Your current Fish tank Setups!

[rebel rebel]

Don't worry I wasn't planning on just diving in at the deep end...

It's not that you shouldn't in the future, it's just that most marine tank owners would have had tropical tanks for years before switching. I kept tropical as a kid and then piranhas for years as an adult. I read about marines for quite a few years before I took the plunge, and even then it was a very steep learning curve. It is getting easier because of new technology, but still one wrong move and everything dies.

 

[LizardKing]

I assume this is just algae and normal. I suspect i (or the kids have) had the lights running too much while the tank has been empty. Was supposed to be stocking it this weekend, as according to the guy in the shop the water was ready.

You'll get all manner of algae come and go as the tank becomes established over the next few weeks/months. then black beard will come along and you will want to burn the lot!

 

[b0rn2sk8]

Yes it’s normal. It will go away naturally with time and water changes.

Put the lights on a timer for when you are home, if there are no plants then 5-6 hours is more than fine.

 

[MassiveJim]

So the New light arrived.
opinions on this please.

I think the new light makes everything look a little washed out, adjusting the RGB colours brighter doesn't really change much as they aren't anywhere near as bright.
It also seems to light the tank in a weird way, it seems brighter at the bottom and quite shadowy at the top.

Original lighting.


New lighting


Combined lighting

 

[NoobCannon]

Looks like theres too much white, Assuming thats adjustable.

 

[MassiveJim]

Looks like theres too much white, Assuming thats adjustable.

Its and RGB+W light

but with the white light at 100% you can barely notice any of the other colours, the RGB LEDs arent near as bright as the White one.

 

[NoobCannon]

Its and RGB+W light

but with the white light at 100% you can barely notice any of the other colours, the RGB LEDs arent near as bright as the White one.

Turn the white down, will take a while for your fish to adjust to the light aswell as yourself

 

[Raggs]

will be ordering my new 125l tank in couple of weeks, thinking about using a different substrate the dorset pea gravel i have is too sharp for bottom dwellers like corys don't know what to go for.

i wont be trying to grow a grass carpet or anything elaborate a few amazon swords, java fern and some anubuis plants i could use root tabs for the swords so was thinking of a inert type of substrate rather than expensive tropica soil or similar. plus id like to be able too do a proper gravel clean once per week.

any suggestions does it have too be sand for corys?

was thinking of trying a black substrate of some kind.

cheers.

 

[ralv585]

Can I add substrate to an already established tank?

When I first got my tank, I used some random substrate I bought at pets at home, and now since I've moved away from the fake plants and decorations, to real plants, moss on wood etc, I want to help my plants thrive.

Is it possible to lay the new substrate over the existing substrate that I have, I'm looking at Tropica Aquarium Soil.

Cheers

 

[Vidar]

So thinking about treating myself to this bad boy once my criminal injuries compensation comes in, may even get it pre drilled and add a sump...

Got a lot of time to learn between now and then though.

Spoiler: Aquarium

 

[sneakysnail]

Can I add substrate to an already established tank?

When I first got my tank, I used some random substrate I bought at pets at home, and now since I've moved away from the fake plants and decorations, to real plants, moss on wood etc, I want to help my plants thrive.

Is it possible to lay the new substrate over the existing substrate that I have, I'm looking at Tropica Aquarium Soil.

Cheers

You can add substrate etc but will depend what you're trying to add it over aswell. I assume its some kind of gravel? Are you trying to switch out the current substrate too? Because you could do it in segments. clean and remove substrate in one portion and replace it with the soil and continue doing that gradually during every weekly water change over a month or so.

 

[b0rn2sk8]

Can I add substrate to an already established tank?

When I first got my tank, I used some random substrate I bought at pets at home, and now since I've moved away from the fake plants and decorations, to real plants, moss on wood etc, I want to help my plants thrive.

Is it possible to lay the new substrate over the existing substrate that I have, I'm looking at Tropica Aquarium Soil.

Cheers

You can but it depends on how much you have now. Tropica soil is really light so it won’t mix into the gravel below and will stay on top.

If you only have a thin layer I would push some of it to the back to create a slope and put the tropica soil on top. This will add more depth to your aquarium.

I would take it out if you have a thick layer, you’ll want an inch or so of soil where your going to have heavy root feeding plants. If you have another inch of gravel then you are going to at least 2” which is a lot.

I wouldn’t attempt doing it in stages, tropica soil is really light and will spread around the tank and mix into the gravel. Just stick the fish in a bucket and get it done in one go. Keep an eye on the ammonia/nitrite for the first couple of weeks.

 

[Nasher]

will be ordering my new 125l tank in couple of weeks, thinking about using a different substrate the dorset pea gravel i have is too sharp for bottom dwellers like corys don't know what to go for.

i wont be trying to grow a grass carpet or anything elaborate a few amazon swords, java fern and some anubuis plants i could use root tabs for the swords so was thinking of a inert type of substrate rather than expensive tropica soil or similar. plus id like to be able too do a proper gravel clean once per week.

any suggestions does it have too be sand for corys?

was thinking of trying a black substrate of some kind.

cheers.

Cory much prefer fine sand. Go for a natural colour too, not black. I just used play sand in my tank which is way cheaper than aquarium branded stuff (needs a LOT of washing first though).

Sand is also a lot easier to keep clean as crap won't sink in to it. Plants will grow in it too, just use liquid plant food to get it going.

 

[ralv585]

You can add substrate etc but will depend what you're trying to add it over aswell. I assume its some kind of gravel? Are you trying to switch out the current substrate too? Because you could do it in segments. clean and remove substrate in one portion and replace it with the soil and continue doing that gradually during every weekly water change over a month or so.

You can but it depends on how much you have now. Tropica soil is really light so it won’t mix into the gravel below and will stay on top.

If you only have a thin layer I would push some of it to the back to create a slope and put the tropica soil on top. This will add more depth to your aquarium.

I would take it out if you have a thick layer, you’ll want an inch or so of soil where your going to have heavy root feeding plants. If you have another inch of gravel then you are going to at least 2” which is a lot.

I wouldn’t attempt doing it in stages, tropica soil is really light and will spread around the tank and mix into the gravel. Just stick the fish in a bucket and get it done in one go. Keep an eye on the ammonia/nitrite for the first couple of weeks.

Cheers guys!

It's just a fine sand, not great imho, there's about 1 inch max of dept anywhere in the tank.

Currently, have some liquid fertiliser and cO2 to help promote growth, so I'll see how this goes. Looking to get the tablets for the root feeding plants also.

If I pre-soak the soil, it shouldn't float to the surface should it, I've watched a couple video where people create funnels to add directly to the tank.

If I were to add, it would just go over the existing sand, but as I have a couple of corys, not sure if they'd like the larger pebble like substrate.

 

[b0rn2sk8]

Tropica soil is fine with cory catfish, it’s really soft. As you have fine sand I would remove it. It will get compacted and cause problems.

I would pull the pants, symphon the sand out the tank using a hose. Drain the rest of the tank down to an inch, pop the fish in a bucket, drop in the new soil and fill it back up.

Should take an hour tops.

 

[ralv585]

Tropica soil is fine with cory catfish, it’s really soft. As you have fine sand I would remove it. It will get compacted and cause problems.

I would pull the pants, symphon the sand out the tank using a hose. Drain the rest of the tank down to an inch, pop the fish in a bucket, drop in the new soil and fill it back up.

Should take an hour tops.

Would the new substrate cause a spike in my water?

 

[b0rn2sk8]

Tropica soil shouldn't leach ammonia in the tank but you'll lose a lot of beneficial bacteria taking out the old substrate so you should monitor carefully for a couple of weeks.

When using soil products it's recommended that you do extra water changes for the first 4 weeks to avoid algae issues.


ADA soil will leach ammonia into the tank.

 

[ralv585]

Ok thanks

I'm going to see if the fertiliser and c02 helps with my plants, if I find them struggling, I'll look to add the tropica

 

[sneakysnail]

Have a tempreture fluctuation question. Might mostly be an overaction due to using a digital thermometer these days but how much is reasonable?

Tempted to change my heater and get a controller. small 40L tank, winter time, heating going on and off at different times in the day makes it really hard for me to have a constant 26ish degrees. Some times the temp will read in the low 27's and might drop into the high 25's on a cold night. So roughly 1.5 degree variation.

its not a huge swing but rather annoying and I wonder how much people worry about this stuff. With my old thermometers I wouldnt even notice the changes but now I cant get much more precise readings

 

[b0rn2sk8]

Its fine and well within the margin of error and it will take time to rise up and cool down. Why are you worried about keeping a constant 26C? Do you have something particularly sensitive?

Its not like you are swinging the temp 5-10C in a few seconds, it’s normal to see temperatures vary in the wild and if it was a problem you are likely to see your fish have problems like white spot. Also a digital thermometer doesn't always equal an accurate thermometer.

26C is also on the warmer side for most fish. You can run the tank a bit cooler, it will same some electric and slow down the metabolism of the fish and the tank as a whole.