Starting A 200L Tropical Tank

[Gruntle]

Good news is both ammonia and nitrites are 0. However, nitrates are also zero, not sure if this is due to the number of plants, the fact that in the last 3 days I've done one 80% water change and five of 50%, or a combination.

I've also noticed there's a bit of a dead spot in the tank, circulation-wise, and that's where the fish are congregating. Then again, this morning when I entered the room they were swimming through the whole tank, so maybe I frighten them and that's their haven.

 

[Gruntle]

I have happy fish! Except for the milk they're swimming in. Had a decent (fun) argument with the teenager at the LFS, he said it was ammonia, I said it couldn't be, he said it must have been, I said I check twice a day and it isn't... He said whatevs, do a water change or your fish will die... I ended up buying some clarifier and either that's working or the bacterial bloom is reaching the end of its cycle, I can see the back of the tank again, anyway. Here's a picture from before the clarifier addition:

 
Bad news, the blue stricta and most of the hygrophilas have turned to sludge so I had to remove as much as I could. The rest is slowly getting removed each time I feed (twice a day) as it gets caught in the elodea. I also took the duck bill off the filter outlet and added another spray bar with a plug in the end, so now the water sprays across about 80% of the tank, and I added a bubble hose through the bottom. Not sure what's doing it most, but the fish are appreciative (I turn the air pump down to low setting and they seem to stop swimming, so maybe they like the bubbles).
 
Temp is down to 27 due to a couple of overcast days.
 
I'm going to let things settle for a few weeks and then add another three Rainbows (if they're in stock anywhere) and 2 male, 1 female cherries - bringing both schools back up to 6. I also had the New Guinean Neon Rainbow catch my eye, but I'm not sure whether I want them in the tank and would have to do some serious research first. I think Neon Tetras in 6 months is still the plan.

Just to clarify, the original blue stricta is doing marvellously, the new one I bought on Friday with the hygrophilas died. I am also still showing 0 Nitrate where I thought there would be about 5ppm.

 

[Blondielovesfish]

The bacterial bloom will soon run its course Some people say to do water changes others say that water changes gives the bacteria new nutrients to feed on, its up to you on what you want to do.

 

[Baccus]

Yeah, just let the bloom run its course, the water will clear again its own as you are already finding out.
Did you try looking at Aquagreen for true aquatic plants? They have some really nice ones and they are a great company to deal with.
Another way of making your water really clear is to have Purigen in the filter it works a treat for removing any nasties that is in the water that can harm the fish.
Good to hear that your temp is starting to come down in the tank, sadly mine are having to brace for a few more days of 40+ degrees, but my fish have handled the extremes before so as long as I keep everything else normal they should be fine.

 

[Gruntle]

I looked at Aquagreen, might have to do some more research. I think though, I should be able to take snippings of the stricta and the elodea and fill the tank that way. I had a look for frogbit locally and was told it was not available to be sold, yet a local classified ad had lots of it.

I've also transferred a Vallisneria from the old tank, as the comets have decided to redecorate. They're down to the Aluminium plant, they've destroyed everything else, so I think they're back to plastics!

 

[Baccus]

Goldfish/ comets will scoff almost all live plants they come across in a tank, they really are gluttons for greenery.
The elodea should grow pretty quickly and before you know it you should be able to start adding cuttings from it back into your comet tank.

 

[Gruntle]

I've added Elodea to the goldfish tank before, they love it.  I don't, because they shred it and I have to unclog the filter. Still, it's part of their natural diet I guess, so a bit now and then can't hurt, and it's easier to clean than dog droppings (and a lot less nasty).
 
On that subject, the AR620T has an overhead filter, and it gets choked up with brown muck, which when I do a water change (due to stirring up the filter when I remove the media to rinse it in tank water), it gets spat into the tank and takes a few hours to clear (I assume straight back into the filter). I've been experimenting with flushing the filter with water from the tank by the cupful, and capturing the muck as it comes out of the pipe in another cup, I'm a little concerned that I'm washing all of the bacteria out of the tank though. Am I overfeeding (fish consume food within 3 minutes), or is it just a case of "goldfish are filthy little critters" and I have to live with it?
 

 
I borrowed this photo from online, I am not currently in a position to take a photo of my own setup, I hope this doesn't breach any copyright... My filter media is slightly different but the setup is similar - tray on top of the tank, powerhead that sucks water into the tray through the media, overflow back into the tank.

 

[Baccus]

I have an AR 360 so am familiar with the set up. I usually take the spray bar and give it a good flush out with tap water since the stuff clogging the holes can be pretty stuborn, the actual filter in take part with the slots in it I only clean under the hose if I cant unclog it any other way and every so often I give the entire uptake pipe a blast under the hose. I know it will be getting rid of bacteria but they can really start clogging the whole pipe by allowing more and more debris to collect there.
The noodles might only sometimes need a rinse in tank water and the filter fibre you can rinse under the water coming out of the siphon hose. This should stop a lot of the gunk that has collected in the filter going straight back into the tank.
And yep goldfish/ comets are mucky fish, huge waste producers and constantly stiring up the substrate with their sucking mouths as they go on the never ending search for food.

 

[Gruntle]

All is good in the new tank, I added two more male Cherries and another female (2 male 4 female now) and they're happy as Larry. So happy that I think three of the ladies are pregnant already (or they love their food).
 
Water is crystal clear, the only issue is the Elodea is going a bit brown. I plan to do some harvesting shortly to take the green tips off and replant them, and do something with the rest (maybe the comets will get a nice meal out of it).
 
Now I need to rehab the comet tank, it's looking awfully bare and lonely. I think the first step is to get a filter sponge like this one:
 

 
If I take the internals out of it and slip the sponge over the powerhead intake it might stop bits of plant choking up the filter.

 

[Baccus]

The bits of plant will end up clogging the sponge bit, I always worry that putting the extra drag on the pump (having to pull water through more restrictions) will make the pump burn out. Unless you stay on top of the leaf and stuff collecting on it and keep disposing of it ASAP.
 
You will be able to tell when the female cherry shrimp are holding eggs, they will be either yellow/ orange or green and held in the swimmerets under the body, you will also see the females fanning the eggs by waving the swimmerets the eggs are held in. When a female is ready to breed you will see the males racing about the tank like mad things looking for the female. Generally the females will be ready to breed after a moult.

 

[Gruntle]

Sorry, Cherry Barbs, not shrimp.
 
Sorry for the quality, but the first pic shows a "normal" cherry barb and a fat one. The second shows 2 of the fat ones.
 

 

[Baccus]

They do look rather full of eggs, hopefully they will spawn for you.