| Author | Message | ||
     86129squids |
Hey all- I picked up a pretty nice 55 gallon setup, complete with stand and a bunch of chemicals at my Habitat ReStore for less than $140... getting ready to start things up and blow some $$$ tomorrow. Who else here is into nice freshwater tanks? It's been several years, but I kept a 30 and a 40 going for a long time, once had a 6YO chocolate cichlid, a peach severum that got almost as old, and lots of other swimming critters, even a couple of cobalt blue crawdads (weird but cool story.) Since it has been so long, what are some of the better websites out there that would help a returning enthusiast? Also, to mitigate the $$$ I'm considering using "river pebbles" from Home Depot for $3.50 per .5 cubic foot, to do the gravel layer. Other than a good rinse, I'm thinking that would be just as good as aquarium gravel, although I can't pick out any weird/cool colors. Holla! Heck, post up some pretty fishies if you can... | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
What's so special about "Aquarium Gravel" ? Just the price I'm guessing. I suppose if you really want to be sure you could boil the pebbles up to rinse them. Just remember the aquarium keeper's motto; "Keep your friends close, but your anenomes closer." | ||
| 86129squids |
My only concern about the Home Depot stuff is whether they could affect salinity or Ph- as long as they're completely inert, they'd look fine and be a LOT cheeper. Got the unit in place in my living room, I must say my "feng shui" is improved greatly.  | ||
| Pwnzor |
Aquarium gravel is typically sealed with epoxy, thereby eliminating the possibility that any toxic substances might leach out into the water with the precious fishies. The main concern I would have using unsealed substrate materials is that they can change the pH level in the water. | ||
| Skntpig |
Oh geez. Don't get hooked. I did and the last tank I had was all imported cichlids and a 225 gallon. | ||
| 86129squids |
Yeppers Pwn- that's what I was thinking. Bottom line is that I'm planning to have JUST the right population, some nice fishies once I prove the setup, and some of these will NOT be cheap... We have a place up in Knoxville called, simply "Aquarium", and the place is a marvel. They do all types of fresh and salt, can even do aquascapes in your yard ($$$$), and I've always loved going there for my fanciest specimens. Everyone knows about the common Pleco, well, they have varieties of these that might be the size of your thumb, but nonetheless will take the better part of a Benjamin to purchase! So, yes, I'll not be taking chances. I may try the Home Depot stuff, but if it screws with the water quality, I could just take it all out and get ready to pour some concrete for a couple of outdoor projects that are due. Anyone know of some good BBS websites I could post the gravel question to? Thanks!  And, Sknt, I feel ya- that won't be happening, my house is just too dang small. 55 gallons will be plenty. I bet that was a nice one though! | ||
| Bbbob |
My concern with the Home depot gravel would be where does it come from? Besides screwing with the PH, I'd worry about it leaching things like pesticides & fertilizers... | ||
| 86129squids |
Just got back in with 2X .5 cubic yards of pea gravel, for a grand total of $7.64. Had I gone with the Petsmart stuff, I'd have blown $100 easy. The girl working there even told me to go to Lowe's or Home Depot for stuff. Bob- I doubt there would be any risk of that, given that it's new stuff right out of the bag. Gonna take a while to rinse it for sure though. | ||
| Pwnzor |
Soak it. Soak it. Soak it some more. I used to use a plastic wheel barrow, leave it out in the sun and drain the water out each day for 2-3 days. Good to go! I'm a bit jealous... wish I had the time to invest, you're going to have a lot of fun. | ||
| Skntpig |
One tip I can give is to over-filter if your budget allows. I had canister filter for a 200 gal and a wet/dry for a 400 gal. This turned over the water so much that I only needed to clean the filters and exchange carbon about every 6 weeks. More capacity = less work. | ||
| 86129squids |
Yeppers- I've always believed in underpopulating and overfiltering. That's how I got my 6YO fish. I ordered a bunch of stuff off of Amazon for it- heck, couldn't even find the filter media and cartridges locally... Once I had an albino tiger Oscar, almost spot-on Vol orange and white. He got to the point you could actually pet him. The biggest fish I ever grew, kinda too big. | ||
| Skntpig |
I had a foot and a half long pacu that was about 5" thick. Fish get huge if the water is clean and they have room. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Do you have a reliable person to look after things when you're not there, vacations etc? Non aquatic friends will find that "I can't come out to play because of the fishies" gets old pretty quick. I always liked fish tanks but it's just too much hassle for me, if you're going to do something like that you need to do it right & knowing myself as I do, I probably wouldn't. | ||
| 86129squids |
Grumps, no prob. Yes, we have folks that can come feed the fishies if need be, but there are several ways to mitigate that need too, such as automatic feeders, time-release food, and so on. Plus, for the foreseeable future our vacates won't be too awful long, as I'm focusing on beating down the household debts. And- I may be a geek in a few ways, but the fish won't interfere with my ability to socialize... | ||
| Whistler |
I really enjoy my tanks. It's not just the fish but the sound and light. Very relaxing. I try to keep it simple. Takes up very little time. Glad you are back into it and hope it all works out well. | ||
| 86129squids |
+1, Whistler- plus, I've always kinda thought they improve the air quality inside. Lord knows how many times I've gotten FED UP with the CRAP I have to pay for on cable, and just shut the boob tube off. Then, this laptop just requires a certain level of engagement... THAT's when the aquarium really pays off. Plus, there's a lot of coolness about watching a little fish grow big and purty. | ||
| Cataract2 |
I use the Petmate Auto Feeder. It's a run unit and turns based on a simple clock. You put a set amount of food that in each chamber and it will rotate it to feed the fish over a 2hr period. I like how well they work and how easy they are to use. I do once a day feeding so I can get 14 days of feeding with one of these devices. To help control the tank levels I also have my tanks planted. I have a low tech non CO2 injected setup. Use the right plants and it will thrive. | ||
| 99savage |
For whatever it's worth. Have a small garden pond, fresh water of course, and I used marble chips from the hardware store. They definitely buffer acid conditions. Check the Ph a few times a year and it has always been in line. Had to rinse them A LOT before using them | ||
| 86129squids |
Cataract- now we're talking. One thing I've not really been successful with in the past is keeping real freshwater plants... it's just too easy to do plastic. This time around I'd really enjoy doing the whole thing organic... Meh. I remember that most of the nicer plants for a tank were plastic.. Plus, when the gravel gets cleaned, easy to re-arrange things. Of course it's a bigger fishbowl. I'm placing my faith in filtration. I'd always liked the freshwater discus fish, but was told they're finicky to keep. I did well with my peach severum and the choc cichlid... the Oscar was easy. Starting over, cheep fish first. | ||
| Cataract2 |
When it comes to plants you have to select the right ones for your setup. If you want to go the route of fast growing and harder to keep ones, you will need CO2 injection. I choose to go with no CO2 injection and choose plants that work in a low tech tank setup. Research and some experimentation is what is needed. As for the feeder I use. Here's a link to it in case you are interested. http://www.amazon.com/Fish-Mate-F14-Aquarium-Feede r/dp/B000YK5W18/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382011068& sr=8-1&keywords=fish+mate | ||
| 86129squids |
OK, got things started with the setup yesterday, temp's good today, after a chem test I'll be heading out for some Wallyworld fish and cheep decorations. One $3.75 bag of pea gravel (0.5 cubic feet), rinsed, gives exactly 1-1.5" gravel layer for the 55 gallon tank, looks great! As long as nothing weird leaches into the water, I saved a Benjamin! | ||
| Cataract2 |
Your tank needs to complete cycling. So if you want to do a fish in cycle I would go with 3-4 guppies to start. They tend to be hardy and handle the high ammonia that will result. Remember to check you ammonia and nitrite levels weekly as cycling will take 4-8 weeks to complete depending on various things. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
I always wanted a Super Guppy but never found a tank big enough.  | ||
| Reepicheep |
We had awful luck with the wal-mart fish, even the hearty ones. The local pet store had plenty of almost as cheap alternatives that lived much longer. If you want a 2 foot long one eyed plecostomous, I have one you can have. Those guys are freaking indestructible. | ||
| Pwnzor |
LOL Grumpy!!!!!  | ||
| 86129squids |
OK, day 1 report: I went to Wallyworld and "rescued" several fishies- even Shirley the old lady who helped me commented on the state of the tanks. Got one pleco, two pink gouramis, two redtail sharks, two corys, five black tetras, and six fire tetras. Also a variety of plastic plants, damn stuff is expensive! The first casualty was one of the sharks, looked badly stricken straight out of the bag, couldn't even swim... wasn't too long before the filter intake pulled him in. This morning, everyone else is looking great! Given the $$$ I spent yesterday, I'm really glad to have thought to use the Lowe's pea gravel- I like to keep my Benjamins if I can. Best part is the GF- she's never had a "real" tank, just the proverbial 5 or 10 gallon ones for her kids growing up, you know the story... we almost had rather watched the tank instead of the TV last nite! Top it off with a newly functioning hi-fi, life is good! | ||
| Preybird1 |
I had 9 tanks at one point 2x 125 gallon tanks lots of 30-50 gallon tanks! i used to breed African cichlids and other fresh water fish. I even had 2 aquatic turtles also........But i got out of that mess of water beasts. Those tank cleanings were getting to be to much for me and the old lady. | ||
| 86129squids |
Update: Since all my Wallyworld "rescue" fish have done well, we went to Aquarium in Knoxville last Sunday and blew almost $100 on fish- got 2 angels, 2 snails, some rummynose tetras, 3 hatchetfish, etc.- my main goal was to get a couple of relatively peaceful cichlids. Picked out a nice juvenile green severum, and a juvenile geophagus altifrons Tapajos- first guy was $10, the Geo was $26, but they're already showing great color and temperament! I've hit my limit comfortably for the community for a 55gal, still might get a crawdad and another exotic pleco or something... already we'd rather watch the tank than most of the crap that we have on cable! Been way too long without my fishies! Another unexpected benefit: What I'd seen as a pair of perennial pains in the butt, fruit flies and sugar ants, suddenly have become free fresh fish food! I got a fruit fly even as I typed this post... seems the black tetras hit them first, like a mini-bass! Yeah, I'm weird. It's quite satisfying to catch and feed those pests to my fishies though! | ||
| Pwnzor |
Question: Had you already cycled your bio filter prior to adding all the fish? | ||
| 86129squids |
My last chemical analysis passed with flying colors- running an Aquaclear 110 with a powerhead on the other side, pulling from the undergravel grid. Not yet changed the filter element in the 110, and I'm planning on upgrading to a Marineland 350 canister filter, which allows a nifty gravel vacuum attachment to get the tank maintenance done easily. The Aquaclear does a great job, but it can't compare to the canister- had one on my old 40 gallon tank, and got spoiled as to how easy it made things, not to mention how well it maintained the water quality. Easy-peasy does it! |
