Starting again

kylith

Proper test kit arrived today.

Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
Ammonia 0.6
Ph 7
Water temp 26C (hooray, I don't need a new heater)

It's all looking good, but I want the ammonia at 0, yeah?

The white 'fur' is still evident on the wood, and the water still has a pink cast to it. I've been doing 33% water changes daily, so I'd have hoped that the colour would be gone by now, but it's definitely getting paler. I'm starting to get really impatient now, but don't worry, I'm not going to rush out and get any fish yet.

Sleepy

I think Ammonia rising indicates the tank is beginning to cycle? Next step would be Nitrites rising iirc.

kylith

The kit I had before didn't test for ammonia, so I have no idea what it was before. Should I monitor daily to see if Nitrites spike?

Sleepy

I would though I've never really cycled a tank properly myself.

Originally out of pure ignorance and latterly I've bought tanks second hand: one of which was effectively cycled and was more like doing a 75% water change and the other was cleaned but the water, filter etc were all coming from a mature tank so didn't have to do a full cycle on either really.

I got the impression that a daily test was a requirement of cycling a tank and certainly did daily tests for the first fortnight of each of my tanks being up and running...

kylith

Could the red colour be due to algae? My shower curtain gets a red stain around the end, and having a good peer into the tank shows that there are tiny red bumps on the stones at the bottom. I've not seen a colour change like this when I kept goldfish, but could the lack of chlorine, coupled with the increased water temperature, cause a red algal bloom?

Sleepy

Could be... the shower curtain would make me question if there's copper in your water? Old house / pipes? Not sure where you could get that tested though?

kylith

Sleepy wrote: »

Could be... the shower curtain would make me question if there's copper in your water? Old house / pipes? Not sure where you could get that tested though?

It is an old house. I don't know what the pipes are made of.

kylith

Everything was holding steady at 0, and the discolouration had cleared so I went ahead and got a couple of dwarf plecos, I hope to the gods they haven't been mislabelled and I wind up with 2' monsters. I've been assured that they'll get to about 2.5"-3" max, but I'm saving my pennies for a bigger tank, just in case; they're about 1.5" now.They seem very happy in there anyway, exploring the driftwood and hanging off the glass. I've been having hours of enjoyment trying to find them in there; they're fantastically camoflaged and do like to hide amongst the stones on the bottom. One seems 'friendlier' than the other and is more active.

One is spotted underneath, and the other is pearly white. Can I expect the paler one to colour up?

I intend to add a betta in a few weeks, for something to look at (OH isn't as keen on playing Find The Fish as I am). As said above I'm seriously thinking of something in the 120L range for more of a community tank, so I'd have the option of removing one of the plecos to there.

paul71

Silverfish wrote: »

If you want a fish that's as interactive as a goldfish, you could look at dwarf puffers.



Could probably put 4 of these guys in your tank, with a heater. You'd need to add a few live plants, as they get bored easily. They'll watch you, and follow your movements.

I have not seen these guys before Silverfish, they look interesting, would they be a suitable tankmate for Serpae Tetras and Tiger Barbs?

kylith

paul71 wrote: »

I have not seen these guys before Silverfish, they look interesting, would they be a suitable tankmate for Serpae Tetras and Tiger Barbs?

From the research I did on them most puffers are recommended for species tanks rather than community ones. Fantastic looking little guys, I was looking at Figure 8s and now I want some really badly; the way they move is great, almost like little blimps.

paul71

kylith wrote: »

From the research I did on them most puffers are recommended for species tanks rather than community ones. Fantastic looking little guys, I was looking at Figure 8s and now I want some really badly; the way they move is great, almost like little blimps.

Thats a pity it looks like a great fish but I really dont have the space to start another tank at the moment.:(

kylith

paul71 wrote: »

Thats a pity it looks like a great fish but I really dont have the space to start another tank at the moment.:(

It is a shame, but they're terrible fin nippers. I was tempted to get some F8s and bin the idea of getting a betta, but I'm not experienced yet to deal with a marine or brackish set up. Planning on getting a tank for 1 or 2 dwarfs at some point in the future cos they're fresh water.

I've been well and truly bitten by the fish keeping bug, I think.

paul71

Yep it happens, been bitten myself, my wife bought me a tank a couple of years ago and that has expended to 3 now. Unfortunately it has its downsides, lost a Bala Shark this morning that I thought I had nursed back to health after a week in a hospital tank.

kylith

That sucks, poor shark.

I currently just have a BiUbe but I'm saving for a larger community tank, then maybe another Ube for a couple of puffers, then I guess I'll have to move to a bigger house.

kylith

I lost one of the dwarf plecos a few days ago. It had never seemed quite right, and was nowhere near as active as the other one. I think it may have died even sooner but was hidden amongst the rocks. The other one is looking well though.

I went in to the shop today and picked up a lovely red betta, and he's making himself at home in there now, but is still quite shy. ETA: my research says they're top/middle swimmers, but he's staying down the bottom. Should I be worried about this? I also picked up a couple of zebra snails after the guy in the shop assured me that they wouldn't breed, and agreed to take any babies if they did (further research shows that they need brackish water to breed, so Hooray!). They are really powering through my algae problem already, and at least ensure something can be seen in there even when the fish are hiding.

Unfortunately my plants aren't doing well. The Hygrophilia seems to be completely dead, and I'll probably have to replace it. The lotus had pretty much died, but is now sprouting again I'm pretty sure that what casued the damage is that I, in my ignorance, hadn't filled the tank when I planted them and then (stupid, stupid, stupid) I filled it with cold water.

That's about it for this tank so. I won't be putting more fish in; I think it's full. I'll try to get a couple of photos, though for some reason my camera refuses to focus properly. Thanks for all the help.