Tropical Fish Forum
Tropical Fish Keeping Help and Advice => New Fishkeepers => Topic started by: Aquamaid on November 16, 2014, 08:09:55 AM
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Oh heck, i have the chance of a 240L, Jewul 240 with stand for £180, not mad about the look of it (love the aqua oak ones in Maidenhead Aquatics) but it seems such a bargain, if indeed it is in good nick, ive only just got mine up and running, not sure i should be buying another just yet, oh dear decisions decisions lol
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Well, I think you should go for it.
I'm probably treating myself to a Fluval 240L next week. Of course, my missus isn't particularly pleased about this (although she seemed to have a good idea of what fish she wanted in it :rotfl:) and has decided that my 40L birthday tank will have to be removed from the lounge to the landing.
This leaves me with the 30" Clearseal tank (no lid, just tank) that I had started work being surplus to allowance :(
I've already cut a base for it to sit on , with front and side edging.
I'm in Basildon. Offers anyone?
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GO FOR IT !!
how old is the tank i picked a rio 300 for £60
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Its three years old and has been empty for 3 weeks, not sure i got all the answers i want though as to it being watertight or scratched, might have to enquire more, mmm :-\
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if you have enough room for it i would go for it.
imagine what you can put in there!
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Don't forget it will be quite a weight to move, not sure how many of you there are to carry it. 120L was the biggest I could manage alone, and that was a struggle.
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Yes just thinking about that, there is just me at the moment lol, must say i'm not keen on the black silicone they use for the tank, clear would have been better. I shouldn't really be looking at all, only just got mind up and running, just it's local and seemed good price, ah well maybe i should hold off till next year.
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I've already got the stock plan for mine, fairly sure it will be Ok. The existing fish will move from my 40L and I'll make that in to a Shrimery.
Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish (that way, I can keep Sparky, of the Immaculate Conception)
Some Sparkling Gourami
Five Band Barbs
Ember Tetras
Otocinclus
Salt and Pepper Catfish
False Julli Cory
and maybe some Blue Tetras
Any thoughts anyone?
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You wouldn't believe (or maybe many would) how many combination ive considered for my 88L but there is always an obsticle, i won't be changing my water perameters so upping the size is the only way to get more choice. Well im sure your having great pleasure deciding what your going to do with yours :))
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i would offer them 100 pounds for it as 180 seems a bit dear to be honest
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That's with cabinet, but i'm going to have a look at it Tues afternoon, maybe £150?
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i got a 300 for 60 pounds i had stand already
a 180 for 60 ponds full set up
a 190 trigon a month old for 20 pounds full set up
a roma 125 for free off freecycle full set up
just bought two 65 liter fish boxes full setups on stands 50 pounds each
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Well done you, sound like right place at right time, and errr patience which i still have'nt aquired even after 50 days of fishless cycling lol
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patience is a big part of it and also
does right place right time and a lot of
luck
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Some people think it's a real bargain they paid more, others think it's expensive, they got better bargain, so ultimately it's my choice i guess. Ah well got time to think about it : )
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There's nothing to say that you'd have to set it up right now. If you have somewhere to keep it empty until you are ready, definitely go for it. This would have the advantage that when your current tank is fully stocked and mature, you could steal some filter media to kick start the cycle on the big one.
Black silicone is better from one aspect - if you ever have to medicate the fish, most meds dye clear silicone, usually blue :-\ My quarantine tank has had blue silicone for years.
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just got shot of an old beat up aqua one 620 this morning
on free cycle i bought it yesterday i was duped in to buying
it did find out the bottom was cracked till we took out the substrate >:(
any way i might be able to make something off the two filters i got
with it might make 20 quid back
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Yes Sue, or i could cycle this one at my leisure, and hopefully get things right this time like sand/gravel etc. mmm well i'll put in my £150 offer and see what happens lol. He's walking distance from me, so if anything is wrong with it, he will soon know lol
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I'd say go for it. I'm currently cycling my 2nd hand Trigon 190 that I picked up for £180. I chopped up a bit of media from my other tank filter, added it to he new filter and I've already got down to 1ppm ammonia and the nitrite is up to 3ppm, I only dosed with ammonia on Friday night.
I'm looking to get some Ruby Barbs, Yo Yo Loaches and maybe some Dwarf Rainbows. There'll definitely be a plec or two going in there as well. I'd really like a Ruby shark too but think it may get a bit big for the tank...
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Thanks Gav, yes i think it's an ongoing thing isn't it no matter what you get, you want MORE! :yikes:
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There's even a name for it - multiple tank syndrome, or MTS. Not to be confused with malaysian trumpet snails.
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Woo hoo! BIG tank on the way this week :)) i got 240 l tank and stand and accessories lights/heater and huge outside filter :yikes: delivery and help setting up for £160 so i'm well pleased, and a bit scared :)) So my tank log will start again lol
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Well done ;D
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Congrats to Aquamaid.
It's like we're all honorary Aunts and Uncles...
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It's good to have all you guys around, i don't think i would have dared go LARGE without you all, as i don't know anyone in the hobby locally, so lot's of hand holding still needed ;D
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Large tanks are easier than small ones (apart from the larger water changes that is). The water parameters remain more stable as there is a larger volume of water to dilute any nasties. Smaller tanks can go wrong very quickly!
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larger the tank easier they are to look after
i have always found its the small tanks keeping them
stable
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Well having the 90L just up and running, i am in no hurry with this one (yer right) and have a bit more knowledge the process and how it can go wrong and take ages. I'm hoping that a bit of filter material (don't want to upset cycled tank though) will help things along :)
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Get some new filter material and place it in your tank now. When it's time to set up your new tank, it should be ready. Try and place it in the filter if you can; A smallish piece of sponge or floss might fit. If not, just leave it laying around in your tank will probably be enough, especially if you can place it in a current.
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I've found that the dirty water squeezed out of a used filter and soaked up by a new filter is very effective in "seeding" the new one with bacteria. It's true that there are no, or very few, bacteria floating loose in the water but they will be attached in plenty to all the little bits of muck in the filter. The first tank I had came with a well-established filter and I used that to start the second one and so on without ever chopping bits off, just the squish water. The tanks easily cycled within about 2 weeks.
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Filter squeezings are the second best way to seed a filter, the best is using some media. But in cases where you can't get hold of media (eg friend willing to squeeze his media but not give you any) filter squeezings will do the job.
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I disagree. I think squeezings are better! The bacteria are distributed throughout the new filter media, whereas if you cut off a piece of used media, they will take more time to spread from the old media to the new. Each piece of gunge in the squeezings will have bacteria and soaking the new media in this will ensure that the whole of the new sponge is seeded quickly. It certainly worked well for me, filters definitely cycled within 2 weeks and probably less as I didn't bother with regular testing, just waited two weeks and found that the test dose of ammonia was invariably dealt with very quickly. It's also less disruptive to the old filter.
I think the idea that bacteria are only or mainly attached to the media is a myth, they will attach to anything including bits of muck. After all, there are no man-made sponges in nature .........
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I admit that I have never used squeezings myself but everything I have read from people who have is that fishless cycles take longer than when using mature media - and no plants. That might make a difference. There are an increasing number of people planting their tanks from the start, something I don't think happened several years ago. Most people then seemed to have synthetic plants to begin with, changing to real plants as they gained experience.
However, in Aquamaid's case, I think she could be better off using squeezings if she sets her new tank up soon as the current one has not been running long (ie the bioflim with its bacteria aren't mature) and she currently has only 4 fish according to her signature. There will not be very many bacteria in her filter media and the biofilm is not yet mature.
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Maybe the best answer is to combine both - use some old media and soak the new media in squeezings. I probably clean my filter less often than many which means there is plenty of gunk, and hence bacteria, in the aqueezings.
I think that the whole business of fishless cycling has become too much seen as the be all and end all of preparing a tank. I believe that letting a tank mature in more ways than one is highly beneficial. I can't see why anyone would want to leave planting until later. Plants affect things in so many ways that I reckon anyone who doesn't have plenty is making life more difficult for themselves by risking instability in their system which they have to spend time and energy correcting by frequent water changes etc.. In any case, planting before adding water is so much easier, while planting through the full depth of water in a tank is a nightmare, stem plants just float away. Plants can establish themselves and be growing strongly by the time the cycle is finished.
We should remember that the ammonia cycling method is still pretty new and people kept fish very successfully for many decades before it was thought of. Unfortunately, much of the useful wisdom that people gained in those days appears to have been forgotten. Older books make very interesting reading.
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I think too many people are afraid of planting a tank. I know I was. Reading about things like adding CO2 and EI made everything sound so complicated they put me right off. Right at the beginning, I did try some plants but they all died so I gave up. Several years later I tried again with 'easy' plants like java fern and found I could keep those alive. Now, 18 years after getting my first tank, I finally have no artificial plants but it has taken me that long to develop enough confidence to do away with them.
You are much more 'into' plants than most people ;D You know what you are doing and are very successful at keeping planted tanks. I'm afraid that with my background, I find the chemistry of tanks easier to understand than the biology of them. We need plant experts as well as people who understand the chemistry side of things. It is you who finally convinced me to go all real ;)
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I do have a large bit of excess filter sponge resting on top on my own that my sister gave me to try and kick start mine, i shall maybe cut a piece off and give it a squeeze, as you say i don't want to deplete my own supply, but my own filter looks pretty mucky at one end so i might risk the spare bit. I would love more live plants, i need some tough ones like my jave fern that doesn't need lots of light and attention, i was wondering if i need any special plant substrate under my sand or gravel, ive seen some lovely red substrate called JBL Monardo, but it looks a bit coarse for bottom dwellers.
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Well my advice is to use ordinary soil under your gravel, but you may be more comfortable with biffster's use of pond compost which sounds like a good idea. I wouldn't bother with any of those expensive substrates and additives that fish shops will tell you are needed, like most things they sell they are totally unnecessary. Plants will grow much better than in plain gravel. But if you only want Java fern, which won't grow planted in the substrate, then it would be a waste of time.
Personally I can't think of anything worse than red substrate, sounds very unnatural looking to me, but it's all a matter of taste and as even the colour of the silicone seems important to you I guess you know what you want..........
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When setting up my latest tank I squeezed 1 sponge out into a little tank water and added that to the new tank along with some filter media out the filter. I also added 25 plants that I bought from Ebay (thanks for the link Richard ;) ) It seems to be rattling along a lot quicker than my first cycle.
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Thanks all, yes, it's all about personal taste isn't it, that's part of the appeal i guess. I would like plants besides the java fern, more tough low light tolerant ones, will have to google. Doesn't a soil/compost base even under gravel or sand, make water murky if disturbed doing a w/c?
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Cryptocoryne are probably the only other plants that will do well in low light like Java ferns.
You put about an inch of gravel or sand on top of the soil, and so I hope you wouldn't disturb things that deep! If you do, you'll uproot your plants anyway. I never disturb the gravel, just suck stuff off the top.
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see if you can borrow some media from
some ones external filter and also use
some evolution aquarium pure at the
same time
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Oh ok Richard good to know, iv'e seen something called African water fern, any knowledge of it? oh and just incase you thought the red substrate was "Postbox red" it is actually more like brick dust or Australian red soil colour, still personal taste i know lol
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I've been researching for when I get my new 240L too. I've seen that some people put greenhouse shade netting over the soil to keep it in place and then put sand or gravel on top. I intend to make some hilly bits by using net bags full of gravel.
I like the idea of squeezings. I've got a moss ball in my 40L; when I do a water change I occasionally remove the moss ball and squeeze out the crud. It might not be a bad idea to transfer it to my new tank when the time comes.
I'll be using pond compost/John Innes No 1, shade netting, black sand and lots of plants.
All our likes/dislikes are subjective. So, if you like red substrate...go for it! ;)
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:yikes: It's not postbox red more brickdust or Australian red soil colour lol and ive already moved on from that idea :)) I too am interested in some under sand/gravel soil base i also quite like, this little set up, as i am a beginner and rather frightened by the planted tank this looks simple and effective,
http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/content.php?sid=3855
but time for more research and ideas yet eh :) Look forward to seeing your set up when you get started NM
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African water fern Bolbitis heudelotii is said to need medium light, rather than the low light that Java fern can use, but I don't know it myself. Like Java fern, you can't plant it, you have to attach it to bogwood or something.
You should look at the Tropica site for info on plants http://tropica.com/en/. I'd look first at the ones listed under the "Easy" sign.
Don't forget that plants grow. It's all very well people showing a tank which has been "set up", but by next year it will look nothing like that. It's the same with gardens, people plant up their garden as if they were decorating a house, then say "Well, that's the garden done". Surprise, surprise, it doesn't stay that way for long. Plants aren't paint or furniture :)
It's unusual for Practical Fishkeeping to show a relatively simple set up, most of their examples cost a fortune.
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Thank you Richard, a lot of research yet to do i think :)
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I have some Bolbitis. It is attached to bogwood in my 50 litre tank and is growing nicely. That tank just has a T5 tube. It is a nice ferny looking plant.
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its a bargain for what you got
with it and dont let any one tell
you other wise :)
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I've been researching for when I get my new 240L too. I've seen that some people put greenhouse shade netting over the soil to keep it in place and then put sand or gravel on top. I intend to make some hilly bits by using net bags full of gravel.
This sounds a good idea NM and forgive the stupid question, just wondered about moving or removing plants won't the roots interweve in the netting, meaning you'd have to lift the whole thing, or maybe just brute force would lift em
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OOH! i might have made a boo boo! :-[ i assumed (should never) the tank i bought, was a juwel rio 240 going by this pic of the sellers, i didn't check properly did i, and it turns out it's a Aqua One, something or other, i can't even find it on google, they said they bought it three years ago from Maidenhead Aquatics, anyone identify it, and give me the bad news :mad:
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Aqua One are a well-known company, as far as I know their stuff has a good reputation. I don't see the problem ..................
http://aquaone.co.uk/homepage_uk.php
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Don't expect the worse!!!!!!
It looks like a nice tank. Wish i had room for one that big!!!!
FC76
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I think it might be a Aqua One Evo 120, not a lot of info at the mo, but it looks like it might be 20 litres bigger than i thought :yikes: at 260 litres. Oh well, as long as it's up to the job eh and i think i'm going to have to go down the Play Sand route judging by the size of it lol :-\