My First Tank

[stickyemu]

your tank looks good i like

 

[The Fish Fan]

*edit* If thinking of Cory (when the time comes) 4 is considered the minimum, 6 is better and all the same kind

I've been reading about the peppered cory here:
<a href="http/www.theaquariumwiki.com/Corydoras_paleatus" target="_blank">http/www.theaquariumwiki.com/Corydoras_paleatus</a>

And we be getting more than just two, thanks for your advice too. I can't see there being room for 6 though!

And also here's my readings from the tank, after I got the API master kit on day three.

I've read over this online cycling diary: http/www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/foru...read.php?t=5322
where an 80 litre tank had a nitrate peak of 2ppm. But it didn't drop off for a few days.

 

[data276]

my advice on the stocking would be

5 neon teteras

3-4 pygmy cories

a small school of pygmy hatchet fish for some top dwellers.

that is a beautiful setup btw could you post which plants they are and which camera are you using?

 

[The Fish Fan]

that is a beautiful setup btw could you post which plants they are and which camera are you using?

Thanks for your nice words.
I don't know what plants I have, I need to spend some time working it all out actually.

I've described the camera setup above in the thread. It's all down to the extension tubes on the SLR and of course a tripod.

Cheers Again, Duncan.

 

[OldMan47]

Hi Duncan, I have just had a look at your chemistry results and find them a bit disturbing. Do your plants grow rapidly right now? If so it may be alright but if not the nitrates should be rising, not falling. To pull down nitrates well enough to outrun the bacterial conversion usually takes a lot of fast growing plants. This would be especially true if you are dosing with ammonia and not relying on the fish or fish food to produce it. If you are getting good growth with bright lighting it is probably OK.

 

[The Fish Fan]

Hi Duncan, I have just had a look at your chemistry results and find them a bit disturbing. Do your plants grow rapidly right now? If so it may be alright but if not the nitrates should be rising, not falling. To pull down nitrates well enough to outrun the bacterial conversion usually takes a lot of fast growing plants. This would be especially true if you are dosing with ammonia and not relying on the fish or fish food to produce it. If you are getting good growth with bright lighting it is probably OK.

Hello Again,

The plants are growing quickly so are the snails!! The small tank is very bright with two 15w bulbs which were on about 12 hours a day (now shortened slightly)

However I guess the Nitrate results are still quite low.
I think the API master kit readings for Nitrate are fairly innacurate, it's hard to tell the what's going on where the numbers jump so far across the colour chart, and the colours are a little subjective. Also I haven't been taking regular reading across the full set of tests, I haven't had the time. Also taking colour reading under different light conditions may affect readings I suppose.

Anyway I've started this morning with a timed, full set of readings.

Last night after my test (day 16) I added ammonia to get it to around 3.5
This morning at 8.30am I got:

PH - 6.5
NH - 3.5
NO2 - .8
NO3 - 10

I added ammonia (three squirts on a tiny pipette) retested ammonia at 9.00 am: NH3 - 4
I'll retest tonight at 8.30 pm

Here's an updated graph and a few more fun photos :

 

[Miss Wiggle]

you know i really like that last pic, not cos it tells us anything but just as a picture!

 

[The Fish Fan]

you know i really like that last pic, not cos it tells us anything but just as a picture!

I'm in Leeds too, and I've just looked at your Media Donation link.
I wish I'd seen it sooner.

Duncan.

 

[vinylman]

I see someone's recommended Neon Tetras for your tank; just be aware that there are quite a few fish that aren't suitable for a newly-cycled (but not matured) tank. Now's the time to be getting a 'wants' list together. Try not to buy without checking here first, though. Always good to see someone going the fishless route. BTW, I'd be getting rid of those snail eggs now or you'll be absolutely over-run with them. Try to keep some of the trumpet snails, though - they do a good job of keeping the substrate turned.

 

[The Fish Fan]

I see someone's recommended Neon Tetras for your tank; just be aware that there are quite a few fish that aren't suitable for a newly-cycled (but not matured) tank. Now's the time to be getting a 'wants' list together. Try not to buy without checking here first, though. Always good to see someone going the fishless route. BTW, I'd be getting rid of those snail eggs now or you'll be absolutely over-run with them. Try to keep some of the trumpet snails, though - they do a good job of keeping the substrate turned.

Hiya vinylman.
Are you suggesting Neons might not be good for a new tank, or have I misunderstood?

I've been to Paws for Thought on York Road a lot, they have Neon Tetras in a tank with Peppered Corys which both look visually very good and I assume they get on together in the long term. From everything I've read so far they would seem to be a good mix. They seem to occupy different areas of the tank.

As it's our first foray into fish and I want to keep it very simple. I've mentioned this combination of fish in this thread, I guess it will be OK?
I will be getting my fish from there, it's only a few minutes from home but I've had suggestions for more unusual species which they don't stock.

As the thread is getting long, I'l recap where I'm at:
It's a weird and small tank with a measured 50 litres of water in it after substrate and decorations etc.
I've not bothered filling the tank fully for cycling
I've read that the peppered corys like to gulp air and need space at the top of the tank
I've been cycling with StressZyme and plants in, as well as Homebase Ammonia and some fish food
It's been cycling since the 11th and recently I've seen the Nitrite rise and fall
Accurate Nitrate readings are a nightmare in the lower registers, so ignore most of it on my reading graphs
I'm doing a full set of timed reading at the moment to get a proper handle on where the NO2-NO3 conversion is at
I'm not in a rush for fish

What I need:
Someone to offer an opinion of whether my tank is ready
Further stocking advice based on popular, and very easy to find species


Any more advice folks? Regards, Duncan.

 

[vinylman]

I don't see why Neons and Corys wouldn't mix but yes, you're right - Neons and Cardinals aren't great in a newly-cycled tank. A lot of fish are nowhere near as hardy as they used to be. A cycled tank is one thing, but a MATURED tank can take another three months (at least) to achieve. I know it's very simplistic, but think of the end of cycling as the filter bacteria being ready to support fish; after that the tank takes time to stabilise and settle down (I told you it was simplistic!).

 

[The Fish Fan]

OK, other questions then...

How will peppered corys take to a newly cycled tank then?
And what easily available stock would live happily with them in a new tank...

More tank readings:

Last night after my test (day 16) I added ammonia to get it to around 3.5
This morning under daylight conditions at 08.30 I got:

PH - 6.5
NH3 - 0.5
NO2 - .8
NO3 - 10

I added ammonia (three squirts on a tiny pipette) retested ammonia at 9.00 am: NH3 - 4

Tested at 17.00 under tungsten light:

PH - 6.8
NH3 - 2.5
NO2 - 1.5
NO3 - 14 (approx)

I'll test again at 00.00

 

[waterdrop]

you know i really like that last pic, not cos it tells us anything but just as a picture!

Yeah, I really like that picture too!

And I agree with vinyl re the neons (waiting 6 months after cycling for mine) and I agree with oldman and dorsey re being careful about reading too much into your cycling numbers. It looks like you could be nearing the end of the first phase of fishless cycling (where ammonia drops pretty reliably) and are maybe just starting the second phase where you would expect nitrite to "spike" as high as your test kit can measure it and stay that way for days or weeks.

The test for getting the cycling into final qualifying is if you put 5ppm ammonia in and both ammonia and nitrite(NO2) can drop to zero ppm within 12 hours or less (of when you put the ammonia in). If the filter can do that then that gets you into the "qualifying week" where you watch it do that reliably every single day for that final week. If it passes then you can do your big water change and introduce your hardiest subsets of fish and begin your first 6 months tank maturing period.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[vinylman]

Afraid I can't help you with the Peppered Corys, fishfan; I didn't get my Bronze and Peppered Corys until about six months ago - by which time the tank had been running for nearly four years. I can't believe they'd cause trouble with other fish though. Maybe (considering the size of your tank) you'd be better off with several Dwarf Corys?. Just to be on the safe side, though, I'd still wait a couple of months after your cycle has finished. I know it's hard when you've done your cycle and there are fish you REALLY want, but it really is better to be safe than sorry. I'm sure a post in the Catfish section will get you the Cory info you need.

 

[waterdrop]

cories are beloved by many aquarists indeed partly because they almost never bother -any- other fish in a community tank, at least that's always been my experience (and I had a lot of all the bigger types years ago, never had the smaller types which I'm now interested in..) and as far as I've read. Obviously I could be wrong about that and there might be some really experienced corry people in the species-specific section for them.

I do, however and unfortunately, seem to recall that they are yet another fish that fall into that category of "wait for the tank to be more mature" although I believe this is not as extreme with them as with neons. And actual experience varys quite a bit on any of these waiting things. Perhaps other members will chime in with what they've experienced and read on these catfish.

~~waterdrop~~