Regenerating A Old, Dying Fish Tank.

[Curiosity101]

WOW, how deep is the gravel? It should only be like 1.5" - 2" at the most.

Other than that the tank looks in good shape.

What sort of water changes are you doing at the mo?
And no you should be testing daily for the time being until you know that ammonia and nitrite are both at 0. Once they're both at 0 then you can cut testing down to once a week...and you'll only need to test nitrates (plus pH every now n then to make sure it's stable).

Can't see the plec i'm afraid. Any chance of a seperate pic of it?

 

[Harlequins]

Nice tank,i'm not a great lover of coloured gravel....but you have lots of it!!!

I prefer less gravel depth and more room for fish,in one day of dreaming of a bigger tank...

 

[Curiosity101]

Oh and as far as plants go.

Plain gravel is the same as bog standard sand when it comes to planting (IE holds no nutrients).

And in my tank I have...
Anubias Nan
Java Fern
Twisted Vallis
Amazon Sword
Cabomba
Ludwidgia
A reed plant
Moss Ball
Java Moss
Amazon Frogbit (although this is a floating plant)

All I do is dose liquid ferts and liquid carbon.

But for...
Anubias
Java Fern
Java Moss
(and a couple of other plants I can't think of now)
Basic gravel + Basic lighting will do the job. No fertilisers needed.

 

[Geoff1991]

Can't see the plec i'm afraid. Any chance of a seperate pic of it?

You mean you cant see it in enough detail, right?

Its on the glass next to the filter intake... Its a decent size...

 

[Curiosity101]

Lol, how dense am I! I looked straight through it

 

[Geoff1991]

Ill be honest, it took me a minute to spot it...

 

[ChrisChrisChris]

Hi guys,

Yeah this tank was setup with very little knowledge of fish in all honesty and I dislike the coloured gravel, infact its the first thing i want to change but am not sure what to go for instead (Preferably natural looking and cheap). I want tetras, mollys, guppys, danios and whatever other colourfull fish to keep every level busy so i'm not sure as to the best gravel to purchase?


Good news about the plants then as i really want to have plants all around the left/back/right of the tank with the wood as the centre piece.

Is my tank big enough for the plec?
Someone ask to confirm dimensions, my tank measures 48" wide, 13" effective (top of gravel to top of water) and 14.5" from front to back. Around 40 gallons according to one website calculator?


Soon i will take some water to my local petshop and have it tested for ammonia/nitrite/ph hopefully. I'm currently on ebay looking for dechlorinator, API test kit(£17 found this one) and plants(Do silk ones actually look any good, do live help keep a fish tank in better condition?)

I've tried numerous times to get a clear picture of the plec, i'll apply the tips macro/time delay/lights off/no flash and see if i can get a clearer picture asap.

 

[m00se]

Go for pond dechlor, it's much more concentrated and will last you forever. You API test kit will help you no end.

As for the plants, I've had silk and live, and while the silk ones look pretty good and move realistically (unlike the plastic ones which look...well, plastic), I have to say I've had a good experience with live plants. Sure, they're a bit more work, and they can be a bit finnicky, and you have to make sure they stay alive with ferts and CO2 and so on, but they're really rewarding, they grow and change your tank, and they help eat up some of the nitrates. And give out O2, of course, which helps keep your water nice and oxgenated

 

[keenonfish]

Also, the only other chemical you NEED is water dechlorinator.

And money saving experts say buy the big bottles of pond dechlor - it's much more concentrated and you use far less. Big money saver!

Only thing I will say about that is manufacturers are aware of this and sometimes saving is marginal at best, so double check how many £'s per litre you are saving before spending loads of dosh!!

 

[Curiosity101]

If it's price then you can't beat argos play sand! 15kg for £2.89 - it just needs a good wash.

If the plec is a common plec then long term the tank isn't very good for it sadly. And it does look like a common.

If you have some free time I'd removed most of that gravel now (may aswell if you aren't wanting it, and the fish wont be bothered.

Silk ones are better than plastic. But live is best and they really are easy to look after. Just start with the cheapest easiet you can find.

I'd suggest elodea for now. Check ebay, it's super super super cheap for loads!
It's not THE prettiest plant, but it'll be a good starter.

 

[m00se]

It's not THE prettiest plant, but it'll be a good starter.

I like the look of Elodea, but you're right, there are nicer-looking plants. First time I planted it I discovered the reason it's so cheap - it grows like all bloody hell. Mine (literally) doubles in size every two weeks.

 

[Curiosity101]

I liked the look of it too until I got my cabomba. It's the same overall effect but I find cabomba looks... 'softer'? Can you describe a plant as looking soft... hmm.

But anyways as m00se has testified. Perfect beginner plant.
As is Java moss, but java moss can be fiddly.

 

[ChrisChrisChris]

Ah you guys are awesome, thanks to everyone of you(although i still have many more questions )

My petshop says they'll test PH/Nitrite for free which is good for now.

Ill take a look around for pond chlorinator then, does anyone know if london england use chlorine or chloramine? I assume most dechlorinators cover both, but will double check when i purchase them. Does anyone have a cheap product/brand they can recommend as there are many around, specially on ebay.

Co2 & light are my main concerns about plants, i only have 1 tube and another means more ££££ and electricity. Co2 also sounded a bit 'scary' from what i read and plant foods another expense, however i have no idea on prices/how much-how often its used so if someone could summarise their experience, costs, maintenance plan that would be great specially with regaurs to this Co2 business


Ah yes my pet shop sells elodea(These names sure do get confusing!) for maybe £1 a bunch, my girlfriends mum put some in her new goldfish tank and i was keep an eye on it to see if it actually survived. Its not the greatest looking plant i agree, but i suppose it would make a nice 'background' to begin with.


Attempting to put everything in a priority list for now keeping in mind the bacteria/cycling, filter needs a service/clean, Plec needs treating and gravel/Plants/Limescale all need doing.


Main confusion is when to make all these changes,
1) Do i treat the plec first before anything else?
2) Do i confirm water is ok/cycled first?
3) Should i leave gravel change untill i know tank is cycled or do i risk prolonging it due to bacteria loss from gravel?
4)Should i clean the filter sponge now or later(bacteria) but at the same time an effecient filter is required.

I don't want to have to recycle my tank again, i also don't want an ill fish getting worse - Ah so much to do, enjoyable though although the fish's welfare is on my mind right now and not sure what step to do first or how to go about treating him/them.

 

[m00se]

I liked the look of it too until I got my cabomba. It's the same overall effect but I find cabomba looks... 'softer'? Can you describe a plant as looking soft... hmm.

Yeah I prefer my cabomba too (but I keep the elodea for old times' sake (lol)). It's definitely softer, I know what you mean. Although I did try and put in some red cabomba. It melted.

 

[ChrisChrisChris]

Ah yes cabomba is what i saw in my very old "Practical aquarium" binder. Excellent news if this grows well in my gravel (or whatever i go with, i really have no idea what my future fish would prefer?). It does look softer i agree and less weedy, doesnt need any special requirements then? Will my light suffice?