Tropical Fish Tank setup help

[CassCats]

id suggest:

10 dwarf cories (corydoras pygmaeus corydoras hastatus, OR corydoras habrosus)

OR
One group of 6...

Panda corydoras
Trilineatus corydoras
Leucomelas corydoras

All of these are smaller species. Some others are small too, but look for those that stay around the 2 inch mark.

 

[utahfish]

As many as possible. They’re great PLUS you can mix em up and it still counts as one group.
I’d love water at your dh. Mines 19dh. Fish dont swim around in it they chisel around.

Lol 19??? Sounds more like quick sand

 

[ClownLurch]

Lol 19??? Sounds more like quick sand

London and south east England’s mainly similar. Something like 80% of the planets “chalk streams” are around here. After a shower when water on wall tiles has evaporated you can write your name on them....almost. It ruins kettles and appliances.
The cat is working on a patent for a water softener attachment for his bowl. Reckons there’s a lot of interest in furry circles in the area. With a website and getting on Amazon he thinks he could retire in three years or quicker if one of the big pet stuff firms buy him out. Mrs Lurch thinks he’s a dreamer and should just stick to his day job as station manager of the local train station.
Whereas 250 miles north in @essjay water provider area the water is the nectar of the gods. Which is why I’m not sure of buying fish from the other end of the country even though compared to the US, Canada and Australia etc were a very small place.

 

[utahfish]

London and south east England’s mainly similar. Something like 80% of the planets “chalk streams” are around here. After a shower when water on wall tiles has evaporated you can write your name on them....almost. It ruins kettles and appliances.
The cat is working on a patent for a water softener attachment for his bowl. Reckons there’s a lot of interest in furry circles in the area. With a website and getting on Amazon he thinks he could retire in three years or quicker if one of the big pet stuff firms buy him out. Mrs Lurch thinks he’s a dreamer and should just stick to his day job as station manager of the local train station.
Whereas 250 miles north in @essjay water provider area the water is the nectar of the gods. Which is why I’m not sure of buying fish from the other end of the country even though compared to the US, Canada and Australia etc were a very small place.

Maybe you and your cat are looking at this all wrong. Bottle that stuff as healthy mineral water and sell it to gullible americans.

 

[ClownLurch]

He wants to sell the chalk that’s extracted to the sports industry for marking tennis courts and football pitches. He’s always thinking I’ll give him that.

 

[seangee]

Im also not sure if to get sand or gravel? Also how much would I need?

If you are planning on corys sand is a must. Argos play sand is a good choice if you like the colour. As for how much I have seen calculators on some sites, but I like it between 1.5 and 2" deep as that is deep enough to root plants in but not deep enough to cause problems due to anaerobic pockets forming..

 

[Retired Viking]

I agree with @seangee since switching from gravel to sand my cory spend more time rooting around on the bottom.

 

[Treestone]

If you are planning on corys sand is a must. Argos play sand is a good choice if you like the colour. As for how much I have seen calculators on some sites, but I like it between 1.5 and 2" deep as that is deep enough to root plants in but not deep enough to cause problems due to anaerobic pockets forming..

What problems do you expect to arise from anaerobic pockets?

 

[utahfish]

What problems do you expect to arise from anaerobic pockets?

Anaerobic pockets can release nitrogen gas bubbles into tank killing fish.

 

[Treestone]

Anaerobic pockets can release nitrogen gas bubbles into tank killing fish.

How exactly those nitrogen gas bubbles kill fish, a part of the complete nitrogen cycle. I thought the worry was from hydrogen sulfide pockets, from the breaking down of sulfates (I could be wrong).

 

[utahfish]

How exactly those nitrogen gas bubbles kill fish, a part of the complete nitrogen cycle. I thought the worry was from hydrogen sulfide pockets, from the breaking down of sulfates (I could be wrong).

If you knew whyd you ask? And yes i believe youre correct.!

 

[seangee]

How exactly those nitrogen gas bubbles kill fish, a part of the complete nitrogen cycle. I thought the worry was from hydrogen sulfide pockets, from the breaking down of sulfates (I could be wrong).

Yes it is the hyrogen sulfide. Technically its only a problem if it gets disturbed. At 2" there is minimal anaerobic denitrification, not actually enough to significantly lower nitrates, but H2S will not form at a depth of 2".

 

[Treestone]

To my understanding even if disturbed in large quantities hydrogen sulfide will oxidise back into sulfate if there is abundant oxygen as prevails in a maintained aquarium. This only becomes an issue when there is very low oxygen in the water column such as in a neglected tank where there is not enough oxygen to oxidise it. This is why hydrogen sulfide is detrimental in freshwater systems during eutrophication. Some people claim that you cannot achieve the necessary lack of oxygen to provide these anaerobic zones for de-nitrifying bacteria and instead it is the organic matter growing in such areas which consume the nitrates such as fungi (Struggling to remember specifics). Therefore they claim that hydrogen sulfide is just harmless CO2 which smells as its got fish poo in it. I'm leaning towards the widely accepted theory but I would need someone with more chemistry knowledge to analyse this.

 

[seangee]

Quick search revealed this https://www.lenntech.com/aquatic/anions-sulphide.htm and several similar.
Aside from the toxicity we have had a few member over the years report an uncontrollable pH crash when it is disturbed.

 

[Treestone]

'Hydrogen sulphide is also a product of organic wastes, because when eutrophication in freshwater takes place, anaerobic organisms then attack the organic wastes, releasing gases such as methane and hydrogen sulphide, which are harmful to the oxygen-requiring (aerobic) forms of life.' Proves my point about hydrogen sulfide oxidising as during eutrophication there are very low amounts of oxygen allowing the hydrogen sulfide to reach a toxic level.

Read more: https://www.lenntech.com/aquatic/anions-sulphide.htm#ixzz6U1JiopY5