njparton
Fishaholic
I'm a little concerned that my tank isn't letting enough CO2 out/02 in and is therefore preventing efficient gas exchange.
My tank is glass and measures (LxHxD) 92x47x38 cm. It has a glass condensation tray with sliding glass doors (which can be completely removed leaving a 62x23 cm hole). About 10 cm above the tray it has a wooden hood, under which sit 3 lighting tubes.
At the back corners there are two 3x3 cm holes for filter tubing, wires etc. (mostly filled with said tubing and wires!) but other than that the surface of the water is cut off from the atmosphere. 02 levels in the water vary from approx. 8 mg/l at the top to 2 mg/l at the bottom.
Overnight and during the day (weekdays when I'm at work) I run an 8 l/min air pump to promote gas exchange by moving the water at the bottom and agitating the surface. I have around 10 live plants to help provide 02 during the day.
Question is - do I need to consider removing the glass doors in the tray and replace them with a porous material which will let gases through but not fish? - I've already had to go chasing after silver hatchets....
Sometimes (mainly a few hours after water changes actually
) I catch my fish "panting" (rapid gill movements which they don't normally do) and I can hear fish jumping, hit the tray and plop back in again quite frequently (I think this mainly my plec - are they known for this?).
Can anyone recommend a material I can strech between a homemade wooden frame to fill the proposed gap in the tray?
My tank is glass and measures (LxHxD) 92x47x38 cm. It has a glass condensation tray with sliding glass doors (which can be completely removed leaving a 62x23 cm hole). About 10 cm above the tray it has a wooden hood, under which sit 3 lighting tubes.
At the back corners there are two 3x3 cm holes for filter tubing, wires etc. (mostly filled with said tubing and wires!) but other than that the surface of the water is cut off from the atmosphere. 02 levels in the water vary from approx. 8 mg/l at the top to 2 mg/l at the bottom.
Overnight and during the day (weekdays when I'm at work) I run an 8 l/min air pump to promote gas exchange by moving the water at the bottom and agitating the surface. I have around 10 live plants to help provide 02 during the day.
Question is - do I need to consider removing the glass doors in the tray and replace them with a porous material which will let gases through but not fish? - I've already had to go chasing after silver hatchets....
Sometimes (mainly a few hours after water changes actually
) I catch my fish "panting" (rapid gill movements which they don't normally do) and I can hear fish jumping, hit the tray and plop back in again quite frequently (I think this mainly my plec - are they known for this?).Can anyone recommend a material I can strech between a homemade wooden frame to fill the proposed gap in the tray?
