New Aquarium Owner - Help Needed

[sawickib]

The bigger the better

I think thats a canister filter and yes i think its fine havent researched it though, you remove the insides of the filter.
Ninj has a thread that shell give you a link to lol but ill drop some of my photos in a bit.

 

[ARH17]

The bigger the better

I think thats a canister filter and yes i think its fine havent researched it though, you remove the insides of the filter.
Ninj has a thread that shell give you a link to lol but ill drop some of my photos in a bit.

That's generally how it goes 

 
Yeah drop me some pictures of your set up, what fish do you keep?

 

[sawickib]

Bichirs, eels, BGK, cories, geos, plecos, rainbows, endlers, angels, bichirs are my main focus though.

 

[Ninjouzata]

 

You definitely need a bigger tank!

Mwahaha.
 
Sorry am not of much help, I know diddly about catfish or cichlids!

 
What do you have in your tank(s)? Any pictures to inspire?

 

Here is a list of my tanks and inhabitants:
55g - 1 Gold Angel {Lemongrab}, 1 LF Albino BN Pleco, 15 Rummynose Tetras, 7 Albino Cories, 7 Khuli Loaches, 1 Habrosus Cory, 1 Bamboo Shrimp, 1 Blue Mystery Snail {Turbo}
20g Long - Crowntail Betta {Discord}, 6 Sterbai Cories
20g Flatback Hex - 9 Pseudomugil Gertrudae, 9 Neon Tetras, 2 (1M:1F) Peacock Gudgeons, 1 LF Blue-Eyed BN Pleco
129g - Water
10g - Peacock Gudgeon Fry
 
My thread on all the tanks except the 129 is HERE and my thread on the 129 is HERE I don't know if they'll be inspiring or not though!

 

[ARH17]

Bichirs, eels, BGK, cories, geos, plecos, rainbows, endlers, angels, bichirs are my main focus though.

 
Wow, how big is your tank? 

 

 


You definitely need a bigger tank!

Mwahaha.
 
Sorry am not of much help, I know diddly about catfish or cichlids!

 
What do you have in your tank(s)? Any pictures to inspire?

 

Here is a list of my tanks and inhabitants:
55g - 1 Gold Angel {Lemongrab}, 1 LF Albino BN Pleco, 15 Rummynose Tetras, 7 Albino Cories, 7 Khuli Loaches, 1 Habrosus Cory, 1 Bamboo Shrimp, 1 Blue Mystery Snail {Turbo}
20g Long - Crowntail Betta {Discord}, 6 Sterbai Cories
20g Flatback Hex - 9 Pseudomugil Gertrudae, 9 Neon Tetras, 2 (1M:1F) Peacock Gudgeons, 1 LF Blue-Eyed BN Pleco
129g - Water
10g - Peacock Gudgeon Fry
 
My thread on all the tanks except the 129 is HERE and my thread on the 129 is HERE

I don't know if they'll be inspiring or not though!
 


 I'm only half way through the 129 thread, it's amazing, could I get some of those caves? 

 

[sawickib]

I have 4 tanks, a 75 gallon, a 55 gallon, a 15 gallon tub, and a 10 gallon tank. 
The 55 gallon sorry dont have one of the 75, its black from tannins anyway

The 55 gallon when i attempted elephant noses

Old 10 gallon is now a hospital tank

The 15 gallon tub has a crayfish and gonna breed snails in it

Baby angels im waiting for them to pair up

Some blurry pics of my bichirs




My geo growing on me very easily

 

[ARH17]

Very nice man, I feel left out with only the one tank 

 
I can't wait to give the tank a whole new look tomorrow!

 

[sawickib]

One tank can still be fun! Just the more you have the more variety comes with it.

 

[Ninjouzata]

Thanks Wish I could send ya some caves! Are you referring to when they were just covered in sand or the most recent ones with quikrete? Both are quite easy to make so if you want to you should definitely try!
 
Hope to see some pics of what you do tomorrow.

 

[ARH17]

One tank can still be fun! Just the more you have the more variety comes with it.

We all know I will probably end up with another tank soon, just a matter of time  
 

Thanks

Wish I could send ya some caves! Are you referring to when they were just covered in sand or the most recent ones with quikrete? Both are quite easy to make so if you want to you should definitely try!
 
Hope to see some pics of what you do tomorrow.

 
The most recent ones, they look very good, and just what I had in mind for my set up but I doubt I could find anything like that on eBay! 

 

[Ninjouzata]

You can get some PVC pipes and cover them in Quikrete..it's a brand of mortar mix IIRC. I wasn't really paying attention when we were at Home Depot.
Afterwards you can coat it in Krylon Fusion or Plastidip to seal it. Really easy just takes time as the quikrete needs to cure for a week.
Also need to be gentle when doing the outer edge of the PVC as the quikrete easily falls off due to the weight.

 

[ARH17]

Thanks for the tips I may give it a go
 
I was wondering if you could help me on the gravel > sand conversion as I'm looking online and some people say they get cloud for a few days? Which is what I don't want, but then again most of the people who have said that have used play sand or some sort of kids sand and not aquarium sand just to save a few $. 

 

[Ninjouzata]

It's likely from not rinsing it well. Rinse rinse rinse! When you think you're done..rinse it a bit more!  

 

[ARH17]

I get the picture 

 
Also.. what about adding snails? Something to do with turning the sand over so I wouldn't have to do it myself? I'm not sure the Malawi's would get along with them though and I heard some snails can just keep multiplying! 
 
 

Also.. do you have any tips or techniques on how to clean the sand?

 

[Ninjouzata]

Well if the sand isn't too deep I don't think you need to worry about turning it. It's not that hard though if it is deep just run something through it during your water changes.
Good snails for this though are Malaysian Trumpet Snails. They can multiply quickly especially if overfed. I have heard of cichlids eating them so it may or may not work.
 
When cleaning the sand you use a siphon just like on gravel but instead of sticking it in the sand you have it slightly above the substrate and make a swirling motion, this kicks up the poo and it goes up the siphon
..Actually I stick my siphon in the sand, just not deep, and quickly pull it back out. I don't know if it's really bad for me to do that but I find it easier sometimes.
 
If it's not water change day you can use something like a turkey baster to suck up poo as well.
 
There are vids on youtube that show how to do this as well