The Lowest Point Of My 5 Year Fishkeeping Hobby

[emilythestrange]

I restarted back in June after a 21 year break, the technology has moved on a lot, there was no Internet or forums back then either, and I didn't know about cycling either....and I'm only 34 now.

I've lost several fish and another recently after a mystery injury.

I had trouble with my fluval 205 external filter, whenever I restarted it after a vacuum and water change it would spit out loads of wool media and other crud into my tank after all the hard work I'd just finished so I know your pain.

I got the hump and just binned it and got myself an Aquamanta 200 canister filter and its much much better.

If you can afford it I'd recommend binning your filter and getting a decent external, they are a lot easier to use and maintain even if it is new,

Hang in there, it gets better the more you learn and more rewarding when you get it right.

is that fine gravel or black sand in your sig? and how do you clean it and manage the rooted plants, as i dont move my one in the sand, and also someone told me on here that it helps to aerate the sand

 

[spongy]

It's a black gravel with a grain size of 2-3mm, the plants have rooted well, so well that some are spreading runners and popping up all over the place so I have to keep removing them.

I don't use an under gravel filter so all poop etc just sits on top of the gravel and I siphon it out every Sunday morning whilst i do my water change when I've got over my inevitable hangover from Saturday night.

I'm tempted, very tempted by sand actually but I only put the black gravel in 3 months ago so don't think I'm willing to change yet.

I didn't know you have to aeriate sand??? I thought once it was in that was it, but I've never used it and have no experience of it, there are more experienced people than me on here who could probably answer that one better..

 

[msasa19]

im glad ive seen this now, was going to order a U2 tomorrow, think i may rethink .......

 

[emilythestrange]

I didn't know you have to aeriate sand??? I thought once it was in that was it, but I've never used it and have no experience of it, there are more experienced people than me on here who could probably answer that one better..

Me either! and now somehow theres all these problems with my fish (see my post in emergencies), these have only started now the sand has had the chance to create nasty toxins and trapped dirt underneath because i didn't aerate to begin with. at least im sure thats what it is. I just wonder how other people with the same 'argos play sand' manage to have a perfect healthy aquarium...

im glad ive seen this now, was going to order a U2 tomorrow, think i may rethink .......

im glad at least ive helped somebody out

 

[cambojnr]

im glad ive seen this now, was going to order a U2 tomorrow, think i may rethink .......

aslong as you clean the impeller once a month the u2 is fine and I aint had any problems.

 

[Scates11]

Glad I went with the AC 70 when I upgraded for my 36 gallon. It's a simple hang off the back filter but it kicks but and i never have these issues...says its good up to 70 gallons also so I should be able to use it for the 55 gallon I have my eye on as well. Sorry for your troubles and I hope you stick with it, I am fairly new at it but am having a blast so far...I have had issues in other hobbies that have made me feel the way you are but it's always best to stick it through in my opinion. Good luck!

 

[emilythestrange]

thanks everyone. and p.s i had to clean the impellor when i stripped down the filter, on the instuction it said to clean it once a month,it was thick of dirt.. whoops

 

[phantomlink]

The last time I did a WC in my 20 gallon tank it wouldnt turn back on, I took it apart and cleaned the impeller. The other week I bought an AquaClear 30 and put it on the tank instead. I liked my Fluval U2 but it got to be a pain

 

[balajake]

It sounds like you're having quite a bad day! I wouldn't write the whole hobby off because of it though, I bet you'll feel a lot better the next day.

Does it usually take 2 hours to do a w/c? If so there are ways to make it easier and you won't have to lug buckets around. Have you tried a python siphon? They connect to the tap and can suck the water our of your tank and also siphon tap water back in. They can be quite expensive but there is a nifty guide on this site that tells you how to make your own for half the price

. It should make things a little quicker and probably a lot easier. You would have to dechlorinate the whole tanks water volume before adding the tap water though.

With the filter, if you can't get on with it just replace it, there's no need to put up with all the hassle if you don't want to

.

It usually takes around 40 minutes, maybe 30. As i have to pick up the three mopani wood pieces, stack them up, siphon up the poop, now im swirling the sand as much as possible and smoothing it out, as the cory digs a little in the sand.

I was going to add a couple of platies or 1 cory today, but i thought id best leave it a little. The 2 platies i have seem to go from swimming around normally, then hanging around the back of the filter.. Ill test the water tonight. The 1 black guppy seems absolutely fine, no fin damage or loss of weight, and the cory is swimming top to bottom like crazy

The only sand I'm not a fan of is play sand, had no end of problems with it until I changed to unipac. It's very important to go through it with your fingers every water change to release the nasty gas build up.

Have you had it before? as i did once and i had problems then and ended up shutting the little tank with sand in down, i thought it was just me, as lots of members appear to have sand and praise anyone to do the switch, it looks nicer and i am shocked how much mess a few fish make! i noticed not so long ago, there were a few green patches in the sand. like algae?

with gravel, doesn't the waste get drawn to the bottom of the tank? therefore making it harder to clean?

I've had worse, unfortunately. The plague wiped through my biggest tank and I lost around 60 fish (a lot being various stages of fry... not big fish and thus not overstocked). Never could identify the problem as there were SO many different symptoms. I thought after trying various desperate attempts at treatments that one fish had made it... but a week after my tank seemed stable... that fish died too.

Oh this sounds a heck of alot worse! 60 fish! how did you manage to deal with that? Its so sad to find one dead all the time, makes it feel like a chore..

Get a good hob filter so much easier to maintain.

In 30+ years I've given up on the hobby two or three times, only to come back after finding a fish I've longed for.
I would say stick with it a while longer, if in a couple of months you still feel the same, return your livestock and store the tank. The bug will most likely bite again.
Sorry you're having so many problems.

I am going to stick with it a little while longer, just seems the fish i like are so weak, they look half dead in the shop, so what luck will i have? I personally love endlers, guppies and platies, they are never two identical (maybe the endlers) and have such personalities, explore all depths of the tank, and it doesnt take too many to look like you have a full stock

Sorry to bump this as I missed this first time. Others may disagree with me but IMO play sand is revolting stuff. I've tried it twice and even with airating it was going black and nasty within a week of putting it in. It killed my fish because of the gasses that build up underneath and no amount of airing is going to spare your fish or your sanity. Best sand to get us aquarium sand like unipac and go through it with your fingers to air it every water change. It's a little dearer but it will always look good and you will save money because you won't be replacing dead fish and buying tons of treatment.

 

[BigFish01]

I have had play sand in mine for at least a year now and i have had no problems with it. but i also have it at an inch deep where there are not plants too. from what i know the plants keep it aerated and my clowns love digging in it and moving things around. No problems with my play sand at all. I love it. another thing i do is before water changes i hook my hose to my powerhead and blow all the crud out from my rocks, let it settle for a bit and suck it all out. Good luck and sorry for all your fish losses!!!