NEW TANK UPDATE

15 posts • Page 1 of 2

Discuss all topics related to freshwater and planted tanks.


supertank
 
Posts: 46
Joined: Sat Aug 23, 2008 11:57 pm

NEW TANK UPDATE

by supertank

HI GUYS,
JUST A WEE UPDATE ON MY NEW JUWEL REKORD 120L, IM USING AN ELITE 802 PUMP TO CREATE BUBBLES IN MY TANK USING A BUBBLE CIRCLE AND A WAND. I PURCHASE MY FIRST FISH YESTERDAY, 5 BLACKWIDOWS AND 2 MOLLYS (ONE BLACK AND ONE WHITE) THINK THE WHITE ONE MAY BE PREGNANT BUT IM ONLY NEW SO IM PROB WRONG. THE NEW FISH SEEM TO BE HAPPY ON THE TANK. THANKS FOR THE ADVICE WHICH HAS HELPED ME GETTING STARTED, BUT I WILL NEED MUCH MORE ADVICE IN THE FUTURE. SORRY I CANT UPLOAD ANY PIC BECAUSE THEY ARE ALL OVER 500KB. I HAD SOME NICE ONES OF MY NEW FISH... ANYONE GOT SOME ADVICE WHICH I MAY NEED FOR THE COMING WEEKS WITH MY NEW FISH.

CHEERS


Peterkarig3210
 
Posts: 1980
Joined: Wed Oct 24, 2007 3:04 am

by Peterkarig3210

Just feed vary sparingly till you have the cycle going strong. The ammonia and nitrite spikes will be lower this way.

I'd feed this way for a week or so.

What kind of pump do you have and what size tank is it rated to filter?


supertank
 
Posts: 46
Joined: Sat Aug 23, 2008 11:57 pm

by supertank

HEY PETER,
THE TANK I GOT HAS A SQUARE COLUME AT THE BACK RIGHT CORNER WHICH HAS THE FILTER, PUMP, HEATER BUILT INTO IT. I WUD ASSUME THAT THE FILTER AND PUMP CAPABILITIES ARE RIGHT FOR THE TANK AS THEY COME WITH IT. I ALSO BOUHGT A ELITE 802 SET, WHICH CAME WITHT THE 802 PUMP, AIR STONE, AIR WAND, BACK PRESSURE VALVES.

HOW OFTEN WOULD YOU RECOMMEND I FEED THE FISH (AQUA FLAKES) IN THE FIRST WHILE. I UNDERSTAND THAT THE CYCLE WILL NOT BE UP TO SPEED JUST YET.

THANKS


Peterkarig3210
 
Posts: 1980
Joined: Wed Oct 24, 2007 3:04 am

by Peterkarig3210

I'm a bit confused. I think the square column if for a salt water set up. Is there a powerhead or water pump involved, or is the filter air stone driven? It sounds like a nice tank.

I would maybe feed a tiny bit 2 x a day till there is zero ammonia and zero nitrites. The end product from the cycling bacteria is nitrate, and that either builds up and needs to be diluted with water changes or it will get used up by having live plants which use it as fertiliser.

About 20ppm nitrate is when you should do a water change, and that means you need to remover say 1/3rd of the water and replace it with fresh water with dechlorinator. If you have live plants you will still need to do water changes as minerals and salts will build up due to evaporation and topping off.

Oh yea, you should probably buy a water test kit so you can moniter the ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, pH, and kH. If you don't have one yet your local aquarium store will probably test it for free if you bring in a sample.

What you should expect is that ammonia will rise till ammonia converting bacteria get established and then it should return to zero. Then nitrites should rise till nitrifying bacteria get established and then it should return to zero, and then only the nitrates will show an amount. The nitrates are the least toxic in the chain of chemical reactions, or bacteria cycling, and 20 ppm should be the upper limit for nitrates.

Feeding sparingly will reduce how much ammonia spikes and nitrite spikes as you get the cycle going. Then you can start feeding more, but you should never feed fish as much as they can eat every day. All the food should be gone within a couple minutes and none should remain on the bottom even when you have an established cycle.


supertank
 
Posts: 46
Joined: Sat Aug 23, 2008 11:57 pm

by supertank

I HAVE A FEW PICS OF MY TANK AND FISH BUT CANT GET THEM UPLOADED AS THEY ARE OVER 500KB. NOT TOO SURE HOW TO FIX THAT. ANOTHER THING I WAS WONDERING IS WITH MY AIRSTONE, FOR AIRATION SHOULD I LEAVE THE AIR STONES ON ALL NIT. FROM MY FILTER/HEATER COLUMN THERE IS A HOSE BLOWING OUT WATER WHICH IS BREAKING THE SURFACE SO THE AIR STONES ARE ONLY AN ADDITIONAL. AFTER READING AND LOOKING AT DIFFERENT TANKS I THINK I WILL GET SOME LITTLE SHRIMP TO CLEAN UP THE BOTTOM AND STUFF. WAT SIZE IS YOUR TANK MINE IS ONLY 26GAL BUT ITS MY FIRST ONE AND SO FAR I REALLY LIK THIS NEW HOBBY... THAT FISH IN YOUR TANK IS REALLY IMPRESSIVE THOUHT IT WAS DRIFT WOOD AT FIRST GLANCE.HAHA


Peterkarig3210
 
Posts: 1980
Joined: Wed Oct 24, 2007 3:04 am

by Peterkarig3210

Yea. It would be nice to see pics of the filter. The more the air stone is on the better as this will help blow off ammonia while the cycle gets going. Then I would have it on as much as it goes but not so much that the fish seem to be wearing themselves out. Some current is good for fish for excersize and play but some fish have very cumbersome fins and need less current.

Thanks about my fish. They're in a 100 gallon and I love them. I'm going to be building a 300-500 gallon tank pretty soon as they should get up to 18 inches before long.


supertank
 
Posts: 46
Joined: Sat Aug 23, 2008 11:57 pm

by supertank

HOLY SMOKES THAT SOME FISH AND ALSO SOME SIZE OF A TANK, HOW LONG HAVE U BEEN KEEPING FISH FOR. WELL AT THE MOMENT I HAVE THE AIR STONES ON FOR ABOUT 7 HOURS A DAY. I WILL DEF TRY GET U SOME PICS EVEN SEND ME A HOTMAIL ADDY AN ILL SEND U THEM THAT WAY, OF COUSRE MESSAGE ME IT.. I WUD LIK YOU EXPERT OPINION AS I THINK THAT MY MOLLY MAY BE PREG BUT AS A COMPLETE NOVICE I COULD BE WRONG.


Peterkarig3210
 
Posts: 1980
Joined: Wed Oct 24, 2007 3:04 am

by Peterkarig3210

I'd leave the airstone on all the time. Are you going to grow live plants? I don't know much about mollies, but in general you should remove the fry (babies) when you see them as the adult fish will probably eat them. Raise the fry in another small tank. I'll leave my e-mail address in PM.


a1k8t31524
 
Posts: 939
Joined: Sat May 26, 2007 5:10 am

by a1k8t31524

yeah the fry almost always get eaten, nuless you have alot of good hiding places for them. I think what he has pete is like an all in one "nano" setup i have seen these in a smaller size with built in overflows and all of that, i dont think that they are drilled tanks they just have that overflow box thingy that holds all if the equipt and such....


jweb1369
 
Posts: 547
Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2008 2:55 am

by jweb1369

I would not recommend leaving the air pump running all the time, there really is no point. It only moves the water, and creates more surface area for the water. It doesn't add oxygen to the water or anything like that. So the fish don't need it while they are inactive or less active at night. Plus I find that it tends to keep them up at night which will stress them long-term. I would set it on a timer like mine is with my lights and powerhead. They come on at 7 AM and shut off at 7 PM.

If you have a photo viewer or editor you can resize the image to 500KB. I use microsoft office picture manager to resize mine. You can also make an account on photobucket.com, and it will resize it I believe. Or atleast you can give people the link to your profile and they can view your full size photos.

NEW TANK UPDATE

15 posts • Page 1 of 2

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