Tropical Fish

[wordy]

Seems to be a fair few knowledgeable ppl on here.

I've got a baby biorb(15 ltr), the g/f won it in a competition, we bought a bioorb heater the pack said it was suitable to a baby biorb, after setting it up etc, I went to the local petshop and the guy there said the heaters weren't suitable to the baby biorb and would only sell us cold water fish.

Any got any expirience with these and know if he's right or not?

 

[uknowist]

Not true at all. If you don't want to do everything necessary for a basic tropical freshwater tank, there is no way you (or your fish) would enjoy marine!

lol good job i didnt follow her advice then, otherwise I would be down like £50 or something from just 1 fish dieing

 

[Vince]

are there any tips you guys have on keeping the algae out? i always found with my tank (and my dads) it always seemed to get over run with algae, even after cleaning it out. I know you can get algae tabs to kill it off but they didnt seem too effective. :/ and the scraper/magnet cleaner was a pain to use.

Algea grows because it feeds off of the nutrients in the system, generally high levels of phosphate encourage growth. You can get different media that absorbs phosphates from the water column to prevent algea growth. take a look at Rowaphos and there are a variety of Tropical equivilats.

Secondly make sure that there is a good flow around the tank algea wont settle to well if you use a powerhead to get water flowing around the tank.

To the guy that said marines are easier to look after, well they can be and at other times they arn't, if you keep corals for example you cannot treat the tank with any copper based medications (most medications) and therefore if you get illnesses e.g. whitespot you are likely to have problems. Marine tanks also cost a lot to set up I think ive spent over 3k getting mine to where it is now.

Generally when people move across to marine tanks they also get larger tanks it's the increase in water capacity that makes them easier to keep as the more water the easier to maintain steady levels.

 

[[SKR]Phoenix]

Generally when people move across to marine tanks they also get larger tanks it's the increase in water capacity that makes them easier to keep as the more water the easier to maintain steady levels.

To explain it simply, if you have 2 fish in a 5 gal tank and one dies and starts to decompose, the water becomes toxic very quickly, as you only have 5 gal.

If you have 2 (or more fish) in a 30 gal tank and that same fish dies, the larger volume of water helps prevent it becoming so toxic as the fish only produces X amount of ammonia as it decomposes.

This gives you more time to correct or treat the tank and acts like a buffer. Generally, things don't go wrong so quickly in a larger tank as there's usually more natural bacteria etc to help it along.

So my advise would be to get the biggest tank you can afford and have room for.

 

[Vince]

To explain it simply, if you have 2 fish in a 5 gal tank and one dies and starts to decompose, the water becomes toxic very quickly, as you only have 5 gal.

If you have 2 (or more fish) in a 30 gal tank and that same fish dies, the larger volume of water helps prevent it becoming so toxic as the fish only produces X amount of ammonia as it decomposes.

This gives you more time to correct or treat the tank and acts like a buffer. Generally, things don't go wrong so quickly in a larger tank as there's usually more natural bacteria etc to help it along.

So my advise would be to get the biggest tank you can afford and have room for.

Bang on Thanks!.

 

[revolutionrock]

i think i will get one, probs a 150l cabinet maybe.

but i need to buy some things first, i have £1000 but this is for a camera,(dslr) , 42" tv, and some new clothes/trainers and i have also got to find cash for a few gigs(oasis)

so anything thats left will go into saving.

do you think it would be ok here , at the base of my bed?

 

[Skii]

i think i will get one, probs a 150l cabinet maybe.

but i need to buy some things first, i have £1000 but this is for a camera,(dslr) , 42" tv, and some new clothes/trainers and i have also got to find cash for a few gigs(oasis)

so anything thats left will go into saving.

do you think it would be ok here , at the base of my bed?

To be honest I'd look to situate the tank away from direct sunlight and against a wall.

 

[Vince]

That will not be a problem (Edit *didn't spot the window* Doh), I would recomend however taking a look round some of the forums there are frequently tanks for sale or being given away, fish tanks and equipment depreciates worse than a Kia Ceed so some good bargains can be had.

E.g. A forum im often in has a 3month old 300l Beta for sale at less than 1/3rd of its new price.

 

[Toker]

Seems to be a fair few knowledgeable ppl on here.

I've got a baby biorb(15 ltr), the g/f won it in a competition, we bought a bioorb heater the pack said it was suitable to a baby biorb, after setting it up etc, I went to the local petshop and the guy there said the heaters weren't suitable to the baby biorb and would only sell us cold water fish.

Any got any expirience with these and know if he's right or not?

i bought my gf a baby biorb and the biorb heater, it works perfect and has done for nearly 2 years, so the guy is talking turd.

just make sure its a low wattage heater with a thermostat and you have a thermometer, so you don't cook them

 

[wordy]

i bought my gf a baby biorb and the biorb heater, it works perfect and has done for nearly 2 years, so the guy is talking turd.

just make sure its a low wattage heater with a thermostat and you have a thermometer, so you don't cook them

Thanks

It was set to about 26 degrees so wasn't too hot, and the perspex tank didn't feel hot at all.

Guess I'll be plugging the heater back inthen and get some more conditioning stuff

 

[lookitsjonno]

Seems to be a fair few knowledgeable ppl on here.

I've got a baby biorb(15 ltr), the g/f won it in a competition, we bought a bioorb heater the pack said it was suitable to a baby biorb, after setting it up etc, I went to the local petshop and the guy there said the heaters weren't suitable to the baby biorb and would only sell us cold water fish.

Any got any expirience with these and know if he's right or not?

15ltr is just too small for tropical fish, in fact its probably too small for any fish other than bettas.

 

[Emlyn_Dewar]

Good thing bettas are awesome.

 

[mr tommo]

If the lights are broken (the older ones used to get water in them) then it may be the perfect time to upgrade to T5 lighting. Juwel do an exact replacement that supports two T5 tubes.

If you want real plants, I would recommend going T5.

If you are going with lots of plants, I recommend ditching the Juwel Filter and get an external Cannister Filter. The Juwel filter is easy enough to remove as it's just got a few blobs of silicone holding it on.

If you don't want to cycle the whole tank again, maybe change some of the gravel for sand and leave it a couple weeks before doing the rest.

If you get a new filter, run both filters for 1 month before ditching the Juwel.

As for water changes, I change 30% once a week.

Just got back from my local fish place!
Ended up spending £125

I did ask about the T5 system... but I ended up getting a replacement T8 unit.
He gave me the display unit, with 2 bulbs, and extra free tube of my choice (went for a marine coloured one) with the standard 12 months guarantee for £54.

The T5 system was the same price with no bulbs and didnt really fancy paying the extra!

Was also going to go for some sand but ended up with some fine black gravel instead as I think it wont look as dirty and shouldnt be as high maintenance really.

Will do some before and after pics after ive done all the work to it in a bit!

 

[[SKR]Phoenix]

Just got back from my local fish place!
Ended up spending £125

I did ask about the T5 system... but I ended up getting a replacement T8 unit.
He gave me the display unit, with 2 bulbs, and extra free tube of my choice (went for a marine coloured one) with the standard 12 months guarantee for £54.

The T5 system was the same price with no bulbs and didnt really fancy paying the extra!

Was also going to go for some sand but ended up with some fine black gravel instead as I think it wont look as dirty and shouldnt be as high maintenance really.

Will do some before and after pics after ive done all the work to it in a bit!

Technically, sand is less work because it compacts down and the dirt just sits on top, which you can vac off. Gravel allows the dirt in between, but it depends on what look you want and what fish you have.

For example, bigger fish, like cichlids don't really care what you have. They'll digg in it anyway. Where as Corydora's really do prefer sand because it doesn't damage their barbs. Damaged barbs don't grow back and they love to root around in the sand.

Every morning, there's thousands of tiny craters where my Cory's have been mooching overnight.

However, a black substrate really does look good and I will use that next time I set a tank up (which knowing me will be in a couple months). it really brings out the colours of the fish and plants.

 

[Bubo]

are there any tips you guys have on keeping the algae out? i always found with my tank (and my dads) it always seemed to get over run with algae, even after cleaning it out. I know you can get algae tabs to kill it off but they didnt seem too effective. :/ and the scraper/magnet cleaner was a pain to use.

The Otocinclus catfish mentioned above is the No.1 Algae eating fish bar none. I once set a new tank up and it developed disgusting brown alge over everything within a week. I got one 3/4" otocinclus and it had eaten it *all* within 2 days.

 

[kchakkar]

Algae loach are another type of fish that eat algae. I once a had tadpoles in the tropical fish tank and they shifted a lot of the algae. Also they turned into frogs quicker, must have been down to the heat

 

[taliesyn]

Marine tank for the win

Here is a pic of my clowns and BTA to try and convince you.

Although they are expensive to set up and maintainance is slightly more demanding than a Tropical tank, you will be blown away by the colour and the variety of life you get in a marine tank in comparison to a tropical tank.

Loving the Malawi tank down the thread here, used to keep them myself! for the guy that said you cant keep anything with them, you can keep them with Clown Loach, and Coolie Loach both of wich seem to live happily with Chiclids.

Very nice

My clowns are doing their best to ignore both my BTA and the Malu anemone I've got in my marine tank. Are your clowns captive bred?

 

[wordy]

15ltr is just too small for tropical fish, in fact its probably too small for any fish other than bettas.

Was thinking 3 neon Tetras, Only using it as a means of getting expirience before getting a larger marine reef tank.

 

[Vince]

Very nice

My clowns are doing their best to ignore both my BTA and the Malu anemone I've got in my marine tank. Are your clowns captive bred?

They are indeed! They hosted within 45 mins of putting the BTA in the tank, its an awesome site to watch particualy at feeding time when the clowns will take food from the water column, swim into the BTA and spit the food out. All before feeding themselves.

 

[lookitsjonno]

Was thinking 3 neon Tetras, Only using it as a means of getting expirience before getting a larger marine reef tank.

neon tetras although small like to swim at speed and venture (and need to be in bigger sholes i.e 10+).

just stick a colourful betta (siamese fighter) in it, much more entertaining to watch than neons

info: http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Fishindx/betta.htm