Tropical Fish Forum
Tropical Fish Keeping Help and Advice => New Fishkeepers => Topic started by: Imabitnewtothis on June 08, 2014, 06:24:55 PM
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Hello again. I have took your advice, about getting a larger tank instead of adding an external filtration system. I have had a look around, and have come across 2 tanks, both with overhead filters. No 1 is an Aqua Style 380. This tank is a bit bigger than the one I currently have, and has a 34ltr capacity, against the 20ltr I have now, and is virtuously new. The second contender is another Aqua Style 620, obviously a lot larger tank at 90ltr , but this will over hang my Tetra stand by 11cm in the depth, and my stand has rounded ends so the corners will also hangover but only by a couple of cm at each corner. Now taking into consideration of not trusting my local stockist, as they said I would get up to 20 small fish my tank that I have, and being put on the right track from your advice you gave me last time, I am hoping if someone could tell me which would be the best tank. I currently use bottled water, as the tank is not that big, and I get 2 x 5ltrs for £1.80. Also to bear in mind I am disabled through having multiple operations & a few other on my back & a few other problems that make to much lifting a pain, so I have to factor this into my thinking, I hope someone will say the best tank for me. As I only have the 6 fish at the moment, but I would like to get some more different fish at some point. Any & all help would be great fully taken on board. Many thanks in advance Paul. (again).
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To be honest, 34 litres is not that much better than 20. But the danger with the 90 litre one is that if any of it overhangs the stand it is likely to damage the tank possibly dumping 90 litres of water on your floor. The 90 litre is the better choice if you want more fish, but you would need a bigger stand, or at the very least you need a piece of thick wood or some such; something that is slightly bigger than the base of the tank so no overhang, and something that won't be damaged by water splashes.
Both of them appear to have trickle filters in the lid. The only problem that can occur is if there's a power cut, the media could dry out. if you are in the house at that time, just float the media in the tank to keep it wet.
And replace the carbon cartridges with sponge. Carbon is a hangover from the old days and isn't needed full time.
As for the tank you already had, the 34 litre tank won't be able to have any true cold water fish (ie goldfish) and again it is too small for most temperate fish.
What species are the six fish you currently have?
When you say you are using bottled water, what exactly do you mean? If it's water from the supermarket, you would have to use the same brand at every water change as different brands will have a different mineral content. But if you mean bottles of RO water from the fish shop, you need to add minerals (remineralisation salts) to that. There are no fish in the aquarium trade that can survive in pure water.
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Thank you Sue for your reply. I will popping out to local stockist as I need some more food, so I can't remember the fishes breed, but I will look tomorrow, and I will post what they are when I check the breed then. I have to change 25% water in the morning, so I will clean everything at that time. Thanks Paul.
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Sorry to hear you have problems with your back but have you thought about just keeping the bottles from your bottled water and re-filling them with fresh tap water (with added dechlorinator of course) Then you could either warm or cool to desired temperature. Would save you lugging them home from the shop too.
I'm no expert and am new to this site myself so not even sure if I should be posting this but hope it helps and am sure the experts will put me right if not good advice :)
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You are quite right Susie. Iamabit.... did say he has physical problems and if filling the tank from a bottle is easier than using a bucket, this would be cheaper than buying water.
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Thanks to Susie & Sue for your replies. I use bottled water, the area I live in has very hard water, and I can get 2 x 5 litre bottles of water for £1.80, so I could change the whole tank (not that I would) for £3.60. I am changing 25% of water every two weeks as I read in the Aqua Style Online Manual, that I downloaded. If that is not right please tell me. Many thanks again Paul.
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25% every week is better. I would take tank/filter manuals with a pinch of salt. Especially the parts that say to change your filter media every couple of months.
The problem with bottled water is that every make differs in mineral content. You have to stick with the same make every time or the change in the mineral content could adversely affect the fish.
And again, it does depend on what exactly the water is you are using. For example, in the USA I gather that bottled water is distilled water with a bit of sugar and salt added - that is definitely not good for fish
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Bottled water isn't called "Mineral Water" just for effect... Well sometimes it may be so, but it is generally because it contains... well, "Minerals"! Depending upon the exact minerals, these may be the exact minerals that tap-water contains that we call "Hardness". So, as Sue says, it's not just a matter of remaining "brand-loyal" but in choosing a suitable brand in the first place. Some brands may be harder than your tap-water!
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On this topic I was wondering myself I have a water filter I keep in the fridge (the main reason we actually have it rather than a taste for filtered water. Would you be able to use a filter like that for fish tanks (adding dechlorinator)??
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If you're talking about the BRITA water filter system then (from their website):
"The BRITA water filter cartridge is filled with cation exchangers. These replace positively charged ions such as calcium, magnesium, lead, copper with positively charged hydrogen ions"
So it will lower the GH and pH, and perhaps use up all your buffering capacity too. As the filter gets 'used up' over the weeks then this effect will not be a constant and will change a lot when a new cartridge is put in, and consistency of water conditions is vital for fish health.
I wouldn't use it, myself.
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I tested Brita water. I was doing tests on various substrates and allowed a tub of water to stand alongside those as a control. The results from the tub of plain tapwater were:
pH 7.3; GH 9; KH 3
Brita water:
pH less than 6.0; GH 6; KH 0
And at the time I did the test, Brita's website's Q&A section did say that it shouldn't be used for aquariums without taking professional advice.
It does use up a lot of buffering capacity (ie KH). Since mine is very low to start with there was none left in the filtered water. I don't know how much it would remove from water with a high KH, but it would certainly lower it.
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I was just wondering if that might be a way to reduce my water hardness further down the line purely out of curiosity. I have ph 8.2 and very hard water. I need to invest in kh and gh testers so might do my own experiment! I was thinking if I used that mixed with tap water. Hmmm. As you say though Colin it might vary considerably throughout the filter life.
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Trouble is, your water is buffered at 8.2 by the KH and you won't change that until the KH is reduced to zero 'cos that's what buffers do. When the KH hits zero, then your pH could drop like a stone.
You need to keep your KH above 5º to ensure stability, so I've added enough rain water to my tap water to get my KH at 5º. I've accepted whatever the GH was at that point, which happenend to be 8º. I think that, unless you're willing to 'build' your own water from various salts and RO water, it might be best not to futz with it.
There's always stuff like this (http://www.apifishcare.com/product.php?p=downloads&id=641), but they're phosphate buffers and you can't grow plants when you use these. However, there is quite a bit of technical stuff there you may find interesting.
On t'other 'and, lass, you've got perfect water for Africa Malawi Cichlids.