A Fresh Start

[AlanTh]

Hi everyone. I have just joined this wonderful forum.

I will try and keep this as short as possible ....

I am 55 years old and have kept fish since I was eleven years old, apart from the last twelve years (so that is 33 years). I thought that I was quite knowledgeable about fish keeping, until I joined this forum. WOW, haven't things changed! I have kept different types of fish (not just a tank full of guppys and platys). I did manage to keep a tank of Malawi cichlids for many years - in my day that was considered to be quite an achievement.

My 84 year old father in law has just seen the demise of his last fish and phoned me to ask if I would come and get rid of his tank (he meant in the skip). Well as I have been considering setting up again as a fishkeeper, I have now got his tank, stand and hood.

Now when I last kept fish, the best way to go was under gravel filtration (lots of gravel), powerhead pumps on the uplifts, and you really couldn't go wrong. That was my experience also - my fish thrived. Avoid over feeding (obvious).

I now read that my old method is now "outdated" and there are cheaper and far more efficient methods of filtration.

Is this really true? My father in law for the last twenty years has been loosing fish - but he used internal canister filters, which to my mind weren't as good as the under gravel filtration. He also always overfeed them!

Is under gravel filtration really dead? I mean with good powerhead pumps working?

There is so much info on this site - stickys - I just haven't as yet had time to go through it all.

I have a copy of "Baensch" which in my day was "The Bible" in fishkeeping. I will be taking it on holiday with me (this week) and make my mind up exactly what I want to do with this tank.

Your thoughts on under gravel filtration would be appreciated though .....

 

[mattlee]

under gravel filters do work ok but they are very difficult to clean and do maintenance on. the most common ways of filtering a tank these days are internal electric filters and external canisters. both are easy and simple to use and maintain and can be cleaned in a few minutes.
the external seems to be the favourite choice because you dont have to even get wet hands to remove them from the tank and can be filled with plenty of media for the bacteria to grow on. you can fill them with as much media or sponges as you like that suits your needs. to clean them out simply turn off at the mains, close the valves to prevent water loss on your floor disconnect and take to the sink. remove the lid and swill the sponges etc in tank water to remove any dirt etc. the other types of media are usually kept in a basket so just lift out the basket and swill in tank water. put it back together and job done.
the internal are also very popular on smaller tanks that dont have the room to store an external underneath in the cabinet. they are normally just removed from the tank and pulled apart to get to the sponges and media to clean or replace.
both supply flow in the tank and can normally be set at a desired speed to suit your fish etc.
what size tank have you been given?

 

[AlanTh]

Hi Matlee

Many thanks for your reply.

This tank isn't huge. 36" 12" 15"

Maybe I am becoming a "grumpy old man" and not listening to the new way to do it. I don't think that is the case - I have an iphone and could not live without modern gizmos.

My idea at the moment is loads of Corys. I have always liked them. Maybe something to live above them .......

Best

Alan

 

[Gvilleguy]

Welcome to the forum, Alan! You have more experience than most people on here, probably! I've only had my aquarium going for 3 months. I'm using both a hang-on-back power filter, and a larger under-cabinet canister. The canister filter is much more effective for me, from what I have seen. And most threads I have read on the forum say to over buy on the filter rating - the manufacturer stated filter rates don't seem to live up to their claims.

 

[zophie]

Hi, alan!

There are many pro's and cons of under ground filters, I myselfe, do not like them. But, from looking at all veiws, I will give you a few facts about them.

Pros:
Clean's water extremly quickly
Can not be seen
Is a classic, good, investment
usually is fairly cheap


Cons:
Is extremly hard to clean
Distrubes fish that dig
Not a good choice for a planted aquarium
Is actually fairly un-practical.

For an alternative, I would say "clip on power filter" any day. They clip onto the side of your tank nice and easy, and the water streams into your aquarium like a little water fall. You can have a lot of media in there, and it is fairly cheap at about 30$ a filter.

Well, best of luck, and it's so great that you're getting into fish again!
I had the same thing as you.. I thought I was Miss Fishy intill I got on the forum. Little did I know that I was a total Newbie!!

Cheers,
Zophie

 

[mattlee]

Hi Matlee

Many thanks for your reply.

This tank isn't huge. 36" 12" 15"

Maybe I am becoming a "grumpy old man" and not listening to the new way to do it. I don't think that is the case - I have an iphone and could not live without modern gizmos.

My idea at the moment is loads of Corys. I have always liked them. Maybe something to live above them .......

Best

Alan

its a decent sized tank to start back with and ideal for corys if thats the fish you would like to stock
also this size tank is big enough to use most filters available so you can choose what best suits your needs.
corys are a great choice of fish to add to a tank and there are many many species of cory available to choose from. in a tank of that size i would suggest 2 groups of different species with about 7 or 8 in each group. corys are very playfull fish and do better in larger groups of their own species, i have suggested 2 groups to add a bit of variety to make it a bit more interesting with different patterns and colours etc. they will be very happy in a group of 7/8, its when people keep 2 or 3 that they dont get the best out of them. they are bottom feeding fish that if happy will cover the whole bottom and even dance up the sides of the tank. great fish they do however prefer slightly cooler water so i would say dont put the temp any higher than 26 degrees C to keep them happy and comfortable.
for other fish that will live with them the choice is massive as corys are a peacefull fish that dont bother anything at all. you could have a large group of some kind of tetra, again these fish prefer to be in as big a group as possible and look amazing when shoaling around together. then maybe something like a pair of bolivian rams as a finishing fish.... the choice really is huge but try to avoid fish like kribensis with corys as they get very teritorial and can go for corys eyes.
hope this helped

Matt

 

[roadmaster]

Hi everyone. I have just joined this wonderful forum.

I will try and keep this as short as possible ....

I am 55 years old and have kept fish since I was eleven years old, apart from the last twelve years (so that is 33 years). I thought that I was quite knowledgeable about fish keeping, until I joined this forum. WOW, haven't things changed! I have kept different types of fish (not just a tank full of guppys and platys). I did manage to keep a tank of Malawi cichlids for many years - in my day that was considered to be quite an achievement.

My 84 year old father in law has just seen the demise of his last fish and phoned me to ask if I would come and get rid of his tank (he meant in the skip). Well as I have been considering setting up again as a fishkeeper, I have now got his tank, stand and hood.

Now when I last kept fish, the best way to go was under gravel filtration (lots of gravel), powerhead pumps on the uplifts, and you really couldn't go wrong. That was my experience also - my fish thrived. Avoid over feeding (obvious).

I now read that my old method is now "outdated" and there are cheaper and far more efficient methods of filtration.

Is this really true? My father in law for the last twenty years has been loosing fish - but he used internal canister filters, which to my mind weren't as good as the under gravel filtration. He also always overfeed them!

Is under gravel filtration really dead? I mean with good powerhead pumps working?

There is so much info on this site - stickys - I just haven't as yet had time to go through it all.

I have a copy of "Baensch" which in my day was "The Bible" in fishkeeping. I will be taking it on holiday with me (this week) and make my mind up exactly what I want to do with this tank.

Your thoughts on under gravel filtration would be appreciated though .....

Undergravel filters with powerheads capable of reverse flow are quite effective and eliminate the problem of debri becoming lodged under the filter plate.
Many keeping large Cichlids utilize this method of filtration.
In reverse flow, the powerhead forces water down the lift tube and up through the substrate where a canister filter can grab the debri or a hang on the back filter can do same.

 

[OldMan47]

Welcome to the forum AlanTh. When it comes to being a grumpy old man. I am a classic.
I have found that the modern attitudes about how to manage a new tank and how to deal with any problems are in target. I got back into the hobby about 6 years ago with no predetermined methods of caring for my fish. The methods these kids are using seem to work well for me and I am now an "expert" on using their methods. I find that the fish in and fishless cycle articles are something I can take to the bank. OK so where does that leave me? I have a great confidence that what I am being told by people about fishless and fish-in cycling is the real deal. I have links to both approaches in my signature area. Please feel free to send me any questions you nay have about the cycle process, I have definitely taken it on as a reliable method we can all use. I am now one of the few people who talk about fishless cycling with confidence.