What Tank To Buy

[waterdrop]

Hang in there PD! Have you picked up an aquarium notebook yet? I find that a simple spiral bound notebook is great for encouraging you to keep a daily diary of your hobby (you could enter today's frustration!) and if you really write down your tank "events" (new fish today! etc.) then its amazing how useful this becomes to you later on. You can find out exactly how long the tank has been running or how long since you did this or that or how long you've had a fish or plant, stuff like that. Plus its just plain fun sometimes to look back years later and see some comment you made to yourself. It of course also serves to back up your fishless cycling data in a form different from the one you'll diary here on your thread, stuff like that.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[PDSimon]

Hang in there PD! Have you picked up an aquarium notebook yet? I find that a simple spiral bound notebook is great for encouraging you to keep a daily diary of your hobby (you could enter today's frustration!) and if you really write down your tank "events" (new fish today! etc.) then its amazing how useful this becomes to you later on. You can find out exactly how long the tank has been running or how long since you did this or that or how long you've had a fish or plant, stuff like that. Plus its just plain fun sometimes to look back years later and see some comment you made to yourself. It of course also serves to back up your fishless cycling data in a form different from the one you'll diary here on your thread, stuff like that.

~~waterdrop~~

I will probably just keep one on here, my computers on all the time anyway

 

[Curiosity101]

Not a bad idea WD, I might well do that with my new shrimp tank. It'd be nice to keep a record of how long I've had specific fish/inverts. And I could attempt to keep track of births...emphasis on attempt.

Can't believe they've let you down again PDSimon. Bet you're super excited to get going. I'm currently wishing the week away so I can go pick up my new tank Friday. I even managed to talk my boyfriend into driving me there!

 

[kaivalagi]

If it's any consolation, both of you will get your new tanks before me I suspect...4 week wait, with one more to go. Still when it's here I will be so so chuffed, been planning the 5ft'er for a while now, just need to get hands on with it...

My sand is thoroughly washed and my bogwood has been soaking for a month...

You wait, it will turn up and I'll have them take it away because of damage

I better stop talking that up really...

The journal thing is something I've sort of done already using a spreadsheet on the computer, I've even got my stock listing (no introduction dates for each though, doh!) and I have it calculating % under/over capacity of my current and next tank (simple 1" rule based on both surface area and volume to give me 2 extremes), and I record all my water tests in there too so I can see a graph of the levels...I'm such a geek

Whatever you use it's well worth jotting down all the info like Waterdrop said, you never know when it might help with resolving a problem or seeing a trend emerge etc...

Here's the graph from the spreadsheet showing test results since I started recording them...it shows a mini-cycle around Christmas thanks to rotting shrimp in my filter. Lots of test results then as I was doing daily water changes and tests:

 

[PDSimon]

Not a bad idea WD, I might well do that with my new shrimp tank. It'd be nice to keep a record of how long I've had specific fish/inverts. And I could attempt to keep track of births...emphasis on attempt.

Can't believe they've let you down again PDSimon. Bet you're super excited to get going. I'm currently wishing the week away so I can go pick up my new tank Friday. I even managed to talk my boyfriend into driving me there!

I know I can't wait, it's silly, I won't even be able to put fish in there for a month or something, but it's just like come on already!!!! Atleast you know you'll get it friday. I'll probably end up getting mine that day too the way its going

If it's any consolation, both of you will get your new tanks before me I suspect...4 week wait, with one more to go. Still when it's here I will be so so chuffed, been planning the 5ft'er for a while now, just need to get hands on with it...

My sand is thoroughly washed and my bogwood has been soaking for a month...

You wait, it will turn up and I'll have them take it away because of damage

I better stop talking that up really...

The journal thing is something I've sort of done already using a spreadsheet on the computer, I've even got my stock listing (no introduction dates for each though, doh!) and I have it calculating % under/over capacity of my current and next tank (simple 1" rule based on both surface area and volume to give me 2 extremes), and I record all my water tests in there too so I can see a graph of the levels...I'm such a geek

Whatever you use it's well worth jotting down all the info like Waterdrop said, you never know when it might help with resolving a problem or seeing a trend emerge etc...

Here's the graph from the spreadsheet showing test results since I started recording them...it shows a mini-cycle around Christmas thanks to rotting shrimp in my filter. Lots of test results then as I was doing daily water changes and tests:

Thats a bit extreme! but yes.. useful as well

I can't believe you've got all your sand washed as well, I havn't even done that It'll be all dusty by the time you get your tank!

 

[kaivalagi]

Thats a bit extreme! but yes.. useful as well

I can't believe you've got all your sand washed as well, I havn't even done that It'll be all dusty by the time you get your tank!

Easy to do though and it's very informative (I'm a software developer so it's in my blood to do these things )...the spreadsheet has been added to over time to be what it is now

The sand is well covered and under a little water, I'll give it one last quick rinse when the tank is here and it will go in. I didn't get playsand so I knew it would take some cleaning, hence getting the job done early...it took 3 days in all (one 25Kg buckets worth in an afternoon). It is clean

 

[PDSimon]

Thats a bit extreme! but yes.. useful as well

I can't believe you've got all your sand washed as well, I havn't even done that It'll be all dusty by the time you get your tank!

Easy to do though and it's very informative (I'm a software developer so it's in my blood to do these things )...the spreadsheet has been added to over time to be what it is now

The sand is well covered and under a little water, I'll give it one last quick rinse when the tank is here and it will go in. I didn't get playsand so I knew it would take some cleaning, hence getting the job done early...it took 3 days in all (one 25Kg buckets worth in an afternoon). It is clean

I still can't believe it

 

[kaivalagi]

I still can't believe it

I know...OCD lol

Give it time!

 

[PDSimon]

Finally got my tank, I knew it would come today though! because I had to go into uni in the morning even though it's easter and i'm going out tonight and working tomorrow. Its going to have to sit in its box and wait. Looks nice though

 

[Curiosity101]

Lol, sods law. I go to pick mine up tomorrow! Woo.

 

[kaivalagi]

Mine is coming a week on Friday, was being completed today...

Should be good all three of us progressing new tanks around the same time

 

[Curiosity101]

Actually I can't do anything with mine till the weather picks up and deliveries and importing starts again.

 

[kaivalagi]

Actually I can't do anything with mine till the weather picks up and deliveries and importing starts again.

What, you mean I might actually get my tank up and running before yours? Not what I was expecting, this blinking order of mine is taking foooooorever

 

[Curiosity101]

I can't order any CRS until it warms up at night. (The guy suggests around 5C), and also his supplier wont send him any blue tigers until the average temp at night is 5C.
So I can't get any until may earliest, and by then I'm back at uni so I might just wait till I finish in June.

I will have it running before then though cause I'm selling the roma. It'll be home to my kuhlis.

 

[kaivalagi]

I can't order any CRS until it warms up at night. (The guy suggests around 5C), and also his supplier wont send him any blue tigers until the average temp at night is 5C.
So I can't get any until may earliest, and by then I'm back at uni so I might just wait till I finish in June.

I will have it running before then though cause I'm selling the roma. It'll be home to my kuhlis.

All your other occupants sold on? So you wont have much in the way of fish anymore? A decision because of Uni?