Any Aquarium guys? (1 Viewer)

[TheFanatic]

Some pictures of my new, lightly planted tank with new T5 lighting system.......

full tank shot

right side

close up

left side

clowns

More clowns

I know a few of the Mexican oak leaves have holes in them, but I'll watch them closely.

Got some bad news for you. Most of the time when you get Amazons like that where the plant just has a few long leaves and is not at all thick, those long leaves are going to die off. If you are lucky the plant will sprout new leaves that will grow. The sword will be no where near that tall. In fact, it will likely be just a couple of inches tall if it survives at all.I'm not sure if I mentioned clumping amazons together to get better growth in this thread. I know I mentioned it on Aquaria Central and Monster Fish Keepers. It helps as they will grow taller trying to compete with each other to get to the light source. What you bought were some amazons from a gigantic vat with amazons every inch of the tank and some powerful lights on top and lots of fertilizer. These plants grow very tall and lean, but that's not the real nature of amazon swords, and once removed from that tank they have a very hard time and the tall leaves will die off.

I hope you get some new growth before the tall leaves start to yellow and die. If so you will be OK. You won't have those long and elegant leaves but you will have the makings of a couple nice, hardy amazons. Once this happens, clump the two together. In the end you will wind up with two stronger plants than just the two on their own.

Let the tall leaves yellow. Don't let them turn brown. Once they start to brown try to break them off at the base of the stem. I would also put a couple root tabs per plant in the gravel. Amazons get more nutrition from their roots than a lot of aquatic plants. Once they are established they don't need root tabs but they may need them now to get going....

Made some additions to my 110 African tank and have a recent pic of my 55 planted community tank here.

BTW, if you look at all my really big amazons. They started off life clumped togetehr with other amazons. Once they got large I parted them out and left them on their own. On page 4 of the above link you will see an amazon that comprises an entire 3rd of my 55 gallon tank which is 4 feet long. I am looking at it right now as I type this. The thing is. as my buddy says, absolutely ignorant at that size!?!?! I'm good with that. Oh, and you can see his African tank on page 3 of the above thread. He has a couple year headstart on me though!?!?!

Good luck bro...Keep us posted...

 

[TLEF316]

hmm, interesting about the amazons. I did not know that. Guess it makes sense though. I'll also bring it up to the guys at the store when i go back. I have root tabs, so I'll put some in this afternoon. thanks for the heads up. At least they weren't real expensive.

So in the future, what should i look for? A much shorter plant with lots of healthy leaves?

 

[Tick]

Okay, I set up a small tank for our pleco, two otocinclas, and the baby mollies (still in a net). We're going to treat both tanks separately - my wife picked up something that says it's for catfish with ick, plus another ick treatment for the other fish.

Looking more carefully, a lot of the fish in the big tank have ick, so we're going to treat the whole tank.

This sucks.

 

[TLEF316]

Ammonia up to around 1ppm again (after being closer to .5 after the big water change)

Nitrates are at 5 ppm.

I'm gonna take a water sample to the big fish store tomorrow. I am stumped at this point and freaking sick of wasting time and water doing water changes. It isn't making any progress.

Nothing is rotting anywhere in the tank. Something is stopping the bacteria from growing. I can't figure out what.

 

[TLEF316]

Did a full test on my tap water just to be sure. Nitrates are the same reading as the tank. That means that the tank is not processing the ammonia at all. It's never making it to the nitrate phase. Ammonia test this morning leaves us between 1 and 2 ppm. I'm gonna take a water sample to absolutely fish. See what they say/recommend. They also have a fairly large tank set-up and maintenance business, so i figure they will know what to do.

 

[TLEF316]

just got back from Absolutely Fish. They tested my water. Apparently, my KH, and thus my buffering capacity, is absurdly low. As a result, The PH keeps dropping and the bacteria are having a hard time growing. I spoke to the main guy there and he offered up some suggestions. I picked up a product to raise the KH of my water and an ammonia removing substance for my small filter as a temporary solution. Hopefully, we can keep the ammonia down with water changes while the KH rises, hopefully giving the Ph a chance to stabilize somewhere in the 6.6 range (what my tap is)

I also picked up some new plants, a KH test kit and some Kent Fertilizer. I'll take some pictures later when it gets darker in the room. I grabbed 1 more smaller sword(just in case one of them doesnt make it) some java fern, a jungle val and some grassy looking thing whose name escapes me at the moment

I still need to find a foreground solution, and I'll get some shorter bushier stuff to fill out the midground. I also plan on sticking some Red tiger lotus in there somewhere.

 

[TLEF316]

Updated full tank shot.

New plant whose name i forgot

java fern

 

[TheFanatic]

Updated full tank shot.

New plant whose name i forgot

java fern

That tank is really starting to look great. That's a great Java fern. If you are worried about those Swords, clump them together. Plant them right next to each other. I mean put the two bases of the plants right up against each other. That way they will compete with each other for light and maybe the longer leaves will stay....

 

[TLEF316]

Updated full tank shot.

New plant whose name i forgot

java fern

That tank is really starting to look great. That's a great Java fern. If you are worried about those Swords, clump them together. Plant them right next to each other. I mean put the two bases of the plants right up against each other. That way they will compete with each other for light and maybe the longer leaves will stay....

yeah, it really is a great fern. The one i got from them last time was pretty ugly, but this one is great. They had a massive clump in their plant tank and he picked me a great bunch. I'll be getting at least 2 more when i go back next time.

 

[TLEF316]

Just tested my Kh. It is currently between 1 and 2 Dkh, which is not good. The product i got (Kh booster by Nutrafin) says that each "dose" (1 capful per 20 gallons of water) will raise it by 1 DKh. I just dosed the tank and will test tonight before i go to sleep. Ph is currently 6.4 after yesterday's water change. We'll see if it holds. I'm going to try and raise the KH very slowly and try to keep the ph at around 6.8 (which is where my tap is). I'll be testing daily and keeping the ammonia (currently 1 ppm) down with water changes. Fish and plants look fine although a few were uprooted last night. I replanted them and put some rocks around them to keep the clowns from digging until the roots take hold.

 

[TLEF316]

Kh has not risen at all, just dosed again.(will not do so tomorrow) Ph is holding steady at 6.6 or 6.8 right now, so thats good. Ammonia is holding at 1 ppm. I ordered the Kent Kh raising product, as that was what the guy at the store suggested(although they were out of it)

Fish look good. A few of the terrestrial leaves on the really big sword are starting to yellow, so i may have to cut them soon. My one plant keeps getting uprooted. I'm stacking some rocks around it to prevent it happening again.

 

[TheFanatic]

Kh has not risen at all, just dosed again.(will not do so tomorrow) Ph is holding steady at 6.6 or 6.8 right now, so thats good. Ammonia is holding at 1 ppm. I ordered the Kent Kh raising product, as that was what the guy at the store suggested(although they were out of it)Fish look good. A few of the terrestrial leaves on the really big sword are starting to yellow, so i may have to cut them soon. My one plant keeps getting uprooted. I'm stacking some rocks around it to prevent it happening again.

what's the update?

 

[TheFanatic]

Here's an update of my stock list for my 110 African Tank:

3 large male yellow labs

1 large male Kenyii

1 small female Kenyii

1 Auratus

2 Tretacephalus

1 Strawberry or Crystal Red Peacock

1 OB Flametale Peacock

1 Sunshine Flametale Peacock

1 Red Topped Zebra

1 Red Empress (looking like a fem so she may be going soon if she doesn’t color up and turn out to be a male)

1 actual male Red empress much bigger than the one above and just losing his vertical bars and still no color so there is hope for the one above

4 Julli Marleri – two very small and two very large

1 Ahli

1 Syno Multipunk

2 Syno Decorus

1 Bristlenose

1 small tiger pleco

2 Clown Loaches

Bolded are recent additions..

I have lost (I think) one crazy pleco (L236) not sure he liked the high Ph which is a shame because he was $30 and 1 Clown Loach. Both may be still alive. I have no idea. I thought the second Decorus was dead till about 20 minutes ago. I'm not kidding!?!?!

That puts me at right around $300 for fish and not a single fish (save the two Marleri I just got at a local fish auction for $20 for the pair) I bought during this process was much more than an inch long. The Labs were gifted to me so they don't count in the total. Between the cost of fish, a few plants (the Java Ferns are not doing well in this tank for some reason) the cost of the 75 gallon for the Clown Knife, the Rena X4 filter for the 110, the X3 for the 75, and 140 pounds of sand I have spent a mint. Glad my wife has no idea what this stuff costs!?!?!!? Oh, and I'm about to make an order on Dr. Fostersmiths for about $150....

 

[TLEF316]

Kh has not risen at all, just dosed again.(will not do so tomorrow) Ph is holding steady at 6.6 or 6.8 right now, so thats good. Ammonia is holding at 1 ppm. I ordered the Kent Kh raising product, as that was what the guy at the store suggested(although they were out of it)Fish look good. A few of the terrestrial leaves on the really big sword are starting to yellow, so i may have to cut them soon. My one plant keeps getting uprooted. I'm stacking some rocks around it to prevent it happening again.

what's the update?

Well, there wasn't much of an update yesterday (other than the higher ph). Today was pretty much the same. The Kh is still measuring low (somewhere around 2) but the Ph is holding steady slightly above 7. Although the product i bought claims to only raise KH, its obviously raising the PH as well. (tap is only 6.6 and my tank has never been this high) So, I'm not using it anymore. I ordered the Kent product and it is scheduled to be here tomorrow. I have a little more faith in it.Ammonia holding steady, which is nice. In the past few weeks, it has always jumped to close to 2 on days i don't do a water change. Hopefully we'll see a drop soon. I'll test the nitrite and nitrates tomorrow to see if we are seeing any progress. I also trimmed off the terrestrial leaves off my swords. They were starting to brown. The one on the right has 4 smaller leaves left. They look like the aquatic ones, so they should live.I'm actually starting to see some slight brown algae build up on the glass (just a few specs a day) and on a few of the higher plant leaves. This is cause for concern and I will be monitoring it. FWIW, I've decided to dose 2 cap fulls twice a week. (the Kent recomends 1-3 cap fulls 1-3 times a week) This may be too much or too little we'll see. Lights are on from 11:30 AM to 10:30 PM. The tank gets some indirect sunlight once the sun comes up outside, obviously. (but there are no windows within 15 feet or so)

 

[TLEF316]

Here's an update of my stock list for my 110 African Tank:

3 large male yellow labs

1 large male Kenyii

1 small female Kenyii

1 Auratus

2 Tretacephalus

1 Strawberry or Crystal Red Peacock

1 OB Flametale Peacock

1 Sunshine Flametale Peacock

1 Red Topped Zebra

1 Red Empress (looking like a fem so she may be going soon if she doesn’t color up and turn out to be a male)

1 actual male Red empress much bigger than the one above and just losing his vertical bars and still no color so there is hope for the one above

4 Julli Marleri – two very small and two very large

1 Ahli

1 Syno Multipunk

2 Syno Decorus

1 Bristlenose

1 small tiger pleco

2 Clown Loaches

Bolded are recent additions..

I have lost (I think) one crazy pleco (L236) not sure he liked the high Ph which is a shame because he was $30 and 1 Clown Loach. Both may be still alive. I have no idea. I thought the second Decorus was dead till about 20 minutes ago. I'm not kidding!?!?!

That puts me at right around $300 for fish and not a single fish (save the two Marleri I just got at a local fish auction for $20 for the pair) I bought during this process was much more than an inch long. The Labs were gifted to me so they don't count in the total. Between the cost of fish, a few plants (the Java Ferns are not doing well in this tank for some reason) the cost of the 75 gallon for the Clown Knife, the Rena X4 filter for the 110, the X3 for the 75, and 140 pounds of sand I have spent a mint. Glad my wife has no idea what this stuff costs!?!?!!? Oh, and I'm about to make an order on Dr. Fostersmiths for about $150....

Do you order livestock off line? If so, how has your experience been?

 

[TheFanatic]

Kh has not risen at all, just dosed again.(will not do so tomorrow) Ph is holding steady at 6.6 or 6.8 right now, so thats good. Ammonia is holding at 1 ppm. I ordered the Kent Kh raising product, as that was what the guy at the store suggested(although they were out of it)

Fish look good. A few of the terrestrial leaves on the really big sword are starting to yellow, so i may have to cut them soon. My one plant keeps getting uprooted. I'm stacking some rocks around it to prevent it happening again.

what's the update?

Well, there wasn't much of an update yesterday (other than the higher ph). Today was pretty much the same. The Kh is still measuring low (somewhere around 2) but the Ph is holding steady slightly above 7. Although the product i bought claims to only raise KH, its obviously raising the PH as well. (tap is only 6.6 and my tank has never been this high) So, I'm not using it anymore. I ordered the Kent product and it is scheduled to be here tomorrow. I have a little more faith in it.

Ammonia holding steady, which is nice. In the past few weeks, it has always jumped to close to 2 on days i don't do a water change. Hopefully we'll see a drop soon. I'll test the nitrite and nitrates tomorrow to see if we are seeing any progress. I also trimmed off the terrestrial leaves off my swords. They were starting to brown. The one on the right has 4 smaller leaves left. They look like the aquatic ones, so they should live.

I'm actually starting to see some slight brown algae build up on the glass (just a few specs a day) and on a few of the higher plant leaves. This is cause for concern and I will be monitoring it. FWIW, I've decided to dose 2 cap fulls twice a week. (the Kent recomends 1-3 cap fulls 1-3 times a week) This may be too much or too little we'll see. Lights are on from 11:30 AM to 10:30 PM. The tank gets some indirect sunlight once the sun comes up outside, obviously. (but there are no windows within 15 feet or so)

Just another example of me never really looking at the instructions on anything. In my 55 gallon that is maxed with plants, so much so I had to yank out handfuls to make room for my angels to swim, I basically just do a squirt from the bottle once every couple of weeks. It's probably a quarter-third of a cup. Don't overdo it with that stuff till the plants get more established so the plants can keep the algae at bay. In my 110 I have been adding just a little more than what's I do in the 55 because I don't have as many plants (I will soon) and the water volume is twice as much. But I have very little in terms of algae eaters in the 110. A Bristlenose and a tiger pleco. Neither is much more than an inch long. My 55 has a large Saimese Algae Eater and 4 otto cats. Can't put those in the 110. They would get crushed by the cichlids.

Just remember this about the directions on the Kent bottle. The more of their stuff that you use the quicker you have to buy more of their product. I would scale back the fert you are putting in. Are you seeing good results? Then keep it going. If not, then maybe scale back.

Also, look at how long your light is on. My 110 comes on at 11 and turns off at 11. I have new growth on my Swords and my Vals. The Crypts are still new so no idea there. And one other new plant I put in has some new growth. The Annubias I put in is dead and two of the java ferns (out of 3) are not doing well. But so far the low light stuff is doing OK. My 55 I leave the light on a lot in there. Over night a lot of the time. I plan on regulating it with a timer, just haven't gotten one yet. I plan on having it on for 16 hours. 8am-12am.

If you are having algae problems you may want to cut the duration. Another idea is to move the light strip along the top forward or back. In my 110 I had bad algae on the back of the tank. My light was positioned way back. Slid it toward the middle and the algae growth slowed down and the little plecos now have it in check. So if it is bad in the front, slide it back till it dies off and then slide it forward when it gets bad in the back...

 

[TheFanatic]

Do you order livestock off line? If so, how has your experience been?

Do you mean online? I have not. My buddy did 3 times. Got those amazing Fronts in one order and then some awesome wild caught Calvus's in another. The third got caught in a snow storm in louisville. Everything died. Got his money back but lost some amazing fish. He and I plan on splitting an order from Cichlids.net or Dykemyster. Heard great things about both. Gonna wait till Spring though.

 

[phthalatemagic]

He and I plan on splitting an order from Cichlids.net or Dykemyster. Heard great things about both. Gonna wait till Spring though.

What can you order from there?

 

[Tick]

Our ick seems to have passed. We lost the molly that gave birth (solves that problem), the pleco, and one tetra. I don't see any sign of ick on any of the remaining fish. The baby mollies are down to about 13 or so - we made some mistakes with them. We moved the two otocinclas back into the main tank, and there's a fresh coat of brown algae for them to eat anyway, so I'm guessing they'll come out of this just fine.

I think my wife is getting addicted. She mentioned a saltwater tank. There's no way I'll do another tank, though - this hobby can run the wallet ragged.

 

[TLEF316]

the algae is mainly on the plants in the back, but there is some on the front glass. The glass stuff is easy to get rid of though. I'll experiment with light placement.

My lights are on from 11:30-10:30. They are on a timer.

Plant growth is ok so far. I'm seing some new growth from the ludwigia and jungle Valis. the swords look like they may be sprouting some smaller new leaves.

 

[TLEF316]

.25 ppm of nitrite present. Tank is starting to cycle again (finally)

ammonia- 1ppm

Nitrates 5 ppm (same as tap)

Ph- 7.0-7.2 (will try to hold it at around 0 with Kent Stable which arrived yesterday)

Hardness is still around 2 dhk, but the ph is holding strong, so i think we are ok

The Mexican oak leaf looks like its not gonna make it. I got a crappy specimen (too many leaves with holes in them) I'm gonna give it a few more days to rebound and then I'm gonna pull it. I had to move one of the swords, as it was right under the filter output and was getting beaten down a bit.

The daughter plant on my jungle val is starting to open up, which is cool. Ludwigia is growing real well, although some of the top leaves have brown algae.

 

[TLEF316]

pulled the Mexican oak leaf. it never had a chance. Other plants are growing well other than the algae (which is getting worse) I'm thinking its basically the result of the tank cycling. This happened when i first set up my tank and it eventually went away. I'm sure it will again.

Ammonia- ~1ppm

Nitrite around 1 ppm(we're definitely cycling now)

nitrate- around 10 ppm (up from yesterday, and in this case, thats good)

ammonia- (7.0-7.2) If anything, I'd like it to be lower. It should drop to around 6.8 with water changes and the new Kent stable stuff i just got.

Kh- around 3 dkh

Should i still be fertilizing? I don't want to feed the algae growth, but i need to give my plants a chance as well.

the algae is very frustrating (and its noticeable on the plants, which sucks, but I'll deal with it.)Thats what i get for not monitoring by Ph and letting all my bacteria die. At least the fish seem ok.

 

[DolphinsPhan]

 

[TheFanatic]

pulled the Mexican oak leaf. it never had a chance. Other plants are growing well other than the algae (which is getting worse) I'm thinking its basically the result of the tank cycling. This happened when i first set up my tank and it eventually went away. I'm sure it will again.Ammonia- ~1ppmNitrite around 1 ppm(we're definitely cycling now)nitrate- around 10 ppm (up from yesterday, and in this case, thats good)ammonia- (7.0-7.2) If anything, I'd like it to be lower. It should drop to around 6.8 with water changes and the new Kent stable stuff i just got.Kh- around 3 dkhShould i still be fertilizing? I don't want to feed the algae growth, but i need to give my plants a chance as well. the algae is very frustrating (and its noticeable on the plants, which sucks, but I'll deal with it.)Thats what i get for not monitoring by Ph and letting all my bacteria die. At least the fish seem ok.

I would cut back on the fertilization until the water chemistry levels out. Maybe not all the way just cut back. Put enough in to keep the plants alive but not enough for them to thrive just yet. When it evens out then kick it back up...

 

[TheFanatic]

Our ick seems to have passed. We lost the molly that gave birth (solves that problem), the pleco, and one tetra. I don't see any sign of ick on any of the remaining fish. The baby mollies are down to about 13 or so - we made some mistakes with them. We moved the two otocinclas back into the main tank, and there's a fresh coat of brown algae for them to eat anyway, so I'm guessing they'll come out of this just fine.I think my wife is getting addicted. She mentioned a saltwater tank. There's no way I'll do another tank, though - this hobby can run the wallet ragged.

Good to hear the ick is gone. Pesky stuff.I had some good and bad news over the weekend. I thought one of my 3 clown loaches didn't make it. Finally saw all 3 on the same day. Same goes for a Syno cat I bought. Finally saw all 3 (2 Decorus and 1 Multipunk) at the same time.Now for the bad news. My second biggest yellow lab had his face nearly torn off in a fight with the biggest one. It was gruesome. Really got wrecked. He lasted about 3 days. I pulled him from the tank to keep the bigger guy off him but he died anyway...I have some pics of the damage. I'll try to post them later. He was a mess...

 

[TLEF316]

Our ick seems to have passed. We lost the molly that gave birth (solves that problem), the pleco, and one tetra. I don't see any sign of ick on any of the remaining fish. The baby mollies are down to about 13 or so - we made some mistakes with them. We moved the two otocinclas back into the main tank, and there's a fresh coat of brown algae for them to eat anyway, so I'm guessing they'll come out of this just fine.I think my wife is getting addicted. She mentioned a saltwater tank. There's no way I'll do another tank, though - this hobby can run the wallet ragged.

Good to hear the ick is gone. Pesky stuff.I had some good and bad news over the weekend. I thought one of my 3 clown loaches didn't make it. Finally saw all 3 on the same day. Same goes for a Syno cat I bought. Finally saw all 3 (2 Decorus and 1 Multipunk) at the same time.Now for the bad news. My second biggest yellow lab had his face nearly torn off in a fight with the biggest one. It was gruesome. Really got wrecked. He lasted about 3 days. I pulled him from the tank to keep the bigger guy off him but he died anyway...I have some pics of the damage. I'll try to post them later. He was a mess...

ugh. that sucks. One of my rumm nosed tetras had a similar thing happen a few months back. Took a lot of damage.(although i doubt it was in a fight) Lost an eye and half of his face. He couldnt stay with the shoal anymore, and he was in bad shape. I put him out of his misery.

 

[TLEF316]

Ammonia= ZERO (finally)

Nitrite= 2 ppm

Nitrate=~15 ppm

Ph- 6.4-6.6

I did a 30% water change yesterday to keep some of the levels down. No doubt the new water contributed to the Ph drop. I'd prefer for it to stay in the 6.6-6.8 range. Unfortunately, the dkh is off the charts low. The Kh upper stuff that i got from kent says to only dose 1/8 of a tsp per 20 gallons, doing so once an hour until the wanted hardness is achieved. I just dosed it now and will check (and likely dose again) in an hour.

As long as i can keep a PH from dropping further, we are on the way back. I'm very happy about this. No ammonia is a great thing to see again. Fish look fine. Plants are growing well other than the algae. Hope they can recover after it is gone.

I also need to find a way to get disperse one of my filter outputs. It makes it impossible to put any plants in that section of the tank, as they get constantly bent by the waterfall. I had to move the sword that was there. Maybe something shorter and bushier would do better.

 

[TheFanatic]

Ammonia= ZERO (finally)

Nitrite= 2 ppm

Nitrate=~15 ppm

Ph- 6.4-6.6

I did a 30% water change yesterday to keep some of the levels down. No doubt the new water contributed to the Ph drop. I'd prefer for it to stay in the 6.6-6.8 range. Unfortunately, the dkh is off the charts low. The Kh upper stuff that i got from kent says to only dose 1/8 of a tsp per 20 gallons, doing so once an hour until the wanted hardness is achieved. I just dosed it now and will check (and likely dose again) in an hour.

As long as i can keep a PH from dropping further, we are on the way back. I'm very happy about this. No ammonia is a great thing to see again. Fish look fine. Plants are growing well other than the algae. Hope they can recover after it is gone.

I also need to find a way to get disperse one of my filter outputs. It makes it impossible to put any plants in that section of the tank, as they get constantly bent by the waterfall. I had to move the sword that was there. Maybe something shorter and bushier would do better.

Congrats on the water chemistry. Hope it stays level...As for the filter output...Rena Canister Filter Aim the spray bar wherever you like. Mine angles up slightly to the agitate the surface of the water...

I will say that I bought two of these things sight unseen off the internet and am absolutely amazed by them...

 

[TLEF316]

appreciate the advice, but there is no way I'm buying a new filter now. The ones i have work fine. Maybe down the road.

 

[TheFanatic]

appreciate the advice, but there is no way I'm buying a new filter now. The ones i have work fine. Maybe down the road.

I hear you. I bought new filters because when I gutted the 110 I yanked the undergravel filter and the two ginormous power heads. Seriously, I could push a bass boat with those things. So I bought a new one for the 110 and had to have one for the 75 as well. I have a Fluval 304 in my 55. I HATE it. Doesn't mean I'm buying a new Rena for it any time soon. Probably the next time I go to clean it out in a couple of months I'll get sick of it and dump it. But right now it works and works well. I just hate trying to get it reassembled when I clean it. I hear the 05 series is better at that but I LOVE these Rena Filters. And they are about 66% of the cost of the Fluvals...

 

[TLEF316]

appreciate the advice, but there is no way I'm buying a new filter now. The ones i have work fine. Maybe down the road.

I hear you. I bought new filters because when I gutted the 110 I yanked the undergravel filter and the two ginormous power heads. Seriously, I could push a bass boat with those things. So I bought a new one for the 110 and had to have one for the 75 as well. I have a Fluval 304 in my 55. I HATE it. Doesn't mean I'm buying a new Rena for it any time soon. Probably the next time I go to clean it out in a couple of months I'll get sick of it and dump it. But right now it works and works well. I just hate trying to get it reassembled when I clean it. I hear the 05 series is better at that but I LOVE these Rena Filters. And they are about 66% of the cost of the Fluvals...

yeah, i've still got the 2 aqua clear hang on backs. They work ok, although there are a few "dead spots" in the tank where fish waste tends to gather. I just vacume it up. Not a big deal. I like the surface agitation and current they provide. I just have to adjust my decor placement to avoid plant/substrate disturbance.

 

[TheFanatic]

appreciate the advice, but there is no way I'm buying a new filter now. The ones i have work fine. Maybe down the road.

I hear you. I bought new filters because when I gutted the 110 I yanked the undergravel filter and the two ginormous power heads. Seriously, I could push a bass boat with those things. So I bought a new one for the 110 and had to have one for the 75 as well. I have a Fluval 304 in my 55. I HATE it. Doesn't mean I'm buying a new Rena for it any time soon. Probably the next time I go to clean it out in a couple of months I'll get sick of it and dump it. But right now it works and works well. I just hate trying to get it reassembled when I clean it. I hear the 05 series is better at that but I LOVE these Rena Filters. And they are about 66% of the cost of the Fluvals...

yeah, i've still got the 2 aqua clear hang on backs. They work ok, although there are a few "dead spots" in the tank where fish waste tends to gather. I just vacume it up. Not a big deal. I like the surface agitation and current they provide. I just have to adjust my decor placement to avoid plant/substrate disturbance.

AQ makes the best HOB filters out there and have been doing so for 20 years.

 

[TLEF316]

appreciate the advice, but there is no way I'm buying a new filter now. The ones i have work fine. Maybe down the road.

I hear you. I bought new filters because when I gutted the 110 I yanked the undergravel filter and the two ginormous power heads. Seriously, I could push a bass boat with those things. So I bought a new one for the 110 and had to have one for the 75 as well. I have a Fluval 304 in my 55. I HATE it. Doesn't mean I'm buying a new Rena for it any time soon. Probably the next time I go to clean it out in a couple of months I'll get sick of it and dump it. But right now it works and works well. I just hate trying to get it reassembled when I clean it. I hear the 05 series is better at that but I LOVE these Rena Filters. And they are about 66% of the cost of the Fluvals...

yeah, i've still got the 2 aqua clear hang on backs. They work ok, although there are a few "dead spots" in the tank where fish waste tends to gather. I just vacume it up. Not a big deal. I like the surface agitation and current they provide. I just have to adjust my decor placement to avoid plant/substrate disturbance.

AQ makes the best HOB filters out there and have been doing so for 20 years.

other than the output disturbing plants and sand, I've been very happy with them. It can be worked around with proper decor placement.

 

[TheFanatic]

appreciate the advice, but there is no way I'm buying a new filter now. The ones i have work fine. Maybe down the road.

I hear you. I bought new filters because when I gutted the 110 I yanked the undergravel filter and the two ginormous power heads. Seriously, I could push a bass boat with those things. So I bought a new one for the 110 and had to have one for the 75 as well. I have a Fluval 304 in my 55. I HATE it. Doesn't mean I'm buying a new Rena for it any time soon. Probably the next time I go to clean it out in a couple of months I'll get sick of it and dump it. But right now it works and works well. I just hate trying to get it reassembled when I clean it. I hear the 05 series is better at that but I LOVE these Rena Filters. And they are about 66% of the cost of the Fluvals...

yeah, i've still got the 2 aqua clear hang on backs. They work ok, although there are a few "dead spots" in the tank where fish waste tends to gather. I just vacume it up. Not a big deal. I like the surface agitation and current they provide. I just have to adjust my decor placement to avoid plant/substrate disturbance.

AQ makes the best HOB filters out there and have been doing so for 20 years.

other than the output disturbing plants and sand, I've been very happy with them. It can be worked around with proper decor placement.

I thought you could adjust the output strength by swiveling the uptake tube...

 

[TLEF316]

appreciate the advice, but there is no way I'm buying a new filter now. The ones i have work fine. Maybe down the road.

I hear you. I bought new filters because when I gutted the 110 I yanked the undergravel filter and the two ginormous power heads. Seriously, I could push a bass boat with those things. So I bought a new one for the 110 and had to have one for the 75 as well. I have a Fluval 304 in my 55. I HATE it. Doesn't mean I'm buying a new Rena for it any time soon. Probably the next time I go to clean it out in a couple of months I'll get sick of it and dump it. But right now it works and works well. I just hate trying to get it reassembled when I clean it. I hear the 05 series is better at that but I LOVE these Rena Filters. And they are about 66% of the cost of the Fluvals...

yeah, i've still got the 2 aqua clear hang on backs. They work ok, although there are a few "dead spots" in the tank where fish waste tends to gather. I just vacume it up. Not a big deal. I like the surface agitation and current they provide. I just have to adjust my decor placement to avoid plant/substrate disturbance.

AQ makes the best HOB filters out there and have been doing so for 20 years.

other than the output disturbing plants and sand, I've been very happy with them. It can be worked around with proper decor placement.

I thought you could adjust the output strength by swiveling the uptake tube...

I can do so on the big one. I lower it for feeding time. It still moves the sand at the bottom, but i put a piece of wood there, so its not an issue.The issue with the smaller filter is that it barely fits on the tank. The space between the intake pipe and the media holding area is BARELY wide enough to fit on the wide rim of my 75 gallon tank. It's meant for smaller tanks. As a result, i can't adjust the output flow. (i know, its bizarre) That output isnt an issue with the sand. It's an issue with the sword underneath it, which isnt really rooted yet and has those long, delicate leaves still. It wont be an issue once it fills out, but now, it bends some the longer stems if i try to keep it there. So, i moved it for the time being.

 

[TheFanatic]

I can do so on the big one. I lower it for feeding time. It still moves the sand at the bottom, but i put a piece of wood there, so its not an issue.The issue with the smaller filter is that it barely fits on the tank. The space between the intake pipe and the media holding area is BARELY wide enough to fit on the wide rim of my 75 gallon tank. It's meant for smaller tanks. As a result, i can't adjust the output flow. (i know, its bizarre) That output isnt an issue with the sand. It's an issue with the sword underneath it, which isnt really rooted yet and has those long, delicate leaves still. It wont be an issue once it fills out, but now, it bends some the longer stems if i try to keep it there. So, i moved it for the time being.

I ran into the same problem when I refilled the 110 with all the sand on the bottom. I tried to put an AQ mini on the tank to help filter it. Wouldn't fit over the edge of the tank. The question I have is, do you need the smaller filter? Seems like extra work that may not be necessary. I think you are taking the right approach though. Move the plant, drop in a big rock there. Something that would look pretty cool is a piece of slate propped up over two rocks (one at each end) and an air stone buried underneath that is right in front of the output of the AQ. The bubbles go up and ride along the bottom of the slate and then up to the top but the flow will push them towards the front of the tank. I've done this before. It's a need effect. That and it will show you when the filter is getting clogged as the bubbles won't be pushed forward as much...

 

[TLEF316]

i believe that i do need the smaller filter. The larger filter left a few "dead spots" in the left side of the tank where wasted tended to sit and build up. This 2nd filter put a stop to that. I'd prefer to keep it in. I'm going to try and rig some sort of device to dispel the ouput over a larger area, so the water flow wont go as "deep" into the tank and disturb the taller plants. I'll probably try to rig some sort of plastic "ramp" that spreads out the water hitting hte surface.

 

[TheFanatic]

i believe that i do need the smaller filter. The larger filter left a few "dead spots" in the left side of the tank where wasted tended to sit and build up. This 2nd filter put a stop to that. I'd prefer to keep it in. I'm going to try and rig some sort of device to dispel the ouput over a larger area, so the water flow wont go as "deep" into the tank and disturb the taller plants. I'll probably try to rig some sort of plastic "ramp" that spreads out the water hitting hte surface.

Silicon sealant is your friend here...Although you will likely have to turn you filter off for a day for the sealant to dry...Leave the little guy on and leave the water in the big one so the bacteria doesn't die....You should be fine...

 

[TLEF316]

Update....

Ammonia has been at Zero for a few days now.

Nitrite reached a maximum about about 3 PPM and is now down to about .75 (I'm estimating, since its somewhere between 1 and .5)

Ph holding steady around neutral. The KH seems to fluctuate, but i can keep it around 4, which should be fine.

Strangely, the Nitrate readings are not jumping that high. They are only around 10. I'm attributing it to the plants sucking it up, which is obviously good news.

The plants are doing ok, although it seems like all the new leaves the swords are producing are coming up with holes in them. Not sure why. I think I'll get a better idea of how well they will grow after the cycle finishes and all the algae is cleared up. The jungle val, in particular is growing in great. It has already reached the top of the tank, and the daughter plant is opening up. The java fern got kinda ravaged by the algae, but i think it may recover. I think i may need to add another inch or so of sand, as the roots of the swords keep popping up.

Hopefully I'll be ready to start cleaning the tank up and re-stocking next weekend.

 

[TLEF316]

looks like the tank will be cycled tomorrow or Wednesday. Nitrite is down between .25 and .5 ppm. Ammonia is 0, Nitrates around 15. Ph holding steady at around neutral. KH is still around 3.

The tank looks like hell. I can't wait to clean it and trim up the plants. The Sagataria has started to sprout runners. They popped up from underneath the sand in the last day or so. very cool.

 

[TLEF316]

tank is finally cycled. The brown algae has subided, but there is white fuzz everywhere. Hopefully the water change gets rid of it. Should start re-stocking this weekend.

 

[TheFanatic]

Update....Ammonia has been at Zero for a few days now. Nitrite reached a maximum about about 3 PPM and is now down to about .75 (I'm estimating, since its somewhere between 1 and .5)Ph holding steady around neutral. The KH seems to fluctuate, but i can keep it around 4, which should be fine. Strangely, the Nitrate readings are not jumping that high. They are only around 10. I'm attributing it to the plants sucking it up, which is obviously good news. The plants are doing ok, although it seems like all the new leaves the swords are producing are coming up with holes in them. Not sure why. I think I'll get a better idea of how well they will grow after the cycle finishes and all the algae is cleared up. The jungle val, in particular is growing in great. It has already reached the top of the tank, and the daughter plant is opening up. The java fern got kinda ravaged by the algae, but i think it may recover. I think i may need to add another inch or so of sand, as the roots of the swords keep popping up.Hopefully I'll be ready to start cleaning the tank up and re-stocking next weekend.

Holes in Sword leaves? Usually that means a pleco.

 

[TLEF316]

nope. No pleco. The new leaves are just coming up with holes in them. The algae has subisded, so i'm gonna kick up the the ferts a little bit. Hopefully that will help the leaves develop better.

 

[TLEF316]

made some additions last night......

6 julli corys

3 panda corys (gonna give them one more shot. Don't want to leave the survivor without buddies)

3 bosemani rainbow fish

2 crypts

some thinner valis

dwarf hairgrass

I'm really happy with how the tank is looking now. Other than some hair algae on the swords (which is subsiding) and the ravaging the java fern took from the algae, i think the tank looks great. Once the plants start filling out, I'll take another look at what i want to do. One thing i will definitely be sticking in is a red tiger lotus. My guess is I'll end up filling out the tank with 1 or 2 more stem type plants and a lot of short bushy stuff to fill out the mid ground. I'm also gonna load up the middle piece of of wood with java ferns.

All stats are holding steady and all fish seem to be doing great. I know the rainbows are a little bit of a risk, but they seem to be getting along fine at the moment. The corys are all schooling together.

I'll post some pictures either tonight or tomorrow night.

 

[TheFanatic]

bought some more fish and took some fish shots. They can be found here

Still waiting on your pics TLEF

 

[top dog]

I'll share one of my tanks... This is my African Cichlid tank.

LINK

 

[TLEF316]

ugh, forgot to take the pictures. Don't have the camera here. Maybe tomorrow.

 

[TheFanatic]

I'll share one of my tanks... This is my African Cichlid tank.

LINK

Very nice. What are the dimensions of that tank? Do you have a stock list of what's in it?

 

[TLEF316]

Some new pics.....

The Ram

Panda close up

Full Tank Shot

Rainbow

Clown close up

Still having a slight algae issue (more than slight on the plants that were there during the cycle) But its getting better. Still having an issue with keeping some roots covered. The sand moves easily. But overall, things are going well. At this point, my main concern is that all the smaller fish are getting enough food. Looks like they are doing ok, but I'm monitoring it

 

[top dog]

I'll share one of my tanks... This is my African Cichlid tank.

LINK

Very nice. What are the dimensions of that tank? Do you have a stock list of what's in it?

It's a 55 gallon tank.. As far as what's in it... I had to look some of these up and there are a couple in there that I have no idea what they are off the top of my head...1 Yellow Lab

2 African Lace Cats

1 Synodontis Multpunctatus (Spotted African Catfish)

2 Orange Blotch

2 Ventustus

1 Electric Blue Johanni

1 Msobo Cichlid

1 Blueberry Cichlid

1 Blue Cobalt

1 Auruatus

1 kennyi

1 Zebra

2 unknown guys..

There might be one or two that I missed... I've had so many different ones in there over the years that I forget who comes and goes...