New Tank Is Up And Running

[paulypaul182]

I thought Id post this here as I did seem to be getting much of a response in the new to the hobby section. Just to let you know a background to the tank. My friend wanted to get rid of this so she gave it me. The filter was mature and was nice and wet on arrival. 2 plecs came with the tank but Im not sure what species they are.

Sep 6 2008, 09:04 PM Post #1

Right, so my take has been running for around 3 hours. Ive put the plants in and the two plecs that came with it. The filter was still nice and wet as were the rocks that my mate had in the tank when she kept it so hopefully we've managed to sustain the good bacteria. The size of the tank is 30x12x18".
I have 3 concerns. The filter hasnt got a holder. I cant get in touch with my mate to ask if she has it still at home. Its resting about 3 inches above the substrate and looks stable enough but i really want the holder. The "suckers" on the heater are doing my head in too. They hold it on the side of the tank for a while but then lost suction so that needs sorting. Also, the lights dont work. Apparantly they were working this morning at my mates. It must have taken a bash en route. The tube and fixings dont seem right to me. There are no fixings inside to hold the tube in place. It was holding there by tying the wire in a loop to prevent it from falling!! Also, the tube is only about 12 inches. Ive taken the fitting and tube off and will go and get new ones tomorrow. Unfortunatly the fish and plants are not going to have much light for a while.
I did a check on the water and came with these results (I did it twice as I thought I had made a mistake but the same results appeared.

Temp 25c
Ph 8.0
Ammonia 0
Nitirite 0
Nitrate 0
These are in mg/l

Anyone know what this filter is?

It has a foam tube insert. As I said, the media is mature.

I think the plecs are common plecs. They are currently 6" long. Im going to have to fish in cycle this tank.

Yesterday, 07:14 PM Post #5

Ive done another test. The only thing that has changed since yesterday is the Ph, oh and I upped the temperature a degrees:

Temp 26 C
Ammonia 0
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0
Ph 7.5

Still havent got my light but hopefully it'll be on tomorrow. Then I can take a photo and show you all my set up. I also need someone to ID my plecs. Im sure they are not common plecs now. I will need to know if theyre compatible with my tank. If not, theyre for sale to a good home. Do you think I should put any other fish in with them or will they do the job for now? I just want to make sure that all my levels are ok before I start stocking. I really want a few white clouds in there. Id love some corys but I think ill wait to see what the water does over the next few days first.
Any ideas for fish to stock in my tank? Im really not into fancy fish. I like the weird and wonderful but would like to get a few in there. Im definately going to get some Corys and Shrimp. Has anyone here got freshwater mussels? My LFS has them.


My light wont arrive till tomorrow (tues) now. Will the plants be ok till then? Ill do another water check later.

 

[paulypaul182]

Right, having looked at YouTube for a while, done some research and I have made my mind up on new fish.

Unfortunatly, I really wanted a black knife ghost fish but apparantly they need a bigger tank, they can grow upto 30cm!!!
So, it looks like I cant really have an oddball centre piece fish. Dwarf Puffers are far too messy and theres not enough tank mates for them. All the rest are far too big. Im going for 4x Silver Dollars, 10x White Clouds, 8x Cherry Fire Shrimp, 5x Panda Corys and 5x Kuhuli Loaches.

Will they get used to my pH? I see that all but the White Clouds and the Shrimp prefer 6 to 7 pH but my water is 7.5. Is that ok?

Ill add these slowly and not all at once. Im think about adding the White Clouds and kuhuli loaches first. Ill keep the plecos in there for now but will remove them once I add the rest.

Is anybody reading?

 

[Gilli]

Your nitrate should not be 0 - you should have a reading for that. Are you using strips or a liquid test kit - strips are not accurate. If the filter has been out of the water for a while could be that all the bacteria are dead and you would have to cycle call over again.

 

[paulypaul182]

Your nitrate should not be 0 - you should have a reading of 20 to 40 (max) for that. Are you using strips or a liquid test kit?

Liquid. I have around 8 plants in the tank, maybe they could be using it?

 

[minxfishy]

Yep we're reading

Ok 1st - dont know that filter, but if the media was kept wet, which it was, you shouldnt have lost too much if any bacteria. The best positon for a filter is near the surface, so the outlet creates some water movement, thus oxygenating the water.

The suction cups on the heater are probably worn, these are cheap to buy, so just get a couple more.

The plecs we need a little more info on them to be able to ID them, preferably a pic, however if they are commons they can reach 24" and will definately need re-homing, but you can decide that once they are ID'd.

For now they will be fine to stay in the tank to cycle it, however, the tank should be pretty much good to go, you will need to test daily for the 1st week, if you get no ammonia rise or nitrIte rise then the media is fine and you didnt lose any bacteria. You should also see a nitrAte rise as this is the end of the cycle and will confirm your ok. The reason you dont have any nitrAte right now is because its completely new water, so the ammonia which converts to nitrIte which then converts to NitrAte hasnt yet occured, but you should see this rise over the next few days.

For fish, your right, the BGKF does get big, although its not a fast grower and will eventually need a large tank, however, the silver dollars get to a good size too, side plate size and require more than 30" swimming space, need to be in groups of 5+ ideally so IMO are not suitable for your tank. Also, you will lose the shrimp fast with the dollars about. The other fish choices sound fine, make sure you have plenty of plants for the shrimp to hide out in, as cherries are not big and will be eaten by any fish that can fit them in their mouth.

Your plants should be fine, just keep them wet whilst you wait to plant them.

Did I miss anything?

 

[paulypaul182]

The plants are planted, they look ok but I really good do with the light. Any suggestions instead of the silver dollars? Ive been looking at Red Fin Sharks but Ive heard that I should only keep one so Ill need another type of fish on top of that. Maybe some Killifish? Im still unsure of the Killifish as they still seem to ornamental for me.

Ill be doing another test later and ill post the results when I have them.

Once I have the light then Ill take a photo of the plecs, well when they stop hiding that is!!. Theres plenty of plants and rocks in there. These are the best photos i can get without the light. I cant get a good one for the plecs because of thir dark markings.

 

[minxfishy]

I would say common plecs, but Im not into plecs too much. Anyone?

 

[paulypaul182]

To me, they seem like two different species. All of the photos are of one of the plecs except the 3rd one. That one always hides.

 

[paulypaul182]

Just done another test and the results are the same. Im using interpets ph test kit. When measuring nitrates, the colour chart is quite difficult to use as it jumps from 0.0mg/l to 12.5mg/l. It may be somewhere between but not by much.
I know others recommend other test kits but this was the only one on sale at my LFS. I cant afford another one at all for quite a while. The ammonia and nitrite results are a definate. Nitrite has no colour in this test when its 0.0mg/l, and the tube just had clear water after the test was complete. Ammonia goes from very pale yellow (0.0mg/l) to a greenish yellow (0.1mg/l). This was definately the pale yellow without a doubt.
Ive just read on the box that there is a second test for nitrates. Its called high range. Basically you test 5ml extra (10ml) of tank water and use more of the test chemicals. Is that the one i should be using?

 

[paulypaul182]

High range is for when test number one is off the charts. i feel silly now.

 

[paulypaul182]

Come on folks, any advice?
Anyone know what plecs they are?
Anyon have any advice on what fish to keep? Are my suggestions ok? Would you add any others?
Anyone know what filter that is?

 

[Bigpig]

Post a ID thread in the plec forum might get more joy

 

[paulypaul182]

Post a ID thread in the plec forum might get more joy

Good thinking, just done it.

 

[paulypaul182]

Right then, apparantly the plecs are common plecs so they will be re-homed. My LFS have said that they will take them of my hands.
Ive decided on Dwarf Puffers for the tank. My LFS havent any in stock but are getting a delivery some time today. Unfortunatly, the person who made the order isnt in today so they dont know if they are expecting Dwarf Puffers. If they have only just arrived, is it wise to purchase them? Surely they'll be all stressed out. Im also thinking about getting some corys and shrimp to go in there with them. Ive read on many sites that they can all live together with no hassles. Is this correct?
Finally, feeding them would cost an arm and a leg if i were to buy snails each time i wanted to feed them. Im going to set up a small tub to breed some snails so any advice on this would really help. What kind of snails should I breed? Ive heard that some snail are very difficult to breed.
Hopefully Ill have some Puffers by the end of the week. Until then, Ill keep the plecos where they are to keep my filter running.