Hello From South Wales

valeofglam · May 27, 2013

Hello all,
Just joined up. I've kept coldwater, tropical and marine but now back to tropical!

I'm in the Vale of Glam

TallTree01 · May 27, 2013

Hi!
What do you keep now?

valeofglam · May 27, 2013

My wife wanted something down scale from our last tank and she wanted a Biorb so we got a Biorb 60. It's ok but I'm keen to tell my wife the pitfalls of it so I can get a 3 or 4ft normal tank!
I did consider drilling it, installing 15mm round pipes so I could discretely run an external filter but the boss said no lol!!

It's pretty low stocked - 7 neon tetras, 3 platies, 2 Lyretail Mollies, a plecky and about 8 cherry shrimps.

The other tank I attached is my boys tank. I have 22 month old twin boys who have a fantail goldfish each. The image isn't great as I took it just after putting the plants in and they made a little mess. The shrimps in the tropical tank were for both tanks but the goldfish have come down with white spot so under treatment which would kill off the shrimps so they're all in the tropical tank!

TallTree01 · May 28, 2013

With your biorb I think it is overstocked. With biorbs you must be VERY careful with stocking as filtration is weak and gas exchange is weaker. I would rehome the platies, mollies and the ' plecky '. Then your tank would be fully stocked. I have a biorb almost double the size of yours and have 7 ( soon to be 12 ) neon tetras and a bristlenose Pleco.
With your sons tank, I can't be sure but the tank doesn't look more than 55 gallons. I think you should rehome the goldfish.

valeofglam · May 28, 2013

The boys tank is a 40 litre tank so I think that ones alright.

The biorb is the 60 litre version, it also has an internal filter hidden behind the bog wood

TallTree01 · May 28, 2013

valeofglam said:
The boys tank is a 40 litre tank so I think that ones alright.
The biorb is the 60 litre version, it also has an internal filter hidden behind the bog wood

The fantials really need 200+ liters to swim in.

. Would you consider upgrading or trading the fish for a smaller kind?
It's not just the filtration, the platies and mollies need lots of room to swim in. A 60 liter rectanglular tank is reccomended.

valeofglam · May 28, 2013

Agreed, the surface water area sucks so I want to upgrade it ASAP. The mollies have sussed they can swim around the tank in circuits uninterrupted ! It's the only good thing about the biorb!

As the fantails grow I'll probably end up upgrading the tank which is good as the light is strong so I'm thinking of a nano marine tank for it !