rocks and aquasoil
10.   Large water change (no gravel vacuuming) on old tank and put this into new tank
11.   Add enough water to new tank to get the old wood underwater to preserve beneficial bacteria
12.   Fill inlet filter hose with water and turn on filter
13.   Check aquarium temperature and calibrate heater to match current tank temperature
14.   Leave overnight to check filter and heater running ok, no leaks, and temperature is stable
15.   Consider where tomorrow's plants are going to be best placed
DAY 2
16.   Skim off any floating aquasoil
17.   Water quality tests, both tanks
18.   Transfer plants which will benefit from more light in new tank. Put root tabs underneath them. (Keep floating plants and water sprite in old tank ready to transfer across in case of water quality issues, can also add old  sponge squeezings to new filter if required)
19.   Transfer hardiest fish using green net to heard them into a jug; harlequin rasbora, cardinal tetra - half the plants and filter media will have been transferred, this accounts for 21cm of 50cm of fish so 42% of bioload. For the old tank this means a 16% increase in 'stocking' which is within acceptable limits assuming half beneficial bacteria transferred. The old tank will require topping up at this point.
DAYS 3, 4, 5, 6
20.   Water quality checks, both tanks
21.   Go to Maidenhead Aquatics and purchase any appropriate plants, reserve any appropriate fish, hopefully including 2 rams
22.   Add corys (another 6cm so 29% increase to 54% of original stocking) if water quality ok
DAY 7
23.   Add further plants, celestial pearl danio and shrimp if water quality ok
DAY 14
24.   Add goby and otocinclus
25.   Go to Maidenhead Aquatics to purchase additional fish and plants
(Continue weekly pattern)

Any thoughts anyone??
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Sue on January 01, 2018, 09:47:44 AM
I can't see any flaws in that plan - though I should warn you I did drink a fair bit of red wine last night and I'm not totally awake yet.........  ;D
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on January 01, 2018, 11:28:26 AM
 :cheers:
 :rotfl:
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on January 01, 2018, 03:18:11 PM
 :cheers:
;D
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on January 04, 2018, 07:07:24 AM
Arrrgh, I can't wait to get started on this now...  :-\

Saturday's efforts will be limited though due to family commitments and Sunday's due to catching up on chores from over Xmas (including much needed maintenance on my 64 litre tank)... I really wanted get fish in it this weekend!... my list below looks like hours of work though and I'm just not sure Ill get it done... so getting day 1 complete will be the overall aim - even then I'll have to try and get the sand washing done in between times... oh to be retired... work shows no signs of slowing down next week either   :'(

How long will filter bacteria / plants last without there being fish in the tank do you think before they go dormant / die?
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Helen on January 04, 2018, 08:52:06 AM
 :cheers:
I am the same, @Matt. Reading about your tank developing has been helping me maintain patience with mine! I go back to work next week (school term times), so am trying to get everything done this week.

How much washing is sand likely to need? I've got my sacks of play sand in my car (not all intended for the fish tank; fish will have to share with the two legged pets!) and have a plan for how to get it washed with the limited number of buckets I have. Reading your post made me wonder whether it'll take significantly longer than I'd planned.

Do you have any macro fertilisers that you can add to the tank to keep the plants going until you can stock with fish? Hopefully if the plants are happy, the bacteria will be ok.

My tank has been pootling along at <20% stocked for quite a few months now (since at least July). I have minor algae issues, but no significant plant die off. I think the resilience is mostly due to the large number of plants (you'll be the same). What I'm not sure of is how much of that resilience is due to my tank being old and well established - which yours doesn't have yet. Or even how many nutrients are being put back into circulation with all my messing with the substrate.
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Sue on January 04, 2018, 09:20:43 AM
The bacteria won't start to go dormant for at least a couple of weeks, and provided the tank has everything they need except food (wet, warm, oxygen) it will be at least a couple of months before they start to die. But the longer they are dormant, the longer it takes to 'wake up'. If it is so long that they are on the point of death it can take almost a long as a fishless cycle to wake up.
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on January 04, 2018, 10:15:39 AM
Thanks both, no need to worry as much as I was about the bacteria it seems then.  If I can keep the existing wood wet, and fill the tank part way, and not set up the filter or move fish over straight away it might give me more flexibility around things. I can then pick up the next few items over the next few days in the evening if I have to.

I don't use macro fertilisers but I'm thinking that if I transfer just my 2 corys first (easy to catch and only 6cm fish total) and some plants, they will probably be ok for a day without the filter if not fed as the volume of water will be so great compared to the volume of fish... ill try and avoid this though. The plants and filter will probably be fine without for a day anyways by the sound of it so maybe ill avoid this alltogether.

I have bought 'kiln dried' sand which does not appear to be particularly dusty, so I'm hoping it won't take long to clean, but people online with various different makes and manufacturers of sands have been washing them for hours just to get a cloudy tank anyway... I guess it depends a lot of the specific sand. 

There is a tip I know for adding sand to an existing tank though; if you put it in a water bottle, sink this with the open end up into the tank and let it fill with water then turn it over and very gently squeeze the sand out, the dirty dusty water will be left in the bottle and just the sand will fall out.  Thinking about it, this might be a good way to wash it if it works...???
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Helen on January 04, 2018, 02:36:51 PM
That's a good tip for putting the sand in. I'll have a hunt for a bottle that I can use (in the house).
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on January 07, 2018, 07:41:14 PM
Well I managed to get 'Day 1' completed as planned... see photos below  :fishy1:

I ended up not going with the path down the middle of the aquascape after some thought... I always preferred my 64 litre tank without it but the fish preferred it with it - I believe they felt more comfortable out in the open with a choice of hiding spots. I pretty sure that the extra space in the new tank will mean this is no longer an issue. 

I'm looking to get two taller pieces of wood for the left hand side to balance things out a bit.  The difference in the colour of the wood is the old, and new and one unsoaked piece.

There's is a lot of planting substrate floating around and some has escaped the  back section and ended up on the surface of the sand.  I'll have to clean this up tomorrow.  There is sand everywhere too from the filling process too but fortunately no clouding of the water. The sand needs smoothing out and the smaller rocks retrieving from underneath it. I'll need to waft some sand off the decor too.

Tomorrow I will attempt 'day 2' steps but again may not achieve this due to work. It would be good to get some planting done and a few fish moved over even if only half the amount I had previously thought. Fingers crossed for no issues overnight with the tank, filter and heater.
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on January 07, 2018, 08:30:10 PM
I like that layout, and I'mm looking forward to seeing the progress.  8)
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: fcmf on January 07, 2018, 09:38:10 PM
Looking good so far.  :cheers:
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Helen on January 07, 2018, 11:32:47 PM
It's looking really good. Can't wait to see your planting.
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on January 08, 2018, 04:09:54 AM
Thank you everyone!!  :cheers:

I really hope I don't regret the decision to change the layout at the last minute... The sofa is over to the left of the tank so by having it clearer on that side I will be able to see more from where I sit. It seemed like the logical thing to do.  I'm wondering about moving one rock into the wood a bit mor to create more height (but not sure if it will look like it's missing from below if I do), but Im very happy with it.

I can't help thinking I'm going to need a lot of plants!! There's a lot of aquasoil to cover - that said there is a lot of sand too... I can't believe how much floor area there is :yikes:

I checked the tank this morning and it was nicely to temperature just a little tweak required to match the exisitng tank and everything was running ok.  ;D. So I should be OK to keep progressing things after work.

There is a Maidenhead Aquatics on route to my morning meeting so I will take my 'lunch break' at MA and see what I can find 're wood and plants.
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on January 08, 2018, 03:35:11 PM
May I also be so bold as to suggest you may want to have a look here for items that you won't find at MA
http://www.aquariumgardens.co.uk/
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on January 09, 2018, 04:51:55 AM
I managed to finish work early  :yikes: and my trip to MA was very successful so Ive made up for lost time!!

They had a really good selection of plants at the Blackpool MA but alas no wood that was suitable for what i needed. This is the first ive been following their floods in November and the store is now much brighter and more modern and focusses on freshwater only. I got lots of bunches of java fern, some crypts, some stem plants, and some moss.

When i got home, first I moved the rock i was talking about, though it didn't look right where I thought it should go but Mrs Matt came along with a fresh pair of eyes at just the right moment and now it's in a much better position anyway.  Hardscaping completed  :)

I then set to tidying up the aquasoil on the sand and floating at the surface.  I have still got a bit more work to do here but I'm through the worst of it.  :vcross:

Then the planting began.  :)) All the new plants were prepped and planted. Then I transferred the anubias and moss balls (as they were so easy to transfer and push into cracks in the new layout) and the hygrophila.  I dont have much of this as the lower leaves dont get enough light currently I dont think so I keep having to strip them and lower the plant into the substrate a bit - it is one if the plants I expect to do better in the new set up as despite this its still grows well.  The remaining plants I want to move across from the 64 litre ate the Amazon swords and crypts though i will leave this for a few days depending on the water test results.  I havent put root tabs under anything yet - I can always go back and do this if required - I figured I may as well give it a go without them first... would people class crypts as a root feeder though?

As I had got additional plants earlier than planned, I realised this basically meant extra filtration capacity so I felt confident in moving the first batch of fish across. I moved the 3 harlequins, 3 cardinals, and 2 corys over, plus a few shrimp (it became clear that shrimp would be an on going thing as they can hide so well  ::)). Following a death of a harlequin and a cardinal (due to old age) over the last couple of months since i did the initial planning, this is exactly half of the stocking of the 64 litre.  I've just been to check on them and everyone seems to be doing ok.

A photo is below (sorry it's rubbish quality, I'll get a better one tomorrow when I can turn up the lights a bit more and the fish are settled in). The odd small branches wood and moss on the left will be incorporated at some later stage. Ideally the moss would already have been attached to the wood and that all seems a bit complicated now... only some of the wood can easily be removed again. :vcross:

Tomorrow I will need to do some further water tests to check the fish are ok, continue to remove floating aquasoil and aquasoil that's worked it's way onto the sand, I can transfer any more shrimp I can catch, and possibly have a go at tieing some moss to the wood. I'll likely do some routine gravel vacuuming on the 64 litre as well.  :D

I need to put the lights on a timer in the morning as I realise now as i type this, that I'd forgotten all about this!
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Helen on January 09, 2018, 04:25:55 PM
Looking good. It's going to be fabulous when the plants have established themselves.

I think crypts are root feeders. Where I had deep substrate (that accumulated a lot of fish fertiliser over the years) the roots on my crypts were huge. In a lot of cases, the roots were longer than the leaves. Also, nitrogen rich substrate is less likely to result in crypt melt, so the crypts might benefit from root tabs until they get established (about a month? So one tab?)

I found hygrophilia to be very nitrogen hungry. This will bee ideal for a new set up, but as I tried to reduce my maintenance burden of my tank (including fertiliser additions), my hygrophilia was one of the plants that got removed. Also the Amazon swords, that were slightly less nitrogen hungry than the hygrophilia, but still good nitrate 'cleaners'.
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on January 09, 2018, 04:37:10 PM
Great tank @Matt
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on January 09, 2018, 09:53:19 PM
Thanks for our experience with the crypt @Helen I'll get some root rabs underneath them in a couple of days once i know Im happy with where they are placed.  Have You ever tried to 'split' a crypt plant to generate 2 plants. Im wondering if this is possible and how they propagate in the wild... might do some googling on that. You experience. Hygroila is also interesting. I live in an area with low tap water nitrate so wonder if this may be why I'm struggling with them... it's no loss if i only get the same performance from them in the new tank.  Amazon swords i know are heavy root feeders and can grow quite quickly in good conditions.  Mine have massive root structures.  Apparently they are keen in having iron too as a micronutrient to facilitate proper growth.
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Helen on January 09, 2018, 10:15:37 PM
Both my fish and I like crypts, so I have quite a few (about half my tank substrate is planted with a variety of different types of them). Having reduced and cleaned my substrate, I am experiencing a bit of melt. But it isn't complete plants, so it may just be that I've accelerated the natural die off and so I'm not particularly worried about it, yet.

I vaguely remember testing iron levels in my tank, but don't remember what the results were or what I consequently did. But over the longer term, I've moved towards only having plants that suit my water parameters, hence don't have plants that have a high nitrogen requirement for my low tap water nitrates. This has also worked for me, as those plants tend to be faster growers and I can't keep up with pruning them, when they are successful!

I've not actively tried propagating my crypts, but at the latest plant reshuffle I noticed that there were often more than one plant on the same root structure. I separated these, making sure I left enough young looking roots for each plant. I have read that they propagate by sub-surface runners (they looked like thick roots to me). And I know that my crypts self propagated in my tank, because I've not bought enough to cover 50% of my tank!

The one crypt I've completely failed with is parva and my crispulata is only just hanging on (I had thought that I had killed that one too!)
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on January 09, 2018, 10:42:46 PM
Most crypts I've had have survived with little maintenance, so they are a bit of a go to plant here.
I have split some of my crypts and they have been fine.
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on January 10, 2018, 05:33:52 AM
Thanks again both, I'll let them settle first before taking any drastic action but again thats all good to know for future.  I installed the light timer and have set it for a 5 hour lighting period at the moment in case of any algae growth, I'll increase it and add a siesta as the tank matures.

I managed to move a few more cherry shrimp over last night. I really want them to make a start at eating their way through the inevitable gloopy white wood fungus stuff which i seem to have in bucket loads on the new wood. I would think that the Amano shrimp would be able to make a dent in it if only i could catch them, they seem to be a lot smarter than the cherries and much better at hiding >:( I did find a burried cherry along the way which I've left in the 64 litre as i dont have the pre filter sponge in place yet and i suspet a more mature tank will give them a greater chance of survival.

I have managed to get pretty much all of the floating aquasoil out which is great and I've got up a lot of the aquasoil from the sand too, though i look to have spread what's left around a bit too so i need a new plan for getting that stuff picked up. I will probably go through it with the fish net to catch the aquasoil but let the sand pass again tomorrow as this did work well, but now its spread out a hit across the sand area its not really a job I'm looking forward too.   :vcross:  Dont suppose anyone has any bright ideas for this?

Water tests on both tanks are still good with zero ammonia across the board (apart from one old test strip i was using up which gave a false reading and scared me into doing a load more wet chemistry tests!! 5 mins is a long time to wait for a sample when your panicing!).  I'm going to try and get to MA Preston this afternoon after work, time permitting. I will of course look at what fish they have in stock in prep for some possible additions this weekend though I'm conscious that I still have to galaxy rasbora to move over though which with the stocking level of the tank currently, would account for a third increase in stocking which is the maximum im looking to do anyway per week. That said i do have the amazon swords to move across and the crypts if i do get carried away with myself and get 2 rams  ::)  I'm also interested to see what plants  have in stock though as I need something for the background behind the wood. The tank is quite deep (front to back) and so there is quite a bit of space back there at the moment. I'm ideally after sometng tall and very thin I think like Vallisneria nana or Eleocharis montevidensis but this may have to be an online order as I've not seen what im after in the shops before now.

I have decided for now at least not to put the moss on the wood as i actually quite like the crisp difference between the java fern etc and the wood, plus i feel that having the odd branch covered in moss will look unnatural somehow and i definately dont want everything covered... I'm a bit unsure anyways so for now I've a spare clump of java moss in the 64 litre and am not sure what im going to do with it quite yet.

I tidied up the spare scraps of wood in the last photo too so have tried to take a more  professional looking photo this time round. You can see I have a slight bit of water clouding which doesn't seem to be going away yet... im still hoping that sorts itself out in time...?
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Helen on January 10, 2018, 04:33:03 PM
I think the slightly white cloudiness is something to do with a new tank. But I can't remember what. But am pretty confident it will clear.
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Sue on January 10, 2018, 06:36:15 PM
Your tank is looking great  :cheers:


Your old test strip - that's one of the problems with strips, if they get damp they give false readings.


The cloudiness could be one of two things. Either dust from the substrate or a bacterial bloom. The latter are very common in new tanks because there is a lot of organic carbon in a new tank; from plasticiser in all the new plastic to organic things in the plant substrate. It will go away once the bacteria have eaten all their food, but it is impossible to say how long that will be.
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on January 10, 2018, 09:42:11 PM
Your tank looks lovely. Well done.  :cheers:

As for catching shrimp, mine have out-smarted me on several occasions. I'm glad to hear that others have problems too.  :)
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: fcmf on January 10, 2018, 09:58:52 PM
Tank does indeed look great. How are the fish finding their new-found space?

I'm also interested to see what plants  have in stock though as I need something for the background behind the wood.
I'm ideally after sometng tall and very thin I think like Vallisneria nana or Eleocharis montevidensis but this may have to be an online order as I've not seen what im after in the shops before now.
It might be worth finding out what day of the week your LFSs get their plant deliveries and then try to ensure that you're there the following day to get the best of the crop.
Your two suggestions of tall and thin plants sound good, the Vallis in particular. I've found it easier to keep second time round - in fact, it seems to have re-generated lately - while I found the Eleocharis had a very swift demise although I've only tried keeping it once.
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on January 11, 2018, 06:59:14 AM
Clouding seemed a bit worse if anything last night, I'm wondering if the addition of plant micronutrients when I set the tank up might have been a mistake. That said as Sue has said, I'm sure it will subside when whatever is there has been eaten.

The amano shrimp got transferred last night though the antics of catching them rather upset one of the rams who ended up thrashing around a bit at one side of the tank then looking very stressed. Fortunately this only lasted 10 minutes before she was completely back to normal  ::)  Catching the amanos was even more of an experience than I thought it would be... when one of them decided to walk out of the net and up the handle whilst out of the water  :yikes: I know they can walk out of water, but seeing this horror movie like creature coming towards me at pace when everything else has just sat pathetically in the bottom of the net unable to cope with the lack of support the air was giving them, was quite a shock!! I dropped the net back into the tank!

So with a stressed out ram, that was all that got done last night bar the usual water testing. I need to do a routine water change on the 64 litre tomorrow and a gravel vac. So that will take priority over moving plants etc.

I didn't get time to go to MA Preston last night, by the time work had finished it was too late...

Thanks for the tip on your experience with the vallis @fcmf, is that with the particular plants I referred to or the species as a whole? The fish are loving the extra space, my wife keeps telling me to feed them more because they must be getting exhausted from all the extra swimming!! I need to boost their numbers though, three cardinals, three harlequins, and two corys look a bit silly in a tank that size. I can't wait to see the harlequins swimming about as a tight directional group when there are more of them... it already looks fantastic! ;D
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Rustle on January 11, 2018, 08:26:21 AM
Looks amazing Matt i love the way the 2 woods blend together.
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Sue on January 11, 2018, 09:15:39 AM
The trick with shrimps, and fish come to that, is as soon as they are in the net turn the net over so that you have the metal net rim facing downwards and a pouch of net containing the fish/shrimp dangling off to one side. The rim pressing against the upper fabric stops them getting out. That's how I transferred my cherry shrimp from the tank I was closing to the tank they are in now and none of them escaped  :)
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on January 11, 2018, 09:37:07 AM
My problems usually revolve around getting my amano shrimp into the net in the first place.  ::)
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on January 11, 2018, 10:30:17 AM
The trick with shrimps, and fish come to that, is as soon as they are in the net turn the net over so that you have the metal net rim facing downwards and a pouch of net containing the fish/shrimp dangling off to one side. The rim pressing against the upper fabric stops them getting out.

Good tip! I'm not sure I'm calm enough when I'm doing it to think that logically!! Not sure who suffers more sometimes, me or the fish!
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Sue on January 11, 2018, 11:24:05 AM
You need to make sure that the net is big enough so the fish doesn't get squashed in the 'pouch'. Once out of the water, just hold the net almost vertical, just tilted slightly over to keep the net closed.
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: fcmf on January 11, 2018, 07:47:33 PM
Thanks for the tip on your experience with the vallis @fcmf, is that with the particular plants I referred to or the species as a whole?
Vallisneria Spiralis Tiger was purchased both times - found the receipt and this current one is 6+ months old so a record for me! The Eleocharis which didn't do at all well was Eleocharis Acicularis. [Having said all this, I've begun to notice that there are actually particular locations in the tank where my plants seem to do better or worse than others - and the Eleocharis was in the worst spot while the Vallis has never been there. It was only when I noticed that 2 of the 3 floating squares which I have containing Amazonian frogbit had healthy plants while one had all of its plants die suddenly the other day that I realised the existence of these "bad" locations - maybe it's something to do with strength of the lighting or least water flow.]
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on January 11, 2018, 09:12:23 PM
I did the water change on the 64 litre. Looking at the 220 litre now, I think there may have been a clouding issue which has now passed, and a tannin build-up which is now occurring. I'm going to do a big water change tomorrow and I also have some activted carbon I can add to the filter if needed.

This weekends current plans are to add 2 corys 1 cardinal and 1 harlequin. I realise this probably seems a bit odd, but this will mean 4 of each species and they all like to be in groups of 4 minimum.  I can then increase their numbers in following weeks.

That said, I think the rams in the 64 litre may be more hidey /stressy now there are less dither fish in the tank. So they will be getting moved the weekend after this when the filter can take the addition of them plus 2 more all at once to allow territories and hierarchies to be set up properly and not disrupted later on.  That will also give me the chance to increase the schoal of galaxy rasbora in the 64 litre the existing 2 have been removed from which can then all be move to the 220 litre the weekend after that and replaced with more fish for addition the following weekend. And so the cycle can continue, using the 64 as a quarantine tank (albeit a short quaranteen period). I may slow things down from the weekly cycle as time goes on, depends how excited I am!! I all also need to add the goby and the otocinclus and some new ones of these at some point.

Interesting theory about the bad spots fcmf... it could well be lighting or flow related. I know floating plants dont like too much flow and  so was the spot they didn't do so well in high light and high flow?
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on January 11, 2018, 09:34:17 PM
Glad to hear that the clouding issue has passed.  :)
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Helen on January 11, 2018, 10:57:12 PM
It's worth trying alternative plants in your "bad" locations @fcmf . I put an anubias in my bad spot and it turned into a monster. (Huge, not nasty)
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: fcmf on January 12, 2018, 06:03:17 PM
It's worth trying alternative plants in your "bad" locations @fcmf . I put an anubias in my bad spot and it turned into a monster. (Huge, not nasty)
There's one location in particular which kills off any plant - usually overnight but at least within 3 days.

Interesting theory about the bad spots fcmf... it could well be lighting or flow related. I know floating plants dont like too much flow and  so was the spot they didn't do so well in high light and high flow?
Definitely not high flow - but most likely high light for some reason; I've had plants smell as though they've been singed in that particular place.

This weekends current plans are to add 2 corys 1 cardinal and 1 harlequin. I realise this probably seems a bit odd, but this will mean 4 of each species and they all like to be in groups of 4 minimum.  I can then increase their numbers in following weeks.
Glad you plan to increase their numbers in subsequent weeks. Much of the advice on here about 4+ per species is not up-to-date - recommendations now tend to be 6+ (or often 8-10+) but cross-check with Seriously Fish for each species to be sure. For the sake of a few weeks until you increase numbers, though, I'm sure 4 will be fine.

Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on January 12, 2018, 09:14:51 PM
Glad you plan to increase their numbers in subsequent weeks. Much of the advice on here about 4+ per species is not up-to-date - recommendations now tend to be 6+ (or often 8-10+) but cross-check with Seriously Fish for each species to be sure. For the sake of a few weeks until you increase numbers, though, I'm sure 4 will be fine.

Just realised I forgot the crucial piece of information from the below... I've no intention of keeping my fish in minimum numbers now I have so much space!! I can only add a third additional stocking each week, to allow the filter bacteria to grow.  This weekends additions will be an additional third. Next weekends third will be a bigger third though so things should build up nicely :)

Changed about 90 litres tonight... not fun doing it with half buckets to refill as my tap thingy hasn't arrived yet! Fortunately I could easily do full buckets when emptying it!! Water has cleared up nicely as a result and the water I took out was definitely a light tea colour so it's definitely tannins that were affecting the water the last couple of days. I managed to siphon off a good amount of the white wood fuzz though I though this was also growing on the old wood... turns out it is some sort of algae.  I'll do some research on this in the morning. I've added a small dose of liquid carbon which should start to tackle this anyway. I was expecting some sort of algae growth given its a new set up in many ways.

Also moved across the last lot of plants from the 64 litre tank (Amazon swords and some crypts) and put root tabs under everything that I felt was a root feeder. I've put a photo below though apart from the Amazon sword you may not see much different as the crypts went behind the wood to grow bigger.  I'll post a photo of the 64 litre in the gallery thread. It looks nothing like it used to!
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on January 12, 2018, 09:20:38 PM
Your tank looks lovely.  ;D
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on January 13, 2018, 07:08:05 PM
Well the plans changed....

I have bought the 2 additional rams and added them and my current ones to the tank.  They just didnt seem comfortable in the 64 litre any more for some reason.  They have coloured up and are out and about a lot more now so I think it was the right move.  So I now have 2 German blue rams, one golden and one neon. They look amazing together and I'm so glad I did this  ;D

This was a bit of a large boost to the stocking so more plants were bought to try and help out on this front too.  The tank is now looking a lot more 'mature'.  I don't want to know how much I've spent on plants overall... it's a big number  ::)

I also have boosted the numbers of galaxy rasbora in the 64 litre with the space created my the move of the rams.  These can be moved across next weekend or the weekend after and then I can also start to boost the numbers of the harlequins/cardinals/corys.

I also removed and boiled some of the branches of the old wood now in the 220 litre. I may do the same again... I have the dreaded black bearded algae growing  :'(  I suspect this will be an going battle...

The plans for the 64 litre have also changed following a trip to the LFS with Mrs Matt and very much for the better I think... more in the gallery thread!
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Helen on January 13, 2018, 07:18:20 PM
Gorgeous.
Title: Re: Matt's planning for 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on January 13, 2018, 09:55:14 PM
Gosh, you've had a busy day.
Fantastic.  ;D
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on January 19, 2018, 10:30:13 PM
40% water change completed, sand surface cleaned, moss balls squeezed in old tank water and wood fungus stuff siphoned off.  Tanks looking great. I even manaved to siphon off nearly all of the bba with a little gentle persuasion with the end of the siphone hose.  It didnt budge the week before and i have been religiously adding liquid carbon to the tank each morning to try and tackle it.  That and the tank becoming more mature and the plants settling in has definately meant that the bba has died off significantly.  There is a bit of more stubborn stuff on the new wood but overall I'm confident I'm getting on top of the outbreak.  This will hopefully die off over the next week too, I will also be boiling any sections that are easy to remove again this weekend.

Oh and cleaning the glass... should I be worried about trapping sand under the glass cleaner thing and scratching the glass?

I add the 10 galaxy rasbora tomorrow from the 64litre and will be doing a further 10-15% water change when i refill the 64 litre after its rescape. Next addition will be 4 gobys, then I will finally get back to increasing the numbers of the schoaling species!

Can't wait for my new siphon hose and refill tap connector thing to come... all these buckets im lugging around are becoming hard work!

Other than that everything is nice and stable in the tank... long may it continue  :)
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Helen on January 19, 2018, 10:36:45 PM
I figure with a pair of two legged pets and a decent sized fish tank, I don't need a gym membership. When I'm not working, I'm either chasing around or lugging buckets of water across my house.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: fcmf on January 19, 2018, 10:52:19 PM
Oh and cleaning the glass... should I be worried about trapping sand under the glass cleaner thing and scratching the glass?
Having done that very thing about 6 months ago, I can vouch for how frustrating it is to see 2 several-inches-long scratch marks on the front pane of glass, especially when the light is on. I'll take a pic of it tomorrow and add it in here to serve as a useful reminder to you to be extra careful in that respect! :)
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Sue on January 20, 2018, 09:45:40 AM
I scratched my last tank with sand using one of those magnetic cleaners.

One of the best things for cleaning the glass is a plastic plant label. Or one of those pot scrubbers that look like a brightly coloured knitted plastic ball.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on January 20, 2018, 06:33:29 PM
Ok well I used a magnetic glass cleaner very carefully and its done a great job. As soon as I did the first strip of glass you could tell just how badly it needed doing!! I bought a glass cleaner that floats so even if I go wrong it shouldn't go near the sand!
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Sue on January 20, 2018, 06:41:29 PM
The main problem I had with magnetic cleaners was the string that joins the two bits was too short to allow the bit inside the tank to get low down. When I used thick sewing thread instead it just rotted and fell apart. So I had to use the two halves without any string but the inside bit kept falling off and getting covered with sand. It was after this happened with my last tank that I failed to remove just one grain of sand and scratched the glass.

You have just reminded me that I haven't cleaned the inside of the glass for a few months and I can still see in fine. I have no idea why algae etc has suddenly vanished from the glass unless it's the stiphodons  ???
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on January 20, 2018, 06:51:40 PM
Could also be the shrimps or nerites... I had grown a nice thick layer of algae on the back of my old set up... like you, one day I noticed it had completely vanished!
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: fcmf on January 20, 2018, 07:53:58 PM
I find my nerite has a sort of OCD for cleaning the filters and front and side/algae-free panes over and over and over again until they're almost gleaming; however, he tends not to do much about breaking through the thick layer of algae on the back or other side pane. Yesterday, I had the magnetic cleaner out, having checked it diligently for sand grains beforehand, and tackled the thick layers of algae; typically, he then decided to QA my work, having not actually contributed much to cleaning those particular panes beforehand.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on January 20, 2018, 09:44:53 PM
Photo of the tank as it is now... I can see the plants have grown since the previous photo which is nice as the tank is still only getting 4.5 hours light per day. I will be increasing this tomorrow though.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on January 20, 2018, 10:27:00 PM
That tank looks lovely.  :)
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: fcmf on January 20, 2018, 11:11:32 PM
Lovely. I trust that those who have been transferred over are still enjoying and exploring the larger environment?  :)
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Helen on January 20, 2018, 11:31:14 PM
Looking gorgeous.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on January 21, 2018, 05:44:05 AM
Lovely. I trust that those who have been transferred over are still enjoying and exploring the larger environment?  :)

Yep :) it's really nice having the 4 rams in the tank. I did have some concern over territories and aggression but they seem to have it figured out. There is naturally more and less dominant fish in the group but they are not scrapping by any stretch, they are in fact very calm with each other if they want to be, if they want to display to each other they do but if they want to ignore each other they will.

I'm going to take a small risk against my own stocking rule of no more than a third extra being added each week (really this shouldn't matter much as the tank is heavily planted) and add 4 goby tomorrow to keep on top of the algae and fungus growing on the wood. Im also having a little break from adding ferts over the next couple of days and won't add any fish next week as a result.  I feel like the new tank phase has passed nice and quickly due to the planting, low initial stocking, and transfer of biomedia and remaining algae etc associated with a new system now just needs to be mopped up.

Time for frequequent regular water tests to resume! I hope I don't regret my decision!
I'm assuming ammonia levels will be highest (if there is any) before the lights come on in he morning and the plants get going so this would be the optimum time to test?
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Helen on January 21, 2018, 09:47:01 AM
My Seneye hasn't shown me any daily variation in ammonia levels in my tank. Interestingly there wasn't even an increase when I added the barbs and I think that worked out as about 50% stock increase. My Seneye measures 'free ammonia' (NH3) in increments of 0.002 so with a level starting around 0.030 before I added the barbs, it didn't even go up to 0.032. You might not see anything @Matt , especially if your plants are visibly growing.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Sue on January 21, 2018, 09:47:45 AM
It is the conversion of CO2 and water into carbohydrates (photosynthesis) which needs light. The processing of ammonia into amino acids and on to proteins, and other nitrogenous compounds, is not light driven, that just requires energy from the breakdown of carbohydrates into CO2 and water (respiration).
Plants must take up ammonia 24 hours a day or those people with heavily planted tanks (few bacteria in these) would wake up to fish gasping in ammonia laden water.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on January 21, 2018, 10:21:29 AM
That's interesting @Sue  and makes more sense than my comments above... I did start wondering after i posted that about the impact of fluctuating ammonia levels on the fish!  Great to have such a knowledgeable community here where I can post silly things without too much shame coming from it!!

Good to have @Helen direct experience when increasing stocking in a planted tank... that gives me some confidence I've made the right decision.

Thanks both  :cheers:
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Sue on January 21, 2018, 11:23:08 AM
It helps that I have studied biochemistry  :) The uni I went to had an unusual degree structure so I studied chemistry, biochemistry and zoology equally in year 1; chemistry and biochemistry in a 2:1 ratio in year 2; and just chemistry in year 3.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on January 21, 2018, 01:26:23 PM
3 new and 1 existing goby added :)

The goby from MA Wigan were huge too, basically fully grown, so my little guy is going to go from tank ruler to smallest fish...

Catching him was a nightmare too... I left algae wafers in a jug and a net... both of which he ignored! Ended up on permanent 'goby watch' in shifts with Mrs Matt and chasing him round the tank any time he came out...
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on January 27, 2018, 10:57:56 PM
Schoaling species numbers successfully increased.  I now have 6 harlequins and 6 cardinal tetra (is a slightly odd mixture of sizes!). 

I also picked up 6 rummy nose tetras which have been schoaling beautifully this afternoon.  I have wanted rummy nose for a long time now.  They look so much more impressive in the tank then they did in the little tank at the LFS... they are all swimming in a tight group back and forth across the front of the tank. 

        :fishy1:    :fishy1:
              :fishy1:
   :fishy1:    :fishy1:
           :fishy1:

The new harlequins almost seem to have a thin white 'neon' stripe (like on a black neon tetra) above the black "lambchop"... not sure if I'm making this up, or if it will fade with age but they certainly look very impressive.

The store has some really nice honey gourami in which are a gorgeous deep orange colour so 2 of these were picked up as well.

I'll get some photos of all of these tomorrow.

Next weekend I will get 2 more of each of the schoaling species to bring the numbers up to 8, and 2 more gourami.  I will then be about 70% stocked and I don't think I will want to go much further than that.

Unfortunately there has been one casualty.. the golden ram never looked quite right and it had an "off day" on Wed, was fine Thursday, back to behaving strangely on Friday and unfortunately it died overnight. The other rams are doing fine and I think this was just a poorly fish from the store, these bred colour forms of the rams are known to be weak genetically also.

In other news, I have also been using the new "theaquascaper complete liquid plant food" and must say it is doing wonders for the plant which are now growing faster than I've ever   :))  I would definitely recommend it. It even comes with a little syringe to dose it accurately.  You will probably be able to see the growth in tomorrow's photo.

Finally, I have also fitted a light into the cabinet below the tank as it can be very hard to see what you're doing in there, possibly due for the depth and the contrastingly bright lights above it.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on January 28, 2018, 08:35:20 AM
Great update, you have been very busy.
Can't wait to see lots of pics.  ;D
Sorry to hear about your golden ram though.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Sue on January 28, 2018, 11:07:03 AM
Deep orange honey gouramis - was the tank labelled with the colour morph? Deep orange sounds like two males of the natural colour. If they are two males, make sure the next ones are females.
Honeys are fine with more than 1 male in a tank this size  :)
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on January 28, 2018, 11:31:51 AM
Yes it is two males Sue, they were labelled as red honey gourami.  I will indeed be getting two females next week, I have been perusing my LFSs to find them and there are some in Preston with the right body colouring and find shape.

General tank photo attached. You should be able to see the plant growth :)

I'll try and get some of the fish later... I can't get anything decent at the moment as they are too fast for me!
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Sue on January 28, 2018, 11:44:00 AM
If they are red ones, that does make sexing a bit trickier.
I have 1 male natural colour - he is definitely a male as he is bright copper with a very black throat - and two females which are both beige with a brown line down each side. They are both definitely females because after the first male died and the tank was male-less for a couple of months neither of them developed male colouring. The females have longer pointier fins than the male  :o  Though I suppose he could just be younger and not fully mature yet.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on January 28, 2018, 12:11:34 PM
Here's a photo @Sue
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Helen on January 28, 2018, 12:13:50 PM
What a beauty.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Fishbeard on January 28, 2018, 12:14:38 PM
He's a lovely looking fish. :)
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Sue on January 28, 2018, 12:15:09 PM
I agree, lovely fish  :)

It does have the feeling of being male. I can't really explain why.  ???

Another way it is said to tell the difference - look at the anal fin. In a male, the end of it goes out towards the tail ad curves back in.With a female it is supposed to straighter.

Look at their behaviour. Males will be out and about all over the tank. Females spend a lot of their time pootling round. It is quite hard to explain but I can often tell the males from the females in a shop tank by the way they behave. But then I have kept honey gouramis for 15, maybe 16 years so I am very familiar with them.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on January 28, 2018, 12:59:19 PM
Very handsome.  :fishy1:
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: fcmf on January 28, 2018, 03:30:52 PM
Thanks for sharing your updates - much appreciated, although sad news about the golden ram. Interesting feedback on that liquid plant food - note to self, for when current supplies run out.

I now have 6 harlequins and 6 cardinal tetra (is a slightly odd mixture of sizes!).
Within a few weeks of being in the QT, my harlequins had quite a size variation - 4 larger, 2 smaller. The situation has remained like this for the past 2.5+ years. I seem to recollect that sizes can vary, depending on the location they're originally from.

Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on February 04, 2018, 07:21:45 PM
Cleaned out the filter for the first time today, giving the sponges a good squeeze in old tank water.  Quite a but of muck was produced. I think it is worse with the tank being new - everything seems to have stabilised a lot more now so hopefully it was the right time to do the clean. The Eden filter was very easy to clean and reprime now I know what I'm doing. Only problem is the bottom sponge can't be removed without the ceramic media being disturbed.  I just gave it a good squash whilst in place and tipped the manky water out afterwards. 

I've not added any fish this weekend. I need to get used to the number of fish in there. I think because I have all nano species it seems like there is a lot going on in there as there are a lot of individual fish.  I probably wont be expanding the numbers of schoalers any more until I get used to it all.  Love the tank as it is so no need to rush! I do really like the idea of agassizi cichlids though!!... I also want to get a tall piece of wood to go on the middle left to balance it out a bit with the right hand side.  There is a gap behind the existing wood here which it will fit well into.

The hygrophila is going redy brown on top given the liquid co2, lights, better ferts etc etc. A flower spike has grown up from the aponogetum and reached the surface in just the last 2 days! I have lots of baby java ferns growing on the bigger leaves too.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Sue on February 04, 2018, 07:25:38 PM
Word of caution - it is not a good idea to have more than one species of cichlid in a tank and you already have rams........
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on February 04, 2018, 07:39:06 PM
Ok thanks Sue  :fishy1:

I thought you just had to avoid mixing cichlids from different parts of the world?
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Sue on February 04, 2018, 07:46:33 PM
Cichlids from different continents are a definite no because they don't understand each other's signals. But male cichlids are territorial and one male will consider the whole of the bottom of your tank as his territory. A newcomer would not be permitted in this territory.
If you had a 6 or 8 foot tank, it might be do-able but I wouldn't risk it in anything smaller.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on February 04, 2018, 08:12:47 PM
Loving your tank.  :afro
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Helen on February 04, 2018, 11:44:15 PM
Looking good.

And that ram is just gorgeous.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on February 06, 2018, 04:46:17 PM
Well unfortunately last night I had to put my elderly Ram transferred from my old tank down. She had dropsy and a number of other conditions were starting to take hold as well.  She had gone in and out of health over the past few months. She didnt resist the process i put her through to bring things to a quiet end so it was her time...  :'(
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Helen on February 06, 2018, 05:46:12 PM
 :'(
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on February 06, 2018, 06:46:34 PM
So sorry to hear about your ram.  :(
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: fcmf on February 06, 2018, 10:12:54 PM
Very sorry to read about this but, as you say, it sounded like it was her time. :'(
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on February 07, 2018, 06:11:35 AM
Thanks everyone.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Paddyc on February 27, 2018, 08:25:44 PM
Matt, mixed emotions for me. Never nice to have to say goodbye to a wee fishie... But I'm impressed at your developments! Your new tank is very smart and your aquascaping is top drawer! Is your hygrophila the same that I sent you? The amount I have to remove from my tank now on a monthly basis is ridiculous...

Loving being back and catching up on everyones tanks!  8) 8)
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on February 27, 2018, 09:35:05 PM
Yep that's the stuff @Paddyc (thanks again for sending me some). It seems to be growing a lot better in the new setup. I used to have a few strands which needed the lower leaves removing frequently due to holes appearing in them and the whole plant replanting... it wasn't exactly thriving... now though (and possibly linked to change in fertiliser) the growth has increased and there no longer seems to be any die off. I'm even getting brownish red leaves on the top of the plant when it reaches near the light. I've chopped a couple of stems and replanted and all seems to be going well!

I'm thinking of changing the right hand side of the layout of the scape a bit actually... looking top-down it's a bit 'diagonal' with half sand and half scape from one corner to the opposite corner. I think I'd like it more like sand across the front, scape across the back... perhaps with a bit more height to it too... not sure yet though. Next task is to clean the algae off the rocks... not looking forward to that one!!
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on March 18, 2018, 06:33:42 AM
Just a few baby java fern were taken off their mother plants last night...

A couple of other recent photos attached too.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Sue on March 18, 2018, 09:38:19 AM
You gotta love stiphodons  ;D They are so ugly-cute.


Is your java fern planted in the sand  :o
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: fcmf on March 18, 2018, 09:50:56 AM
Gorgeous pics. I especially love the last one - rams are beautiful, and the depth created by the rocks and roots and plants makes their habitat look so enviable.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on March 18, 2018, 10:56:41 AM
Beautiful.  8)
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on March 18, 2018, 03:45:46 PM
Thanks everyone.

@Sue yeh the 30ish individual baby java ferns got dumped in the sand... I'll be rescuing them later today... I was running out of time before lights out and wasn't too sure what to do with them all... they are breeding like rabbits!  :o
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: fcmf on March 18, 2018, 06:29:23 PM
I bought some java fern recently and found some stone/rock in the fish cupboard to attach it to with just some covered twisty wire (forgotten what the official name for these things are).
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on March 18, 2018, 08:43:25 PM
I superglued it all round an old stone and have placed it in the puffer tank... first time I've used superglue and to be honest I think I would do the same again... quite an easy way of doing it, especially when you can hide the stone and therefore the little white glue patches.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on April 09, 2018, 05:54:09 AM
Epic day of "faffing" with the tank... done  :cheers:

I'm now much happier with the layout of the rocks on the far right and I've redone the wood on the left hand side which looks much better now I think.  There is now a distinction between two areas where the wood seems to 'grow' out from at the base rather than it just being everywhere across the tank.

The plants have grown significantly and also needed some work. The original planting had all of the plants distributed evenly across the width of the tank. This worked well when there were not as many of them as it filled the scape. Now though some plants have grown taller, shading others and dominating the scape, it all started to look very homogenous. So... I've now rearrang3d the planting into clusters of different plants meaning they will fair better and they can be told apart in the scape and be seen a lot more easily.  The hygrophila corymbosa thailand has really taken off like wildfire. I bought quite a lot of it originally and now it's growing so well I can see myself having to trim it all down in a about a months time... this is really not something I'm going to enjoy... throwing away healthy plant growth! Only ever had to do this with the  hornwort previously... still it's great that everything seems be be growing well. :))

I'm really tempted to try some red plants but can't convince Mrs Matt who thinks they just look strange for some reason... I can see a red plant appearing in the tank by accident lol...  :P

I've also removed the background from the tank.  All I'll say is if your thinking about adding a background to your tank, use oil to put it on rather than water as I did on the 64 litre years ago. That background is still perfect... the one of this tank had got loads of bubbling after the water dried out. I always wanted a frosted background to this tank in contrast to the black background on the other tank which created a dark and moody feel I wanted this to look lighter and more open. Unfortunately I stand no chance reattaching it as I can't move such a big tank with al it's hardscape etc but I've managed to find a way to fit the filter inlet and outlet  at the right hand side of the tank so that it's all hidden behind the planting in the darkest corner of the tank... also means you can't see the dirty filter hose from where we sit normally now which is a bonus. Fortunately the light beige wall directly behind the tank just means that really it looks no diffeelrent now to how it did before so for the sake of hiding the filter hose it's worked out quite well. It's interesting to see how the different flow direction has impacted the vallis I've added as it now reaches across the top of the scape perfectly too.  :D

The planting on the left hand side it a little space at the moment. I've added the vallis though there is only one long stem and a few shorter ones... these will grow with time and spread as they grow.  The hydrocotyle and the other plant... must look up the name later... I'm hoping will also grow much better now theyve got access to more light.

I've not yet attempted cleaning the rocks. I'm not sure this is something I want to start as I'm not sure I'll ever be happy with it once I have... something to leave until it really needs doing I think...
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on April 09, 2018, 07:38:45 AM
Your epic day of faffing with the tank was totally worth it, the tank looks fantastic.  :afro
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: daveyng on April 09, 2018, 09:31:03 AM
Looks great Matt. Reminds me of an island with a sandy ‘beach’ in the foreground and a rocky shoreline.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: TopCookie on April 09, 2018, 09:48:03 AM
Love those AquaOak aquariums...!!!  You've done a blinding job there Matt, that looks sweet...!!!
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Helen on April 09, 2018, 05:04:55 PM
Wow, your tank is gorgeous. You really do have a talent for aquascaping. Mine is definitely more jungle!
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on April 09, 2018, 07:20:13 PM
Thanks everyone  :cheers:

Just one piece of anubias to put back today so my planting seems to have been successful.  The gobies have decided they wanted more aquasoil on the sand than in my original photo so this will need putting back too... pesky things...

Can't wait for the vallis to spread and grow, I really like how it looks which has surprised me and it is providing some interest at the surface for the gouramis.

I will have to see if I can make it through the weekend without buying more fish... not sure that will happen...  :))
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: fcmf on April 09, 2018, 07:55:54 PM
Well done on your tank "faffing" - it looks absolutely amazing; you clearly have a natural talent for aquascaping. Congrats also on the plant growth.

As for the red plants, what might be more palatable to Mrs Matt would be some plants which are green and red (eg the underside being one colour and the top another colour) or else where some leaves grow through as brown/red, positioned beside some red plants, so that the change in colour when the eyes are looking at/across the tank is gradual rather than dramatic. Hope that suggestion might be a feasible option for you / Mrs Matt.

[Edited to add some pics to illustrate above - please excuse dusting of plants due to red-coloured root tabs' upheaval and/or brown diatoms, as well as other decay/plant problems! Turn your head to left to view second one - it tries to capture both sides of the hemiographis colorata plant plus a (decaying) alternanthera rosaefolia in the background.]
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on April 09, 2018, 08:46:23 PM
I think I need a plant that will grow slightly red once planted rather than one that is is red when purchased... Ill not be likely to maintain a super red plant as my tank is not high tech enough... these do look quite garish in the shops to be fair. There are a few ludwigia that might work and also seem to have the red underside to the leaves that you mention fcmf...

Oh dear... I'll be plotting another tank soon. " I'm just buying these emergency glass panels in case..."

Actually I think I might be able to wangle a tank size upgrade if I go about it the right way for the dwarf puffers...

 :vcross:
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Helen on April 09, 2018, 09:30:39 PM
For a plant that starts green, try rotala rotundiflora.

http://tropica.com/en/plants/plantdetails/Rotalarotundifolia(033)/4447

I have this as a background plant in my tank. It is relatively slow growing for a stem plant and it only turns red with lots of light - in my tank it turns pink as it reaches the surface because I have pretty low light.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: TopCookie on April 09, 2018, 10:20:44 PM
That Rotala is lovely...   ;)
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on April 10, 2018, 04:12:50 AM
I'll be keeping an eye out for that! Thanks @Helen That does look perfect for what I'm after  :afro
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on April 10, 2018, 08:15:33 AM

Oh dear... I'll be plotting another tank soon. " I'm just buying these emergency glass panels in case..."

Actually I think I might be able to wangle a tank size upgrade if I go about it the right way for the dwarf puffers...

 :vcross:

Possible tank upgrade for dwarf puffers....are you considering getting a larger group of the tiny bundles of adorableness?  ;D
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: TopCookie on April 10, 2018, 10:23:23 AM
....are you considering getting a larger group of the tiny bundles of adorableness?  ;D

 :rotfl:
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on April 10, 2018, 08:41:15 PM
Well the tank is on a larger cabinet now... so obviously it just makes sense to put a larger tank to fill the larger space..... am I convincing you??
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on April 10, 2018, 09:21:07 PM
I, personally, would never need convincing on the topic of a larger tank.
However, if I were the non-fishkeeping half of a partnership, yes, I would think that getting a tank to fill the top of the cabinet would be perfectly reasonable. No point in having all of that empty space around the tank, especially when that space could be filled with dwarf puffers.  ;D
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: fcmf on April 10, 2018, 10:26:36 PM
Well the tank is on a larger cabinet now... so obviously it just makes sense to put a larger tank to fill the larger space..... am I convincing you??
Absolutely! Having said that, my 54-litre tank is on top of a longish cabinet but it clearly stated that max weight/load is 50kg, so I daren't risk it any more than that. :yikes: Hmmm - in my case, maybe time to look at other sturdier cabinets for the living-room. ;)
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: TopCookie on April 10, 2018, 10:35:16 PM
lolol you guys...   :rotfl:
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on April 11, 2018, 07:07:46 AM
When I took the tank of the old cabinet there was a lot of water damage on the surface of the wooden cabinet. Where the tank rested on the wood. I thinks over time bits of water trickling down the outside (probably as a rsult of me being messy at water change time) have reached the bottom and spread like a coffee mug ring around the base of the tank. Just be prepared for that if you ever want to move a tank... the cabinet was ruined. I'm going to have to sand off the top and try to 're wax it or something... turn my hand to furniture restoration!
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: fcmf on April 11, 2018, 08:00:17 AM
If you manage to get the cabinet fixed, or if you have to buy a new one for the fishtank, then it might be worth having a glass panel on top to protect it. My fishtank is on top of a unit bought at the same time and specifically because it came with this protective glass panel https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/storage-furniture/shelving-units-systems/best%C3%A5-top-panel-glass-white-art-20196529/ As far as I can recollect from 3.5 years ago, that was the only protective glass panel in stock ie they didn't make different-sized panels for different purposes or pieces of furniture - but I'm sure something similar could be bought from elsewhere. That's not to say that there isn't water damage on the doors and shelves underneath from water changes when, regardless of how many towels I have draped around, I seem to drench everything (including myself) and don't always get to wipe up the spills immediately.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on April 29, 2018, 11:06:45 PM
Rescaped a little today to make things look a bit more balanced. Previous scape I was never happy with as one side was too different to the other.  I did this to hide inlet and outlet of the filter. They are a bit more visible now, but the tank looks a lot better overall.  Pushed all the tall plants to the back so the smaller planta can be seen more near the front and added a subtly red plant (rotala rotundifolia) to the front middle.  Java fern was laargely removed... it kept producing little farnlets on the leaves which killed off the old leaves. So all new baby leaves were  bunched together to start again. I'll be picking them off asap from now on.  Still a lot of tidying up to do but here a piccy so show what I have done...
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: TopCookie on April 29, 2018, 11:14:42 PM
Looks brill Matt...  :)   I liked it before anyhoo, but I agree that the balance overall looks better now... 
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Helen on April 30, 2018, 12:51:53 AM
It looks really good. I always enjoy seeing pictures of your tank. Your style of aquascaping is so different to mine (tidier).
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on July 09, 2018, 11:51:59 AM
The Amazon swords had got far too big on the left and right sides. I have got rid of a lot of the larger leaves and moved them to the middle. Took the opportunity to fiddle with the planting layout given some of the tips I'd been working up for an article on my website.  Looks a lot better I think.  Though I need to fiddle with the wood on the left hand side at some point as it doesn't look like it is all one piece at the moment. The best layouts have the wood all eminating from one point as this obviously looks more natural ( or you can do it from two points if you have a concave layout where you have a mound on both sides of the tank ) hopefully that makes sense?

Anyway here's a photo...

I will take one of the LHS later which is also vastly improved as this is one angle I view the tank from.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on July 09, 2018, 02:32:51 PM
Looks great  8)
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: daveyng on July 09, 2018, 06:34:39 PM
Looking good.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on July 09, 2018, 11:01:31 PM
Side photo and updated front shot.

Thanks Dave and Donna
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on July 10, 2018, 11:24:57 AM
Several of my tanks can be viewed from the side as well as the front, and it's quite nice to have that slightly different perspective.
Unfortunately I seem to be completely lacking in design/aquascaping skills. In theory I understand the different styles and designs, and I see other people aquascaping effortlessly, then wonder why my tanks don't look like that.
I have come to the conclusion that several of my tanks can't be aquascaped  - the axolotl tank, river tank, and mudskipper tanks - because the needs of the inhabitants, rather than the aesthetics, are the priority.
Time constraints are also an issue - with the number of tanks I sometimes find that pooh hoovering, picking out dead leaves, and water changes are as much as I can do.
However, in the chaos that is the reorganisation of tanks in the Littlefish house, I think I will start small and have a bash at aquascaping a tank for Kimi the betta within the next few months, and see how that turns out.  ???
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on July 10, 2018, 08:49:07 PM
I'd be happy to help with this... just get in touch nearer the time with some ideas and we can go from there if you like?
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on July 10, 2018, 09:41:30 PM
Cheers.  :cheers:
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on August 28, 2018, 07:56:43 AM
Some new additions today...

After the loss of all but 2 of my harlequins whilst I was away, the tank looked quite bare on the fish front and my stocking was at about 45%. I wanted a surface dweller ideally to fill a gap at the top of the tank, though was struggling to find any i liked (hatchetfish dont do it for me!) and  / or a smaller 2cm fish. I had galaxy rasboras at one point but they were very hidey and I didn't see much of them but I liked that they added another dimension to the tank amongst the mainly 3 cm fish. My honey gourami arnt really a surface dweller in my oppinion spending time through the whole tank... one is quite poorly too, it has a very large growth which developed shortly after I got it. I'm surprised it has lasted this long to be honest...

Anyway long story short now... I was deciding between chilli rasbora and ember tetra. I couldn't get the chilli rasbora in the numbers I wanted on the day which helped my decision making and I got ember tetras (impossible to photo). I am really glad I did! I have 12 and the schoal beautifully and are out and about and very active. Their colours also go great in the tank. Very happy. Ill get a decent photo at some point. I only have pictures of orange blurs at the moment...

I also got 6 dwarf pencil fish (that hurt my wallet a bit at £5 each) after seeing them in the shop and falling in love with them. I had seen hockeystick pencilfish and golden pencilfish before though they don't really stay near the surface like the dwarfs do, plus i find their colouration much more attractive. They settled in super quickly (as did the embers) and were eating half an hour after being put in the tank. They have been in the top third / quarter of the tank ever since as a little group making little adventures from their hidey hole near the vallis where there is some surface cover (I'm going to spread the vallis out a bit more for them) where they hover and display to each other regularly. Again I am very happy with my purchase! Photo attached.

Finally, I also got the golden eyed dwarf cichlids I had been on about in another thread. They have been quite hidey so far. Though I have seen them both out, when I approach the tank they quickly retreat. I'm sure they will be more comfortable after a night in their new home. The coloration of the male (the female is likely the same) I have observed to be very changeable, I have seen a dot a stripe and a general pattern across his side already and they are quite 'detailed' for example in comparison to the blue ram which whilst beautiful is essentially blue with a bit of orange near it's head, these are like a rainbow of colours. I will get some good photos of them in different moods and post them here soon.  More to come on these guys as they settle in!

The tank looks nicely stocked again (back up at 75% stocked) oh and I changed the layout recently too so there will be some full frontal shots to come of that too... I've basically changed it from an island layout to a triangular "slope" layout.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Rustle on August 28, 2018, 08:22:19 AM
WoW matt what some lovely looking fish, I have to say i really like the look of them  :) 
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Sue on August 28, 2018, 09:29:08 AM
These pencilfish are one of my favourites, I love the way they hover in the water  :) 

If you think they were expensive, you should see the price of the related N. mortenthaleri  :o
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on August 28, 2018, 09:40:49 AM
They're lovely, their markings are stunning.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Sue on August 28, 2018, 09:42:19 AM
When I posted a pic of mine on the old forum, someone described them as humbugs. To me they look more like everton mints  ;D
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on August 28, 2018, 09:52:28 AM
 :rotfl:
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on August 28, 2018, 10:21:19 AM
These pencilfish are one of my favourites, I love the way they hover in the water  :) 

If you think they were expensive, you should see the price of the related N. mortenthaleri  :o

If it's any consolation, the price of annieae gobies is  :yikes:
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on August 28, 2018, 06:21:50 PM
Most expensive fish I've bought was a £25 German Blue Ram... I'm just a bit tight really (or so my friends tell me!)...
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on August 28, 2018, 06:27:06 PM
Here is a photo of the tank  :D

I'll get some better shots and some close ups and some of the other new fish soon...
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on August 28, 2018, 07:26:55 PM
I managed to get a couple of shots of the golden eyes at feeding time... not the best photos but I know most of you are probably more interested in the fish than the photo so here goes...

Male in the first photo and female (and some other guys and girls in the second).
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: fcmf on August 28, 2018, 07:32:38 PM
Wow - these new additions are such an exciting development!  :fishy1:  :fishy1:  :fishy1: So envious of the full-tank pic and the various species you can accommodate, and indeed all of the pics, but the pic of the pencilfish is particularly amazing.

Looking forward to seeing pics of the embers once you're able to.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on August 28, 2018, 07:42:58 PM
All fantastic. Well done.  :cheers:
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on September 03, 2018, 07:58:54 PM
My honey gourami arnt really a surface dweller in my oppinion spending time through the whole tank... one is quite poorly too, it has a very large growth which developed shortly after I got it. I'm surprised it has lasted this long to be honest...

That gourami passed quite suddenly and seemingly quite peacefully last night (after looking 'a bit off' esterday night. Im quite gald really.

I realised I have all South American apart from the remaining gourami and harlequins. I'll have to look up where all my plants are from. I don't think there will be any similarities!
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Sue on September 03, 2018, 08:04:12 PM
If you still have the gobies, they are not south American either. Neither are a lot of shrimps  ;D
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on September 03, 2018, 08:14:21 PM
I do still have the gobies... forgot about them for a second. I was hoping to move them to the puffer tank for a while but since I've now managed to stop them brining the planting substrate out into the sand, they can stay! I do love their characters :) they are not peaceful though! Constant fighting!! Are yours the same?
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Sue on September 03, 2018, 08:24:26 PM
I have 4 males and 2 females - I think. I definitely have 2 females it's just the number of males I'm not sure about  :-[ I have never seen all the stiphodons at the same time.

Because these fish can change colour so quickly I cannot be certain that it's the same fish every time, but one of the males is often bright royal blue though he spends his time chasing the females. Not as in 'I want to spawn' but as in 'go away'. I have occasionally seen circles in the sand but have never witnessed who caused it - though I strongly suspect stiphodons are to blame.
If my male stiphodons fight, they do so when I'm not watching or behind a chunk of wood.

Male rice fish, that's a different matter....
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on September 03, 2018, 08:35:15 PM
Mine tend to raise their heads at each other, so it looks like they are raising themselves up using their fins, and holding their heads as high as possible. One will then usually swim off, sometimes chased briefly by the other.
I did watch a proper scrap a while back, which I think was between two annieae gobies, I think I may have posted pics. It only lasted a few minutes, and I've not seen anything like that since.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Helen on September 13, 2018, 01:05:46 PM
Those pencil fish are beautiful. I will have to have a look into them. 😉 Though if they are south american, they won't go on my shopping list. Apart from my bn plec I have all asian fish.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on September 30, 2018, 06:26:07 PM
I fitted glass lily pipes this afternoon and rearranged the background plants.

Also made use of aquascaping tweezers which are a revalation to me after I received them as a birthday present earlier this month... I would definately recommend getting a nice long pair so that tank tasks can be completed without getting sleeves etc wet.

I'm happy to finally call this scape complete now  :)  though I'll need to get a proper photo later, when its dark but, I'm excited so... here it is from rubbish angle to get rid of most of the reflections...
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on September 30, 2018, 06:49:02 PM
That tank looks fantastic.  8)
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: fcmf on September 30, 2018, 06:59:24 PM
I agree - looks great. Well done!

I also concur with how beneficial aquascaping tweezers are... I'm forever tinkering with mine. One piece of advice I'd give re them, though - I've had inquisitive fish attempt to swim through them and almost get squashed when I've been about to tinker with something, so best to lower them in the tank already in the squeezed-together position (as opposed to open, then squeeze once you find what you want to tinker with).
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on September 30, 2018, 07:09:23 PM
I also use mine for feeding worms to the axolotls.
Very useful.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on September 30, 2018, 07:12:04 PM
 :sick:
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on September 30, 2018, 07:20:30 PM
...and for feeding bloodworms to the mudskippers and dwarf puffers.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Helen on September 30, 2018, 07:59:11 PM
My aquascaping tweezers also get used for retrieving small children's toys out of the cracks in our tree stump coffee table!

I use them a lot in partnership with my aquascaping scissors - hold the leaf with the tweezers and obviously snip with the scissors. I don't think I could have done my major substrate refurb without the tweezers. It makes it a lot easier to get plants into the substrate.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on September 30, 2018, 10:22:20 PM
Tonight's shot...
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Helen on October 01, 2018, 09:54:35 AM
Sigh... That's such a beautiful tank.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on October 01, 2018, 11:21:05 AM
Thanks all... I'm still not totally happy with the photo lol!
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Helen on October 01, 2018, 01:45:52 PM
 :yikes: why not????

I keep thinking about my tank, and whether I can apply any of the things I'm learning from you. It'd never look anything like that though.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on October 01, 2018, 01:47:27 PM
That tank looks amazing.  8)
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on October 01, 2018, 07:45:18 PM
I just added this to my blog and thought it worth sharing here too ...



Easy aquascapers beware of your nitrate levels!

Having recently increased my fish stocking level a few weeks ago I took a regular nitrate test. It is clear I need to change my complete fertiliser dosing regime to reduce nitrates in my aquascape. I had been seeing more diatoms (brown algae) than normal too which are linked to high nitrates.

More fish equals more nitrates and easy plants generally means slow growing plants so beware of not overdosing your fertiliser...

Fortunately I have some biological liquid carbon which contains potassium as well. This means I should be able to dose this for a week or two whilst I bring my nitrates down (as well as doing some extra water changes). Nitrate and potassium are the two elements plants need the most of to grow healthily.

Fortunately I spotted this early enough to take action slowly so as not to shock the fish, else I would be changing much more water much more quickly.

I will continue to test my nitrates for a good while longer whilst I adjust to a new fertilisation regime which does not lead too unreasonable levels of nitrate before my weekly water change. You ideally want it at less than 25ppm... be warned though you tap water may have a higher nitrate concentration than this so water change day is ALWAYS a day when you skip adding ferts.

I'll be adding this to the website shortly... get testing!
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on October 17, 2018, 09:00:16 PM
Some better photos of the Golden Dwarf Cichlid (Nannacara Anomala)
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Sue on October 17, 2018, 09:45:12 PM
Love those fish  :)
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on October 18, 2018, 08:57:40 AM
Great colours/markings, and the face on the second one is so cute.  :)
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: daveyng on October 18, 2018, 10:29:50 AM
Lovely looking fish.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: fcmf on October 19, 2018, 07:16:07 PM
Beautiful.  8)
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on January 09, 2019, 07:15:27 PM
A lilly has joined the gang.

I can recommend these... this has grown from a bulb only to this in only a few weeks... and some great colour on the leaves too.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Helen on January 09, 2019, 10:26:12 PM
I've been really pleased with my lily as well.

Its propogation is a little more prolific than I expected. In less than a year I've gone from one decent plant to 2 decent plants, a healthy looking small plant and several tiny plantlets that get "lost" in routine maintenance.

(Was it you @Matt. That couldn't get partner approval for red plants? If so, you've done well with the lily!)
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: fcmf on January 09, 2019, 10:49:38 PM
 8)

Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on January 09, 2019, 11:01:58 PM
(Was it you @Matt. That couldn't get partner approval for red plants? If so, you've done well with the lily!)

It was indeed! Mrs Matt loves it too!!  :vcross:
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on January 10, 2019, 01:48:23 PM
 :rotfl:
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on October 05, 2019, 11:38:12 AM
Ive got eggs in a cave under this moss.... I'm in full aggressive breeding colours mode and the dad knows it! It won't come to anything in this tank full of shrimp and sneaky Corydoras etc but I keep trying my bestest!
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on February 16, 2020, 08:55:07 PM
Tanks a mess, really overgrown and the structure of the aquascape has been lost... as soon as I can find time to tackle it, there will be some serious changes here...
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: fcmf on February 16, 2020, 10:27:29 PM
Love the tank (even if it's not up to your high standards) - and great to see your inhabitants.  :cheers:
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on February 17, 2020, 07:56:48 PM
I'm loving it too.  :)
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on February 17, 2020, 08:39:53 PM
Thanks both. I know I can improve it and that’s all that keep going through my mind... with Baby Matt now getting a bit more reliable with his sleep I have the opportunity to do things like this again for the first time in 8 months. Might still take me a few weekends before I get the right opportunity though!!
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: barneyadi on February 17, 2020, 09:20:25 PM
You will get there @Matt very inspiring. My plants are struggling a little but think I might be slowly winning the battle.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on March 30, 2020, 03:28:39 AM
I need to do an updated photo of this tank after adding the hardscape from the recently taken down dwarf puffer tank... hoping this post acts as a reminder for me!!!

The puffers are still doing really well in here, the pest snail population has reduced to basically zero and the shrimp population boomed as a result, I’m so happy to see my shrimp again!! The goldeneye cichlids do not seem to be successfully catching them either which is a huge bonus and dwarf cichlids have a bit of a reputation in this regard and to be honest I’d always blamed them for the shrimps demise in numbers... turns out it was the snails eating all the algae/biofilm etc and not leaving any for the shrimp!!

I still have an ich to do a minor rescape of this tank... maybe the opportunity is here with everything else going on in the world...
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on April 17, 2020, 08:47:39 PM
Finally getting round to posting a new photo... I’ve still a few more adjustments to make and really want to try and get hold of some Ludwigia Palustris but chances are slim at the moment!!
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on April 17, 2020, 09:26:39 PM
Tanks looks great. Well done.  :cheers:

As for the ludwigia, both Aquarium Gardens & Aqua Essentials are still trading online. They both have the plant you want in stock, but both sites note that they are experiencing high demand so orders aren't arriving as quickly as they normally do.

Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on July 05, 2020, 10:41:02 PM
I have transitioned the tank to a more low maintenance approach... no stem plants at all in there now - the floating plants taking their place for a fast grower to ensure I have something to deal with any nutrient excesses and with which I can monitor for deficiencies. Weekly maintenance is now simply a sand clean and remove a few of the floating plants... and as you can see plant growth has been really strong recently! I’ve sold bucket fulls of plants recently too!
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: fcmf on July 06, 2020, 01:59:58 PM
Beautiful tank and fish. :cheers:

From a practical point of view, I'm always intrigued by / envious of others who don't have to remove every single piece of decor/planting during maintenance. This wouldn't work in my tank because (i) I can't access the full substrate during siphoning without my hand ending up underneath and upturning the wood, plants, etc, and (ii) there are too any pieces of fungused pellets, other food morsels and snail poo on the substrate. Do you think you have unretrieved food morsels among the foliage and, if so, are you happy to leave them be?
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on July 06, 2020, 08:35:53 PM
Beautiful tank.  :cheers:
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on July 07, 2020, 01:38:18 AM
Thanks both

Do you think you have unretrieved food morsels among the foliage and, if so, are you happy to leave them be?

Yes and yes! With lots of shrimp and corys, plus plants to use up anything that makes it down into the aquasoil I’m more than happy not to go searching for every last piece of food as I know others will do it for me.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: fcmf on July 08, 2020, 05:26:44 PM
How do you find the pencilfish as tank inhabitants?

Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on July 09, 2020, 06:40:41 AM
They stay near though not at the surface (like rocket killifish or hatchetfish might) and do appreciate some foliage/cover near/at the surface. They are very peaceful towards others with a bit of very light chasing and displaying between them presumably breeding and hierarchy related (no worse day than harlequins). I also personally think they are beautiful and so would highly recommend them. They do have quite small mouths and so food must also be small.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on July 15, 2020, 09:12:38 AM
Just found my female goldeneye expired at the top of the tank... nothing wrong with her of late that I had noticed and I’m working on the assumption of natural causes... problem is It’s the male Ive been concerned about recently as he was getting torn fins and stressed at the hands of the female (which is fairly regular occurrence during their breeding / not breeding cycle they constantly go through - the torn fins are more unusual though ) and I’ve not seen him today. I had a quick explore in the tank just now but am going to give it half an hour... if I don’t see him... then I’ll have to start taking the tank apart to find him dead or alive... water change is on the cards too of course and all other fish look healthy... and I don’t believe the puffers are to blame but that’s on my mind too... keep you posted
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: fcmf on July 15, 2020, 01:55:05 PM
 :'(  Do keep us posted.

Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on July 15, 2020, 07:38:26 PM
Sorry to hear about your fish @Matt   :(
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on July 15, 2020, 08:00:48 PM
Well I was not wanting to post again tonight to be completely honest but @fcmf has spurred me on... and now @Littlefish has posted whilst I’ve been typing....

I feel somewhat strange and conflicted and upset about all this... I did not manage to find the male earlier... I’m hoping that this means he is still alive and well and was hiding from view, but my emotions are preparing me for the worst. It’s one thing to loose a fish - I’m quite used to experiencing this - but to loose a pair, a species from the tank so suddenly would be something else entirely...

There are a lot of hiding places available in the tank due to all the decor and plants despite me moving quite a few of these around earlier.  The fish were stressed enough by everything that I didn’t want to go further with it at that point so for now I have stopped looking... though I feel worse for not getting closure on it to be honest.  Having looked back at dates etc I can see that I’ve had the fish 2 years which doesn’t exactly indicate a long life... but the Camallanus worm infection I somehow picked up last year may in part explain this... the female in particular was badly infected.

I feel really confused about whether to continue the search now but have decided to wait till tomorrow and it will have to be a complete strip down of the tank unfortunately to confirm things one way or the other... not something I particularly want to have to do but needs must at this point... he has been hiding a lot more recently (I thought due to the female) and I’m holding out that this is still the case and that he will feel more confident after the night has passed. The only positive I can draw right now is I don’t have to worry about water quality too much due to the heavily planted and mature nature of the tank... if that can be even called a positive...  :-\ and I don’t believe he would have been eaten by shrimp as I saw him eating well yesterday evening... but then again so was the female.... I just don’t know what to think...

I had a chat with Mrs Matt just now and she is also feeling that the loss of the female goldeneye was quite unexpected. She spends longer looking at the tank than me and has also not noticed anything out of the usual.

To be honest I’ve spent long enough thinking about this and rewriting it... thinking of something else... checking dates... the tank lights are off now there’s no point overthinking it - it will have to wait till morning now... I’m going to watch My Family in iPlayer as a distraction...

Open to any thoughts or suggestions...
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on July 15, 2020, 09:01:15 PM
I would do exactly the same as you - stop for this evening, give the fish a rest, then move more decor tomorrow to look for the fish.
It's always an awful feeling when going through a tank to look for a specific fish, hoping for the best and fearing the worst. Wondering if there are any problems that you are unaware of, wondering if you could have do anything differently in the past, wondering if there is anything you can do now. Especially on top of the loss of the female, these feeling are all increased.
I'm hoping that he will appear overnight and that you won't have to strip the tank down tomorrow.
I'm keeping m fingers crossed for a positive outcome.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on July 15, 2020, 09:24:59 PM
Thanks @Littlefish its comforting to read your post and that you would be doing the same in my shoes. It is so easy to doubt ones self and to overreact...
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on July 15, 2020, 09:32:24 PM
I think we've all be in a similar position at some point, and I know I've reacted exactly the same way.
Best of luck.  :)
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: fcmf on July 15, 2020, 10:48:11 PM
I completely agree with your plan and with Littlefish's post.  I hate losing anything generally, and will continue hunting over and over and over again, but sometimes a line eventually has to be drawn on a particular day; when fish are added into the equation, and stress involved among the others in moving decor around/out, then their needs dictate the requirement to draw a line.

I also agree that losing a species from a tank suddenly must be very difficult - I found the loss of 50% of x-ray tetras within a few months difficult, yet old age and their bodies gradually losing their functions clearly accounted for these fatalities - so your situation must be particularly difficult.

I also know only too well, for reasons I'll not go into at the moment, the constant self-questioning. Hopefully tomorrow will help figure out his whereabouts / what has happened.  I would also suggest looking around and under the tank, on the floor, etc., possibly in the first instance; I lost a few neon green rasboras who somehow launched themselves out of the tank through seeming non-existent spaces and must have propelled themselves 2-3 feet in distance.

Best of luck.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Sue on July 16, 2020, 09:56:12 AM
I can only repeat what fcmf and Littlefish have said. It is a shock when a seemingly healthy fish dies for no apparent reason. We always blame ourselves - was it something I did?; something I failed to do? In most cases we will never know. But that will never stop us blaming ourselves.


I do hope you find the male.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on July 16, 2020, 07:06:09 PM
Thanks all - fortunately I managed to see this whilst offering up some bloodworm this morning... I’ll post again in a little while with a better update...
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: fcmf on July 16, 2020, 07:56:19 PM
 :cheers:  That old phrase "they'll re-appear when they're hungry!".

I wonder if he went into a depression/decline after his lady died but may 'come round' in time and with the temptation of certain foods.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on July 16, 2020, 08:24:03 PM
Great news  :cheers:
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on July 17, 2020, 12:28:08 AM
Thanks again everyone - if anyone’s not seen it - you can see the out of place plants etc in the photo from trying to find him yesterday and hopefully right in the centre of the shot you’ll be able to see ‘big daddy goldeneye’ as he is known (because the female bullied him during mating we felt the need to name him in such a way to boost his confidence lol).

He is in very good colour but skittish and his fins etc are in good condition... possibly he may have a little swimbladder I think but the little I saw of him means this is hard to confirm or deny just yet... for now I’m choosing/my gut says not to worry. He is eating and he is colourful - both good signs.

I’ve actually found writing these posts quite useful as a good way to think things through... my latest working theory is that I want to do a nitrate test first thing tomorrow... I thought that the water potentially seemed a little cloudy as the lights went out this evening... and I have seen more of the Amano shrimp than usual recently and I know both these can be related to high nitrate levels. Maybe I’m clutching at straws with these observations, but it is possible that the higher stocking of the tank with the addition of the dwarf puffers and Kuhli loaches a few months ago might mean that my fertiliser dosing is a bit OTT. I’ve also changed to a different product recently which might be more nitrate heavy.

I might be just sat here typing/thinking and making up rubbish to find fault and blame myself but I definitely want to do more than just the ammonia test I’ve already done tomorrow morning and see what I find so I can rule it in or out as a theory...

Reading back through things I also wonder if when I noticed a few days ago that he was getting bullied again by his lady friend as part of their latest breeding attempts (this was quite a regular thing, happening for a few days during each attempt) this may have led to him possibly bashing into something after being chased which might explain the swim bladder like symptoms I think I observed.

Hmmm... time to stop thinking - nitrate test in the morning and a filter clean to ensure good water quality.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Sue on July 17, 2020, 12:17:05 PM
Finding the male is such a relief  :)


The cloudiness could just be because you've disturbed things while searching, but checking everything is the way to go.

When you bought the pair, were they a bonded pair or just a male and a female?
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: fcmf on July 17, 2020, 01:05:07 PM
Sometimes damage (possibly not visible) can affect the fish's buoyancy and vice-versa - some observations I've had over time have been fish with a distorted caudal fin over-using one of its pectoral fins or potentially over-using its swimbladder each by way of compensation and then needing to seek a rest from all the likely inflation/deflation, or a malfunctioning swimbladder causing over-use of a caudal or pectoral fin and the former becoming distorted or the latter inflamed at the base where it joins the body. I've also read of others' fish who have taken a leap out of the tank, seem to develop a swimbladder malfunction type of problem, then recuperate in time.

Chasing to the point of injury in a tank is also very possible - when the male x-ray tetras were in hot pursuit of one of the females a few years ago, one of them got fatally stuck in the filter bracket (at least I'm assuming that's how it got stuck there, given the antics that had been going on at the time).

Fingers crossed for your male.

Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on July 18, 2020, 04:06:39 PM
Well nitrates were at about 5ppm so even accounting for a water change, there was no problem there - putting this down as “just one of those things” and keeping fingers crossed for the full recover of the male.  The cloudiness must have been from the disturbance of removing items from the tank etc.  The fish were just two fish as such rather than a bonded pair when I first got them @Sue
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Sue on July 18, 2020, 04:40:52 PM
It’s the male Ive been concerned about recently as he was getting torn fins and stressed at the hands of the female (which is fairly regular occurrence during their breeding / not breeding cycle they constantly go through - the torn fins are more unusual though )

This is what made me ask about them being a bonded pair. With a lot of cichlids, if they haven't chosen their own partner they can appear to get on and even breed, then one of them snaps and attacks or even kills the other  :(
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on July 18, 2020, 07:29:29 PM
I’m not sure that’s the case here due to the existing swimbladder issues with the male though I suppose it is a possibility... definitely useful to know for future thanks Sue. I am hoping to try a group of cichlids next in the hope of dispersing aggression so this may help in this respect too.

I’ve not seen him today but will not panic as the stress I would cause all the tank inhabitant were I to try and find him each day would probably lead to casualties. He is hopefully quietly recovering.

@fcmf yes I’ve heard similar stories and am hoping I have the diagnosis right. He should be living pretty stress free now so fingers crossed for his recovery. I’m putting a few sinking pellets in the tank each evening in the hope he will find them appetising when the house is quieter too.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: LeakysLab on July 20, 2020, 08:39:58 PM
If you have the tech you could set up a camera system to see if he comes out “when the coast is clear” whilst he’s recovering, I’m lucky when my Sparkling G goes missing he is only in one place.......the filter box  :vcross: however more recently I can go day or two with out seeing him and the Pygmy Cories and I always panic. Obviously they know when I want to be nosey and they play hide and seek!
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on July 21, 2020, 05:53:21 AM
I have been entering the room very carefully to observe if this might be the case. However yesterday he came out when my one year old was playing in the same room so I’m wondering if he might be coming out when either food is in his mind or when perhaps he gets disturbed in his resting place - by a Kuhli Loach or Cory perhaps.  I still haven’t had much more than a fleeting glance so far though. Not enough to really draw any more conclusions about his well being.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on August 03, 2020, 05:08:24 PM
When see today (I haven’t seen him much) he didn’t run for cover quite as much as before and still looked healthy...  or much else to report unfortunately, but I have a feeling things are slowly on the mend. I didn’t see any sign of swim bladder is the short glance I got.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on August 16, 2020, 05:06:40 PM
Had to go searching for him today as not seen in a long while - found him still hiding... no signs of improvement to behaviour... could this all be due to lack of a ‘friend’... surely not...
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: fcmf on August 16, 2020, 07:36:37 PM
Time to temporarily purchase 3 women (if LFS permits) and see if he chooses one... (then return the 2 turned down)?
 :fishy1: :fishy1: :fishy1: :-* :fishy1:

Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Fishbeard on August 16, 2020, 08:17:57 PM
Time to temporarily purchase 3 women (if LFS permits) and see if he chooses one... (then return the 2 turned down)?
 :fishy1: :fishy1: :fishy1: :-* :fishy1:

Then he just needs Cilla Black and he's sorted!
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: fcmf on August 16, 2020, 09:30:25 PM
Time to temporarily purchase 3 women (if LFS permits) and see if he chooses one... (then return the 2 turned down)?
 :fishy1: :fishy1: :fishy1: :-* :fishy1:

Then he just needs Cilla Black and he's sorted!

 :cheers:  :rotfl:
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on August 26, 2020, 06:53:00 AM
Starting to see more of him now, twice in one day the other day(!) and saw him eating last night which was a relief (I assume he must have been eating in the night previously and have been putting in sinking pellets for him to find) he’s still not right of course but starting to see improvements. I suspect this is a case of  a swimbladder issue after an argument between the pair resulting in the loss of the female unfortunately - these things take time to repair... don’t know why they suddenly decided to fall out but these things can happen of course.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: fcmf on August 28, 2020, 02:32:20 PM
don’t know why they suddenly decided to fall out but these things can happen of course.
Unfortunately, they are notorious for this if they haven't actually chosen their partner; they'll tolerate them for so long and then... :vcross: I've read of so many similar scenarios. Sue summed it up well ie
This is what made me ask about them being a bonded pair. With a lot of cichlids, if they haven't chosen their own partner they can appear to get on and even breed, then one of them snaps and attacks or even kills the other  :(

Hopefully any internal damage to whatever organs repairs itself in time, after which you can decide whether or not to play Cilla Black.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on August 28, 2020, 04:39:18 PM
I think I’ve decided not to play cilla and risk the same issue again and suspect you and Sue are right. I’ve seen him eat the last 2 days in a row and think things are still on the up!  I think I’m going to let him live out the rest of his life in peace and switch to Bolivian rams which are more peaceful as my next fish...
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Sue on August 31, 2020, 01:46:33 PM
Don't forget that Bolivian rams also need to choose their own mates.........
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on August 31, 2020, 07:02:44 PM
Yes but fortunately they can be kept in groups! Which I’m hoping will ease any such situations...
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Sue on August 31, 2020, 07:31:55 PM
If a pair forms there could still be trouble.

About 10 years ago I bought 2 Bolivian rams which turned out to be both male. They coexisted with no bickering. Then I found a shop with mature rams with their breeding tubes visible so I bought 2 females. As soon as the males had something to fight over, it was world war 3 in the tank so one male went into the QT. After dithering between them for 4 days, the male paired up with one female and they both attacked the other. She went in the QT as well, then they went back to the shop.


it is now believed that male Bolivian rams are solitary fish in the wild, only allowing a female to enter their territory.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on August 31, 2020, 07:49:14 PM
Thanks for that info Sue - date I say... at one point I was considering angelfish...! The world of dwarf cichlids is not easy... but they have stolen my heart...
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on September 23, 2020, 08:34:17 PM
Still not seeing much of the big guy though it is more and more each week... and nearly always as meal times.

In other news I’ve taken out all the aquasoil from the tank recently - quite a task siphoning it out over three weeks during water changes - moving all the hardscape and replanting all the plants etc... but it should massively decrease the length of time it takes me to complete tank maintenance... the aquasoil constantly got moved around in the tank ending up on the cosmetic sand at the front - also the goby was constantly digging it up. I’ve moved now to a simple 50% water change one week siphoned out into the garden and filled using the tap connector and hose (no sand cleaning etc.) I can do this whilst my little one plays by keeping the hose out of reach. The next week then is a tank maintenance week (a few buckets of water changed as a result of sand cleaning / holding the siphon tube next to the glass cleaner / whatever else is required that week like maybe filter maintenance  etc.). Im confident in doing this because my tap water nitrates are negligible plus my stocking less than 50%, the heavily planted nature of the tank inc floating plants will also help too. It should allow me to get more enjoyment from the tank with less input and also stop the tank from always looking messy with the aquasoil issues. I am using root tabs to provide the plants with nutrition where required. If I were setting up the tank anew I would probably have done a nutrient rich base layer under the sand. I have a backup plan to use hidden containers of aquasoil with high sides if this doesnt work out for the plants... I’m pretty confident it will though given I have established plants, water column dosing etc etc...  fingers crossed  :cheers:
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on October 04, 2020, 10:45:48 AM
Well after much debate which nearly led to me spending £1000 on 2 pairs of wild caught rams(!) I’ve now got two German Blue and two Electric Blue Rams. Only time will tell how they all get on but I am hopeful that having more will disperse any aggression between them and the tank is big enough for them to form territories etc.  I have seen some bickering between them already so taking this as a good sign that they are settling hierarchies and it appears two may be ‘interested’ in each other already. I’m staying positive but alert and ready to take action if required also. It appears I have all females but again time will tell as it is hard to tell for sure at their young age and particularly with the electric blues.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: fcmf on October 04, 2020, 11:52:33 AM
They are certainly stunning fish.
 8)
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on October 19, 2020, 09:39:34 PM
Quick photo update I’d meant to post ages ago following the substrate changes... these have worked so well I’m having to remind myself to do water changes rather than being reminded by the state of the tank- bliss! I’ve also taken out a couple of rocks from the right hand side and made a few tweaks to the scape generally... enjoy!

I’ve also bought some ludwigia palustris mini super red to try and see if I can get them growing nice and red now I’ve upped my lighting a bit and am constructing a little planting holder I can stick to the glass at the back using suction cups (to be hidden of course) so they can grow out the top of my scape - keep you all posted!
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on October 20, 2020, 06:30:41 PM
Tank & fish all looking fantastic.
Well done.  ;D
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: fcmf on October 20, 2020, 06:48:32 PM
 8) :cheers:  :afro :cheers: 8)
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on February 03, 2021, 12:48:49 AM
I just won the Maidenhead Aquatics gallery competition with this photo!  Very pleased!!  8)

Good timing - I’ve selected the marine prize bundle which will get me started for my new saltwater tank!
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Sue on February 03, 2021, 12:13:16 PM
Congratulations  :cheers:
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: fcmf on February 03, 2021, 04:10:43 PM
Wow - congrats!  :cheers:
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on February 03, 2021, 06:50:40 PM
Congratulations.  :cheers:
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on February 03, 2021, 08:11:05 PM
 :cheers: Thanks all
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on February 23, 2021, 07:43:02 PM
Managed to get this awesome photo of my false julii cory the other day  :fishy1:
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on February 23, 2021, 08:34:55 PM
Great picture of a stunning fish.
Those markings are amazing.  :afro
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: fcmf on February 23, 2021, 08:41:56 PM
Wonderful - my favourite cory! (It's one that I know SF has made a typo in re minimum tank size - if I were so inclined, I'd probably convince myself that I could have it in my little 54L, but I'm not that way inclined and know perfectly well that it wouldn't be large enough for them.)

You've really shown off its beauty very well.
 8)
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on February 23, 2021, 08:45:34 PM
Thanks both, what the photo doesn’t show is their cute wiggly swimming and how they cuddle together and how their dorsal fins look like they are carrying little flags... I could go on... they are adorable little fish  :cheers:

@fcmf I suspect personally you could get a small group in your tank I wouldn’t keep them singly but a small group of three I wouldn’t discourage if that makes sense... (just my personal view of course!)
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on May 14, 2021, 10:26:53 PM
So I’m going to get angelfish... been fancying getting a bigger fish for a while now and think that toddler Matt will enjoy them too. Probably get 5 and will get natural colouration. Been in to the shop a few times to get them actually but they looked a bit stressed first time I went, second time sure enough they had whitespot.  But it’s definitely happening at some point.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Littlefish on May 15, 2021, 08:24:38 AM
I hope that you manage to find some healthy fish soon.  :)
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on January 03, 2022, 10:10:24 PM
Finally got those angelfish… went with a pair a realised I don’t have a lot of stuff to break line of sight in my tank but here’s a photo shortly after introduction today…

I need to do some research to confirm but I strongly suspect I have a male female pair in the making based on their behaviour tonight though one is definately less dominant and has a little fin damage from the shop. No fin rot thiugh or anything. Not as brightly coloured just yet and that one didn’t eat. Probably be fine in the morning!
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on August 25, 2022, 11:18:50 PM
Quick update. The angelfish are doing fine. I did have a white spot outbreak after adding them and lost a couple of very elderly fish, not everyone got infected and it all cleared up very quickly. A gentle reminder about a) the dangers of adding fish, b) how old a lot of my tank inhabitants are!

I do enjoy the angelfish though and they get nice comments from visitors which is always nice too. They are very capable of very quickly stuffing their faces in the presence of food though!!
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: fcmf on August 27, 2022, 12:31:02 PM
Sorry to hear about the whitespot outbreak and loss of the elderly fish.

Looking forward to seeing some photos/footage of your tank when you get a chance.  ;)
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on August 29, 2022, 09:34:34 PM
I’ll try and pop a photo up soon. I warn you though it looks no different from the last photo in February last year! I’ve got very happy with the tank and see no need / have not desire to change anything :)
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on February 15, 2023, 05:33:36 AM
Fcmf got me thinking about this thread and having just seen my signature needs an update I thought I’d do a quick update post again…

So before my update my signature read as below:
220ltr: 2 Angelfish, 6 Cardinal Tetra, 6 Rummy Nose Tetra, 12 Ember Tetra, 4 Julii Cory, 2 Otocinclus, Cherry & Amano Shrimp, MT & Nerite Snails
Pond (550ltr): 4 Comet Goldfish
(+ 60l reef tank)

Basically the elderly nature of my tanks inhabitants continues to take effect… I’m down to:
3 Cardinal Tetra - 1 elderly and 2 slightly younger but I don’t plan to replace as they have been troublesome from the start with what (and others on here) suspect may be poor genetics
4 Rummy Nose Tetra - soon to be 3 I suspect as one is looking a bit iffy
6 Ember Tetra
(and Everything else remains the same)

So basically it’s starting to look a bit sparser in the tank than it did before, and at some point I need to decide what I restock with. That said I won’t be doing any restocking for 6 months by which point thing will likely be very sparse indeed!

Im off to do a bit of fish Googling but I’m in no rush to decide anything… I did have a vague thought about espei rasbora and would like dwarf cichlids again - possibly German rams but that’s about it for now!

Also for completeness I now only have 3 Comet Goldfish after one passed over winter (without much else to explain its loss other than it was cold)
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: fcmf on February 15, 2023, 03:15:12 PM
Great to get an update, @Matt - thanks for this.

Im off to do a bit of fish Googling but I’m in no rush to decide anything… I did have a vague thought about espei rasbora and would like dwarf cichlids again - possibly German rams but that’s about it for now!

Also for completeness I now only have 3 Comet Goldfish after one passed over winter (without much else to explain its loss other than it was cold)

Definitely recommend espei rasboras - personally, in my tropical fishkeeping experience, I've found harlequin and espei rasboras fare best in my tank (very soft water, neutralish/ slightly alkaline albeit due to water supplier input). I find nothing more adorable than the way infant harlequin/espei rasboras zip around the tank in a shoal like little buttons whose eyes constitute almost 50% of their body - it seems to release an abundance of oxytocins in me as I gaze at them adoringly and can't be parted from them!

Do your goldfish typically have any other pondmates eg frogs?
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on February 15, 2023, 08:00:59 PM
Oh yes we get lots of frogs and lots of frogspawn, tadpoles and baby frogs much to the delight of my 3 year old. Normally 2 mating pairs of frog each year. We are fairly rural here so it not totally surprising but still very nice indeed to have these visitors. I believe a couple of frogs have overwintered in the pond this year which I don’t recall seeing previously. We’ve had hedgehogs in the garden before now and try we have used the pond to drink and cool down in. Never seen a heron (which are definitely about locally) but the pond is not out in the open which I think helps significantly. We also get wasps visiting for a drink (never any harm done) - only mentioning because it took us a while to figure out what was going on with the wasps visiting!

We are very lucky here to also have a sparrow hawk which visits us every now and then and a family of mice living in the stone wall thing we have at the back of the garden holding back the bank behind - I’m sure they must make use of it too. Would the bats too I wonder…
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: fcmf on February 15, 2023, 08:39:50 PM
All sounds lovely.  :cheers:
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on February 15, 2023, 08:47:27 PM
Thanks, Tonight had me looking at glow light danio and ruby barbs… don’t know where all this Googling is going to take me lol
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on August 27, 2023, 07:42:41 PM
So I got the Bolivian rams I mentioned in another thread the other day. Very happy with them. I got 2 pairs.

Quick photo attached  :cheers:

One think I never noticed before in pictures is the spotting on the anal fin - caught me out at first thinking something was wrong!

Can’t wait for them to grow up and get a bit bigger as they will really look great in the tank then.

I took a bit of a risk given experiences here lates and got more cardinals too. Got them from a different shop so we will see how it goes. I now have a shoal of 24 of those guys.
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: fcmf on August 29, 2023, 09:49:40 PM
Great to read of your update, and what a stunning fish!  :fishy1:  8)
Title: Re: Matt's 220 litre Aquaoak
Post by: Matt on September 03, 2023, 01:07:43 AM
Everything seems to have gone swimmingly (excuse the pun) with the additions. It’s amazing how much more food I feel like I’m now feeding to keep from the food vanishing within 30 seconds.

The Bolivians seemed to take a while to get into a happy little group with Ken fish having been a bit of a cast out for the first few days, now though they are always together, they are all as colourful as the picture above, and they are constantly at the front of the tank begging for food. I always thought of Bolivians as a bit of a second best compared to German rams but I’m no longer of that opinion.

Cardinals seem to be ok so far too. Only time will show up any genetic issues though I suppose. Hopefully a sign of good things to come!