First Tropical Aquarium

[Salam]

Yes, might work. Daily, smaller water changes would be better in this case, so they don't get a ph shock by a sudden drop. As long as it doesn't go over 0.25ppm smaller ones will be fine (30%ish).

 

[smithyithy]

Back to the fish ideas, do you think I could have a Betta in this tank?

 

[Salam]

One male betta can be kept with a community, but tankmates have to be carefully selected, i.e. no fin nipping fish such as guppies.

You could actually have a combo of the ones I suggested before as you have 140 litres. Dwarf gouramis swim more at the top, bolivian rams stay near the bottom. So you'd have two pairs on each end of the tank. Then your neon tetras shoal and something nice for the bottom.

 

[smithyithy]

I wanted to ask about none-fish too.. Whether anything like shrimp, frogs or even crabs would be viable?

Also, what about an algae eater? Saw one at Ripples, not the prettiest fish but it was cool watching it slide along the decor with it's mouth open lol

 

[Salam]

You could get a bristlenose plec into this tank. They grow up to 5 inches. Just stay away from common plecs, they grow up to 2 feet. There are other plecs that stay small, I'll find you the list in a moment. As long as you stick to one that stays small that would be fine.

Shrimps are a possibility, depending on what other tankmates you chose to have. Some bigger fish would eat them, others leave them alone.

Crabs are not recommended, they can nip on fish while they sleep and they can escape a tank. I'd leave them in a species tank only if you wanted some.

There are aquatic dwarf frogs around, but again depending on what else you chose it is maybe not possible.

Edit: Here is the list of plecs that stay under 8 inches. I advise that you go for one 5 inch maximum, preferrably even smaller. They are poop machines!

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/132656-30-plecos-under-8-inches/

 

[smithyithy]

Thanks

 

[Salam]

You're welcome. Just really let it settle down now, wait a few weeks and research the fish you like. Once the parameters are stable give us a list of what you like and we'll get you the perfect tank stocking with a variety of fish and invertebrates that are compatible with each other. With 140 litres you could get quite a good mix in, but you need to make sure that all go well together. That's the problem and that's why I ended up with so many tanks because there are too many fish out there and they are not all compatible with each other

 

[smithyithy]

That's something I'm discovering too, I can see myself in a similar situation in a couple of years, parents will be chuffed

 

[Mcbenthy]

one (possible) cause for the increase in pH is if you have a fairly low hardness and you have added in a load of bottled bacteria. I'm pretty curious about them (not wanting to start a discussion here, go to the scientific section for whether they work or not!), as they do have bacteria in at some point, and I'd assume a food source - ammonium hydroxide (HNH3OH). This a pretty basic/'alkaline' compound and would pull the pH down. Conc. ammonia that I use in the lab is around the pH 12 mark, so a bottle of the stuff added to a tank that has poor buffering capabilities (low hardness say < GH 8) would definitely demonstrate that sort of an increase...

Easy way to bring it down, peat, bogwood, almond leaves etc etc - anything that leaches tannins/humic acid

 

[smithyithy]

Another question / query...

When I got the tank full and the filter running, I put the heater on and the temp, according to a £15 Marina digital thermometer, was 30°C. This was obviously too high, so I turned it off.

It's been running with fish in for 4 days now and only this morning had the temp dropped into the 25's...

Does this sound right?? In thinking either the lights are keeping the water warm, on top of my room which is usually the warmest room in the house.. Or the thermometer is faulty..

Any ideas? Do these temps seem realistic??

 

[Mcbenthy]

Another question / query...

When I got the tank full and the filter running, I put the heater on and the temp, according to a £15 Marina digital thermometer, was 30°C. This was obviously too high, so I turned it off.

It's been running with fish in for 4 days now and only this morning had the temp dropped into the 25's...

Does this sound right?? In thinking either the lights are keeping the water warm, on top of my room which is usually the warmest room in the house.. Or the thermometer is faulty..

Any ideas? Do these temps seem realistic??

Do you have any other thermometers in the house? if so get a few of them, leave them on the side and see what they all figure ambiant temperature is, this will tell you if it's mis calibrated.

Also, my T5s chuck out a lot of heat, and my old filter motor did as well, which meant I struggled keeping the temp below 26.

 

[Salam]

+1 to what McBenthy said.

How is it going anyway? Parameters stable? Hope all is ok and tetras are still happy.

 

[smithyithy]

That makes sense Mcbenthy, there's a plumbing / DIY store on my way home from work, I'm gonna pop in tomorrow and grab a couple of old school thermometers. It's normally shut but I finish at 2 tomorrow so I'll be past early enough to get them then do a decent water change when I get home.

I've been absolutely swamped at work and having I walk a few miles there and back each day is a killer until I get another car lol..

Salam, parameters hadn't changed at all over 24 hours and that was after a 20-ish % water change. So I'll test it again tomorrow, do a big change, then retest Sunday or Monday.

Fish are fine though, visually.. I guess it's cause they're relatively hardy but they seem to be doing fine which is good, can't wait to get some tank mates in with them.

Also, at this stage would it be safe to use something to give my plants a boost?

 

[Salam]

So, is ammonia still 0.25ppm then? It's better to do a big water change tonight then to bring it to 0 and maybe it stays there.

Tetras are not hardy at all, they drop like flies when parameters are no good, so at the moment it's either still good or you are lucky.

You can get liquid fertilizer if you like. It's the easiest for now as they usually just need to be added weekly rather than daily like liquid carbon.

 

[Mcbenthy]

So, is ammonia still 0.25ppm then? It's better to do a big water change tonight then to bring it to 0 and maybe it stays there.

Tetras are not hardy at all, they drop like flies when parameters are no good, so at the moment it's either still good or you are lucky.

You can get liquid fertilizer if you like. It's the easiest for now as they usually just need to be added weekly rather than daily like liquid carbon.

grrr.. stoopid multi quote didnt work.

Smithyithy: Please can you post the results of your test? ammonia, nitrite, pH etc etc.

I agree with Sal here, a large water change will help (especially if your tap water is pH7.5 vs tank pH of 8.2!) Remember pH isn't a linear scale, it's logaritmic, so each whole number oh a pH scale is 10x more hydrogen (as H+) - simplified, will go into great details about the pH scale and what the values actually mean if you want over PM

Regarding ferts. Go EI. it cost me £3 more to be set up, and with my 20G the ferts will last 5+ years - all for ~£20. All you need is a decent guide, and some weighing scales - it's really that easy! - link

EDIT: Added a link