View Full Version : Any one here keep a Aquarium
I got Conner a 16 gallon fish tank and we transformed it to become Bikini Bottom. It is also a planted tank. I have gone through the Ammonia cycle and I'm now dealing with very high nitrites and nitrates.
How long before my tank compleatly cycles and settles down.
During the fist couple of weeks I had a high PH and now I have a low PH so I am also struggling to raise it to 7.2 my target range.
Wow! this is not easy...
I got Conners fish tank finished.
This was more work than I ever expected.
I have a massive Fluval 206 canister filter under the tank it cycles all 16 gallons 13 times per hour! I used a small Fluval filter inside the tank just for Carbon filtration and it is able to hold alot of carbon so when I add the plant fertilizer I can turn the carbon filtration off and keep the mechanical filtration going.
I am also using a Whisper 40 air pump to power a 12 inch air stone and an Aquion pro 100w heater.
He has 8 fish.
2 guppys
3 red eye tetras
2 cory cats
1 molly
The big fluval filter is a pro filter for a 45 gallon tank so it dose a really good job on the 16 gallon!
Beechwoods
15-07-2012, 17:37
You need Miss Puff!
You need Miss Puff!
who is miss puff?
Oh, his driving instructor. Sorry she is not offered.
I had a real hard time getting all the characters they offer as all the pet stores have Sponge Bob and Patrick the rest I had to get one at a time from ebay as at the time no one had them all .
Beechwoods
15-07-2012, 17:49
Clearly you have not been watching enough Spongebob!
http://im.glogster.com/media/4/20/9/62/20096225.jpg
Miss Puff, Driving School teacher, and one-time girlfriend of Mr Crabs!
I should have remembered her name, it came to me after I posted I seen loads of Sponge Bob but to be truthful it grinds on you after several hours.
My son has alot of the seasons on DVD so its Spong Bob,Scooby Doo and Godzilla,I'm glad it's summer we have been outside and the TV has been off most the day.
Stratmangler
15-07-2012, 23:00
Sorry chaps, it's Mrs. Puff http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_SpongeBob_SquarePants_characters
Sorry chaps, it's Mrs. Puff http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_SpongeBob_SquarePants_characters
So then there is a Mr.Puff?:doh:
I just added 6 neon Tetras tonight.
There cool because they glow red white and blue and swim in schools and dart around like humming birds.
Dominic Harper
16-07-2012, 06:36
I used to keep fish for my dad, Neon Tetra's, Tiger Balms but they used to nip the others. Blue Shebunkins, couple of Angel fish couple of Molly's but my favourite were always the Neon's. I also kept a cat fish separate for about 6 years, till sadly it died of a tumour. Sometime, I would often find that at least one of them suffered from white spot after every clean. Probably due to stress, but I find fish so relaxing to watch.
Natalie;)
I have 3 tanks at the moment, one with Endlers Guppies, one for breeding Bristlenose catfish and a show tank with a featherfin catfish, 3 Corydorus Catfish, 2 striped barbs and 12 Odessa barbs.
I got Conner a 16 gallon fish tank and we transformed it to become Bikini Bottom. It is also a planted tank. I have gone through the Ammonia cycle and I'm now dealing with very high nitrites and nitrates.
How long before my tank compleatly cycles and settles down.
During the fist couple of weeks I had a high PH and now I have a low PH so I am also struggling to raise it to 7.2 my target range.
Wow! this is not easy...
Sounds to me like you have introduced the fish a little bit too soon Jeff.
I used to have several aquariums indoors and a large Koi pond outdoors until I moved to a smaller house and had to give both up sadly :(
When starting out it takes at least a month to get the filtration system working properly before you introduce any fish. I got the system going by putting my own "ammonia" into the water in the shape of some urine and letting the nitrogen cycle establish itself on it's own, then adding only one or two fish at a time at weekly intervals.
Hi Jeff nice fun tank.
I have been keeping fish off nad on since i was 10 when i got some goldfish for my birthday, went through most types of fish moving on to mixed tropicals tanks, i had a 12 inch Piranha in a tank on his own for a few years, i was greeted by a very strong fish smell when i came home from School one day as he got fried when the heater stuck on and slow cooked him :(, then i went into African Chichlids and Oscars,
Got bored of them had a tank built into my bedroom chimmny breast (still living at home at the time) and went over to Marines (Salt water) with invertebrates, anemones with clown fish, gobeys etc thats when it started getting expensive, moved out and carried on with marines and then had Lion fish, Leopard moray eels and a large dog faced puffer for about 5 or 6 years.
Kids came along so the fish went, we used the tanks for Gerbils which started off with supposidly two mails, we ended up with about a dozen, then the cats broke into the tank one day when we were out and ate the lot, bits of gerbil and blood all over the house when we came home :eek:
Still like looking around the fish shops, its a lot easier to keep Marines nowadays as technology has progressed, i used to have to make my own salt water every weekend to do the rerquired water changes you can just buy it ready made now, one day perhaps i might revisit.
All we have now is a few gold fish in a globe tank sat in the corner, we did have a rescued Water Dragon for a while who was found by my father inlaw in the middle of a road one day on a country lane but thats another story :lol:
ANEMONE
Read more at: http://www.fish-journal.com/2011/07/clown-fish.html
Copyright www.fish-journal.com Under Common Share Alike Attribution
ANEMONE
Read more at: http://www.fish-journal.com/2011/07/clown-fish.html
Copyright www.fish-journal.com Under Common Share Alike Attribution
Seems we do have some fish keepers here, Yes, Frank I didn't know about the cycle thing till I was already stocked but I did get through it in 23 days.
The Neons are cool Natalie but after 3 days I have 3 from 6 left. They don't transfer from the store to another tank well as even a small change in water temp,hardness or PH will do them in. They are the easiest fresh water fish to send into shock.
I was told if they adjust to the new tank over 3 days they will most likely be ok and the smaller ones under one inch will most likely die first, well over 3 days I lost the 3 smaller ones, Even though my water temp is 77F perfact for them,my water is soft and PH is only 2 points higher than the store 7.2.
I used to keep goldfish and guppies as a kid but ive always wanted neon tetras.
Sounds far to difficult though.
A shoal of Clown Loaches are great as they are attractive, can grow to a good size, are a muscular and chunky fish, and they can be long-lived.
Their behaviour can be very funny - they are shy and endearingly stupid. I used to have one that liked to think he was hidden from view when he stuck his head into a hole in a piece of wood - at least 80% of it's body was exposed. A sort of aquatic ostrich if you like.
Their downside is that they are quite prone to white spot because they don't have scales. You need to be careful with water quality and hygene when introducing new fish.
Alex
I stepped up Conner's tank to nearly 40 gallons.
But there is a crisis boiling over in Bikini Bottom.
I just got done before taking these pics the fish are still scared of the changes to there tank,with in an hour or so they will calm down and investigate.
I think we may need to review your title Jeff - "Mad as a Tank of Squarepants" perhaps? :lol:
I think we may need to review your title Jeff - "Mad as a Tank of Squarepants" perhaps? :lol:
My son really loves sponge bob.
For his 3rd birthday i got him a four and a half foot tall sponge bob pinata.
I filled it with so much candy and toys it was over 83 pounds!
I had to reinforce the insides and build a little harness to support the weight.
Even then I'm glad there was no kids directly under it when it came down.
The pile was huge and it all came down at once,I won't do that again for reasons of safety and the fact it cost over $300.00 to fill it up.:mental:
Things where pretty thin in my house growing up so I got 1 birthday party as a kid and didn't get alot growing up, we didn't even go out to eat.
I want my son to grow up with a load of happy memory's.
I don't want him to look back at a child hood of pulling weeds,cooking for him self by 8 or 9 and coming home to an empty house to sit and listen to the radio hours.
I know I go overboard like the Godzilla Birthday cake I had made but when Dads past on I'd like to leave him with some happy tears when he remembers me.
Amen to that Jeff, he's a very lucky lad!
I've been upgrading lighting and plants.
The only draw back is that with so much full spectrum light new hood with 2 30 inch T5's and a LED strip.
The red light in the volcano is mostly washed out.
But the plants need the extra light at 67,000k to grow. My tank is at 1.5 watts per gallon.
4 watts per gallon and I'd need sun glasses to watch the fish LOL!
The 2nd picture is in moon light mode.
I took another big step today Fluval C02 injection.
And fertilizer tablets buried under the sand.
I'm going to inject C02 for 3 to 5 hours a day at the rate of one bubble every 5 to 10 seconds and see the results.
I also dosed with liquid plant food to get the party started.
The Grand Wazoo
29-09-2012, 23:38
I've been upgrading lighting and plants.
Wow, that sounds great!
I'm a forester Jeff, I grow trees for a living - any idea where can I go to upgrade my plants?
Wow, that sounds great!
I'm a forester Jeff, I grow trees for a living - any idea where can I go to upgrade my plants?
Seriously,
I have seen people use special lighting and Hydroponics with C02 injected water for growing Orchids and other plants in a largish Tararium looking thing.
Under water plants out of their natural environment need a lot of support.
For regular plants I would start with a nursery unless you are doing something less traditional.
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