Advice On How Im Doing With Tropical Freshwater Aqua Culture.

[skradtim]

i have a heater and try to keep it 76-78 degrees F. have one of those waterfall style filters with the disposable carbon filters. I use reverse osmosis water (0 PPMs). i cycle 25 - 50% every couple weeks, sometimes longer. many decorations to help keep the fish entertained. 1 live long leaved plant, no idea what it is. it's been very slowly dying. also have a moss ball which seems to be doing fine. im not really sure about the light. it's fluorescent and looks like a T8. i bought the light and aquarium used. the bulb says all glass aquarium rapid start. 17watt aquarium lamp. made in germany. kinda looks like it has a light purplish to lavender hue to it. also on the side i have a 10w CFL for a 1 gallon  aquaponics system that i only have plants in. the light faces the big 40gallon aquarium though. both these lights are on for 18 hours then off for 6 hours. every water change or after adding new fish i had about 4 ounces of  fritz zyme 7. its a bacteria that removes ammonia and nitrates. supposed to reduce the shock on fish. at every water change i add a tablespoon of aquarium salt.
 
im not good with fish names but i have a betta, 1 neon tetra, 2 plektos, 2 cory catfish, 2 of these longer silver colored scissor tails, 2 smaller scissor tails but they're orange instead of silver, another even smaller i believe it's a scissor tail but he looks even more orange and has a weird shaped bottom. i added the plektos, scissor tails, and many tetras but i think they may have been shocked at first. also my betta got angry, flaring at and nipping at the newcomers. he now quit though. the next day all my tetras were dead except 1. i dont know if they were shocked or if the betta killed them. 
 
here are some pictures of what i got going on.
 
 
couple betta pics

cory and scissor

Cory Catfish

mossball

neon tetra

orange scissortail 

plekto

more scissortail

the tank

weird scissortail

 

[Mamashack]

Arrgghh I wrote a whole load of questions and advice, but lost it all! 
Basics - pictures too big to make comfortable reading - is the tank cycled? What are your water stats like?
Sorry if it sounds a bit terse but I haven't time to rewrite it all as I'm on my way to work in a few mins 

 

[skradtim]

they all seem to be doing fine. i forgot to mention, i have a somewhat expensive ph/tds meter for gardening. the ph is 7.2 and the ppms are at 1190. the fresh water i add is around 5.8-6.0 and 0 ppms. here is a video https/www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCH21h5ZTgE&feature=youtu.be should be working. too lazy to make the pics smaller. they shouldnt take long to load.

 

[bricko]

Do you remineralise your RO water before adding to the tank? Pure RO is not ideal for an aquatic environment to flourish in.

If you are keeping live plants you will need to do a little bit of research (found on this site) to get you going in the right directino. Basics are watts per gallon and duration (photo period) of lighting, nutrients etc. Seems to me like you have to little lighting and on for far too long 6 - 8 hours max lights on!

Also you need to research compatability of some of your fish as well as climatising fish when purchasing.

Unfortunately I dont have the time or inclination to write all of this down but a little reseach on here will do you the power of good.

Hope this helps a little.

 

[skradtim]

Do you remineralise your RO water before adding to the tank? Pure RO is not ideal for an aquatic environment to flourish in.

If you are keeping live plants you will need to do a little bit of research (found on this site) to get you going in the right directino. Basics are watts per gallon and duration (photo period) of lighting, nutrients etc. Seems to me like you have to little lighting and on for far too long 6 - 8 hours max lights on!

Also you need to research compatability of some of your fish as well as climatising fish when purchasing.

Unfortunately I dont have the time or inclination to write all of this down but a little reseach on here will do you the power of good.

Hope this helps a little.

thanks. no i do not remineralise my ro water before adding it. it's at an apartment and the tap has fluoride and chlorine.  the water i use now is RO 0 ppms. i could get well water from my house. its about 170ppms 7.8 ph.
 
my lights are on 18 hours.
6 hours the lights are off.
 
where do you recommend i get a better lighting system?

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Eventually your setup, as you have described, will crash and burn along with the fish in it. But I also do not trust your information.
 
You state you use only 0 ppm TDS water and then report the tank TDS are 1190 that is liquid rock:

General Hardness

0 - 4 dH, 0 - 70 ppm : very soft
4 - 8 dH, 70 - 140 ppm : soft
8 - 12 dH, 140 - 210 ppm : medium hard
12 - 18 dH, 210 - 320 ppm : fairly hard
18 - 30 dH, 320 - 530 ppm : hard
higher : liquid rock (Lake Malawi and Los Angeles, CA)


How can you turn 0 into 1190??? (I have both a continuous monitor on tank which reads TDS, among other things, as well as a hand held TDS tester). Moreover, low TDS ro water is devoid of KH and thus pH should not hold steady at the number you indicate as a result. Incidentally, I use an r/.di unit. Typically it is not possible to get 0 TDS water with only an ro unit, there must be a de-ionizing (di) module as well.
 
The plants cannot thrive on 100% ro either. Fritz-zyme is useless imo.
 
My guess is you have not had this tank set up in this fashion for very long or else you have left out a bunch of pertinent information?

 

[bricko]

 

Do you remineralise your RO water before adding to the tank? Pure RO is not ideal for an aquatic environment to flourish in.

If you are keeping live plants you will need to do a little bit of research (found on this site) to get you going in the right directino. Basics are watts per gallon and duration (photo period) of lighting, nutrients etc. Seems to me like you have to little lighting and on for far too long 6 - 8 hours max lights on!

Also you need to research compatability of some of your fish as well as climatising fish when purchasing.

Unfortunately I dont have the time or inclination to write all of this down but a little reseach on here will do you the power of good.

Hope this helps a little.

thanks. no i do not remineralise my ro water before adding it. it's at an apartment and the tap has fluoride and chlorine.  the water i use now is RO 0 ppms. i could get well water from my house. its about 170ppms 7.8 ph.
 
my lights are on 18 hours.
6 hours the lights are off.
 
where do you recommend i get a better lighting system?

Why quote my message without actually answering or acknowledging any of the info I have given you on there??

You need to remineralise your RO water and your light are on FAR too long. Doesnt matter about what light unit just get a bog standard timer and set for when you are in the most MAX 8 hours.

 

[jglover]

 

Do you remineralise your RO water before adding to the tank? Pure RO is not ideal for an aquatic environment to flourish in.

If you are keeping live plants you will need to do a little bit of research (found on this site) to get you going in the right directino. Basics are watts per gallon and duration (photo period) of lighting, nutrients etc. Seems to me like you have to little lighting and on for far too long 6 - 8 hours max lights on!
 
Also you need to research compatability of some of your fish as well as climatising fish when purchasing.

Unfortunately I dont have the time or inclination to write all of this down but a little reseach on here will do you the power of good.

Hope this helps a little.

thanks. no i do not remineralise my ro water before adding it. it's at an apartment and the tap has fluoride and chlorine.  the water i use now is RO 0 ppms. i could get well water from my house. its about 170ppms 7.8 ph.
 
my lights are on 18 hours.
6 hours the lights are off.
 
where do you recommend i get a better lighting system?
 

 
You say 0 ppm.......ppm of what? Parts per million is just a unit, it needs to be so many ppm of something. TDS?
 
Chlorine in your tap water is no problem, just use a water conditioner and you can treat that easily and instantly. I've no clue about fluoride being an issue but it has never been a problem and I use tap water exclusively in my tanks, mainly to ensure i maintain a stable pH.
 
Your neon tetra needs more neons. They're a schooling fish and get skittish and very stressed when alone. I'd add at least 4 more.
 
What kind of plecos did you add? A common pleco grows quite large, two of them are way too big for a 40 gallon tank. They are also prolific waste producers and will foul the water quickly as they grow.
 
How about your other water parameters, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate? You stated info about your filter, it sounds to be a hang on power filter. How big is it? What is the filter rating in gph?  You need at least 200 gph for a 40 gallon tank, 400 gph would be better. Also, I hope you are not replacing those disposal carbon pads as that is where your nitrifying bacteria live. Lots of questions, yes, but you need to think about all these things.
 
And yes, your lights are on for way too long each day. Tropical fish typical get 12 hours of light a day, so you;re not leaving enough time for the fish to rest each day. They hace a circadian rhythm just as we do.

 

[skradtim]

 

Eventually your setup, as you have described, will crash and burn along with the fish in it. But I also do not trust your information.
 
You state you use only 0 ppm TDS water and then report the tank TDS are 1190 that is liquid rock:

General Hardness

0 - 4 dH, 0 - 70 ppm : very soft
4 - 8 dH, 70 - 140 ppm : soft
8 - 12 dH, 140 - 210 ppm : medium hard
12 - 18 dH, 210 - 320 ppm : fairly hard
18 - 30 dH, 320 - 530 ppm : hard
higher : liquid rock (Lake Malawi and Los Angeles, CA)


How can you turn 0 into 1190??? (I have both a continuous monitor on tank which reads TDS, among other things, as well as a hand held TDS tester). Moreover, low TDS ro water is devoid of KH and thus pH should not hold steady at the number you indicate as a result. Incidentally, I use an r/.di unit. Typically it is not possible to get 0 TDS water with only an ro unit, there must be a de-ionizing (di) module as well.
 
The plants cannot thrive on 100% ro either. Fritz-zyme is useless imo.
 
My guess is you have not had this tank set up in this fashion for very long or else you have left out a bunch of pertinent information?

 
 
the high ppms could be from ick treatment tablets i was using. i changed almost all the water last night about 75%, all the added water was RO at 0 PPMs. i also add aquarium salt but cant remember i i did this time not, just ran out. i only add like a table spoon when i do a water change. the ph is at 7.1 and the ppms are about 750. ec is 1.1 my meter is more used for gardening. 
 
i had more tetras in a quarantine tank but they all died except the 1. everytime now i buy i fish i put them in a quarantine tank and use ick guard. twice i had fish die on me from ick from what i believe was contaminated fish. speaking of the tetra, i havent seen him all day. im thinking he might be dead, no clue where he is. 
 
not sure what kind of plektos i have. my tank was by a window and covered with algae so i got 2. man was i amazed on how fast them took down all 4 walls of algae. they dont seem to like the algae wafers much. everything is so much cleaners now that i have them. they poop everywhere though lol. 
 
everytime i would test for ammonia or nitrates it always seemed either very low to none. i ran out of strips. i do like to add a bit of fritz zyme though. my filter is one of those hang on waterfall style. i keep the carbon filters on for as long as possible, at least up until it starts overflowing on the side port. the brand is aqua tech 20-40. it was a cheaper one. the other non carbon filter i just rinse off every could weeks when it gets dirty. the carbon filters are replaced completely but i try to let them go as long as i can.
 
i could start bring well water from my house. it actually has less ppms than the tap in town but it's slightly alkaline. the tap here is close the neutral. 
 
i'll switch my lights to 12 hrs a day
 
thanks for all the help. slowly i want to build up to having a decent freshwater aquarium. right now all my fish seem to be getting along. the scissor tails love to play with each other as do the cory catfish. the betta really likes to show himself off.

 

[skradtim]

just thought i would update on how things were going. never found the missing tetra. searched all over the tank. searched on the floor so i dont think he jumped out. i heard plektos can eat dead fish, maybe they ate him? usually when i have a dead fish they get caught in the end of the filter's intake port. i also had a scissor tail commit suicide by jumping out. by the time i found him he was dead. i taped a piece of plastic tarp over the bigger open area so it dont happen again. the scissor tails love chasing each other. my betta also stopped picking on them. i started adding tap water for water changes instead of the RO. i cycle about 7 gallons at least once a week. before adding i let it sit about a day with a bubbler and carbon filter in a 10 gallon tank. my plant is actually looking like it's slowly getting better. i know i dont have very strong lighting but new growth is forming in the middle. the mossball seems to be at a stand still. all the fish seem to be happy and healthy. any ideas on what i should add? 
 
right now i have a betta, 4 scissor tails, 2 plektos, and 2 cory catfish. thinking of giving one of the plektos back because i didnt realize how much algae they eat and i read algae tablets may not be enough to sustain good health. i cant believe how clean the tank is. i did move it out of the sun light though. i was thinking of getting a few more scissor tails and maybe trying about half a dozen or so tetras. if aggression with the betta is an issue i can move him to a new tank and maybe try moving him back. i read to add aggressive fish last to help avoid territorial disputes. 40 gallon tank only 17w florescent aquarium bulb. about 78 degrees F.