Hi All, Another Newbie

[Bubbles370]

hi guys,
 
Im new to the forum and relatively new to the game.
 
I've had a 65l tank for about a year now and recently upgraded to a 230l tank. I got it all up and running and I had the water checked by my local aquarium. Turned out to be great, and he was shocked to see it was as good as it was so quickly. Anyway, I transferred the fish, all were fine. Happy days

.
 
I've added a few plants today and some new fish, and i was just after some constructive critisim/ feedback on what you thought about it. my old tank is being turned into a maturing tank/ nightlight for the kids lol
 
Please be honest, i can take it

 

my maturing tank
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the full tank
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my new plec + upside down cat (in the background)
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the most stunning beta I've had.
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full view
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Thanks
 
 
 
 

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Hi welcome to the forum.
Did you cycle your tank?
What lighting are you using? It looks very yellow.
That's a beautiful betta!
What type is the pleco? It looks quite big!

 

[TallTree01]

Hi,
Welcome to the forum!

You probably know this but
1. The silver sharks will need a bigger tank eventually
2. Upside down catfish are schooling so need a group of 6+
3. That Pleco may need a bigger tank eventually depending on species
4. Silver sharks are schooling as well so need a group of 8+

 

[Bubbles370]

Hi,

Yea, I cycled it for about 2 weeks. I've added new gravel today, that's why it has gone cloudy. The lighting is just 2 long strip lights, but they do make it look a bit yellow. I want to change them to a clearer light and add a 'night light' too.
The plec was sold as a sailfin, so unless I am informed otherwise, that's what I'm going with. It is a 4ft tank though so I think he should be ok?
And thanks, the beta was the best in the shop and for some reason, one of the cheapest! I love him, he looks amazing.



Hi tall tree,

Thanks for the heads up on the schooling, I didn't know about the cat. As for the bigger tank, what would you suggest? I'm wanting a 6ft eventually, would this suffice, and roughly how long until they would need to be changed over?

Thanks

 

[TallTree01]

The Pleco and sharks will need a 100 gallon as they grow larger.

 

[Bubbles370]

Ok so a 6ft would be plenty, I take it I could put other fish in aswell as the sharks and plec, not just them on their own for that size?

Sorry for the questions, like I said, I'm relatively new to all this at large scales.

 

[TallTree01]

Yeah. The Pleco and sharks are peaceful, just make sure the fish aren't small enough for the sharks to swallow. CherrryBarbs could work. Larger tetras could too.

 

[Blondielovesfish]

How did you cycle your tank?

 

[Bubbles370]

Hi, sorry. I've been working funny shifts.

The tank was second hand and had been running well for a year or so, but to be on the safe side, I put half of the media from my old filter into a spare internal I had, and ran that and the external at the same time. I also used the water from the old tank to get started when doing changes on that tank.

Before I put any fish in, I took a water sample to my lfs to do a full check and he said it was fine.

There is still a yellow tinge to the water, I'm guessing that it is just from all of the bogwood that's in there, but does anyone know what it may be/ how to fix it, if it's not that?

Thanks

 

[Modders]

Hey Bubbles, great tank!
 
Could you not take some of the bog wood out and soak it in fresh water for a couple of days? It would probably help if you could rule it out as the cause. My bog wood did the same but cleared within a couple of weeks.

 

[Bubbles370]

Hi modders,

I did when I got it, I think the yellow might be from the lighting, and looking at the photos, it looks worse than it is, especially in the pic of the plec, I may have use a little to much 'effect' on the camera haha.

The large piece in the middle was soaked for about 6 days in an old water change waste and still took another 3 water changes to get rid of the colouration.

I'll give it a try on some if the other pieces though and see what happens.