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Re: The Official Asylum Freshwater Tank Thread
Nice lookin setups Mike:tu
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well never thought i would see this thread on here...nice tanks...if i ever find my camera cord ill throw my tank on here
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Here's half of my stacked and divided 75 setup. Since this photo, I've taken the dividers out and added crossbracing to them. Still have dividers in one of the 75's for smaller fish and grow outs. Electrical is also a lot cleaner.
http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...3_Snapseed.jpg http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...8_Snapseed.jpg This tank is roughly 960 gallons and houses a hodgepodge of fish. The stock and layout of the tank have changed since this photo. 15" Cichla Temensis from Rio Ventuari 15" Cichla Kelberi/Piquiti hybrid from Sao Francisco 8" Cichla piquiti 10-12" Fossorochromis rostratus (tank boss) 10" Amphilophus sagittae Breeding pair of Paraneetroplus bifasciatus 2 8" Amphilophus lyonsi 3 wild oscars from different collection points yellow bullhead, longear sunfish, indian sun cat, calico convict, a bunch of misc fancy plecos, including a 20-24" common pleco, salvini cichlid, true parrot cichlid.......i think that's it lol. Sorry for all the latin names, but it's the best way for me to keep track of and describe what I have. |
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I'm considering getting into the hobby, but I don't know the first thing about it. Can anyone here recommend one of the many fish-keeping forums?
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Well that's awfully nice of you, Ray. :)
I randomly found http://www.fishlore.com/ and I've begun reading there. Do you have any feelings on that site? Here's a question: Where fish-keeping is concerned, I don't know anything. I'm as green as they come. So, on the one hand, it makes sense to start with a small 10-gallon tank, right? Smaller is easier? Smaller commitment? On the other hand, I know from experience that the environment inside of a large humidor fluctuates less than the environment inside of a small humidor. I would think the same rule would apply to an aquarium. Am I right? If so, what would you think if I started up with, say, a 30-gallon, planted, community tank setup? If that's good, my next question would be -- and perhaps this should actually be my first question: after I'm up and running, and I've read up on all the basics, and I've gone thru the nitrogen cycle, how do I figure out how to stock my community aquarium? By this I mean, how do I know what will live peacefully with what, and how many? I don't want my fish to eat one another or war on each other. This aquarium idea was hatched from the need for a stress-relieving, blood-pressure-lowering pastime. Am I barking up the wrong tree? |
Re: The Official Asylum Freshwater Tank Thread
You're definitely not barking up the wrong tree. Many studies have proven that aquariums are very helpful in lowering blood pressure and aiding in relaxation. You're also right that aquariums are like humidors, where a larger environment provides greater stability. A 29 or 30 gallon tank is definitely a great size to start with, although if petco is still doing their sale, a 40g breeder tank is a great size.
As far as equipment goes, here's a simple list. Hang on the back power filter-very easy to setup and maintain, relatively cheap, usually extremely reliable, and probably the best filtration imo for small to medium tanks. Heater-Ebo Jaeger makes the best imo, titanium heaters not worth it unless you have very large tanks....i still have glass heaters on my 1000g, albeit connected to a controller. Air Stone and pump-I used to think these were outdated and unnecessary, but on any tank I've had one on, my fish seem to like it. Lighting-LED all the way. A cheap led strip is good enough for a small tank and they use hardly any electricity at all. T-5 is next best. Gravel Vacuum-for siphoning old water from the tank when doing water changes. Dechlorinator-neutralizes chlorine and chloramines from your tap water. Prime by Seachem is the best, but any will do probably. Food-New Life Spectrum is what you want. Great food and available in any size. That is really all the equipment you need. You may also want a top for the tank and then there's all the gravel/sand and decor. It may sound intimidating but is not bad at all. Many petshops have aquarium packages where everything comes together. Craigslist is also an excellent place to find whole setups, often much cheaper. |
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As far as setups go, I would definitely recommend live plants, even for a newbie. There are many very easy to keep plants out there and they definitely have their benefits in an aquarium. As far as fish go, a great starter community for a 30 or 40 gallon tank would be a small school of tetras (many different species), a small school of corydoras catfish, a plecostomus (just be careful what species as many get very large) and a pair of small cichlids such as Apistogrammas. There are also many native fish that would work well in that type of community. Really, there is an unlimited choice of fish to choose from.
As far as compatibility goes, that can be a crapshoot sometimes, but the first rule of thumb is that if it can fit in another fishes mouth, it will end up there. If you have any idea of fish you want to keep, I can help give you ideas of what suitable tankmates would be. As far as the nitrogen cycle goes, i've never paid it much mind lol. Just add fish slowly to a new setup and they should be fine. Don't overstock and don't add too many fish at once and they should be fine. The nitrogen/ammonia cycle is very important to understand, so I do recommend you read up on it if you already haven't. A couple very important rules: Only feed what your fish can consume in a couple minutes, once or twice a day. Once a week, siphon out 10% of your aquarium water along with any stuff your siphon picks up, and replace it with fresh, dechlorinated water. Water changes should be mandatory and 10% to 25% a week is a good number. Hope this helps a little bit. I'll also post up some links of mine for you to go over. |
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Plantedtank.net - great plant and fishkeeping forum
Reefcentral.com - in case you wanna go salt :D Monsterfishkeepers.com is my home forum Aquabid.com - great for buying anything fish related, just watch feedback ratings like you would ebay. Tangledupincichlids.com - absolute best source for very nice fish although small fish stock is kinda limited. Kensfish.com - great place for food and accessories Freshwatertropicalfishonline.com - great vendor of live fish bigalspets.com - equipment aquatraders.com - equipment msjinkzd.com - great selection of small fish and inverts drsfostersmith.com - equipment and live fish yourfishstuff.com - equipment and very cool 3d backgrounds wetspottropicalfish.com - another great live fish vendor not familiar with fishlore.com but fishgeeks is another good one for general fish keeping. Being a beginner, your B&M is the best bet, but all the cool stuff is usually online lol. As far as equipment goes, you can sometimes score well at local places but online prices are hard to beat. |
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just got home, gonna be fed time. I miss my fresh tank days, in the USAF dorms of course everyone had to have one. Quite a lot of competition for coolness in design and stocking. Then I went to saltwater, and now I am free of all of it. And thankful most times.....til now. One thing I learned over time was to lose my fascination with Oscars....what a fun fish, like a dog, really. But too much growth and too much tank dirtying in keeping them fed. Love em, but left em. Give me the Lake Malawi Cichlids now. |
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Holy smokes! Ray, thank you for all your helpful advice and recommended links! I repped ya. OK, I'm gonna keep reading up. Here's one more question: The wife and I will probably be moving in about six or so months. I imagine that'd be a real stressor on both fish and plants -- not to mention husband and wife. :p Would you recommend waiting until after the move to get started, or would you soldier on?
And for Brad: If you don't mind my asking, why did you get completely out of the hobby? Thanks, fellas. :chr |
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Dave, if you know you'll be moving soon, I would hold off on setting up a new tank. They can be a hassle to move. That will give you plenty of time to read up on what you want and get all your equipment bought.
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I also think it is worth waiting for before a move....fish survive fine in buckets, especially with live plants in
the buckets. The motion of the moving van oxygenates the water. Buy why even do it? Fish tank crap is a hassle, and moving is already a hassle enough. Even if you have the tank NOW, moving it dry with no stanky rocks in it is the best idea. As for the hobby exit on my part, I don't leave my home for long periods of time during the year, but when I DO, I like to be gone a long time, 4+ days minimum. And fish tanks are kind of demanding in that regard. As I am an a55hole, I do not have any friends to watch it. Nor is my house a place I would want people in, kind of a storage unit with paths cut through the clutter, if you need a picture. I have been a bachelor hermit so long, its kind of embarrassing. But there is also the issue of electricity, and the mess, and the work, and the fact that my MIND is set on leaving here, and I do not want boat anchors around my legs. It has been set for 5 years, and I am still here, so I am not very EFFECTIVE at getting out, but when I do get off my a55 and move, I want to be untethered. |
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Been eyeing this thread for a while. In my 44 years, I’ve been actively keeping and enjoying the freshwater aquaria hobby for more than half of it. If there’s one thing I feel I know in-depth, it’s freshwater tanks. Having a chemistry degree and working in laboratories the past 20+ years has made my aquarium hobby much more interesting. When the Internet came to be, aquariums and paludariums were my first interests. I was a part of so many user groups. I was big into planted tanks, from the basic, natural planted tank to the high tech CO2, high wattage lights, and PMDD versions. I’ve had nearly every type of plant for sell or trade and have tried my best to grow and propagate each one of them, some successful, some not-so-much. I went to many “aquarium herfs” you could call it, where we exchanged ideas, plants, and fish. I also had some success in placing in on-line tank contests and won some cool stuff. I’ve collected rocks and wood from every corner of the state trying to build a big collection to use and trade. I had it bad for 10+ years and had many close friends that were big into it. I also wrote a substrate article for Planted Aquarium Magazine and it’s now found it way to many websites that I’m sure folks still use. I went through several cycles – Tanganyikan cichlids (Julies, ocellatus, etc.), Amazonia cichlids (apistos, acaras, etc.), West African cichlids (pelvic, Congo tetras, etc.), low-tech planted, high-tech planted, paludariums, hard water species, soft water species, and specialty fishes. When I look back, it’s kind of mind-boggling. Fast forward to about 5 years ago – I’ve gotten older, I’ve experience about all you WANT to experience in this hobby, and I’ve wanted to slow down to just have tanks that are low maintenance and look good in our home. During this period I’ve honestly had several instances of thinking about getting rid of them all, even discussing it in-depth with my wife. However, I always come back to my senses. For the past 10 year I’ve kept 2 – 55 G, 1 – 20G, and 1 – 10G – all planted. They all reside in our living room and dining area and are truly a part of our home. When you take 4 steps in our front door, you can see them all. They are all low light, low maintenance (about 2 hours every other month), low cost “furniture” tanks. I keep fish and invertebrates that help the tanks stay clean. I add Ca, Mg, and K to levels around 4-6 dH and baking soda to levels around 2-3 dK. I don’t worry about pH, nitrates, phosphates or any of that other stuff anymore, I know from experience and lots of days of testing what to look for and what not to worry about. All have Fluorite/Small pea gravel substrates and all run off 12-hour cycle timers. I share baby fish and plants with folks I work with and also give them to local fish stores. I toss out tons of plants yearly, as they require pruning with maintenance. I took pictures with my iPhone last night, but they look a lot better than they are pictured. I also put some older pictures of the old days that I had uploaded to Photobucket years ago. There’s a lot of tanks that have been awesome that I never took any pictures of. No digital cameras back then and film cameras looked horrible. I know I’ve written a lot here, but I could gone on for days. If anyone ever has any questions, shoot me a PM and I’ll try to help.
Substrate article (circa 1999): http://www.cichlid-forum.com/article...substrates.php 10 G: http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t...pse12fba28.jpg http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t...psf5ff1d67.jpg 20G: http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps538823e0.jpg http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t...pscf092994.jpg Both 55 G: http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps2442ec30.jpg |
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http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps074d4ce3.jpg
Older tanks from 10-15 years ago: http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/african5.jpg http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t...ewafrican3.jpg http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t...ewafrican8.jpg http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t...s/african2.jpg |
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Nice tanks Jamie. It's been a while since I've done a nice planted tank. Those look great. I've had the idea to turn my 1000g into a huge planted community with giant schools of tetras, discus, angels, and apistos, but some of my big guys in there have been with me for a while. Don't know how much longer I'll be keeping peacock bass though as their food bill just keeps getting bigger and bigger.
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Jamie, holy smokes! Just... Wow!
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Looks like I'm getting ready to redo my big tank. My peacock bass are going through about 30-60 bucks a month in food and they are not even big yet. I really like those fish, but I gotta ditch that food bill. I'll be building a roughly 4-500 gallon tank to house some of my other big fish and turning the 1000g into a community tank. Plan so far is wild type angels, huge schools of tetras, some barbs, cory cats, and some other small cichlid species and plecos. I'll be getting back into plants as well for this tank with some larger, easy to care for plants. I know this thread doesn't get much attention on a cigar forum, but hopefully I'll have some photo updates as I progress.
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400 G tank = divorce
1000 G tank = pine box You're a lucky man (or either brave), Ray. Best of luck! |
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Nice thread. I used to work at a pet store in Atlanta (post biology degree, pre med school days) and got to go to Fins Aquatics down by the airport where they would import the fish in. I could get the Laotian dudes who dipped fish to hook me up with oddball stuff that came in with the bigger orders. At the time it was Australian Raindbows, oddball synodontis sp catfish, and a few cichlids. At the time I had 3 55's in my 800sq ft apt. Last year I took my last one down (20 years after setting it up). The plants were mostly varieties of amazon sword and had survived moves from Atlanta, then 3 cities in WV. I miss my tanks but I have a nice Koi breeding pond behind my barn. It will do for now. Miss those days when I'd run down to Fins though.
Dr.Phil |
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Brothers, it's funny. At risk of sounding like a hippy, 'what a long strange trip it's been.' And I haven't even actually started yet!
This is a bit long-winded. Sorry. So, I initially assumed I'd go with a freshwater set up because I read they require less maintenance and are cheaper to stock and run, generally, than saltwater. But then, while exploring further, I got exposed to the marine side of the hobby. I was mesmerized by the impossible colors, knocked-out by the outter-space strangeness of marine creatures. Nevertheless, I'd heard somewhere along the line that saltwater is for experts only. That one advances to saltwater only after first mastering freshwater aquaria. Later, here and there, I read a conflicting POV: that keeping a FOWLR tank is really no more difficult than keeping a well-planted freshwater tank. Equipped with this nugget, I began planning for a saltwater set up. Not reef to start, but FOWLR with a eye on adding corals later. I continued to read. I visited a couple of all-saltwater B&Ms. I asked questions. I joined a forum called Manhattan Reefs, I watched a dozen or more setup guides on YouTube, I got active on The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread, and I was even negotiating the purchase and delivery of a brand new 75-gallon reef-ready tank, when I suddenly decided to pull the saltwater E-brake. Why? :sl There are a few reasons for this; in brief, what we all already knew, that saltwater is more demanding than fresh, the livestock more expensive, more exacting, the possibility of a tank "crash" more likely with saltwater, and also -- and this is big -- the issue of how to responsibly source tank inhabitants. You do a few dozen Googles on tropical fish and you're bound to be confronted by the ethical dilemma of where livestock comes from. I've read arguments suggesting that captive-bred (most freshwater fish) doesn't necessarily mean ecologically sound. Likewise, not all wild-caught (most saltwater fish) are caught using reef-blasting explosives or cyanide. Having said that, I feel better about freshwater. I know not all freshwater aquarium fish are farmed, but it's the majority, if you believe what I've been reading. It's difficult to truly know, of course. Which I find troubling. And "troubling" is antithetical to why I want to get into the hobby. Which brings me to my main point, personally speaking, regarding freshwater versus saltwater aquariums... I think that for a short while I had lost sight of what attracted me to the idea of fishkeeping in the first place, that I find watching aquarium fish relaxing. That's what I hope to achieve with my tank. That's the objective. I want the successful keeping of my tank's inhabitants to be easy enough that care and maintenance don't impinge upon on that objective. I think that'll be easier to do with freshwater. What do you think? |
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Dave, I like a thinking man. Given that a tank setup is a big commitment, it's great you've thought it out. I've really never given harvesting practices much thought, but you do have a valid thought process. My biggest drawbacks were the fears you've expressed - increased maintenance, higher investment costs, higher priced inhabitants, and possible sudden failure. I've always been intrigued by the saltwater realm. A lot of them can resemble alien-like worlds and can have tons of unique inhabitants. With that, I'd have to say my favorite part about freshwater tanks is the naturalism they afford. I know I'd have to put forth a lot of effort and probably money to get a salty to function as close as possible to a natural environment. Even then, I don't see it ever being an aquarium that could take of itself. My tanks have been taking care of themselves for years. I change 50% water, wipe down any algae starting to show, clean the power canister filters, and remove any overgrown plants about every 2-3 months. Other than that a little daily feeding and maybe a little water addition to top them off weekly. They truly take care of themselves, finding the larger the tank, the more robust they are. If I want to get slack and put off some duties, I have no worries anything will crash. I can leave for the weekend (or the week) and return knowing everything is as good as it was when I left. If the power goes out for a day or two, everything is just fine. I like the luxury of using water right out of the tap with a little Prime and everyone goes about their business without the slightest inconvenience. Finally, I have the luxury of a nice aquarium downtown if I want to see salties in action.
Dave, try www.aquabid.com for plenty of freshwater variety. Most times you know if they're wild-caught, farmed, or raised by hobbyist. Good luck on your adventure! |
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Jamie, thank you. That's a comfort to know. You've helped me cement it, finally. Going with freshwater. Which brings me to...
Anybody want to help me stock my first freshwater tank? :D Having settled on freshwater, I'm on to the planning phase. And I figured I'd ask all you guys for your experienced opinion. I've heard it said that the best strategy for stocking is to select the fish that you're interested in keeping first, and then build your setup around those and select compatible tankmates. Again, my main objective for this tank is: peaceful, easy to maintain, planted, colorful, beginner's tank. By easy to maintain I mean hearty fish and perhaps inverts, captive-bred where possible, that won't eat or uproot the aquascape, or one another. I'm thinking of a 55-75g community tank where inhabitants live in relative harmony. I also love weird stuff and vivid color -- which is why I almost went salt. I'm trying to consider the water column as well, and who likes to swim where. So, I've come up with the following shortlist. I welcome all thoughts, criticisms, hints, pointers, everything... The current shortlist (for after the tank is cycled, of course): Boesemani rainbows and/or pearl gourami. Twice as many females as males. The thing is, I'm not sure if these two will get along. Anyone know for sure? Cardinal tetras or neon tetras - shoal of 5-8 Green tiger barbs - shoal of 5 or more. I know these guys are fin nippers so perhaps the gourami are out if these guys are in. I read that they do well with boesemani rainbows. Dwarf suckermouth catfish - school of 3 or more. I was wanting to get glass catfish because they're a curiosity, but I read that they're terrible for beginners because they require at least 10 to feel comfortable, otherwise they'll never come out of hiding. Anyway, read somewhere that the dwarf suckermouth catfish is "almost mandatory" for a planted tank. Corydoras of some sort - unless they and the dwarf suckermouth catfish are too similar. Don't wanna be redundant. Gardneri killifish? Maybe some type of loaches? What about inverts? How would some ghost shrimp do? Would they be quick fish food? How about crabs, clams, or snails? I imagine the clams would really screw with the substrate, right? How am I doing? Thanks so much, guys. :tu |
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Set up a 75 instead of a 55, due to a bigger/better footprint. Here's a stock list for you.....
3 groups of different Apistogramma cichlid species 20-30 Neons or Cardinals 6-10 Cories (Sterbai cories are great) a single pearl gourami would probably do well with these fish as well as a couple misc plecos. Don't do common or sailfin plecos as they get way too big for a 75. This list has a lot of substitutes as well. Different small cichlids for the apistos, different characins or cyprinids instead of neons, smaller loaches instead of cories, etc. Pool filter sand makes a great substrate if you want to save money and is great for cories and loaches. There are many easy to keep plants that would be great for your setup. One of my favs is the java fern. Pretty easy to keep. Couple more links for you: Plantedtank.net (lots of info on plants) tangledupincichlids.com (one of the best vendors out there) wetspottropicalfish.com (another great vendor with an amazing selection) |
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You could also do some slightly larger cichlids such as Thorichthys aureus, but you would want some more robust tetras like diamond tetras or bleeding heart tetras.
You may also consider Orange spotted or blue spotted sunfish, which are a native species and very colorful. There happen to be some on aquabid right now. They are also peaceful enough for a community tank and you could keep them at lower temps that loaches and cories will enjoy. Cooler temps (68-76) would also suit many barbs as opposed to tetras. There are many, many choices out there to suit pretty much anybody. Browsing tangled up in cichlids and wet spot's stock lists will give you some eye candy to look at. Any questions you have, just post 'em up and I'll try to steer you in the right direction. I'm a certified fish nerd lol. |
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You know, I had been looking at Apistogramma cichlids -- well, cichlids in general -- before I'd done any reading on them simply because they're beautiful and quite colorful. But I quickly dismissed them as candidates for my 'Beginner's Tranquil Community Tank' because according to, say, LiveAquaria.com, Apistos are not only semi-agressive, but also difficult to care for. And Wikipedia says, 'Apistogramma species are very sensitive to changes in water chemistry. Apistogramma are best kept in species-only tanks... Although popular, Apistogramma species are not recommended for inexperienced cichlid hobbyists.' Sheesh. So, while Apistos are beautiful fish, I'm reluctant to build a community tank around these guys on my first foray into fishkeeping. Know what I mean? I assembled the rough-draft stock list I posted using LiveAquaria's compatibility chart as a reference. The chart is not super easy to read, and I guess one has to take these charts with a grain of salt anyway, but New World Cichlids are listed as either "caution required" or "not compatible" with everything besides plecos. Would you disagree with the "difficult" rap Apistos get, Ray? Are you not a big fan of the other stuff on my shortlist, or is it just that you're a big fan of cichlids? Thanks again for taking the time. :) |
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+1 for Apistos. Check aquabid for a nice variety of apistos. The ones raised in hobby tanks are more tolerant to your home aquarium. The wild caught ones are less tolerant. Test your local water, if it's soft, the West African or Amazon tank is just right. If it's hard, a little additional African salt and you can have some nice Tanganyikan cichlids.
If "I" were you, I'd take that 75 G, fill it with Seachem Flourite/brown aquarium gravel mixed 50/50, puts lots of driftwood, and pack it with plants (java moss, jave ferns, amazon swords, cryptos, etc.) Research the net for low light plants unless you're going to go with over 2 watts/gallon lighting. I use around 1 watt/gallon and wouldn't have it any other way. I can't grow those light hungry plants, but I also don't have to trim the garden every few days either. That's the thing with a balanced aquarium, the poop feeds the plants and the plants absorb the nutrients before algae can get it. Next a couple big schools of dither fish - small tetras, cyprinidaes, etc. Get 20 or more that love to school and get a couple different kinds. Bolivian or blue rams are nice and you could handle 8-10 of them. Apistos are nice. Search for South American cichlids. Join a freshwater forum or lurk on several to get intell. Be very careful what you put in there, though. Once that tank is full of stuff, it's almost impossible to catch some of these guys to remove them. Add some cheapies to start with to slowly cycle the tank and after a couple of weeks, start gathering your stock. It'll take it a while to balance out, but it will eventually. Read, read, and read again. It's fun! Good luck. |
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I agree with Jamie on the Apistos. Many are raised in tap water and are not that hard to take care of at all. As for being aggressive, they may be feisty with each other, but are definitely community tank material. They are pretty harmless fish.
If you go with cories, loaches, or spiny eels (another awesome group of fish) make sure you have a fine substrate like sand. I'm not sure what the best balance would be substrate-wise to take care of plants though. You would need something fine enough not to damage cory and loach barbels, but something suitable for plants at the same time. Maybe Jamie can chime in on that one or look around on the plantedtank.net forums. |
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:po
you've peeked my interest about a tank. some good info here already, Time to start reading more I guess. Just having some some plants and some shrimp in a very large mason jar would be fun:hm |
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http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e9...avelEp5962.png So, as you suggested, I'd like to test my local water to see what my starting point is. That means I need a kit of some sort, yes? I'm excited. It'll be my first aquarium-related purchase. Looking online, there seems to be dozens to choose from: quick dip, battery operated, etc. Can you guys recommend one that'll suit my needs? |
Re: The Official Asylum Freshwater Tank Thread
With regards to testing your water there are numerous brands available and they certainly range in price. A freshwater test kit should come with all necessary test solutions (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH). To test for hardness you will probably have to purchase a separate kit for GH (general hardness) and KH (Carbonate hardness).
That should give you a good baseline to start from. |
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Drs Foster Smith - Test Kits
Dr Fosters & Smith is a good site to do research on available products. |
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I like this one - http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...1&pcatid=13521
Also, see if Pacific offers water testing. Keep the money local and help your LPS. |
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Cigars and aquariums - a great way to never have extra money! ;)
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I ran the 150 for a little under 2 years and shut it down. Now I have a 12g freshwater biocube with neon tetras. I am itching to put plants in it. But then I realize that I will fall back into the trap. |
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First picture below is the jungle. After pulling out nearly a 5 G bucket of plants, the second picture is where she stands now. You'll notice the crypts in the front against the glass really did well over that 5-month period. I wish the pictures did them justice. All together 2 - 5 G buckets of plants went into the compost. Incredible! http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t...pscdc9004c.jpg http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps53c093de.jpg |
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Thought I'd bring this back up!
After a really tough few months (never getting anything to live in my tank, no matter what I did) I gave it up for about a year. Decided to start it back up recently. Figured maybe my water was the problem, so I've got brand new substrate along with only bottles spring water (5 gallons at a time) Now I've got a real simple tank with 4 guppies and 4 ghost shrimp. So far so good, checking levels and keeping up with the water changes, hoping this time things work ou! |
Re: The Official Asylum Freshwater Tank Thread
I want to re-start having tanks when we move to a slightly bigger place. Being a city-boy I never have space for anything bigger than a 35G.
Flynn, I remember making a majorly dumb mistake once with an old tank, I just couldn't get the more sensitive fish to stay alive (rams especially) and was getting a lot of illness. I realized that I was gradually increasing the salt concentration in my water changes... mainly because I was an idiot. When I did water-changes, I never took evaporation into account. Lets say I had a 35G tank, and that over a 3 week time there was about a half a gallon of evaporation... when I did a 30% water change I'd take out 10G, but replace that 10G with 10.5G of new water. As I always added a small amount of aquarium salt to my new water, that 0.5G replacement of slightly salted water was raising the tank salinity slightly every 2-3 weeks. I don't know if this is a problem with your set-up, but it took me a while to figure it out... I just had a blind spot to that issue. I think it wasn't until I was looking at some salt-water tank videos and they were discussing automatic pumps to add fresh-water to maintain the strict salinity that I realized I was probably really screwing stuff up. |
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