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A piece of good driftwood works wonders. Place it such that there's a visual flow from left to right, thus complementing your elodea.
I have spent a lot of time looking at some of the amazing tanks in this thread and it is obvious that you guys spend a lot of time on your projects. I am new to setting up tanks and I am posting a couple of pictures of the one I have been working on for about 6 weeks with my daughter in the hope I can get some advice on how to make it more natural, yet keep it fun at the same time. The tank is a JEBO R362 which is 400mm x 400mm x 400mm and has a built in filter system, which works well, and also 2 fluoro lights in the lid. In it we have 2 swordfish, 4 yellow/black platys, 6 neon tetras, 3 sucking catfish, 2 rainbow fish, 2 kissing gouramis and 4 sharkfish. (They are not called sharkfish as I don’t know their real name. They are grey fish with black fins, gill and tails) I am using a product called ‘Flourish excel’ to feed the plants and it says it is ‘a source of bioavailable organic carbon. The aquarium shop recommended it and as I have just started to use it, I am not sure if it is a good product or not. The 'nemo' type fish in the foreground is an ornament that has an air tube attached to it and blows off bubbles every now and then. Any advice that you can give on the tank will be very much appreciated and I thank you for taking the time to view this post.
Last edited by alan53; 29th Oct 2006 at 09:12. Reason: In case the pictures are too large for people to open
A piece of good driftwood works wonders. Place it such that there's a visual flow from left to right, thus complementing your elodea.
It seems you are pumping air bubbles in the tank via an airpump is it?
It is indeed via an airpump. I am not sure if it has any value other than the fish seem to enjoy swimming through the bubbles.Originally Posted by AquaObsession
[squee] I like the idea of driftwood but when I suggested it to my daughter she was not that keen on the idea. I will of course be applying 'pressure' on her to change her mind, as I think it is an excellent suggestion. Thank you.
Get more plants, be easier to create the kind of look you want.
The Happiest of people don't neccessary have the best of everything;
they just make the most of everything that comes along their way
When will there be 25 letters in the alphabets?
if you wants a planted tank, it is advisable not to inject air bubble. YOur plants do not like it. However, if plants are only optional, then if you are caring more for the fishes, then your setup is okay
I never knew that. I would love to have more plants in the tank but I am not sure how many the system will support. Can anybody advise me on the fish that we have? Is it too many for the size of tank?if you wants a planted tank, it is advisable not to inject air bubble. YOur plants do not like it.
Resistance is futile, you will be administrated!
Alan,
What do you want? A planted tank? If so, there's lots wrong with it. I understand you want to keep it simple and fun, but without the fundamentals, it's going to be neither simple nor fun.
Plants need light and nutrients including CO2.
Lights
How many watts do you have on the tank right now? The guideline is about 2 to 3 Watts of flourescent light per US Gallon (WPG) of water. If you do not want to do too much work, I would suggest you go for the lower end. Perhaps 2.5WPG.
Nutrients
CO2 - Plants require carbon dioxide. Flourish Excel provides that for your tank. And that's about all it provides. Excel is only sufficient for low light tanks. For high light tank, CO2 gas injection would be better. You can stick to excel for now, but you will need to use less demanding plants.
Others - Water plants require fertilisers like land plants. Flourish is an excellent range. Just get Flourish (i.e. not Flourish Iron, Flourish Nitrogen, etc, Just Flourish). The website is here. You are interested in the first item in the menu on the left of the page.
Normally, we would put fertilisers in the substrate as well. The bottom most layer usually. Them topped off with an inch or two of gravel.
Your gravel is too large. You should be using something with grains about 2 to 3 mm in diameter. The large gravel makes it hard for the plants to root properly. Too fine and the gravel will compact and crush the roots.
My Suggestions If you don't want to redo the whole tank
- Get more light, up to 2 to 2.5 WPG.
- Stick to excel.
- Get low light plants that can grow attached on driftwood. Such plants would be Java ferns, Anubias, and Moss.
- Do not get anymore fish.
The reason the other guys ask you not to aerate the tank is because we normally dissolve CO2 gas into the water for the plants. Aeration will work against that by removing the CO2 alrady dissolved into the water.
In your case, it's ok to continue aerating the tank. Because:
1. You are using Excel, which is NOT CO2 but a organically available form of Carbon. Plants actually only want the Carbon in CO2.
2. Since you are not injecting CO2, the plants will use up the available CO2 in your water. The only way CO2 comes back into the water is to osmosise (is there such a word?) back into the water at the water surface. Bubbling in this actually helps to hasten the process.
All this of course is under assumption that the plants use up the CO2 in the water faster than CO2 is re-absorbed into the water. If this is not the case, the bubbling is still not harmful as it will simply keep the CO2 ambient levels in the tank.
3. If your plants are not given enough to grow, they will not provide enough O2 for the fishes. In which case the bubbling is a failsafe to keep the tank oxygenated.
Right. That's all the time I have for now. Do look around the forum for more info. You can start with the stickies in the Beginner's Forum. I am also moving your thread over there.
Vincent - AQ is for everyone, but not for 'u' and 'mi'.
Why use punctuation? See what a difference it makes:A woman, without her man, is nothing.
A woman: without her, man is nothing.
The plants are not real right? Look like plastic to me.
If they are real, not going to last a month.
The sharkfish is called Bala shark (Balantiocheilos melanopterus). It needs a big tank to swim and very prone to jumping out of the tank.
Last edited by Orion; 29th Oct 2006 at 13:39. Reason: Add more info
Vinz, thank you so much for giving me the time you did to answer my many questions. I have printed off your reply and will progressively work my way through all the information that you kindly supplied.
Orion, yes the plants are real with the exception of the thin leafed one in fron of the wall. That one is fake. But I do understand why you say they will die as I do not have the base of the tank suitable for them to grow. Thank you for the replies my friends, I have more then enough to go away and start afresh with the tank.
I don't think he has bala shark in there. In the pictures the grey fish with black fins appear to be a phantom tetra, they are ok.(However it amazes me that the fish shop owner can come up with this name. Sharkfish,my @$$). I am rather concerned about the kissing gourami though. It may become too big for the tank.The plants are not real right? Look like plastic to me.
If they are real, not going to last a month.
The sharkfish is called Bala shark (Balantiocheilos melanopterus). It needs a big tank to swim and very prone to jumping out of the tank.
The nemo will stress out the fish with the bubble explosion.(Ref: Watch "finding Nemo", look for the psychotic yellow fish))
Bryan, after looking on google I can say that you are spot on. The fish is indeed a phantom tetra. To be fair to the fish shop owner it was me that called it a sharkfish as I didnt know the real name for it. I guess I should have said a 'shark-like fish' I understand what you are saying about the bubble explosion and I disconnected it straight after reading your post. Kissing gourami's get big? Oh wow. I only got them because my daughter liked them. Maybe by the time they grow I will have set up my larger tank and they can go into that.
Resistance is futile, you will be administrated!
Alan53, this is part of the education for you and your daughter. Learn about the fish before you buy it. Same with any kind of pets. Can you feed them easily, how big will they grow, are they suitable for community tanks, do they need to school, do they need hidey-holes, do they prefer still water or moving water, etc.
You might also select fish based on their usual swimming zone... i.e. top water, middle water or lower water/substrate skimming. To give your tank a nicer balance of activity.
Vincent - AQ is for everyone, but not for 'u' and 'mi'.
Why use punctuation? See what a difference it makes:A woman, without her man, is nothing.
A woman: without her, man is nothing.
Hi Bryan & Alan53
My mistake.
I read Shark & got too excited.
Last edited by Orion; 12th Nov 2006 at 09:32.
Hey no problem, at least Alan53 now knows what a bala shark looks like too. And no alan, a bala shark cannot fit in your tank.Hi Bryan & Alan53
My mistake.
I read Shark & got too excited.
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