380l Community Tank

[Ian H]

Thanks i love the look, i doubt it will stay that green though!!

yeah there are 2 external aqua one CF1000's (both brand new) and the mature fluval 3 still bloody bits flying everywhere though! All the fish seem alot happier, really bright colours

 

[Ian H]

well i thought the tank was running perfectly...until this morning i checked and found 2 dead amano shrimps do a test and find my nitrIte readings off the chart!! so out came the majority of the water and all back in again, left it about an hour and done another test....still off the chart!!!

so out most of it came again (not fun on a 380L tank i can assure you!) and i decided to check the tap water for nitrite, nope thats fine. I should mention that i was refilling the tank again via a garden hose from the tap seemed like a great idea at the time checked the water that had come from the hose and you guessed it! the nitrItes were off the chart

so after MANY journeys back and forth the kitchen i have them down to .50 i know its still a problem but i think my filter can handle that fine

what i can't undertsnad though is how the nitrIte was so high but ALL the fish look really happy in there. I mean the corys are dancing together, my german blue ram looks amazing with really bright vivid colours, all the neons colours look amazing and the plecs fins are 100% up

oh well i'm sure they will be happier now

Also got some java moss off smithrc (thanks ) so have 2 coconut caves covered in the stuff and also covered some of my wood in it. May have some riccia on the way soonish too B)

 

[dthoffsett]

Sorry to hear about your recent problems, you might consider buying a Python (drain and fill system) or making your own [URL="http/www.fishforums.net/content/Hardware-Do-It-Yourself/105769/DIY-Python/"]http/www.fishforums.net/content/Hardware...769/DIY-Python/[/URL]. I wouldn't have any large tanks without one, they make life so much simpler, not to mention saving your back.

Lovely tank by the way.

 

[codell]

nice tank btw, where you from cause i live in pont aswell?

 

[Ian H]

Sorry to hear about your recent problems, you might consider buying a Python (drain and fill system) or making your own <a href="http/www.fishforums.net/content/Hardware-Do-It-Yourself/105769/DIY-Python/" target="_blank">http/www.fishforums.net/content/Hardware...769/DIY-Python/</a>. I wouldn't have any large tanks without one, they make life so much simpler, not to mention saving your back.

Lovely tank by the way.

yeah i was looking around for one but can't fins them anywhere

thanks

nice tank btw, where you from cause i live in pont aswell?

I'm up on the graig you?

 

[scouse_andy]

I like your tank. The dark substrate and background really sets off the green of the plants well.

Sorry to hear about your nitrite problems - major water changes on tanks of this kind of size are never fun.

Looking forward to seeing how the tank grows in the coming months.

 

[Ian H]

Thanks, i wasnt a fan of the black BG at first but i love it now

nitrIte been down to 0 for a while now along with ammonia so went out and got another 3 clown loach's (only had one before) and a spotted climbing perch, although the lfs said it would be fine with tetras, since i've come back and done some research i don't think so

Although he's only tiny at the moment so the tetras are fine, most likely in the new year i will be getting another bigger tank for my clowns/plec/spotted dude to grow into not sure how happy my gf will be though considering i only just got this one. Oh and i want 1 SW reef set up and either a discus or gourami set up

 

[Jules H-T]

so out most of it came again (not fun on a 380L tank i can assure you!) and i decided to check the tap water for nitrite, nope thats fine. I should mention that i was refilling the tank again via a garden hose from the tap seemed like a great idea at the time checked the water that had come from the hose and you guessed it! the nitrItes were off the chart

Nightmare. Have you left it running on full blast for a while (like 15 mins) and tested it again? There may be some build up of material in the hose itself if you've not been using it much. I use a hose from the kitchen sink as it goes.

Glad all you lost is a couple of shrimp. Prepare to lose the rest of them when the clown loaches get a bit bigger lol

Black backgrounds look awesome, had one on my 70G and do again on the 30G oranda tank. Pity my 125G is painted blue although that does look pretty cool too, much brighter.

 

[Ian H]

I just left the hose out the back now, everything is back to normal now

i'm not worried about the clown loach, its the spotted climbing guy i think will have them

 

[Ian H]

Well a couple more pics:

the grumpus:

pretty (i know crap name, but it fits):

clownloach's home:

Raj (pain to get a decent picture of!):

christmas spirit :

 

[jakeroberts]

i like your tank the black background really makes the plants stand out

 

[Ian H]

Thanks mate

i love my tank too but thats gonna be pretty obvious

After chrimbo is out of the way i think im gonna go for a co2 kit and dose some ferts Although saying that the plants are growing really well and fairly fast as it is so not sure i need it really!

Next time i do a water change i think i'm going to cut some of the stalks down and double the amount of them the java fern is starting to get a bit messy too so i'll prune that a bit and fill the gap in the middle with another plant of some sort

 

[Ian H]

Just want to say thanks to everyone who's PM'ed me about my tank. Obviously i love my tank but i didnt think other people would too!!

I still havnt cut the stalks down yet though, i think i could triple the amount of them i have! It's like a miniture forest in there now, really messy and overgrown but i love it

I'm on the look out for some cherry shrimp now, but can't find them for a decent price anywhere

 

[Ian H]

just 2 quick pics:

the grumpus having a munch:

The tank 2 mins ago:

Only cut the plants down earlier today and havnt finished re-filling with water but i still love it

Looking for some cherry shrimp and a female bristle nose plec at the moment. Thinking of getting some black phantom tetras too. When the plants at the back grow a bit i think i'll be very happy with it, they seem to grow amazingly quick all they have is root tabs

 

[randallhart]

tank is looking great.