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Khonda said:
Also the sand helps apparently as that can build up lots of bacteria.
Seems to be the case, I did lots of research when I first set it up which helped me avoid mistakes but can’t quite believe how easy it has been. Having a larger tank definitely helps, I had a fluval edge (23l) before this and I could never make it work.
If anyone wants more details you are more than welcome to message me, I can give a full rundown of the setup and what bits I think are crucial to it being successful.
Finally taken the plunge today and have ordered the same aqua oak 200l tank. Been umming and ahing for ages over sizes. Going from an ageing Roma 125. Little bit excited but it’s a 6-8 week wait apparently. Seems to be the case, I did lots of research when I first set it up which helped me avoid mistakes but can’t quite believe how easy it has been. Having a larger tank definitely helps, I had a fluval edge (23l) before this and I could never make it work.
If anyone wants more details you are more than welcome to message me, I can give a full rundown of the setup and what bits I think are crucial to it being successful.
First time I have attempted to transfer one tank of inhabitants to another so any tips welcome. I think I have a plan, but theres always something you don’t think of isn’t there….
mini me said:
Finally taken the plunge today and have ordered the same aqua oak 200l tank. Been umming and ahing for ages over sizes. Going from an ageing Roma 125. Little bit excited but it’s a 6-8 week wait apparently.
First time I have attempted to transfer one tank of inhabitants to another so any tips welcome. I think I have a plan, but theres always something you don’t think of isn’t there….
You can send me a private message if you want with your current setup and what you are going todo. I can give you an idea of how I would go about it.First time I have attempted to transfer one tank of inhabitants to another so any tips welcome. I think I have a plan, but theres always something you don’t think of isn’t there….
That was kinda part of the plan. Although I have a new filter, with a higher flow rate. Fluval 305 to 307. Plan is to transfer the media from the 305 into the new 307 one. But yeah I was thinking about adding some kick starter live stuff as well so I guess that confirms my thought somewhat. Intend to transfer as much substrate as poss too. Plus the decs and plants etc. Hoping it won’t be too painful.
mini me said:
Absolutely no offence intended. But I don’t tend to use pm’s. Prefer not to share my email with anyone I don’t know. But thanks for the offer.
I assumed you could do it without sharing emails? No offence taken! Very briefly then what I would do is:
If you can have both set up at the same time, do a full cycle and only move the fish over once this is done. I use ammonia to do this although you can buy a thing that does it more quickly.
If you need to transfer stuff straight away, move everything over (including water) and then slowly, over a couple of weeks, add more substrate and filter media etc. If you are going to use a larger pump get them running alongside each other initially. This will help the bacteria build up without getting overwhelmed and hopefully avoid the nitrogen cycle being kickstarted. Letting the tank get on the dirty side throughout this helps although do water changes if any of the levels are high.
Finally feeling like I'm winning the battle against cyano...
It's taken a lot of effort, and not without losses...
Added a powerhead, I now have around 6k l/hr total flow (in a 52l tank...).
I'm adding bacteria, phytoplankton and copepods every other day.
Three blasts with a turkey baster most days.
Two filter floss changes a day.
Lost an acan, sun coral, and some snails. There's a chalice which is looking decidedly ropey too.
This bugger is stunning, but has parked itself in the one spot I simply cannot see...
On another note, I'm moving home offices to a bigger room. My other half has said yes to a 'proper' tank - however is now pissed off with me for finding a great second hand buy... Apparently, the 'yes' is for after we've renovated the new office...
Oh, and picked up this awesome grumpy b
d. Could have added replacement snails to deal with the emerging hair algae - but this guy is far cooler. Needs a bigger tank though. 
It's taken a lot of effort, and not without losses...
Added a powerhead, I now have around 6k l/hr total flow (in a 52l tank...).
I'm adding bacteria, phytoplankton and copepods every other day.
Three blasts with a turkey baster most days.
Two filter floss changes a day.
Lost an acan, sun coral, and some snails. There's a chalice which is looking decidedly ropey too.
This bugger is stunning, but has parked itself in the one spot I simply cannot see...
On another note, I'm moving home offices to a bigger room. My other half has said yes to a 'proper' tank - however is now pissed off with me for finding a great second hand buy... Apparently, the 'yes' is for after we've renovated the new office...
Oh, and picked up this awesome grumpy b
d. Could have added replacement snails to deal with the emerging hair algae - but this guy is far cooler. Needs a bigger tank though. Edited by Sway on Tuesday 6th July 10:01
He's very well camouflaged!
I've started making a list for re-stocking later in the year - I went looking at the weekend around some LFS, and a couple of not so Local Fish shops.
As much as I did like by big tang gang, I think a couple of shoals of smaller fish may be in order and some non-toxic "oddballs".
One shop had a juvenile Oriental Flying Gurnard in that they didn't order and just arrived amongst a shipment.
It's a stunning stunning thing, but given the size they need, they are going to struggle to find a home for it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNzNoN7nHKM&ab...
I've started making a list for re-stocking later in the year - I went looking at the weekend around some LFS, and a couple of not so Local Fish shops.
As much as I did like by big tang gang, I think a couple of shoals of smaller fish may be in order and some non-toxic "oddballs".
One shop had a juvenile Oriental Flying Gurnard in that they didn't order and just arrived amongst a shipment.
It's a stunning stunning thing, but given the size they need, they are going to struggle to find a home for it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNzNoN7nHKM&ab...
One of the few advantages of being colour blind - I see through camouflage better!
Here's a less concealed pic:
He's quite a big boy. Got plenty to chow down on at the moment, then I'll provide nori/whatever he needs.
Planning for upgrade tank is in full swing. Flooring for new office arrives today. I've narrowed down to either d-d reef pro, or aquarium4life aqua v.
Current conundrum - 900 or 1200mm long? The 900 appeals as I could save a lot on lighting, the 1200 appeals cause it's bigger!
Flying Gurnard is an incredible fish - but it's utter nonsense coming into the hobbyist trade.
Here's a less concealed pic:
He's quite a big boy. Got plenty to chow down on at the moment, then I'll provide nori/whatever he needs.
Planning for upgrade tank is in full swing. Flooring for new office arrives today. I've narrowed down to either d-d reef pro, or aquarium4life aqua v.
Current conundrum - 900 or 1200mm long? The 900 appeals as I could save a lot on lighting, the 1200 appeals cause it's bigger!
Flying Gurnard is an incredible fish - but it's utter nonsense coming into the hobbyist trade.
My Algae blenny was a bugger, but comical - he had taken a dislike to one of the biggest tangs in the tank, so every time the big gentle giant went past he would get a nip from the blenny.
Given the size difference, by the time he turned around, blenny was back under a rock. There was never any injuries or harm caused, and it never bothered the other tangs, but I was thinking of rehoming him prior to boxfish-gate just to keep the peace. The sudden movements made the rest of the tangs a bit jumpy.
And there are far more, brighter and prettier looking blennies and Gobies to choose from - https://www.fishkeeper.co.uk/help-and-advice/marin...
Given the size difference, by the time he turned around, blenny was back under a rock. There was never any injuries or harm caused, and it never bothered the other tangs, but I was thinking of rehoming him prior to boxfish-gate just to keep the peace. The sudden movements made the rest of the tangs a bit jumpy.
And there are far more, brighter and prettier looking blennies and Gobies to choose from - https://www.fishkeeper.co.uk/help-and-advice/marin...
The other week, the Mrs and I went to the fish shop, the Mrs selected some fish but for the life of us, we cannot remember what they are called. I think they are possibly blue rams. We got two pairs. Over the last two days I noticed some odd behaviour from them. Tonight, the male fish is hanging around one particular leaf, which I noticed had some white speckles on there, I think they are eggs. Am I right? If so, what do I need to do to support them? I can try to get another tank if needed?
Pic of the eggs:
Tried to get a clearer pic of the fish.
Pic of the eggs:
Tried to get a clearer pic of the fish.
Rams are not an easy fish to rear. Being Cichlids the parents and especially the male do protect the eggs and fry, however it is quite hard to get suitable food down to the fry in a community tank and some will be predated upon by other fish. Rams are also on the sensitive side when it comes to water parameters and stability.
It would probably be too disruptive to move the plant with the eggs and the parents to another tank but removing all other fish to another tank may increase your success rate- but you can’t necessarily expect success with Rams, especially in this circumstance where they have just been through the stress of moving.
It would probably be too disruptive to move the plant with the eggs and the parents to another tank but removing all other fish to another tank may increase your success rate- but you can’t necessarily expect success with Rams, especially in this circumstance where they have just been through the stress of moving.
We've had similar with our Angels. They clean an area, then shoo the others away from it, lay the eggs and have then ended up eating them all.
They're lasting longer each time (3 batches so far, on the filter, a broad leaf, and the slate cave) with the last lot around 36 hours. Figure there's not much we can do and will let nature take its course.
They're lasting longer each time (3 batches so far, on the filter, a broad leaf, and the slate cave) with the last lot around 36 hours. Figure there's not much we can do and will let nature take its course.
I am having issues with either brown algae or plant growth, depending on how long I keep the light on.
I am currently using an adaptor to my LED light, which can be programmed with various brightness settings throughout the day.
My LED light is a clip on jobbie that came with my tank (Aquaone Oak). Not too sure if it's full spectrum but does have 3 rows of LED.
The clip has an advantage of allowing me to easily adjust position of the light.
I've came across the Fluval LED light from a fish keeping group that I am in.
Love that I can program using an app, to control various light settings. I have been told that this would also prevent algae issue.
However I am not sure about the mounting, as this seems to sit pretty close to the tank and I am worried that it will heat the water up.
Obviously, also not too sure about the price, so the width of my tank I am looking at over £200 ...
Anyone here have any experiene with this light? Is it really that good?
https://fluvalaquatics.com/us/plant-spectrum/
I am currently using an adaptor to my LED light, which can be programmed with various brightness settings throughout the day.
My LED light is a clip on jobbie that came with my tank (Aquaone Oak). Not too sure if it's full spectrum but does have 3 rows of LED.
The clip has an advantage of allowing me to easily adjust position of the light.
I've came across the Fluval LED light from a fish keeping group that I am in.
Love that I can program using an app, to control various light settings. I have been told that this would also prevent algae issue.
However I am not sure about the mounting, as this seems to sit pretty close to the tank and I am worried that it will heat the water up.
Obviously, also not too sure about the price, so the width of my tank I am looking at over £200 ...
Anyone here have any experiene with this light? Is it really that good?
https://fluvalaquatics.com/us/plant-spectrum/
We have the Fluval BT LED unit that came with the Roma200. Not the full spectrum but does have RGB LEDs as well as the white ones.
No heat can be felt on the light emitting side, and barely noticeably warm on the top side.
Really like the app, allows a gradual change in the intensity, and you can make it a little warmer / yellower at sunrise and sunset times and bring up the blue towards night time.
No heat can be felt on the light emitting side, and barely noticeably warm on the top side.
Really like the app, allows a gradual change in the intensity, and you can make it a little warmer / yellower at sunrise and sunset times and bring up the blue towards night time.
Chester draws said:
We have the Fluval BT LED unit that came with the Roma200. Not the full spectrum but does have RGB LEDs as well as the white ones.
No heat can be felt on the light emitting side, and barely noticeably warm on the top side.
Really like the app, allows a gradual change in the intensity, and you can make it a little warmer / yellower at sunrise and sunset times and bring up the blue towards night time.
Yes, I seen the other version as well. Is the only differential between that and the more expensive one the full spectrum LEDs?No heat can be felt on the light emitting side, and barely noticeably warm on the top side.
Really like the app, allows a gradual change in the intensity, and you can make it a little warmer / yellower at sunrise and sunset times and bring up the blue towards night time.
Main reason I am considering this is for my plants. I can’t seem to get the lighting right. Too long/bright and I get outbreak of brown algae, and if the opposite my plants seem to suffer.
‘Light is light’ within reason so if you are having absolute failure with plants there are likely other factors at play. What are you feeding them? What substrate are they planted in?
It certainly isn’t necessary to spend hundreds on lighting to have success with plants. Aquatic plants are shade plants by their very nature, surviving in the wild only on the sunlight which reaches the water’s surface and filters through the water column- probably not entirely different from an aquarium in a room in daylight with no artificial lighting at all.
It certainly isn’t necessary to spend hundreds on lighting to have success with plants. Aquatic plants are shade plants by their very nature, surviving in the wild only on the sunlight which reaches the water’s surface and filters through the water column- probably not entirely different from an aquarium in a room in daylight with no artificial lighting at all.
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