I Need Your Help !

[aman]

hi, title had to be dramatic to get ure attention ![I know this is a loong post but its worth reading and ive made it amusing so u wont get bored] any way i just got a 2nd hand aquarium with fish on ebay perfect condition heres the specs:

80/30/40cm (20 gallons/100liters), its an mp aquarium

ehiem 2010 filter

type TSRH 25-300 Aqaurium thermostat heater - 26degcent.

VARILUX-hood with PD60/6 lamp (i think!)
timed to come on at 5:00am till 17:00

substrate: it looks like pure sand !!!! like the shizzle u see at the beach !!

flora: 3 amazon swords

fauna: 2 black widows(1.5"), 2 bleeding hearts tet(2")., 1 red eye tet(1")., 1tiger barb(2.5"), 1 red rainbow(3"), and a loach(3") i havnt correctly ID eed yet !!!
can you believe i went to www.loaches.com looked at all the pics and still coudnt get an id !!!! anyway i think its still a juvenile hence no id patterns (when i can ill post a pic up of it hopefully you might know wat its is).

the whole setup is 18 months old (thats how loong they had it for) so its fair to assume the fish are over a year old right ?!!?!?!

ok know we can get to the interestin stuff !!!!
iam not a complete novice, i did this before(wen i was 8!! ha!) and now i hav the added adv of knowing detailed water chem and N and C cycles from A'levels
so heres ma questions

wat test kits do i get , theres so many wats the best ones with evry thing in.
can you get electronical test kits with probes ???(or hav i been watching too much star trek)

the tiger barb is acting kinda strange, it spends most of its time just under the filter and when it does come out it swims around vv. fast and then it stops and looks like hes goner take a shizzle!!!

should i be worried about the sand substrate, the plants have rooted well in it but iam not so sure about sand ! should i get fine gravel ?

i know the filter is biological, but i can see fish poo or shizzle gathering on the SAND !! and i think i need mechanical filteration , if so wat shud i get siphon??? new type of filter ??? and if i were to use mechanical filteration then wouldnt the SAND get sucked in too ???

anyone know about mp reflector plates and if they worth gettin???

thats it for now ppl, ill have more questions later so follow this post!
u dnt have to answer all ma questions but plzz try and give some input if u KNOW u can !

thanks aman

 

[Judy Z]

hi, title had to be dramatic to get ure attention ![I know this is a loong post but its worth reading and ive made it amusing so u wont get bored] any way i just got a 2nd hand aquarium with fish on ebay perfect condition heres the specs:

80/30/40cm (20 gallons/100liters), its an mp aquarium

ehiem 2010 filter

type TSRH 25-300 Aqaurium thermostat heater - 26degcent.

VARILUX-hood with PD60/6 lamp (i think!)
timed to come on at 5:00am till 17:00

substrate: it looks like pure sand !!!! like the shizzle u see at the beach !!

flora: 3 amazon swords

fauna: 2 black widows(1.5"), 2 bleeding hearts tet(2")., 1 red eye tet(1")., 1tiger barb(2.5"), 1 red rainbow(3"), and a loach(3") i havnt correctly ID eed yet !!!
can you believe i went to www.loaches.com looked at all the pics and still coudnt get an id !!!! anyway i think its still a juvenile hence no id patterns (when i can ill post a pic up of it hopefully you might know wat its is).

the whole setup is 18 months old (thats how loong they had it for) so its fair to assume the fish are over a year old right ?!!?!?!

ok know we can get to the interestin stuff !!!!
iam not a complete novice, i did this before(wen i was 8!! ha!) and now i hav the added adv of knowing detailed water chem and N and C cycles from A'levels
so heres ma questions

wat test kits do i get , theres so many wats the best ones with evry thing in.
can you get electronical test kits with probes ???(or hav i been watching too much star trek)

the tiger barb is acting kinda strange, it spends most of its time just under the filter and when it does come out it swims around vv. fast and then it stops and looks like hes goner take a shizzle!!!

should i be worried about the sand substrate, the plants have rooted well in it but iam not so sure about sand ! should i get fine gravel ?

i know the filter is biological, but i can see fish poo or shizzle gathering on the SAND !! and i think i need mechanical filteration , if so wat shud i get siphon??? new type of filter ??? and if i were to use mechanical filteration then wouldnt the SAND get sucked in too ???

anyone know about mp reflector plates and if they worth gettin???

thats it for now ppl, ill have more questions later so follow this post!
u dnt have to answer all ma questions but plzz try and give some input if u KNOW u can !

thanks aman

I'm new here myself, but I think I can give you some info on the sand in your tank. It is a very nice substrate for your tank and fish with barbels (sp) will love you, i.e. clown loach/catfish. As far as cleaning goes, you can use a siphon, but you must not siphon like you would gravel. Instead, hold the end of the siphon tube about 3/4 to 1 inch above the sand to pick up the waste. You will probably still get some sand, but if you are careful, it shouldn't be too much. Since the sand is so dense, fish waste sits on top & doesn't mix with the sand so you have no need to siphon deep like with gravel.

You will, however, need to periodically stir up the sand (unless you have MTS's to do it for you). I used to use a long wooden dowel & just move it through the sand. When you do siphon and/or stir the sand, make sure to not be too heavy handed (you don't want to have it going all over - gentle is the name of the game).

I don't know anything about your filter re water intake. All of the above info re sand as a substrate is if the water intake is far enough up from the bottom so as to not suck sand into the filter. If your water intake does suck sand, you would probably ruin your filter.

Hopefully, someone else can help you with your other questions and/or correct me if I gave any wrong info.

Judy

 

[gav the tank]

 

[James007]

Tiger Barbs are shoaling fish and will be very shy and nervy if on their own. NB They can be notorious fin nippers so watch what fish you add.

Your filter will not handle all of the fish waste so you will need to hoover waste up as Judy says - ideal time is during water changes.

 

[mark.w.jones]

Best basic water test kit is Aquarium Pharmaceuticals API Freshwater Master Test Kit. Does Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH. Then if youre interested in phosphate etc. you can buy single extras to do it. Ive seen this kit for £17 in Pets At Home around here. Or you can get it online here:

http/www.aquatics-online.co.uk/Z124267.asp

Right down the bottom.

Good luck

 

[aman]

hey thanks for the help ppl