148.6L (39.2 gallon) aquarium journal

[EmmaS]

Give the motor and housing a good clean. These filters are fantastic and come with 5 year warranty. Seachem say they are self cleaning but this isn't quite true in my experience. They do clog up,

 

[elephantnose333437 15]

I did a water test on the tank earlier today, and the results are:

NO- ₃: 40ppm
NO-₂: 0.5ppm
pH: 7.5
KH: 40ppm
GH: 120ppm

The nitrate level needs fixing though because it has been like that for a long while now. The tetras are behaving normally.

 

[elephantnose333437 15]

The old chain-store silvertip trio had died of old age in the last few weeks. (with the last member with the tail notch died on the 27th as I went back from a family trip to Albany over the long weekend). They lived 3 years with me and survived the old 10 gal tall tank I had until I moved them into the larger tank in 2024. My grandad looked after them while I was away but he did not realise that one of the fish had died in the aquarium.

I do miss them a lot. I made mistakes as I went but I cared for them until they grew old. S.I.P. you three.

 

[elephantnose333437 15]

Canon camera practice earlier today:

 

[elephantnose333437 15]

Got a worm holder and live blackworms for the tetras earlier this afternoon and that'll keep them busy in the next few days...

 

[elephantnose333437 15]

What is this hard-to-get-off algae on the driftwood? I've had this for a long while. Everything else is normal as of now.

 

[elephantnose333437 15]

I did rescape the tank a little a few days ago by planting the ambulia in the sand substrate (and adding Flourish afterwards).

 

[elephantnose333437 15]

This is the tank now. I glued on some java moss onto the wood with aquarium-safe glue and added some more plants.

 

[elephantnose333437 15]

Moved the plants around a bit more this time, but the tank looks a bit messy. What else can I do to improve the plant composition a bit more (on a thin layer of river sand)?

 

[elephantnose333437 15]

Sorry for the long break in posting, but I should update you on the silvertips pretty soon. The tank has changed a bit since then.

 

[elephantnose333437 15]

The silvertip tank needs a bit more work on the right side, but here it is today.

 

[elephantnose333437 15]

It's been a few months since the last update, as I was very busy with TAFE work. Dad and I have moved the tank carefully (with everything in it) from its original place to a quiet room near the garage a few weeks ago. We also got a new stand (which is slightly larger than the tank) for it as well. All 20 silvertips thankfully survived.

Here are some new pics of the tank post-movement.

Sep 21:

Today:

One of the female silvertips have a curved spine but she is swimming and behaving normally. How do I treat this curved spine and what will I do with her if there is no treatment? I have had a few fish with issues in my almost 2-year old tank before.

The two young silvertips born in the tank are roughly a year old now.

 

[elephantnose333437 15]

The third fry (born in January 2026) is roughly 8 months old now. The first two fry were born in July 2025.