Aquarium @ home

[PNWDweller]

I came into this thread thinking it was a new software sort of like Folding@home or the like. LOL

I used to have fish tanks and since I have divorced, haven't had one, but am looking to get started again soon.

I remember having Angel fish in a 10 gallon tank as a kid, and going to the fish store to buy some Tetra Neons. Imagine my surprise when I was putting them in, that they were disappearing faster than I could see them. My first thought was to check the filter, since I am a big fan of the "piggy back" filters and they can be strong. NOPE, that wasn't it. So, I looked a little closer and saw some headless tetras floating around. It turned out the Angel Fish were eating them and sometimes beheading them. I had spent about $20usd on them back in the 80's and was not thrilled, but learned a very valuable lesson. Don't mix the two.

As for under gravel filters, like others have said, they are good, but IMHO, not for a long time. I have cleaned many tanks with those from top to bottom, and if you ever have to do a full change out, you will end up having a lot of "Goo" or Fish dung under the filter to scrape out. NASTY stuff.

[san.W10]

that aquarium stand will take a week to build, so in that meantime i'll do the cycling of aquarium.

one more thing, the aquarium guy recomended me 6mm glass. is it ok?

this tank will hold 177 Liter (47 G) of water.

my cousin has 10mm glass, but his tank is lot bigger.

[san.W10]

:|

that guy says 36" x 12" x 18" is better, coz the other dim. might cause leaks :|

i cant even argue with them . noobs.

nyways, the tank will arrive today evening. :D

[_bobcat_ Veteran]

....

I remember having Angel fish in a 10 gallon tank as a kid, and going to the fish store to buy some Tetra Neons. Imagine my surprise when I was putting them in, that they were disappearing faster than I could see them. My first thought was to check the filter, since I am a big fan of the "piggy back" filters and they can be strong. NOPE, that wasn't it. So, I looked a little closer and saw some headless tetras floating around. It turned out the Angel Fish were eating them and sometimes beheading them. I had spent about $20usd on them back in the 80's and was not thrilled, but learned a very valuable lesson. Don't mix the two.

...

Oh dear >< yeah angels can be quite rough, I don't have any other fish in with mine right now. When I feed them they are like piranha.

that aquarium stand will take a week to build, so in that meantime i'll do the cycling of aquarium.

one more thing, the aquarium guy recomended me 6mm glass. is it ok?

this tank will hold 177 Liter (47 G) of water.

my cousin has 10mm glass, but his tank is lot bigger.

Erm, cycling the aquarium requires you to put all the water in, meaning it needs a strong flat surface to sit on. Moving it onto the stand will require taking the water out.. you must have a lot of buckets? :D

Also 14 or 16 fish is a lot. Make sure to take into account growth, look it up. Angelfish get big, I wouldn't put more than a couple even in a large tank. Whatever you decide on, start small and add more depending upon preferences and success.

Also, I agree with the water changes and should have mentioned it myself! A couple of big buckets and fast taps and it's no trouble. With aquariums, the mess can get horrendous, you need to ensure that you keep on top of it or fish will die.

[san.W10]

my tank has arrived

that noob ruined my aquarium.

it looks meh (the dimesion) :|

it needs 3 days for the gum... to dry...

guys, is this tank enuf for cichlids? (tank breadth = 1 ft)

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edit:

i took another look on the tank, now i think i'll go for 6 cichlids.

damn, i wanted to have atleast 10 cichlids. :(

Edited April 9, 2009 by san.W10

[_bobcat_ Veteran]

Ruined? What's wrong with it?

Also, I didn't realise you were getting it custom made. I just went and bought mine from a local store.

[san.W10]

Ruined? What's wrong with it?

Also, I didn't realise you were getting it custom made. I just went and bought mine from a local store.

the platform is kinda small, just 1 feet in width. when the cichlids grow to size of 3-4inch, it'll become small for them.

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rendering this will take 1hr+ (CATIA warning :D ).

[shakey_snake]

that aquarium stand will take a week to build, so in that meantime i'll do the cycling of aquarium.

Ah. I had assumed you were buying a pre-made tank as well! I thought you were just building the canopy! :p No big deal, building an aquarium isn't that hard.

one more thing, the aquarium guy recomended me 6mm glass. is it ok?

this tank will hold 177 Liter (47 G) of water.

my cousin has 10mm glass, but his tank is lot bigger.

Hum... Good question. Only one way to find out. :/

Practically speaking, the thickness of the glass only matters with regards to height, since more height = more water pressure at the bottom of the tank.

A standard pre-built 29 Gallon tank is 18" high and has glass that is 3/8" (9.5mm) thick.

that guy says 36" x 12" x 18" is better, coz the other dim. might cause leaks :|

i cant even argue with them . noobs.

Yeah, that extra two inches of height would certainly require quite a bit thicker glass and thus make it more expensive.

the platform is kinda small, just 1 feet in width. when the cichlids grow to size of 3-4inch, it'll become small for them.

Nah. 1 foot is a pretty standard width for that size. Standard 29 gallon and 55 gallon tanks are only a foot deep. Generally speaking, the shallower depth makes the fish more visible.

As long as you have plenty of width, they'll have plenty of swim space, shouldn't be any concerns there.

[cpu killer]

STOP and read a lot, aquarium keeping is a lot more complicated than people think. Invest in a good testing kit, like Salifert. Also make sure you cycle your tank properly before adding ANY fish. Tube lighting is fine for just fish, but you'll get much better lighting from Power Compact fixtures or T5s if you plan to have live plants.

www.aquariumadvice.com

This website will help you out a lot. Do your research first, buy fish later. The fish go through enough being taken out of their natural habitats, they don't need an even more stressful experience being introduced to their new home.

Good luck !

[shakey_snake]

The fish go through enough being taken out of their natural habitats, they don't need an even more stressful experience being introduced to their new home.

Very few of the fish you see in stores anymore are wild caught.

[san.W10]

sorry for late update.

got a 8mm thick glass aquarium (replaced the old 6mm), stones, rock, artificial plants, 20 nos. of 1inch cichlids, now waiting for stand.

the 2" cichlids were 10 times costlier than these 1" (out of budget) :(

anyways, these cichlids are not eating the food (pellets), 1st. the pellets are bigger for their mouth, so i crushed the pellets & tried to feed em, but they are not eating it.

so for now i'm using "semolina" grains, they eat it fully & sh_it in white color. lol. is it ok?

thru yahoo answers, most recommended food for these 1" cichlids is "baby brine shrimp food". is it true?

i've ordered a "dry blood worm feed" at local shop, should i consider anything else?

[tunafish]

Before you put any fish into a new tank you need to let the tank settle. Leave the tank for atleast 2 weeks to get cultured etc. So basically you have eveything in the tank you want except fish!

You can get some special bacteria solution that promotes the growth of good bacteria in the tank. As new tap water has chlorine in it and fish dont exactly like "fresh water"

I would also suggest plants as well, as these can help reduce toxins and harmfull things

May i suggest you also have atleast one tank cleaning fish of some sort

[MR_Candyman]

Wow...there is a lot of people that only know half the information they are talking about.

Did you seriously get 20 cichlids for a 36" x 15" x 20" (47 US gallon) tank? You do realize they're just going to either die from stress or kill each-other. Adult cichlids need at LEAST a foot radius between their homes, usually a lot more.

As for food, they probably weren't raised eating pellets. Ween them into it by feeding a mixture of brine shrimp with the pellets and gradually increase the pellet count and reduce the shrimp. You fish should be able to eat the food between 2-3 seconds.

As for cycling the tank, go to a pet store and ask them to squeeze out their foam filters into a bag for you, then dump that water into your tank. A new setup will have no bacteria to grow, so even using one of those bactrial growth products (which I don't like anyways). Also be sure to use either Seachem Prime or Hagen Aqua Plus (note: these aren't hte only 2 brands but IMHO they're the best...though Kent comes close). Why? To get rid of the Chlorine and Chloramine. Prime goes above and beyond by making ammonia temporarely non-toxic to the fish, so it can be converted a the bit less toxic Nitrite before killing your fish. It should be added every time you add water to your tank.

You should definitely read about the Nitrogen Cycle. Learn it well because without it, you will kill many fish.

Lastly, I ALWAYS recommend live plants. I wouldn't ever force them on somebody, but the fish really can tell the difference, aleviating more of their stress, and the plants absorb ammonia, nitrite and nitrate as food. Different plants do better under different light so be sure to keep that in mind.

Despite what a LOT of people will tell you, DO NOT get a cleaning fish. All they clean is algae, and even then only certain kinds. If you don't have an acceptable kind of algae in an acceptable quantity, they will kill your fish and eat them! No only that, but all of them except chinese algae eaters produce a LOT of waste, adding loads of problems to your nitrogen cycle.

Oh, if you're not happy with the guy changing the tank dimentions (I would be furious) then don't take it, go elsewhere. He had NO reason to change it. An 8mm wall thickness would have been great for that size. I would suggest however, building a border around the top and bottom of the tank. It's not the sides or the tank, or even the bottom that are the reasons tanks break, it's the corners. Keep the corners from moving and you'll probably never have a tank break.

Fish are not easy pets while you're learning. You will probably kill a bunch of them for a few years (unfortunately). Eventually it will all just click and you will have very long lasting, healthy fish.

*I managed a fish store for 5 years until I decided to move on, though after almost 3 years I still get calls and e-mails asking for advice/help.

[san.W10]

well these 1" cichlids are too small for this tank atm, that s why i got 20.

when they grow up, i'l separate them in new tank. (bigger/smaller...)

coz few websites say some cichlids grow faster /bigger than other, thats why.

[san.W10]

today the stand arrived. :D

i've filled it up, going to get some water & sponge dirt from local aquarium shop.

i'll post other pics later.

[san.W10]

:D

too much of plants :D

have to get a heater.

[shakey_snake]

well these 1" cichlids are too small for this tank atm, that s why i got 20.

when they grow up, i'l separate them in new tank. (bigger/smaller...)

coz few websites say some cichlids grow faster /bigger than other, thats why.

Out of all the things I've said you still bought 20 fish? Dude, why would you even create a thread about this if you're not going to listen to anyone's input and you're just goign to do what you've decide to do anyways?

:wacko: :no:

[san.W10]

the biggest fish i got now is as long as this (mouth to tail):

========

smallest :

======

these fishes are really comfortable in the small temp. tank, so far no ones taking any terrotory :p

when they grow over 2"+ they'll go into new 3ft tank at my apartment.

[Ji@nBing]

You're trying to start off the tank with 20 fish??! (you shouldn't even add that many fish at once to a well established aquarium, BTW). You are going to end up losing most of them. Take our advice and take most of them back to the store. You're going to want to start with 2-3 for the first month or so and one catfish (I recommend bushynose plecos if you can find them, as they stay small and don't produce the huge amount of waste that regular plecos do), until you get your nitrogen cycle going. Starting with that many, the tank is going to quickly fill up with ammonia, and they are going to start dying. You're going to have a hell of a time getting the tank in balance after that too. You'll basically have to tear the whole thing down and start over. This isn't something you can rush. The nitrogen cycle has to be respected.

Trust me, I know what I'm talking about. I've worked in high end aquarium stores.

Edit: If you refuse to take our advice and bring back most of the fish, at least go and get a product called BioSpira. It will help to jump start your nitrogen cycle.

Edited May 15, 2009 by Ji@nBing

[_bobcat_ Veteran]

.....

I would also suggest plants as well, as these can help reduce toxins and harmfull things

May i suggest you also have atleast one tank cleaning fish of some sort

I would leave plants until the nitrogen cycle is more settled. As I understand it, it goes Ammonia -> nitrite -> nitrate, and nitrate is what plants feed on.

well these 1" cichlids are too small for this tank atm, that s why i got 20.

when they grow up, i'l separate them in new tank. (bigger/smaller...)

coz few websites say some cichlids grow faster /bigger than other, thats why.

I hope you are testing for ammonia and prepared to do daily water changes.

Did you bother to read about the nitrogen cycle? It's very important.

Also, what looks like a small amount of fish for a tank can still be crowded. The water and nitrogen cycle, even when established, have a maximum amount of waste they can tolerate. Plus, how would you feel if someone crowded your house with extra people because you looked too small for it..

[san.W10]

thanks for advice, well, i've ordered another tank.

4'x2'x22"

14 cichlids in it & rest in current one.

btw, its been a week since watering up that tank. now its got some red rust like formation on the stones.

is that "diatom"?

if yes how to avoid it?

this guy has 15 or so big yellow labs in 55g tank

mines' ~40g tank :p

[Ji@nBing]

thanks for advice, well, i've ordered another tank.

4'x2'x22"

14 cichlids in it & rest in current one.

btw, its been a week since watering up that tank. now its got some red rust like formation on the stones.

is that "diatom"?

if yes how to avoid it?

this guy has 15 or so big yellow labs in 55g tank

mines' ~40g tank :p

His tank was probably properly set up and cycled before he put that many in though. Have you read up on the nitrogen cycle and how to properly set up a new tank?

[shakey_snake]

btw, its been a week since watering up that tank. now its got some red rust like formation on the stones.

is that "diatom"?

Brown algae.

"Diatoms" are specific types of algae (phytoplankton, really) that really only becomes a problem in salt water tanks.

if yes how to avoid it?

Wipe it off. It's unavoidable.

You know, if you would bother to read the material we've been linking you to, these sorts of questions would be answered. :rolleyes:

Edited May 15, 2009 by shakey_snake

[MR_Candyman]

1: it doesn't matter how many one guy has in his tank, it's NOT a good thing to do

2: It's either red or brown algae. This is caused by having an excess of nutrients for algaea to feed on, whether it be from overfeeding, to not cleaning the tank, to the tank getting too much light. Algaea is unavoidable but can be minimized. You should also read up on the different types of algaea as you really should know it.

3: You really need to learn to do things slowly. Cycling the tank properly and maintaining a good nitrogen cycle is VERY important. I've set up many tanks in a day complete with fish, but it's because I've been dealing with aquariums for so many years I've learned all the little tricks to skip a lot of time. You have not.

[_bobcat_ Veteran]

.....

You know, if you would bother to read the material we've been linking you to, these sorts of questions would be answered. :rolleyes:

It's a shame 20 fish have to be tortured to death first. Perhaps then he will read it.

If torture is a harsh word: well, imagine being forced to live in one room full of your own faecal matter and urine, which builds up everyday and gives off toxic gases that burn your eyes and lungs.