Your current Fish tank Setups!

[NoobCannon]

added a couple of frags yesterday, my water tests fine both on my tests and the LFS so they said to go for it!

can anyone identify the first one? second frag is some brown and red zoas . also can anyone explain why some of the polyps are neon [look fantastic under the moon lights] wish they were all this colour! both corals are fully open the non zoa one opens and closes different pods thru out the day and completely closes up after the moon lights go out

also added a couple of pics of my light and hob refugium. refugium has cheato and live rock and the lights are set to come on when my display lights go out
http://www.marinereefled.co.uk/36w-quadspec-tile/










still cant find a way to take decent pics the light messes with my camera

 

[Spook187]

First one looks like Clove Polyps.

 

[James07]

So, we have a 180 litre tropical tank with plenty of variety so far in the bottom feeder range of fish.

We are looking for ideas for mid to high level feeders, ideally colourful and communal type which can be added to the following;

2 clown loaches
2 bristle nose plecs
3 cherry barbs
3 peppered corys
5 sterbai corys
1 siamese fighting male
1 ram cichlid male
3/4 silver tip tetras
shrimp (if they're fast)

What sort of things should we be looking for now? Any colourful suggestions?

Can I keep Discus fish in this tank with these fish?

Thanks in advance

 

[robfosters]

How long have you had all your fish? Many a fish keeper, probably all of them tbh, will tell you that your current stock is all wrong.

 

[arc@css]

What are your water parameters : temps; ammonia; nitrite; nitrate; GH & pH?

 

[James07]

Temps 26
No3 75ish
No2 0
GH 8-16d
KH 6-10d
PH below 6.4 (needs adjusting)
Cl2 0-0.8 (closer to 0.8)

 

[James07]

PH is now 7.5

 

[b0rn2sk8]

Nothing wrong with PH6.4, I would not mess with it. If your PH out of the tap is 6.4 just leave it at that. Messing around with it can do more harm than good.

I would suggest re-homing the Betta if your going to flesh out you stocking, there not exactly a community fish and don't under estimate how big a clown Loach can get as your tank is on the small side for those.

I would not suggest Discus either, they are BIG fish, especially if you already have clown loaches

 

[James07]

Nothing wrong with PH6.4, I would not mess with it. If your PH out of the tap is 6.4 just leave it at that. Messing around with it can do more harm than good.

I would suggest re-homing the Betta if your going to flesh out you stocking, there not exactly a community fish and don't under estimate how big a clown Loach can get as your tank is on the small side for those.

I would not suggest Discus either, they are BIG fish, especially if you already have clown loaches

Thank you very much, I had already done a partial water change yesterday which brought the PH up to around 7ph, I havent done anything else other than that, im going to check the level shortly and then check again in the morning as ive just fed them.

Most of the fish are years old, I added a few tuesday, the loaches have been there a long time and are aronud 3-4 inches long at the moment, theyve eaten all my Shrimp lol, my misses didnt tell me they would do that until I had bought them, if anything its made them extremely lively so its not all bad!

The fighter is keeping himself to himself at the moment, ive spent a long time watching the tank these last few days, he stays in the same corner which is the opposite side to the air pump and swims down a few times a day to have a look around, nothing else goes near him. Its quite a lively tank now though!

Im not going to bother with Discus, I dont think my tank is big enough for them and I dont want to overcrowd it.

Thank you for your advice, ill take everything onboard and listen closely to you all.

 

[elrasho]

Hello chaps,

My nephew and niece are getting two Goldfish each in separate tanks. The tanks are setup with gravel, cold water from the tap and one of those bubble making things.

I was reading the instructions to the bubble making thing and it says nothing about it warming the water. The lady at the pet shop said we need to fill the tanks with water and leave the bubble maker thing for three days and it will regulate the temperature of the water suitable for the goldfish.

The "snorkel" is set to fully open and I can see bubbles in the water so it does work. But it's been two days and the water is still freezing cold?? What am I doing wrong?

We go pickup the fish tomorrow and the water needs to be ready by then.

Thanks

 

[NoobCannon]

Gold fish dont need a heater as they are coldwater fish. But i hope you didnt just add straight tap water. You need water conditioner to remove the bad crap in tapwater and make it safe for fish.

Also gold fish need a huge tank just for one as they can get huge theres a 10lb one in my lake that i fish

 

[elrasho]

Gold fish dont need a heater as they are coldwater fish. But i hope you didnt just add straight tap water. You need water conditioner to remove the bad crap in tapwater and make it safe for fish.

Also gold fish need a huge tank just for one as they can get huge theres a 10lb one in my lake that i fish

Yes was tap water but they gave me some drops that I put in the water that makes it safe for Goldfish.

Th instructions to the heater say it oxygenates the water to help the fish breathe too. The tanks are quite big, not sure of measurements but one easily covers the top of my chest of drawers.

 

[UTmaniac]

Hello chaps,

My nephew and niece are getting two Goldfish each in separate tanks. The tanks are setup with gravel, cold water from the tap and one of those bubble making things.

I was reading the instructions to the bubble making thing and it says nothing about it warming the water. The lady at the pet shop said we need to fill the tanks with water and leave the bubble maker thing for three days and it will regulate the temperature of the water suitable for the goldfish.

The "snorkel" is set to fully open and I can see bubbles in the water so it does work. But it's been two days and the water is still freezing cold?? What am I doing wrong?

We go pickup the fish tomorrow and the water needs to be ready by then.

Thanks

From what you have written, you are no where near ready for fish in 3 days, you need to "fishless cycle" the tank(s).

This typically takes 6+ weeks, where you have used dechlorinated tap water and you maintain 2-4ppm ammonia daily.

When the tank is provisionally cycled, a liquid test kit will show zero ammonia and nitrite, 24 hours after adding the last ammonia dose to your chosen standard concentration.

You can then start a "qualifying week" on a provisionally fishless cycled tank. This is when you add your standard concentration dose of ammonia and test with a liquid test 12 hours later, you should then get a zero reading for ammonia and nitrite, before re-dosing to your chosen ammonia concentration level.

You are looking for 7 consecutive days (14 tests) where there is a zero reading for ammonia and nitrite, 12 hours after dosing. If you get a reading for either, your 7 day countdown starts again.

Then you are ready for fish.

Goldfish are considered "messy" fish and a single fancy requires a 100 litre tank, for each extra fancy add at least another 40 litres to the tank capacity.

My smallest 4-foot tank could just about hold two fancy goldfish for life, it is ~120x30x38cm.

There are plenty of easily obtainable fish species that can be kept in a heaterless tank for many UK residents, their tank dimension and community requirements vary enormously, they are far from "dull coloured fish." For example...
White Cloud Mountain Minnows
Paradise Fish
Weather Loaches
Redline Torpedo Barbs
Odessa Barbs
Aphanius mento
Peppered Corydorus
Zebra/Leopard/Pearl Danios
Rainbow Shiners
Opsarius spp. ("makeral barbs")
etc. etc.

 

[elrasho]

The lady at the shop never told me any of this. Im so lost now Im going to give them a call

 

[UTmaniac]

The lady at the shop never told me any of this. Im so lost now Im going to give them a call

Fish stores rarely do, they want you to buy fish that will often die within a few weeks because of ammonia/nitrite poisoning due to the tank/filter not being cycled, you then buy more fish to replace then. Rinse and repeat.

Fish stores often misinform potential buyers of the adult size of fish and their requirements, "fish grow to the size of the tank" is a very cruel myth.

Many newcomers to the hobby buy a tank that is less than 60x30x30cm and then try to shoe-horn too many fish and unsuitable fish (in terms of adult size, water hardness requirements, territorial aggression, general fiestyness, feeding habits, predatory nature etc.).

There are always loads of bargains to be had on second-hand tanks, I spent ~£350 on my original Rio240 in 2010, my other four active tanks (~140-450 litres) cost less than that combined! Check Ebay and www.aquarist-classified.co.uk for deals.

Or one place that does good deals on new tanks is http://ndaquatics.co.uk/

 

[elrasho]

Thats a real shame, I thought Pets at Home was a reputable store.

This is what we were told in store: http://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/advice/fish-care-advice/setting-up-your-aquarium

 

[ci_newman]

Thats a real shame, I thought Pets at Home was a reputable store.

They are the PC World equivalent of pet shops. You need something more specialist, like Maidenhead Aquatics.

 

[Unicorn]

They are the PC World equivalent of pet shops. You need something more specialist, like Maidenhead Aquatics.

This, I don't trust them idiots I only buy cheap equipment and food from them on offer. I use my lfs I trust and Maidenhead

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

I would look at a fish in cycle.
Just keep on top of the water changes, and get a test kit. At least that way you can get fish in sooner rather than later.

However, as said before avoid goldfish, they NOT suitable for small tanks.

If you want to be non-heated, go for something from the list UTmaniac provided.

Fish cycling guide here:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f12/fish-in-cycling-step-over-into-the-dark-side-176446.html

 

[elrasho]

Went to an Independent Pet shop and got some fish tank maintainer liquid that keeps the water clean.

She also said if the filter in the bubble making thing goes black then it needs changing. Other than that I should be OK.