New 220L tank set-up questions

[thrujenseyes]

I would really love to put a beta in there instead

I think that's a wonderful idea and you'll get so much out of it...they're so interactive and beautiful!
I think when you're ready maybe post a question to the forum stating you'll be a first time beta owner and ask for tips on making that tank everything a beta could dream of!
There are a lot of very knowledgeable beta people here!
I had one a million years ago (before I knew any better) ....in a bowl! ugh! He lived 3 years (poor guy).

I had absolutely no idea that you couldn't just put them in normal tap water! I don't understand why it isn't common knowledge that you can't do that, and why it isn't illegal to sell animals without absolutely providing the basic advice about their requirements.

I agree completely...it should be explained properly to anyone purchasing any animal what their needs are and the customer should have to sign something stating that they heard and promise to care for properly.
I know this wouldn't fix things but it might help a small percentage...especially to those who don't know that you can't just put any fish in anything that holds water!

It's turning into an an animal farm

I love it and would have a farm if budget allowed!
I just lost my 14 year old precious doberman Lexi a week and a half ago (she lived an amazing long life) and I have my Farley, male dobie who's 5 and a half (and just beside himself that Lexi is gone).
I'm thinking of fostering something just to give him something to love for a little while while his heart heals.

I feel shallow saying that

Don't feel that way...we've all desired and probably gotten fish that we shouldn't have.
It's ok to want a specific fish when you'll be admiring it all the time as long as you're willing to go the extra mile to care for it and it sounds like you definitely are.

I will add...there are some really amazing looking soft water fish though...have you looked into killifish?! Some of them look like marine fish!

I had to that Google 'endlers' = guppies

Endlers are actually their own breed. BUT many of them these days are bred with guppies to be crosses (and some of the most beautiful little fish you'll ever see).
It's hard to find pure endlers but they are wonderful little fish if you can find them!

I've found someone with a pond so can take Goldie

This is super exciting!!! He's going to be soo happy and have such a fun new life!
I'm sure you can keep him until you decide on a beta.
And you're totally correct in thinking if you take him back ...that store will just resell him to just anyone.

And unfortunately you can't always (almost never) trust the fish store employees.
Always check here first!
Oh and him saying "depends on what kind of goldfish"...not true! There is no goldfish on the planet that can live in a 20liter!
......unless it's a goldfish cracker!

 

[Byron]

On the "coral sand" minerals:
CaCO3 is calcium
SiO2 is silicon dioxide, or just silica
MgO is Magnesium oxide
Al2o3 Aluminium oxide, or Aluminum
So4 salts of sulphuric acid, or sulphates
FE2o3 iron oxide

My primary issue here is the silica. Otherwise may be OK. CarribSea make pure aragonite sand, I have a bag of it, so you can get it online if not locally. Again, you don't want any sodium salt in it.

Many in the hobby think pH is the thing to watch, but as we have been discussing, the GH and KH also factor in. The GH is the single most crucial aspect for most fish; get the GH right for the species, and the pH can vary somewhat (provided it is stable, I do not mean fluctuating pH which can be deadly). Generally, the higher the GH and KH the higher (more basic) the pH, and reverse. However, this can be offset by other chemistry factors. But one thing is certain: with a very low GH/KH, the pH will be on the acidic side, and this occurs in nature which is why soft water fish prefer acidic pH and hard water prefer basic pH--again being very general.

I along with several other members do not advocate buying potentially large fish for small tanks with the intent of "doing something" later as they grow, so you are correct here. Circumstances may change and the large tank may never come about. Fish need sufficient space as they grow over a period of years, and internal damage can easily occur without sufficient space and water quality (the two are connected but also different in terms of fish development). Changing environments is severely stressful on fish, and if we care about our fish we should attempt to alleviate not incur this stress. The pond is excellent, the goldfish will be very happy.

For the QT, some use a 10g, I have a 20g. When we acquire new fish they will most often be quite small, juveniles, so for the QT period the tank size shouldn't be problematical, within reason. I have had I suppose 40-50 fish in my 20g, usually I come home with closer to 20-25, depending. Floating plants really help, from the light aspect, natural environment, and plants that are fast growing (like floaters) take up a lot of ammonia/ammonium.

I took no offense over the livebearers. The calcareous substrate would likely have lasted decades, but I moved and couldn't bring the tanks and since I've preferred to stay with soft water fish. My fish room of 8 tanks is crammed with mainly wild-caught fish, and the fact that the tap water is practically identical to what they prefer makes this a piece of cake.

 

[Yarkii]

My apologies for being slow to reply. The little puppy we'll be raising came earlier than we expected, and I've had my hands full helping all the four-legged household members settle.

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[Yarkii]

Thanks again, Byron. Apologies for the reply. I've had my hands full with a new puppy, newish kitten and my older dog & cat all getting to know each other, plus it's school holidays here, which equals madness.

My primary issue here is the silica. Otherwise may be OK.

Can I ask why the SiO2 is to be avoided? Is it an absolute no-no?

Otherwise may be OK. CarribSea make pure aragonite sand, I have a bag of it, so you can get it online if not locally. Again, you don't want any sodium salt in it.

I'm trying to find someone in driving distance who sells Carribsea. A few places seem to sell it online in Australia (I'm assuming shipping domestically will be cheaper than internationally, but no shipping at all would be preferable, of course!). One thing I did notice is that there are lots of different Carribsea Aragonite sands, but so far I haven't found a website that says whether any of them are 100% pure aragonite without anything else in it. Can I ask what the name of the one you use is?

I've also noticed other things like Seachem Kona Coast (https://www.natureaquariums.com.au/collections/substrate/products/seachem-kona-coast-10kg) and Seachem Pearl Beach (https://www.natureaquariums.com.au/collections/substrate/products/seachem-pearl-beach-10kg). The links include the chemical make-up of each. Although they're not aragonite or dolomite, would these things do?

For the QT, some use a 10g, I have a 20g. When we acquire new fish they will most often be quite small, juveniles, so for the QT period the tank size shouldn't be problematical, within reason. I have had I suppose 40-50 fish in my 20g, usually I come home with closer to 20-25, depending

A new thought occurred to me: whether I could use my existing 20L tank as the QT. It has pebbles rather than any sand, and the water is very hard (GH 180+ppm, but KH approx. 40ppm). It's much smaller than the tanks you describe, but if I only brought in one to three fish at a time, it might do..?

Changing environments is severely stressful on fish, and if we care about our fish we should attempt to alleviate not incur this stress. The pond is excellent, the goldfish will be very happy.

I've had two offers of ponds to rehome Goldie. The weather here is starting to get cold, and I'm a little scared about transferring him from my indoor tank to an outdoor pond (it'll be much colder at night). I'm also not sure whether it is an issue that he'll be much smaller than the other goldfish. I should search for a goldfish forum for this one, I guess?

Thanks Byron!

Jacqui

 

[Yarkii]

Hi Jen!

I love it and would have a farm if budget allowed!
I just lost my 14 year old precious doberman Lexi a week and a half ago (she lived an amazing long life) and I have my Farley, male dobie who's 5 and a half (and just beside himself that Lexi is gone).
I'm thinking of fostering something just to give him something to love for a little while while his heart heals.

I'm so sorry you lost Lexi. <3 <3 We lost our 14yo lab/border collie Jonesy on NYE just gone. It's too devastating. I'm totally with you about getting another dog, for Farley. Our Bella (4yo Labrador) has been so sad since we lost Jonesy. It's funny seeing her as the older dog now, with a little puppy being too active for her the way she ALWAYS was for Jonesy.

there are some really amazing looking soft water fish though...have you looked into killifish?! Some of them look like marine fish!

I'll check them out, and Endlers too.

Oh and him saying "depends on what kind of goldfish"...not true! There is no goldfish on the planet that can live in a 20liter!
......unless it's a goldfish cracker!

Yeah - I'm done with that aquarium. I won't be going back there.

Hey - I love your Fluval Edge, by the way! I just noticed your photo. I usually read these posts on my phone, but today I'm on my pc. It's beautiful! I coveted that particular tank for a while. Yours looks just stunning.

 

[thrujenseyes]

The weather here is starting to get cold, and I'm a little scared about transferring him from my indoor tank to an outdoor pond

I had an amazing pond in my backyard (old house and miss it terribly) and had goldfish, koi and comets that all survived multiple winters and changing seasons (here in NJ we can go from snow to 70 in 24 hours and it's common).
What I'm unsure of w/your situation is if it's a shock to his system to go from stable temps to unstable. Hopefully someone can answer that!

I'm so sorry you lost Lexi.

Thank you and I'm very sorry about your Jonsey (great name). It's so hard.

I'll check them out, and Endlers too

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised!

Hey - I love your Fluval Edge, by the way! I just noticed your photo. I usually read these posts on my phone, but today I'm on my pc. It's beautiful! I coveted that particular tank for a while. Yours looks just stunning

Thanks a million, that's an old pic (that I need to change).
This is it now. Mostly Anubias species and spider wood (which I love love love).
Ignore the zucchini slice (it's for my otos).
I'm so involve with my little Edge but it's a bear to get in and out of because of it's cool design.
You can see how small the opening is at the top. Thank God I have thin hands! ha

I saw you and Byron discussing the Aragonite and I looked up the one I purchased (I just keep a tiny little bag of it in my filter). And I noticed that mine has other ingredients also! Now I'm scared and wondering if I shouldn't have it in there (although since the use of it my tank has been PERFECT. Readings are on point and inhabitants are thrilled.
Here's mine: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000ELY1YQ/?tag=ff0d01-20

 

[Geliparker]

Hi everyone!

I'm new to fish-keeping. I've just bought a 220L Aqua One Regency with a sump filter. I'm pretty excited about slowly setting it up, and want to try to get it right. I like the idea of a planted aquarium with a tropical fish community (but I'm not sure I'd go as far as the whole CO2 injection thingy - time will tell). I hope to eventually have something like guppies/mollies/platies/swordtails (I'm reading mixed reports about housing them together), plus some small breed of cory cats, and maybe some kind of tetra. I like the look of white sand with lots of plants, some driftwood & grey rocks.

I have a few set-up questions. The first is regarding tank location, sunlight & traffic. One of the potential spots for the aquarium is next to our rear door, which is a double glass door. A few friends commented on the possibility of algae growing in the tank if it's getting natural sunlight, but prior to hearing that I was concerned that the lights in the Regency won't be bright enough for a planted aquarium. Does sunlight cause algae problems that LED lights don't? Is algae a problem in a planted aquarium?

Being the only door to the back yard, will human traffic be a problem? Sometimes it's groups of kids running in and out, possibly shouting/playing, though most of the week it's pretty calm. The doors don't slam, and it's a double door, with the one closest to the aquarium never opened. I'll try to upload a photo with the aquarium in this potential position. View attachment 83352

Another question is regarding sand. The tank came with some off-white sand (it was their display model, and they put sand in it & some ornaments on display). I bought some white sand as well, thinking I might lighten the colour a little. But.... is aquarium sand from a pet-shop okay to use in a planted aquarium, or am I going to regret this when the plants don't grow? Do I need to get over the desired aesthetics & buy something with more nutrients? Or can I add nutrients? How does adding nutrients for plants affect the fish?

My last (for now!) set-up question: the girl in the pet store said she always reinforces her aquariums with aquarium silicon from Bunnings (chain hardware store in Australia, for anyone from o/s). Is this something I should do before filling my aquarium; silicon all the edges? Inside the tank or outside?

Thank you so much for reading my questions and (hopefully) offering some advice.



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I am a bit dubious about the pet shop staff remark about silicone as well....could that mean (in a roundabout way that they've bashed it about a bit?) but as to algae , try as far away as possible from natural light source. Plants will be fine with daylight bulbs / tubes so no need to worry there. I had an algae problem despite nowhere near but in a room with natural light so I finally bit the bullet and bought a UV sterilising unit for the tank. I believe you get a Fluval external canister filter with UV built in..... I love my little unit and although not 100% it does manage to reduce algae quite substantially and the fish seem to like the extra little waterfall

 

[Yarkii]

Hi!

I saw you and Byron discussing the Aragonite and I looked up the one I purchased (I just keep a tiny little bag of it in my filter). And I noticed that mine has other ingredients also! Now I'm scared and wondering if I shouldn't have it in there (although since the use of it my tank has been PERFECT. Readings are on point and inhabitants are thrilled.
Here's mine: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000ELY1YQ/?tag=ff0d01-20

Ah. That Caribsea Aragonite is the one I keep seeing called "Aragomax Select". I wondered what the breakdown was, as none of the websites I've looked at (including the Caribsea website) state that it has anything other than pure aragonite, nor do they state that it doesn't. I'm *guessing* that the list on the RHS of your pack is a typical elemental breakdown of the aragonite, maybe...

So I guess the list on the packet of the sand I bought the other day is similarly the typical breakdown of that particular sand. Maybe.

Silica was the problem Byron pointed out, and that isn't listed on your aragonite pack. Again I'm only guessing, based on some searches for what the issue could be with silica, but from what I can tell, it's got to do with the growth of diamawhatits..... but I also gather that some people seem to think that's a good thing, but I can't yet figure out who thinks that, or why. Maybe for reef fish or for heavily planted aquariums??

I'm also guessing that with any sea sand, there will always been a degree of silica, since silica is sea sand??

If the aragonite that you've got is a good one, I can buy that (Caribea Aragomax Select) online from a few interstate aquarium suppliers. I'm still trying to find someone local who stocks it.

I had an amazing pond in my backyard (old house and miss it terribly) and had goldfish, koi and comets that all survived multiple winters and changing seasons (here in NJ we can go from snow to 70 in 24 hours and it's common).
What I'm unsure of w/your situation is if it's a shock to his system to go from stable temps to unstable. Hopefully someone can answer that!

NJ sounds like Melbourne. We usually have four seasons in one day, pretty much every day. Hmmm. I'll try to find some info on transferring goldfish into ponds.

Thanks a million, that's an old pic (that I need to change).
This is it now. Mostly Anubias species and spider wood (which I love love love).
I'm so involve with my little Edge but it's a bear to get in and out of because of it's cool design.
You can see how small the opening is at the top. Thank God I have thin hands! ha

Yeah - I wondered whether it would be difficult. Having not had a fish tank at all when I was looking at it, I didn't know whether that would be difficult or not. It's a really beautiful tank.

xxx

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[Byron]

I saw you and Byron discussing the Aragonite and I looked up the one I purchased (I just keep a tiny little bag of it in my filter). And I noticed that mine has other ingredients also! Now I'm scared and wondering if I shouldn't have it in there (although since the use of it my tank has been PERFECT. Readings are on point and inhabitants are thrilled.
Here's mine: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000ELY1YQ/?tag=ff0d01-20

This is OK. It does not contain "salt" as in common salt or sodium chloride.

 

[thrujenseyes]

diamawhatits

great word, made me giggle. Now I need to google because I have no clue what this is...I'm guessing some form of diatoms?! Fish keeping sure is just endless learning!

If the aragonite that you've got is a good one

I can only say that I've had wonderful luck with it.

This is OK. It does not contain "salt" as in common salt or sodium chloride.

Thanks so much for clearing that up! I got nervous!

 

[Yarkii]

great word, made me giggle. Now I need to google because I have no clue what this is...I'm guessing some form of diatoms?! Fish keeping sure is just endless learning!

Yes! Diatoms! There's just toooooo much to take in all at once!

I can only say that I've had wonderful luck with it.

Well, I finally found some pure aragonite sand at a store in driving distance. It took me a while to work out that Red Sea Reef Base (NOT 'Live Reef Base') is pure aragonite. Bummer that they only had one 10kg bag, but I think I'm going to use it together with the 20kg of mostly CaCO3 sand I've already got, even though there's a teensy tiny bit of silica in it.

I can't tell you how many people in aquariums across Melbourne have cautioned me against using aragonite. They all say the same thing; that it'll bump the pH well over 8. I figure I'm going to try it (without any fish, while I cycle the tank), and monitor it, and if it really does pump the pH too high, I'll try something else.

I started to put together the sump & the pump this evening. Sadly, there was one tiny little connector for the return pipe missing, so I can't go any further until I find a replacement part.

I jumped the gun a little and bought some drift wood with anubias & moss on it. Now it's sitting in a bucket of water, patiently waiting until I replace that missing part. Argh!


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[Byron]

I can't tell you how many people in aquariums across Melbourne have cautioned me against using aragonite. They all say the same thing; that it'll bump the pH well over 8. I figure I'm going to try it (without any fish, while I cycle the tank), and monitor it, and if it really does pump the pH too high, I'll try something else.

Aragonite will raise the pH. If you have aragonite as a substrate, it will increase the GH/KH/pH auite a bit. This won't matter for fish like livebearers, but it could for softer-water fish that can manage less. And even a small amount in the filter can raise the pH considerably.

I jumped the gun a little and bought some drift wood with anubias & moss on it. Now it's sitting in a bucket of water, patiently waiting until I replace that missing part.

As long as the tank has water, put the wood in the tank. It doesn't need a filter. Plants in buckets can weaken to the point of even death.

 

[thrujenseyes]

Yes! Diatoms! There's just toooooo much to take in all at once!

Well, I'm pretty proud of myself! That means I'm learning fish lingo!

Bummer that they only had one 10kg bag

I'd give you the rest of my 10lb bag if you lived closer! I'll never use very much of it with my teeny little tank!

They all say the same thing; that it'll bump the pH well over 8

Since I only use about a 1/4 of a cup in a bag in my filter I don't know about this but I see Byron answered this

Sadly, there was one tiny little connector for the return pipe missing, so I can't go any further until I find a replacement part

Isn't that just always the case?! You're all excited and sailing along to the finish line and BAM!

I jumped the gun a little and bought some drift wood with anubias & moss on it. Now it's sitting in a bucket of water, patiently waiting until I replace that missing part.

That's perfect for the wood (anyway) because you want to water log it so it doesn't float and you'll want any tannins to leach out. You can keep changing the bucket of water if it is leaching.
I had plants in my tank while cycling and they did very well. I'd also picked up a hitchhiking assassin snail on a plant that had to survive thru my cycling as well. I felt terrible for him but he hid under the substrate until things were safe (smart little guy) and he lived for about a year after. Loved him!

As long as the tank has water, put the wood in the tank. It doesn't need a filter. Plants in buckets can weaken to the point of even death

I didn't know that about plants in buckets! Great tip! I guess the lack of light and water movement?

 

[Yarkii]

I am a bit dubious about the pet shop staff remark about silicone as well....could that mean (in a roundabout way that they've bashed it about a bit?) but as to algae , try as far away as possible from natural light source. Plants will be fine with daylight bulbs / tubes so no need to worry there. I had an algae problem despite nowhere near but in a room with natural light so I finally bit the bullet and bought a UV sterilising unit for the tank. I believe you get a Fluval external canister filter with UV built in..... I love my little unit and although not 100% it does manage to reduce algae quite substantially and the fish seem to like the extra little waterfall

Thanks Geliparker. I might keep an eye out for a UV sterilising filter. Thank you!

 

[Yarkii]

As long as the tank has water, put the wood in the tank. It doesn't need a filter. Plants in buckets can weaken to the point of even death.

Unfortunately, the missing part is part of the plumping. This tank has a sump filter in the cabinet below the tank. Until the plumbing is all connected, I can't put any water in the tank as it'll just flow out from the bit that's not connected. The wood & plants are completely submerged in water, and I've put a little conditioner in there to remove the chlorine & bring the GH up a little (and there's a little of the coral sand in there too). I finally managed to speak with Aqua One today, and they're sending out the missing part. Hopefully it will arrive quickly!

Byron, I just want to double check - the silica is bad because of the increased chance of diatoms?