Some relatives were looking to unload a 40g aquarium. The kids were supposed to be taking care of it, but I think 'benign neglect' probably best describes the maintenance. They admitted that the fish maybe got fed once per day, and sometimes not even that. Unsure of their WC schedule (if any). I have always had a soft spot for fish...
The sides were covered in deposits of green dot algae, and the canopy and filter had huge amounts of scale built up on them. We drained the water about halfway down, and transferred the 3 fish into a plastic beef jerky jar with a small hole in the lid for gas exchange. The kids did some scrubbing while we drained the rest of the water.
We made the 100 mile drive back home with the fish in the jerky jar. It was about midnight Sunday when we got back. Discarded the ghastly blue gravel and the neglected UGF system and brought it inside. Added play sand for substrate. Didn't have a bucket, so put the sand in the aquarium, and added about 10 gal of water. Put an airstone in the jerky jar w/ the fish. Scrubbed the algae deposits for about 3 hours with a plastic potscrubber. Made a pretty good dent, but didn't get it all. Close to 4am at this point. Drained the tank, refilled with about 10 gal and drained again. Filled the tank 3/4, added Prime and Stability and set the jerky jar in the tank to let the temp equalize to the aquarium. Added some neutral buffer and pH down as our tap runs about 7.8 pH.
Over the next 2 hours, I slowly poured aquarium water into the jerky jar as it was floating. It eventually sank, and the fish swam out after being tempted with some food. Decided to check the chem today. Apparently the heater is malfunctioning - temp was 82 (heater set to 75)
Current parameters:
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0.25 ppm
Nitrate - 20 ppm
Temp - 80
Filter: Penguin 150 + 1 catridge sponge/carbon filter
Stock:
Silver Dollar - 1
White Skirt Tetra - 1
Cory (unsure of sp.) - 1
No live plants. Only deco is a couple plastic plants and one large pumice stone with a couple cool little caves.
I know the Silver Dollar is going to have to be re-housed. A few questions:
What should the max depth of the play sand be to keep from having anaerobic problems?
I'm trying to let all the nitrites cycle out before I do my first PWC. At what level of nitrates do I absolutely need to scrap that idea and just change some water regardless?
Are corys compatible with growing a nice hair grass lawn?
The light fixture (3 foot Perfect-a-lite) is buzzing terribly. Would a bulb change make a diff or is there some other component I can change out to stop the buzzing?
We've only had the tank a couple days, and it's way understocked. Can't believe how hight the nitrites/nitrates are. Is it possible the pumice stone is leaching nitrite or nitrate?
Also need some help ID'ing the cory so we can get him some company. Don't have a camera unfortunately. Very splotchy/mottled coloration (a little like a sculpin). 7 fin rays. Color scheme is light gray overlaid with large dark gray splotches.
Think that's it for now. Phew. As always, any help is greatly appreciated.
The sides were covered in deposits of green dot algae, and the canopy and filter had huge amounts of scale built up on them. We drained the water about halfway down, and transferred the 3 fish into a plastic beef jerky jar with a small hole in the lid for gas exchange. The kids did some scrubbing while we drained the rest of the water.
We made the 100 mile drive back home with the fish in the jerky jar. It was about midnight Sunday when we got back. Discarded the ghastly blue gravel and the neglected UGF system and brought it inside. Added play sand for substrate. Didn't have a bucket, so put the sand in the aquarium, and added about 10 gal of water. Put an airstone in the jerky jar w/ the fish. Scrubbed the algae deposits for about 3 hours with a plastic potscrubber. Made a pretty good dent, but didn't get it all. Close to 4am at this point. Drained the tank, refilled with about 10 gal and drained again. Filled the tank 3/4, added Prime and Stability and set the jerky jar in the tank to let the temp equalize to the aquarium. Added some neutral buffer and pH down as our tap runs about 7.8 pH.
Over the next 2 hours, I slowly poured aquarium water into the jerky jar as it was floating. It eventually sank, and the fish swam out after being tempted with some food. Decided to check the chem today. Apparently the heater is malfunctioning - temp was 82 (heater set to 75)
Current parameters:
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0.25 ppm
Nitrate - 20 ppm
Temp - 80
Filter: Penguin 150 + 1 catridge sponge/carbon filter
Stock:
Silver Dollar - 1
White Skirt Tetra - 1
Cory (unsure of sp.) - 1
No live plants. Only deco is a couple plastic plants and one large pumice stone with a couple cool little caves.
I know the Silver Dollar is going to have to be re-housed. A few questions:
What should the max depth of the play sand be to keep from having anaerobic problems?
I'm trying to let all the nitrites cycle out before I do my first PWC. At what level of nitrates do I absolutely need to scrap that idea and just change some water regardless?
Are corys compatible with growing a nice hair grass lawn?
The light fixture (3 foot Perfect-a-lite) is buzzing terribly. Would a bulb change make a diff or is there some other component I can change out to stop the buzzing?
We've only had the tank a couple days, and it's way understocked. Can't believe how hight the nitrites/nitrates are. Is it possible the pumice stone is leaching nitrite or nitrate?
Also need some help ID'ing the cory so we can get him some company. Don't have a camera unfortunately. Very splotchy/mottled coloration (a little like a sculpin). 7 fin rays. Color scheme is light gray overlaid with large dark gray splotches.
Think that's it for now. Phew. As always, any help is greatly appreciated.