OP
OP
LOL not sure I'll be ready for that, but if I get some growth and a few fishies in there I'll give it a try.
My Dream Aquarium- 55 Gallon - Plans
- Thread starter MuddyWaters
- Start date
OP
OP
UPDATE: Added some red
OP
OP
This stuff is hard, y'all. I know some of you are pros, and you have my never ending respect and admiration. I am too clumsy to do this for a living LOL.
I decided to get a "ring" to keep my red root floaters in. I bought one that has a flexible tube that can attach to the walls of the tank. I like that idea...kind of... Anyway, I went to set it up. Simple right?
I got it set up- super simple, then started rounding up the little red root floaters to put in the "ring" (more of a u-shaped). The corral - as we'll call it- is situated in front and above some craggy little branches that I have some plants that enjoy lower light. That way, you can see the red roots front and center, and below them, the little rhizome-laden plants enjoy some shade.
As I was rounding up the little buggers, I must have bumped the big vertical log. The dadgum rocks fell out and it floated sideways, bumping the other log along the way and floating it. Then I see a recently planted ...plant floating also. I had both arms deep in the aquarium at this point trying to gather everything and keep the logs from stamping out some new plants. Then I turned to grab a towel to keep from splashing everywhere, and boop! I knocked over my dadgum coffee. LOL.
I love doing this, I just wish I was a little more agile.
Here's the ring for my floaters- hope it works, but I might just make my own.
Everything decided to float.
Coffee abuse!!!!
I decided to get a "ring" to keep my red root floaters in. I bought one that has a flexible tube that can attach to the walls of the tank. I like that idea...kind of... Anyway, I went to set it up. Simple right?
I got it set up- super simple, then started rounding up the little red root floaters to put in the "ring" (more of a u-shaped). The corral - as we'll call it- is situated in front and above some craggy little branches that I have some plants that enjoy lower light. That way, you can see the red roots front and center, and below them, the little rhizome-laden plants enjoy some shade.
As I was rounding up the little buggers, I must have bumped the big vertical log. The dadgum rocks fell out and it floated sideways, bumping the other log along the way and floating it. Then I see a recently planted ...plant floating also. I had both arms deep in the aquarium at this point trying to gather everything and keep the logs from stamping out some new plants. Then I turned to grab a towel to keep from splashing everywhere, and boop! I knocked over my dadgum coffee. LOL.
I love doing this, I just wish I was a little more agile.
Here's the ring for my floaters- hope it works, but I might just make my own.
Everything decided to float.
Coffee abuse!!!!
OP
OP
UPDATE: FIRST FISH ADDED!!!!
Finally, clear water and I took off to the LFS. They luckily had 11 Green Fire tetra that I quickly scooped up (along with a new larger net- the one for the small tank is tiny).
I put them in the tank. I programmed the light to work pretty much how the out of the box "PRO" settings work, but moved the on time between 11am - 9pm so I get more viewing time. It has a siesta in the middle- not sure that's useful, but what the heck.
Anyway, see below for the little video of my little buddies! They are tiny and have very little color, but they will grow and become beautiful soon! NOTE: Forgive the one spot I have missed when cleaning the glass- figures that's where they would congregate.
They're actually swimming around pretty freely. When I walk up, they all collect together, but when I'm across the room, they are exploring and seem to be checking everything out. I'm sure they feel like they've just landed on a sprawling ranch compared to the little tanks at the LFS and wherever they grew up.
Finally, clear water and I took off to the LFS. They luckily had 11 Green Fire tetra that I quickly scooped up (along with a new larger net- the one for the small tank is tiny).
I put them in the tank. I programmed the light to work pretty much how the out of the box "PRO" settings work, but moved the on time between 11am - 9pm so I get more viewing time. It has a siesta in the middle- not sure that's useful, but what the heck.
Anyway, see below for the little video of my little buddies! They are tiny and have very little color, but they will grow and become beautiful soon! NOTE: Forgive the one spot I have missed when cleaning the glass- figures that's where they would congregate.
They're actually swimming around pretty freely. When I walk up, they all collect together, but when I'm across the room, they are exploring and seem to be checking everything out. I'm sure they feel like they've just landed on a sprawling ranch compared to the little tanks at the LFS and wherever they grew up.
OP
OP
UPDATE - Water Quality and More fish ordered
Ok, day 2 of my new little fishies. They are swimming around happily discovering this new big world they're in. I love it.
I was thinking I should change the water (I'm compulsive now), but did a test first.
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 20ppm
PH - 6.7
dKH - 5
GH - 53.7ppm
TDS - 163
I looked at the chart that shows CO2 saturation using dKH and PH. It shows 29.9 which I think is just right to help my plants grow. However, it's the first RED box on the table for 6.7 ph, meaning it's too much CO2.
This is where the "it's just a guide" part comes in, I think. I'm not sure. I think 29.9 is about right. The fish are not hanging at the top sucking air- they're all over the place. I'm using a Milwaukee M122 Pro to manage the PH level, so it's pretty spot on (although I did test the PH with API test to make sure).
Anyway, I want to leave it where it is. Anyone see a big problem with that? I don't think that CO2 chart is a hard fast rule, I think it's meant to be more of a guide. Sometimes, though, I'll make crap up in my head to fit what I want LOL.
Anyway- woo hoo! I'm loving it. More fish coming soon.... I'll update later.
Ok, day 2 of my new little fishies. They are swimming around happily discovering this new big world they're in. I love it.
I was thinking I should change the water (I'm compulsive now), but did a test first.
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 20ppm
PH - 6.7
dKH - 5
GH - 53.7ppm
TDS - 163
I looked at the chart that shows CO2 saturation using dKH and PH. It shows 29.9 which I think is just right to help my plants grow. However, it's the first RED box on the table for 6.7 ph, meaning it's too much CO2.
This is where the "it's just a guide" part comes in, I think. I'm not sure. I think 29.9 is about right. The fish are not hanging at the top sucking air- they're all over the place. I'm using a Milwaukee M122 Pro to manage the PH level, so it's pretty spot on (although I did test the PH with API test to make sure).
Anyway, I want to leave it where it is. Anyone see a big problem with that? I don't think that CO2 chart is a hard fast rule, I think it's meant to be more of a guide. Sometimes, though, I'll make crap up in my head to fit what I want LOL.
Anyway- woo hoo! I'm loving it. More fish coming soon.... I'll update later.
OP
OP
UPDATE: Fish Additions
On Friday I got my 5 Silver Hatchetfish, 10 Ember Tetra and 2 Royal Farlowella.
I did the snip, dump, plop method to get them in the tank since they were in shipment for a couple of days. All of the fish did very well except for 1 Royal Farlowella. That poor little guy died within about 20 minutes of me adding him to the tank. The other one is doing really well- he does me the favor of coming around to hang out at the front of the tank a few times a day. He's still really small, and very thin, so you gotta look for him to find him. Very excited to watch him grow, though- I've read they're a fun fish to have and don't stick strictly to their nocturnal ways.
Yesterday I went to the LFS to get more Ember Tetra. I LOVE the way they swim all over the tank. The funny thing is that some of the Green Fire Tetra have glommed on to the Ember Tetras' shoal and swim around with them. The other Green Fires tend to do their own thing- they shoaled for a day or two after I got them but then wander to their hearts' delight.
Anyway, the LFS didn't have any Embers in stock, so I was about to go, but I mentioned that I want to find a Spotted Raphael catfish at some point and a kid that was up at the register told me, "there's one right over there- I just saw it!"
The LFS manager didn't know they had one, but sure enough they did and I got him!!! I saw him for about 4 minutes when I dropped him in the tank, but after that I haven't seen him. That's normal for raphaels- they're nocturnal and like to hide during the day. I got him because I had one when I was a kid- and it was my and my Dad's favorite fish. Now I have another
.
Almost done getting fish. A few more Ember tetra and some angelfish on the way, but that's about it. I might get another Royal Farlowella, but we'll see. Also thinking about a few otocinclus (I've got some aglae on the leaves of my slow glowing red plants- the Alternanthera reineckii (I think), but not sure I should get the otos this early.
I also have an inline UV sterilizer coming tomorrow. I'll add that to the return for the FX4. That should keep algae and some bad bacteria out of the water. I am following the suggestions from on this article. Getting a cheapy, but it uses the same 18watt bulb as much more expensive ones. I like the idea of having this as a bit of a safety blanket, but don't want to spend a ton of money on it.
On Friday I got my 5 Silver Hatchetfish, 10 Ember Tetra and 2 Royal Farlowella.
I did the snip, dump, plop method to get them in the tank since they were in shipment for a couple of days. All of the fish did very well except for 1 Royal Farlowella. That poor little guy died within about 20 minutes of me adding him to the tank. The other one is doing really well- he does me the favor of coming around to hang out at the front of the tank a few times a day. He's still really small, and very thin, so you gotta look for him to find him. Very excited to watch him grow, though- I've read they're a fun fish to have and don't stick strictly to their nocturnal ways.
Yesterday I went to the LFS to get more Ember Tetra. I LOVE the way they swim all over the tank. The funny thing is that some of the Green Fire Tetra have glommed on to the Ember Tetras' shoal and swim around with them. The other Green Fires tend to do their own thing- they shoaled for a day or two after I got them but then wander to their hearts' delight.
Anyway, the LFS didn't have any Embers in stock, so I was about to go, but I mentioned that I want to find a Spotted Raphael catfish at some point and a kid that was up at the register told me, "there's one right over there- I just saw it!"
The LFS manager didn't know they had one, but sure enough they did and I got him!!! I saw him for about 4 minutes when I dropped him in the tank, but after that I haven't seen him. That's normal for raphaels- they're nocturnal and like to hide during the day. I got him because I had one when I was a kid- and it was my and my Dad's favorite fish. Now I have another
.Almost done getting fish. A few more Ember tetra and some angelfish on the way, but that's about it. I might get another Royal Farlowella, but we'll see. Also thinking about a few otocinclus (I've got some aglae on the leaves of my slow glowing red plants- the Alternanthera reineckii (I think), but not sure I should get the otos this early.
I also have an inline UV sterilizer coming tomorrow. I'll add that to the return for the FX4. That should keep algae and some bad bacteria out of the water. I am following the suggestions from on this article. Getting a cheapy, but it uses the same 18watt bulb as much more expensive ones. I like the idea of having this as a bit of a safety blanket, but don't want to spend a ton of money on it.
OP
OP
UPDATE: Last Fish are here and so is algae!!!
Well, I got the last fish for the tank today:
10 Ember Tetra
3 Otocinclus
3 Nerite Snails
12(!!!) juvenile Angelfish (see explanation)
I ordered 3 Blue Zebra and 3 Gold Wild Cross juvenile angelfish. The idea is to see how they grow up and to end up with one or two pairs and find another home for a couple if they start fighting as they mature. Fantasy would be that all 6 would get along, hope is that I'll have even enough sex split for 2 pair, and high possibility is that I end up with 1 pair and find homes for the other 4. Those were my plans.
HOWEVER, the place I got them from has a thing where they are sending extra fish to celebrate their new website. They sent me double my order!!! I'm super excited because I may end up with 2 good pairs, which would be ideal, and the possibility of having 3 pair that might maybe possibly get along is greater, although my expectations are realistic.
Shipping is very expensive, but they use breathable bags, insulate the box and add a heat pack to keep the fish warm. They also ship overnight. The fish shipped on the 10th and UPS didn't get them to me until today (13th). I was very worried- emailed the seller and he responded quickly reassuring me that it'll be ok.
The acclimation instructions are very specific and more than I'm used to. They say you should quarantine the fish for 1 - 2 weeks to keep them away from pathogens while they're stressed and acclimating. Since the fish are juveniles, I guess they are more susceptible to attacks when they are stressed.
So, I had to run out and buy a 10 gallon tank. He did tell me that I could use a 5 gallon bucket with a sponge filter as long as I added some seasoned media, but I figure I'll need an extra tank for quarantine and/or hospital along the way, AND, a cheapy Aqueon setup was half price, so I got it. I set up the tank the other night thinking the fish would arrive yesterday- took some media from my 15 gallon and added it to the crappy little HOT filter that comes with the set. It works fine. I glued a piece of 30 ppi sponge to the edge of the "waterfall" flow to break up the flow, and took a tank "separator" screen and slid it under that to further slow the flow of water out of the filter. The filter is pretty slow anyway, but they warned against using HOT filters or cannisters for the quarantine tank because high flow can kill the little angels.
When the fish arrived today I was ecstatic! I pulled them out of the box and was shocked at how rough they looked. At first I thought half were dead. They were laying on their sides. I took pictures (see below) and emailed the seller. They took an extra day to get to me, so I guess it stressed them more. I was worried it might not work out.
I was concerned that there would be a lot of ammonia in the water they came in and asked the seller if I should just skip that and put them straight in the quarantine tank. He told me to go ahead and acclimate as instructed, so I did. I poured the fish and their water into a 2.5 gallon bucket I use for water changes. I added a little Prime to nullify the ammonia and started to drip acclimate them to the quarantine tank water. 1 drip per second for a half hour, then double that after until the water doubled. Only one fish was moving much- the others were alive, but laying on their sides or just sitting on the bottom.
Once the water doubled, I put one fish in the quarantine tank to see how it would do. After a few minutes it was still on the bottom but was not laying on its side, so I added the rest. None were really moving much and about half were laying on their sides. After time, though, they all stood up and a couple would swim up to the middle of the tank and hang there. Eventually a few of them made their way up to the floating plant and kind of hid themselves in the plant.
By this evening, they were all still alive- not moving much, but all upright and some swimming a bit. I have hope that they'll make it now. I hope they'll get their color back in the next couple of days. I can't feed them for at least 24 hours. I'm not going to feed them tomorrow, but will feed them on Friday. The seller sent two little packs of food that they feed these fish- that was nice. They also suggested hatching some brine shrimp. I haven't done that before, but I might try that this weekend.
Anyway, in addition to the drama with the angelfish, I got 10 little scamper embers to join the posse already swimming around the tank. They jumped right in with the others- I could tell the difference because the new ones had NO color LOL- by this evening, though, they were almost back to full orange. The 3 otocinclus are attacking the algae that has begun to pile up on the slower growing plants and the nerite snails are doing whatever snails do LOL.
I am a bit worried about the algae- I think I have everything except black beard algae LOL. It has bloomed this week, but some of the plants have exploded with growth too- I'll be fiddling with lighting etc. to find the balance and rooting for the otos & nerites to get fat! My moss still looks really rough- there is green, but there is a lot of brown too- not sure how long it takes to really take hold and take off, but it hasn't happened yet. Knock on wood....
Anyway- I have written far too much as usual, so if you read this far thank you very much!!!
In the bucket acclimating- 1 drip per second...
Looking rough in the quarantine tank
One guy finally swimming around (a little)
There's always one rebel in every crowd....
Well, I got the last fish for the tank today:
10 Ember Tetra
3 Otocinclus
3 Nerite Snails
12(!!!) juvenile Angelfish (see explanation)
I ordered 3 Blue Zebra and 3 Gold Wild Cross juvenile angelfish. The idea is to see how they grow up and to end up with one or two pairs and find another home for a couple if they start fighting as they mature. Fantasy would be that all 6 would get along, hope is that I'll have even enough sex split for 2 pair, and high possibility is that I end up with 1 pair and find homes for the other 4. Those were my plans.
HOWEVER, the place I got them from has a thing where they are sending extra fish to celebrate their new website. They sent me double my order!!! I'm super excited because I may end up with 2 good pairs, which would be ideal, and the possibility of having 3 pair that might maybe possibly get along is greater, although my expectations are realistic.
Shipping is very expensive, but they use breathable bags, insulate the box and add a heat pack to keep the fish warm. They also ship overnight. The fish shipped on the 10th and UPS didn't get them to me until today (13th). I was very worried- emailed the seller and he responded quickly reassuring me that it'll be ok.
The acclimation instructions are very specific and more than I'm used to. They say you should quarantine the fish for 1 - 2 weeks to keep them away from pathogens while they're stressed and acclimating. Since the fish are juveniles, I guess they are more susceptible to attacks when they are stressed.
So, I had to run out and buy a 10 gallon tank. He did tell me that I could use a 5 gallon bucket with a sponge filter as long as I added some seasoned media, but I figure I'll need an extra tank for quarantine and/or hospital along the way, AND, a cheapy Aqueon setup was half price, so I got it. I set up the tank the other night thinking the fish would arrive yesterday- took some media from my 15 gallon and added it to the crappy little HOT filter that comes with the set. It works fine. I glued a piece of 30 ppi sponge to the edge of the "waterfall" flow to break up the flow, and took a tank "separator" screen and slid it under that to further slow the flow of water out of the filter. The filter is pretty slow anyway, but they warned against using HOT filters or cannisters for the quarantine tank because high flow can kill the little angels.
When the fish arrived today I was ecstatic! I pulled them out of the box and was shocked at how rough they looked. At first I thought half were dead. They were laying on their sides. I took pictures (see below) and emailed the seller. They took an extra day to get to me, so I guess it stressed them more. I was worried it might not work out.
I was concerned that there would be a lot of ammonia in the water they came in and asked the seller if I should just skip that and put them straight in the quarantine tank. He told me to go ahead and acclimate as instructed, so I did. I poured the fish and their water into a 2.5 gallon bucket I use for water changes. I added a little Prime to nullify the ammonia and started to drip acclimate them to the quarantine tank water. 1 drip per second for a half hour, then double that after until the water doubled. Only one fish was moving much- the others were alive, but laying on their sides or just sitting on the bottom.
Once the water doubled, I put one fish in the quarantine tank to see how it would do. After a few minutes it was still on the bottom but was not laying on its side, so I added the rest. None were really moving much and about half were laying on their sides. After time, though, they all stood up and a couple would swim up to the middle of the tank and hang there. Eventually a few of them made their way up to the floating plant and kind of hid themselves in the plant.
By this evening, they were all still alive- not moving much, but all upright and some swimming a bit. I have hope that they'll make it now. I hope they'll get their color back in the next couple of days. I can't feed them for at least 24 hours. I'm not going to feed them tomorrow, but will feed them on Friday. The seller sent two little packs of food that they feed these fish- that was nice. They also suggested hatching some brine shrimp. I haven't done that before, but I might try that this weekend.
Anyway, in addition to the drama with the angelfish, I got 10 little scamper embers to join the posse already swimming around the tank. They jumped right in with the others- I could tell the difference because the new ones had NO color LOL- by this evening, though, they were almost back to full orange. The 3 otocinclus are attacking the algae that has begun to pile up on the slower growing plants and the nerite snails are doing whatever snails do LOL.
I am a bit worried about the algae- I think I have everything except black beard algae LOL. It has bloomed this week, but some of the plants have exploded with growth too- I'll be fiddling with lighting etc. to find the balance and rooting for the otos & nerites to get fat! My moss still looks really rough- there is green, but there is a lot of brown too- not sure how long it takes to really take hold and take off, but it hasn't happened yet. Knock on wood....
Anyway- I have written far too much as usual, so if you read this far thank you very much!!!
In the bucket acclimating- 1 drip per second...
Looking rough in the quarantine tank
One guy finally swimming around (a little)
There's always one rebel in every crowd....
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OP
OP
UPDATE: Oh, boy, Did I Mess Up! Plus Update on the Angel Babies
I really enjoy posting successes with my aquarium, but don't like discussing my mistakes. I was thinking that as I was looking at my tank tonight considering the fact that it is not looking great. I did take a picture anyway and was going to talk about all the dang algae on my moss, but a bit later I found something WORSE that I need to confess:
I did a 50% water change on Wednesday. I love the way the FX4 makes it easy. When putting the water back, you turn off the IN hose, and turn on the OUT hose and the water change hose sucks the water out of your bucket, back into the tank. Easier than dumping 7-5 gallon buckets back in the top of the tank. So, I finished the water change, went to bed and all was well.
Thursday, I noticed the water was a bit cloudy. I have just started full-on EI fertilization, so I thought maybe there was some kind of bloom from the fertilizer or something. The numbers were all good on the water, so I just kept reminding myself- be patient- it's a new tank, there are going to be some swings as things settle in, so just go with it. I had made some lighting changes to try and deal with the algae explosion that happened on my moss, so I figured- let's stick with that change and see what happens. Don't freak out.
Today, the water continued to be cloudy, but again, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and ...the nitrate was up to 40 (from 20), so I thought- ok tomorrow I'm going to change the water. I sat there watching the tank, and noticed that there was detritus suspended in the water. It didn't move- I wondered how that could happen with the flow in the tank. ...weird. No light went off in my head.
There is oxygen bubbling off the top of some of my plants. This is very cool- before, it eventually made the CO2 come on (CO2 is controlled by an automated monitor). However, the CO2 was not coming on tonight. I double-checked the PH meter to make sure it's working right.
THE PH WAS 6.2 WHAT? I have the CO2 set to come on when the PH gets above 6.6. The controller is very sensitive and comes on a few times throughout the day. The PH has not dropped- it goes UP. Why is it 6.2?
Now I'm getting concerned. I put an airstone in the water and turned it on full blast. Immediately a BUNCH of detritus started coming up off the bottom and floating around, etc. After a couple of minutes I turned it off. The hatchet fish don't like it and I didn't like seeing all that crap floating around. Also, there's so much oxygen coming off the plants that it's making bubbles, so I know there's enough oxygen.
Finally, I felt the spray bar in the back for flow. No flow on the first section. Hmmm...maybe I didn't put my finger in the right place....felt the 2nd section which is directed a different way...no flow. uh, what is going on. I listened to the filter- sounds like it's on....kind of.... Checked the plug- it's plugged in.
THE 'IN' FLOW WAS OFF Oh crap, y'all. I can't believe that I did not open the 'IN' flow after filling the tank with water on WEDNESDAY. My tank has had no filtration for 2 days. Man, I feel like an idiot. I cannot believe I did that. I opened the valve and very obviously all the dang still suspended detritus started moving and stuff started getting sucked into the dang filter. No dang wonder the dadgum water was getting cloudy!!!! I'm amazed there wasn't any ammonia or nitrite. I'm guessing the plants & hardscape have enough bacteria now to keep those numbers down. Lord knows what else was floating around in there.
The fish were moving around as usual- not sure that's a real indicator of their health, but at least they weren't looking stressed. I don't know if I'll have long term effects from this, but I hope not. I'm going to vacuum the tank tomorrow and change water again. I'm going to put a sign on the door of the cabinet where the filter is to TURN ON THE IN FLOW so I don't forget. Holy crap. I wonder how much life I burned off my filter with that fiasco?
Well, meanwhile, my little angelfishies are all wrapped up. The seller told me to turn the light off and put a towel around the tank for a few days to help reduce the stress. I checked them today when I (finally) could feed them and they seemed to be getting a little bit of color. They are all still alive, so knock on wood. And the dadgum filter is still running in that tank, so ...yay.
I do love that they keep reading the emails I've sent and replying- very interactive and invested in helping me keep these babies alive.
Cloudy tank after 2 days of no dang filtration. The things that look like bubbles on the left over the intake and heater are the lights of the Christmas Tree reflecting on the glass.
Look at all that wispy algae on that log. Not sure what's up with the moss, but it's not doing great. I keep waiting for it to turn around....
I really enjoy posting successes with my aquarium, but don't like discussing my mistakes. I was thinking that as I was looking at my tank tonight considering the fact that it is not looking great. I did take a picture anyway and was going to talk about all the dang algae on my moss, but a bit later I found something WORSE that I need to confess:
I did a 50% water change on Wednesday. I love the way the FX4 makes it easy. When putting the water back, you turn off the IN hose, and turn on the OUT hose and the water change hose sucks the water out of your bucket, back into the tank. Easier than dumping 7-5 gallon buckets back in the top of the tank. So, I finished the water change, went to bed and all was well.
Thursday, I noticed the water was a bit cloudy. I have just started full-on EI fertilization, so I thought maybe there was some kind of bloom from the fertilizer or something. The numbers were all good on the water, so I just kept reminding myself- be patient- it's a new tank, there are going to be some swings as things settle in, so just go with it. I had made some lighting changes to try and deal with the algae explosion that happened on my moss, so I figured- let's stick with that change and see what happens. Don't freak out.
Today, the water continued to be cloudy, but again, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and ...the nitrate was up to 40 (from 20), so I thought- ok tomorrow I'm going to change the water. I sat there watching the tank, and noticed that there was detritus suspended in the water. It didn't move- I wondered how that could happen with the flow in the tank. ...weird. No light went off in my head.
There is oxygen bubbling off the top of some of my plants. This is very cool- before, it eventually made the CO2 come on (CO2 is controlled by an automated monitor). However, the CO2 was not coming on tonight. I double-checked the PH meter to make sure it's working right.
THE PH WAS 6.2 Now I'm getting concerned. I put an airstone in the water and turned it on full blast. Immediately a BUNCH of detritus started coming up off the bottom and floating around, etc. After a couple of minutes I turned it off. The hatchet fish don't like it and I didn't like seeing all that crap floating around. Also, there's so much oxygen coming off the plants that it's making bubbles, so I know there's enough oxygen.
Finally, I felt the spray bar in the back for flow. No flow on the first section. Hmmm...maybe I didn't put my finger in the right place....felt the 2nd section which is directed a different way...no flow. uh, what is going on. I listened to the filter- sounds like it's on....kind of.... Checked the plug- it's plugged in.
THE 'IN' FLOW WAS OFF The fish were moving around as usual- not sure that's a real indicator of their health, but at least they weren't looking stressed. I don't know if I'll have long term effects from this, but I hope not. I'm going to vacuum the tank tomorrow and change water again. I'm going to put a sign on the door of the cabinet where the filter is to TURN ON THE IN FLOW so I don't forget. Holy crap. I wonder how much life I burned off my filter with that fiasco?
Well, meanwhile, my little angelfishies are all wrapped up. The seller told me to turn the light off and put a towel around the tank for a few days to help reduce the stress. I checked them today when I (finally) could feed them and they seemed to be getting a little bit of color. They are all still alive, so knock on wood. And the dadgum filter is still running in that tank, so ...yay.
I do love that they keep reading the emails I've sent and replying- very interactive and invested in helping me keep these babies alive.Cloudy tank after 2 days of no dang filtration. The things that look like bubbles on the left over the intake and heater are the lights of the Christmas Tree reflecting on the glass.
Look at all that wispy algae on that log. Not sure what's up with the moss, but it's not doing great. I keep waiting for it to turn around....
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OP
OP
Hatching some brine shrimp for my angel babies
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OP
OP
UPDATE: Unexpected Loss
I lost Willy the Whip (tail). The Royal Farlowella has passed on. I can't believe it! He looked fine, acted fine, seemed to be doing well. I checked the water parameters again today and they're all good. I looked up the recommended parameters again to make sure I didn't miss anything. The only thing I didn't have was that the dKH should be 6-10 and mine is 4.
Even after the 2 days without the filter (see previous post for explanation) the ammonia was 0 and the nitrite was 0.
Whip tail catfish are supposed to be pretty hardy. I don't know, maybe the stress from shipping and the 2 days with no filtering just did something to him. Maybe something grew in the tank during those 2 days that got him?
The tank is still new- it's only a couple of months old including cycling time, so maybe there are just inconsistencies or bad micro-organisms that I just don't know about. I hate losing fish. Makes me want to go do-something-to-fix-it, but I've gotten myself in worse trouble making assumptions and doing stuff in the past. I checked the water- I did an out of schedule water change yesterday, the next change is Wednesday. I'm just going to stay the course and keep chipping away with slight adjustments here and there to keep things stable.
Truly, most of the adjustments and work I do with the tank is for the plants. The ways to check the water etc. for fish is pretty limited.
I actually bought a UV sterilizer, but decided against keeping it because
I lost Willy the Whip (tail). The Royal Farlowella has passed on. I can't believe it! He looked fine, acted fine, seemed to be doing well. I checked the water parameters again today and they're all good. I looked up the recommended parameters again to make sure I didn't miss anything. The only thing I didn't have was that the dKH should be 6-10 and mine is 4.
Even after the 2 days without the filter (see previous post for explanation) the ammonia was 0 and the nitrite was 0.
Whip tail catfish are supposed to be pretty hardy. I don't know, maybe the stress from shipping and the 2 days with no filtering just did something to him. Maybe something grew in the tank during those 2 days that got him?
The tank is still new- it's only a couple of months old including cycling time, so maybe there are just inconsistencies or bad micro-organisms that I just don't know about. I hate losing fish. Makes me want to go do-something-to-fix-it, but I've gotten myself in worse trouble making assumptions and doing stuff in the past. I checked the water- I did an out of schedule water change yesterday, the next change is Wednesday. I'm just going to stay the course and keep chipping away with slight adjustments here and there to keep things stable.
Truly, most of the adjustments and work I do with the tank is for the plants. The ways to check the water etc. for fish is pretty limited.
I actually bought a UV sterilizer, but decided against keeping it because
- I have otocinclus fish and don't want to kill all the algae they would eat
- the UV sterilizer heats the water- I want to control the temperature and didn't want to have to deal with a heater I can't do anything about
OP
OP
UPDATE: I AM A KLUTZ
I "cooked up" my first batch of brine shrimp over the last 30 hours or so. Got a little anxious to get them out of there and feed my little angelfishies, so I let them settle "to the light" and drained them into a little container. I went to cut off the waterflow into the container and promptly dumped the whole thing on the floor.
I was then frantically crawling around the floor trying to suck up brine shrimp from little puddles. Didn't work....Finally I had to wipe all those poor doomed shimpies up. They didn't even get the dignity of dying as part of the circle of life- just wiped off the floor like little wet piles of dust.
I did have a few shrimp left in the bottle, so I was able to feed the angelfishies a little bit... and I got another batch bubbling away.
Man, the last few days have been nuts- fish dying, didn't turn on filter valve for 2 days, dumped the water I just siphoned out of a tank right back in it, and now dumping brine shrimp on the floor. I thought this kind of thing was supposed to only happen in THREES. Let's hope it's done at 4 and not going to make it 2 THREES. LOL
The good news is the angelfishies are eating and slowly getting less stressed- and ALL still alive!!! I would love the have the problem of what to do with too many once they reach adulthood. Knock on wood.
Poor brine shrimp
I "cooked up" my first batch of brine shrimp over the last 30 hours or so. Got a little anxious to get them out of there and feed my little angelfishies, so I let them settle "to the light" and drained them into a little container. I went to cut off the waterflow into the container and promptly dumped the whole thing on the floor.
I was then frantically crawling around the floor trying to suck up brine shrimp from little puddles. Didn't work....Finally I had to wipe all those poor doomed shimpies up. They didn't even get the dignity of dying as part of the circle of life- just wiped off the floor like little wet piles of dust.
I did have a few shrimp left in the bottle, so I was able to feed the angelfishies a little bit... and I got another batch bubbling away.
Man, the last few days have been nuts- fish dying, didn't turn on filter valve for 2 days, dumped the water I just siphoned out of a tank right back in it, and now dumping brine shrimp on the floor. I thought this kind of thing was supposed to only happen in THREES. Let's hope it's done at 4 and not going to make it 2 THREES. LOL
The good news is the angelfishies are eating and slowly getting less stressed- and ALL still alive!!! I would love the have the problem of what to do with too many once they reach adulthood. Knock on wood.
Poor brine shrimp
OP
OP
UPDATE - Another Loss
I don't know how, but a hatchet fish died overnight. I bought 5, was mysteriously down to 4 after 2 days (I think one jumped and a cat got him), and I've watched them every day for almost 2 weeks. They were all doing well- the remaining 3 look fine, but there was one laying on his side at the bottom.
To date, I have lost:
Still in the tank I have:
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 10 (after yesterday's water change)
PH 6.6
dKH 4
TDS 177
I am fertilizing using the EI method with NilocG Aquatics dry fertilizer. 3 days macro, 3 days micro, 1 day nothing and 50%+ water change (about 60% yesterday).
Also added these tabs to the substrate. Got them because 40 come in the bag.
I watch the fish all the time- I've had some hair algae and I get in there and remove it some.
I watch the dKH & PH to make sure I don't have too much CO2- with 4 dKH and 6.6 PH, I have right at 30 ppm CO2.
I have added potassium carbonate (I think that's what it is) to raise the dKH- my water is very soft. I've also put some crushed coral in the tank in front of the flow- I'm going to add some to the filter when I clean it- most folks recommend waiting 3 months to do that, but I've had so much plant matter in the first couple of months that I'm going to clean it early.
I don't know what else to do. I hate losing fish. Part of me thinks it's just part of the deal when you get new fish- especially in a new tank- the stress of shipment or transport from the LFS.
***See here for why I have 12 angelfish!
This is a pretty dim record. The tank was fully cycled and fully planted before adding the fish. I watch them all the time- they move very freely, eat like horses and just don't look stressed at all.
The otos don't necessarily surprise me- I probably got them too soon. Out of 20 ember tetra (half shipped, half from LFS) I've only lost a couple and only lost 1 Green Fire tetra (the first fish I put in).
Well, I don't know- I know things will get better as the tank settles down and gets closer to "crystal clear water."
I am quarantining the angelfish for at least another week. They are less skittish and they are eating well, but don't have the color back yet. I have them in a 10 gallon tank with media from my small tank and a couple of floating water sprite plants from the big tank. So far so good. I'm actually surprised that all 12 are still alive. They looked so bad when they arrived! I guess following the acclimation process to the letter helped.
Anyway, I'm rambling. As always, thanks for reading and here's hoping you and yours have a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and wonderful holiday season in general!
I don't know how, but a hatchet fish died overnight. I bought 5, was mysteriously down to 4 after 2 days (I think one jumped and a cat got him), and I've watched them every day for almost 2 weeks. They were all doing well- the remaining 3 look fine, but there was one laying on his side at the bottom.
To date, I have lost:
- 2 hatchet fish
- 1 Green Fire tetra (10 left)
- 2(?) Ember tetra (18 or so left- they are impossible to count)
- 4 Otocinclus (2 left)
- 2 Royal Farlowella (0 left)
Still in the tank I have:
- 7 Nerite snails
- 2 Otocinclus
- 1 Spotted Raphael catfish
- 1 bamboo shrimp (thought he was dead but saw him at the front of the tank yesterday)
- 3 Hatchet Fish
- 18 (or so) Ember Tetra
- 10 Green Fire Tetra
- 12 juvenile angelfish (6 Wild-Gold cross, 6 Blue Zebra) in quarantine***
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 10 (after yesterday's water change)
PH 6.6
dKH 4
TDS 177
I am fertilizing using the EI method with NilocG Aquatics dry fertilizer. 3 days macro, 3 days micro, 1 day nothing and 50%+ water change (about 60% yesterday).
Also added these tabs to the substrate. Got them because 40 come in the bag.
I watch the fish all the time- I've had some hair algae and I get in there and remove it some.
I watch the dKH & PH to make sure I don't have too much CO2- with 4 dKH and 6.6 PH, I have right at 30 ppm CO2.
I have added potassium carbonate (I think that's what it is) to raise the dKH- my water is very soft. I've also put some crushed coral in the tank in front of the flow- I'm going to add some to the filter when I clean it- most folks recommend waiting 3 months to do that, but I've had so much plant matter in the first couple of months that I'm going to clean it early.
I don't know what else to do. I hate losing fish. Part of me thinks it's just part of the deal when you get new fish- especially in a new tank- the stress of shipment or transport from the LFS.
***See here for why I have 12 angelfish!
This is a pretty dim record. The tank was fully cycled and fully planted before adding the fish. I watch them all the time- they move very freely, eat like horses and just don't look stressed at all.
The otos don't necessarily surprise me- I probably got them too soon. Out of 20 ember tetra (half shipped, half from LFS) I've only lost a couple and only lost 1 Green Fire tetra (the first fish I put in).
Well, I don't know- I know things will get better as the tank settles down and gets closer to "crystal clear water."
I am quarantining the angelfish for at least another week. They are less skittish and they are eating well, but don't have the color back yet. I have them in a 10 gallon tank with media from my small tank and a couple of floating water sprite plants from the big tank. So far so good. I'm actually surprised that all 12 are still alive. They looked so bad when they arrived! I guess following the acclimation process to the letter helped.
Anyway, I'm rambling. As always, thanks for reading and here's hoping you and yours have a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and wonderful holiday season in general!
Oto's really mostly just eat bio film... they can be hard to keep, for a couple of reasons...
1st... they come in starved... they are in large groups before they get to you, with not enough tank surface area to feed as many as are usually housed... and often come to you as Zombies... ( alive, but have been starved too long to live normally )
2nd... because they mostly eat only bio film, they need a mature tank, with some buildup of bio film... critters on your list, like the snails, & those whip tails are/ were in direct competition for food with them..., & while your newer tank has seasoned beneficial bacteria, it's new enough, that there is probably slim pickin's on the bio film they eat
I have a thing for Zebra Oto's & I just got 4 more... I had gotten 4 about a year ago... 1 survived my bad water to start, & newish tanks, & has been thriving lately with a more mature tank, & much better water... so I just added a group of 4 more... regular Oto's, I still have 2 of my original 4... but in researching buying the Zebras, there was a quote that like 1 in 6 or 8 survives, & if you can keep one for 3 months they will likely survive... I'm hoping now that I'll have a little better odds on my 2nd group of Zebras... they are much harder to find, I think are not bred in captivity, so are all wild caught... and thus more expensive... I was coincidentally watching 3 of them interact on the front glass of my South American tank this morning... only pictures I have are old, but the zebras are cool fish
1st... they come in starved... they are in large groups before they get to you, with not enough tank surface area to feed as many as are usually housed... and often come to you as Zombies... ( alive, but have been starved too long to live normally )
2nd... because they mostly eat only bio film, they need a mature tank, with some buildup of bio film... critters on your list, like the snails, & those whip tails are/ were in direct competition for food with them..., & while your newer tank has seasoned beneficial bacteria, it's new enough, that there is probably slim pickin's on the bio film they eat
I have a thing for Zebra Oto's & I just got 4 more... I had gotten 4 about a year ago... 1 survived my bad water to start, & newish tanks, & has been thriving lately with a more mature tank, & much better water... so I just added a group of 4 more... regular Oto's, I still have 2 of my original 4... but in researching buying the Zebras, there was a quote that like 1 in 6 or 8 survives, & if you can keep one for 3 months they will likely survive... I'm hoping now that I'll have a little better odds on my 2nd group of Zebras... they are much harder to find, I think are not bred in captivity, so are all wild caught... and thus more expensive... I was coincidentally watching 3 of them interact on the front glass of my South American tank this morning... only pictures I have are old, but the zebras are cool fish
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OP
OP
You know, I thought they ate just as much algae as anything- I have algae to spare, but I would guess, as you suggested, that bio-film is not yet in large supply.
I had read to wait 4 months, and my impatient @#$@ wanted them NOW, so I get what I get, I reckon. The 2 remaining seem to be doing well, so knock on wood. I have vowed to wait 2 more months before getting anything (if I decide to add anything else) regardless.
I'm worried for my angelfish. They are coming along well in the quarantine tank. The guy from Angelmania.com told me to quarantine them until they swim all over the tank and come begging for food when I walk up. They are just about there now, but they don't have color yet- it's so weird. So, I'm going to quarantine for another month.
Anyway- back to otos- those zebra otos are cool!!! I didn't know there were different types- maybe I'll have to look at them in 4 - 6 months
Thanks for the input Magnum Man- Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and happy holidays to you and yours!
OP
OP
UPDATE- Angelfishies coming along
Angel fish are getting less skittish- they swim around the tank sometimes and are starting to realize my presence means food, so coming to the top when I walk up. They don't have color yet, though, so going to do another week.
Angel fish are getting less skittish- they swim around the tank sometimes and are starting to realize my presence means food, so coming to the top when I walk up. They don't have color yet, though, so going to do another week.
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