fish selections.... 10 gal, going to 55 gal soon.

[Scout]

for multilayer effect?

Mine was just plain black, black stone in the bottom. I didn't do any layering, but I might ask my brother's kids to do that, or my friend's kids to do that for me.

 

[Caleb]

Mine was just plain black, black stone in the bottom. I didn't do any layering, but I might ask my brother's kids to do that, or my friend's kids to do that for me.

I see...I'm quite satisfied with the painted background, now if my tank would just cycle already so I can add the rainbow shark.

 

[Scout]

Ok guys, quick question. I've got the test kit so I can cycle a new tank, and out of curiosity I checked an established tank. It's been going for about 4 months now.
ph 7.8
ammonia 0.25
nitrite 0.5
nitrate 80

So the last thing I did was add water to replace what evaporated. Normally I take out about 5 gallons (about a 47 gal tank) and refill about 10. Do you think it would be a good idea to flush and fill five gallons?


In the new start tank I have a small piece of shrimp and a little clay pot from the other tank to help jump start the bacteria. About how long after you put the shrimp in do you start to check ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites?

 

[Caleb]

Ok guys, quick question. I've got the test kit so I can cycle a new tank, and out of curiosity I checked an established tank. It's been going for about 4 months now.
ph 7.8
ammonia 0.25
nitrite 0.5
nitrate 80

So the last thing I did was add water to replace what evaporated. Normally I take out about 5 gallons (about a 47 gal tank) and refill about 10. Do you think it would be a good idea to flush and fill five gallons?


In the new start tank I have a small piece of shrimp and a little clay pot from the other tank to help jump start the bacteria. About how long after you put the shrimp in do you start to check ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites?

I'd check every day...your established tank has pretty high nitrates, I'd keep it under 40ppm but closer to zero is better unless it's planted.

 

[Caleb]

[video=youtube;nnXbdMsMzks]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnXbdMsMzks[/video]

Anybody able to spell out the correct name for some of these cichlids? There's a few there I like but not sure how to spell some of those names(I know you can get subtitles, they are not accurate I think)...

 

[Frosty]

I don't know about proper spelling, I can look a few up and see what I can find. That is a pretty awesome tank

 

[Caleb]

Does your nitrates just magically disappear from your tank? Ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates are all zero

 

[Frosty]

Does your nitrates just magically disappear from your tank? Ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates are all zero

No, not unless your getting anerobic bacteria in your sandbed, they live in low oxygen environments, and use the oxygen atom in nitrate and release harmless nitrogen back into the water. This is good, but you can also get pockets of nasty stuff that can kill a tank if you don't stay on top of cleaning your sand. You could also be getting ready to grow an insane amount of algae?

 

[Caleb]

No, not unless your getting anerobic bacteria in your sandbed, they live in low oxygen environments, and use the oxygen atom in nitrate and release harmless nitrogen back into the water. This is good, but you can also get pockets of nasty stuff that can kill a tank if you don't stay on top of cleaning your sand. You could also be getting ready to grow an insane amount of algae?

Diatom algae? Should it be safe to put my rainbow shark in now or wait a bit longer?

 

[Frosty]

Diatom algae? Should it be safe to put my rainbow shark in now or wait a bit longer?

Diatom, hair, green water Algae, there's a ton of different kinds. I don't know if I'd drop the shark in yet, I wouldn't trust 0's across the board, you nitrate shouldn't disappear that fast, and nitrates will stay in the water unless something is using it (algae, plants, anerobic bacteria, etc...) or you change water.

 

[Caleb]

Diatom, hair, green water Algae, there's a ton of different kinds. I don't know if I'd drop the shark in yet, I wouldn't trust 0's across the board, you nitrate shouldn't disappear that fast, and nitrates will stay in the water unless something is using it (algae, plants, anerobic bacteria, etc...) or you change water.

Ok...retested, only this time I shook the solution bottles before putting drops in the test tube. Ammonia is 0.25ppm, nitrite is a hair darker then 0ppm on the chart, and nitrates are 20ppm

 

[Caleb]

Re-re-tested the ammonia, an hour after I put 30 drops of pure ammonia in to keep the bacteria fed...sitting at 0.25ppm now. I'm going to test the pH in the 10 gal and in the 55 gal. If they are fairly close, I'll do a sizable water change then transfer the shark over.

 

[Caleb]

there's maybe 1/10th of a difference in pH...not big enough of a difference in pH to be much of a concern...

 

[Frosty]

there's maybe 1/10th of a difference in pH...not big enough of a difference in pH to be much of a concern...

Nope, sounds good, but to make it safe, put your shark in a large bowl or bucket, then slowly add water from the 55 to acclimate him to the new water, add maybe a 1/4 cup every 5-10 minutes, do that for an hour or so, the longer the better. This isn't really necessary for freshwater, as they aren't as sensitive to small water differences, but I noticed a marked improvement in livestock health when I started doing this. I do it with all new additions now!

 

[Caleb]

Nope, sounds good, but to make it safe, put your shark in a large bowl or bucket, then slowly add water from the 55 to acclimate him to the new water, add maybe a 1/4 cup every 5-10 minutes, do that for an hour or so, the longer the better. This isn't really necessary for freshwater, as they aren't as sensitive to small water differences, but I noticed a marked improvement in livestock health when I started doing this. I do it with all new additions now!

doing 15 gal water change now, then adding some prime

 

[Caleb]

 

[MikeDVB]

DDAAAARNNIITTT I want a fish tank .

What sort of size limitations would I have for a tank on the main floor of a house that has a full [unfinished] basement? Any idea?

 

[Frosty]

DDAAAARNNIITTT I want a fish tank .

What sort of size limitations would I have for a tank on the main floor of a house that has a full [unfinished] basement? Any idea?

As long as you keep it close to support walls or put supports under it, I think you'd be able to keep a sizeable tank, what size are you wanting to get? What size floor joists? Is there cross bracing in the floor? How old is you house? 16" on center joists? What type of flooring is on the floor? What size footprint will the tank have?

 

[Caleb]

Here's some cichlids I'm thinking about...

Bringing these up again, along with a few other possible selections:

Thoughts?

 

[Frosty]

Just remember to add your most peaceful fish first and add them in groups.