New Guy Questions

[AceTechnician]

Hello,

My name is Jason and I live near Salt Lake City Utah. I have been really stressed out
and needed a hobby to chill, and I think this is it. So I bought a Fluval Edge about a week
ago and I really like it although it is quite small. Have a lot of questions about this
hobby so I thought I should join a good forum. I run it a week to stabilize and it seems fine.
OEM lights are to dim as you may know but LED upgrade is cheap and easy, (I plan to grow plants).

Not much money left after purchase so I salvaged terrain. I found this really great "Lava Rock"
near home only to realize it was not natural but man made slag from the Kennecott Copper Mine!
It's almost burnt to glass over 2000F. All lower heavy metals should be gone and it really looks
great, what do you think about toxicity?

Also I have used a lot of wood for ambiance. No patience to soak so the water is quite dark with
tannins. It's not so bad I guess, the Fluval filter is clearing it. But I was recommended Purigen.
Very expensive but sounds great, what do you think?

I used tap water not knowing the facts untill I read this forum. Concearned about phosphate levels,
and the water is very hard. Do not want an alge bloom! What do you think?

I introduced a small Angel Fish tonight that was a gift and it seems to be quite comfortable. It also
likes to remove the small bubbles from the surface of the glass that are so annoying with the Fluval
Edge! (Oxygen levels are fine, no worries) but I thought that was great he he!

Thanks for reading and I appreciate any reasonable feedback!

Jason

 

[twodoctors]

Hello,

My name is Jason and I live near Salt Lake City Utah. I have been really stressed out
and needed a hobby to chill, and I think this is it. So I bought a Fluval Edge about a week
ago and I really like it although it is quite small. Have a lot of questions about this
hobby so I thought I should join a good forum. I run it a week to stabilize and it seems fine.
OEM lights are to dim as you may know but LED upgrade is cheap and easy, (I plan to grow plants).

Not much money left after purchase so I salvaged terrain. I found this really great "Lava Rock"
near home only to realize it was not natural but man made slag from the Kennecott Copper Mine!
It's almost burnt to glass over 2000F. All lower heavy metals should be gone and it really looks
great, what do you think about toxicity?

Also I have used a lot of wood for ambiance. No patience to soak so the water is quite dark with
tannins. It's not so bad I guess, the Fluval filter is clearing it. But I was recommended Purigen.
Very expensive but sounds great, what do you think?

I used tap water not knowing the facts untill I read this forum. Concearned about phosphate levels,
and the water is very hard. Do not want an alge bloom! What do you think?

I introduced a small Angel Fish tonight that was a gift and it seems to be quite comfortable. It also
likes to remove the small bubbles from the surface of the glass that are so annoying with the Fluval
Edge! (Oxygen levels are fine, no worries) but I thought that was great he he!

Thanks for reading and I appreciate any reasonable feedback!

Jason

Well, you will be needing a new tank in a few months as angle fish grows quite big and the Fluval Edge is too small for it.

I don't know how much you have research into this hobby but I am guessing not too much. Your tank needs cycling, and you need to know your pH to decide what fish you can keep without using chemical to alter the water chemistry. You need to work out how big your fish will get to and whether there's enough room for swimming and whether the filter will be able to cope. There are lots of variable and part of the fun is the research into what you want to (and can) keep.

If possible bring the angelfish back, otherwise you'll either have a dead fish or need a "proper" aquarium very soon.

Adrian

 

[Curiosity101]

First off you need to read about cycling - please see my signature for links. For a tank to be safe for fish and avoid them being poisoned by their own waste it must have two colonies of bacteria in the filter that carry out the nitrogen cycle.
Fish give off ammonia --> 1st colony of bacteria change this to Nitrite ---> Second colony of bacteria turn this Nirite to nitrate.
Ammonia + Nitrite are toxic, Nitrate (the end product) isn't until it's in super high quantities.

So... gift or not the angel fish will currently be poisoning itself. I suggest not feeding at all until you decide what you want to do.
There is something called a fishless cycle - where instead of using fish to make ammonia (which they're poisoned by), you dont have any fish in the tank and you put ammonia in artificially from say 'pure' household ammonia or from rotting fish food etc (see guide). This is much easier on the keeper + fish as you don't have to do water changes to keep ammonia and nitrite down (as you don't need to protect fish).

What you are doing is in a fish in cycle - you need a test kit straight away. If you can't afford a full one, for example API Master Test Kit, then if you could get any liquid reagent test kit for ammonia then that will be fine for now. It's important that it's liquid and not test strips as you need an accurate reading and test strips are very in accurate.
If you decide to go with the fish in cycle (after reading about cycling, fishless cycle AND fish-in cycling), then you will realise it means testing daily (often twice daily) and large daily (again sometimes twice daily) water changes to keep toxins (ammonia and nitrite) at a safe enough level that they don't do too much harm to the fish.

Second comment - Please see Angelfish
If you look at that link (or any link about angel fish to be honest), you will see that it grows large. It's a very tall and is in total (front to back) around 4-6", with the height being anywhere upwards of 6".
We do not recommend them in tanks of less that 18" height as otherwise the lovely triangular shape gets squashed as the extensions (normally the bottom ones) brush against the tank floor making them flat.
Aside from even the heigh aspect though the edge clearly isn't suitable for a 6" fish (height OR length). And fair enough, it was a gift, neither you or the giver knew it's future size. However that has just taught you one great lesson (one you have to follow if you keep fish). Don't put anything in your tank without knowing what it is, what it goes with, what size it'll reach, what it eats etc.
Obviously it's harder with a gift cause you don't want to seem ungrateful, but if you just mention it's in the best interests of the fish and you don't want the fish to end up dead... then anyone with any sense will understand and accept that you appreciate the though but don't want to harm the animal.
Oh and a note, whenever you buy your own fish, it helps to either go and NOT buy anything. Ie. jot down the names of some fish you like. Then come home and research them (or ask us ) and we'll tell you what we know.

So just if you were wondering, even if you do want to go down the fish-in cycle route, I really wouldn't suggest doing it with the angel.

Now onto your actual questions:
I'm not sure about the rock, sorry. I'm sure someone else will be able to help.

Tannins aren't a problem, they will temporarily lower your pH though so that's something to consider. If you decide to go the fish in cycle route then you will be doing massive water changes anyways so that will remove + dilute them. The wood will release them for quite some time, although if you've only got small pieces then it shouldn't take too long. Probably a couple of months.
If you want to clear it chemically then any 'activated carbon' will do the job if you put some in your filter. It comes in a few forms, most noteably as a black pad or as black 'chips'.

There shouldn't be too much wrong with your tap water tbh. Most peoples tap water is fine for 'general' fish keeping if it's fine for you to drink. Could you post up some actual stats of your tap water? Ie. pH, hardness, phosphate level etc (can normally get them from a water companies website... not sure if it works the same way in the states though).

Sorry it's such a big post, but there is alot of info that you NEED to know about to avoid your angel fish going belly up and you losing interest in fish keeping before you really get a chance to appreciate it. Keeping fish is fun (for those who like fish), and it's really not hard or technical once you get your head around it.

 

[Skins]

Hello and welcome to the forum.
You have come to the best place for friendly advice which i see you are already getting.

Keith.

 

[Aqua Tom]

Welcome

 

[waterdrop]

Welcome to the forum!

You're in good hands with C101.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[karin]

Hi and welcome to the forum. It is a great place and if you want a new hobby you could not have come to a better place to learn about fish keeping and water management, the second one being the most important IMO.

C101 has really outlined a great process to get going. This is what I'm going to add...

The Edge is a cool looking tank but a challenge to get up and running and keep running. Funny thing about fish keeping is that the smaller the tank or the stranger the tank layout, the more difficult it is to keep the water chemistry stable. Bigger tanks, bigger water volume, once cycled to set up your good bacteria, and they tend to be more stable.

So the Edge may be challenging and for some that at times means stress.

Now with the right attitude you could dive in an learn all about the Edge, (search this forum with the search function in this section as there are other threads about the Edge) what would be the right inhabitants (you are very limited here but there are some beautys out there perfect for the Edge) and how to design it. Take the attitude that you are going to learn how to do this right. Others might not agree with this statement, but I think you should prepare yourself for some fish deaths. My experience is that I always lose a few small fish due to their being massively bred, the probability of weak fish, transport stress, and just that I think it is much harder to keep a small tank stable.

I would start saving your money now for a bigger tank. If you get into this the Edge will not satisfy you for long. Something called "multiple tank syndrome" has hit many of us pretty hard,

So here are some stocking lists for you to look into:

6 celestial Pearl danios
8 pygmy corydoras

(I have both the above and love them)

8 neon tetras or other small tetra
and some cherry red shrimp

3 sparkling gourami
8 pygmy corydoras

Stay away from the bettas because they need more surface air.

Finally get used to being very skeptical about anything a fish store tells you. Often, you'll learn here, they just want to sell you stuff and often they just don't know what they are talking about.

Have no idea about the lava shlage, but I would be suspect of anything from Kennecott!!!! I've used gravel and rocks from natural areas, poured boiling water over it to sterilize and all has been good.

Good luck. It will be about your attitude!

 

[AceTechnician]

Hey Guys,

Thanks for the welcomes and great information. There is definitely a lot to consider.
Yeah the Angel Fish will be a bit much for the Fluval but I could never refuse a gift
from friends. They didn't know, they just knew I had a new tank (Nice People). Adoption
may be appropriate in the future he he. But anyways the tank is looking great and I plan
to pick up the appropriate test equipment that was recommended.

I would like to keep a bigger tank in the future but I chose the Edge for convenience.
Although that may not be the case as I have read. The tank is really beautiful and it
really does have the calming effect that I desired. I can look at it for hours. Once
you have everthing adjusted it does have that "water cube" effect that they advertise.
(Angel Fish pops the bubbles lol, "Finding Nemo" he he ) Will post some picks if anyone
is interested.

Question: The new wood had devoloped a spider web looking filament that hung upward from
the branches. It's all gone now(day12)but not quite sure what the heck that was. I dunno?

That man made "Lava Rock" is safe as far as I have researched. The Fish hasn't complained.
It really looks great (black and purple) and there is "ten hundred piles" of it around here
if anyone is interested.

I would really like some live plants. Pretty poor sources around these parts. Trying to grow
Wal-Mart Bulbs in an alternate tank. Not looking good and smells bad. Maybe needs some light,
I dunno?

Thanks to C101 and Karin for thier elaborate replies. I know that takes time and I appreciate
it. Multiple tank syndrome for sure!

Jason