First "real" aquarium questions.

10 posts

Discuss all topics related to freshwater and planted tanks.


jprich
 
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 6:19 pm

First "real" aquarium questions.

by jprich

Ok. I havent owned a real aquarium before other than the usual goldfish / betta / hermit crabs when you are a kiddie. I figured now would be a good time to start. I got the freshwater aquariums for dummies book and have been reading several forums.

Im in the planning / purchasing phase.

I currently have:
20g aquarium
Full Lighted Hood
Tetra Whisper Air Pump 20
30' or so of tubing
2 bottles of water conditioner
digital ph/thermometer
1 small half pirate ship
1 L shaped piece of wood

In the future:
Light to medium colored gravel
Plastic plants
Power filter or two
Heater
Airstones
Gang valve
Check Valve
Salt

Im looking at getting a pleco, some guppies and maybe danios.

My questions:

1) I was thinking of getting 2 20g power filters as opposed to one. Is there such a thing as too much filtration?

2) I want to get a rock with some holes in it for the last decor piece. I saw some neat lava rocks at Petco. Will store bought rocks ( lava or otherwise ) change my water quality?

3) Airstones. Is it better to get the discs or the cylinder airstones?

4) I was thinking of having 10-12 fish total ( pleco, guppies, and danios ). Is that too many for my tank?

5) Anything Im missing / advice?

6) Glofish ( danios ) glow under black lights. Arent black lights bad for fish?

Thank you much!


Tmercier834747
 
Posts: 887
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2008 8:33 pm

by Tmercier834747

1) no, as long as there are spots in the tank where the water isn't in constant motion from current. I overfilter all my tanks.
2)No, if they're specifically for aquariums they should be inert and not alter water parameters. Ask an associate if you're not sure.
3)If by discs you mean the large 3" circle thingies -- in my tanks they would never fly because I have sandy substrates and can't bury my airstones. Cylinders would probably allow you to have more space for other things, but it won't really matter as long as you have an adequate airpump if you're going to use faux decor.
4)The numbers aren't a problem but the common plecostomus would far outgrow the 20 gallon tank. There are a few dwarf species that are harder to find, and more costly, but may find adequate room in a 20gal. Common plecos should never be kept in a tank this size.

Black lights - I believe actinics provide a portion of the spectrum of light found in blacklights and they're widely used in saltwater aquaria. I have one such in my puffer tank (really doesn't serve a purpose, just the highest wattage light I could put in there). So I'm not sure personally if blacklights have an adverse effect but you could consider a 50/50 6700k/actinic bulb setup which would supply you with that sort of ''UV glow''.

When you say salt what exact kind are you referring to? You'll probly need something specific like aquarium salt. It's supposed to enhance fish slime coat and act as a natural preventative for many fish diseases and infections.

Zambize can give you advice on fake decor. If she'd still come around! =P She makes her tanks look amazing. =P

Also before you get started and throw your fish in there..please read this:
http://www.ratemyfishtank.com/articles/80

There are many other informative and helpful articles for beginners in the articles section of this website.http://www.ratemyfishtank.com/articles-list.php


jprich
 
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 6:19 pm

by jprich

I glanced through the article you linked and it was very similar to the Aquariums for Dummies book I got. I do like some of the ideas though and might try them out. But do rest assured I plan on following the proper procedures before picking up any fish.

The black light question was more out of curiosity as I had seen the 1800glofish.com site. The All Glass Aquarium Hood that came with my tank Im guessing will provide adequate light.

I was referring to the aquarium salt to help with slime coat, etc. I was going to use it to help the break in period when I do eventually populate the tank.

I will definitely check out the other articles. I didnt even know those were on this site. Thanks for the help!


Tmercier834747
 
Posts: 887
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2008 8:33 pm

by Tmercier834747

No problem. We anxiously await your results. Sometimes piecing together an aquarium and its little environment for our fishies is one of the most fun parts of the hobby. In fact some people like myself continue to do it even after its initially set up..over and over. lol

Out of curiosity what is it that made you want a pleco? Is it the fish itself or the task it would supposedly perform, ie its purpose in the aquarium?


dizzcat
 
Posts: 648
Joined: Tue Jun 24, 2008 2:30 am

by dizzcat

Welcome to our obsession LOL

#2 Rocks: Make sure it does not change the pH in your tank. The holey white kind WILL change the pH in the tank, it will raise it too high for community fish. I think its called Texas holey rock, pretty stuff. The lava rock will not.

Wood: If you get the drift wood from the fish store, make sure to boil it or soak it for awhile or it will leach tanis, which will turn your water brown. I had to boil mine over and over to get the tanis out of my small piece. Is your wood real? If so, start soaking it now it can take awhile.

#3 Air Stones: I have a 20 gallon and bought the round air stone disk. The air only came out in a couple spots (probably needed a bigger air pump) and I found it just took up too much room. I use the bubble walls, or the long air stones and the small cylinder stones. I prefer the bubble walls because you can put them close to the bottom, but they do not take any floor space.

Heaters: I have had terrible luck with the kind of heaters you cannot adjust. They make my tank run way too cold in the winter, like around 72 degrees even tho they say they are set to 78. I have 2 in my 10 gallon, both supposedly for 10-30 gallons, but even with the two its still only 76 in there. These are the Tetra Whisper submersible heaters. My advice when you go to buy one, make sure its adjustable. Also, make sure to unplug the heater during a water change if you will be taking out enough water to expose the heater to air. If you don't they explode when you add the water back (from experience LOL, scared the crap out of me!)

#4 Fish: That many guppies and small fish like danio's and tetras will be OK. Make sure to have a couple corners that have a lot of plant cover, they like to sleep and hang out in it. I have 4 each of guppies, rummy nose tetras and neon's in mine.
If you were wanting the pleco for the algae, Otto cats work much better and don't get bigger than 1 1/2 inches.

Salt: One more thing. They always tell you at the pet store (Petsmart, etc) to add aquarium salt to the water. This is not necessary unless you have fish like mollies, who need brackish water. Fish like guppies, and danios don't need it. I only add some to my tanks if I see some ripped fins (like my African cichlids) or there is an ich break out. If my fish show signs of ich, or their fins get ripped from fighting, I will add a tablespoon of salt to a bowl of tank water and give them a 2 minute salt bath, which usually works. The problem with salt is if you add it and are just topping off the tank instead of removing water the salt builds up. The water evaporates, but the salt doesn't.

Hope I helped some! I was so lost and confused when I first started out!


doomydarkdoom
 
Posts: 167
Joined: Fri Oct 19, 2007 4:00 am

by doomydarkdoom

"Texas holey rock" is called, here in Texas, limestone, and there's loads of it in the water. Its technical name is "calcium carbonate", so you can guess what it's mostly made of.

My fish don't seem to mind it... it's better to have more constant water parameters than mess with it all the time trying to keep it exactly ideal for the fish. Changes stress them out.

A little bit of aquarium salt will help the colors of the fish pop, but it doesn't really need to be nearly as much as the containers always say. I usually just dissolve a pinch of it in the bucket of water that's about to go into the aquarium. And Dizz is right, it doesn't evaporate, so unless you actually do a gravel vac to get particulates out, you have to be careful adding salt. It is a natural tonic for them but it IS possible to mess it up.


Tmercier834747
 
Posts: 887
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2008 8:33 pm

by Tmercier834747

Agreed about the salt. I always underdose as some of my fish have low tolerances even to aquarium salt.

As far as the heater, now that dizz has advised you on what NOT to get, I'll advise you to get Rena Smartheaters. I have them in both of my tanks. My 30gal is right next to the door and under the AC/heat vent. The tank is never +/- 3 degrees off what its set. Even if there's a 20 degree difference from the air outside the tank to the water within.

The only problem I had with it initially was there's a shaft that runs through the middle which is pretty ingenious if you consider the design (cold water is drawn up through the shaft (not accessible to most fish) and as its heated it rises drawing more cold water in through the bottom. The bottom is covered with a 'grill', but the top was left open, for some reason. When I got my first 3 Striped Raphael Catfish (they were babies) they would pile up in the shaft. It didn't seem to harm them, but I didn't want to take any chances. So I hot glued some vinyl screen to the top, which did the trick.

They're also integratable with rena smartfilters (Hang on the back filters) which is pretty cool, though I don't own any of those. :)


dizzcat
 
Posts: 648
Joined: Tue Jun 24, 2008 2:30 am

by dizzcat

Tmercier I have been wondering, is hot glue from a glue gun (the plain stuff) safe for a tank? Sure would be a LOT easier to glue rock piles together than the silicon, which takes forever to dry!


Tmercier834747
 
Posts: 887
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2008 8:33 pm

by Tmercier834747

Well it depends on the glue. If you use the plain old stuff its fine. I only used a tiny bit though. When used on such a large application it would probably be kind've messy. Possibly you could consider both?
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/diy_caves.php

Not a huge fan of this cave I think he has a nice idea for making the bond a bit stronger though. Check out the materials list.

Also possibly due to the heat given off the screen is starting to seperate so I'll have to redo it in the near future. :)


jprich
 
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 6:19 pm

by jprich

Ok here we go:

Pleco form or function:
Yes. I like the fact that they clean up for you but they are also generally kinda cool. I like when they 'stand up' on their bottom rear fins.

Heater:
The aquarium is going to be in a basement apartment where the temp is fairly normal ( on the cool side ). I picked up a 100w Aqueon heater this past friday. Is that an acceptable heater?

I was also going to go with 2 penguin/marineland biowheel power filters. Is the Rena brand that much better?

Rock/Wood:
The rock I was looking at and bought was a lava rock, reddish brown in color. The wood piece was Mopani wood and says on the label that I need to soak it. So thanks for the heads up. One question though, is there a difference between soaking and boiling the wood? Is one better?

Salt:
Under dose. Roger.

Pleco vs Otto:
The ottos sound cool and I could probably get more than one. I will have to see what my local store has when I go this coming weekend.

Im going to have to track down Zambize for the plastic plant advice. I kinda wanted to try live bamboo but as this is my first outing Im going to go the easy learner route.

I really appreciate all the help folks. Im looking forward to this being a cool experience. Im planning out my tank stand using this site:

http://www.fishandtips.com/index.php

Once that is complete then I will probably throw the batch together and start the water cycling.
Here is what I have so far ( nothing exciting sadly ).
fc5dd-stuff.jpg

First "real" aquarium questions.

10 posts

Display posts from previous: Sort by: