[Astaroth]

Just wanted to give a little update here.

I took readings today which would be one week with the fish in it. I got 0 for both ammonia and nitrites, and 5 for nitrate. I still don't know how I got to 0 on nitrates last time, with my tap water being 20-40, but it may have been a bad reading. I then did a 10% water change.

This filtration setup I got going on here seems to be doing a heck of a good job.

One of my Mollies, the oldest and only Lyretail male, appears to have gained a swim bladder problem. He is having a lot of difficulty swimming, being mostly vertical at times, but he is being smart and either hanging in a corner at the top, or hanging out under my castle. I don't think he is going to last much longer though, however he has to be a year or more old now since I haven't bought Lyretails in a long time.

I did feed all of them cut-up peas, and while the rest enjoyed the snack, it didn't seem to help the affected molly much.

All the rest seem to be fine, as best as I can tell. The adults and fry are swimming all over the place, and even the algae eater is more active in the daylight, sticking his mouthpiece all over gravel and the ornaments and flying around the tank.

 

[Astaroth]

Apologies if resurrecting a post-Page One thread is a no-no, and for replying to my own post...but I have another question or two and some updates.

I added 3 Corys, 3 Female Mollies, and 3 Rainbows over 2 weeks ago, and some ghost shrimp as an experiment with them (2 large ones survived, while the Rainbows ate well). Also threw a moss ball in the tank for my daughter (don't ask ). I accidentally killed 3 of my older mollies (again, don't ask).

I am going for some more Corys and Mollies tomorrow, along with hopefully a patch of Java Moss. Possibly another 'schooling' type fish in a bunch.

I now have a 25W UV lamp on the Magnum 350 return and a Nova Extreme hood doing 162W of HO T5 lighting. Also, I found Bio Spira and bought some, stored most away in the fridge and poured one in for the heck of it. Readings have been really good (before and after).

With my current filtration, the fish don't seem to be thrashed around, and the food will drop to the bottom, before it is pulled across to the filters.

My question is, if I go with CO2, would throwing a Rena XP2 or 3 on the tank (in addition to the 2 Emp 400 and Magnum) be ok? I would like to use the Venturi nozzle on the Filstar to feed the CO2. I would also like to use the media baskets in it for specialized filtering like Purigen bags...instead of in the Emps because the water doesn't seem to flow *through* the bag.

My other question is, I was thinking of a Magnum 250 HOB filter to use with a gravel cleaner and for it's Micro-Filter once or twice a week. There are a lot of dust particles in it and I have the Python but I am looking for more power suction. Would having this running periodically be an issue?

Too much flow? Money isn't an issue, except to my old lady. Thanks again for any wisdom.