Adopting a stocked tank!

[seangee]

I think unless/until I can find a way I can safely soften my hard water, I will keep as is for now. Not to say I won't continue looking into methods though!

You may want to keep an eye on this thread http://www.fishforums.net/threads/hardness-does-this-make-sense.448839/ but don't rush out and do anything yet.

TBH this is relatively time consuming and expensive. If it works it is worth it for me because I have to filter my water for nitrates anyway. My local Maidenhead Aquatics sells RO water at £4 for 25 litres (if you provide your own container). For your flex that would mean £2 per week if you do a 50% water change weekly and mix it 50/50 with tap water. If I only had the flex that is probably what I would have done.

 

[Byron]

Tank looks very nice. Water will clear.

The tank must sit completely on the support, including foam. Otherwise it can shift and that can break the seal.

Are the fish still near the surface? Test ammonia, nitrite, pH. If ammonia or nitrite show above zero, a bacterial supplement should help. Tetra's SafeStart, or even Seachem's Stability; Tetra is better here.

 

[IndiaHawker]

All is good! Think I was just being paranoid about things, there doesn't appear to be any sort of leak, I assume it was just some of the stray water (there was a fair bit of stray water ) from removing the fish and figuring out the gravel vac that had seeped into the foam underneath - after a thorough drying there is no more water so I think the tank is fine! However I will move the tank onto the foam better at the next chance - will it be okay like this for another week or two, at least until my next partial water change, as don't want to disturb the poor fish any more than I have this past week? I'll probably have to remove 2/3 - 3/4 of the water at least to be able to shift the tank - although at least I can put the same water back in!

Fish thankfully seem totally back to normal! It had got to about 5am by the time I was having these problems, after spending hours with the aquascaping, so was limited to what I could do at that time. But I did another water test and I believe it was showing a low (but higher than the previous 0) level of chlorine so I added a small amount of water conditioner (into the back section so it was going through the pump and not into the tank unmixed). I also adjusted the nozzles - I'd had them fully submerged since getting the tank as I was worried about messing with them too much, but hadn't had this problem with the fish till now. So they're not right out of the water, but are resting on the surface and creating a fair bit of surface disturbance. When I went to bed they appeared to possibly be swimming around a little more, and less at the surface, but could have just been wishful/hopeful thinking. Woke up today and they're great! Swimming around, exploring the new stuff, seem about as happy as they can! What do you think most likely caused this, in case I have this happen again? My thoughts are either the oxygen levels had dropped (although why had they been fine until now? There are way more plants now... unless it was where the pump had been off for so long that the water oxygen content had dropped a lot?) and were causing this, or that it was to do with increased chlorine levels (maybe I didn't add enough conditioner to the water I added in - did this week's water change at the same time as the aquascaping to save stressing the fish out twice) and putting the extra bit of softener in did the trick? Or something else maybe? I read a lot of stories online about people having similar problems after a water change, but I couldn't seem to pinpoint why it happens?

Sorry about all this Honestly I have diagnosed OCD as well as various other issues, so when one little thing goes wrong, or possibly wrong, I tend to get a bit obsessive and panicky over it - which I guess can be a good thing in some ways when it comes to fishkeeping! Just so determined to get this perfect for them and get the setup looking perfect for them and for me! Thanks everyone for bearing with me! (And I will look into that forum - it's annoying as even if my LFS sells RO water no-one in my household drives so it'd be a bit of working out how to get the water home on a regular basis!)

 

[IndiaHawker]

And thank you for saying it looks nice! The water is perfectly clear already

 

[IndiaHawker]

The tank must sit completely on the support, including foam. Otherwise it can shift and that can break the seal.

Maybe a stupid question - but as there is a fair bit of overhanging foam on the other side, if I trimmed a strip off and could slide it underneath the strip where the tank is slightly hanging off - would this do just as good a job without worrying about stressing out my fish again? Or would I be better off waiting a week or two and shifting the tank properly? Can it wait that long? Please and thanks!

 

[Byron]

What do you think most likely caused this, in case I have this happen again? My thoughts are either the oxygen levels had dropped (although why had they been fine until now? There are way more plants now... unless it was where the pump had been off for so long that the water oxygen content had dropped a lot?) and were causing this, or that it was to do with increased chlorine levels (maybe I didn't add enough conditioner to the water I added in - did this week's water change at the same time as the aquascaping to save stressing the fish out twice) and putting the extra bit of softener in did the trick? Or something else maybe? I read a lot of stories online about people having similar problems after a water change, but I couldn't seem to pinpoint why it happens?

Given that you noticed chlorine with the test (which you never should normally), and given the symptoms, this is sounding like possible chlorine burn. Chlorine burns the fish's gills so the reaction is always to swim to the opposite end of the tank (if fresh water is coming in without dechlorinator), remain near or at the surface, then gasping. Gills will be red with extended gill covers (operculum). Within a matter of minutes fish will begin dying, depending upon the degree of chlorine dissipated into the tank. I have a habit of always observing the fish as the Python is pumping tap water into the tank, just in case I have forgotten the conditioner. Only twice have I, in 20 years, so not bad, but it was immediately obvious.

Various other things can cause similar symptoms, basically anything wrong with the water. Ammonia, nitrite, pH shock, chlorine, toxin, etc.

 

[Byron]

Maybe a stupid question - but as there is a fair bit of overhanging foam on the other side, if I trimmed a strip off and could slide it underneath the strip where the tank is slightly hanging off - would this do just as good a job without worrying about stressing out my fish again? Or would I be better off waiting a week or two and shifting the tank properly? Can it wait that long? Please and thanks!

I'm not exactly sure what the situation is...but the tank must always be completely touching the support be it a stand or shelf, all way round. If you have foam between the tank and the support, the tank should be completely sitting on the foam. I don't know how much this might cause trouble (the foam), as the tank weight in my experience smashes this down to the support structure.

 

[IndiaHawker]

Thanks for the help! I will leave the aquarium as it is for a week or so, but make it a priority to shift it asap. Unless anyone thinks it's risky for me to leave it for a week or two? Here is a picture of the overhang, with my finger for comparison size:

 

[IndiaHawker]

Could do with some advice on shifting tank sideways please, preferably without taking out many/only one or two rocks? Can't help but feel it'll be very heavy to shift

 

[Byron]

Could do with some advice on shifting tank sideways please, preferably without taking out many/only one or two rocks? Can't help but feel it'll be very heavy to shift

You cannot lift the tank with any weight in it, only when completely empty and dry. I have slid a tank without lifting a few times, the smaller tanks. But that is not so easy to get the tank on foam without lifting.

You might try to poke another strip of foam in under that overhang.

 

[IndiaHawker]

You cannot lift the tank with any weight in it, only when completely empty and dry. I have slid a tank without lifting a few times, the smaller tanks. But that is not so easy to get the tank on foam without lifting.

You might try to poke another strip of foam in under that overhang.

I had a moment tonight and just did it, as it was really bothering me and I just wanted it done. Wasn't as hard as I thought - removed about 75% of the water, as well as all fish except for Pleco, and shifted it. Thought I'd need to remove at least one or two of the larger rocks but didn't need to - wasn't too tricky to slide whilst holding the foam in place, didn't need to actually lift, but did tilt it a bit and raise separate sides at a time off of the base - hoping I haven't done any damage and hoping that if I had done damage it'd be obvious pretty quickly?

Luckily as it wasn't as hard as I thought, the whole process was over with in about an hour and a half, fish only out of tank for about an hour, and didn't need to add in any new water, put back what I took out (as did water change a couple of days ago when aquascaping). Fish seem totally normal, I managed to do it without stirring up sand too much and making water cloudy again, and I'm really pleased I've got it done.