10 Tank's fish and tanks

Sunday morning. Coffee time and quite time. I'm an early to bed and early to rise type. I like my quite time each morning. So, two more tanks today and possibly thinning out the plants in those tanks. My tanks are taking on a natural look. I don't think most would like them. The algae is growing on the glass in places and the plants are overgrown. But, the water is clean and clear, which for me and my fish is the most important. I've always kept the water changes the same. Always changed a lot of water and done it every few days. Speaking of water, I have a neighbor who set up one of those large swimming pools. This one must be 10,000 gallons and likely five feet deep. It must have taken days to fill. But, water in our part of the country is cheap. The water looked great in the beginning, but now in the direct sun, the algae is beginning to turn the water green. I'm pretty sure if he knew how to put all the pool stuff together, he understood the need for chemicals to remove the algae, but maybe not.

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Monday morning and the start of another week. Four tanks on the schedule for today. We'll work on the government tank and the outdoor 300 gallon trough. We also have a couple of other 55 gallon tanks to do. Today is a feeding day for the fish after a couple of days of fasting. Fasting is a good thing for your fish. It encourages them to forage around the tank for bits of missed food and this way, they do their part to keep the tank cleaner. When you don't feed a lot, your snail population becomes very manageable. Snails are generally a good thing, but they'll add to the waste material in the tank as well.

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Monday supplement. Lost another eight year old Goldfish in my 100 gallon tank this morning. There are three left from the dozen or so I put in when I set up the trough. These feeder Goldfish seem to grow very well the first few years, then things slowly begin to affect them. Eight years seems to be the oldest they'll get. Seems odd that old age seems to catch up to these fish at roughly the same time. Anyway, the rest of the fish seem to be well. The outdoor fish have added a fry or two to their population. There are four large Koi and a a dozen or so Goldfish. I changed out some of their water and gave them a little to eat this morning.

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A good Tuesday morning to you. Today, we're taking the day off. We're headed over to the local senior center for lunch. It's a time to sit down and talk with some of our contemporaries and those quite a bit older. It's a nice visit. I have a fellow Navy veteran friend I like to talk to. He's a Korean War Vet and a very sharp 94 years old.

As for some tank advice, since this is a fish keeping forum. Keep a larger tank in the beginning. At least 30 gallons. And keep a hardy fish species, like Platys or Swordtails. These fish are very tolerant of water conditions. You only need to use treated tap water and remove and replace the water a couple of times a week. Once you understand the importance of keeping the tank water clean, you can move to a more demanding species.

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Hello. Wednesday and we'll be changing the water in a 60 and a 75 gallon tank this morning. We'll also feed all the fish a little. The Giant Danios were very active this morning. The fish seem to have an internal clock that tells them it's feeding time.

The terrarium filters we installed appear to need a stand, so they don't slip down into the tank. This is an issue with this type of filter, if you want to use it in a deeper aquarium. But, the filter is inexpensive and works very well to clear the water of those tiny particles of debris that cause haziness in the water. We've gotten suggestions on stands. The best seems to be a 12 inch tall, clear glass bottle. The idea is good and the bottles are very cheap. We'll put those in the next time we change the water in those particular tanks.

One other thing today. You can have a nicely planted tank even if you don't have very good lighting. I would suggest, Dwarf Water Lettuce, Anubias, Anacharis, Amazon Sword and Cryptocoryne. These generally require nothing more than standard florescent lighting and no special fertilizers.

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Thursday morning and we'll have a fairly light tank load. Just a couple of tanks. We'll work on a 100 and a 55 gallon today and possibly install a new filter on the 55 gallon. It's a Fluval C2. A nicely put together filter and moves about 120 gallons of water in an hour. The filter is somewhat small for a 55 gallon tank, but should filter enough water to keep the water oxygenated and keep the water clear of any haziness.

Before putting any medications into the tank water, remember that chemicals that are made to get rid of fungus and parasites can also kill the beneficial bacteria in the tank. Bacteria are the little bugs that remove ammonia and nitrite from dissolving fish and plant waste. If you believe you have a problem in your fish tank, it's best to gradually increase the amount of water you remove and replace. Instead of using chemicals, gradually work up to the point you remove and replace half the tank water every few days. Keep the water clean and you'll keep healthy fish.

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Hello, hello. Friday and we'll go over to the government office and perform a water change on their 55 gallon. We'll also replace the two sponge filters with a Fluval C2. The sponges are essentially worn out and removing them will improve the look of the tank, I think. The filtration can really be minimal, since we change out so much water every week.

I read recently about things to do or look for when buying new fish. Here are some of them: Never buy fish that are on sale or buy fish in a tank that has even one dead one. Look for fish with clear eyes, no body defects like missing scales, good color, actively swimming, look well nourished, well formed and healthy looking fins, no obvious splits. Keep your receipt for your fish when you buy them, most stores allow you to return those that die within a couple of weeks, along with a sample of your tank water.

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Hello again. Discovered what I think are a couple of new Buenos Aires Tetras in my 50 gallon tank. Lost count of how many I have. But, the water conditions must be just about right for these fish. Attached is a photo of some of them.

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Another Friday post. Decided to do a water change on the outdoor 300 gallon trough. The weather has been hot to say the least. Rarely do we see 100 degree days in northern Colorado. This week's forecast is saying most of the days are going be 100 degrees plus. Just crazy heat! Now, this has got to be climate change. So, I thought the outdoor fish might like a little cooler water. Typically, this time of year the water stays around 60 degrees. I'm pretty sure the outdoor water temperature is higher than that. Good thing there's a pergola above the tank. At least the water will get some shade.

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Good morning to you. It's Saturday and it's supposed to be another scorcher! Yesterday was over 100 degrees and today is supposed to be the same. Thankfully, in northern Colorado, the temperature cools down at night. Today, we're starting the water change routine over with changes in the 45 and a 55 gallon tank. These two tanks have a good number of Platy fry in them. Most are close to an inch long and bright orange. Some are MIckey Mouse Platies. Today, we'll also take time to water the garden. We can water three times week, but only in the morning. We're not suppose to water in the heat of midday, but we see a lot of people doing it. The water just evaporates too quickly if you water when it's real hot.

Did you know if you're a tank keeper who removes and replaces half the tank water weekly, you don't need as much filtration? It's true. A filter just takes in dirty tank water and returns it to the tank a little less dirty. The large, weekly water change is the true filter. This is because the large water change completely removes the toxins and replaces them with clean, toxin free water. The filter can't replace dirty water with water that's clean. So, you can use a smaller filter as long as you're willing to remove and replace half the water every few days.

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Sunday morning. Supposed to be cooler for the next few days. Boy, the heat has really been something this past week. Hopefully, we'll get a little rain with the cooler weather. Today, we're going to work on a couple of tanks, a 55 and a 50. Just going to remove and replace half the tank water. When we perform a water change, we mix our water treatment in a pitcher of warm water with a handful of aquarium salt and stir. This way, we can pour the contents of the pitcher directly into the tank once the salt has dissolved. From here, we'll fit a garden hose with a faucet attachment onto the faucet and put the other end into the tank. We have marks on the faucet handle to show exactly where the handle needs to be set, so the water is roughly the same temperature as what's in the tank. We just turn on the faucet and fill the tank. A 55 gallon tank takes about 20 minutes to fill.

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Monday morning. Had a nice little rain last night. Could have lasted longer, though. But, we'll take anything at this point. Changed out some of the water in the 300 gallon trough last evening and will do three tanks today. This will keep us on schedule for doing all the tanks within five to six days.

I read recently that very tall tanks aren't good for keeping fish. Apparently, this is due to the small surface area to allow enough oxygen to mix with the water. Plus a tall, deep tank is extremely difficult to keep clean. Fish naturally swim from side to side. They swim horizontally most times. A tall tank doesn't allow that type of swimming. So, get a tank that's long side to side and short from top to bottom. This tank shape will be easier to keep plants in as well. Just do your homework before you buy anything.

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A Monday supplemental post. Decided to add a Fluval C2 to my 50 gallon Buenos Aires Tetra tank. These Fluval filters are really very good. Easy to put together and clean. These are smaller filters, really designed for a smaller tank. But, if you're used to removing and replacing a lot of tank water every few days, a smaller filter can move enough water around the tank to keep the oxygen level where the fish need it for good health.

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Good Tuesday morning. Boy, got sideways with one of the other people on this site yesterday. But, no matter, they were just having a bad day and needed someone or some reason to vent. I do understand. Today, we'll work on a couple of tanks. We'll change the water in a 60 and a 75 gallon tank. We've moved away from the no filter tank, to a tank with a small filter. The filter really does help with keeping the tank water clear. We're using some small filters and will continue to remove and replace half the tank water every few days.

A point I'd like to make clear. You can introduce fish to a new tank within 48 hours of setting up and filling it. You just need to know how to remove all the toxins from the water that can potentially harm your fish. Once you're clear on this point, you can proceed. It definitely doesn't take weeks and weeks to establish a bacteria colony to remove ammonia and nitrite.

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Tuesday supplement. Tanks are done. Lost a small Platy in a 55 gallon tank. This tank is heavily planted with Dwarf Water Lettuce. My guess the reason the Platy died was, it jump on top of one of the larger leaves of the Lettuce and couldn't jump back into the water. Strange. But, I've seen stranger than this.

So, more on setting up a tank and introducing fish within 48 hours. To do this, you must render all the chemicals that can kill the fish non toxic. These are the chemicals your water people put into the tap water to make it safe to drink and the most deadly forms of nitrogen from the dissolving fish waste. These are ammonia and nitrite. If you keep these chemicals out of the water, your fish will be fine. If you can think of anything else that can harm your fish, please let me know what it or they are.

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