Soldato
awsome submarinewere u get it?
My local LFS sells them. It's enormous and I keep being tempted!
Your current Fish tank Setups!
- Thread starter Malt_Vinegar
- Start date
My local LFS sells them. It's enormous and I keep being tempted!
next question are all the plants real or plastic?
Permabanned
Real. The main one is a Java fern growing from bog wood.
thanks for the tips, does the algae clear up on its own when i cut back on the feeding or will i need to get something to eat it?
thanks
really like the look of it, is a nice tank, do you have to change the bulbs in order to have real plants of is the standard bulb you get with tanks enough?
Soldato
Its not all down to overfeeding btw, it also can be a combination of silicates, phosphates, nitrates or excess lighting. How long has the tank been up and running? If the sand is relatively new this will be the source of silicates the algae is feeding on.
If you keep up with regular water changes it will disappear in time, but you may want to have your water tested for phosphates and nitrates and get a suitable filter media to remove it/keep it from returning. If you can siphon it out of the tank with a hose this will also speed things up, stirring the sand is only a temporary fix as the algae is still present.
I like your plan, I fell foul of having a small tank and overstocking it a few years back, but I like the idea of having a mostly planty tank maybe with one or two tiny fishies in it... Let me know how it goes!
Where did you get your stuff from, anyway?
Finally the only other thing is that a lidless tank evaporates easily, leaving you with a lovely crusty tidemark around the top, and also concentrating any chemicals in the water... so be sure to be good on your water changes, a pint per day would probably be a good plan for something that size...
The tank/filter and light were all from ebay. Had some advice from a couple of people who run small tanks from a forum.
To combat the problem of tide marks, I am using filtered/treated water for the initial fill and all water-changes. Not to mention it will not exactly be a difficult task to keep such a small rim clean, access is easy for a start!
I will be checking tank parameters during the first month to establish the required water change schedule. However, with the low load, over-filtration, and plant stocking I don't think 50% weekly will be out of the question. Certainly with the starting non-fish stocking.
If I add fish, then I may have to re-evaluate the water-changes.
tank is about 5 weeks old and the light is on from 9am-9pm on a timer. fish have been in 3 weeks ish.
Soldato
Just testing different scapes. I think i like that
Man of Honour
i've got a small tropical tank (45 that I'm upping the plant content, is it worth getting CO2 injection? Sounds like maintaining a decent CO2 level will improve the plant growth and quality but i'm concerned it'll be overkill for the size of tank?
that I'm upping the plant content, is it worth getting CO2 injection? Sounds like maintaining a decent CO2 level will improve the plant growth and quality but i'm concerned it'll be overkill for the size of tank?
Soldato
Then it will most likely be down to the silicates in the sand as its a new setup, perfectly normal. Siphon out when you do your water changes and it should be gone in no time
Just testing different scapes. I think i like that
If you plan on keeping corals then think ahead, after you will place few corals your aquascape will change. I am now in need of rescaping as I cannot place corals easily anymore or the way I would like.
Soldato
Hi guys random question but i need some help and advise on setting up a small starter fish tank for my girlfriends little sister.
She only wants a couple of small goldfish but i want to make sure i do everything right as i don't want to kill the fish through my own naivety. My parents used to have a huge tank when i was growing up with all sorts of fish in. But I feel that they, as am I, are now out of the loop when it comes to tank preparation and fish.
Ive tried asking for advise in the local pet stores around me but most of the staff are useless.
( some awesome set ups to guys )
How would i go about preparing the water and tank? before getting the fish etc, and beginners starting advise would be much appreciated.
She only wants a couple of small goldfish but i want to make sure i do everything right as i don't want to kill the fish through my own naivety. My parents used to have a huge tank when i was growing up with all sorts of fish in. But I feel that they, as am I, are now out of the loop when it comes to tank preparation and fish.
Ive tried asking for advise in the local pet stores around me but most of the staff are useless.
( some awesome set ups to guys )
How would i go about preparing the water and tank? before getting the fish etc, and beginners starting advise would be much appreciated.
go to a small independant store rather than pets at home etc the staff should be more knowledgable, put your post code in yell.com with aquarium in search and you will get a list.
also thanks for the info on the algae bennie
Soldato
Was going to start with frags for the time being, that way I dont have to add chucnks of rock with corals on. But yeah, it will have to change if I add some bigger things
Permabanned
thanks
Java ferns need next to no care or special treatment. They are the most hardy of plants and fish don't eat them. I am using the standard bulbs that came with my juwel rio.
Permabanned
Small baby gold fish will grow massive if they have the room and can live for 30 years. It is nothing but cruel to put gold fish in a small tank, their growth will be stunted and their organs crushed and die a slow painful death
You need to learn about the nitrogen cycle. In Summary fish make Ammonia (very deadly) Bateria will turn it into Nitrite (deadly) then other Bateria will turn it into NitrAte (safe, which the live plants will eat) Once you got this cycle going your fish will be healthy. There is two ways to start it, the long but safe way using household ammonia and a testing kit (API is the best watertest kit) or using very hardy cold water fish such as White Cloud Minnows (they are nice and small to keep in a small cold water tank instead of goldish) and changing 20% of their water everyday for a couple of weeks until the cycle is done. Good fish keeping is about good bateria keeping.
Last edited:
T5s are the next step up from a T8. They are a little stronger and so plants tend to do better with them. I don't know how you would go about converting your light unit though, it may be a case of possibly purchasing a new one? Contacting your local supplier of aquariums might be a good first step.
Soldato
- Joined
- 17 Jun 2004
- Posts
- 3,691
thanks for the tips, does the algae clear up on its own when i cut back on the feeding or will i need to get something to eat it?
thanks
On the issue of overfeeding you are just adding waste to the tank that will lead to other algae problems latter on. When you feed its should only be every 3rd day, at the end of the feed you should not have any food floating around in the tank. On a feed day feed a little at a time until the fish stop eating. Put a bit in watch them eat, then some more, you will see a change when they are full. For bottom feeders measure out their food watch how much they eat, then add or take away as needed.
Algae doesn't clear on its own even in a planted tank, you need to do the removal or have beasties that will eat it and in turn poo it into the water column. You then remover the water or the plants out compete the algae for the waste. Algae eating shrimp's are great for controlling algae in a planted tank.
Bennie is giving good advice to, on the issue of stirring the sand the thinking is that your are cutting it off from the light and in turn killing it. When it brakes down you can then get it into the water column and remove it by means of water change. If you keep siphon the sand out with the algae you going to have to replace it with new sand. which will then feed back into that algae problem.