Aquarium Crew...

How big of tanks you all have? Freshwater or Saltwater? I'm gonna go ahead and buy me a 20 gallon starter tank, and was just looking for people to share the interest with.

And yeah, this has been discussed before - but there are always new members, and well...**** it.

Now post.

I have a 10 gallon. It's crap.

I've got one set up now, with a couple cheap fish just to make sure the water isn't to hot or cold, or two strong w/ conditioner and such.

I'll be getting my 20g this week sometime.

I've got a 29 gallon tank with african cichlids. It's a little overpopulated, but they get along. Two of them got along a little two well... they had babies. Only two of them lived though.

I also have a 20 gallon with an oscar, a blood parrot and a dempsey.

Pics?

I'm seeing these pictures on another forum, and sand looks soo nice. They say though when you line the bottom of the tank with sand, it's much harder to clean.

Yeah, sand is much harder to clean, and small tanks are a lot of maintenance in general...

Indeed...

I got a thirty or 40 not sure, father in law gave it to me.

Setting it up after holidays.

I've had a 30 gallon freshwater for about 6 years now and my brother has a 100 gallon saltwater. It takes some work in the beginning but they're nice once you get the hang of things.

Use the search function.

I only keep a 55g lightly planted freshwater tank . Its more like furniture at this point, I just feed them and the tank pretty much takes care of itself .
Sand does look pretty cool but its a pain to clean compared to gravel . At the larger aquarium shops they'll sell fine natural-color gravel that will give you a look similar to a sand bottom and still be easier to clean .

i have a 25 gallon lightly planted with 2 mollies (one has bloat/dropsy i think) and a honey gourami. Then i have a 72 gal bowfront on a custom stand not filled yet and it will be freshwater with a sglass substrate. I also have a 10 gal tankk with a betta.

Best place for you to get info is at www.aquariacentral.com, i belong there and learned all i have so far from the community there.

anything under 25 gallons is honestly a waste of time to maintain because the time it takes for you to get your cleanin supplies out is the same for tanks that are 72 or 100 gallons. the water changes can be made easy by using a python easy clean easy fill system which uses your faucet to fill and create a syphon to do a water change.

aquaclear HOB (hang on back filters) are the best it seems as far as HOB's go but canisters are really good and worth the money. Alot of people use fluval but i am an eheim freak for filters and heaters.

25 gal tank:


72 gal tank:


PRESENTS:


Glass Substrate (i am going to do the turqoise or teal whichi didnt get a sample of in the medium or small size):


link to the gallery:
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/album.php?u=88689

10g with a single fancy goldfish and a 5g with some little guys

Jeff if you have any specific questions, I can direct them to my mom... she's the Aquarium expert, over the years we've had,

150 Gal Freshwater (custom built, and is still set up after well over 10 years, not to mention torn down and set back up like 6 times in moves)
45 Gal saltwater (set up twice, about 3 years at one time)

and I believe a couple others, but she know's how to set it up... Either way, let me know.

SuBXeRo wrote:

i have a 25 gallon lightly planted with 2 mollies (one has bloat/dropsy i think) and a honey gourami. Then i have a 72 gal bowfront on a custom stand not filled yet and it will be freshwater with a sglass substrate. I also have a 10 gal tankk with a betta. Best place for you to get info is at www.aquariacentral.com, i belong there and learned all i have so far from the community there. anything under 25 gallons is honestly a waste of time to maintain because the time it takes for you to get your cleanin supplies out is the same for tanks that are 72 or 100 gallons. the water changes can be made easy by using a python easy clean easy fill system which uses your faucet to fill and create a syphon to do a water change. aquaclear HOB (hang on back filters) are the best it seems as far as HOB's go but canisters are really good and worth the money. Alot of people use fluval but i am an eheim freak for filters and heaters. 25 gal tank: 72 gal tank: PRESENTS: Glass Substrate (i am going to do the turqoise or teal whichi didnt get a sample of in the medium or small size): link to the gallery: http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/album.php?u=88689

Awesome dude! Appreciate the help. I'll be buying something bigger with my next paycheck.

mx107marlin wrote:

Jeff if you have any specific questions, I can direct them to my mom... she's the Aquarium expert, over the years we've had, 150 Gal Freshwater (custom built, and is still set up after well over 10 years, not to mention torn down and set back up like 6 times in moves) 45 Gal saltwater (set up twice, about 3 years at one time) and I believe a couple others, but she know's how to set it up... Either way, let me know.

Yeah, that one you've got set up in 'bama is schweet.

SuBXeRo wrote:

i have a 25 gallon lightly planted with 2 mollies (one has bloat/dropsy i think) and a honey gourami. Then i have a 72 gal bowfront on a custom stand not filled yet and it will be freshwater with a sglass substrate. I also have a 10 gal tankk with a betta. Best place for you to get info is at www.aquariacentral.com, i belong there and learned all i have so far from the community there. anything under 25 gallons is honestly a waste of time to maintain because the time it takes for you to get your cleanin supplies out is the same for tanks that are 72 or 100 gallons. the water changes can be made easy by using a python easy clean easy fill system which uses your faucet to fill and create a syphon to do a water change. aquaclear HOB (hang on back filters) are the best it seems as far as HOB's go but canisters are really good and worth the money. Alot of people use fluval but i am an eheim freak for filters and heaters. 25 gal tank: 72 gal tank: PRESENTS: Glass Substrate (i am going to do the turqoise or teal whichi didnt get a sample of in the medium or small size): link to the gallery: http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/album.php?u=88689

I'd love to do live plants - Is cleaning more difficult? I would assume that with live plants, algea is more of a problem as well.

actully u have more algage problems without live plants. Alage is caused by excess nutrients in the water and high light. When u do live plants, they use up the nutrients in the water. Just make sure you do the proper amount of lighting. 1 watt/gallon is low light is med and 3 is high, thats for densely planted and you probably want to go for co2 injection. Its all about balance. I have a current usa fixture which is 216 watts for the 72 gal and thats 3 wpg, chances are i will only use half the lighting for now or do like a high noon thing all lights on and then half off for the rest of the day.

anacharis is a good hardy plant along with anubis, both of which are low light.

SuBXeRo wrote:

anything under 25 gallons is honestly a waste of time to maintain because the time it takes for you to get your cleanin supplies out is the same for tanks that are 72 or 100 gallons. the water changes can be made easy by using a python easy clean easy fill system which uses your faucet to fill and create a syphon to do a water change.

I don't agree that tanks less than 25 gallons are a waste of time, but I do agree its not much more work to clean a much larger tank then it is a smaller one, aside from scraping the glass clean I dig the python tubes also though, makes cleaning large tanks a snap, although if you're just starting out and you have a single small tank buying a python might not be in your budget .

SuBXeRo wrote:

aquaclear HOB (hang on back filters) are the best it seems as far as HOB's go but canisters are really good and worth the money. Alot of people use fluval but i am an eheim freak for filters and heaters.

Aquaclear hang-on filters are good quality; I prefer Marineland myself . Canister filters are better, but again, with a single small tank its probably overkill, and the canister style filters can be pretty spendy .

SuBXeRo wrote:

actully u have more algage problems without live plants. Alage is caused by excess nutrients in the water and high light. When u do live plants, they use up the nutrients in the water. Just make sure you do the proper amount of lighting. 1 watt/gallon is low light is med and 3 is high, thats for densely planted and you probably want to go for co2 injection. Its all about balance. I have a current usa fixture which is 216 watts for the 72 gal and thats 3 wpg, chances are i will only use half the lighting for now or do like a high noon thing all lights on and then half off for the rest of the day.

Agree totally . Plants will not increase algae growth in the tank, and a densely planted tank will significantly inhibit algae . In a lightly planted tank you might not notice much effect but any healthy plant serves to lower the nutrient levels that promote algal growth . Again, a CO2 system or a large high-watt lighting fixture is probably overkill / outside of budget if you have a single small tank, especially if that tank isn't really really densely planted .
Definitely a good point about choosing low-light plants though, if you choose to add a few live plants . Decent aquarium shops will be able to tell you which plants can keep healthy in low light . If the people at the store seem like they don't know much just do a bit of checking online .

I have a 40 gallon with a Rena XP4, two UVB and 2 heat lamps with a basking platform built above the tank, custom tube bubbler, and two read ear sliders.

Figured I'd show it off...not much, really need to put some driftwood in the middle. I'll end up buying a 30-40 gallon of craigslist for around $100.






Yeaaaayyy!

Nice job dude, I dig it Very natural looking, no neon-pink pagodas or giant skulls or other weirdness . Good choice on the Danios too, I've always enjoyed them . Keep the top shut though, they can hop out on occasion .

You should add more plants -- most fish like to be able to hide in them...will keep them less stressed. ANd get long, flimsy ones so that they sway with the movement of water -- look more realistic (unless you get real plants lol)

I'm gonna go to Jack's tomorrow and look at what they carry for real plants. Definetly also am going to get some kind of driftwood for a centerpeice.

Yeah, the skulls, pirate ships, all that *** ****, is well...***. I'm also thinking about painting the back of the tank black. I've seen other tanks online that look so much better with the backs painted black.

Cooper wrote:

Nice job dude, I dig it Very natural looking, no neon-pink pagodas or giant skulls or other weirdness . Good choice on the Danios too, I've always enjoyed them . Keep the top shut though, they can hop out on occasion .

When I first got them, I put the bag in the water so they could adapt, yada yada - and when they were actually in the tank, those **** started zippin' around the tank. I started reading and figured out that they're extremely fast fish.

I dunno, it's relaxing when I go to sleep.

I got my 40 gallon on craigslist for 25 bucks, keep yours eyes peeled big tanks go pretty cheap here. I cant imagine it will be much different there.

Yeah, big tanks are defe. cheap.

Think I'm just going to get a 20gal so I can take it to campus with me next year.

Kevin_S wrote:

You should add more plants -- most fish like to be able to hide in them...will keep them less stressed. ANd get long, flimsy ones so that they sway with the movement of water -- look more realistic (unless you get real plants lol)

True, except that those danios are highly active mid-upper water swimmers . Your other fish may enjoy hiding in and around the plants, but make sure you don't fill the tank up with too many tall plants that will obstruct the danios' swimming . They need a good clear space in the upper portion of the tank .

I wont be planting untill I get my new tank

are those real plants in that tank? they look fake lol. i got my 72 gal bow front for 125 used on clist and its like 250-300 brand new. it looks good so far.

make sure u soke ur driftwood or boil it for a bit so the tannis gets out or it will darken your water a real lot. its not harmful it just makes the water look like crap.

No, they're fake.

i wouldnt paint the back, you can if you want, its just if ou ever wanna chnage things up you cant really after that. Just buy a black background or hell, apply a 5% limo tint lol

SuBXeRo wrote:

make sure u soke ur driftwood or boil it for a bit so the tannis gets out or it will darken your water a real lot. its not harmful it just makes the water look like crap.

Soaking isn't likely to leech any significant portion of the tannins out of the driftwood.. although you could try boiling it or just purchasing the light/bleached driftwood .

SuBXeRo wrote:

i wouldnt paint the back, you can if you want, its just if ou ever wanna chnage things up you cant really after that. Just buy a black background or hell, apply a 5% limo tint lol

Its paint on glass.. you could scrape it off with a single-edge razor blade and two minutes . Just don't paint the inside .

if you put your driftwood in, over the course of a week to a few weeks you will get tannis in your wood if it wasnt pre treated. I wouldnt recommend anything that was bleach, especially wood since it is pourous. bleach is deadly to fish and would burn their gills. Boiling it for an hour to a few hours reduces the tannis significantly instead of letting it soak for a few weeks. You want to try and get stuff that has been power washed, instead of treated with harsh chemicals. just my 2 cents

Where would I pick that up at?

Went to the Jack's Aquarium today, and I really really like Clown Loaches. It appears though that they are bottom feeders, and since it hasn't been up for very long - they'd be hungry.

driftwood can be found at a local fish store. Usually thats the best so u can pick your piece. If not that you can order it online and get pieces similar to their example. Alot of people like to use manzanita wood. For the loaches, sinking pellets would be good. You should give them a little anyways incase they are havin trouble feeding as is

True.

You guys have any air pumps, filters, etc you'd wanna sell?

SuBXeRo wrote:

if you put your driftwood in, over the course of a week to a few weeks you will get tannis in your wood if it wasnt pre treated. I wouldnt recommend anything that was bleach, especially wood since it is pourous. bleach is deadly to fish and would burn their gills. Boiling it for an hour to a few hours reduces the tannis significantly instead of letting it soak for a few weeks. You want to try and get stuff that has been power washed, instead of treated with harsh chemicals. just my 2 cents

I've noticed with driftwood I'd had before that it can color the water for months, even with regular water changes, which is why I don't see soaking helping .
Boiling is good though.. have you had success with it ? I've tried boiling a few smaller pieces in the past and although it definitely loses tannins in the boiling process I still noticed it tinting the water in the tank for a while afterwards . Maybe I didn't boil it hot / long enough ?
Bleaching is dicey, you're right . By bleached I meant the really light-colored sun bleached driftwood; the kind that is basically grey and not brown . It is a good point that bleach is horrible for fish, and while it can be done safely, you have to do a ridiculously thorough job of rinsing and treating it afterward to be safe .

Concur on the sinking pellets as well . A sinking omnivore or carnivore pellet will be best for those loaches; algae pellets are not well suited for feeding them over the long term . Also, clown loaches are pretty sensitive fish . If I were you I'd wait until your tank is fully established before I put them in . Chances are if your tank is only a few days old its only begun to cycle up.. and if you add more fish now, especially sensitive ones, you'll only compound the problems that come with cycling a new aquarium . Waiting at least a couple weeks would be ideal if you have the patience .
Also I've noticed clown loaches do wonderfully in groups, not so hot in pairs or as individuals . My experience has been that 1-2 loaches are extremely hard to keep healthy, but a group of 4-5+ is pretty bulletproof in a well-established tank .
Also its a good time to get a snail or two when you buy your loaches . The loaches will control the snail population so you don't have to worry about the snails breeding up a storm of babies like you usually do . And if they do manage to spawn, it'll just be a source of constant live food for the clowns to graze on .

if you are going planted, do not get air pmps, i have a whisper 100 and a whsiper 20 and used each for like a couple days. its really not good for the plants because they use the c02 produced in the tank, the breakage of the surface by the air bubbles rids the tank of the co2 that is used by the plants to grow.

go here
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/shop.cfm?c=3578

you can find all that you need from there pretty much. I spent $530 there for all my stuff to start my 72 gallon.


Cooper, personally i havent done driftwood, i did alot of readin on the aquariacentral forums and their flash chat and many of them say they boils the wood for several hours. Personally idf i were to go about it, i would boil it for 1 hour then switch water and do it again until i notice a considerable loss of tannis in the water.

buy yourself an API (aquaria pharmaceuticals) freshwater master test kit. Your tank will take about a month or so to cycle. Fishless is best, if you do a live cycle, use some hardy fish like a gourami because they are anabatoids (surafce breathers). When all of your aparmeters 0 out and your nitrates are around 0, the cycle is complete. the liquid test kits are way more accurate then test strips