I Guess It's Time To End The Hobby.

[FishBlast]

Thank you all for the information. I have a few more things that I need to know about:
1 - If I'll get a 100L tank, which would be better? a 100 cm long x 40 cm wide x 30 cm tall tank or 60 x 60 x 30 cm (height) tank?
I think that the 60 x 60 would allow for more turns / bigger surface, but the 100 x 40 x 30 would allow for more swimming and yet my catfish usually stands in certain places, even when he had a bigger tank he would pick a side of it and stay there along with his buddy. But the longer tank would probably make the swordtails happy. Which would be better out of those 2 possibilities and also which would work better with a 30 cm height? As I've heard that there might be some problems with short and long aquariums when it comes to resistance.

2 - I have a 300L/h Boyu SP-1000I filter. It also acts as an oxygen stone by spraying it along with the water jet, which i find useful, as it doesn't need that annoying airstone added. Will it be ok for a 100L tank? Basically it would recycle the water 3 times an hour.

 

[CezzaXV]

The 100x40x30 tank would be much better. It has a bigger surface area and more space for the fish to swim. As for the filter, it wouldnt quite be powerful enough as you generally want turnover to be at least 5 time the tank volume per hour, but since you have a fish which is known for being messy having it even more powerful certainly wouldn't hurt.

 

[FishBlast]

The 100x40x30 tank would be much better. It has a bigger surface area and more space for the fish to swim. As for the filter, it wouldnt quite be powerful enough as you generally want turnover to be at least 5 time the tank volume per hour, but since you have a fish which is known for being messy having it even more powerful certainly wouldn't hurt.

Yeah sounds, but is it going to "survive"? That would be 2 giant walls held by 2 tiny walls together...
Also, I'll have to see if my old desk is big enough to hold it, else i might have to reduce length and compensate in width. Unless dad is willing to help with constructing a new table, in which case the aquarium would have a guaranteed place to stay on.

Not sure about the filter, at the moment it's all I have. The catfish usually only makes one ball a day which can easily be picked up with a net. It's the swordtails I'm wondering if they'll start pooping all over. The filter currently sucks up almost everything. Some small pieces of debris might fall on the tank floor.
Also, the food barely reaches the floor, as it is eaten fast. Though if needed I will upgrade to a higher one. I'll just have to see if it can be established so that I could transfer bacteria if I'll get a new one.

I still need to think about the gravel vacuum problem. It seems like it's not currently working from that height, but my desk should be higher.

 

[riogal_11]

It's all good, I'm sure you'll figure it all out. Here in the US having a car is not a luxury, it's a necessity. How else will you be able to get to work? I wish I could work from home myself, to spend more time with the fishes.........

We use the common transport here. But I don't know if it is a luxury or not, just that even if you do manage to get one, the taxes for pollution for the cheapest cars will make you tear your hair out. Plus that I'm car sick.

And I don't seem to have any luck in working from home. Wasn't contacted by my boss so far (though I know he left his pc on non-stop, as he's still signed in on Hamachi for 4 days now). If he wanted to hide, wouldn't he shut that one down as well?

Tomorrow I'm applying for that job at Ubisoft. I may not be able to work at home, but playing all day and doing a detective job to find bugs or what people might not like at a game sounds nice. (now, it sounds too good to be true though, and even if I do get hired, there's college that I'll have to sign up for during summer...)

Also, my boss just got back from hospital. Hmm, maybe i'll be working 2 jobs at once then. To fill the free time I have.

It sounds like your boss is scamming you. The hospital, really? That's like the oldest scammer excuse in the book. Next thing you know, his grandma will have died for the 16th time.

 

[FishBlast]

It's all good, I'm sure you'll figure it all out. Here in the US having a car is not a luxury, it's a necessity. How else will you be able to get to work? I wish I could work from home myself, to spend more time with the fishes.........

We use the common transport here. But I don't know if it is a luxury or not, just that even if you do manage to get one, the taxes for pollution for the cheapest cars will make you tear your hair out. Plus that I'm car sick.

And I don't seem to have any luck in working from home. Wasn't contacted by my boss so far (though I know he left his pc on non-stop, as he's still signed in on Hamachi for 4 days now). If he wanted to hide, wouldn't he shut that one down as well?

Tomorrow I'm applying for that job at Ubisoft. I may not be able to work at home, but playing all day and doing a detective job to find bugs or what people might not like at a game sounds nice. (now, it sounds too good to be true though, and even if I do get hired, there's college that I'll have to sign up for during summer...)

Also, my boss just got back from hospital. Hmm, maybe i'll be working 2 jobs at once then. To fill the free time I have.

It sounds like your boss is scamming you. The hospital, really? That's like the oldest scammer excuse in the book. Next thing you know, his grandma will have died for the 16th time.

Well, I've known him from way before working for him. I know how bad his problem is, I also know the state of the business, it's nowhere near finished. So what will he gain? The website has no products on sale, it was arranged but he could have done that himself anyway. He also trained me to do several things I've done so far. I am not doing anything for him either right now. So he gains nothing until he pays.
Also, fingers crossed I'm applying tomorrow for the job at Ubisoft.

 

[riogal_11]

It's all good, I'm sure you'll figure it all out. Here in the US having a car is not a luxury, it's a necessity. How else will you be able to get to work? I wish I could work from home myself, to spend more time with the fishes.........

We use the common transport here. But I don't know if it is a luxury or not, just that even if you do manage to get one, the taxes for pollution for the cheapest cars will make you tear your hair out. Plus that I'm car sick.

And I don't seem to have any luck in working from home. Wasn't contacted by my boss so far (though I know he left his pc on non-stop, as he's still signed in on Hamachi for 4 days now). If he wanted to hide, wouldn't he shut that one down as well?

Tomorrow I'm applying for that job at Ubisoft. I may not be able to work at home, but playing all day and doing a detective job to find bugs or what people might not like at a game sounds nice. (now, it sounds too good to be true though, and even if I do get hired, there's college that I'll have to sign up for during summer...)

Also, my boss just got back from hospital. Hmm, maybe i'll be working 2 jobs at once then. To fill the free time I have.

It sounds like your boss is scamming you. The hospital, really? That's like the oldest scammer excuse in the book. Next thing you know, his grandma will have died for the 16th time.

Well, I've known him from way before working for him. I know how bad his problem is, I also know the state of the business, it's nowhere near finished. So what will he gain? The website has no products on sale, it was arranged but he could have done that himself anyway. He also trained me to do several things I've done so far. I am not doing anything for him either right now. So he gains nothing until he pays.
Also, fingers crossed I'm applying tomorrow for the job at Ubisoft.

I hope you get it.

 

[Ruskull]

The 100x40x30 tank would be much better. It has a bigger surface area and more space for the fish to swim. As for the filter, it wouldnt quite be powerful enough as you generally want turnover to be at least 5 time the tank volume per hour, but since you have a fish which is known for being messy having it even more powerful certainly wouldn't hurt.

Yeah sounds, but is it going to "survive"? That would be 2 giant walls held by 2 tiny walls together...
Also, I'll have to see if my old desk is big enough to hold it, else i might have to reduce length and compensate in width. Unless dad is willing to help with constructing a new table, in which case the aquarium would have a guaranteed place to stay on.

Not sure about the filter, at the moment it's all I have. The catfish usually only makes one ball a day which can easily be picked up with a net. It's the swordtails I'm wondering if they'll start pooping all over. The filter currently sucks up almost everything. Some small pieces of debris might fall on the tank floor.
Also, the food barely reaches the floor, as it is eaten fast. Though if needed I will upgrade to a higher one. I'll just have to see if it can be established so that I could transfer bacteria if I'll get a new one.

I still need to think about the gravel vacuum problem. It seems like it's not currently working from that height, but my desk should be higher.

You should get a siphon that has a hand pump, it's much easier & neater.

It sounds like you know your stuff, you'd be a good candidate for the job. Good luck!

 

[FishBlast]

I applied for it with my CV (one in English and one in Romanian). They told me what it's about and I've got 3 interviews with tests on pcs so that they know what I can do. I guess this is the time to put that IT diploma and my skills to use. Also, if anything, my current boss has helped me gain experience in operating Microsoft Office Excel and Word but also researching marketing.
EDIT: Just got called, Monday at 14:30 I need to be there.

The hand pump siphon sounds nice, I'll check at the store, but first will get dechlorinator. Dad said he'll get it for me.

Also, last night I seem to have noticed a nitrite spike, as the fish suddenly went to the top of the water and acted as if they were drinking (unless they were asking for food or found something to eat at the surface that I could not see). So I did a second quick huge water change (at 4 AM) with the spare water, as I did a change at 12 PM that day. Then they settled down. Today they are acting normal again. New water change planned at 6 pm unless they show signs again, in which case it will be earlier than that.

 

[FishBlast]

Well, that was a huge fail:
Friday the secretary told me that I will receive an e-mail with the coordinates of the interview (actually the test as it wasn't really an interview).
Monday morning - still no e-mail. I call them and they say e-mail will be sent shortly. It wasn't sent till now, but that's another problem.

I went to Ubisoft HQ and got told where to go. I took the test and there were a lot of bugs, some rendering the game almost unplayable (game freezes), the sound kept stopping. Some graphics had errors, the anti-aliasing was totally missing but then again it was a shooter game called Brothers in Arms. I had to use an xbox controller and I wasn't familiar with that, as I play at the PC.
They told us to take screenshots of the bugs / areas where the bugs occur. I did that and logged it all, with the pictures, in a word doc.
I didn't finish the game chapter though as the freezes made it hard to even shoot. Got shot in the end due to being unable to move.
Then they asked us to write an essay in English about our favorite game and I wrote about DMC3 as it is indeed my favorite. But no one even read it anyway.

At the end only 2 people out of like 5 or 6 qualified. They probably advanced way further and didn't get the game freeze.

Anyway, my current boss said he will send the money today and prove it with a receipt number. But I really hope he won't pull another excuse this time. Because I won't believe it.

*wishes she had a cup with "I hate Mondays"*

Edit: just received the e-mail... 4 hours later after the interview, to go to that interview that was 4 hours ago. Nice service.

 

[FishBlast]

My boss and I both did the transfer on screen through Western Union online. Money should arrive within 3 days at my bank, though it's not much for now, I'll have to ask dad to give the money he owes whenever he can so that I can also buy the test kit (his tenants will pay him soon anyway). The money can cover the tank, dechlorinator and some plants. Not sure about sand or gravel yet as I don't have a pump and my siphon seems to keep failing big time to suck anything out of my current tank. Took me 3 minutes to fill a bowl with it.

So, substrate: Which one is easier to maintain?
If sand: how long until I can use it in the tank? I know it will get sucked by a gravel vac, but does it just keep the litter over its top and not let it get buried like gravel does?
If gravel: Any special preparations of it before adding to the tank? Such as pouring boiling water over it.

 

[CezzaXV]

Most fish don't care what kind of substrate they're on, but for those who do (your hoplo probably would) they all prefer sand. The waste sits on the top of the sand whereas it sinks down into gravel, so while it can look unsightly at times, it's not sinking down and festering and poisoning your water. This is especially important as you're not cycled yet. Usually when you clean the and you end up sucking a little up with the dirt, but sand is cheap enough that you can easily just top it up when it starts getting a bit low.

 

[FishBlast]

Most fish don't care what kind of substrate they're on, but for those who do (your hoplo probably would) they all prefer sand. The waste sits on the top of the sand whereas it sinks down into gravel, so while it can look unsightly at times, it's not sinking down and festering and poisoning your water. This is especially important as you're not cycled yet. Usually when you clean the and you end up sucking a little up with the dirt, but sand is cheap enough that you can easily just top it up when it starts getting a bit low.

Yeah but I need details on how to prepare it for the tank. How long would it take? And I kind of like the idea that I could still see if there's poop. As I could also net it out when not using a vacuum. It would be cheaper than gravel too and would pose no risk to damage tank or hurt fish.

 

[CezzaXV]

Sand tends to be quite dirty when you get it, so you need to rinse it in a bucket. Put some in a bucket and fill it with water. Swish it around and then pour the water out. Repeat until the water runs clear within a few seconds of you swishing it.

 

[FishBlast]

Sand tends to be quite dirty when you get it, so you need to rinse it in a bucket. Put some in a bucket and fill it with water. Swish it around and then pour the water out. Repeat until the water runs clear within a few seconds of you swishing it.

I don't have a bucket, I have a giant bowl, will that do?
Also, I don't know if I can find play sand. Do they sell sand at fish stores? Or do I need to go looking for a pile of sand? (I know where to find some but not sure it's safe, it's from the construction site... )

I see some stores have such cheap sand for aquariums, I wonder... should I get white one or brown or black?
I heard black would make fish feel more secure. White on the other hand, goes well if you want Hoplos to look good on them (might also help with spotting poop).

 

[Man of fish]

Hope it all works out!