Any guidance welcome

[sharkweek178]

ok well will see how this goes then. i’m looking at my ph now its looking like it’s about 7.4 hard to tell though. what do you think?

Is the high range pH test included with your kit?

 

[Mikeyboy123]

cherry shrimp are easy to feed so you don't need algae in your tank to sustain them. They'll eat pretty much any fish food - flake, granules, algae wafers, catfsh pellets. The only problem with your substrate being the way it is, is that uneaten food will very easily get lodged deep down into the substrate so may be out of reach of the shrimp. With sand, the uneaten food stays on top, so the shrimp scavenge it up in a jiffy. If you keep shrimp I'd recommend feeding your fish very carefully so there is minimal uneaten food (a good thing to do in general but particularly important with your substrate/filter) and put in blanched veg such as broccoli for the shrimp. They will also eat cattapa leaves. I put a large cattapa leaf in and it takes about a week before it is soft enough for the shrimps to be able to eat it, and then it is reduced to a skeleton over the course of another week.

 

[Mikeyboy123]

Is the high range pH test included with your kit?

Exactly, I think your pic is just showing the limits of that test kit. it can't measure above 7.6 so it's showing 7.6. You need a high rage test kit as well. The pH should drop a bit naturally as the tank matures, especially as you have such soft water.

 

[Mikeyboy123]

I've been investigating a bit more and it looks to me like the filter works like a box filter. I had initially assumed that the water entered the filter housing through the sides and/or underneath. But it looks to me like the water enters through the top plate, so it's really just an air driven box filter. There will be incidental flow of water through the substrate, but only because of general turbulence, and not in the same way as with an undergravel filter. Therefore I think you could probably replace the substrate with sand which I think would a be a lot healthier for your aquarium. By using the substrate that came with the biorb you'll end up with a load of sludge trapped down there in no time. I'd recommend maidenhead aquatics speckled sand.

https://www.fishkeeper.co.uk/aqua-s...43715&indexName=magento2_livedefault_products

It does need a LOT of rinsing though!

I may be entirely wrong in this though. the water inlets may be on the sides/underneath. Ali, are you able to advise?

 

[Essjay]

The rocks on the bottom of the tank are the biomedium so it's a box-undergravel hybrid filter. The water passes through the sponge/carbon cartridge then up through the rocks.


To be honest, before going any further I would remove that built in filter - cartridge, rocks etc - then get some sand, wash it very well as it'll be full of dust, put that in the bottom of the tank and plant the plants which root in the substrate and get a small internal filter. With a 30 litre tank, don't get anything powerful. For example, I have this filter in my 23 litre shrimp tank

Amazon.co.uk

It's basically a sponge with a pump on top.

 

[Mikeyboy123]

The rocks on the bottom of the tank are the biomedium so it's a box-undergravel hybrid filter. The water passes through the sponge/carbon cartridge then up through the rocks.


To be honest, before going any further I would remove that built in filter - cartridge, rocks etc - then get some sand, wash it very well as it'll be full of dust, put that in the bottom of the tank and plant the plants which root in the substrate and get a small internal filter. With a 30 litre tank, don't get anything powerful. For example, I have this filter in my 23 litre shrimp tank

Amazon.co.uk

It's basically a sponge with a pump on top.

That's what I would do, but I'm just trying to think of ways ali can use what she's got.

If it were me I'd also saw a rectangular hole in the top so that I could put a decent LED up there and cover up the hole with a sheet of glass.

 

[Essjay]

I've just looked at biorb's UK site, and there's no mention of a heater under '"what's included"

Aquarium, air pump, LED lighting, transformer, water treatments, air stone, filter cartridge, ceramic media, and instruction manual

Do you have a heater? Unless you keep your house at tropical temperatures all year round, including the middle of the night in winter, there are very very few creatures which can be kept at room temperature all year round in this this size & shape tank.

 

[alio6]

aquarium version of cocaine bears? lol i have only seen a snippet of said bear on gogglebox i can only presume you mean they are mad for it lol but yeh down the line we will see. i have a snail already it seems. must have come in on the plants.

 

[alio6]

I've just looked at biorb's UK site, and there's no mention of a heater under '"what's included"



Do you have a heater? Unless you keep your house at tropical temperatures all year round, including the middle of the night in winter, there are very very few creatures which can be kept at room temperature all year round in this this size & shape tank.

yes i have a 50 watt biorb heater you buy it separately… my tank is currently 26.9°

 

[alio6]

Is the high range pH test included with your kit?

no it’s an api 6.0- 7.6 test

 

[Essjay]

API make 2 pH testers, up to 7.6 and over 7.4. When the pH is above the low one or below the high one, the testers show the highest/lowest colour on the chart, so 7.6 on the low could be 7.6 or higher than 7.6.
Both testers come with the master test kit and if the reading with one is at the end of the scale, we test with the other. For exampe, my tap water tests as 7.6 on the low one and 7.4 on the high one so I call that 7.5.



The pH you tested, was that tank water or tap water? If it was tap water you also need to leave a glass of tap water to stand over night. There are gasses etc disolved in tap water and they can change the pH. When it's allowed to stand, they gas off and pH can change. Since tank water has been standing in the tank, we need to compare the tank to tap water that's been allowed to stand.

 

[alio6]

API make 2 pH testers, up to 7.6 and over 7.4. When the pH is above the low one or below the high one, the testers show the highest/lowest colour on the chart, so 7.6 on the low could be 7.6 or higher than 7.6.
Both testers come with the master test kit and if the reading with one is at the end of the scale, we test with the other. For exampe, my tap water tests as 7.6 on the low one and 7.4 on the high one so I call that 7.5.



The pH you tested, was that tank water or tap water? If it was tap water you also need to leave a glass of tap water to stand over night. There are gasses etc disolved in tap water and they can change the pH. When it's allowed to stand, they gas off and pH can change. Since tank water has been standing in the tank, we need to compare the tank to tap water that's been allowed to stand.

ah ok i’ve just tested the tank water i’ve not tested my tap water at all

 

[Mikeyboy123]

aquarium version of cocaine bears? lol i have only seen a snippet of said bear on gogglebox i can only presume you mean they are mad for it lol but yeh down the line we will see. i have a snail already it seems. must have come in on the plants.

snails often come in on plants. I'd remove any you see for now. I have two nerites in both of my tanks. They cannot reproduce in fresh water. I also have a population of tiny freshwater limpets in each tank which came in on plants. I did for a while hate them and tried very hard to get rid, but I've now come to accept them. They don't cause any problems really.

I had an amano in one of my tanks for about a week. It was the most hyperactive creature I've ever seen, with the possible exception of a cockapoo puppy I used to look after for an old lady that lives near me. I had a hair algae outbreak at the time and it ate algae like you wouldn't believe (the amano, not the cockapoo), but it was just constantly absolutely tearing around all over the tank and causing a great deal of stress to the other inhabitants. I am also sure, despite protestations from many to the contrary, that it predated one of my chilli rasboras. It disappeared one day and I found it dried up on the floor.

I'm sure they'd be fine in bigger tanks, but I don't think they are suitable for nano tanks, and many websites say they'll be fine in a 5 gallon, but I don't agree with that, not if you've got small shrimps and fish in there.

 

[sharkweek178]

snails often come in on plants. I'd remove any you see for now. I have two nerites in both of my tanks. They cannot reproduce in fresh water. I also have a population of tiny freshwater limpets in each tank which came in on plants. I did for a while hate them and tried very hard to get rid, but I've now come to accept them. They don't cause any problems really.

I had an amano in one of my tanks for about a week. It was the most hyperactive creature I've ever seen, with the possible exception of a cockapoo puppy I used to look after for an old lady that lives near me. I had a hair algae outbreak at the time and it ate algae like you wouldn't believe (the amano, not the cockapoo), but it was just constantly absolutely tearing around all over the tank and causing a great deal of stress to the other inhabitants. I am also sure, despite protestations from many to the contrary, that it predated one of my chilli rasboras. It disappeared one day and I found it dried up on the floor.

I enjoy my amanos. Mine aren't as active as yours though. I just got a couple yesterday. Very small. I'm hoping I didn't buy an expensive snack for my fish.

 

[alio6]

snails often come in on plants. I'd remove any you see for now. I have two nerites in both of my tanks. They cannot reproduce in fresh water. I also have a population of tiny freshwater limpets in each tank which came in on plants. I did for a while hate them and tried very hard to get rid, but I've now come to accept them. They don't cause any problems really.

I had an amano in one of my tanks for about a week. It was the most hyperactive creature I've ever seen, with the possible exception of a cockapoo puppy I used to look after for an old lady that lives near me. I had a hair algae outbreak at the time and it ate algae like you wouldn't believe (the amano, not the cockapoo), but it was just constantly absolutely tearing around all over the tank and causing a great deal of stress to the other inhabitants. I am also sure, despite protestations from many to the contrary, that it predated one of my chilli rasboras. It disappeared one day and I found it dried up on the floor.

i feel bad for him, he’s on his own and he has no food. what am i to do with him?
lol my brother has a cockatoo so i know exactly what you mean! i don’t want any version of that lol aww sorry about ur chilli rasbora