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My new (and first) tank-hints tips etc

8K views 79 replies 9 participants last post by  Nilet699 
#1 ·
First off...... hi people :)

Ok, So my little story..... I had decided that saving all my money had become boring, decided to treat myself and rather than buy a new 50" plasma, thought I'd get something I'd always wanted.... I'm 25 :) .. and get my first tank. Nearly went reef after chatting to a friend who actually has tropical, but Mrs said NO! And I'm kinda glad too.

So....I went out and bought myself an aqua one eurostyle 80, 180 ltr tank. I likes it :)

I will upload pics later as currently working..well... if someone would kindly link me the how to, or I'll find it once home.

Tank has now cycled using bottle cheat BUT one of my pieces of wood has not yet sank in my water butt and is stopping me from putting fish in as its so big it would cause the poor things too much stress/being squashed.

So, gives me a little time though to chat about where I want to go with the tank etc with you lot hopefully :)

Originally I wanted balas but have now decided that the tank would not suit them after too long....... it's (cm) 80 x 76 x 40. Works out at 215 ltr but after substrate and lil missing at top 180 sounds about right.

Ok, it will be a planted tank, have already had fun putting in one piece of wood that's kind of like a mini cave and attaching 2 anubias to the top of it, have other plants - can't remember the name now - currently in tank waiting for my other wood which is like a root system which I will plant them between etc creating nice shelter etc. Wish I could upload pics now.......

So, these are the fish I was interested in and was hoping for some advise on creating a good community;

Beosmani rainbow
Galaxy rasbora
Clown loach
Sunset platy
Couple of diff plecos- candy strip, well any of the stripey ones. Haha
Balas :-(
Red tail black shark
Black neon tetra.

And am always willing to take any advice/s suggestions etc.

Thanks in advance for any replies :)
 
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#47 ·
Does anyone have any idea what this is on my anubias? I've wiped it off on a previous occasion but as I presumed it's back. Is it bad for plant or fish? Should I remove it? And how?

Lots of questions there :)
 

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#48 ·
Does anyone have any idea what this is on my anubias? I've wiped it off on a previous occasion but as I presumed it's back. Is it bad for plant or fish? Should I remove it? And how?

Lots of questions there :)
Looks like algae or diatoms. If it easily comes off with your fingers, it is probably diatoms, often called brown algae. This is common in new tanks, but after 3 months should not return. If it does, look into the possible causes (low light, silicates in the tap water, organics).

If it does not easily come off, then it is a form of green or red algae, I always think related to brush algae. I see this but usually on plants closer to the surface (light source) and worst on filter spray bars. Light is obviously the cause. This should not be present on Anubias, which being a low light plant should not be in direct bright light. In the shade of other plants, or under floating plants,m should keep this off Anubias.

Any type of algae on plant leaves is a concern since it can increase to the point where it smothers the plant respiration and assimilation of nutrients.

Byron.
 
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#49 ·
Iv just given it the quick finger wipe check and it does indeed just wipe straight off. So I'm going to hope that as this tank isn't 3 months old yet it will disappear and I'll just continue to clean the plant. Thanks.

Next question, as I'm just full of them tonight and I can't find a good answer anywhere.... when putting new water in my tank, looks very cloudy and has 'bits' in it, look like small fibres. Any ideas here?
 
#50 ·
Water taken quickly from the tap can have a cloudy appearance. Mostly it's air bubbles. The fiber thing is puzzling. Try letting the water run for a little while before adding any to your bucket or whatever. Could be some sort of residue from the pipes. Then again, and this is really reaching, maybe it's just stuff being stirred up from the bottom.
 
#51 ·
I agree on the cloudiness, this is usual though it does partly depend upon the condition of the tap water, and this can vary depending where your municipality gets it, weather, etc. Normally this clears up overnight. I did my water changes this morning, and my tanks are still not crystal clear but they will be tomorrow (or should be:lol:).

If we have very heavy rains we sometimes see sediment in the tap water. Harmless to fish, though not nice to view through.
 
#52 · (Edited)
So I've gone to clean the tank today, and just wondering if this is the brown hair algae discussed in the thread previously?

Think it is, so should I take take the wood out and wipe it all off? Or....suggestions? If it's just leave it etc I don't mind just rather do the right thing with it
 

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#53 ·
So I've gone to clean the tank today, and just wondering if this is the brown hair algae discussed in the thread previously?

Think it is, so should I take take the wood out and wipe it all off? Or....suggestions? If it's just leave it etc I don't mind just rather do the right thing with it
That whitish/grayish fluff is not algae, it is fungus, at least from the photo. I would get that out of there. What type of wood? Are there fish in this tank? How long has the wood been in with fish?
 
#54 ·
Looking at the photo and the wood it looks much browner in the tank than the picture. Woods been in for about 3 weeks, same as fish who I would say have no ill affects etc. I'll get changed and take it out now, and take another pic, as didn't have time to clean earlier due to a funeral.
 
#56 ·
I'm sorry I can't be more definite; photos are difficult to judge these things. Your photos are quite good, not that.
 
#58 ·
And nooooooooooooo.... I appreciate the input! Can you give me any types of algae etc... I'm going to Google etc now, but tbh, if I have to bin the wood and anubias I'll deal with it, but I do love that piece of wood as its cavelike. Lol.
 
#59 ·
Most of the #### that came off wood getting it out of my tank stuck to the front pane of glass... wiped it off obviously and looked very brown on a yellow sponge.

Hell, ill throw in a pic of that too as I'm having a paranoid moment :)
 

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#60 ·
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#61 ·
Ok, so ignore the fish, this is the best picture of my substrate I have on my phone (I'm at work) and as usual have a wandering mind.

I'm definitely wanting time add a bristlenose pleco or 2 to my tank not too far down the line. So I'm wondering if the substrate should be changed to suit them. I'd quite happily change it out for dark sand if this was best as when I bought the substrate I just picked a pretty one. Haha.
 

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#62 ·
From the photo I can't tell if that gravel may be a bit rough, but that would be my concern. Soft-belly fish like the pleco can scrape themselves on gravel and rough rock, causing infections, which is why sand is preferred.

Loaches and corys would certainly be better over sand, if any of these may be down the road.

It is best to change a substrate at the beginning; once plants and fish become established this is more of a disruption to the system. There are a couple threads going presently about sand, and play sand is a common substrate for many of us. Check those out, or post questions here.

Byron.
 
#64 ·
Ok, well I think now, though the plants and fish, 6 tetras are in may be the time to do it then. I was thinking black sand then really, or a very dark one at least. I have read the sand threads and tbh don't really know the difference between the sands, though I gather play sand goes in a kids sandbox? But wanting black I presume my local maidenhead aquatics is probably the answer.

2 questions I have then, if I get black aquatic sand, is that all I need for the substrate? And secondly how do you clean it? What is considered clean? And lastly, would the 6 tetras be ok with 2 eon blue dwarf gouramis in a 54 ltr tank for an evening whilst I se this up?

Not 2 questions at all that was it. Sorry!
 
#65 ·
Ok, well I think now, though the plants and fish, 6 tetras are in may be the time to do it then. I was thinking black sand then really, or a very dark one at least. I have read the sand threads and tbh don't really know the difference between the sands, though I gather play sand goes in a kids sandbox? But wanting black I presume my local maidenhead aquatics is probably the answer.

2 questions I have then, if I get black aquatic sand, is that all I need for the substrate? And secondly how do you clean it? What is considered clean? And lastly, would the 6 tetras be ok with 2 eon blue dwarf gouramis in a 54 ltr tank for an evening whilst I se this up?

Not 2 questions at all that was it. Sorry!
Yes, sand is all you need for the substrate. You want about 2 inches depth overall. I know many like black substrates, but I have one and it shows the detritus the worst. A sand that is comprised of several colours will make the detritus less obvious. One reason I use play sand, second being its natural appearance, third its smoothness, fourth it is the least expensive.:)

As for cleaning, with substrate-rooted plants you rarely need to. During the water change you can run the siphon over the substrate to pick up loose matter; some tanks I do this, some I never do. With substrate-rooted plants you don't need to go poking or stirring the sand. I explain why in my article on bacteria.

The tetra will be fine with the gourami while you change this over. Do it early in the morning [say, an hour after tank lights come on], set aside the day so you are not rushed.

Byron.
 
#66 ·
Well, I took a small sample of my substrate to my lfs where I have a friend who works and he said what I have is more than fine for the bristlenose and loaches. The loaches I was thinking of getting, though not fully researched yet are polkadot loaches (or for you Byron, I know you love the scientific name.....botia kubotai :) )


My newest issue as god knows I love them..... my new, read finally waterlogged, driftwood has developed a nice white slime. I Think this is normal, and if I'm right it's bacteria having a pop at the nutrients left in it??? There is also a Very small stream of super small bubbles coming from it.
 
#67 ·
My newest issue as god knows I love them..... my new, read finally waterlogged, driftwood has developed a nice white slime. I Think this is normal, and if I'm right it's bacteria having a pop at the nutrients left in it??? There is also a Very small stream of super small bubbles coming from it.
Bubbles are just escaping air, not a problem. The slime may or may not be trouble; it is likely fungus. I had this on a branch and it nearly killed my fish, and I know others who have lost fish. Some fungus is safe, some is highly toxic. What type of wood? The toxic fungus is common on grapewood, manzanita and possibly mopani. I have never heard of it on Malaysian Driftwood.
 
#68 ·
I have absolutely no idea what wood it is. It was in a differentdry display tank when I bought my tank and I cheekily asked if I could have it, didn't think then to ask what it was. IWork wasn't cheap though! I can throw you a picture of the wood and the slime on it if you think it would help?
 
#69 ·
Yes.
 
#70 ·
Ok, wood pic was easy, the one of the 'slime' was a bit harder as had to zoom quite a bit and taking the wood out isn't an option at Will due to its size and awkwardness at doing so, and no doubt stress caused. Hope these help though.....
 

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#71 ·
I can say the wood with the fungus (and that is what this is) is not Malaysian Driftwood. I think it is manzanita, but won't insist on that. The colour is a bit odd, but that may be due to the lighting and/or camera.

With so many species of fungus, it is impossible to say if this one is toxic or not; that would take an examination under the microscope by a microbiologist. So, you have two options. One is to remove the wood, boil it as much as you can, and replace it to see if this reappears. Second is to remove it and forget it; I had to do this with mine, after my attempts to clean it worked for a couple months, then the blasted fungus returned and fish began dying because it was on the back side and I didn't see it at first. Third is to leave it and watch for any signs of trouble: water may begin to cloud, whitish cloudiness; fish will become listless, lethargic; respiration will quicken, then some upper fish may begin to stay near the surface, and then gasp for air. This is going much too far, and will likely kill the fish by this time. But if you are prepared to leave the wood, those are the signs to look for. Again, this fungus may be harmless, but there is no way to tell except as I've set out.

In my case, the corys were first to be affected; they got listless, breathing much heavier than normal. At that point I removed the wood and did a 75% water change that solved the problem with no fish loss. I scrubbed the wood in boiling water, then placed it in a non-fish tank for 3 months with no sign of fungus, so it went into another fish tank. After a few weeks, fish began dying and I discovered the fungus had reappeared, so the wood went out to the garden.

Byron.
 
#72 · (Edited)
This list is just for me as on phone - copy paspasting is fiddly -so i can look at the profiles and find the one I want. Haha

Ceratopteris cornuta*Echinodorus bleherae*Echinodorus cordifolius*Echinodorus major*Echinodorus X barthii*Helanthium bolivianus*Helanthium tenellum*Hydrocotyle leucocephala*Taxiphyllum barbieri
 
#74 ·
Oh and THINK your right JDM, seems aqua one do UK Australia and NZ.

Still, sure there must be another 80 cm wide tank in Canada that will fit nicely in your 81cm gap. Haha
 
#75 ·
It's actually not a gap, divider wall between two arches so it doesn't need to fit so much as to not be bigger. One item that I failed to mention, I am working with the wife factor. An aquarium was taboo until recently. We did pick out the unit together so I think changing it to a larger unit now might not go over well... I'm certain that she would notice the difference between a 25 and an 80 gallon tank.

Thanks for the info though. I do have a much larger space that an aquarium would fit nicely into... we'll see how number one goes first.

Jeff.
 
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