So It Begins
- Thread starter jag51186
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Lol it posted correctly, then I went back and checked it and it was like that. That's actually three different pieces of wood, I like that arrangement a lot, but I'm trying some others to see if I can make it more interesting from all angles.
Newest update. Sadly, one of my leopard geckos died (likely cricket impaction), so, I am repurposing the 20 gallon long into a quarantine tank, which will also be planted. Found out my pre-softened water is potentially full of sulfur gas (rotten egg smell). So, I'm aerating the water prior to use...woohoo complications. I bought some play sand and am washing that tonite in preparation for buying gravel and plants from my LFS on Thursday.
I will also be buying a new light on Thursday so that it fits my tank more appropriately.
Thanks all!
I will also be buying a new light on Thursday so that it fits my tank more appropriately.
Thanks all!
Found this this morning in the buckets I aerated overnight. Any thoughts?? I switched the air stones to new buckets, but idk why the water dis colored?? When I aerated a bucket with a piece of driftwood soaking in it, this didn't happen...I'm confused.
Ps the pictures flip sideways when posted from my ipad, it's weird.
So, after some research, I think my aeration to remove sulfur is precipitating out the iron in the water, making it a reddish color. I can't find any word on what to do with this in aquarium situations. They say you can filter it out once it's precipitated, so Idk if I would just be able to add it to the aquarium?? Uhh Idk, more research is required!
I've just read through this thread as you (jag51186) asked. I can't offer much on the water/sulphur issue as I've never come across that. As this is private well water, I would take a sample in to a professional lab that does water testing and find out everything that is in it. Also, you mentioned a water softener earlier, do you know how this softens? It may or may not be OK for fish, depending.
As for substrate, I agree completely with Akasha. I use regular play sand in six of my seven tanks. The so-called plant substrates have in my experience been useless, though I would acknowledge that in a high-tech setup they might have some benefit. Play sand is good for fish, plants grow well in it, and play sand looks very natural.
On the heaters, having two good ones is very wise. Hang them at opposite ends, next to the filter intake at one end and the filter return at the other. As for the filter, the one canister is more than adequate here. As just mentioned, the intake and return should be at opposite ends lengthways, with the intake about 5 inches above the top of the sand and the return close to the surface.
The lighting I can't say much about as I have very little experience with LED. However, you do not want T5 HO fluorescent tubes, that I can assure you will be far too much light and you will have algae problems. I have tried this; on my 115g which is five feet in length I had a dual tube 48-inch T5 and after a week I took it back. Over your 4-foot tank it would be even worse. T5 works with high-tech, and marine where more light for corals is needed, but not otherwise.
I do have a comment on the light duration. A timer is best, so you have a set period of "day" (when the lights are on) and a period of total darkness (meaning, no ambient room light). Lighting is more important for fish than many realize, as light drives the circadian rhythm that all animals and plants have. You need a period of complete darkness, several hours, which obviously is best during the night after everyone is asleep. The "day" can be any time during the daylight/evening hours, when you are around to view the aquarium. My lights at present come on at 10 am and go off at 6 pm (8 hours), because I am home during the day. If I worked, I would probably have them come on at say 1 pm or 2 pm, and go off at 9 pm or 10 pm. An 8-hour "day" is usually adequate, though you may have to shorten this; one of my tanks, the 70g, is a bit shallower and to avoid nuisance algae I reduced the light by one hour, so it has 7 hours instead of 8.
The so-called "siesta" approach, where tank lights are on for say 3-4 hours, then off for 2-3, then back on for 3-4 each day can help prevent algae, but this is an issue for fish as this messes with the circadian rhythm. If algae is a problem, the solution is to find the balance between light intensity and nutrients for the plant species; once this is relatively close, the duration can be used to tweak things. This siesta idea is actually dealing with CO2, not directly with the lighting; CO2 is the macro-nutrient that usually runs out first, and once this happens, plant photosynthesis will slow and may even stop, and then algae takes advantage. CO2 naturally builds during "darkness" and it is being taken up by plants when the light is on. This is one reason why in new setups you frequently have algae issues; the CO2 is not sufficient for the plants to use during a longer duration, until sufficient organics have accumulated in the substrate. The prime source of natural CO2 in an aquarium comes from the substrate, where various bacteria break down the organics (fish waste, etc). CO2 from fish, plant and bacteria respiration is a secondary source. So it is best not to mess with the substrate, leave it alone, in most tanks.
Byron.
As for substrate, I agree completely with Akasha. I use regular play sand in six of my seven tanks. The so-called plant substrates have in my experience been useless, though I would acknowledge that in a high-tech setup they might have some benefit. Play sand is good for fish, plants grow well in it, and play sand looks very natural.
On the heaters, having two good ones is very wise. Hang them at opposite ends, next to the filter intake at one end and the filter return at the other. As for the filter, the one canister is more than adequate here. As just mentioned, the intake and return should be at opposite ends lengthways, with the intake about 5 inches above the top of the sand and the return close to the surface.
The lighting I can't say much about as I have very little experience with LED. However, you do not want T5 HO fluorescent tubes, that I can assure you will be far too much light and you will have algae problems. I have tried this; on my 115g which is five feet in length I had a dual tube 48-inch T5 and after a week I took it back. Over your 4-foot tank it would be even worse. T5 works with high-tech, and marine where more light for corals is needed, but not otherwise.
I do have a comment on the light duration. A timer is best, so you have a set period of "day" (when the lights are on) and a period of total darkness (meaning, no ambient room light). Lighting is more important for fish than many realize, as light drives the circadian rhythm that all animals and plants have. You need a period of complete darkness, several hours, which obviously is best during the night after everyone is asleep. The "day" can be any time during the daylight/evening hours, when you are around to view the aquarium. My lights at present come on at 10 am and go off at 6 pm (8 hours), because I am home during the day. If I worked, I would probably have them come on at say 1 pm or 2 pm, and go off at 9 pm or 10 pm. An 8-hour "day" is usually adequate, though you may have to shorten this; one of my tanks, the 70g, is a bit shallower and to avoid nuisance algae I reduced the light by one hour, so it has 7 hours instead of 8.
The so-called "siesta" approach, where tank lights are on for say 3-4 hours, then off for 2-3, then back on for 3-4 each day can help prevent algae, but this is an issue for fish as this messes with the circadian rhythm. If algae is a problem, the solution is to find the balance between light intensity and nutrients for the plant species; once this is relatively close, the duration can be used to tweak things. This siesta idea is actually dealing with CO2, not directly with the lighting; CO2 is the macro-nutrient that usually runs out first, and once this happens, plant photosynthesis will slow and may even stop, and then algae takes advantage. CO2 naturally builds during "darkness" and it is being taken up by plants when the light is on. This is one reason why in new setups you frequently have algae issues; the CO2 is not sufficient for the plants to use during a longer duration, until sufficient organics have accumulated in the substrate. The prime source of natural CO2 in an aquarium comes from the substrate, where various bacteria break down the organics (fish waste, etc). CO2 from fish, plant and bacteria respiration is a secondary source. So it is best not to mess with the substrate, leave it alone, in most tanks.
Byron.
I didn't know that Byron - about the circadian rhythem. You've me wondering about my lighting period now - although my living room has lots of natural light and so during the day, even if the tank lights are out the tank still has a lot of light. Perhaps you can advise me further at some point about that as it interests me. I started with my lighting routine when I had the awful BBA - I was trying to stop it's march across my tank (which I failed in doing but anyway ...) Now my SAE's have got the BBA under their control it's no longer an issue.
I'd missed questions about heaters? How did I miss that! I have a Hydor external heater attached to one external filter and I LOVE it
I love not staring at an ugly heater! I have wondered a few times if I should get a second external heater to go on my second filter but the one seems to be doing a good enough job and so it's not broke and there's no 'fixing' required. It's set to 26 degrees and the thermometer (digital) varies between 25.2 and 25.9 so it's fairly accurate (when it drops to 25.2 I hear a click and the heater has switched on and it comes back up slowly to 25.9)
I'd recommend the Hydor external heater to anyone. Fantastic bit of kit
I'd missed questions about heaters? How did I miss that! I have a Hydor external heater attached to one external filter and I LOVE it
I'd recommend the Hydor external heater to anyone. Fantastic bit of kit
I researched the issue of how light affects fish a couple years back for an article elsewhere. Links to other forums are not permitted (and rightly so) so I will just cut and paste some pertinent portions from my own draft that should answer this question, but feel free to ask further. I have used some of this in other threads, but it will be quicker to re-paste. I'll also add the part about bright overhead light, which can affect fish as well as increase algae.
Fish are affected by light in many ways. There are several well-documented studies on spawning in some species being triggered by changes in the day/night cycle, and the hatching of eggs and the growth rate of fry can be impacted significantly depending upon the presence and intensity of light. The health of fish is closely connected to the intensity of the overhead light, various types of light, and sudden changes from dark to light or light to dark. To understand this, we must know something about the fish’s physiology. The primary receptor of light is the eye, but other body cells are also sensitive to light.
Fish eyes are not much different from those of other vertebrates including humans. Our eyes share a cornea, an iris, a lens, a pupil, and a retina. The latter contains rods which allow us to see in dim light and cones which perceive colours; while mammals (like us) have two types of cones, fish have three—one for each of the colours red, green and blue. These connect to nerve cells which transmit images to the brain, and the optic lobe is the largest part of the fish’s brain.
These cells are very delicate; humans have pupils that expand or contract to alter the amount of light entering the eye and eyelids, both of which help to prevent damage occurring due to bright light. Fish (with very few exceptions such as some shark species) do not have eyelids, and in most species their pupils are fixed and cannot alter. In bright light, the rods retract into the retina and the cones approach the surface; in dim light the opposite occurs. But unlike our pupils that change very quickly, this process in fish takes time. Scientific studies on salmon have shown that it takes half an hour for the eye to adjust to bright light, and an hour to adjust to dim light. This is why the aquarist should wait at least 30 minutes after the tank lights come on before feeding or performing a water change or other tank maintenance; this allows the fish to adjust to the light difference.
The Day/Night Cycle
Most animals have an internal body clock, called a circadian rhythm, which is modified by the light/dark cycle every 24 hours. This is the explanation for jet-lag in humans when time zones are crossed—our circadian rhythm is unbalanced and has to reset itself, which it does according to periods of light and dark. Our eyes play a primary role in this, but many of our body cells have some reaction to light levels. In fish this light sensitivity in their cells is very high.
Previously I mentioned that the rods and cones in the eye shift according to the changes in light. This process is also anticipated according to the time of day; the fish “expects” dawn and dusk, and the eyes will automatically begin to adjust accordingly. This is due to the circadian rhythm.
This is one reason why during each 24 hours a regular period of light/dark—ensuring there are several hours of complete darkness—is essential for the fish. In the tropics, day and night is equal for all 365 days a year, with approximately ten to twelve hours each of daylight and complete darkness, separated by fairly brief periods of dawn or dusk. The period of daylight produced by direct tank lighting can be shorter; and the period of total darkness can be somewhat shorter or longer—but there must be several hours of complete darkness in the aquarium. The dusk and dawn periods will appear to be stretched out, but that causes no problems for the fish. It is the bright overhead light that is the concern, along with having a suitable period of total darkness.
The Brightness of the Tank Light
“Daylight” can be vastly different for different species of fish, depending upon their natural habitats. Most aquarium fish are forest fish, living in rivers, streams and creeks, ponds and small lakes, and even ditches and swamps. Some of these watercourses are permanently shaded by the forest canopy or overhanging marginal vegetation; some are filled with branches and sunken bogwood; some watercourses are white-water, full of suspended particulate matter that “soaks up” the light and keeps the water murky and dimly lit; watercourses in full sunlight usually have a thick mat of floating plants, and depending upon the position of the sun in the sky, much of its light may be reflected off the surface. In most areas of the tropics, the rivers and streams rise and flood the surrounding forest for half the year, and it is during this period that the fish move into the even darker forest waters to spawn. For fish living in all of these environments, bright light is something they seldom—and in some cases never—experience, or from which they prefer to retreat given the opportunity. It is no surprise that the fish in the brightly-lit watercourses are almost always found at the edge under overhanging vegetation, branches and outcrops, or floating vegetation.
Programmed by nature over millions of years for such dimly-lit environments, the eyes of a fish are designed to capture the maximum amount of light. This allows the fish to have some degree of vision even in dimly-lit water. But when placed in brighter light, the fish will naturally look for cover in order to escape from that light. Aquarists can readily see this in the aquarium; many forest fish when given the option clearly prefer shaded areas. Baensch & Riehl (1987) called it a “light phobia” in characins. And it impacts the fish’s colouration too.
Fish (and amphibians) possess specialized cells called melanophores that contain hundreds of melanin-filled pigment granules, termed melanosomes. The sole function of these cells is pigment aggregation in the center of the cell or dispersion throughout the cytoplasm, thus altering the shade of colour. The melanophore cells are themselves light sensitive and respond directly to light by melanosome translocations, which is why the fish’s colouration pales during total darkness. Pencilfish in the genus Nannostomus have a diurnal patterning; at night the lateral lines break up into dashes, and the fish pales. This has been noted to occur even in blind fish, which shows that it is not sight that tells the fish it is getting dark, but the increase in darkness probably coupled with the circadian rhythm that sets in motion the natural response of the fish to darkness.
But the fish can also adjust the melanosomes voluntarily in response to environmental stimuli, stress, and social interactions. Fish in the store tank often appear pale, or after being netted and bagged will often be without any colour. Fish kept in brightly-lit tanks will frequently exhibit much less intense colouration. In all these cases, this “washed out” appearance is a natural response caused by high stress. Floating plants are one of the best ways to provide shade, along with using the minimum intensity of light necessary; the reward to the aquarist will be brighter colouration and increased interaction between the fish—and that spells healthier fish.
okay, I think I've understood most of that and from my observances of my fish it all makes sense. Certain fish in my tank seem to like the light, other tend to like shade. Curviceps is one fish often found shading in the plants and brought out into the open and their colours fade a little. Their natural enviroment is blackwater so that makes sense.
My tank has two T8 tubes. One for plantlife the other a daylight bulb. These seem to work well for plant growth etc. I have two reg tiger lotus plants in my tank and I do sometimes allow them to reach the surface and float there but I need to prune them often or they will outcompete my other plants. It's a delicate balance. I think given what I've understood from your write-up I'm going to allow a few more lotus leaves to float on the surface and see if it makes any difference to the fish
My tank has two T8 tubes. One for plantlife the other a daylight bulb. These seem to work well for plant growth etc. I have two reg tiger lotus plants in my tank and I do sometimes allow them to reach the surface and float there but I need to prune them often or they will outcompete my other plants. It's a delicate balance. I think given what I've understood from your write-up I'm going to allow a few more lotus leaves to float on the surface and see if it makes any difference to the fish
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