Author Topic: Return to tropical fishkeeping (Read 21420 times) 151 replies

Trish · « **on:** August 24, 2015, 08:37:50 AM »

Hi There,
I'm returning to fishkeeping after a break of over 20 years. I am very impressed at the way fish tanks have developed since I was away from the hobby. I only want a small tank this time round and I have been looking at the Interpet River Reef 94 litres. I like the fact that it is low cost LED lighting and that the filter is concealed.
I am thinking of stocking it with Harlequin Rasboras, Danios and Corydorus. However, I am worried that the water flow will be too strong for these fish. I would be grateful for opinions on this.

fcmf · « **Reply #1 on:** August 24, 2015, 09:09:05 AM »

Welcome back to the hobby. I'm not familiar with that particular tank and its filter. However, I have harlequin rasboras and pygmy corydoras, and both of them like playing in the water flow, and I'd imagine danios would like that even more.

Sue · « **Reply #2 on:** August 24, 2015, 09:30:03 AM »

Hi, welcome to the site and back to fish keeping

I'm pleased to hear that you consider 94 litres to be a small tank

It's almost 20 years since I started keeping fish, and I agree, tanks have come on greatly since then.

Looking at the manual for this tank, it does say

Quote

the flow rate can be reduced on all the pumps before fitting them to allow you to customise water flow for your aquarium

The filter looks a nice one. One comment I would make is that in the 20 years since you last had fish, it has been realised that carbon is not necessary in a filter. The manual says the filter contains a carbon bag - leave that in the cupboard and either replace with sponge or ceramic noodles in a mesh bag or leave the space empty in case you ever do want to use the carbon bag. Carbon is only useful for removing medication after treatment has finished and the brown that comes out of bogwood.

What do you plan for the bottom of the tank? I ask because cories need smooth substrates and those as small as pygmies are better on sand, with its smaller grain size.

And I'd better ask - do you know about fishless cycling? It is much easier on the fish - and the fish keeper.
fishless cycling
cycling with fish

Trish · « **Reply #3 on:** August 24, 2015, 12:41:00 PM »

Thanks very much for your replies.....it's very reassuring to be able to ask more experienced fish keepers opinions.

Thank you for the advice on removing the carbon, I was completely unaware of this and will remove it.

This is the gravel I plan to use, Sue

http://www.seapets.co.uk/products/aquarium-supplies/aquarium-ornaments-fish-tank-ornament/coloured-gravels/roman-coloured-aquarium-gravel/roman-gravel-jet-black-2k.html

It is small, resin coated and smooth. What do you think? I could of course, get sand. But I have never used it before and I am a little bit worried about cleaning it. However, if you think it is the better option, then I will go for it.

I have read about fishless cycling and agree that is the way to go. I never did like the older way of dumping fish into toxic water and hoping for the best. I used to end up as stressed as the fish. Lol!

Sue · « **Reply #4 on:** August 24, 2015, 01:08:43 PM »

The main criterion for the substrate with cories is that the particles are smooth, and the link does look smooth. And with the smaller ones, the particles shouldn't be too big so that the fish can push them aside in search of food.

I had gravel for many years until a bolivian ram got a piece stuck in her throat. So I changed all my tanks to sand. It is not difficult to clean, you just have to learn the technique. The main downside is that the fish poo etc sits on top of it and is quite visible, unlike gravel where it falls down between the particles.
You don't say which species of cory you would like, but the smaller species would be a better choice for this tank (the 3 dwarf species - pygmaeus, habrosus and hastatus - or panda cories).
I have both habrosus and pygmy cories, and I've been watching them with a magnifying glass. The habrosus are like their larger cousins, they snuffle in the sand and it comes out of their gills. The pygmies tend to pick food off the surface of the sand and I haven't yet seen any sand coming out of their gills.

Trish · « **Reply #5 on:** August 24, 2015, 01:48:37 PM »

Thanks again, Sue.

I have just placed my order and will get the tank tomorrow along with ammonia, API Master test Kit, gravel and buckets.

By the way, Panda Cories are the ones I am planning to get when the tank has eventually matured.

Looking forward to getting back into it all.

Sue · « **Reply #6 on:** August 24, 2015, 02:02:29 PM »

Don't forget the siphon tube

Let us know how you get on

Trish · « **Reply #7 on:** August 24, 2015, 06:45:15 PM »

Just had a horrible thought. I live in Lancashire and there is a problem with the water. It is a bug called Cryptosperidium. Will it be OK to fill my tank using this water?
The water company has advised affected areas to boil the water. This has been going on now for 18 days and there is no sign of the ban being lifted.
Thanks in advance.

Sue · « **Reply #8 on:** August 24, 2015, 06:53:40 PM »

Ahhhh.

In that case you need to fill the tank with cooled, boiled water. The last thing you want is to put your hands in potentially contaminated water. Or wait it out till your tapwater is safe again. Don't be tempted to use bottled water as that will have a different chemical composition from your tap water.

I have been wondering how fish keepers have been coping with this. I have three tanks and it would be a nightmare having to boil and cool enough water for all the water changes. Not to mention fish shops.......

Trish · « **Reply #9 on:** August 24, 2015, 07:05:33 PM »

OK Sue, thanks once again. What a blooming nuisance boiling 94 litres of water! Oh Well.........one marathon tank filling episode to look forward to!

Sue · « **Reply #10 on:** August 24, 2015, 07:17:42 PM »

One thing about fishless cycling, you shouldn't need to do a water change till the cycle is finished (usually a few weeks) so your water should be OK by then. Hopefully.

Another thought. Doesn't most of Lancashire have soft water? As someone brought up just outside St Helens, I seem to remember it being quite soft (though not currently in the cyptosporidium area so it is obviously from a different treatment works). You should be able to find out your hardness from United Utilities website. If it is quite soft, the KH of the water will also be low so you'll need to add some bicarbonate of soda during the cycling process. The big water change at the end will remove it before the fish go in.
The reason I bring it up is that if your KH is low you will be in danger of a pH crash during the cycle and may have to do a water change - and possibly have to boil a lot more water to do it. If you don't mind spending a few pounds to save any potential hassle, it might be safer to get a GH and KH testing kit. Or ask the nearest fish shop what the KH is - but don't tell them you are doing a fishless cycle as most shops don't believe in them!

Trish · « **Reply #11 on:** August 24, 2015, 07:38:29 PM »

United Utilities say that the water is soft with Hardness Clark of 7.350. I have no idea what that means!
Looks like I will have to get a test kit. Any idea of how much Bi-Carb should be added?
Good job I found this site and you have been so very generous with your time and knowledge.

Sue · « **Reply #12 on:** August 24, 2015, 07:44:51 PM »

That's round about the same as my hardness here in the north east. I would try and find the KH of your tapwater - but bear in mind I wouldn't like to mess around with your water straight from the tap and boiling does destroy some KH so if you test that it could well be lower than neat tapwater. But as you'll be boiling the water to fill the tank, you need to know how much KH you'll be left with for cycling. You can check your tapwater once it's safe.
The amount of bicarb will depend on the value of your KH. Once you know it, we can go from there. But you can still fill the tank and start the cycle.

Trish · « **Reply #13 on:** August 24, 2015, 07:51:32 PM »

Thanks very much, Sue, for all your help. I will forge ahead with my plans to fill the tank and take it from there.

Sue · « **Reply #14 on:** August 24, 2015, 09:12:24 PM »

Just to add, your hardness in degrees Clarke converts to 6 german degrees and around 105ppm. These two units are the ones you will see in fish profiles on sites like Seriously Fish, a very useful resource for researching species.

Trish · « **Reply #15 on:** June 08, 2016, 01:09:19 PM »

Hi Sue, It's been a long time since I posted about setting up a new tank!

You may remember that at the time I wanted to set up, the water supply had a nasty bug?
I decided to wait until the water was OK again, instead of faffing around boiling up almost a 100 lt of water.
Anyway, it took weeks and weeks for the water to be given the all clear. Meanwhile, I decided to move house and postponed setting up the tank yet again.

I am only now in the process of cycling the tank. I filled it up on Sat. And put the first dose of ammonia in on Sun. (3 ppm).
I tested for ammonia and nitrite yesterday and had ammonia - 0.50 ppm and nitrite 0.00 ppm, and no discernible nitrates.
I did another test today and ammonia was - 0.25 ppm and nitrite still at 0.00 ppm, and had approx 1.5 ppm to 2 ppm of nitrates, bit hard to tell.
The only thing I did different was put in some filter start which came with the tank. I wouldn't have thought that it would make any difference. I am now a bit confused as to what I do now as the parameters I have don't correspond to the instructions for fishless cycling.
Do I put in another full dose of ammonia now or leave it until I test in a few days time and see what readings I get then?
Thanks for your help

ColinB · « **Reply #16 on:** June 08, 2016, 01:53:49 PM »

mmmmm - where's your Ammonia going then, I wonder? It's not being turned in to Nitrite.

Top up your Ammonia to 3ppm..... and it should stay there until it starts getting converted to Nitrite.

EDIT: Have you got a load of plants in the tank?

Trish · « **Reply #17 on:** June 08, 2016, 02:29:32 PM »

Hi Colin, yes that was my first question..........where is the ammonia going? It's got to go somewhere!
I don't have any real plants, so that's not the answer. I'm mystified.
I'll redose the tank this evening and see what happens. Thanks for your help.

Sue · « **Reply #18 on:** June 08, 2016, 03:08:25 PM »

In the absence of live plants, that would be my suggestion too - add another 3ppm ammonia.

Which brand of bottled bacteria did you use? If it worked, you should have an increase in nitrate. 1 ppm ammonia is converted to 2.7 ppm nitrite and on to 3.6 ppm nitrite. So if you added 3 ppm and the bottled bacteria worked, you should have 10 ppm nitrate more than the amount in your tap water.

There are some bottle bacteria products that contain the wrong bacteria, though it's usually the nitrite eaters as most of them do contain the right ammonia eaters. There is always the possibility that your brand contained a species of ammonia eaters that does not convert ammonia into nitrite. That's all I can think of $:-\$

Littlefish · « **Reply #19 on:** June 08, 2016, 03:13:51 PM »

Hi Trish and welcome back into fish keeping.

I only joined towards the end of last year and I found the knowledge and experience available on this forum absolutely priceless.
Best of luck with cycling your tank and please keep us posted on your progress.

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