Introduce Yourself!

The apple snail fiasco is a good example of one size fits all EU legislation. One species of apple snail was found in one part of Spain, so they banned the import across the whole EU. I can't see them surviving outside in the wild in the UK let alone somewhere like Finland. Sorry, moan over.

Nerite snails would be a good choice, once you have some algae growing. They are becoming more common in shops but mail order is an option with these creatures; they survive the post very well in a tub with some damp tissue or filter wool.

Be warned about fish browsing. You will likely be approached by a shop assistant who will tell you that you are wasting your time cycling the tank, buy some of this miracle product, just add it to your tank along with all the fish I'm going to sell you now. None of these products work instantly and most don't work at all.

Hi everyone 

Some of you already know me as I jumped straight in to with forum with questions instead of doing the polite thing and introducing myself first     Bit like the way I got the tank and fish BEFORE researching and finding out it was the wrong way round.... Impulsive?  Me?  Nah.....

Anyway, for those of you who haven't already had the "pleasure" of putting me right on a few things:

Have got a 60L BiOrb which was a birthday present for husband who had been mithering for fish for YEARS...  Although I loved the look of aquariums, was of the firm belief that one would NOT fit into our living room (quite small house and the only other room would be the dining-kitchen which has full sun for most of the day).  After seeing the BiOrb I relented as it fits quite nicely in one corner away from the window and looks lovely (well, we think so!).  Hubby has since relinquished all care and decisions (i.e. control, lol) to me.  I'm definitely hooked!!

Just as well as my other half has even less patience than me and would have quite happily chucked several BIG fish into our tank.  In fact it was his idea to get the three Black Widow tetras we've had from day one and he only chose those because they were bigger than all the other tetras!  (What is it with men and size    )

So now three and a half weeks into a fish-in cycle...  Our water is very soft and we had an "emergency" when the pH of the tank dropped to 6.0 which I now understand will probably have stalled the cycling.  Following some excellent advice from Sue and Colin (to name just two) I have added Tropic Marin re-mineralisation salts and pH is now at 7.6 and has remained stable for three days.  Not done a water change during that time as ammonia was showing at 0.5 and using Sue's "ammonia calculator" this converts to 0.0108 (with 0.05 being the cut-off point).  Still no nitrites     But hoping things will get going now that the pH and KH are okay (forgot to mention that as well as the API master testing kit, also using the Nutrafin test for KH/GH).

The Black Widows seem happy (I swear I can see them smiling  ).  The tank has silk plants and two real plants and am about to add some hornwort (will leave to float on the surface).  Am just "washing" it in some conditioned water....  Hope that's the correct thing to do!

Once the tank has cycled, we will add two more Black Widows to make a "gang" of five and will slowly add some glowlight tetras and some neon netras.

I already have a bad case of MTS and have been looking at Juwel 190 corner tanks (has to go in the corner the biOrb is currently in)....  Haven't dared broach the subject with hubby yet   

This forum is brilliant!  So helpful and informative - very glad I found it 

Liz

Thanks Resa      I'll take a look now.....   Can always "blame" you if hubby asks 

Yeah....blame me, I'm tough

be  very careful with ebay its all to easy to click buy and go much bigger than you intended to as i did , was looking for a 60 liter and bought a 8 ft tank instead  (winter project now )

There's that thing with men and size again....and I notice, like most chaps, no self-control

I already have a bad case of MTS and have been looking at Juwel 190 corner tanks (has to go in the corner the biOrb is currently in)....  Haven't dared broach the subject with hubby yet   

Keep an eye out on Gumtree as well - I saw a Trigon 190 near me recently at £50, although it did need a thorough clean and a filter.

Hubby is guilty as charged, Resa    (Poor Colin - he really is deluded isn't he  )

And you're right Colin about him owing me big time....  but it will definitely be a case of "softly softly catchee monkey"    After 39 years married    I can play him like a fiddle, hehe.

Don't worry Chris - I'm restricted to space so definitely wouldn't bid for an 8'.  Just a 190 litre..... or maybe a 350 

I have a tropical tank 70 litres
 4 fish swimming about
 1xzebra danio
 1x longfinned danio
  2x swordtails
 Started in may so very new to what I see as a very rewarding hobby
  Not sure of sex of danios, anyone help please as to how I tell?
  speak soon bye for now

 
 hi sue
 thanks for the info, could not find your reply till now,sorry for delay.
 Hopefully get use to navigateing site soon.
  bye for now

Hi Steve, welcome 

Things have changed quite a bit in 25 years. They've changed since I started 17-ish years ago. And it looks like I'm a tad older than you as I'll turn 61 over the weekend 

As far as stocking goes, you need to be aware that rtbs need a 4ft tank, but other than that the fish are fine for a 3ft tank.
Have you found the community creator yet? Click on fish profiles in the menu at the top of the page, then click on any fish and scroll to the bottom of the page. Then just fill in your tank details and add fish from the profiles. If you want to save your tank you will need to register and log in separately from the forum - and it uses email address not forum user name. It also has the habit of logging you out after quite a short time, just to warn you!


When you get the new filter, the best way to set it up is to use all the media from the current filter and add the media that comes with the external to fill in the gaps. That way you'll preserve all the bacteria in the old media.
However, I should ask - did you cycle the filter before getting fish? That is probably the biggest change in the last 25 years. We now know that it is safer for the fish if the tank is cycled with ammonia solution before fish go in the tank. If you used the old method of fish-in cycling, you need to keep an eye on your ammonia and nitrite levels; they are both toxic to fish above 0.25pp-ish.