Getting wet again.

eclecticjanie

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It's been 20+ years since I've had an aquarium up and running. Children have been born, and grown, moved out on their own. Suddenly! There it is! A space just made to house an aquarium.

Oh yes. I'm sure some of us have been right where I am now. Soooooo, time for some planning, building, and creating my first planted aquarium.
Aquarium :
42 gallon bow front.
2 bags of Florite
1 bog water driftwood branch

Refugium :
29 gallon aquarium
4 glass plates from a ten gallon
1 non anti bacterial sponge
1-2 lb "bag" a.c. (ok, old nylons)
1- 2 lb bag Matrix
1 1200 gph powerhead (return)
1 diy overflow box with drain hose.
1 35 lb cat litter box, drilled and filled with bio media and 3M scrubbies


The refugium is about to be built. The aquarium is filled, florite and bog wood in place.

End result I'm going for is 15-19 3"tal fish, with cories and bettas. Oh, and lots of low light plants.

Pictures of current progress forthcoming.


I'm.......BAAAACK !

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0930171051b.jpg 0930171051a.jpg
 
Ah, the old floating bogwood problem! It comes to us all ;)

Will you be doing a fishless cycle? (I do hope the answer's yes!) And do you know if your water's hard or soft yet?
 
Ah, the old floating bogwood problem! It comes to us all ;)

Will you be doing a fishless cycle? (I do hope the answer's yes!) And do you know if your water's hard or soft yet?
Well, I was planning fish. The bog wood is over years old. I was using it in a dried flower arrangement. Back before I "planted " it in the floor vase, I baked it overnight in a walk in oven.

As for my water. The ph is 8.2. Yeah I know, way too hard. That's why I'm building a refugium, so I can have natural softening agents in the water, after it's treated in a 20 gallon.

I'm open to suggestions!
Bio load eventually will be tetras, cories, and a betta.

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Well, I was planning fish. The bog wood is over 7 years old. I was using it in a dried flower arrangement. Back before I "planted " it in the floor vase, I baked it overnight in a walk in oven.

As for my water. The ph is 8.2. Yeah I know, way too hard. That's why I'm building a refugium, so I can have natural softening agents in the water, after it's treated in a 20 gallon.

I'm open to suggestions!
Bio load eventually will be tetras, cories, and a betta.

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A couple of comments:

A betta is not a good community fish, they are better off in a small (25 litre) tank of their own.

The fish you list are all soft water fish. Your pH does suggest hard water but you need to know how hard before getting fish. Look on your water supplier's website, they should give the hardness on there. You need the number and the unit as they could use any one of half a dozen different units. If it does turn out you have hard water, you either need to rethink which fish you want, or go down the more complicated route of mixing pure water with your tap water to lower the mineral content.

It has been a long time since you last and fish, and cycling with fish is not approved of these days. Fishless cycling is much easier and not cruel to fish. In case you haven't found it yet, here is how to do a fishless cycle. http://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first.421488/
Alternatively you could plant your tank, the more plants the better, and add fish slowly.
 
A couple of comments:

A betta is not a good community fish, they are better off in a small (25 litre) tank of their own.

The fish you list are all soft water fish. Your pH does suggest hard water but you need to know how hard before getting fish. Look on your water supplier's website, they should give the hardness on there. You need the number and the unit as they could use any one of half a dozen different units. If it does turn out you have hard water, you either need to rethink which fish you want, or go down the more complicated route of mixing pure water with your tap water to lower the mineral content.

It has been a long time since you last and fish, and cycling with fish is not approved of these days. Fishless cycling is much easier and not cruel to fish. In case you haven't found it yet, here is how to do a fishless cycle. http://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first.421488/
Alternatively you could plant your tank, the more plants the better, and add fish slowly.
Ah.
Let's see. This is a 2 year project. Wasn't planning fish until I get the aquarium planted.

100% Ammonia is my cycling friend.

I'd like to have a Betta, I know that they aren't community friendly, which is why he would be the last to be added, in the Heavily planted tank. I have a "bowl" that will be on it's side, to create a current free zone, if needed.

I don't have to have a betta, though. I'm pretty sure there are many other fish to choose from. ....;)

This is the current water report. No where is hardness listed. I'm calling to see if I can get that level/gph is for my area.

Hopefully this answers your concerns.
f65806cfee9fded87f5b671807a6edd8.jpg


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Water quality reports don't give hardness, that is usually somewhere else on their website. However I have just googled your water company and searched on there for hardness - and it doesn't seem to be there.
To find out, I think you'll have to call them and ask. if you do, make sure they give you the unit as well as the number, and ask for alkalinity as well. Alkalinity is what water companies call KH.
 
You're going to love this. Water company only reads meters. I'm contacting the water treatment facilities for answers.

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I'd like to have a Betta, I know that they aren't community friendly, which is why he would be the last to be added, in the Heavily planted tank. I have a "bowl" that will be on it's side, to create a current free zone, if needed.

I don't have to have a betta, though. I'm pretty sure there are many other fish to choose from.

Adding the Betta last is not going to solve the problem that a Betta generally does not work in a community tank. This is two-fold. First, Betta are bred as aggressive fish, so their natural aggression is heightened. They frequently take a dislike to other fish; colourful fish seem most prone to this. I had a Betta that ate my neons (back before I understood about Betta being on their own, period). The opposite can also factor in. Many small shoaling fish that are normally quite peaceful will become real terrors in fin nipping when placed in closed confines with a Betta. Even if there is no physical contact, the allomones each of these respective fish release seriously stresses the other. Really not a good idea. And this holds for the majority of Betta as this is in their nature. Safer to assume your Betta and other fish will be normal and hoping they are abnormal.

There will likely be many fish options once we know the parameters.

Byron.
 
Adding the Betta last is not going to solve the problem that a Betta generally does not work in a community tank. This is two-fold. First, Betta are bred as aggressive fish, so their natural aggression is heightened. They frequently take a dislike to other fish; colourful fish seem most prone to this. I had a Betta that ate my neons (back before I understood about Betta being on their own, period). The opposite can also factor in. Many small shoaling fish that are normally quite peaceful will become real terrors in fin nipping when placed in closed confines with a Betta. Even if there is no physical contact, the allomones each of these respective fish release seriously stresses the other. Really not a good idea. And this holds for the majority of Betta as this is in their nature. Safer to assume your Betta and other fish will be normal and hoping they are abnormal.

There will likely be many fish options once we know the parameters.

Byron.
*I don't have to have a betta*

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