Advice for my 28L tank

**sbladerz** · 23rd May 2014, 12:57

Hi all,

first and foremost, im new to the forum and aquarium hobby.
i would greatly appreciate all the help that i can get.
recently i got a 28L tank (30*33*30) set with led light and the partitioned filter at the back (no idea what you call it.) I placed my tank in my bedroom where I would switch on the air conditioning at night.
i currently have 3 hi fin lyretail swordtails in it.

i noticed that the water surface of the tank is rather calm and still.
i read about aeration and agitation, hence i added an air stone to agitate and break the water surface.

these are all I have and I wonder if I need any other accessories or equipments to run my tank. Would I need any heater or chiller or any sort.

Thank you so much for reading.

**Urban Aquaria** · 23rd May 2014, 13:18

The tank you got is called an Internal Overflow Sump (IOS) tank.

Agitating the water surface with an air stone is good, it does help to promote oxygen exchange.

You could also angle the tank's pump output nozzle towards the water surface to create additional movement there. Alternatively you could even replace the output nozzle with a spray/rain bar attachment and that can help create movement across the water surface too.

The swordtails can grow quite large over time (up to 10cm or more), so do consider upgrading them to a larger tank in the future.

Fortunately, heaters and chillers are not a necessity for those type of fishes in your tank.

**vannel** · 23rd May 2014, 13:36

If the tank is an has an overflow system, there is no real need for additional movement since its already doing the same thing when it overflows to the filter compartment. Of course, if the idea was for additional oxygenation then by all means.

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**sbladerz** · 23rd May 2014, 13:55

Thanks for the replies guys. However I realised even with the IOS. The water surface is calm. Should I worry about the rate of gas exchange or It should be fine?
What if I decide to have a community perhaps maybe tetras and other tank mates while shifting my swordtail elsewhere. If that's the case, do I need any heater or chiller?
Day weather in Singapore could be quite warm and night time I switch on the air condition. Will the difference in temperature during day and night affect anything?
Thanks

**furyprix** · 23rd May 2014, 14:55

swordtails are pretty hardy fishes, and I believe they thrive in our tropical environment. no worries bro

they'll breed like rabbits under average conditions, just give the youngsters places to hide or use those internal breeding tanks our LFS sell. From experience, these live-bearing fishes suffer from fungus attacks pretty easy. For swordtails, they're strong and energetic, prone to suicides (jumping out of the tanks). So I'll suggest you to put in place a cover just incase. I've had many such cases in the past.

As UA mentioned, you probably should consider upsizing if you are to keep them for the long term..

If you're worrying about temperature of other community fishes, just pick those that are more hardy. I believe many do not keep their tanks chilled. well, i don't

**sbladerz** · 23rd May 2014, 15:09

Yes. I agree. I had one that suffered from fin rot I suspect. Sadly it pass away. However, I have been reading it's hard to breed this particular hi fin lyretail swordtail as the male's gonopodium is too long.
I hAve a male and two females. The male has been harassing and attacking the females non stop. I observed them and see the male biting the females.

**Urban Aquaria** · 23rd May 2014, 20:13

Originally Posted by sbladerz

Thanks for the replies guys. However I realised even with the IOS. The water surface is calm. Should I worry about the rate of gas exchange or It should be fine?
What if I decide to have a community perhaps maybe tetras and other tank mates while shifting my swordtail elsewhere. If that's the case, do I need any heater or chiller?
Day weather in Singapore could be quite warm and night time I switch on the air condition. Will the difference in temperature during day and night affect anything?
Thanks

Oxygen exchange still occurs on calm water surfaces, just not as much as with moving water surfaces. As long as you don't see the fishes gasping at the surface, it usually means they have enough dissolved oxygen in the water.

Chillers would only be necessary if you keep specifically sensitive livestock that need cooler water... the majority of fishes and most shrimps can tolerate higher temperatures for short periods of time. The main issue with high temperatures is less dissolved oxygen in the water, which you can solve with additional water movement or aeration. Though if you plan to keep shrimps like higher grade CRS then a chiller will help increase their survival rate during hot weather.

As long as the temperature change is gradual, like when you switch on the air-con and it slowly cools the room, the fishes have time to adapt and will be okay... just not dumping a bucket of ice water into the tank, that will definitely shock them.

Originally Posted by sbladerz

I hAve a male and two females. The male has been harassing and attacking the females non stop. I observed them and see the male biting the females.

Yeah, the chasing and harassing is typical male swordtail breeding behavior... due to the small tank size, the females don't have enough space to swim away and hide, so they tend to keep getting harassed. Thats one of the reasons why these fishes fare better and are less stressed in larger tanks.