Today's Messages (OFF)
| Unanswered Messages (ON)
| Forum: Tanks, Filtration, etc. |
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| Topic: Which Filter to use |
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| Which Filter to use [message #8765] |
Sat, 16 February 2008 22:32 |
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It is my opinion that good filtration is a must. When I say good filtration, I am talking about a filter that cirulates three times the size of the tank in GPH.
Here is example, If I purchase a 10 gal tank, I am buying a filter that will filter 30 gals in the same amount of time.
If I buy a filter for 50 gals of water, I am actually purchasing a filter that filters 150 gals of water in the same time.
I have actually had 2 HOB filters on one smaller aquarium to meet this.
This is the lowest amount of filtration I would recommend.
I think this is a good rule of thumb.
Please come visit me at www.atozthatsme.com
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| | Topic: Attn: Tank Builders |
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| Attn: Tank Builders [message #8514] |
Fri, 18 January 2008 16:00 |
 jonstolarz 
Messages: 1
Registered: January 2008 |
Junior Member |
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Anybody out there that can build a between a 300 and 600 gallon all glass aquarium? Nothing fancy needed just a LARGE tank!! thank you for your time.
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| | Topic: Cycling your tank |
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 Cycling your tank [message #7523] |
Tue, 03 July 2007 10:45 |
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The Nitrogen Cycle, you can look anywhere on the internet to find out exactly what the nitrogen cycle is but for here we are just going to explain how to get through it.
In order for a tank to have perfect water conditions, it must go through the nitrogen cycle. This cycle if done properly can take up to 8 weeks. There are short cuts as I have left a very good purely natural way to do it in 9 days. It can be found in Tanks, filtration, etc. When doing constant water changes and adding chemicals as a way to cut down on numbers during a new nitrogen cycle, it can make the cycle take even longer and sometimes not even finishing.
The one question I get asked more and more is "why are my numbers so high?"
I always ask, "how long has your tank been cycling?" This is what I hear, "well it's been running for months now" or "It's been running for a few week."
One of the biggest problems and I am no stranger to it myself is adding good fish that I want to keep before the tank has reached it's completed cycle. Let me just say this, if you add fish to your tank before a tank is cycled, there is a chance of losing some fish. This is why in my 9 day shortcut, I used little gold fish. They are little feeder fish and are very inexpensive. Less expensive then all the water changes and chemicals would cost separately.
When you can not get your tank to have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and 15 or less on your nitrates, you have to rule out a few things, first and most important, did the tank go through it's cycle? Do you have dead fish in the tank hiding? Do you have proper water circulation (do you see water movement at the top of the water)? Do you have brown/red algae in the tank? Are you over feeding (do you see food landing in the bottom of the tank)? How long since you cleaned out your filter? Do you have real plants that are decaying in the tank? If you can answer any of these question yes, then this is why you have bad numbers. And let me also state that .25 or a little ammonia is not a good number. If your fish are constantly in .25 ammonia for months, you will lose fish to gill disease. You will start to see sick fish. I hear it all the time and I hear, "well my ammonia isn't bad or my ammonia is only .25". Another one I hear is, "my nitrates are only at 40 and my fish seem to be getting sick or not thriving" If your fish are in a constant 40ppm of nitrate, they will start to eventually show signs of breaking down. Or if your fish are in really good perfect water conditions and all the sudden in 40 ppm of nitrates, they will show signs of distress. Even though 40 is not extremely bad on nitrates, the fact is, they still aren't great. 40 means it's time to do a water change. It's a warning. If you don't take the warning, you pay the price. No tank should be left at 40 as a minimal on nitrates. This is pollution.
To get through the nitrogen cycle-
Put your gravel or sand in the tank. Make sure it's clean or rinsed. If you do any stirring of the gravel or sand, or crushed coral, do it now. Don't do it later and wonder why your water is cloudy. Put your filter in the tank. In order for the filter to do it's job cycling, it must have some source of ammonia to start with. There are a few different ways to achieve this.
1. Add live fish. Don't use your good fish if you plan on keeping them. Use some gold fish.
2. Get someone else's old filter media (free of disease) and use it in your own filter.
3. Put one capful of household pure ammonia (free of dyes and scents) in your tank with no fish.
4. Put a piece of raw fish about 4 ounces and let it decay in the tank.
5. Put a little fish food in every few days.
Do not do all these things at the same time. Pick one and stick with it. Be patient. "All good things come to those who wait".
Now after your tank has all the necessary equipment and you have water and your filter is running, Let it set for a few weeks. I should point out, unless you are using my "9 day cycle" these are the instructions that should be fallowed.
Do NO water changes, Do NOT change any filters, Do NOT add any chemicals. Do NOT stir sand, gravel, or crushed coral!!!
After a few weeks pass, start checking the numbers, write them down. Get an idea of what is happening in your tank. After about 4 weeks, you should see very little ammonia, high nitrites, and very little nitrates. It is very possible for these numbers to vary though. So you might see high ammonia and low nitrites and 10 nitrates. The point is to get a grasp on what part of the cycle you're in. High ammonia means you're in the first stage, high nitrites means you're in the second stage, high nitrates means you are nearing the end of the cycle. As ammonia or nitrites start to drop, you will see the next part of the cycle start to raise, ex. Ammonia is reading 3.0ppm and nitrites are reading .50 and nitrates are reading 10. This means you are nearing the end of the first part of the cycle. The nitrites will raise as high as they need to and the ammonia will start coming down. The nitrites will raise higher until the nitrates start to pick up. When you see numbers like ammonia at 0-.25ppm, nitrites 4.0ppm and nitrates at 20ppm, this means that you are starting to near the end of the second stage. Then the nitrates will sky rocket and I have witnessed them going as high as 160, the nitrites will be very low if not 0, and the ammonia will be at 0, then you know, it's time to do a 50 percent water change and recheck your nitrates the next day. If they are still very high then do another
25 percent water change. Your nitrates should drop to around 5-10. Congratulations, you have just cycled your tank.
Now let me just clarify that if you do not go through the natural cycle, your cycle will take longer in the end. Even if you use chemicals to lower ammonia or nitrites, you are just masking what you don't want to see. It will also mean confusion when you start seeing wacky numbers that don't seem to fall in sink with what I described above.
I have gone through my share of huge mishaps with uncycled tanks and let me tell you, it's no wonder people try aquarium keeping for awhile then give it up. They get frustrated and say the heck with it all. I know, I have been there.
Do it right the first time and save yourself a ton of grief.
P.S. Someone just brought to my attention about sand and air bubbles with gas and why stir. There is an alternitive to stiring the sand, and that is raking it slowly. This causes very little cloud if none.
[Updated on: Mon, 28 January 2008 20:33]
Please come visit me at www.atozthatsme.com
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| | Topic: Homeade CO2 reactor |
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 Homeade CO2 reactor [message #5335] |
Sun, 25 March 2007 10:25 |
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Even the cheapest of CO2 reactors are nearly 30.00 and you have to constantly buy the tablets that go inside. I have found an easy and very inexpensive way to have one without forking out tons of money.
This is what I did.
I took a 2Lt Soda bottle that had been cleaned out and filled it with water to nearly the top of the bottle leaving just a few inches. Then I put that bottled water into a bowl and mixed with 1 tsp of bakers yeast and 1 Cup of sugar into the water. Let it dissolve and poured back into bottle. I drilled a hole the thickness of air tubing into the cap of said bottle. Put the tubing which was 6 ft long into the cap and pulled through only 1/4 of an inch and hot glued around the tubing on the inside and outside of the cap. You can also use silicon for this. I put an airstone at the other end of the tubing and planted it down under my gravel in the tank. Closed the lid really tight and placed on the floor next to my aquarium stand. Within 12 hours I started noticing little bubbles coming up from the airstone. Its at a very slow pace and seems to be at the right measured time for my 55 gal. You do not have to turn this off at nite. It runs constantly. It can take up to 3 days for it to start working and between 2-4 weeks before it is empty. The bottle does become underpressure so I don't suggest putting it in a place where it is going to get kicked. As long as the airstone and tubing remain clear and clean, there will not be any problems with bottle breaking. I suggest everytime you put a new bottle down that you take a tooth brush and clean the airstone. It has been a few days and I already noticed my plants finally growing and looking healthier. One important thing to watch for; fish going to the surface and gasping for air. You may see this with any CO2 reactor. If you do see this it means your water is getting too much CO2. One of the benefits of having a boughten one from a store is you can control the amount of CO2 that goes into your tank. My tank doesnt have any bubblers in it because I have really good filtration. If I should notice my fish doing this which they have not so far, I will put a bubbler in the tank. If they still go to the top, I will consider either putting a pin hole in the tubing a few inches above the water or putting a valve on the tubing to control the flow of CO2. It is my opinion though that the tank is getting just the right amount of CO2. My fish are still looking good and still full of energy. Don't forget, the more plants you have and the healthier they are, the more O2 is produced. When the plants are at their healthiest you can noticed O2 bubbles coming right directly from the plants. This is the goal to shoot for with plants.
[Updated on: Mon, 02 April 2007 10:20]
Please come visit me at www.atozthatsme.com
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| | Topic: new tank |
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| new tank [message #4753] |
Tue, 13 June 2006 18:16 |
navycigarsmoker
Messages: 1
Registered: June 2006 |
Junior Member |
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Ok I had a few cichlids when I was stationed in Japan and I was really unsure about what I was doing. I am thinking about getting a new tank and I was hoping for some suggestions. Here is a list of fish that I am thinking about getting:
4- Yellow Peacock
4- Albino Peacock
4- Electric Yellow
4- Blue Peacock
4- Electric Blue
3- Pleco
Any suggestions on what size tank I should get. Along with filtration as well, and any other suggestions. Thanks.
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| | Topic: 140 gallon Have a couple questions. |
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| 140 gallon Have a couple questions. [message #4220] |
Sun, 01 January 2006 01:04 |
MarkSmith
Messages: 1
Registered: December 2005 |
Junior Member |
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I have a 140 gallon tank. Its a 6' tank.
Will 2 xp3's cover filteration for fairly decent stocked tank?
(have about 30 mbuna right now)
Water changes weekly have proven enough. I have a blue cobalt something or other (pseudotropheus xxxxxxx I believe but not savvy on genus/species) Holding, along with a brown with dark brown vertical tiger striped fish holding... used to have labidochromis corneleus holding (had to leave tank in care of my father whom raises community fish. Part of his 'care' for his fish is adding aquarium salt. Didn't take long for them to start dying. The yellow labs didn't make it... the rest did)
The other question with the above info... will 'survival of the fittest' still lead to further crowding of my tank? I dont mind letting nature take its course... but I still dont want 100 mbuna in my tank. I like it the way it is now. (6 species)
Id have to take pictures and let you all ID them to make sure I have what I have.
PS I have three aulonacara (dont know what specific ones they are) Blue bodies... white top of their backs and head... yellow dorsal fins. Pretty... but I didn't realize they weren't mbunas when they were sold to me.
Teaches me what happens when I dont do research.
Thanks all... hope to gather a lot of info from this site.
Take care
Mark
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| | Topic: Project Proposal... Two-tier rack... input / reviews request |
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| Project Proposal... Two-tier rack... input / reviews request [message #4129] |
Tue, 25 October 2005 01:39 |
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So I am thinknig of building myself a two-tier aquarium rack as shown in attached diagram... CLICK THUMBNAIL for fullsize image.
I am looking to utilize metal shelving, the industrial strength stuff, as each of these tanks should weigh almost 1000 pounds when filled and aquascaped. The rack will sit on a cement sub-floor in a basement in a spot where a 150-gallon currently sits... the 150-gallon will be sold or moved.
Some of my current considerations are...
... Tank rack to be slotted into 79" high x 53" wide "clothes closet" with sliding doors removed;
... Measure allowance for metal shelves, heights of various pieces of equipment, clearance from the floor, etc, all shown on left;
... To be determined... use 2700 kelvin "Aquarium" tubes or 5000 kelvin "Natural Sunshine" tubes;
... To be determined... use ONE or TWO Hydro Sponge (Size 5) sponge filters. EACH is rated for 125 gallon aquariums... this setup the aquariums are 70 gallons each;
... To be determined... what capacity air pump to operate Hydro Sponger 5 filter;
... Other considerations not yet factored ???
I am also going to have flaps hang down from the shelf about 13" to cover the area between the top of a tank, and the shelf above with the attached lighting ballast.
Does anyone have any input they would share on this project?
Robert ["BrownBullhead"]
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| | Topic: Another airstone question |
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| Another airstone question [message #4119] |
Fri, 21 October 2005 22:30 |
tgrogan
Messages: 36
Registered: September 2005 |
Member |
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I have a 55 gal tank, 48in X 13in X 18in. As far as actual water load, it is more like 44g, the substrate and rock work take up the other volume.
Anyway, the question I have is whether I really need an airstone. I have no idea how to determine the rate of gas exchange, or to know how much I need.
I have 5 Yellow Labs, 4 Cobalt Blues, 4 Red Empresses, and 4 Malawi Butterflies (Aulonocara Jacobfreibergi). One Danio.
All the fish are about 2" - 3"
The power filter seems to be circulating the water fairly well adn creates a small amount of air bubbles itself.
http://www.capitalcichlids.org
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| | Topic: Early water changes |
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| Early water changes [message #3940] |
Sat, 17 September 2005 15:01 |
tgrogan
Messages: 36
Registered: September 2005 |
Member |
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With the addition of 16 small cichlids to my relatively new tank, I am monitoring the Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate levels on a daily/bi-daily basis.
What is the limit for Ammonia and Nitrite?
I plan to do weekly water changes in the 25% vicinity, but is there a limit on either Ammonia or Nitrite that should trigger a water change right away?
http://www.capitalcichlids.org
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| | Topic: tetra whisper 700 air pump |
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| tetra whisper 700 air pump [message #3830] |
Wed, 17 August 2005 08:44 |
syr4227
Messages: 7
Registered: August 2005
Location: manchester uk |
Junior Member |
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when i bought my tank there was a tetra whisperer 700 air pump, well it was working fine until i had the bright idea of trying to udjust it  its got 2 screws on the side of the box so i unscrwed them thinking it would let more air through, but instead its stopped the air, theres a littel coming out of one outlet but nothing like it was.has anyone on here got one or knows how i get it working proper again?. thanks for any help.
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| | Topic: Sump questions |
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| Sump questions [message #3792] |
Fri, 05 August 2005 17:53 |
Jagermiester
Messages: 8
Registered: March 2005
Location: Holland MI |
Junior Member |
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I have never used or had someone I know use a sump before. So, I
need a little help.
I got a good deal on a 90G tank with a sump and the holes in the
bottom of the tank already. I do not have the pump or hoses.
How do I know what pump I need?
What hoses do I need?
What do I need for the sump?
If I heat the sump should I still use 2 heaters?
Thanks for any help.
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| | Topic: What to do in a power outage ? |
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| What to do in a power outage ? [message #3745] |
Fri, 08 July 2005 09:14 |
fishman99
Messages: 18
Registered: March 2005
Location: Ann Arbor, MI |
Junior Member |
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Hi everybody, how is everyone ? Good I hope.
I was wondering if anyone can tell me what to do if you lose power ?
Can Malawi Cichlids survive a 24-48 hour power outage or should I look into a compressor or something ?
I've got a 55 gal long with 8 juvenile Malawi cic's:
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Females
1 Auratus (Melanochromis Auratus)
1 Venustus (Nimbochromis Venustus)
1 Zebra Msobo (Metriaclima "Msobo")
1 Chipokae (Melanochromis Chipokae)
1 Kenyi (Metriaclima Lombardoi)
1 Electric Blue (Melanochromis Johanii)
Males
1 Orange Blotch Zebra (OB Metriaclima Zebra)
1 Sunshine Zebra (Metriaclima Zebra)
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Thx !
Fishman
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| | Topic: New to African Fish, Need Help! |
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 New to African Fish, Need Help! [message #3711] |
Fri, 24 June 2005 18:05 |
Demane22
Messages: 1
Registered: June 2005
Location: PA |
Junior Member |
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I just purchased a 90 Gallon tank. I didnt want to get anything else because i dont know what the best equipment is to get. I wanted to know what heaters are good, i was told i should get 2 300w heaters for the 90 gallon. Also ive heard alot about the fluval 404 and the cascade 1500. Is there something better, i was leaning more towards the cascade, maybe even 2 of them. When i get ready to do my water changes i heard the python no spill was pretty good too. Any feedback from you guys will be very helpful. Thanks in advance!
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| | Topic: Jewel and assorted??? |
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| Jewel and assorted??? [message #3698] |
Thu, 16 June 2005 19:21 |
newbie10
Messages: 1
Registered: June 2005 |
Junior Member |
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Hey everyone,
I have a 60 gallon tank which had a brandtii piranahha who, today, I transferred. I bought 10 assorted african cichlids today and up them in the 60 gallon. I have a few different peices of drift wood and store bought plastic rocks in the tank. I also have several plants. I've been working on the a home made tank stand for weeks on end. I'm in the final stages of the lid and the stand. The stand and lid are made out of cherry oak. I'll post photo's when it reaches completion. The back of the tank was painted with black silicon paint. The drift wood was collected by hand as well as treated and attached to plastic panels to hold it to the bottom. The sand in the tank is from a pool shop. It was also filtered and treated before it was put into the tank to cut down on cloudyness. One maxima air pump, pumps air through a tube buried in the sand. Two heaters heat the tank.
I was told that jewel cichlids act like americans(aggressive) and was told to be careful when combining them with africans. I was wondering if this is possible. Also if anyone has any comments about my tank setup I'm most definately open to all suggestions.
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| | Topic: water wash |
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| water wash [message #3521] |
Fri, 25 February 2005 00:05 |
pseudotropheus
Messages: 30
Registered: January 2005 |
Member |
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Hello.
I am thinking of setting up a tank that is 37 gallons. I believe it is 22 inches tall. The thing is I would like to have a stack of rocks forming caves on the side(probably both sides)that would have an under gravel filter coming up behind the rocks producing a bubbling water over the top of the water level running down the exposed rocks. The water level would be an inch or two below (I'm guessing).
Any ideas on how to get this effect? I'm trying to create kind of a splashy shoreline. For those fish that prefer the bubbles. 
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| | Topic: eheim filter |
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| eheim filter [message #3413] |
Sat, 08 January 2005 16:20 |
roadking02
Messages: 1
Registered: January 2005 |
Junior Member |
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I'm needing some help on spraybar placement. I've always used rainbow lifeguard canister system for my Africans. Do I need the spraybar to spray into the water, or along the top of water? to try and eliminate bubbles. Thanks!=D
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| | Topic: curing driftwood |
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| curing driftwood [message #1385] |
Sun, 15 December 2002 19:22 |
bean
Messages: 14
Registered: December 2002
Location: northern indiana |
Junior Member |
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i was reading a old post on here about curing driftwood and i thought i 'wood' share how i do it.
the best place i found for collecting it is on the shores of the great lakes. the bark is gone and the wood is smooth for the most part. other places i have collected have been swamps, rivers and streams, during the dry season. lakes are great to when they drain them to repair dams.
when i get them home the first thing i do to them is place them out in the sun to dry. not only do they need to be dry for the next step but this helps to rid most of the critters living in them. the more dry the better.
next i sand blast them. this rids the loose wood, rot or anything living in them. i shoot at 200lbs psi. you can back off if your blowing them apart.
next i place them in tub. i first used a 55 gallon burn barrel cut in half. now i use a 90 gallon livestock tank. i hold them down with concreat blocks. i pour in a gallon of bleach and fill till they are covered. after about a week i drain it and fill it back up. i do this every couple of days for a month.
next i use a stainless steel screw and a piece of slate big enough to stack some rocks on to hold it down. drill the slate and screw it to the wood.
there you have it! i used to test with a few convicts but after never having any problems i dont mess with the testing ang more.
i know some fish like psuedo. aceii need a little wood to encourage the spawn. hope this helps! fish on!
later,bean
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| | Topic: LINKS |
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Current Time: Fri May 16 12:35:33 EDT 2008
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