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[Evolved1]

Okay, I'm starting to get a little bit worried about my fish. At first everything seemed fine, but for the last hour or so they have been standing still right at the surface, and doesn't move from there. Is this just stress from being in a new, previously uninhabited tank or might there be something wrong?

Do not worry much unless the fishes begin to list to one side and cannot maintain their attitude in the water. Other indications of potentially serious problems are cloudy eyes or dulling of color... but this can sometimes just be stress of a new environment.

Also, sometimes adding too many animals at once can cause heavy stress and water quality fluctuations...

Most issues begin with stress, and if the fishes can overcome it, they can overcome the sickness/distress. If you cannot resolve the issues causing stress, even hardy fishes can have trouble and are more susceptible to diseases and such.

Give it some time, hope for the best. Try to maintain good water and watch for signs of sickness.

 

[ashleyj1988]

I had a 30 gallon saltwater, but worked full-time and went to school full-time, so I gave it to my friend

Now all I have is a 5 gallon with a beta fish and a few snails in it.

 

[Hazaro]

I was going to do dry ferts since they are significantly cheaper in the long run.

One thing I'm confused about...I'm sitting here trying to figure out the "best" substrate, but if I get an inert substrate, as long as I use root tabs for root feeders and ferts for stem feeders, my plants should be OK, right?

Thanks, I'm really happy with the way it turned out. I've considered it, yeah. I think I'm going to wait to panel and finish it until I get everything figured out. I'm going to put a spot to brace a CO2 tank eventually, too.

I'll be moving in ~1 year, which means the tank will be taken down for a bit. I'm thinking I'll do some work on it more intensively when I have my own garage and space for it.

I gotta sort out my substrate tonight so I can order the ferts. If I go with flourite, I can make up for the fact that its inert (I think) via tabs and ferts, yeah?

Fluorite has some stuff in it I think? Yes you can just dose and be fine. Not a fan of root tabs as you stir the substrate and can easily overdose. At least with ferts you can keep better control with water changes.
Dry ferts is good in the long run for bigger tanks if you have the time.

Okay, I'm starting to get a little bit worried about my fish. At first everything seemed fine, but for the last hour or so they have been standing still right at the surface, and doesn't move from there. Is this just stress from being in a new, previously uninhabited tank or might there be something wrong?

Could be stress. Did you just plop them in? Did you slowly add in water and let the temperature adjust over 30 minutes?

 

[nicoga3000]

Fluorite has some stuff in it I think? Yes you can just dose and be fine. Not a fan of root tabs as you stir the substrate and can easily overdose. At least with ferts you can keep better control with water changes.
Dry ferts is good in the long run for bigger tanks if you have the time.

Alright, Fluorite looks decent (and is very rescapable). I'll probably do my first tank in that. I also just put in an order for 1 lb. of potassium nitrate, potassium sulfate, mono-potassium phosphate, and Plantex CSM+Boron. I'll also grab a bottle of Seachem Equilibrium and a water dechlorinator.

Next is some test kits!

 

[pseudocaesar]

I was waiting for someone to bump this so I could post my new picture.



I'm going to put a thick piece of weather striping around the base to eliminate that gap you see. I may need to upgrade to 10000K bulbs at some point (I'm sitting at ~1.3 WPG right now with 2x6500K T8's). I plan to get the substrate, rock, and driftwood in there next week. I have a local guy who is going to hook me up with plants and a carpet moss.

A+ excited

Yeh that looks great, but I would most definitely put a decent bit of styrofoam between the tank and stand. If you dont, the tank will be heavier at certain points and flex the glass, and then bam its cracked.

 

[nicoga3000]

Yeh that looks great, but I would most definitely put a decent bit of styrofoam between the tank and stand. If you dont, the tank will be heavier at certain points and flex the glass, and then bam its cracked.

Yeah - if this thing cracks while filling, bricks will be shat. I just picked up some foam today, so I'll spend time on it next week to get it ready for plants.

 

[Snytbaggen]

Could be stress. Did you just plop them in? Did you slowly add in water and let the temperature adjust over 30 minutes?

I let the temperature adjust and then added some water to the bag every 15 minutes or so, and then let them out. They seemed fine at first and swam around quite a bit, but now they just camp in a corner. This morning they seemed a little bit more adventurous though.

 

[nicoga3000]

Dry ferts came in today! Going to run to the local store to buy some substrate. <3

My question still stands about root feeders - will dry ferts in the water feed these, or will I need to do something special to get them nutrients?

 

[Davedough]

Last night, my Jack Dempseys decided they wanted to be parents and started mating. This morning, there are eggs stuck all over their favorite rock.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COowKDt_MLk

Well, apparently my Jacks are only interested in mating. They ate all of their babies. Fish abortion.

 

[Hazaro]

Dry ferts came in today! Going to run to the local store to buy some substrate. <3

My question still stands about root feeders - will dry ferts in the water feed these, or will I need to do something special to get them nutrients?

In water should be fine if you have good flow. I'm pretty sure. You should check though.

Well, apparently my Jacks are only interested in mating. They ate all of their babies. Fish abortion.

Not uncommon, if you want babies you should move the mating pair. I forgot until now!

 

[Davedough]

In water should be fine if you have good flow. I'm pretty sure. You should check though.

Not uncommon, if you want babies you should move the mating pair. I forgot until now!

Honestly, I dont want babies. I'm moving in 8 months and already am faced with having to find homes for 6 very large fish... dont want more to have to find places for.

 

[nicoga3000]

In water should be fine if you have good flow. I'm pretty sure. You should check though.

I did some research and talked to a few people in my area - they said as long as I take care to fertilize when needed, things will be fine. If I use root tabs, the plants will flourish moreso, but without, they'll do well.

 

[DBT85]

My first aquarium, a 240l 4ft Fluval Roma 240 has just started seeing drops in the nitrite levels as the bacteria are starting to move in.

I'm still dosing and testing but hopefully it won't be long before I add some fish.

I'm looking at Cardinal Tetras, Pearl Gourami, a couple of species of Corydoras and a Plec of some kind.

 

[AndyD]

Not uncommon, if you want babies you should move the mating pair. I forgot until now!

Yep. We used to have this triangular funnel type thing during mating time. We used to keep the parents in the water above in the "funnel" and the babies would fall through the crack into the bottom half of the tank and survive. Pretty quickly they grow and they are safe.

It was homemade and something like this:

 

[Hazaro]

My first aquarium, a 240l 4ft Fluval Roma 240 has just started seeing drops in the nitrite levels as the bacteria are starting to move in.

I'm still dosing and testing but hopefully it won't be long before I add some fish.

I'm looking at Cardinal Tetras, Pearl Gourami, a couple of species of Corydoras and a Plec of some kind.

Sounds good, just know corys will stir up your substrate a ton.

 

[DBT85]

Sounds good, just know corys will stir up your substrate a ton.

I know I have black sand in there and plenty of folk have said they love to root around in the sand and it doesn't get too bad apparently.

 

[Hazaro]

I know I have black sand in there and plenty of folk have said they love to root around in the sand and it doesn't get too bad apparently.

It's just for those light foreground plants like glosso and HC that haven't really really rooted themselves. Maybe DWG and UG as well I'm not sure.

 

[AndyD]

Has anyone used Aquaclear filters?
http://www.amazon.com/AquaClear-30-Power-Filter-Listed/dp/B00020SVDG/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1328631888&sr=8-6

I have a Tetra whisper now and its getting quite loud even after a number of through cleanings, plus some rubber gaskets are broken and I think its time to change it.

Plus it seems with this one it will be easier to use my own carbon in the bag provided.

 

[Davedough]

Has anyone used Aquaclear filters?
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00020SVDG/?tag=neogaf0e-20

I have a Tetra whisper now and its getting quite loud even after a number of through cleanings, plus some rubber gaskets are broken and I think its time to change it.

Plus it seems with this one it will be easier to use my own carbon in the bag provided.

When I would run smaller tanks, I'd use the Hagen Aquaclear products with pretty good success. I personally have had no problems with them for light filtration.

 

[AndyD]

When I would run smaller tanks, I'd use the Hagen Aquaclear products with pretty good success. I personally have had no problems with them for light filtration.

Cool. Right now I only have a small 10 gallon. If I was going big, it would be different. Maybe when we move.

How far down did you stick the intake? Near/in the gravel?

 

[Davedough]

Cool. Right now I only have a small 10 gallon. If I was going big, it would be different. Maybe when we move.

How far down did you stick the intake? Near/in the gravel?

Yes, thats going to try and pick up any detritus that is settling into the gravel. Its heavy, so its not going to float. You want it probably about 1/2" or so to the bottom but not actually in the gravel.

 

[nicoga3000]

I've got an AquaClear for my 55gal right now. I spoke with a few people who gave them high marks in their books. From what I gather, they're really good for customizing your filtration needs based off the condition of your tank.

 

[AndyD]

Yes, thats going to try and pick up any detritus that is settling into the gravel. Its heavy, so its not going to float. You want it probably about 1/2" or so to the bottom but not actually in the gravel.

Good, that's what I do with mine now, about 1/2" above the gravel (which is about 1" deep) but this one's intake looked quite pointy.

 

[DBT85]

Looks like my filter is able to completely clear 2ppm Ammonia in under 24 hours now. Looking at some planting options for it now!

 

[scar tissue]

My tank is currently without fish and I want to make sure that it's fully planted if/when fish move in.
I read CO2 is the limiting factor with growth. With fish inside, I'd have to be really careful but because there are none I can go wild and pump a shitload of CO2 in there. Really excited to see the plant growth.

Anyone have experience with a homemade solution using baking soda and sugar (kinda strapped on cash atm)?
How much does CO2 really help?

 

[Hazaro]

My tank is currently without fish and I want to make sure that it's fully planted if/when fish move in.
I read CO2 is the limiting factor with growth. With fish inside, I'd have to be really careful but because there are none I can go wild and pump a shitload of CO2 in there. Really excited to see the plant growth.

Anyone have experience with a homemade solution using baking soda and sugar (kinda strapped on cash atm)?
How much does CO2 really help?

Don't quote me but I want to say 2-5x growth?

I don't recommend a DIY system WITH fish. Regularity is absolutely key. Most will want no CO2 at night (no light = CO2 build up = lower pH and maybe dead animals) and wavering CO2 levels can cause algae blooms. You must slowly work your way up from 0.5 bubbles/s to something you feel comfortable with, say 1, 1.5, or even 2.
The important things are to have a balanced aquarium with ferts and a strong light and enough plant mass to take it all up. If you are just starting out I'd highly recommend a carbon source like Excel which functions similar to CO2. I saw about 2x growth with it.

In a pure planted tank you can experiment with DIY, but you can get a paintball setup done about $100 if you look.

 

[Snytbaggen]

Okay, I'm starting to get a little bit worried about my fish. At first everything seemed fine, but for the last hour or so they have been standing still right at the surface, and doesn't move from there. Is this just stress from being in a new, previously uninhabited tank or might there be something wrong?

It was just stress, after a day or two they returned to normal, and yesterday one of the males tried to mate with one of the females. He was totally rejected, though. Today I added two blue gouramis, and they handled the transit way better and has been swimming around happily since I put them in. They did however crap down pretty much the whole bag because of stress (I assume).

 

[Hazaro]

I've started down a dark path

 

[nicoga3000]

I've started down a dark path

Le what???

Also, substrate is expensive. -_-

 

[Hazaro]

It's only expensive if your tank is over 15 gallons.

Bought last parts of a CO2 paintball setup. Might buy some rarer shrimp and some higher grade CRS.

 

[Snytbaggen]

Tried to take some pictures of my fish today, and it's incredibly hard. To get acceptable shutter speeds I have to crank the ISO up and fully open my aperture, but that makes the DOF so shallow that it's very hard to get the whole fish in focus. These are the only ones that turned out OK.

As you can see I noticed afterwards that my tank was kinda dirty on the outside, so I tried to clean it up in Photoshop. It's pretty bad in the second picture, but it's still miles better than it was originally. And strangely enough the area around the yellow guppy isn't cleaned up at all, even though it looks like it.

 

[nicoga3000]

How bad is it for your tank to use an over-sized pump/heater?

 

[Hazaro]

Tried to take some pictures of my fish today, and it's incredibly hard. To get acceptable shutter speeds I have to crank the ISO up and fully open my aperture, but that makes the DOF so shallow that it's very hard to get the whole fish in focus. These are the only ones that turned out OK.

As you can see I noticed afterwards that my tank was kinda dirty on the outside, so I tried to clean it up in Photoshop. It's pretty bad in the second picture, but it's still miles better than it was originally. And strangely enough the area around the yellow guppy isn't cleaned up at all, even though it looks like it.

Yeah tell me about it. You need a strong light and a good macro lens. Second pic turned out very nice.

How bad is it for your tank to use an over-sized pump/heater?

Not bad at all if it is reasonable.

Minimum flow on a filter should be ok with you, excessive heaters in the 5x (tank rating) range and up can sometimes cause temps to fluctuate more than you would like.

 

[MrToughPants]

Got an upside down catfish about three weeks ago turns out it had Ich and contaminated our aquarium... I had the temperature at ~82 for the past week or so and did water changes/ removed filters and also added non-iodized dissolved salt but it didn't do anything... Our 10 year old Bala, leopard spotted usd catfish, tiger barb and that POS usd catfish died in a span of three days...

Sucks now all we have left is the Plecko, a giant Tin Foil barb, a corydora and two worms who are all 10+ years old... I did a complete water change and cleaned/dried off everything then added some salt. Plecko still has some tiny whitish spots on him even with the high temps and salts but besides that they're all eating and doing fine so far...

Can fish GAF give me any advice?

 

[Natetan]

just cleaned mah tanks today. my stinkpot turtles are pooping machines, whew!

 

[DonMigs85]

Got an upside down catfish about three weeks ago turns out it had Ich and contaminated our aquarium... I had the temperature at ~82 for the past week or so and did water changes/ removed filters and also added non-iodized dissolved salt but it didn't do anything... Our 10 year old Bala, leopard spotted usd catfish, tiger barb and that POS usd catfish died in a span of three days...

Sucks now all we have left is the Plecko, a giant Tin Foil barb, a corydora and two worms who are all 10+ years old... I did a complete water change and cleaned/dried off everything then added some salt. Plecko still has some tiny whitish spots on him even with the high temps and salts but besides that they're all eating and doing fine so far...

Can fish GAF give me any advice?

Try this http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=10884131
I recommend clown loaches or kuhli loaches as well, though the former is pretty sensitive to ich.

 

[Hazaro]

Main tank is now only shrimp.
Aw yea.

 

[Snytbaggen]

Added 20 neon tetras yesterday and today my gouramis seems stressed and are sticking to the surface/huddling in a corner and breathes lots of air, and I even think one of them has gotten his fin nipped. Should I wait a day or two and see how it works out or move either the gouramis or the tetras?

 

[DBT85]

Finally ordered some plants to put in on Friday for fish to finally be added on Saturday!

Friday will be busy as I need to do a large water change, add in my two final bits of bogwood and add the plants. All that after getting from from a 12 hour night shift!

Will get pics.

 

[Head of Vengarl]

Hello aquarium-GAF. I am pretty new to the hobby; after getting my first tank in January I finally have it cycled, planted, and recently, filled with fish. Thankfully I took the time to read up on fishkeeping before I went for it. I'd have never known about the nitrogen cycle and whatnot. Anyway, so far I have 2 Neon Tetras, 5 Green Tetras (they look like mini Neons), 1 Corydoras Sterbai, and 6 Ghost Shrimp. As far as plants, I have some Water Wisteria planted on the left of my tank and some kind of crypt on the right, and of course some Java Moss growing on the rock in front of my Wisteria.

Here's a short vid: http://youtu.be/zG8un0MCn1Y

Bonus pics of my Cory and one of the Ghost Shrimp (quoted so they aren't so big):

I plan on adding 5 more Green Tetras this week. I love those little guys.

 

[Hazaro]

That looks like a great start.

Your tank seems low light which means plants are going to grow tall, so maybe move the crypts behind those nice rocks you have you have or they might cover it.
I have some Wisteria in my tank that I'm actually going to be removing since it's growing funny and spreading out too much.

On my end I finally have some new shrimp. Hoping I find more as time passes, they are only 3 days old.

 

[scar tissue]

Don't quote me but I want to say 2-5x growth?

I don't recommend a DIY system WITH fish. Regularity is absolutely key. Most will want no CO2 at night (no light = CO2 build up = lower pH and maybe dead animals) and wavering CO2 levels can cause algae blooms. You must slowly work your way up from 0.5 bubbles/s to something you feel comfortable with, say 1, 1.5, or even 2.
The important things are to have a balanced aquarium with ferts and a strong light and enough plant mass to take it all up. If you are just starting out I'd highly recommend a carbon source like Excel which functions similar to CO2. I saw about 2x growth with it.

In a pure planted tank you can experiment with DIY, but you can get a paintball setup done about $100 if you look.

Despite ample fertilizer and decent lighting, my plants have not visibly grown in the last 4 months. So it must be the CO2.

Of course, I wouldn't leave the DIY system in when I get the fish. The beauty of it is, I won't be getting any fish before November anyway, so I have plenty of time to blast the tank with CO2.
Algae blooms are highly unlikely, because the tank is black(ish) water, which will be good for the fish and looks very pretty (imo). I'll also make sure to buy an even brighter light soon.
Anyway, thanks for the advice.

Edit: I love the ghost shrimp, never seen any of these in european stores. Can anyone link me to a care sheet?

 

[Stormwatch]

I finally got around to cleaning my fish tank this weekend. It has needed it for a long time. I'm going to have to pick up some new snails/crabs soon so they can help me with the task!

 

[Smiles and Cries]

man I wish I could afford a 200 gallon tank just to grow plants in

 

[Hazaro]

Despite ample fertilizer and decent lighting, my plants have not visibly grown in the last 4 months. So it must be the CO2.

Of course, I wouldn't leave the DIY system in when I get the fish. The beauty of it is, I won't be getting any fish before November anyway, so I have plenty of time to blast the tank with CO2.
Algae blooms are highly unlikely, because the tank is black(ish) water, which will be good for the fish and looks very pretty (imo). I'll also make sure to buy an even brighter light soon.
Anyway, thanks for the advice.

That doesn't sound right at all. If you are dosing something and your plants aren't growing you should have lots of algae.

What light do you have on what kind of tank and what plants do you have.
What are you dosing?

Sounds like your light is crap to me, how tall is your tank and how high is the light fixture above it?

 

[iNvid02]

thierry henry (footballer) is gonna knock down and rebuild his £6million home so
he can have his fish tank in there

its probably gonna look incredible once its finished

story

 

[MrPing1000]

That'll be fun to clean.

 

[Hazaro]

That'll be fun to clean.

It will be if you are the hired scuba diver.

Don't like large tanks, they get too impersonal. Much harder to scape as well.

 

[scar tissue]

That doesn't sound right at all. If you are dosing something and your plants aren't growing you should have lots of algae.

What light do you have on what kind of tank and what plants do you have.
What are you dosing?

Sounds like your light is crap to me, how tall is your tank and how high is the light fixture above it?

The tank is about 1 foot in every dimension (Nano Cube)
Plants are different species of Echinodorus.
Light is 11W Amazon Day which is specifically made for this tank. Changed the 'bulb' only a month ago. Light is approximately 4" above the water surface.
Algae probably doesn't bloom because of the black water, the tannic acid from the black cones impedes algal growth.

 

[Baraka in the White House]

Well, looks like I'll be moving my stocked 30 gallon aquarium into our new house next week. Looking like tons of fun there. I've got a pretty good plan to get it done relatively quickly but I'll be amazed if they all survive.