Should I start again?

[fish-edz]

Sorry about the length of this post, but I wasn't sure how much info you guys would need
to be able to give a useful response.

Set-up:


Equipment:

• Fluval Duo 1000 (101x45x47) approx. 140L
• 1x Hagen Sun-Glo 36" 30W Tube
• 1x Hagen Aqua-Glo 36" 30W Tube
• Hagen Fluval 3 Plus with Carbon Insert
• Hagen Tronic 200W
• Rena Cor 4.5m Heating Cable
• Rena 50 with a 4" Bar towards the back - Avoid using it though so as to avoid CO2 loss.

Test Results with API Freshwater Liquid Test Kit: (Measured today)

• pH: 7.0
• Nitrite: 0ppm
• Nitrate: 0-5ppm
• Ammonia: 0.25ppm
  
• Water Temp: 25oC.

Planting:

• 2x Echinodorus blehri (Tropica #071)
• 1x Echinodorus barthii (Tropica #072A)
• 1x Echinodorus "Oriental" (Tropica #072C)
• 1x Cryptocoryne x willisii "lucens" (Tropica #107A)
• 1x Anubias barteri var. nana (Tropica #101)
• 1x Bacopa caroliniana (Tropica #043)
• 1x Lilaeopsis brasiliensis (Tropica #040)
• 2x Vallisneria spiralis (Straight Vallis, Locally sourced)

Occupants:

• 1x Chinease Algae Eater (Golden)
• 12x Small Neon Tetras
• Quite a few Ramshorn snails (I counted 10 quite big ones plus there are loads of tiny ones)

Has been running for about 3 months (with snails)
Stocked 2 weeks ago with 6 tetras.
Then followed with Chinease Algae Eater (from another tank).
Just added 6 more tetras.


Was curious as to what the heating cable was doing, so stuck a thermometer in the sand to measure temperature. No differnce to water temperature. I think it must be faulty.

Also, am a little concerned that Sand is too deep in some places.
It slopes uneavenly from about 1.5" at the front to 3" at the back.
In the right-hand corner there is a bank feature behind some bog wood with a depth of 4". This is about 50% Sand and 50% Fine Gravel.

Water goes cloudy everytime the surface is disturbed. A book on aquarium planting said I didn't need to wash sand. Well I know better now. It's a real pain! The fish dissapear for a day and half every time I disturb the sand or do some vacuuming.

Partly due to this, but mainly due to the fauly heating cable here is my plan:

1. Set-up spare small tank (50cm) with heater and water from the main tank.
2. Transfer Tetras and Algae eater to this tank temporarily.
3. Remove plants and place in buckets of aquarium water.
4. Save some snails, transfer others to outdoor pond. (The little buggers multiply exponentially)
5. Remove Bog Wood and place in shallow aquarium water.
6. Save as much as possible of remaining aquarium water in plastic dustbin (new & clean).
7. Remove all substrate & wash thoroughly until water runs clear.
8. Remove heating cable and return to store (internet shop).
9. Wait for replacement - hopefully fish will be ok for a few days, and plants should be ok at room temperature.
10. Re-construct the tank using less sand if possible.
11. Fill tank with aquarium water that was saved, then re-introduce fish.


What do you think?

• Is this going to be a major stress to the fish?
• Will the plants suffer?
• Will this cure the cloudy water problem?
• Should I bother putting the heating cable back?

I'm thinking of getting a Fluval 304 External Filter and fitting a surface skimmer & spray bar.

For the same money, my other choices would be an Eheim Ecco 2234 or an Eheim Professional 2222.



Any comments or help would be greatly received.

 

[gadazobe]

Hi and welcome. I've read your post twice and I still can't see why you want to start again. Just to get rid of the cloudy water or thin out the sand or a combination of both.
Also, I'm sorry, but what's a heating cable? IMO, the best kind of heater is one with a thermostat that sticks on one of the walls of the tank. Two small ones are better that one big one for large tanks.
What's the size of the tank? Sorry to ply you with so many questions, but some things aren't clear to me (most probably due to my lack of sleep )
Also, I know the tank has been running for some time, but has it cycled? According to the test results, your ammonia is rising and there's no sign of nitrite. I don't think it's possible to cycle a tank with just snails, although I may be wrong there.

 

[fish-edz]

Thanks for the reply,

Firstly, a heating cable is in addition to the proper thermostatically controlled heater (the 200Watt hagen Tronic stuck on the back wall of the tank with integrated thermostadt).

The cable is buried in the sand and is supposed to move nutrients around in the substrate by small convection currents - hence why it should be a few degrees warmer than the water. Cooler water from the aquarium is drawn down through the substrate, while warmer water rises.

To get the benefit of this you need a substrate additive "aquatic fertilizer" in effect. This I have by way of a 600g pot of JBL Floropol - spread evenly over the surface and sandwidched between two layers of sand.

However, after monitoring the temperature of the sand and using a multimeter to check continuity on the pins of the cable, I am of the opinion that it is broken. As it is burried at the bottom of the tank it means to get it out so I can get a replacement I have to dismantle the rest of the tank. While I'm at it, I may as well take the opportunity to thoroghly wash the sand to remove the dust which will hopefully stop the cloudy water problem.


Tank size was at the top of the post, but I didn't put any units so it may not be obvious. It measures 101cm (W) x 40cm (D) x 40cm (H). (These are correct measurements - previous post was wrong) This gives and approximate water volume of 160 Litres - 42 US Gallons or 35 UK Gallons.

Also, I had been cycling the tank following a pogramme of Nutrafin "Cycle" which contains beneficial bacteria for the filter. (Obviously with filter running all the time).
This was done since the tank was set-up (3 months). The pet-store then reccommended 6 tetras to start, then add a few more after a week.

Initially, I had a large population of various types of algae in the tank - but this has since been gobbled up by the algae eater.

 

[fish-edz]

Just if you are interested:

Link to Rena's Website and the Heating Cables Info page

An article on planted tanks with heating cable installed (Practical Fishkeeping Magazine)

 

[gadazobe]

Sorry about the misunderstanding.

I understand that you have added Cycle to the tank to get the beneficial bacteria going but what have you been feeding them on? Have you read the articles pinned at the top of Beginners Questions? If not, I recommend that you do as it gives an explanation of the cycling process.

Neons aren't a hardy fish at all and are not really suitable for cycling - I do hope that yours will survive the trauma. If you're going to use fish to cycle the tank, then the best ones are danios which are extremely hardy and can live in practically any kind of water.

As most of the benficial bacteria live in the filter, substrate, ornaments and on the sides of the tank, keeping the water for a few days in buckets will not make much difference.

Was it the LFS that suggested a Chinese Algae Eater (CAE)? Keep an eye on him - they have a habit of becoming quite belligerent when older and have been known to "suck" on other fish. If you can exchange him for something with a nicer attitude (once the tank is redone and settled) then it may be to your advantange.

I do understand your dilema, but to be honest, I can't see any point in a heating cable under the sand unless it's beneficial for the plants - an ordinary heater is really sufficient for your tank. I imagine that eventually the sand and the fertilizer will blend together so instead of taking your tank apart and losing any benficial bacteria that have already started to colonize the filter media, why don't you do water changes after stirring the sand a little, taking out some of the cloudy water. If you add the fresh water slowly then it may help in keeping down the cloudiness and after several water changes the sand will be much cleaner.

 

[fish-edz]

I got the algae eater from a different store. It said "Dwarf Algae Eaters" they were only about an inch long so I bought 2. (I was thinking along the lines of dwarf and pygmy corydoras). One became very boistrous and possessive of food and the bogwood. The small one hardly grey and spent most of the time hiding beind the filter. The Big algae eater (now 12cm) has gone into the new tank and since then the little one has taken possestion of the bogwood cave.

The pet store doesn't label is fish with scientific names so it is a bit hit and miss sometimes. I'm avoiding buying from them now.

The heating cable was for the sole purpose of moving nutrients around in the soil to benefit the plants. It has no use for the fish at all.

Particles in the sand are increddibly fine and just appear almost like an oil-slick on the surface and hang suspended in the water. They can be sucked up with a gravel cleaner and a lot of patience as they don't really move up the tube much.

 

[gadazobe]

Can you skim the top of the water? Do it with a cup just under the surface of the water - it acts like a mini whirlpool and will take all that's suspended on the surface.