Show me your aquarium
Discussion
Ransoman said:
otolith said:
anxious_ant said:
Also, does anyone here have experience using "Fluval Water Conditioner"? From the blurb it's good for removing Chlorine and Chloramine and also reducing stress in fish. However someone mentioned that the natural Valerian root herb extract it contains might not be good for the fish?
The active ingredient of dechlorinators costs about a fiver a kilogram from Amazon. Substantially less in bulk. The other ingredients - herbal extracts, aloe vera, metal chelating substances, whatever - are there to justify a higher sticker price on a bottle containing pennies worth of sodium thiosulphate.LordGrover said:
I used to work for one of the aquarium and pond treatment manufacturers. The cost of the bottle, cap and label exceeded the cost of the chemicals.
Perhaps things have changed in since the 80's, but I doubt it.
Yep. But like the Dr Tim's ammonium chloride solution, you are paying for someone else to weigh and measure and dilute and package it and supply instructions. Same situation with planted tank fertilizers, except that a lot of people do actually buy the raw chemicals for that.Perhaps things have changed in since the 80's, but I doubt it.
Scape done, sand in, water and salt added and given 48hrs with floss in the overflow to catch all detritus.
Dr Tim's went in this morning, and ammonia dosed to 2ppm. Tested a few hours later and it's down to 0.5ppm... Nitrite is at 0.01ppm. Will be tracking daily, and dosing back up to 2ppm as soon as ammonia tests at zero.
Slightly cloudy thanks to the Dr Tim's, but happy so far.
Still deciding on fish stocks (corals are mostly planned out). Purple firefish is a must, then thinking yellow or citron clown goby and a pink streaked wrasse. Any thoughts welcomed though!
View from my desk chair:
Oh, and 3d printed a feeding hole cover to stop firefish jumping.
Dr Tim's went in this morning, and ammonia dosed to 2ppm. Tested a few hours later and it's down to 0.5ppm... Nitrite is at 0.01ppm. Will be tracking daily, and dosing back up to 2ppm as soon as ammonia tests at zero.
Slightly cloudy thanks to the Dr Tim's, but happy so far.
Still deciding on fish stocks (corals are mostly planned out). Purple firefish is a must, then thinking yellow or citron clown goby and a pink streaked wrasse. Any thoughts welcomed though!
View from my desk chair:
Oh, and 3d printed a feeding hole cover to stop firefish jumping.
Sway said:
Scape done, sand in, water and salt added and given 48hrs with floss in the overflow to catch all detritus.
Dr Tim's went in this morning, and ammonia dosed to 2ppm. Tested a few hours later and it's down to 0.5ppm... Nitrite is at 0.01ppm. Will be tracking daily, and dosing back up to 2ppm as soon as ammonia tests at zero.
Slightly cloudy thanks to the Dr Tim's, but happy so far.
Still deciding on fish stocks (corals are mostly planned out). Purple firefish is a must, then thinking yellow or citron clown goby and a pink streaked wrasse. Any thoughts welcomed though!
I have a Tangaroa goby paired with a pistol shrimp somewhere in the depths of my tank that I keep thinking would do well in a Nano reef - I have a few spare tanks for quarantine and copepod harvesting in the garage that I could re-purpose, but the though of trying to dig out two creatures from the tank would be nothing short of traumatic for me and the fish.Dr Tim's went in this morning, and ammonia dosed to 2ppm. Tested a few hours later and it's down to 0.5ppm... Nitrite is at 0.01ppm. Will be tracking daily, and dosing back up to 2ppm as soon as ammonia tests at zero.
Slightly cloudy thanks to the Dr Tim's, but happy so far.
Still deciding on fish stocks (corals are mostly planned out). Purple firefish is a must, then thinking yellow or citron clown goby and a pink streaked wrasse. Any thoughts welcomed though!
https://www.liveaquaria.com/product/2112/?pcatid=2...
S11Steve said:
I have a Tangaroa goby paired with a pistol shrimp somewhere in the depths of my tank that I keep thinking would do well in a Nano reef - I have a few spare tanks for quarantine and copepod harvesting in the garage that I could re-purpose, but the though of trying to dig out two creatures from the tank would be nothing short of traumatic for me and the fish.
https://www.liveaquaria.com/product/2112/?pcatid=2...
That's a stunning fish Steve! https://www.liveaquaria.com/product/2112/?pcatid=2...
Do you think they'd do OK with an inch depth of sand? One thing I was slightly worried about with a goby/shrimp pair is them covering sand based corals constantly - do you think this would be a problem once they've decided where they want to setup camp?
Sway said:
That's a stunning fish Steve!
Do you think they'd do OK with an inch depth of sand? One thing I was slightly worried about with a goby/shrimp pair is them covering sand based corals constantly - do you think this would be a problem once they've decided where they want to setup camp?
Mine lives under a rock crevice with nothing more than a small pile of sand next to it, pops out for food, goes back in again. The hole of choice does move around a bit, but it is nowhere near as "sprinkly" as a blue cheek goby for example.Do you think they'd do OK with an inch depth of sand? One thing I was slightly worried about with a goby/shrimp pair is them covering sand based corals constantly - do you think this would be a problem once they've decided where they want to setup camp?
My recently acquired Engineering Goby however... he's a good 10", looks like a snowflake eel and has made me glad that my rock is stable and epoxy'd together. I've pretty much given up on corals - I have some softies dotted around, but I do like the characteristics of fish, more than the colours of corals.
Definitely sounds like a strong contender along with a pink streaked wrasse and purple firefish.
I think a local LFS has hifin gobies in, might see if they can get a pistol for one to pair up with.
Tank is going to me more focused on corals than fish - fish are only really there for their waste and a bit of additional movement...
Sod's law if I get a shrimp/goby pair, they'll choose the side of the tank I can't see!
S11Steve said:
Sway said:
Oh, and has anyone (particularly marine keepers) used "spotless water"?
There's one ten minutes from me. 3.5p per litre of guaranteed 0tds water seems very, very cheap!
Only once to see how it worked, but I felt a bit guilty at not spending with my local fish shop. I do have a large 5 stage RODI filter in a box ready to install at some point in the future, but I like my weekly visit to see the local fish guys.There's one ten minutes from me. 3.5p per litre of guaranteed 0tds water seems very, very cheap!
I'm 300 miles away from home, the return pump on my tank has died after 5 years of constant use and pumping 8000 litres per hour. My LFS is usually closed on a Monday, but after a panicked call from the other half, he is going into the shop ti collect a new pump and going over to the house to install it for me.
And that is why I'd rather pay a few extra quid than ordering something online.
As the old saying goes, "cheap, but at what cost?"
That's awesome service.
I'm still cycling. Dr Tim's was out of date and seemingly ineffective. Zero movement in ammonia based on daily tests.
Took a drive to Reefdreams in Winchester, about an hour away. Came home with some refrigerated Fritz TurboStart900, 50l of premixed saltwater (which was really cheap!) and left a sticker on a tank claiming a purple firefish as mine...
Since adding half the bottle of Fritz, I've seen daily movement on the cycle. Ammonia is now trace on the Salifert kit. Nitrite hit 4ppm three days ago and is now around 1ppm.
Should be good for fish this Friday. Will have to do some chunky water changes though - nitrate is sky high (although I think that's slightly effected by there being measurable nitrite). Good job I picked up some water!
My pet rocks and sand:
I'm still cycling. Dr Tim's was out of date and seemingly ineffective. Zero movement in ammonia based on daily tests.
Took a drive to Reefdreams in Winchester, about an hour away. Came home with some refrigerated Fritz TurboStart900, 50l of premixed saltwater (which was really cheap!) and left a sticker on a tank claiming a purple firefish as mine...
Since adding half the bottle of Fritz, I've seen daily movement on the cycle. Ammonia is now trace on the Salifert kit. Nitrite hit 4ppm three days ago and is now around 1ppm.
Should be good for fish this Friday. Will have to do some chunky water changes though - nitrate is sky high (although I think that's slightly effected by there being measurable nitrite). Good job I picked up some water!
My pet rocks and sand:
Turn7 said:
Chuck a prawn in and be patient..... 
Why? Tank is currently processing 1ppm ammonia in 24 hours, 5 days after adding half a bottle of Fritz... All a prawn is providing is an ammonia source, which I'm providing as a pure additive. I'm just not waiting on the bacteria to slowly culture in the water through contact with air/rock - I'm throwing in a live culture ready made.
I was a huge skeptic, but I've seen too many examples (highly monitored, and independent) that show how well it works. It's the natural cycle, just done in a third or quarter the time.
Having been away a lot over lockdown with just someone feeding my fish, the planted tank in the conservatory was a mess. It needed lots of maintenance with fertiliser dosing, water changes and trimming and while I was away the algae went berserk and smothered all of the delicate plants. Clearly I can't run a high maintenance setup with low maintenance, so have conceded defeat. In have gone some crypts, some Echinodorus, some Hygrophilia. The thugs can scrap it out amongst themselves and hopefully push the algae back.
There are now more critters in the clean up crew than are there in their own right, and I've given up on the geographic purity. I've got bristlenoses, otocinclus, nerite snails, amano shrimp and flying foxes. Hopefully it will stabilise soon, or else I'm going for a full reboot, new substrate and plants, with all the new tank syndrome risk that a major rebuild carries.
There are now more critters in the clean up crew than are there in their own right, and I've given up on the geographic purity. I've got bristlenoses, otocinclus, nerite snails, amano shrimp and flying foxes. Hopefully it will stabilise soon, or else I'm going for a full reboot, new substrate and plants, with all the new tank syndrome risk that a major rebuild carries.
Sway said:
Turn7 said:
Chuck a prawn in and be patient.....
Why? Tank is currently processing 1ppm ammonia in 24 hours, 5 days after adding half a bottle of Fritz... All a prawn is providing is an ammonia source, which I'm providing as a pure additive. I'm just not waiting on the bacteria to slowly culture in the water through contact with air/rock - I'm throwing in a live culture ready made.
I was a huge skeptic, but I've seen too many examples (highly monitored, and independent) that show how well it works. It's the natural cycle, just done in a third or quarter the time.
otolith said:
Having been away a lot over lockdown with just someone feeding my fish, the planted tank in the conservatory was a mess. It needed lots of maintenance with fertiliser dosing, water changes and trimming and while I was away the algae went berserk and smothered all of the delicate plants. Clearly I can't run a high maintenance setup with low maintenance, so have conceded defeat. In have gone some crypts, some Echinodorus, some Hygrophilia. The thugs can scrap it out amongst themselves and hopefully push the algae back.
There are now more critters in the clean up crew than are there in their own right, and I've given up on the geographic purity. I've got bristlenoses, otocinclus, nerite snails, amano shrimp and flying foxes. Hopefully it will stabilise soon, or else I'm going for a full reboot, new substrate and plants, with all the new tank syndrome risk that a major rebuild carries.
Thats why I gave up on planted tbh, got sick of throwing huge amounts of cuttings away every week.....There are now more critters in the clean up crew than are there in their own right, and I've given up on the geographic purity. I've got bristlenoses, otocinclus, nerite snails, amano shrimp and flying foxes. Hopefully it will stabilise soon, or else I'm going for a full reboot, new substrate and plants, with all the new tank syndrome risk that a major rebuild carries.
I've been there with a high light/high nutrient planted tank.
Find it much more relaxing dropping the light and tech, and keeping it simple.
My Amano Shrimp are utter giants though, had them for 18 months now and they're the biggest things in the tank.
I'm also going to start selling assassin snails. Bought two to deal with a pest snail issue... Now have "many"...
Find it much more relaxing dropping the light and tech, and keeping it simple.
My Amano Shrimp are utter giants though, had them for 18 months now and they're the biggest things in the tank.
I'm also going to start selling assassin snails. Bought two to deal with a pest snail issue... Now have "many"...
Unfortunately, the location makes high light unavoidable and there's nowhere else to put it. It worked fine as a high light / ferts / fire extinguisher CO2 system at the old house, but now it's VERY high light. I could probably turn up the CO2, but it's so easy to gas everything! So a switch to easier plants seems the thing to do.
I loved my Mbuna, but they are such evil s
ts ! It gets depressing coming home to find a favourite battered to death every other day......
I bought a 250 Reefer setup to get me into Marines, but we are now planning on moving house, so thats going to get sold before I even get it wet.....
ts ! It gets depressing coming home to find a favourite battered to death every other day......I bought a 250 Reefer setup to get me into Marines, but we are now planning on moving house, so thats going to get sold before I even get it wet.....
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