Should I Continue The Hobby?

[bluefire]

Hey guys, i was a regular around here but haven't been on for ages

I have a huge problem. I have a 40 gallon tank that i have had for a few years, and during that time i have never been able to get it right, no matter what i do i will have several fish die probably once a month or so. I have tried everything in my power to stop this, using advice from all sources possible and i am not a begginer to the hobby at all so i have a fair bit of experience of my own. Ive tried countless spcies of fish in this tank but they have all faced the same fate. Ive tried plants as well which never last more than a few months at the most.

Ive had all parameters of the water tested numerous times showing nothing out of the ordinary. Im thinking the problem may be due to the fact i have use only an undergravel filter powered by an air pump for the duration of the tanks life but i dont want to spend hundreds of dollars on a canister filter untill i know if i need it or not. Out of desparation i have left the tank alone for the last 6 months or so, no water changes, very little food and no other maintenance, during this time i haven't had one death out of the last 5 remainin fish.

Also seeing the tank is in the loungeroom of my house my mum has said, either fix up the tank or get rid of it. To make my problem worse i am most likely moving out of home next year to go to Uni

Does anyone have any ideas what i can do?

 

[*Fishkies*]

You can buy power filters quite easily for that tank size still. They are much cheaper then canister filters. Try looking at an Emperor 400 or a Penquin Bio-Wheel 350, those two types of filters would overfitler your tank. Undergravel filters are not always the most effecient. Try looking into some kind of bio-wheel filter, as they quite cheap that I have found at least.

Good Luck!!

 

[Teelie]

Despite all the claims of how great UGF's really are still, I don't trust them and you don't have to spend hundreds of dollars on a cannister filter. I have two and neither was more than $70. Alternatively, there are hang on filters that cost half that which would work as well. I don't know if the filter is the cause though as even a sucky UGF set up should work better than that. It might be your water is not being dechlorinated properly or perhaps something else to do with water changes as if you've left the tank alone for so long with no water changes and no deaths.

 

[erk628]

Well if you have not taking care of it in the last 6 months at all, then you should get out of the hobby, you have no business having fish. How would you like someone putting you in a cage and all they did for 6 months was give you food every once in awhile.

 

[bluefire]

thanks for all the replies guys, and to erk i think you have misread the situation i didn't do it out of laziness, the fish have been better off for it and it is also extremely understocked.

 

[K.J.]

It depends on what you want, looking at 40$ for a filter, the ups-and-downs of fishless cycling, new stocking, treating if a disease comes up, real plants vs fake, stocking list, expenses of fish, maintenance. If you think you can handle that, then yes, you are ready.

 

[rsands]

get yourself a proper filter for the tank! i dont think an UGF is suitable for such a huge tank! but don't give it up...i think a tank that is proeprly filtered, etc more surface area will be present for bacteria and will be easier managed!

 

[raptorrex]

Hey guys, i was a regular around here but haven't been on for ages

I have a huge problem. I have a 40 gallon tank that i have had for a few years, and during that time i have never been able to get it right, no matter what i do i will have several fish die probably once a month or so. I have tried everything in my power to stop this, using advice from all sources possible and i am not a begginer to the hobby at all so i have a fair bit of experience of my own. Ive tried countless spcies of fish in this tank but they have all faced the same fate. Ive tried plants as well which never last more than a few months at the most.

Ive had all parameters of the water tested numerous times showing nothing out of the ordinary. Im thinking the problem may be due to the fact i have use only an undergravel filter powered by an air pump for the duration of the tanks life but i dont want to spend hundreds of dollars on a canister filter untill i know if i need it or not. Out of desparation i have left the tank alone for the last 6 months or so, no water changes, very little food and no other maintenance, during this time i haven't had one death out of the last 5 remainin fish.

Also seeing the tank is in the loungeroom of my house my mum has said, either fix up the tank or get rid of it. To make my problem worse i am most likely moving out of home next year to go to Uni

Does anyone have any ideas what i can do?

I cant help thinking your UGF may have a lot to do with it. though you say you have spent less time messing with the tank, of late, that too would seem to make sense. if the filter is not efficient enough, every time you do a water change, it could create big swings in the water parameters. this would cause stress to the fish, perhaps causing your losses. reducing changes and only topping up, may stabilise the water somewhat. and may be why your fish have not suffered losses. please understand, this is not an insight into the mystic workings of fishkeeping, just the logic, to me at least makes sense.

it would help if you could do some water test and post the results!

my feeling is if you changed to a cannister you would find things even out. there is no need to spend 100's$ on one, mine cost £70 so about $140, but my filter the hydor prime 30, i have seen for sale at $100, and though the fittings are a bit crap, as a filter i cant fault it. i too have found that reducing water changes, topping up and 30% once a month, has no ill effect on my fish, though to be fair i do vastly over filter. though i did lose my Crayfish recently, fish losses are a rare thing, for me. i know i do nothing special, so it must be a combination of the filter and luck. lol perhaps the change will bring you luck too!

next problem is removing the old UGF, not a nice job.
however i would run both filters for some time, unless you can get some mature filter media from someone. perhaps you will see a change as you do that. keep going though, as you care enough to ask for help, perhaps trying some of the advice given, may get you on the right track!
Regards Tylor

 

[andywg]

Well if you have not taking care of it in the last 6 months at all, then you should get out of the hobby, you have no business having fish. How would you like someone putting you in a cage and all they did for 6 months was give you food every once in awhile.

Congratulations on giving really good constructive advice...

[/sarcasm]

Perhaps if you had read what the OP said more fully, you might have phrased it differently. The OP clearly states he had tried lots of different things and in a last ditch effort tried just leaving it to settle (a well favoured system in days gone by).

 

[Miss Wiggle]

well said andy, constructive advice is what's needed here.

i have to agree with the majroty here and say the UG could be the problem.

for me it's a do or die situation, personally i would say go for one last thing to try and sort the tank out, get a decent filter see what happens from there

 

[scorphonic]

Definately keep up the hobby, I also believe that its your underground filter, I have read the help that has been offered to you already and I too think its your underground filter.

Canister filters are super, and dont cost the world as they used to.

 

[DevUK]

I think my personal view, though I would find it very hard to do, would be to downsize. You have 5 fish left, I don't know what they are (or what their requirements are) but if they are suitable, you could consider moving them to a 20 gal tank perhaps. Get an internal filter, start from scratch almost.

Downsizing may be another direction to go. Its just a thought What ever you decided to do, hopefully you will stick with it

 

[erk628]

Well if you have not taking care of it in the last 6 months at all, then you should get out of the hobby, you have no business having fish. How would you like someone putting you in a cage and all they did for 6 months was give you food every once in awhile.

Congratulations on giving really good constructive advice...

[/sarcasm]

Perhaps if you had read what the OP said more fully, you might have phrased it differently. The OP clearly states he had tried lots of different things and in a last ditch effort tried just leaving it to settle (a well favoured system in days gone by).

Leaving it alone for 6 months to me doesn't seem like the answer, obvoiusly something is wrong. What you need to do is ditch the UGF and buy a hang on filter do 20 percent water changes once a week and add some decloripher when you do that. Also do a water test I gurantee your nitrates are at a deadly reading (off the charts)

 

[rsands]

yes 6 months is long but simply asking him his reasons would ahve been a bit less "upfront" about the situation. This hobby is about learning and looking after your tanks, not firing abuse and tell them to stop the hobby because they aren't having luck.

we all learn from our mistakes...and obivously this user wants us to try and help him resolve the issues!

but def i say the filter isa big part of it...not enough bacteria surface area to keep the tank in safe levels)

 

[kribensis12]

Well, my aunt got 2 30 gallon bio-wheel filters for 80 dollars and it sorted out her tnak.