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NatureGround >> Saltwater Aquarium
| 12/31/05 3:08 PM | |
CharlesLewis
470 
Edited: 31-Dec-05 Member Since: 01/01/2001 Posts: 2478 |
Don't get goldfish..they produce a ton of waste and crowd out other fish. I don't clean out my tanks that often, just change the filters and the water, maybe clean off the glass with a sponge. I have one tank with a betta, an algae eater, a few little barb guppies, and a luminescant shark (just a catfish, really). In another tank I keep African clawed frogs and the biggest goddamn goldfish you've ever seen. |
| 12/31/05 5:20 PM | |
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breakit
Edited: 31-Dec-05 Member Since: 01/01/2001 Posts: 3015 |
Great thread! I've had a few Beta's. I was always worried putting them in the big tank with other fish. Do they only fight with each other? |
| 12/31/05 5:26 PM | |
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BigEyedFish
95
Edited: 31-Dec-05 Member Since: 03/18/2002 Posts: 6081 |
Ive never kept the freshwater version, but here's a pretty sweet Marine Beta
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| 12/31/05 5:37 PM | |
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CharlesLewis
470
Edited: 31-Dec-05 Member Since: 01/01/2001 Posts: 2479 |
Bettas will fight anything with big, feathery fins. Also, a lot of other things will nip at bettas, since their fins are so long. I lost 2 bettas before I figured out it was my blind cave fish...I moved him to another tank. |
| 12/31/05 6:09 PM | |
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Andymac86
Edited: 31-Dec-05 Member Since: 08/29/2002 Posts: 725 |
nice tank im keeping freshwater atm but my 300g i got set up for salt i just gotta add a chiller when im ready im gonna build a predatory tank out of it should be fun |
| 12/31/05 6:57 PM | |
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BigEyedFish
95
Edited: 31-Dec-05 Member Since: 03/18/2002 Posts: 6082 |
Yeah, clowns might be the most interesting looking fish. The bluelines are cool too
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| 12/31/05 7:04 PM | |
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Shredley
Edited: 31-Dec-05 Member Since: 07/25/2002 Posts: 3773 |
that's a great looking aquarium! my folks had a 55 gallon reef tank until recently with some cool corals and fish. they still have a 150gal in-wall freshwater tank that's pretty cool. |
| 12/31/05 9:58 PM | |
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breakit
Edited: 31-Dec-05 Member Since: 01/01/2001 Posts: 3016 |
Thanks, Charles! I'll keep him by himself. |
| 12/31/05 10:13 PM | |
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Xtina
6
Edited: 31-Dec-05 Member Since: 04/11/2004 Posts: 8072 |
Cute. |
| 4/13/06 1:39 AM | |
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lionsdengrappler
Edited: 13-Apr-06 Member Since: 04/10/2003 Posts: 573 |
"I heard you have to clean the freshwater tanks every month- and by clean, they said, to drain it and scrub it and sanitize it. That doesn't seem right to me" that is way off! you have to have a biological filter, the good bacteria(s) that process the ammonia, nirites and nirates. these build up on the filter, rocks, substrate(gravel,sand,ect.)glass and so on. all you have to do for cleaning is good water changes (depending on you bioload) 10-20%. maybe 2 time a month. you can do it once a month if you vaccum the gravel, and get the collective mum (fish shit), and changing you filters when needed. |
| 4/13/06 1:25 PM | |
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yasonf
Edited: 13-Apr-06 Member Since: 06/13/2001 Posts: 941 |
I just got a freshwater tank and it is time for me to vacuum it out. There is a lot of buildup on the rocks and the glass. This is good right? Do I need to take my 2 fish out of the tank or should I just be careful about where I vacuum? |
| 4/13/06 3:11 PM | |
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CharlesLewis
470
Edited: 13-Apr-06 Member Since: 01/01/2001 Posts: 3174 |
No, just be careful....also, if you have a heater in the tank, either unplug it or make sure that it stays submerged, or it will crack. |
| 4/13/06 3:51 PM | |
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yasonf
Edited: 13-Apr-06 Member Since: 06/13/2001 Posts: 942 |
How good of a cleaning do I need to do? I know that I don't want to get rid of all the "good" build-up, but I don't want things in the tank to look dingy and dirty. When do I know when to stop the cleaning? |
| 4/14/06 4:14 PM | |
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john76
44
Edited: 14-Apr-06 Member Since: 01/01/2001 Posts: 7842 |
My site... it hasn't been updated in forever. I moved and my whole system is sitting in prop tanks in my basement. I lost a lot of corals... oh well http://home.comcast.net/~john76/wsb/html/view.cgi-home.html-.html |
| 4/14/06 4:20 PM | |
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john76
44
Edited: 14-Apr-06 Member Since: 01/01/2001 Posts: 7844 |
And if you want any info on reef stuff or just to look at cool tanks... this is the best site. www.reefcentral.com |
| 4/17/06 7:21 PM | |
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lionsdengrappler
Edited: 17-Apr-06 Member Since: 04/10/2003 Posts: 575 |
no, don't take the fish out, and the build up is it algea? what are you using to vaccum? just take the vaccum tube and go over the gravel, moving it around a bit, you should see the fish poo going up the tube. what kind of setup do you have? what are you using for filtration, lighting, and have you tested for ammonia, nirites or nirates? how long has it been set up for? do you know about the cycle? sorry about all the ?s, but I have been doing freshwater for over 10 years, and just started a reef :) |
| 4/17/06 7:36 PM | |
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lionsdengrappler
Edited: 17-Apr-06 Member Since: 04/10/2003 Posts: 577 |
as far as when to stop cleaning, just get the poo and make sure to take out about 10% of the water and put in fresh (ro/di if you have it) water. also is the tank where sunlight hits it? this will cause it to look dingy, because of algae. |
| 4/17/06 7:41 PM | |
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yasonf
Edited: 17-Apr-06 Member Since: 06/13/2001 Posts: 952 |
The build up is just algae. I am just using a "gravel vacuum". The one that just uses the pressure of the water to extract water through the tube and into a bucket I have. I have a 10 gallon tank, with 2 black mollies. One is a male and one is a female. The male is a real bastard, I think he killed another fish when I first got the two of them in there (after the first fish died, I got a female mollie and so far, everything is good). Filtration is just a normal "Bio-Filter". Lights are the ones that came with the tank package. I test the water every 3-4 weeks or so. I only got the tank at the beginning of the year. I have missed the last cleaning though, so it is going on about 5 weeks since the last tank cleaning. The cycle is the one where the "growth" has to occur to create a mini "ecosystem"? Is that the cycle you are talking about? |
| 4/18/06 4:17 PM | |
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lionsdengrappler
Edited: 18-Apr-06 Member Since: 04/10/2003 Posts: 578 |
sounds like you have it in order. for the algae, just get a small pleco or a snail. there are cheap chemicals too. the cycle is the process that the bacteria gets started,(also known as new tank syndrome) it goes through an ammonia spike, nirite spike and finally a nirate spike. your test should read 0ppm all the way across, but nirates will show small amounts after feedings and such( 20ppm) most I can say is to keep a check on the water changes, like a gallon every 3 weeks or so, since you have such a small bio-load. you could think about getting some small hardy plants, such as java fern and these will out compete the algea for nutrients, they are cheap and easy to grow. |
| 4/18/06 4:41 PM | |
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CharlesLewis
470
Edited: 18-Apr-06 Member Since: 01/01/2001 Posts: 3226 |
The only problem with plecos is, they don't stay small. Eventually they get big and lose the taste for Algae. Then they start molesting other fish for their slime coat. Don't get me wrong, I have one, and I love him, but they aren't tankmates for every fish. I have 3 tanks, and the benefit of being able shift fish around if they don't get along. |
| 4/19/06 12:17 AM | |
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lionsdengrappler
Edited: 19-Apr-06 Member Since: 04/10/2003 Posts: 580 |
I know about the plecos, I have 2 commons 8"-13", choco albino, rubbermouth, rhino,farlowallo, spotted bristlenose. looking to pick a mango (L47) I lost an 18" inch common to ich :( for a 10 gallon I think a rubbermouth will do fine for a long time, they stay small for a long time and only get to be 8", plus they only run about $4. he could look into getting a gold nugget, but they are $20, but don't get any bigger than 4-5" |
| 4/19/06 12:26 AM | |
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lionsdengrappler
Edited: 19-Apr-06 Member Since: 04/10/2003 Posts: 581 |
also, as far as them eating the slime coat, if you feed them aswell as letting them graze on the algae,this isn't a problem. I feed mine the algae disks, zucchini and shrimp pellets (bristlenose and farlowallo like a bit of meat) it is also good to have drift or bog wood, they chew and eat it for the minerals. |
| 4/19/06 12:26 AM | |
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CharlesLewis
470
Edited: 19-Apr-06 12:30 AM Member Since: 01/01/2001 Posts: 3230 |
Mine molests the Irridescant Shark, but the little guy just swims away, and has had no infections yet. He seems to suck on fish flakes, once they get soggy. I give him the discs, he eats a bit of it, here and there. He's one of my favorite fish to watch, when he's not hiding. |
| 9/23/10 11:21 PM | |
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BigEyedFish
95
Member Since: 3/18/02 Posts: 32609 |
Whoa old thread! Got a new tank coming next week. Its smaller than my current one by ten gallons, but much nicer. Bought a new house and want a cleaner looking and operating tank. Will PP shortly after |
| 10/7/10 9:37 AM | |
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BigEyedFish
95
Member Since: 3/18/02 Posts: 32867 |
Got the new setup rockin now. I downgraded in size to a 35g and am going to try making it a reef. Wish me luck. Will get better pics when the lights come on... |
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