Your current Fish tank Setups!

utajoker said:
i would not recommend a fish in cycle to anyone.
Click to expand...

Ok, I will bite.. The fish in cycle is perfectly safe, provided you are willing to do the work to keep the parameters comfortable then it's actually better, quicker and safer than a fishless cycle. You could fish in cycle with delicate fish if you wanted to, its just harder work, hence recommending a hardier fish to allow a wider working range of values.

If you accidentally fishless cycle with a lower bio-load than you will eventually be stocking, you risk a spike once the fish are added. A fish in cycle is much more accurate as you are cycling with the correct bio load for the fish you are housing. The sad fact is that people are told when they start by people on the net that a fishless cycle is better and end up preaching this to everyone they meet from then on without ever actually looking into the details. The fish-in cycler ends up proclaimed as bad person, who hates his fish!

This is nicely summed up in the following article.

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

So, please, think before you write off the fish-in cycle. With the right care and attention, it is the best way to start a tank, when mature media is not available!

zootfloot said:
Thanks for the advice.
Click to expand...

Always happy to help.

What other parameters are you checking, and what method are you using for pH? I would do a full broad spectrum test. Like the API Freshwater Master Test Kit to know exactly what is going on. This is what I use when I test. (which is very rarely now my tank is fully established!)

This was the last test I did to mine:
watertest1.jpg

watertest2.jpg


I am not sure that having your water so acidic is a good idea though, some would say 6 is the lower end of the safe pH spectrum for neons, but they are happy upwards of 7. Aiming for just below neutral would be better, as it give s you more of a buffer in either direction. This is important in a small tank where parameters can swing wildly because of the low water volume. I suspect you may have some nitrate/nitrite out of whack which might be causing your lower pH value.
 
Last edited:
b0rn2sk8 said:
The cycle on my tank seems to have stalled.

The ammonia > nitrite went really quickly, the first 3ppm went back to zero in a matter of days. But the nitrite never budged 2 weeks and more two ammonia doses later the nitrite was sitting at 20ppm and nitrates barley above tap water levels 30-40ppm. PH is around 8.2 and the water is hard.

I have done a water change to bring the nitrite down to 8 and now the waiting game begins again.

Any advice other than to sit it out?
Click to expand...

Jack in the fishless cycle and go fish in. :)

Just keep on top of the water condition with at least daily tests/water changes till it settles down.
 
arc@css said:
All well and good then. :)


If anyone is reading, I wouldn't mind some advice. Recently, I've started cycling my tank (currently fishless). Today marks the start of the fourth week, and so far these are my results. I should add that the nitrite is a little higher than I've experienced in previous set ups, due to me adding a little too much fish food at the beginning. Naturally, it's taken a little time to come down.

Ammonia : 0 - I think
Nitrite : 0.1 (or slightly less)
Nitrate : 5 or less
pH : (hard to be dead precise due to colour comparisons) 7.0 - no higher than 7.4
GH : somewhere between 0 - 60mg bracket, so soft water
KH : 20 - 80mg bracket

I'm considering adding one or two hardy fish this weekend that fit in with the above readings, along with a few plants and something for cover like a rock. Now, does anyone have any knowledge with regard to what fish / plants would suit my numbers above, and also what rocks would be safe to put in after boiling?

I'll have a look around myself and see if I can come up with some ideas. I know danios are popular for situations like these, though I would like some more options.

Tank is a rena 46 UK gallon (210 litres I think), with columbo florabase substrate present.
Click to expand...

Ok, so in terms of adding hardy fish, what are you hoping to stock in future? You try to find something that will fit in with your, unless you are going to find them alternate accommodation afterwards, in which case go for whatever is cheap at the lfs!

Rock wise, use the vinegar trick to see if it is safe to add to the tank. If it reacts when vinegar is dropped on it, don't use it. If it does nothing, it should be inert and safe.

When looking at plants, what supplements are you using, and are you adding CO2? Kings Day is the plant master around here, so will let him comment on that side :) Although, that said you will need to think about what fish you are adding as often some fish will destroy plants or uproot them as part of their natural behaviours.
 
Last edited:
Anyone want my breeding pair (aren't they all!) of convicts?
Male is about 3 inches and female 2.5
They have broods every 2 - 3 weeks and are in fine health and great specimens with wonderful colours. I just want to take my tank into another direction and they are limiting what smaller fish I can keep in the tank.
Not looking for any cash, just come and collect them! Based near Guildford if anyone is interested. I could run them to local shop but figure I would find a better home for them on here first!

I am fairly certain this is allowed as i am not selling!
 
When I kept Oscars the advice was to feed lean beef heart once a week with a good cichlid food and frozen mix on a rotation in between (I think, it was a long time ago!)
Mine grew well and were great till my aunt killed them when I was on holiday. I told her to leave them alone, they were on a starve week, but she overfed and didn't remove the excess. Huge milky bloom and they all suffocated in a few days before I returned :(
 
I am about to move house again (twice!) Firstly back to my Parents for a month of so, till my house sale completes.
So, I have to rig up a fish transportation system.

What I have done previously, is drain the tank into a large 80 litre plastic box (usually about 60 litres), and then add the fish, some fake plants and add in the base of my external filter with the lid off, to keep it warm/aerated. I also then add in a small 50w heater, with my moving bed air filter, both ofwhich I can power in the car from a 300w mains inverter.

Close the lid,over the cables, and add some bubblewrap under the lid to help the seal. Then wrap this in a big towel (to collect any seepage) and then drive very slowly to the my destination :D

I like doing it this way, as it keeps all my filter media happy, and allows me to keep a larger amount of the original water. I might even get some big water cans and put some more in there too.
 
Last edited:
In my experience snail outbreaks are usually indicative of another problem, and most people over-feed, so that usually causes the problem.
A well balanced tank will naturally even out with a few snails if the source problem is tackled. I had it recently in a nano tank I set up in my man-cave. I had a single Clown Killifish that I rescued from pets at home that was labelled as an endler.
I did some manual removal, and dropped back on the feeding to 1-2 times a week, with less food, and the tank settled down nicely, algae cleaning dropped back to nothing, and its much happier now a few months down the line, I think I have seen 1-2 small snails, and thats it :)
 
Thinking about restocking soon :)
Tank has been essentially the same stock for the last few years and seems to have run it's course.
As it stands now.
tank2.jpg
tank1.jpg

tank3.jpg


Thinking of adding some more wood and stocking around a Polpyterus, and perhaps a few oddballs with some smaller groups (that won't get eaten!) which I really want again :)
 
Ammonia is probably the most important test, especially if you have nothing else!

I would go for some big water changes over the next few days, and get an ammonia test kit until the levels are stable, it sounds like an ammonia spike caused by the increased bio-load of the added fish overloading the biomass of the existing filter media..
 
I can leave my tropical tank for 2-3 weeks with nothing required.
That's the winner for me, marine is great, but until I can afford to go big enough and have a pro come in every week for maintenance on marine, I will just wait :(
 
Looks good!
I have cleared down my tank and got rid of the last fish I don't want. Rehomed a final convict last week. She was a real problem, very aggressive, even for a convict and killed a fire eel that I recently added.
Now all I have are a trio of (very old!) brilliant rasbora and a recently new polpyterus senegalus. I would like to shift on the rasbora, but they are no trouble, and have been in the tank over 8 years so cannot bring myself to evict them!
Should be free to restock now with Congo tetra and a another eel, then maybe something more mainstream like some angels perhaps.
Really enjoy planning new stocks! It's been a number of years since i did such a complete restock.
 
elrasho said:
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.
Click to expand...

Its probably some form of Ammonia locking product. usually a last resort, or used by people with high ammonia tap water levels
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom