Tropical Fish Forum
Tropical Fish Keeping Help and Advice => New Fishkeepers => Topic started by: Mascol on June 14, 2016, 10:47:52 PM
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Hi,
My current tank is a 90L (60x40x40). It's been up and running for three years now. At the time I had read enough to know that I needed to do a fishless cycle, but information was a bit sketchy so I went to the LFS after my tank had been up and running for two weeks to enquire if my tank would be ready for some fish. 'Yeah sure' was the response. At no point was I asked about water parameters. Instead I was sold 7 dragon tail guppies. Two days later 3 were dead, I took the other 4 back to the shop, researched some more and realised that I was a long way of having fish in my tank! I'm not sure how long it took to cycle as I just used fish food but no ammonia, and I didn't keep the cycling records (a scrappy A4 sheet of paper), but it took at least 6-8 weeks.
I've now bought a larger Fluval Roma 240. It's been up and running for a couple of weeks with just substrate, plants and bogwood. Although I put some of the old filter media in the new filter, I haven't done anything else. Since then I've realised that the bacteria in the filter probably haven't had enough to eat to keep going, so I started with some ammonia two days ago. However, it just dawned on me that I can probably just move all the fish and hook up the old Eheim Classic 2213 alongside the new Fluval 306?
Is that correct? Will I still be able to do this now I've put one dose of ammonia in? It'll probably be at least a week before I'd have time to do a big fish 'n filter move, so should I just forget about dosing with ammonia altogether and just move the old filter? Or do I have to carry on cycling now?
Also, there's now quite a lot of a dusty-rusty brown sort of algae - which is probably diatoms - in the new tank. I'm hoping that will just disappear of it's own accord once the tank is sorted out.
And that brings me to the actual fish. We're in Hertfordshire and my water parameters are of the liquid rock-variety as follows:
pH 8.1
KH 14 dH
GH 19 dH
My old tank has gravel substrate, light to medium planted, some bogwood and a turtle and sunken warship lovingly chosen by my sons... Annoyingly it also has a lot of black-beard algae on my large piece of bogwood. At some point the tank was overrun with this, but using Seachem Flourish Excel has cleared it off the plants. However I can't seem to shift it from the bogwood. Would the hot water or 10% bleach solution method kill it off?
The new tank has eco-Complete substrate, light to medium plants at the moment, and two large new pieces of boxwood. The water is quite tea-coloured at the moment because I don't have a bucket large enough to hold these pieces. The plan is to get a lot more plants. I was hoping to current plants in my tank will grow so well that I could propagate some, but with the brown algae that looks a bit unlikely for now.
Fish are:
4 adult female platies plus a bunch of fry
8 cardinal tetras
2 dwarf gouramis (1 male and 1 female)
1 ancistrus bristlenose pleco
1 zebra snail
The tank is very peaceful with no aggression between any of the fish (or snail). The pleco is very shy and spends most of it's days upside down under a small piece of dogwood. At 2.5 years, it's also the oldest inhabitant of the tank.
The gouramis seem to like each other. The female has a very swollen belly though, so I'm wondering if she's full of eggs? At one point I spotted some bubbles floating on the water - which may have been the possible beginnings of a bubble nest but I think the tank maybe has too much current for the male to build this.
The platies and Snailbob are happy as larry in the tank.
Obviously I have now realised that these species want different water. The platies and Snailbob love the hard water, so now I understand why they are so happy The other fish will find it harder going, although they all seem to be ok at the moment.
I'm a bit stuck on what to do with my soft water fish. The local LFS's don't take fish back and I don't know any other fish keepers in my area (and if I did, they would be using the same hard water most likely). For the time being I'll think I'll have to hang on to them, but going forward, I'm looking to keep only fish that are suited to my water.
Because of my existing stock, I can't add cichlids, so instead I've been looking at rainbow fish.
I'd be interested to know if anyone here keeps rainbowfish, and if they have experience of mixing them with other species? I was hoping to get Boesmani rainbowfish but I've read that a 120cm long tank is the bare minimum for them, so I've decided to rule them out.
Smaller rainbowfish such a Melanotaenia macculocchi or Lake Tebera rainbowfish or praecox or Australian rainbowfish (M. fluviatilis) all look interesting. I'm less of a fan of long-finned fish, and therefore less inclined to consider Pseudomugil or Threadfin rainbowfish.
Any input on any of it would be enormously appreciated!
Many thanks.
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I'll just post a quick question here while I go through the rest of your questions... A lot of which I fear I'm not experienced enough to answer but rest assured you will get sound advice/responses to all... Here's my question...
What's the rush?
Can I just say I knew plenty about keeping fish from my experiences with my dad keeping tropicals for over 20 years... But I knew nothing of the nitrogen cycle or cycling a filter using ammonia. Certainly my dad didn't. Using Sue's guide on fishless cycling has given me a stable and safe environment for my fish which - while in it's infancy - is a joy to watch and is undoubtedly being enjoyed by the inhabitants. It would be the most efficient way for you to establish an environment fit for new, hardy fish.
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I've now bought a larger Fluval Roma 240. It's been up and running for a couple of weeks with just substrate, plants and bogwood. Although I put some of the old filter media in the new filter, I haven't done anything else. Since then I've realised that the bacteria in the filter probably haven't had enough to eat to keep going, so I started with some ammonia two days ago. However, it just dawned on me that I can probably just move all the fish and hook up the old Eheim Classic 2213 alongside the new Fluval 306?
Is that correct? Will I still be able to do this now I've put one dose of ammonia in?
The bacteria in the old filter should be absolutely fine, perhaps a little redundant with having less "food" than they would have been used to. The ammonia will help stimulate them back into activity. What water testing kit are you using?
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Lots of questions I know. They just sort of popped out! I think it's because I don't know any other fish keepers, apart from my dad who, like your dad Paddy, doesn't know about cycling a tank and has had to give up his tank due to poorer health.
I should have added that I use the API master kit, plus the separate API liquid testers for KH/GH.
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I used to live in Bucks and had similar water parameters to yours, and I mixed tap water 50:50 with rain water (or RO from the LFS when the water butts ran dry or got too manky). This gave me a pH of 7.4 and a GH of 8º which is fine for the great majority of fish. Is it possible you could do this? All you would need to do is start using a 50:50 mix at water changes to gradually bring the parameters down.
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I have considered that but ruled it out for a few reasons. There are two water butts in the garden but in summer the contents get used for watering the garden and filling water guns and they often get emptied out by the boys. Also it's a 240 tank so I would need to make quite a lot of water I think. On top of that, I would worry about keeping the water consistantly at the same parameters. So I've decided to stick with my hard water and go for 'special' fish that not everyone can keep :)
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I have considered that but ruled it out for a few reasons. There are two water butts in the garden but in summer the contents get used for watering the garden and filling water guns and they often get emptied out by the boys. Also it's a 240 tank so I would need to make quite a lot of water I think. On top of that, I would worry about keeping the water consistantly at the same parameters. So I've decided to stick with my hard water and go for 'special' fish that not everyone can keep :)
Good plan.
There's a useful link to hard water fish here (http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebindex/fwhardness.htm).
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I'm a bit stuck on what to do with my soft water fish. The local LFS's don't take fish back and I don't know any other fish keepers in my area (and if I did, they would be using the same hard water most likely). For the time being I'll think I'll have to hang on to them, but going forward, I'm looking to keep only fish that are suited to my water.
It's a tough one. Aside from finding someone in a soft water area who will be willing to give them a home, you probably will decide just to keep them, since you say they seem to be happy enough. It's not exactly going to be straightforward to find someone who can give them a good home, catch the fish and safely and quickly transport them there. There's a lot of variables there that could make the fish more unhappy or unhealthy than they already are.
Live animal couriers do exist but they cost an arm and a leg.
Whereabouts in the UK are you, I can't remember if you told us or not. :)
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Any chance of running both tanks :) You could keep the soft water fish in the smaller tanks using a tap:RO mix, then close it down once the fish have reached the ends of their lives.
Is the Eheim Classic running on the 90 litre and the Fluval 306 on the 240 litre? And you moved some media from the Eheim to the Fluval? (Just to make sure I've understood correctly)
Yes, you can run both filters in the new tank, but you can also move all the media from the mature filter to the new one. Or if you want to run both filters, mix old and new media in each filter. Then move all the fish.`
You will lose some bacteria. Not all the bacteria live in the filter; there are some on the glass, the substrate and on every piece of decor. So to cut down on the amount of ammonia the fish make, feed them less food for several days before the move, nothing on the day itself, and lower rations again for a few days after. Keep an eye on the ammonia and nitrite levels for at least a week after the fish move.
The reason for mixing media if you want to run both filters is that the bacteria colonise new media better if it is in direct physical contact with mature media.
But make sure all the ammonia and any nitrite made from it have gone before moving any fish. Maybe move a bit more media over to get rid of them. You can afford to move a third of the media in advance of the fish, but keep an eye on the stats in the 90 litre just in case.
Pseudomugils don't have very long fins but they are small fish which could limit your choices of other fish - wouldn't want them to get eaten.
Someone else posted this link, but I can't remember who :-[ . Interesting read on hard water tanks here (http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/HardWatrCommTkStkMonks.htm)
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Someone else posted this link, but I can't remember who :-[ . Interesting read on hard water tanks here (http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/HardWatrCommTkStkMonks.htm)
Me, me, over here, me.... it was me..... and I posted it again two posts up. :))
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Ooops, sorry Colin, I missed that :-[
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I live in a hard water area, and although it is not quite a bad as yours, I have been through the "I can't keep the fish I want" situation. By having a look around, and reading up on various fish, I now find myself in the midst of several tanks, with more on the way. I admit to being quite attached to the slightly more unusual fish now.
I'm a bit stuck on what to do with my soft water fish. The local LFS's don't take fish back and I don't know any other fish keepers in my area (and if I did, they would be using the same hard water most likely). For the time being I'll think I'll have to hang on to them, but going forward, I'm looking to keep only fish that are suited to my water.
It's a tough one. Aside from finding someone in a soft water area who will be willing to give them a home, you probably will decide just to keep them, since you say they seem to be happy enough. It's not exactly going to be straightforward to find someone who can give them a good home, catch the fish and safely and quickly transport them there. There's a lot of variables there that could make the fish more unhappy or unhealthy than they already are.
Live animal couriers do exist but they cost an arm and a leg.
Whereabouts in the UK are you, I can't remember if you told us or not. :)
It may be worth advertising them if you do want to re-home the soft water fish. There are people out there who do respond to this sort of thing and will happily drive for a couple of hours to re-home fish. Personally I know I would end up keeping the soft water fish as well, but that's why I'm having to consider putting tanks in the hallway and spare bedroom. ::)
Right, back to the read on hard water tanks posted by Colin and Sue, just in case I've missed out on any fish suitable for my water. :)
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Thanks for all the responses, it really is appreciated! We're in Hertfordshire so I think softer water areas are actually not that far away from us, and i may be ablessed to rwhom them.
With regards to keeping the old tank, that's not really feasible. The design of the cabinet is genuinely terrible. It's a bit difficult to describe but basically the cabinet consists of a base with four upright panels in the shape of a diamond resting on it. On top of that is the panel on which the aquarium sits. The problem is that only one of the four upright panels opens out. The cabinet space is tiny and it's difficult to access the filter. I've been swearing at it for years! :yikes: My not-so-secret ambition is at some point to buy another matching Fluval tank and turns it into Lake Tangeniyka cichlid aquarium. But my husband is likely to put up stiff opposition!
Sue, thanks for the info, that's so helpful :-) To confirm, yes the 90L tank has the Eheim filter, and the Roma tank the Fluval 306 filter. I might be able to move fish and filter next week, but I'm going to think it over first.
Thanks for linking the hard water article. I had found that a few weeks ago and have been using it to research fish that might work for me.
Littlefish, I'd be quite interested to hear what sort of fish you keep?
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Oops Littlefish just noticed your signature.
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My not-so-secret ambition is at some point to buy another matching Fluval tank and turns it into Lake Tangeniyka cichlid aquarium. But my husband is likely to put up stiff opposition!
Don't ask, just tell him. Us men are easy to get round. Present it as a fait accompli and there'll be some prid pro quo, but when it's all set up he'll tell you that you were right - which you knew all along. See? easy!
I just thought a bit of French and Latin would be good for the forum. :))
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Don't ask, just tell him. Us men are easy to get round. Present it as a fait accompli and there'll be some prid pro quo, but when it's all set up he'll tell you that you were right - which you knew all along. See? easy!
I just thought a bit of French and Latin would be good for the forum. :))
Perhaps that's the route I need to go down too - vielen Dank fur die Andeutung. :)
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Perhaps that's the route I need to go down too - vielen Dank fur die Andeutung. :)
Just what I was going to say!
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It's certainly added a certain je ne sais quoi!
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There are lots of lovely fish suitable for hard water. Sometimes they need a bit of searching out, sometimes it's worth checking more than one source for what water hardness fish prefer, then working on an average. I will admit to having some fish that are on the edge of their preferred water parameters.
The 340L tank is designated for a river tank because one of the first fish I saw on the internet that I really, really, really wanted was the tiger hillstream loach (sewellia lineolata). I have been distracted by other fish (and axolotls), but was determined that I would get some eventually. Over the past months I've kept a list of other fish that are suitable for the same environment, and also researched building a river manifold to ensure correct water flow, and plan to have the tank up, running and fairly well stocked by the end of the year. ;D
I am also going to upgrade my dwarf puffers to a larger tank, and cannot say enough about how awesome those little fish are.
At that point I actually run out of room in the living/dining room, but there are still fish I want, so I am going to have to put a Fluval roma 200L (because I've still got a cabinet) in the spare room. Also the tiger barbs will get the old dwarf puffer tank, which will have to go in the hallway.
Damn, just realised that at that point I may have to stop expanding the aquatic housemates. :(
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The 340L tank is designated for a river tank because one of the first fish I saw on the internet that I really, really, really wanted was the tiger hillstream loach (sewellia lineolata). I have been distracted by other fish (and axolotls), but was determined that I would get some eventually.
<snippety-doo-da>
Damn, just realised that at that point I may have to stop expanding the aquatic housemates. :(
I think the Hillstreams are just amazing and I will be respectfully asking for twinning with your tank when it's up-and-running :). At the very least I'd love to see a big photo montage of your construction and scaping of the tank.
Sell furniture! Tables are over rated and who needs TV when you've got fish tanks to look at, eh, eh? ;D
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I am fit to bursting with excitement over the river tank and will be setting up a thread to document progress. It may be a tad slow as there is going to be a lot to do, but I'm also hoping that people will chip in with advice etc.
Always happy with twinning projects. ;D
As for furniture, I currently have a stack of furniture in the spare bedroom that I've already moved out of the living room. Now, apart from the tv, sofa, armchair and dinning table/chairs, everything else is fish tanks. Pretty much the only bookcases/storage I have left in the room are a small bookcase behind the 125L tank - the bookcase which has the betta/panda cory tank on top, and a tall bookcase which has been reinforced and houses my temperate tanks. Hoping to use the cabinets with the new tanks to house dvds etc. :-[ :)
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Far too many chairs - they'll have to go! :))
I've got a few ideas for you.....
(https://fpsbutest.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/aquarium-sofa.jpg)
(http://cdn.goodshomedesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/coffee-table-aquarium-9.jpg)
(http://www.light-water-art.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/aquarium-sink-1.jpg)
And if you change your bed, you'll have even more room for tanks....
(http://www.eefurnish.com/postpic/2010/03/weird-beds_442455.jpg)
:))
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:rotfl:
Awesome. 8)
You are such a bad influence, though not as bad as one of the guys at MA. When I found I couldn't have the custom built tanks I wanted because the floor isn't solid, his reaction was to suggest pulling up the floor boards and building an aquarium into the floor. ;D
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Hillstreams are beautiful and i wish my two were still alive. :'(
best of luck
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The hillstream loach looks wonderful. I'll be interested to see updates on your river tank project Littlefish.
You are of course correct, with a bit of research I've uncovered quite a few fish suitable for my hard water - in addition to the obvious ones.. As I always say 'if in doubt, stick it in a spreadsheet' so sometime soon I'll post my list here for the benefit of the wider fish keeping community ;D
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The hillstream loach looks wonderful. I'll be interested to see updates on your river tank project Littlefish.
You are of course correct, with a bit of research I've uncovered quite a few fish suitable for my hard water - in addition to the obvious ones.. As I always say 'if in doubt, stick it in a spreadsheet' so sometime soon I'll post my list here for the benefit of the wider fish keeping community ;D
Excellent. That'd be really helpful.
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Hi Mascol, I too am blessed with Hertfordshire water ::) I don't know whereabouts you live in Hertfordshire but if you live anywhere near Enfield there's a place called Crews Hill that has 5 LFS within a few minutes of each other, it's my most fav place to spend an afternoon, it's also full of garden centres and craft/antique shops.
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there's a place called Crews Hill that has 5 LFS within a few minutes of each other, it's my most fav place to spend an afternoon
Did anyone else mutter "you lucky git" when they read this?
:rotfl:
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Just to rub it in a bit; there's a nice pub which serves pretty nice grub, MA is based inside a Wyevale Garden Centre which also has a pretty decent restaurant. There's a shop that specialises in birds and there's a reptile centre. People actually go there just to show the kids round the shops :) Its like a mini zoo trip.
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Nope, I looked it up on the internet and found it is only an hour away from me. :raspberries
Guess where I'm planning to go some time over the next few weeks. :fishy1: :rotfl:
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Nope, I looked it up on the internet and found it is only an hour away from me. :raspberries
Guess where I'm planning to go some time over the next few weeks. :fishy1: :rotfl:
There's a 6th shop called Wild Woods a 15 min walk or less than a 5 minute drive from the main drag. You'll love it Donna! It's well worth an hours drive, we might even bump into each other :)
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Too true it's worth an hours drive. ;D
You'll recognise me instantly - I'll be the one trying to fit the entire contents of all the gardens centres and aquatics shops into a small car. :cheers:
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there's a place called Crews Hill that has 5 LFS within a few minutes of each other, it's my most fav place to spend an afternoon
Did anyone else mutter "you lucky git" when they read this?
....and the rest! It's 40 miles to my not-so-local LFS and, although it's a MA, it's nothing like as good as the one I was 2 miles from at my previous house. grrrr....
Serves me right for living in the middle of nowhere, I hear you say..... but being in the middle of nowhere is worth it.
However; the shop is in a Wyvale garden centre and it's got a Pets' Corner there which has a 'puppy play hour' every Saturday morning. So we take Tuffers down there to burn off some energy beating hell out of Ralph and Boris (and getting well pounded in return) and then we all wander around the plants and the fish.... and then have a coffee - so it's a good trip.... and they had some rather nice Oto's in there last Saturday.... I'm very tempted. ::)
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Hi Fiona, Thanks for that hot tip! I'd not heard of Crews Hill before; it sounds like aquatic and animal heaven!!! We live at the other end of Hertfordshire, ie north Herts, but it's only 35 minutes in the car! Which is only a bit further than some other LFSs ive been to. Yay! :rotfl: I'll be planning a trip out soon....
Re fish 'n filter move, I realised I won't have time to do it for at least a week, maybe even to, so I'm carrying on dosing with ammonia in the meantime.
Day 1: I started with 7ml and ammonia rose to 4 ppm - so a bit more than I'd intended.
Day 2: 2ppm
Day 3: 1ppm
Day 4: I skipped day 4
Day 5: Dosed 6ml - but ammonia went back up to 4 ppm. Nitrites between 0.5 - 1.0 ppm (it's a bit hard to tell when looking at the chart and liquid in the tube). Haven't tested for nitrates yet. Will be keeping up the regime for the time being and start testing for nitrites and nitrates now.
Re my poor female dwarf gourami - two days of fasting hasn't made any difference :( She's still very swollen up.
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Have you tried feeding her peas? Cooked, deshelled and chopped pea is a common thing to try in case it is constipation. Or some people use daphnia to help 'flush fish out'. That's live or frozen rather than dried.
If that doesn't work, I don't know what to suggest.
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Too true it's worth an hours drive. ;D
Hi Fiona, Thanks for that hot tip!
Just past Crews Hill station on the right there's a board listing masses of shops and there's a new aquarium shop just opened, the birds are in the same place. Further on Wyevale Garden Centre also on the right has an MA. Opposite Kingfisher Aquatics which has newts and axolotls @Littlefish and reptile place. Next garden centre along Springfields Nursery has Marine Aquatics at the back. Opposite Springfields is Pets Corner and Enfield Aquatics is in there. Further down the road once you go round the bend on the right is Wildwoods Aquatics :)
Enjoy!
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Have you tried feeding her peas? Cooked, deshelled and chopped pea is a common thing to try in case it is constipation. Or some people use daphnia to help 'flush fish out'. That's live or frozen rather than dried.
If that doesn't work, I don't know what to suggest. - See more at: http://www.thinkfish.co.uk/forums/new-fishkeepers/tank-moveupgradecycling/20/#sthash.7V716p9C.dpuf
They get shelled peas every week, but it is indeed what I'm going to try this afternoon. Hopefully it has an effect :-/
Fiona, thanks for the directions :wave: Can't wait to visit. Will definitely leave husband and sons at home!
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Tested new tank esrlier:
Day 7: ammonia 0.25, nitrites between 2.0 and 5.0 ppm (again hard to tell, but definitely over 2.0 ppm). Have therefore dosed with 6ml ammonia.
Very exciting to see stuff is happening in the filter.
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Now you need to test every 2nd day; you are waiting to get zero ammonia, then zero ammonia again 2 days later, with nitrite over 1.0.
Once you get the second of those two zero ammonias, add enough ammonia to give 1 ppm rather than 3 ppm. Too much ammonia makes too much nitrite, and the cycle will stall if nitrite goes over 15 ppm - and you can't tell from the tester when it gets that high. Any reading over 5 look the same colour as 5.
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Tested new tank esrlier:
Day 7: ammonia 0.25, nitrites between 2.0 and 5.0 ppm (again hard to tell, but definitely over 2.0 ppm). Have therefore dosed with 6ml ammonia.
Very exciting to see stuff is happening in the filter.
Good stuff :)
I'm wondering what readings I'll see tonight in my QT, I added a full dose of ammonia yesterday...
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Just past Crews Hill station on the right there's a board listing masses of shops and there's a new aquarium shop just opened, the birds are in the same place. Further on Wyevale Garden Centre also on the right has an MA. Opposite Kingfisher Aquatics which has newts and axolotls @Littlefish and reptile place. Next garden centre along Springfields Nursery has Marine Aquatics at the back. Opposite Springfields is Pets Corner and Enfield Aquatics is in there. Further down the road once you go round the bend on the right is Wildwoods Aquatics :)
Enjoy!
You're just saying that to annoy me ;)
Good news about the cycling progress, folk.
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Yay, 0 ammonia and 0 nitrites, so have added 6ml ammonia as per Sue's guide, and hopefully will get two more big fat zeros tomorrow! It's motoring along very nicely. It seems adding some media from my old filter and adding daily pinches of flakes, prior to the arrival of the household ammonia, has helped things along.
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Woot-woot. Start planning your trip to the fish shop!
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I'm keeping my fingers crossed that you get big fat zeros tomorrow. :cheers:
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Alas I cried victory too soon! Back up to 0.25 ammonia and between 2.0 - 5.0 nitrites. Have given it another dose of 6ml ammonia and will leave it well alone for two days now.
At least that gives me more time to think about fish. As anyone who has ever been out shopping with me will testify, I can take a while to make up my mind ;)
There are some lovely fishes out there and frankly I'm finding it very hard to choose. One school of larger rainbowfish would be a great addition, but on the other hand a couple of schools of much smaller fish (emerald dwarf rasboras/pearl danio/glowlight danio) would also look fab. Maybe a trip out to Fiona's aquatic walhalla may help solve the dilemma.
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One school of larger rainbowfish would be a great addition, but on the other hand a couple of schools of much smaller fish (emerald dwarf rasboras/pearl danio/glowlight danio) would also look fab.
One factor which might be worth considering is how far away you'd be, if you were sitting admiring your tank, and whether you'd want to be able to see and recognise the individuals or whether the general movement and colouring/patterning would suffice. For example, I generally sit about 6 feet away from my tank and can just about make out the individual fish in the tank ie recognise who's who among the harlequins and tetras. When I had smaller, pygmy cory fish, it was difficult to do this from that distance. I realise that this is actually quite an important factor for me and any future choice of fish - but it may not be of interest to others.
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That's a very good point actully, thanks. I'm often quite a long way from the aquarium so slightly larger fish might make sense. Hmm, more factors to compute!
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Tantalisingly close to the end of the cycle - I think anyway.
Day 10: ammonia 0 and nitrite 0 - dosed 6ml ammonia
Day 11: ammonia 0.25 and nitrite somewhere between 2.0 and 5.0 ppm - dosed 6ml
Day 12: skipped and did not measure
Day 13: ammonia 0 and nitrite 0.25 - dosed 6ml
Day 14: ammonia 0 and nitrite 0 - dosed 6 ml
Day 15: ammonia 0 and nitrite 0.25 - dosed 6 ml
I'm thinking that I can't be very far off.
Therefore I've cleared my schedule for Wednesday and will be taking myself off to Crews Hill Enfield for an LFS-based extravaganza :-) A little treat from me, to me, and unless the house is on fire, I WILL be going :rotfl:
Mascha
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Day 15: ammonia 0 and nitrite 0.25 - dosed 6 ml. I'm thinking that I can't be very far off.
Therefore I've cleared my schedule for Wednesday and will be taking myself off to Crews Hill Enfield for an LFS-based extravaganza :-) A little treat from me, to me, and unless the house is on fire, I WILL be going :rotfl:
Wyevale do a very nice cream tea Mascha :) I always treat myself to one when I'm down there. Say hi to Tom for me when you go into MA :)
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Ok, so the house wasn't on fire, but my husband's car needed an emergency visit to the garage - and as he's away for work, the honour fell in me.... Grrr.
So I didn't have enough time to get to Enfield but I did manage a round trip to MA St Albans in stead, and spent a very happy hour and a half researching fish.
They had most of te fish on my list, which was great. Loved the red-eye tetras, celebes rainbowfish, pseudomugil furcatus, maybe Odessa barbs and pearl danios . Less convinced by paradise fish - they look agressive - threadfin rainbows (too finny) and glass bloodfin tetra. Celebes halfbeak was very unusual but I was told they will eat smaller tankmates, so probably no.
Oops, time to collect the boys from school.
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Hurray, two big fat zeroes, 24 hours after another two big fat zeroes. Aquarium is officially cycled :cheers:
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:cheers:
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Well done on completing the cycle! It's a great feeling when you can start getting excited about going fish shopping instead of just window-shopping 8)
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Congratulations on your double zeros. :cheers:
:fishy1: :fishy1: :fishy1: :fishy1: :fishy1: :fishy1: :fishy1:
Time to go fishy shopping.
;D
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woot - woot, and even more woot!
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:cheers:
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Thank you, thank you very much (in my best Elvis voice) :-)
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Congratulations :cheers: The marine display tank in St Albans if pretty impressive :) I go there too sometimes.
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Yes, I loved the marine tank at MA St Albans but did not allow myself to be too distracted by it from my mission! Which was of course looking at lovely fishes for the big tank.
It does make a difference seeing fish 'in the fin' and watching them swim. I loved the red-eye tetras, pseudomugil furcatus and pygmy puffers (the cutest things ever!) in particular. But they don't all like the same temperatures. In short, no firm decisions have been made yet, though I'm leaning towards a biggish school of red-eye tetras.
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I love my dwarf/pygmy puffers. They are very cute and I wouldn't be without them.
You could always have another tank for them in the future. ;D
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Husband: 'Why are you measuring that corner?!'
Me: 'Err....'
;)
Having the tank up and running is great and very enjoyable, but has of course also led to more questions that need answers! (A fishkeeper's work is never done!).
1. Pictures: I need to work out how to attach pictures - it's the rule after all. I know it's come up in other posts and will have a look - sticky post maybe?
2. Stocking: lots more research to be done, I'm currently thinking adding either rainbowfish & pseudomugil furcatus (i e. species that are at the warmer end of what my platies and cardinals like) or red-eye tetras and something else danios maybe (at the cooler end). Am hoping to lure the family out to a 'garden centre' tomorrow, that, much to my 'surprise' will 'unexpectedly' contain a decent LFS ;D I need to do more research after all.
3. Lighting!: my Fluval roma 240 came with two standard tubes - an Aqua Glo T8 and a Power Glo T8. They seem fine, and are probably bright enough for the stuff I've got in my tank: java fern, java moss, vallisneria and hornwort, and one other plant. Like other folks here I don't like the abrupt switch between on and off. Sadly, science and I never really got on so although I've read Simon's thread re his DIY LED lights and looked at Darren website, unfortunate that was a bit beyond me. Maybe I'll limber up to more advanced lighting at some point, but for the moment I'm wondering a) if I should add reflective tape on the inside of the hood, and b) how to add a single strip of blue/moonlight LED lights to the inside of the hood. If someone here was able to offer advice, that would be hugely appreciated. In terms of skills, I can wire a plug but that's about the extend of my electrical knowledge.
Cheers,
Mascha
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For question 1, look below the reply box and you'll see Attachments and other options. Click on that and you'll see a box Attach. Click browse and look for your photos on your computer (or whatever you use), double click on the photo. It's title should now appear next to the word browse. You can attach more by clicking on More Attachments.
However, there is a size limit for photos, it tells you what the limit is in the Attach section. On my laptop, hovering the pointer over photos brings up a box which includes the size.
Or use a photo hosting website like photobucket and copy and paste the url into the post.
Q2 If you go for red eye tetras make sure you have a biggish shoal as they can be fin nippers in small groups.
Q3. I've got round that by having a small blue LED strip which sits on top of the cover glass, on a separate timer from the main lights. But your tank doesn't have cover glass (I think) so maybe one of the stick on flexible strips would work for you. Take advice from someone who has one.
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Sorry for slow reply Sue - it's been busy with all sorts.
1/ Re photos, I tried attaching one on my tablet and came up against the photo size issue. Will try with the desk top when I get a moment. Hopefully that will include snaps of new fishes that I'm hoping to buy tomorrow :)
2/ Been umming and arring but I really fancy forktail, so hoping to buy a nice number tomorrow.
3/That's right, no cover glas, so will have a look at stick on strips.
Off to the LFS tomorrow to buy new fishes! Very excited :D
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It's a great feeling knowing you're going to get new fish, I never get tired of it. Best of luck for tomorrow!! :cheers:
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Fish shopping tomorrow - hooray! :cheers:
Have a fantastic day and post some pictures when you can. :)
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Hi
Just to say crews hill is great , I live 30 min drive from there . It's where I got my tank, bogwood , substrate etc from . Saturday mornings are quieter , as Sunday's is quite busy with people taking their children for a look round . Wildwoods is huge and has an excellent selection of fish . If you want a betta go early sat morning as sometimes they are sold out by the afternoon!
The smaller one behind springtime is also good and the guy on the till is very helpful . Both of these will test your water if you are doing a fish less cycling so you don't put fish in until it's safe . Which is what I did .
Wild woods has some small pieces of bogwood for £1-£3 which is great for small tanks and for tying plants too . ( just bought a small piece today that looks like a tree trunk )
Which I'm currently soaking .
Well worth a visit as there are many others around there .
Ally
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Well, it was a very successful shopping trip. I came home with 8 Pseudomugil furcatus, 2 zebra nerite snails (to keep my other snail company), plants (hygrophilia - sp?) and a small pot of floating plants.
The forktails are brilliant! I'm so glad I took the time to research suitable fish for my tank. They are very lively fish that love exploring the top of the tank - which is great as that was quite empty - apart from the odd platy. They're great fun to watch. Their presence also seems to have made the platies and cardinals braver, as they are swimming a bit more out in the open. They definitely coloured up a bit after arriving jn their new home, but of course these being juvenile rainbowfish, it'll be a while before they'll reach their full colour potential. The guy at the LFS claimed he gave me 3 males and 5 females, though I'm struggling to see any difference.
Working today, but really will try to pst a pic today!
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Fantastic news. :cheers: :fishy1:
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Indeed... I do like those Pseudomugils.
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Great news. I'm looking forward to seeing the pictures. :)
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Indeed... I do like those Pseudomugils.
Me too as the males are so pretty. I'm interested to see how Mascol gets on with them, mine have always died from dropsy and having spent considerable time inspecting the ones in MA they seem to have the same problem, about 90% of their fish sit at the surface gulping for air.
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So far so good. No signs of any illness, infection or other lurgies. I got them from my nearest MA. Looked at them two weeks before I went to buy them. Didn't see any fish gasping at the surface then, or the second time around, when I bought the forktails.
One thing that slightly surprised me is that they didn't ask me any questions at all when selling me the fish. I could have stuffed them in a goldfish bowl for all they know!
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Great news on your fish. I'm looking forward to seeing pictures (hint, hint). ;D
I'm surprised they didn't question you about the tank.
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The MA that I use have never asked me about my tank either. I just say 'I want x of these fish' and they get them for me. Maybe if I wanted a lot of fish at once they would ask but I've never bought more than one shoal at a time from them.
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At least one of the guys @ MA knows almost as much about my tanks as I do, as does one of the guys at the independent LFS, so I tend to get asked "which tank are they going in?", "do you want that tank we've got on sale?" and then spend 10 minutes looking at pictures on their phones as an update on their projects.
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Part of the fun of going to Crews Hill is chewing the fat with other experienced fish keepers. The manager at MA lives in the same road as my Mum and Dad and he's said if he sees me walking past when he's in he'll give me a shout so I can have a look at his tanks.
Funnily enough I never realised he lived in my parents road and then when I found out exactly where he lived it turns out my son used to play with his little brother :) small world
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Oops, and all of a sudden two months have gone by! That's what happens when work is busy, and sons are off school.
Im pleased to report that things are generally well in the Roma 240, and that the tank and it's inhabitants have survived our first two-week summer holiday. We'll mostly.....
It's always a little nerve wracking coming back after a two week summer holiday and wondering what you are going to find. Luckily the tank was looking well although I've lost one pseudomugil unfortunately. One of the big female platys has also disappeared *(no remains foundd) but everything else is hunky dory.
But it's late so more updates to follow soonish.
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When I bought my pseudomugil, the guy at MA gamely assured me he had picked out 3 males and 5 females. Now they have been in their new home for some weeks, it's become clear that it's the other way round! One of the forktails has unfortunately disappeared - presumed dead - whlist we were on holiday, but the remaining fish are very clearly 2 females and 5 males.
Once the boys are back at school (next week Wednesday and not a moment too soon!) I'll be able to plot a trip to MA to add some pseudomugil (females hopefully this time!) and some other fish to complete stocking the tank. Probably going with dwarf rainbows but not fully decided yet.
Not made any progress on replacing my old 90 litre yet, but when I get to it I'm hoping to put lamprologus ocellatus in it.
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Not made any progress on replacing my old 90 litre yet, but when I get to it I'm hoping to put lamprologus ocellatus in it.
Ooh nice. I love shell dwellers :)
My water is too soft for them and I don't want to go down the route of adding Rift Lake salts at every water change, so if you get them maybe we should resurrect the idea of 'tank twinning' people with soft and hard water ;D
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I'm totally sold on shell dwellers, but not sure what tank to get. It can't be more than 60x 40 footprint to fit in the corner where I want to put it.
The Interpet Aquaverse 65 looked promising (right size and a graphite coloured cabinet that would match the decor perfectly). Alas, this aquarium gets many terrible reviews, so I'm not sure I want to risk it. My Fluval Roma 240 on the other hand is great, so I could get the smaller Roma 90 to house shell dwellers. If only they did one with a nice grey cabinet!
I was wondering if I could give an aquarium cabinet a makeover with paint or Fablo - or would that just look a mess?
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Difficult decision you have there with the tanks.
I have had a much larger interpet tank and the experience I had was slightly mixed. The tank itself was fine. The hood was a slight problem because it has a hinged part at the front, which is fine for feeding and minor poop hoovering, but isn't quite big enough for getting your whole arm in for significant amounts of tank work. For cleaning the whole top had to be taken off, which shouldn't be too bad on a 65L tank, just be aware that there is a lot of condensation on the lid whick will drip. The filter was ok, I guess depending on what fish you have. Small fish that are a bit jumpy have been known to jump into the uncovered top of the filter. You can always place the filter higher and have more of a waterfall effect to avoid this problem.
I have several Fluval Romas, 125L and 200L, and also think they are great. You will find the lid on the Interpet Aquaverse totally infuriating in comparison to the Fluval Roma.
As for painting/covering a differnt cabinet, sometimes it takes a lot of preparation to deal with laminate cabinets. Real wood is so much easier, but more expensive. It might be worth having a look online to see if there is any specialist paint or other material that is designed to cover this sort of "wood".
Cabinets and tanks can be bought seperately, so would it be worth checking the measurements to see if the Fluval tank will fit on the grey Interpet cabinet? Buying seperately will probably cost a little more, but it could be the best of both worlds.
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Thanks Littlefish for the input on Interpet - by the sound of it, the lid and I wouldn't get on so well! It'd be very annoying to have to remove the whole lid to clean the tank. However I like the idea of mixing and matching so will whip the tape measure out.
Had a go with some grey sticky-back plastic on my horrible old 90L cabinet. Only covered two panels but it worked surprisingly well, and of course it's fairly water resistant. It seems a feasible alternative, but will do some measuring of Fluval and Interpet first.
Also made an impulse buy at P@H. Went in for fish food, came out with 8 congo tetras. I know they are borderline for my water, but they were completely silver and very overcrowded. I felt so sorry for them and wanted to rescue st least a few. It's only been a day but they seem to settle in well. Hoping to see some colour developing in the next couple of days.
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There is another alternative - a custom built tank. Many come with cabinets in a wide range of colours and could be any size and shape you want. You mentioned a 60 x 40 footprint, and most 'off the shelf' tanks are 60 x 30 or maybe 35. With custom built you could have exactly 60 x 40.
My 180 litre was made to my specific measurements by ND Aquatics. They use inches, it's 42" wide x 18" deep x 18" tall (converts to 107 x 45 x 45 cm). Most 180 litre off the shelf tanks were taller with a smaller footprint and I wouldn't have been able to reach the bottom of the tank.
I just looked at their site, and ND Aq do a "metallika grey" finish........
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Congo tetras are really beautiful fish, I'm not surprised you got tempted. :)