Your current Fish tank Setups!

Unicorn · 12 Mar 2015 at 12:21

Excited for what i hope is the end of the cycle. All levels are dropping off now except nitrates but ill pull some more today. 50% today and then daily 25% from now on until im certain the cycles over.

Delvis · 13 Mar 2015 at 12:38

Hello all

Had my plants delivered, impressed with the delivery time to be honest (ordered on the weekend)

Question: They've come with lead strips - Are these healthy? Do people here use them? Or do you just dig the plants in to the substrate?

arc@css · 13 Mar 2015 at 14:59

^^ I'm not totally sure about this, but I think sometimes the metal used is treated so it's inert. See what other folk say first, or email the people that you bought the plants off.

gort · 13 Mar 2015 at 17:28

Delvis said:
Hello all

Had my plants delivered, impressed with the delivery time to be honest (ordered on the weekend)

Question: They've come with lead strips - Are these healthy? Do people here use them? Or do you just dig the plants in to the substrate?

Depends on the plant really.
If it's a bit of a thin delicate cutting, I tend to leave them on until the plant has grown a bit and rooted, then take the lead off as it has then had enough time to anchor itself in to the substrate. Reduces the chance of fish pulling/knocking them out or them floating to the top due to their own buoyancy.
I take it you have reasonably fine grade substrate. People often fail with plants due to having large sized gravel which plant roots don't usually take well to.

Delvis · 13 Mar 2015 at 18:37

Yes I fine fine grade gravel stuff. The plants came bagged, then it came with a load of lead strips you cut to size and use.

I'm guessing they're fine as its all over the paperwork saying they're in there

Unicorn · 14 Mar 2015 at 12:44

My hornwort was lead weighted down. Was totally fine

Day 23 of cycle, levels seem to be dropping off slowly. I best feed them today though theyve been on a starve why i knocked the nitrite levels down.

UTmaniac · 14 Mar 2015 at 15:26

Unicorn said:
My hornwort was lead weighted down. Was totally fine

Day 23 of cycle, levels seem to be dropping off slowly. I best feed them today though theyve been on a starve why i knocked the nitrite levels down.

Starving established fish for a week while on holiday is one thing.

Starving newly purchased fish, that have often been starved through the fish supply chain, is not good.

Newly purchased fish should be placed a mature quarantine tank that will deal with ammonia and nitrite.

If fish in cycling, you feed the fish to help them recover from the ordeal of being moved and half starved, you then do the daily up to ~75% water changes for ~100 days while your tank matures. You must keep the water safe at all costs.

This is why fishless cycling has been best practice for a decade or more, where it is desirable to maintain ~4ppm ammonia to encourage the ammonia and nitrite processing bacteria to multiply. No water changes usually needed, tank should be fully processing 4ppm ammonia into nitrite within 12 hours within 40 days.

rodo · 14 Mar 2015 at 16:42

Added a few dwarf puffers to the tank last week. I had read that they eat snails. Didn't quite believe it but we've gone from about a hundred nuisance snails to about 20 in a week. Very pleased!

Also got 6 cherry barbs which look fantastic and seem to be enjoying the tank - very active fish.

King4aDay · 14 Mar 2015 at 19:17

Keep a close eye on those puffers... they'll probably be giving any other tankmates the same treatment as the snails sooner or later. Not a good community fish normally.

Unicorn · 15 Mar 2015 at 11:52

UTmaniac said:
Starving established fish for a week while on holiday is one thing.

Starving newly purchased fish, that have often been starved through the fish supply chain, is not good.

Newly purchased fish should be placed a mature quarantine tank that will deal with ammonia and nitrite.

If fish in cycling, you feed the fish to help them recover from the ordeal of being moved and half starved, you then do the daily up to ~75% water changes for ~100 days while your tank matures. You must keep the water safe at all costs.

This is why fishless cycling has been best practice for a decade or more, where it is desirable to maintain ~4ppm ammonia to encourage the ammonia and nitrite processing bacteria to multiply. No water changes usually needed, tank should be fully processing 4ppm ammonia into nitrite within 12 hours within 40 days.

I do wish i did a fishless cycle now i look at it, I would be a lot happier. These are as id say established fish sorta.. Theyve been with me in an older tank and this tank and they do get fed every 2 days or 3 days.. Not starve starving them just a couple of days at very most. I start to feel bad for doing too much but then the water must be kept in safe limits

Since following advice from yourself on the nitrites my fish look a lot happier esp the guppy

Iv got them well down and under control now with daily water changes of 25-50% depending were my levels are at.

I did debate hooking up an automated water changer a friend offered to lend me whilst im cycling but that would leave hoses running all over my house and iv not got the tap connections for the reverse osmosis section of it

Delvis · 16 Mar 2015 at 09:32

I realllllllly want to find a more efficient way of water changing

particularly the fillibg up part

robfosters · 16 Mar 2015 at 09:37

Delvis said:
I realllllllly want to find a more efficient way of water changing particularly the fillibg up part

I use one these http://www.arkpetsonline.co.uk/marina-multivac-battery-powered-vacuum-p-956.html

Just switch it on and plunge it into your fresh bucket and it will get on with the job brilliantly.

Delvis · 16 Mar 2015 at 10:41

Cheers Rob will take a look.

So, had a new tropical tank up and running for a couple of weeks, done two 50%+ water changes. At the moment the Ammonia is below 0.50, Nitrite looks about 0.25-0.50, Nitrate is Hiiiiiiiiiiiiigh (red) - Should I be doing more frequent water changes in everyones opinion for the next few weeks? (we should really get this stickied at the top of the thread/op or something.)

I'm tempted to do another (at least 25%) change today but I'm not sure as surely I want certain things to build up?

temp is also a steady 25c

Also, here is the tank:

JoeF1 · 16 Mar 2015 at 11:06

Hi guys,

Hoping you can help with a few problems. I have got a 19l Fluval Chi fish tank. With 2 small fish (sorry totally forgot what breed they are). I changed the pump which you get with the tank to one like this and it's terrible. Also the water is evaporating fast! The tank is below a small kitchen window which doesnt get direct sunlight but i must be putting in a pint of water every few days.

This weekend i'm going to change everything from the gravel to the pump so could one of you guys spec me up the new items? I would like:

A new pump / Filter. I have been looking into the Bio filters which lay on the bottom of the tank but have never managed to get one that fits. Is it better to use an airstone or just have the pump submerged? The pump i have now trickles (i use that term loosely) water from the top but after a few days it's just not that powerful.
Can a pump be too powerful? I was thinking buying something like this but its 1200l/ph !
New gravel? Very stupid question but does gravel size matter? Have quite big sized stones at the minute.
Also i read a lot about treating the water. This is something i haven't done for the fish yet. Worried they're not happy.

Apologies if some of the questions are self explanatory.

Delvis · 16 Mar 2015 at 11:23

Probably evaporating water because 1.) it's an open top tank effectively and 2.) it's a small tank so the water will drop more drastically (or at least seem like it

)

Treating the water? Are we talking about testing the water and then treating appropriately?

JoeF1 · 16 Mar 2015 at 11:38

Delvis said:
Probably evaporating water because 1.) it's an open top tank effectively and 2.) it's a small tank so the water will drop more drastically (or at least seem like it )

Treating the water? Are we talking about testing the water and then treating appropriately?

Oh cheers dude, just seen you can actually buy a lid for these. Would have to squeeze the wire around for the extra pump but shouldn't look that out of place.

On the testing, yeah pal exactly. Want happy swimmers!

Delvis · 16 Mar 2015 at 11:53

Well you can buy API test kits in the shops which have Ammonia/Nitrate/Nitrite/PH test kits in them for about £35ish, then you'll probably be recommended to buy Kh and Gh test kit but I'd get some advice on that prior from here.

The lid may help, particularly if you're not using the standard pump anymore/in the future. I'm all new to this though so take my advice with a pinch of salt

Unicorn · 16 Mar 2015 at 12:44

Evaporation happens in all tanks even the largest and its why auto top up systems exist. On a 125L tank i loose an inch over the course of a week which is 2-3 Liters of water.

For the question earlier about water changes.. I put this http://www.allpondsolutions.co.uk/a...mps/1000-l-h-submersible-water-aquarium-pump/
Into my 25L bucket with a 12mm airline stuck on it

Delvis · 16 Mar 2015 at 12:54

Unicorn said:
Evaporation happens in all tanks even the largest and its why auto top up systems exist. On a 125L tank i loose an inch over the course of a week which is 2-3 Liters of water.

For the question earlier about water changes.. I put this http://www.allpondsolutions.co.uk/a...mps/1000-l-h-submersible-water-aquarium-pump/
Into my 25L bucket with a 12mm airline stuck on it

Never thought of that for some reason. May look in to it with an old pump we have!

Unicorn · 16 Mar 2015 at 12:58

Delvis said:
Never thought of that for some reason. May look in to it with an old pump we have!

Just measure floor to top of your tank and make sure the Hmax of your pump is capable. this one pumps 1.6m vertical and my tanks 1.1 so im okay

1000L/h can be taken with a pinch of salt as once your pumping uphill it slows significantly