Weekly Post 6: Merry Christmas

So its Christmas time again. I will not be posting to through the holidays until I release four posts on January 3.
Merry Christmas and thank you for viewing the blog.

Weekly Post 5: Co2 Puzzle

This week I have been faced with a problem I thought I just recently fixed. Once again there is water in the line of the Co2 system. I have ruled out fizz from the reactor because of the separator. My one lead is that the system is bound to have small leaks in it. Maybe the Co2 drops off between times when you shake it and water gets sucked in? Other then this the tank is doing good with strong plant growth and healthy fish. 

Chosing new fish

So I have decided to go the easy way with lighting by upgrading the hood of my aquarium instead doing a DIY LED job and I know what plants I will get once I get the new hood but I'm still trying to decide what to get for new fish. I currently have the three Platys and three minnows in the 29 gallon. I am looking at giving away the minnows as they are quite aggressive and attack each other and well be incompatible with peaceful fish. So the thing is which fish should I get. Here are the ones I have been looking at.

Neon Tetra

A very common and good looking aquarium fish. It is easy to keep very attractive and is not severely affected by hard or soft water which is good for me because my tap water is around GH 120 and over time the minerals tend to concentrate over time and water changes. They are also very good looking. But they put a considerable amount of strain on the tank because they need to be kept in schools of around fifteen or up. with my limited water capacity I might be better of to get some cardinal or rummy nosed tetras which also look similar but the rummy nosed can be kept in smaller groups.

Black Molly

These fish are quite a good choice for me as they can be kept alone or in small groups which but they also benefit the tank in other ways by eating away at algae including string algae which other species often avoid. also there streamlined shape and black colour contrast nicely with the boxy red bodies of my Platys. These are an almost guaranteed contender for my tank and I plan to get two to four of them.

Lemon Tetra

I actually quite like the like the look of the lemon tetra. It's shiny yellow scales, flat body and red ringed iris is more what you would expect from salt water fish. They also need to be kept in fairly large groups of eight or more. this would take my tank to about half of its capacity with my current fish so it limits what else it puts in. Also these fish dislike hard water which is what takes them out of the picture seeing mine at around GH 120 is quite hard. If not for this I would definitely have these at the top of my list.

Dwarf Gourami

These larger and social fish are very peaceful and come in a variety of colours they should be kept in pairs and have interesting social behaviour. I quite like the look of them but will wait till I have the schooling fish established before adding some.

Blue Ram

 The second larger fish I am considering also with interesting behaviour is the blue ram. These fish also need to be kept in pairs and are less shy then Gouramis. I like there colouration slightly less but they are slightly easier to keep in that they are less shy and thus less prone to shock.

Emperor Tetra

Lastly we have the possibility of the Emperor Tera. This peaceful and shy fish is very good looking in the tank and thankfully it can be kept in small groups so it doesn't put a large strain on my limited water space. I find its grayish blue colour and translucent fins a nice addition to the tank. It needs a good deal of plant growth though to hide in from more aggressive fish and to keep away from schooling fish.

In conclusion I haven't really figured out which fish I will pick yet but I have narrowed it down considerably.

Weekly Post 4: New Things to Come

So in a nutshell things in the tank are doing all right. I lost one plant from rough handling but the other few seem to be doing all right and excelling with Co2. They are low light plants though so I'll still need more light to get more variety. After inspecting the Co2 system a found a leak in the separator cap and after disconnecting it I beefed up the silicone and now I have one bottle running again. Fish seem to be doing fine except that the minnows seem  to be fighting each other. I'll have to give them to someone if before adding any more fish as I want to run a community tank. Other than that stay tuned for a How To on Co2 Production next week and on new weekly posts I will be putting in readings for Gh, Kh, pH, and nitrite and nitrate levels.

Plants in the Aquarium 3: Cover for Fish

As well as providing the operating surface for bacteria, production of oxygen and destroying toxic substances plants have one more important role to play in the aquarium. They provide cover and spawning areas for fish. Fish are not used to bare tanks. In the wild fish are surrounded by plants that provide cover from predators, block out light, provide places to spawn and places to rest. In a bare tank fish can lose colour, be stressed leading to illness and disease. Disease in a tank can spread extremely quickly and have high lethality rates if the fish are stressed out. Also the chance of fish spawning in a bare tank is next to nothing because they will be stressed and many fish lay there eggs in the leaves of plants. Lastly many fish come from partly blurred or muddy water and plants can give them a darker place to hide from the light. Beware though that the bright lights required to grow plants can stress some fish if there is no plants to shade them or hide under.

Leaky Co2 System

Over the last few days I have realized that somewhere in my Co2 system there was a flaw. I noticed that after several days the water would come part way up the tube. At first this seemed trivial because I would shake up the bottle, the yeast would be redestributed around the bottle and gas production would increase and the water would be pushed out the pipe. I thought at first that this was regular but as it happens every two days or so I started to get suspicious. Then I realized that there must be a leak because the gas would be pushed into the tank until the pressure on both sides of the diffuser was equal then it would stop. So there must be a leak in the system releasing pressure out causing a pressure difference causing water to come into the pipe.

Weekly Post 3: Decisions

Firstly everything in the tank is doing OK. The minnows are fighting but that's OK because i have a friend who will take them for his aggressive tank. The plants are doing decent, one unfortunately  is dying from damaged leaves but the others are growing and looking green with Co2 installed. Now I have to do a few things. Plug a leak in my Co2 system in one separator, and I also have to decide what lights I am going to put in. I will talk about this more in my next post.

Weekly Update 2: A long list

Firstly sorry this is a bit late I was quite busy the last few days. The tank is doing fairly well. With Co2 installed the plants are looking noticeably better and greener although still suffering from lack of light. The fish are doing good. The platy's are growing nicely. Unfortanately the minnows are quite aggressive towards eCh other. This is a problem because I am planning to have timid fish like neon tetras and emperor tetras. Still this can wait. For now the Co2 has been to a big enough upgrade. But in the future I hope to upgrade the lights to either a 55 watt or two thirty watt. Also I plan to get more plants. Then once that has been seen too and the plants have stabilized I'll get some new fish. I was thinking maybe two black mollies, two emperor tetras and ten or so neon tetras. If this goes well maybe I'll try something more difficult like some flame tetras or lemon tetras.

Lighting: The Next Problem in Liine

So with the recent completion and success and of my Co2 system I now have to go on to a new project. On a trip to my local fish shop and on the net I came across the 2 watt rule, which is that to grow plants you need at least 2 watts per gallon minimum. On inspection of the hood unit on my 29 gallon tank, i found that the bulb in there is a measly twenty watts. Worse yet the hood is only rated to twenty watts becasue of heat issues. It appears once again I will have to do a little DIY to shape things up. I am considering building a LED light assembly to meet the size, heat and light requirements of the tank. I am still thinking about it but it's looking like thats how it's going to go.

Co2 System: Now up and Running

So I finally completed my Co2 fertilization system last night. After drilling out and sealing the caps, drilling a hole in the cabinet and running the line, and finally mixing up the sugar water and yeast it is finished. True it is not a high powered system but I was smart enough to get a four way connector so in theory I could have four bottles running at once.

When I went to check it this morning when I opened the valve on the conector there was a sastifactory hiss. If you want to build one of these sytems remember to add one bottle a week when starting so as not to quickly alter the pH and shock the fish. Also in lightly planted tanks to much Co2 can lead to poisening over night if the plants have not produced enough oxygen during the day.


All in all this was a cheap project which I hope will have good results for the plants and fish in the tank.

Co2 Fertilization Progress

So I set out to build a Co2 fertilization system to improve plant health and growth in my tank and thus overall health. And so far, so good actually. I have drilled out the caps of the 2 litre bottles and installed and sealed the piping onto the bottle caps for the producers and the separators. The use of separators means that you can use standard airline because any bubbles from the yeast solution that are highly acidic are separated out in the second bottle. I will explain this more on my instructions on how to build the DIY yeast Co2 system. No all that is left to do is drill a hole in the cabinet beneath to run the line through, connect the pipes and mix up the yeast. Hopefully all goes well. 

Cascade 200 Filter Review

As I have mentioned on the weekend I bought a new filter to replace my old one which conked out. I am very pleased with what I bought, the Cascade 200 filter recommended by my local aquarium shop. The 200 rates well across the board on removing particles from the water, removing ammonia and nitrite, capacity, oxygen exchange, ease of use, quietness and price. On removing particles from the water. I replanted some plants on the weekend and on full flow the water was clear in the tank (29 gallon) in minutes. When I recently checked Nitrite and Nitrate levels to get a baseline before Co2 nitrite was at 0 and nitrate was at a low 20 and this was at lowest flow setting. Unfortunately I do not have equipment to check ammonia. The 200 is rated to filter 50 gallons and 185 gallons per hour it is powerful for it's size. Some may be wondering what i mean by oxygen exchange. The cascade 200 has a fourth part in it's sump style filtration system. a system of bending channels at the output space maximize water contact time and turbulence causing for a larger exchange of oxygen which is nice if you don't have an air rock because of Co2 system. The system was very easy to use and the impeller started in seconds. The filters noise is hardly noticeable, one of the quietest I've seen. On the matter of price it is decent at $40.00. it also comes with a three year warranty. One draw back is you will have too pay ten dollars for a pack of cartridges every few months, a little more pricey then some, but not the most expensive out there for sure. All and all and excellent filter series that I would recommend for anyone. Rating 9.5/10

Plants in the Aquarium 2: Detoxification

Continuing on the subject of plants in the aquarium I'll now talk about how plants can destory toxic substances in a aquarium. A plant acts both as a filter for toxic substances in two ways. Firstly, plants absorb a large amount of nitrogen in order to fuel there growth. Nitrogen in the tank in the form of dangerous nitrite and somewhat less dangerous (but still dangerous) nitrate. These can be poisonous to fish and also leads to dreaded alga blooms. The biological portion of your filter will do this as well but if your tank is overstocked this provides an additional buffer zone between water changes. Plants absorb nutrients preventing algae blooms, which in some cases are very toxic constantly secreting toxins. Lastly plants provide an operating surface for helpful bacteria. These will grow on the sponge in your filter but more surface area helps speed up the cycle an provides some buffer in the case of filter failure, clogging etc.

New Stuff

Today at the fish store I got a bunch of new things for the tank. A new cascade 200 filter which is running beautifully with hardly a whisper, plant supplements, water testing strips as well as tubing, valves and diffusers for the new Co2 system. I am also faced with a tough decision. One of my minnows has been chasing the other ones around the tank and they are now starting to become pale, a sure sign of stress, so I will probably have to get rid of him or give him to a friend. Stay tuned for a guide to the Co2 system.

Weekly Post 1: A Shaky but Lucky Start

Might get some black Molly's to control algae

A newer version of my old filter

So here we are, the first Friday post and already approaching 600 Views! Thanks for your guys support, honestly didn't expect it but am happy to see it. Now about the tank. Put simply, I probably should have waited to start the tank. I realize now after reading up on the net that I didn't have most of the needed equipment to properly take care of the tank. I have no water testing equipment, no Co2 fertilization, and to top it off the old filter just conked out today. But I'm looking to change this. I'm planning to get water testing equipment, a new filter, possibly some new plants as well as making my Co2 fertilization system. That's the shaky part, the lucky part is that everything survived and seems to be doing okay. The fish seem happy but the plants are being attacked by snails which I am also looking at getting rid of. Stay tuned for more on my projects and new stuff and once again thanks for the support. 

Co2 Fertilization

As I read more and more about fish keeping on the Web and in books I have realized that plants in the aquarium are very important (I will be continuing the series on this soon) and that for your plants to truly excel you need Co2 fertilization in your tank. Certainly you can have a healthy aquarium without Co2 fertilization, but with Co2 fertilization you will soon see the difference. So, convinced that I should get this established early to get things running I have decided to build a Co2 injection system. I am leaning towards the yeast reactor method but am still deciding. I will get this series started soon as well as running the importances of plants series. I'll keep you posted.

Plants in the Aquarium 1

Plants are an important part of the aquarium. They have many benefits that improve the health of fish and the overall tank.
1 Plants produce oxygen in photosynthesis. In this they take in carbon dioxide and water and light and produce sugar for themselves and most importantly oxygen. This is a much better source of oxygen then from airrocks for two reasons. It is disolved directly into the water and it doesn't produce a surface of bubbles. These bubbles allow carbon dioxide to leave the water and go into the air. Not good seeing plants need the carbon dioxide to live.

Oxygen is good for the tank mainly in that it is essental for fish to live. They will enjoy a more healhy life if there is a good amount of oxygen in the water.

A word of warning plants consume oxygen at night in respiration to produce energy. This should not be a problem unless you have a highly stocked tank, in which case use caution.

Starting out

As I mentioned the tank had been empty for several years. It is a twenty nine gallon so a mid size tank. It has large sharp edged substrate (gravel) at the bottom and so is not suitable for bottom feeders like catfish. At this stage it has a rod heater but I am looking at upgrading to a substrate heater in the future. There are three plants currently in the tank which I bought with the fish and two small leaved and one large leafed one. I'll explain why its important to put plants in first in a later post. For fish I have four grayish minnows and three red Platy's. All seems to be going good so far after three days.

About the Blog

Hey, hows it going. Last weekend I went to the fish store to resurrect a aquarium that hasn't been holding anything (except algae) for the last three or so years. I've decided to take it on both as a sort of pastime and hobby. It also looks quiet nice now in the house. This will be a collection of my experiences and experiments for quiet some time as well as showing any research i have done. Expect a new post every Friday as well as anything else I find interesting in between. I have no experience in this as before some one else took care of the tank. If you have any suggestions, comments or questions go ahead and leave them in the comments section.  This should be interesting.