Getting So Annoyed And Fed Up...

[Luketendo]

Yeah and in reply to CFC I started with a 15G but I had lots of problems, fish kept dying, white spot, all sorts of diseases. My new 10g I've had lots of problems, the heater broke so I had to take it back, the filter wasn't very good but I replaced it with my spare which is much better. My 10G wouldn't fishless cycle so I had to lug 6 10L buckets up and down the stairs <-- I had to do that bit about 5-6 times! Then I had to disinfect the tank because people thought something was wrong with it. Now I've got white spot again, luckily this time it actually looks like the treatment is working. (Thanks to CFC's thread of course.)

 

[eeeekie]

You have alot of tanks....

Do you think you just might be overwhelmed?...

 

[brads]

I would sell all your tanks........then save a little.........then...........Buy a big brand new all singing all danceing set up.
I think you'll enjoy a bigger tank than lots of smaller ones. Less hassel to look after and more attractive........may I suggest the Rena aqua 100 or bigger which is what I have got. It's 192 litres and a great looking tank. Rena tanks are the merc's of all fish tanks.
Good Luck

 

[Azaezl]

I'm truly not overwhelmed with the amount of tanks, I could easily manage more but it's just all the bad things wrong with them. I have bought brand new tanks in the past all but my external filter were bought brand new, all the decor & plants are brand new so it's not always a case of second hand = disaster(although buying second hand tanks on ebay seems like it as the seller always lies about the tank).

I had a large tank up until a few weeks ago and as you might have guessed it was another troublesome tank, the 3d background was a pain to clean, it had numerous scratches on and the internal filter that was half removed always irritated me(couldn't take it out because it would leave a huge gap where the background ended).

I think what annoys me most is the fact that whether I buy brand new or used I get dodgy equipment and I don't buy obscure cheap brands, the last 2 filters I bought where both fluval 2's and these are what are causing me the most headache. I think this annoyance stems from virtually everything else I buy, 90% of things I buy seems to break, am I just being grumpy or has the quality of things diminished 'they don't make them like they used to' esp. furniture!

I'm definately getting rid of the 5g tanks I have, only time I'll ever have something so small again(if ever) will be to do a nano planted tank perhaps with some shrimp, definately no fish. I'm keeping the 15g for my frogs, the 30g for my pandas / otos & I'm thinking of setting up the 4ft tanks I have instead of getting rid, just got to save up and do it properly(as in get all the plants, ferts, equip etc I want). Have a horrible feeling I'll end up in the same situatuon again with dodgy filters, definately going external as I'm starting to loathe internals.

Everytime one thing or another breaks down or goes wrong or whatever(such as my cracked / leaking tanks the other week) I swear I'm going to get rid of all of them and just have one tank, problem is the fish / frogs. It's just so difficult trying to get rid of something you love. I've often thought of getting a 100g(or so) tank and doing away with the rest but again it's the problem of all the fish not being compatible. The frogs can go in with my corys but they don't like it, they are much happier on their own. My pandas are happier in their own tank as well, the goldies require their own tank as well. As much as I love my gold, bronze, trilli corys I think they may have to be the one's that go. I'd love to get rid of the goldies as IMO they are boring but they were a gift from the OH so not sure if I can do that without him getting annoyed with me again(he didn't speak to me for a week when I got rid of the bichirs). Funny even though he doesn't care about the fish, clean them or anything when I get rid of any he gets in a right mood

Thanks again everyone for listening to my rant, I appreciate all the comments and advice

 

[chrisdoesntmiss]

If you strip the internal filter down and remove the impeller you will notice that a gunge has built up on the inside of the magentic housing. If you scrape this out with some warm water and a cotton bud and then rinse thoroughly in tank water it will stop the problem with them stopping.

I am sure everyone has felt this way at one time, especially when you are doing everything right and it all seems to be going wrong.

Chris

 

[xxBarneyxx]

I think we have all had moments where we have thought "is it worth the hassle". I have gone from running 7 or 8 tanks down to one (now two...) and have found I actually enjoy it a lot more now. Any fish tank will eventually have some kind of issue which on one tank is bad enough but then if you have 4 or 5 to worry about it can get a bit much.

I had a stage in my planted tank where it was completely covered in algae and at that stage I was very close to giving up. I had spent loads of money on equipment, months reading about planted tanks and hours setting it all up and it looked like a complete mess. I stuck with it and now I have something that I'm really happy with.

That being said though before setting up this planted tank I had a very long break from fishkeeping (over 8 months, mainly due to moving). When I decided I wanted to get back into it again and do a planted tank it then took me about another 6 months before I actually went ahead and did it which is why I think I appreciate it so much more. In these 6 months I planned everything that I wanted (and saved to pay for it ) which I think has also made life a lot easier.

On tanks in the past I had pretty much always started out with cheap/secondhand equipment and then I was constantly replacing/upgrading equipment or living with stuff that I wasnt happy with there is nothing worse then having a tank you cant stand to look at with fish in that you really enjoy).

Having everything I needed from the start really made a big difference.

Personally I would keep the one tank you like the most and get rid of the rest for the moment, keep one tank for a hospital tank but completely get rid of the others so you arent tempted to set them up again (I have a big problem with having a tank in my possession which doesnt have water in it ).

Obviously you dont have a problem with maintaince on the tanks you have but I do think you would enjoy just having one tank (and the problems of only 1 tank) more then several. Then you can work out exactly what you want (and save the money for it, I'm sure becoming a crack addict is cheaper then becoming a fishkeeper ). You will then end up with a tank that is exactly what you want with no annoying little problems.

Just my 2 pence worth anyway

 

[Biulu]

My advice is to start out easy. I started with a 60 litre bowfront tank, ordinary gravel and an undergravel filter, no plants only rocks as decoration. Then after several months I added some easy plants (vallisneria and amazon swords). At first they didn't do too well, but now they are thriving. Then I changed the lightning, and I have been adding other plants. In another tank I have experimented with substrate and a canister filter. Little by little I have been gaining experience with both the fish and my tanks. And although I still need to learn a lot, I now feel confident enough to start up a 180 litre set-up. I already started this summer (getting the tank, filter, decoration etc.), and it will not be until January that I will take the plunge and really get it working.

For me, bigger is not always better. I think a 60 litre or 15/20 gallon tank is excellent to start off with and gain experience in this hobby. I would just say: take it slowly, and don't take on another tank unless you are satisfied with the first tank, and it is running well.

Good luck!

 

[SJ2K]

If your fed up with annoying little tanks, ditch the silly hex tanks etc, sell up what your unhappy with and invest in a new, quality, large tank

That the best advise ive seen in a long time. Tanks under 20g should be banned from general sale as all they do is create problems unless they are being used for rearing fry or keeping single/pairs of small fish.

It sounds like you are trying to get more from the tanks than they are good for, that 5g hex tank was never meant to be set up for any longer than it takes two goldfish to die at the hands of an 8 year old child. There are people who set up and running truely amazing nano and pico aquariums, but they tend to be people with years of experience of running decent sized tanks behind them. Smaller tanks may seem like an easy option but in reality it is far easier to set up and keep one or two larger tanks than constantly battle with several small ones.

Whey

Annnnnd my usefull contribution to the topic just went down the pan.