Oxygenating A Fluval "edge"

[Photomegus]

Hi everyone, my name is Lewis and I'm coming back to fish keeping after around 20 years. To this end, I am now the proud owner of a brand new Fluval Edge, having fallen in love with its very modern styling.

I've added substrate, 2-3cm of 5mm shingle, one or two plastic plants to hide the heater and a half dozen real plants. I've also filled it of course, and treated for Chlorine. It came with an integral filter. It's been running for 24 hours and is beautifully clear already.

Being keen to have happy fish, I've been restoring forgotten stuff in my head via the internet prior to adding fish, and true to form the more I find out the more questions there are. I'm now very confused.

The Fluval Edge has a sealed lid made of glass with a cutout in the top for the filter exhaust. The idea is to fill it to 5mm above the top glass, hence no air gap and the surface area to atmosphere is around 100mm x 150mm. The obvious answer is an air pump, excepting the bubbles would collect under the top glass.

Looking on youtube, there's a guy who has made some filters from plastic bottles, ceramic beads and an air pump. He did this for a fast track cycling rescue set up. I'm not sure how this works with ammonia control in a rush, but I'm thinking this may be a good way of getting the absorbed oxygen to a decent level and at the same time allowing me to guide the bubbles above the surface.

Q1
Can anyone advise me on the above please? Not least I'm worried about over oxygenating the water in this manner and messing up the ecosystem.

Q2
I know I need to get bacteria active to control ammonia, but where does this bacteria come from in the first instance?

Q3
The sales guy was intimating I could introduce a group of Cardinals next week, however I've since been informed they would be unlikely to survive an ammonia spike and shouldn't be introduced for at least 6 months. This was the first I'd heard of these issues. Could anyone point me to some quality bedtime reading so I can make some more informed decisions please?

Sorry for the tome...

Regards,

Lewis

 

[DrRob]

OK, I've not run a fluval edge, I will say that most people don't have too much trouble with oxygen levels without an airpump.
 
What size edge have you got?
 
As for cycling, have a read of this.
 
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/421488-cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first/

 

[Lillefishy]

The filter in the edge creates quite a bit of surface movement, I had no problems with oxygen levels when I had mine.
Imo cardinals aren't suitable in an edge, the 23 litre being too small & the 46 having more height than swimming length

 

[Photomegus]

Hi DrRob,

Thanks for the prompt response...

It's the 42 ltr.

It used to be that the quantity of fish was dictated by the surface area of the water, but most references now go by volume. Without the surface contact with air, where does the oxygenn come from?

I've been reading through the setup info on this site, which is a Goodsend, but still haven't spotted where the ammonia controlling bacteria comes from. Is this what "Stress Coat" introduces?

Regards,

Lewis

 

[DrRob]

They're in the water supply, and other places.

 

[Photomegus]

Hi Lillefishy,

That's a shame. I want the fish to be content...

I had been watching some Cardinals earlier today, in a much bigger tank, but after an hour or so they were still in the same territory which was smaller than my tank. They had a lot of other fish in there though.

Lewis

 

[Blondielovesfish]

to the forum, Lewis.
 
Because of the design of the tank, you can't stock it like you can with other similarly sized tanks, I think it would be best stocked as if it were a nano tank, just on a larger scale, have a look HERE for some ideas.
 
If you're worried about oxygenation, you could have the waterline slightly lower, if the filter allows for that.
 
The beneficial bacteria that live in the filter and break down the ammonia and nitrite, come in from the water supply. You can also get starter bacteria packs, but most of them don't work very well, which is why it is better not to waste your money on them.
 
Have a read of the link in my signature (same one DrRob linked you to) for a guide on how to cycle your tank fishlessly.

 

[Somner]

I've found that the Fluval Edge runs perfectly fine with the water level about 1-2cm below the glass top, leaving plenty of surface area. Everytime I've filled it above the glass top my fish are constantly at the surface for air and there is always a huge bubble at the top of the front half.

 

[Photomegus]

Hi Blondie...,

I was looking at fishless cycling in my lunchbreak today. Seems like a good way forward whilst I climb (some more of) the learning curve.

As I said above, it was the design of the Edge that got my attention. I especially want to fill the tank as Fluval have designed it, so I've designed my own bit of kit that will help with the aeration, sending the air out of the top port whilst the aerated water cascades back to the tank. The kit on youtube I'm guessing uses the surface area of the ceramic beads to foster the bacteria. Aerate and filter; must be good.

I also looked at the nano tank set up. It's a list of fish, but I'm not sure what Tek is saying. Given the total quantity it seems you should choose one from the list, but then there would be fish at one strata only? Also, there's some agressives in there? I need to do some more research to see what he's recommending. My tank is a 42 litre, hence a max of 20 cm? Back to the surface area conundrum...

Hi Somner,

Thanks for the info. As above I want to find a way to use it as intended. By the way, if you get a large bubble at the front then I'm guessing your tank isn't level? More to the point whatever it sits on isn't level. The filter design requires it to be level, there's an adjuster, but the tank should be reasonably level at the outset.

All,

Thanks for all the advice. If anyone can recommend that book...?

Best regards,

Lewis

 

[Blondielovesfish]

I also looked at the nano tank set up. It's a list of fish, but I'm not sure what Tek is saying. Given the total quantity it seems you should choose one from the list, but then there would be fish at one strata only? Also, there's some agressives in there? I need to do some more research to see what he's recommending. My tank is a 42 litre, hence a max of 20 cm? Back to the surface area conundrum...

 
Yes, the list is meant for only one species to be chosen
 
If a fish is, say, in the 3G category, then it can also be used in a 5G tank, or 7G. The list is supposed to be indicative of the minimum tank size, but you can go bigger.
 
What I'm suggesting you do, is pick whatever species from the nano list, and, say you chose Pygmy Corys, instead of having only 5 like the 5G category calls for, you could have like 8-9, but not 11-12 like you could with a similar sized tank, that was longer, instead of taller like the edge.
If you get what I mean.....