Show us yer tank! (DO NOT QUOTE PHOTOS)

godtabh · 13-04-2011 12:44pm

I've no plants in mine so no interest in that!

m8 · 13-04-2011 12:53pm

Hi Limerick Bandit
How much difference does it make to have one of these in a planted tank.

I don't have anything like that but some plants are growing for me?

Limerick Bandit wrote: »

Thats a PH controller for adding co2 to the tank, nice bit of kit

m8 · 07-05-2011 12:38pm

My 6' communitytank with home made 3d background.

HevyKevy · 07-05-2011 8:38pm

love the background, how did you make it?

m8 · 07-05-2011 11:36pm

polystyrene and paint.

Easy enough to do.

fungun · 09-05-2011 1:55pm

any special paint so it wont go into the water m8?

Looks good...

m8 · 09-05-2011 2:56pm

I got 2 tubes of acrylic paint, one white and one black.

These are non toxic and no problems yet anyway.

Basicaly I used 3 pieces of 2' polystyrene

Drew a plan of where each rock was going to be.

Cut the rocks from other pieces some of the 1" and some 2".

Then siliconed them to the sheets and used a weed burner to finish the surface (also gets rid of all the loose bits).

I covered the joints with rocks glued only to the middle sheet to make it easier to fit into the tank.

Painted it grey and then gave it a rub to the high parts of each rock with a sponge using a lighter shade and thats about all.

I did give it a good wash before I used it and also done a few water changes in the first few days before cycling the tank.

Have some more pics if anyone wants to see them.

Jen Pigs Fly · 18-05-2011 11:12pm

My tank, it's a 200litre marine tank with a 80Litre sump.

TMC V2 Skim 400 with rio 3000lph pump
Hai Yang 3500lph return
Koralia 4 and koralia nano powerhead
200watt Eihem and 100watt Elite heaters
150watt metal halide
55watt T5 dual Tubes

Refugium:
chaeto
6kg live rock
8Kg live sand
3KG crushed live rock
24watt T5 dual fixture.

Stock:
2X Ocellaris Clownfish
1X Purple firefish
1X Royal Gramma
1X Midas Blenny

Acropora
Goniopora
Sinularia SP
Sacrphyton SP
Zoanthid button
Zoanthid Star

30KG live rock
25KG live sand

On with the pictures!

(note - goniopora (the green golfball

) Has been moved to the bottom, getting a lot better polyp extension from it)

I should mention a lot has changed, those pics were from 2 weeks ago, My leather finger has grown twice the size and I've fragged a piece of it already, my toadstool has gotten a lot bigger. Another 10KG of live sand was added to the main tank since then so theres a lot deeper sand bed. Star poylps are not twice the size, acropora is growing like a weed!

Sleepy · 25-05-2011 10:03pm

2 week old 60L, bought due to the Common goldfish's previous (much too small 20l tank breaking). Added an Oranda, a Black Pearl Ranchu and 5 minnows last week. Lost 2 of the minnows today, both found dead in the fake plants. PH is 7.5, Nitrate readings are < 0.01. Guessing my daughter gave the tank a bang as both died within an hour or two...?

Silverfish · 25-05-2011 11:28pm

If the nitrates are that low, I'd say the tank isn't cycled. What's your ammonia and nitrite levels?

Sleepy · 25-05-2011 11:45pm

I'll have to get a test kit for those, guy in the fish shop told me all I'd need to test was PH and Nitrate

The water went cloudy on the second day and cleared the next day, thought that meant the tank had cycled... about 20% of the water in the tank had come from the older tank which was mature...

Silverfish · 25-05-2011 11:48pm

Sleepy wrote: »

I'll have to get a test kit for those, guy in the fish shop told me all I'd need to test was PH and Nitrate

The water went cloudy on the second day and cleared the next day, thought that meant the tank had cycled... about 20% of the water in the tank had come from the older tank which was mature...

Takes 6 weeks to cycle a tank, I'm afraid, and adding the water won't do much as the bacteria needed to cycle live in filter media rather than the water.

You'll need to do daily water changes of 25% or so to keep the nitrites and ammonia from poisoning the fish.

Also, long term, the tank is too small

The recommended minimum is 100L for the first fish, and 40L minimum for each additional goldfish.

Sleepy · 26-05-2011 9:23am

There was a bottle of bacteria of some sort which came with the tank to help get it up and running which I thought was enough to get the cycle going...

In the meantime, I've nowhere else to put the fish so if I just do 25% water changes for the next couple of weeks will that be okay?

(sorry for taking over photos thread, perhaps a mod could split out?)

Cookie_Monster · 26-05-2011 9:35am

Sleepy wrote: »

There was a bottle of bacteria of some sort which came with the tank to help get it up and running which I thought was enough to get the cycle going...

In the meantime, I've nowhere else to put the fish so if I just do 25% water changes for the next couple of weeks will that be okay?

(sorry for taking over photos thread, perhaps a mod could split out?)

It will cycle slightly faster with fish in it, do the water changes but record the levels every day or two days before you do.

ammonia will spike and die back down, then nitrite will spike and die down, once both have done so your tank has cycled.
If possible get a squeeze from someone elses filter to speed up the process, the will add the bacteria into your tank and they'll quickly multiply.

Silverfish · 26-05-2011 5:45pm

Sleepy wrote: »

There was a bottle of bacteria of some sort which came with the tank to help get it up and running which I thought was enough to get the cycle going...

In the meantime, I've nowhere else to put the fish so if I just do 25% water changes for the next couple of weeks will that be okay?

(sorry for taking over photos thread, perhaps a mod could split out?)

Yup, like cookie_monster said, it'll cycle faster with the fish in it.
Daily water changes will reduce the toxic nitrites and ammonia while it's cycling.
You'll know it's cycled when you've no ammonia and no nitrite levels, and nitrates are rising.
I'd also recommend a bottle of Seachem Prime for treating new water before adding to the tank, you only need a tiny drop, and it reduces the toxic effects of ammonia, nitrites, high nitrates and so on.
Treats much more than stress coat, and lasts years.

Unfortunately it smells so bad I can only describe it as satan's farts.

Sleepy · 26-05-2011 9:15pm

I'm currently using Tetra AquaSafe and left about 10L of the water out all day (all I had big enough bowls to hold!) which claims to neutralise chlorine, chloramine and heavy metals but will try get the Seachem Prime while I'm getting ammonia and nitrite test kits. Will be getting some buckets as well... Anything else I should add to the shopping list? This is definitely getting expensive (never mind having to plan for a larger tank in the future!)

It looks like one of the other minnows may be on the way out. Changed about 30% of the water this evening and added in the filter from my old tank after a rinse in the tank water (hoping some of the bacteria will still be live or at least re-activated by being in the water). Just after this, I noticed one of the minnows stuck in the plastic plant on the right, shook him loose and he seemed to be struggling with the currents created by the filters for a good 10 minutes or so... the Oranda took a few snaps at him too... a sign the Minnow's sick?

Very surprised that the shop I dealt with only told me I needed PH and Nitrate kits, they seemed so good. Guy even tested my tank water for me before I bought the new fish.

Silverfish · 26-05-2011 9:32pm

Tbh with you, I wouldn't listen generally to what shops tell me, I was told a 10L bowl was big enough for my two fish, one never recovered the knock on effect of a fish-in cycle in my 110L tank (he wasn't a well fish to begin with) and the other guy grew about 8 inches in one year and wouldn't even fit in the 10L bowl now. I've just bought a 300L tank to put him in, as he will probably grow another few inches.

You should be alright for a while, the thing is it's a sooner rather than later thing, but they won't keel over from being in a small tank for a while.

Here's some caresheets for fishes - here and here

Whether a fish can tolerate ammonia and nitrites is really just down to the fish itself - the minnows being smaller will probably be more susceptible to any toxins, the water changes will help but they'll be the first to show signs.

Also, goldfish will eat anything that they think will fit in their mouths, my fantail has to date attacked and killed two smaller fish, while he's a bit of a special case, goldfish will try anything smaller to see if it's food.

Cookie_Monster · 26-05-2011 10:03pm

get yourself into tesco and pick up a couple of their 5l mineral water for like 2 quid. the plasstic container is ideal for water changes.

I use two if them to store water in for a few hours and empty the tank with a 2l milk bottle

cheap and effective

Sleepy · 26-05-2011 10:29pm

Brilliant idea on the 5L water bottles, shoulda thought of that, spent a couple of years stacking them in Dunnes when I was in college!

Since the water change, I've just done a new test and discovered that the second test kit is for Nitrite NO2 rather than Nitrate *headdesk*.

Readings after water change are PH 7.5; NO2, <0.01 which I'm assuming means my Ammonia levels are the problem (though I can't test it). The third minnow seems to be trying to hide behind the filter in the tight space between it and the tank wall (guessing they're a species that look for somewhere tight to die since I found the other two dead in the plants?).

Strangely, Dory (the common goldfish) hasn't gone after the smaller fish at all, the Oranda's barely bigger than the minnows, small fish syndrome?

Silverfish · 26-05-2011 10:32pm

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

get yourself into tesco and pick up a couple of their 5l mineral water for like 2 quid. the plasstic container is ideal for water changes.

I use two if them to store water in for a few hours and empty the tank with a 2l milk bottle

cheap and effective

How do you clean the gravel?

I know with goldfish the poo is BIG and they poo a LOT so I use one of these. Everytime I look up one of them is doing a crap.

Also, removes any food that's gotten underneath and may affect water quality and stuff.

Sleepy · 26-05-2011 10:43pm

What size one of those would I need for a 35cm high tank Silverfish?

Silverfish · 26-05-2011 10:53pm

I have no idea

I know I have one for a fluval edge which is a 23L tank, and it's pretty cracking and we've used it on the goldie's tank when the other one broke, even though it's pretty small.
Most aquaticy petshops have them, could probably tell by looking.

It's one necessary piece of kit though, makes siphoning water out a doddle.
Lifting 20gal buckets of water above my shoulders to get the water back in - not so much of a doddle

Sleepy · 26-05-2011 10:56pm

I knew doing live plants and marine systems could get expensive but never guessed keeping goldfish would be so wallet-emptying!

Silverfish · 26-05-2011 11:04pm

Sleepy wrote: »

I knew doing live plants and marine systems could get expensive but never guessed keeping goldfish would be so wallet-emptying!

Tropicals are much, much easier, and all because they eat less and crap less, and don't grow as big or as fast as goldfish.

It's some rabbit hole you really don't want to fall down. I think I've spent the guts of 2 grand on these feckers.

I've some tropicals as well, pop them in a tank, filter, heater, and away they go.

Actually, goldfish love live plants, something they can nibble on but won't eat or shred to bits, like Elodea or hornwort. They grow like mad though.

Cookie_Monster · 27-05-2011 8:37am

Silverfish wrote: »

How do you clean the gravel?

I have a gravel hoover, and also had sand on the bottom of the tank.

Sleepy · 27-05-2011 2:42pm

Got a gravel cleaner and testing kits for ammonia and nitrate in Lidl Petstop at lunch. Wishing I'd just bought the 4 -in-one test kit now, would've saved me €15 if I knew I needed to do all four tests...

Silverfish · 27-05-2011 6:01pm

Sleepy wrote: »

Got a gravel cleaner and testing kits for ammonia and nitrate in Lidl Petstop at lunch. Wishing I'd just bought the 4 -in-one test kit now, would've saved me €15 if I knew I needed to do all four tests...

Yeah, I use the API Freshwater test kit, lasts for years.

A few other tips for goldfish, is once every two weeks or so, give them a few peas - just some frozen ones, cooked and deshelled and squeezed a bit.

Also, try feed them sinking pellet food, as if they gulp flakes and stuff from the surface, it can cause swimbladder problems.

Sleepy · 27-05-2011 7:33pm

I got pellet food but it doesn't seem to sink, seems to float about at the top of the tank until the fish pull the pellets down...

Just finished the tests:

PH: 8
Nitrate: < 5mg
Nitrite:: 0.01- 0.025 (halfway between the two colours on the guide)
Ammonia: 0 - 0.6

Tank Cycled or just the effects of yesterday evening's water change? Those results seem pretty close to perfect to me and the remaining fish all seem fine?

Silverfish · 27-05-2011 7:50pm

I'm afraid not entirely, ammonia and nitrites need to read zero. Even trace ammonia is harmful.

Once you've tested zero for ammonia, it's on the way, the nitrites are slightly less toxic to the fish. Once the nitrites go to zero, and nitrates raise, you're cycled.

My nitrates with 3 goldfish in the tank sit at about 20ppm. Ammonia and nitrites all read zero.

Another few days should do it though, not far now. I'd still stick with the daily water change though, fish don't really show much symptoms of high ammonia, but it does have a long term effect on their lives.

Fair play to you for making all the effort though, most people go 'Uh, they're goldfish, dump em in a bowl'

WIZE · 27-05-2011 7:59pm

Can all chat be moved to a new thread

Its kinda defeating the purpose of the thread title:o

Show us yer tank! (DO NOT QUOTE PHOTOS)

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