Johns 450ltr (110 Gals) Journal

[john starkey]

I am so sorry I missed this John. I was looking forward to the planting too. Like George, I'm impressed. Everybody loves the HC, and as much as I love it too, what is really grabbing me in your tank is the moss. That is some lovely, bushy, straight growth there. In lower light setups, moss can be more stringy, which is not as attractive, but I, as a low-light person, have to make due.

I echo Sam's sentiment, however, how do you do the water changes? You must have a Python or something, or biceps of steel, because I'm just not seeing it done with buckets, which is how I do things.

Lovely aquarium, the massive shoal of cardinals is it, really works well. Impressive, especially for a first attempt. Again, research and the right equipment. I'd love to be able to do that one day, I just can't ever afford the best equipment.

llj

Hi llj, thanks for looking in as i have said i do value your opinions, as for water changes i have purchased some large bore pond hosing which is about 4mtrs long i open the patio doors and syphone off about 50g it only takes about 5 or six mins to empty, i then refill straight from the garden hose but i do this slowly because of the water temp, i plan to try out something different over winter because the tap water is so cold what do you think ? i will do a water change on say a sunday feed powders on the same day and from there feed plants every other day so i could maybe do a fortnightly water change, thanks for looking in regards john

 

[jimbooo]

sounds simple but how about getting some 5ltr water bottles lithe the ones you get mineral water in at the supermarket for about £2 each. if you can get 4 of them and fill them with water straight from your hot tap (as hot as possible) and whilst slowly adding cold from the hose at the same time pour the hot water in from the bottles. it will be a bit of a pain in the butt but it's one way to reduce the temp shock. obviously dont pour the hot straight onto a fish or that will cause it's own problems. just an idea. the other option would be my powerhead in the sink method with a long tube leading to the tank. i get the temp right on my mixer tap and let it run in a plugged sink whilst the powerhead sucks it out. i even add dechlorinator to the sink gradually to ensure no chlorine enters the tank as it fills.

why do we do it to ourselves hey john. i thought a 40G was a job to maintain but 50G a week of water changes in a 100G brings it's own challenges lol.

 

[lljdma06]

I am so sorry I missed this John. I was looking forward to the planting too. Like George, I'm impressed. Everybody loves the HC, and as much as I love it too, what is really grabbing me in your tank is the moss. That is some lovely, bushy, straight growth there. In lower light setups, moss can be more stringy, which is not as attractive, but I, as a low-light person, have to make due.

I echo Sam's sentiment, however, how do you do the water changes? You must have a Python or something, or biceps of steel, because I'm just not seeing it done with buckets, which is how I do things.

Lovely aquarium, the massive shoal of cardinals is it, really works well. Impressive, especially for a first attempt. Again, research and the right equipment. I'd love to be able to do that one day, I just can't ever afford the best equipment.

llj

Hi llj, thanks for looking in as i have said i do value your opinions, as for water changes i have purchased some large bore pond hosing which is about 4mtrs long i open the patio doors and syphone off about 50g it only takes about 5 or six mins to empty, i then refill straight from the garden hose but i do this slowly because of the water temp, i plan to try out something different over winter because the tap water is so cold what do you think ? i will do a water change on say a sunday feed powders on the same day and from there feed plants every other day so i could maybe do a fortnightly water change, thanks for looking in regards john

sounds simple but how about getting some 5ltr water bottles lithe the ones you get mineral water in at the supermarket for about £2 each. if you can get 4 of them and fill them with water straight from your hot tap (as hot as possible) and whilst slowly adding cold from the hose at the same time pour the hot water in from the bottles. it will be a bit of a pain in the butt but it's one way to reduce the temp shock. obviously dont pour the hot straight onto a fish or that will cause it's own problems. just an idea. the other option would be my powerhead in the sink method with a long tube leading to the tank. i get the temp right on my mixer tap and let it run in a plugged sink whilst the powerhead sucks it out. i even add dechlorinator to the sink gradually to ensure no chlorine enters the tank as it fills.

why do we do it to ourselves hey john. i thought a 40G was a job to maintain but 50G a week of water changes in a 100G brings it's own challenges lol.

And these are the days when I appreciate having small tanks and living in South Florida. No 100g for me, thank you very much.

 

[blue acara]

Wow. Absolutely stunning! I think this the nicest tank ive seen bar ADA entries, a real inspiration.
You have some great plant choices in there and in such fantastic health. I'd be tempted to put some Discus or Altums in there. Although the large school of Cardinals looks good on its own.

What a beautiful piece of wood

Congrats on a great tank John.

Dave

 

[blue acara]

Regarding water changes, Ive got a similar situation as i have a 125 gallon tank on E.I. I have a 60 gallon water butt situated on the left of the tank, its a tall barrel type so doesn't take up too much room. Its a bit unsightly but the tank is in a spare room so its not really a problem. I got the thing on e-bay, it used to contain curry! Was very cheap £25 delivered if I remember correctly.

I fill the barrel the night before a w/c add declore and turn on a 300watt heater. W/c day I siphon out the tank water to the garden then pump the heated barrel water to the tank via a Eheim water pump, no buckets needed!
This method works well but the barrel wouldn't look too smart in a nicely decorated living room.

One last thing is that I don't put hot water from my tap into any of my tanks. Reason being that the TDS of my hot water is 600 while the cold is 380 ish. That extra 200 TDS is something I don't want in my aquarium's.

 

[john starkey]

sounds simple but how about getting some 5ltr water bottles lithe the ones you get mineral water in at the supermarket for about £2 each. if you can get 4 of them and fill them with water straight from your hot tap (as hot as possible) and whilst slowly adding cold from the hose at the same time pour the hot water in from the bottles. it will be a bit of a pain in the butt but it's one way to reduce the temp shock. obviously dont pour the hot straight onto a fish or that will cause it's own problems. just an idea. the other option would be my powerhead in the sink method with a long tube leading to the tank. i get the temp right on my mixer tap and let it run in a plugged sink whilst the powerhead sucks it out. i even add dechlorinator to the sink gradually to ensure no chlorine enters the tank as it fills.

why do we do it to ourselves hey john. i thought a 40G was a job to maintain but 50G a week of water changes in a 100G brings it's own challenges lol.

Hi Jimboo, to be really honest i dont find the water changes that tiresome because i just love messing around with the setup anyway, i am stupid or what regards john,

 

[john starkey]

Wow. Absolutely stunning! I think this the nicest tank ive seen bar ADA entries, a real inspiration.
You have some great plant choices in there and in such fantastic health. I'd be tempted to put some Discus or Altums in there. Although the large school of Cardinals looks good on its own.

What a beautiful piece of wood

Congrats on a great tank John.

Dave

Hi Dave, thank you very for your kind words, i would like to put discus in but i dont want to overload the setup with fish, at the moment i think everything is nice and stable but some time in the future if i can find some discus that have been bred in hard water then maybe i will give them a try regards john.

 

[jimbooo]

One last thing is that I don't put hot water from my tap into any of my tanks. Reason being that the TDS of my hot water is 600 while the cold is 380 ish. That extra 200 TDS is something I don't want in my aquarium's.

TDS? please enlighten me. my hot comes from a combi boiler not a hot water tank if that makes any difference

 

[lljdma06]

One last thing is that I don't put hot water from my tap into any of my tanks. Reason being that the TDS of my hot water is 600 while the cold is 380 ish. That extra 200 TDS is something I don't want in my aquarium's.

TDS? please enlighten me. my hot comes from a combi boiler not a hot water tank if that makes any difference

TDS - Total Dissolved Solids. Miami Water is chock full of them, which is why I, with great affection, refer to it as "liquid rock". Hot water breaks down solids from your pipes etc, and dissolve it into the water. Like sugar dissolves more readily in hot rather than cold water. Can get yucky if you've a high level of TDS, and if evaporation is also an issue.

llj

 

[blue acara]

One last thing is that I don't put hot water from my tap into any of my tanks. Reason being that the TDS of my hot water is 600 while the cold is 380 ish. That extra 200 TDS is something I don't want in my aquarium's.

TDS? please enlighten me. my hot comes from a combi boiler not a hot water tank if that makes any difference

Total dissolved solids in ppm. My hot water tank is very old which must add the stuff. Its just something to be aware of particularly if your houses plumbing is old.

 

[john starkey]

One last thing is that I don't put hot water from my tap into any of my tanks. Reason being that the TDS of my hot water is 600 while the cold is 380 ish. That extra 200 TDS is something I don't want in my aquarium's.

TDS? please enlighten me. my hot comes from a combi boiler not a hot water tank if that makes any difference

Total dissolved solids in ppm. My hot water tank is very old which must add the stuff. Its just something to be aware of particularly if your houses plumbing is old.

Hi Dave, thanks for this bit of interesting info i didnt realise hot tap water could be full of dissolved solids,regards john

 

[Themuleous]

John - have you thought about switching to say PPS pro or PMDD? You dont need nearly the water changes if you use those systems, 20-25% every few weeks. Cant say I know much about either as not had time to read up yet, but they seem like good systems. If I go high light on my 100g when I get it, I think I'll use one just to save m water changes.

I guess if you got a water butt outside, you could rig up a pond heater to take the edge off the water before adding it to the tank? Then just get a decent marine powerhead in there to pump the water into the tank?

Sam

 

[jimbooo]

One last thing is that I don't put hot water from my tap into any of my tanks. Reason being that the TDS of my hot water is 600 while the cold is 380 ish. That extra 200 TDS is something I don't want in my aquarium's.

TDS? please enlighten me. my hot comes from a combi boiler not a hot water tank if that makes any difference

TDS - Total Dissolved Solids. Miami Water is chock full of them, which is why I, with great affection, refer to it as "liquid rock". Hot water breaks down solids from your pipes etc, and dissolve it into the water. Like sugar dissolves more readily in hot rather than cold water. Can get yucky if you've a high level of TDS, and if evaporation is also an issue.

llj

One last thing is that I don't put hot water from my tap into any of my tanks. Reason being that the TDS of my hot water is 600 while the cold is 380 ish. That extra 200 TDS is something I don't want in my aquarium's.

TDS? please enlighten me. my hot comes from a combi boiler not a hot water tank if that makes any difference

Total dissolved solids in ppm. My hot water tank is very old which must add the stuff. Its just something to be aware of particularly if your houses plumbing is old.

Ahh...that makes a lot of sense. my house is only 13 years old but the water is very hard. we go through irons and kettles every 6 months put it that way! when i fill my sink for the water change the cold tap water is pretty clear after it's run for a while but if i switch to just hot water whilst it's filling the clear cold sink water goes cloudy. it does settle and clear again but i noticed that when i look at the end of the water change hose in the tank while it's filling it looks like i'm pumping grains of fine sand into the clear tank water. again this settles and clears totally within 20 mins but i never did know what it was causing it.

 

[john starkey]

John - have you thought about switching to say PPS pro or PMDD? You dont need nearly the water changes if you use those systems, 20-25% every few weeks. Cant say I know much about either as not had time to read up yet, but they seem like good systems. If I go high light on my 100g when I get it, I think I'll use one just to save m water changes.

I guess if you got a water butt outside, you could rig up a pond heater to take the edge off the water before adding it to the tank? Then just get a decent marine powerhead in there to pump the water into the tank?

Sam

Hi Sam, i have heard of those two forms of plant feeding setups but like you i havent read up on it, perhaps we can make it a topic of disscusion at your place in a few weeks esspeccially when we have George and co coming, regards john.

 

[john starkey]

Hi all, i have ordered some plants today from Plants alive, i thought i would give them a try as Aquajardins tropica supplier has retired and he had no one to pass on the business to so they are now trying to find a new supplier, anyway the plants i ordered are Hemianthus micranthemoides, Micranthemum umbrosum, and Echinodorus latifolious, watch this space for pics in the next few weeks, regards john