Biorb Fish Tank - fish pics, pg.5

[ryelle]

This was Gary:

We have loads of them at college (although, if they lay eggs and my tutor cant get them out in time the babies get fed to the lizards). I want another one, but my mum wouldnt let me bring my tank back in the house lol!


***

Im on day 2 of my fishless cycle using Waterlife Biomature and Waterlife Bacterlife, and i have just done my first dose of Bacterlife because my ammonia level was at 6ppm. How exciting! i should be seeing some nice nitrite and nitrate levels in my tests tomorrow :joy:

 

[ryelle]

Day 8 of my fishless cycle and i discover that the gravel i have for my tank isnt suitable for the filtration system. neither is the stand-by bag of different gravel.
UGH! I am so upset I have to unplug my tank and remove the gravel, and stop my cycle until i find more suitable gravel

:sad3:

I officially hate cycling

:cry3:

 

[Randomrat]

Why what's wrong with the gravel, I can't really tell from the picture.

 

[ashana]

The bacteria that grows during cycling also lives on the inside of the glass etc, if you keep the tank running through the cycle then you can change the gravel when you find something suitable and it will still be semi cycled.

You will still need to cycle for a little longer as the larger colonies of the bacteria will be in the filter and gravel but it will help.

Aimee

 

[ryelle]

The gravel was making a dust storm in my tank. I had thoroughly washed it before i put it in there, but there was more and more 'dust' coating everything every day. I had another bag of different gravel, and was told that it was too sharp and small for the under gravel filter.

Ive just been to the aquatic centre and they are going to get me a bag of rounder gravel, but they too dont see the problem with it not being massive. Im not buying any more gravel after this. Unhappy people can get shoved lol.

I had to empty it completely last night to get rid of the dust on everything (my beloved bogwood needs a scrub). I filled it half with fresh water and half with water my goldfish has been living in, with some of the stones and plastic filter media.
The readings last night and this morning were...
PH: 7.6, Ammonia: 0.50ppm, Nitrites: 0.25ppm, Nitrates: 10ppm, Temp 80F...
so i added some of the Biomature (read: ammonia) to knock the ammonia up to 4/5ppm (reading is a little bit darker than 4). Praying that if i test tonight the Nitrites will still be there, and i can keep feeding it.



What do you guys feel about adding plants half-way through a cycle?

 

[Randomrat]

Live plants will actually help a cycle, and plastic/silk ones won't hurt it. I usually set up my tank with all the decorations I want right away and cycle it with them in there.

 

[ryelle]

interesting. i've been told DO NOT add plants during a cycle. but there is a lot of conflicting information around it. Some say that the ammonia is bad for them, some say that the plants process it themselves, then there is the sayings of do not put plants in because the light and 'ammonia' (somebody was saying the other days its actually the nitrates) causes algae. I want some shrimp and a snail eventually so in my brain it would be ok for me to have a bit of algae in there lol.

I managed to find good gravel, and im tempted to go get plants on Tuesday.

Having some nice bacteria going on at the minute after adding in some water from a bucket with two fish in. Havent tested yet today but im praying they are still there, lol!

 

[ashana]

The Algae will only grow when there is no ammonia. Green algae is actually a sign of a good, healthy tank so although most people hate the look of it it is a good sign.

I wouldn't put plants in until the cycle is complete. Plants use the nitrates for growth. The only way to remove nitrates (the product of the end of the full cycle) is via water changes or live plants. Some plants are obviously a little hardier and may survive a cycle but most will struggle.

Glad that you found some suitable substrate YEEHA

 

[ryelle]

I am naughty and bought plants. Its an on going project and im still waiting to get fish.
My tank is clearing 4ppm's of Ammonia in 24 hours now Just waiting for my Nitrites to get back down on the scale so i can read them lol
My PH is giving me problems too -.- keeps dropping below 6. I am adding some bi-card tonight to bump it up to 8 so i dont have to keep doing water changes every day to get it back up to 7.4

Pics:
the other day:

The plant on the right is melting, but its no big deal. The other two seem to be doing well.

today - bought a plant that im assuming is a Java Fern (they werent labelled and the guy in the shop had no idea. Its behind the melting plant on the right side, you can see a leaf coming over the middle

Got some Java Moss to buy to tie to my bogwood, but im leaving that until i get the shrimp

 

[ryelle]

I deleted the pics of the planted tank, oops haha!

I bought another plant last week and yesterday i found a snail!!!
I dont know if he is the only one in my tank, so i have moved him to a jar and im keeping an eye on the tank to see if there is any more.
I haven't decided his fate yet, but meet Rogue Snail. he is approximately 2-3mm in size

and Rogue Snails temporary house whilst i decide what to do with him

If he was an Apple Snail there would be no qualms about keeping him, but i believe he is a Ramshorn Snail and that causes me a problem. Not sure if he can reproduce on his own or if he needs to have mated once before, so i am tempted to keep him in a jar for a while till i know for sure. If he can't reproduce on his own and he is the only one in the tank (daily snail watch has ensued, i cant see any eggs anywhere but apparently they are next to impossible to spot) then i dont mind, but i do plan on getting an Apple Snail in a few weeks too. So he is being a jar snail for a while

Pray my tank isnt over-run with unwanted snails!

 

[ryelle]

I am almost at the end of my fishless cycle!

I am carrying out 12 hour tests now, not 24. My readings this morning were: Ammonia: 0ppm, Nitrites: 0.50ppm, Nitrates: 160+ppm. My Nitrites were 5ppm yesterday morning so thats a massive jump.
Wahoo!

hoping to start my qualifying week in a few days then its time for fishies!! :joy:

 

[lindsayfawn]

That's exciting!

Do snails just magically appear in a tank when you have live plants? lol Or is it there are some eggs on the plants and then they just mature? probably the latter I don't think there are magic snails lol .....yeah I tired lol

I can't wait to get my fish tank!

 

[ryelle]

I think he came in on a crappy Java Fern i bought :evil: They are normally in the tanks at the shops where you get the plants from. If you rinse the plants under a warm tap it normally gets rid of them but Rogue Snail snook past me. Hes been in a jar for a while now and i haven't seen any others in my tank. Im planning on putting a cup in the tank with a chunk of cucumber in there to try and lure anymore out overnight. With the way Rogue Snail eats lettuce i dont think im keeping him in my tank. He will probably end up as fish food in my pond.

You can get chemicals to add to the tank that kill off all the snails but i want to buy an Apple Snail (theres a guy selling purple ones near me and they eat algae not live plants) for my final stocking and its not safe if i use chemicals now.

here is a purple apple snail off google images:

I think they are pretty cool looking.

Today is day 25 of my cycle and i have atleast 10 days left before fish

 

[ryelle]

The tank is rather dirty and the water is slightly orange because of the bogwood but this is the layout at the minute:

And how i plan to have it by the end of next week
Green: Anubias Nana - which is a miniature version of Anubias Barteri and is quite cute for a small tank like mine.
Blue: Java Fern - I just want to pad out the back of the tank some more with the same type of plant that Rogue Snail came in on.
Pink: Java Moss / some other type of moss - I want to cover the plastic filter case and attach some to the bogwood aswell for when i get shrimps

Will post pics when i get fishes

 

[whoknew]

Ohh it looks very nice!
I'm excited for fishy pictures!!

Ahhh snails!! I had one snail that looked like Rogue and next thing i knew i had a MILLION snails that looked just like Rogue!

 

[ryelle]

LOL!! that is the thing i am most terrified about!

 

[lindsayfawn]

that's a nice little tank!
I didn't know snails could be such a problem. Interesting. Those apple snails are pretty.

 

[ryelle]

It depends on the snail and how small/visible their eggs are. Some snails eat live plants, which is quite a problem if you want to keep your tank looking nice, some are 'live-bearers' and some produce eggs that you can't even see so they breed like rabbits and its harder to get rid of, some (like the apple snail) produce very large really visible clutches of eggs above the waterline that you can easily remove and can remove algae which is always good. Also, not all water snails are hermaphrodites which means you don't have to worry about an infestation if you get your snail young enough

 

[ryelle]

Tomorrow is day 30 of my fishless cycle :sad3:

Im on 12 hour testing still, with ammonia showing on the 12 hour A very experienced fish keeper has told me that its normal to get an ammonia spike before the end of a cycle, but i wish the end would come fast

My nitrites are showing 1ppm on 12hours, and its taking around the 16th hour it's hitting 0. My PH keeps bouncing still and ill top it back up to 8 in the morning.


I'll copy and paste my fishless cycle log for you all to read :lol:

CYCLE DATA - Temp 80F
Day 1 - Ph: 7.4, Amm: 0.5, Ni: 0.25, Na: 10
Day 2 - PH: 7.4, Amm: 5, Ni: 0.50, Na: 20 - Added gravel before reading was taken
Day 3 - PH: 7.4, Amm: 4, Ni: 1.0, Na: 20
Day 4 - PH: 7.4, Amm: 3, Ni: 2, Na: 20
Day 5 - PH: 7.2, Amm: 1, Ni: 1.0, Na: 20
Day 6 - PH: 6.6, Amm: 0.25, Ni: 5+, Na: 5.0
Day 7 - PH: 6.4, Amm: 0, Ni: 5+, Na: 20 - carried out a water change, PH after is 7.4, Topped ammonia back up to 4.0ppm
Day 8 - PH: 7.2, Amm: 1, Ni: 5+, Na: 20
Day 9 - PH: 6.4, Amm: 0.25, Ni: 5+, Na: 5.0
Day 10 - PH: 7.4, Amm: 0, Ni: 5+, Na: 5.0 - carried out a water change before testing, Ammonia topped up to 5
Day 11 - PH: 6.8, Amm: 0.5, Ni: 5+, Na: 5.0
Day 12 - PH: 6.6, Amm: 0, Ni: 5+, Na: 5.0 - Adding Bi-carb to up PH to 8 and ammonia topped up to 4
Day 13 - PH: 8, Amm: 0.25, Ni: 5+, Na: 5
Day 14 - PH: 8.2, Amm: 0, Ni: 5+, Na: 5 - Ammonia topped up to 4ppm
Day 15 - PH: 7.9, Amm: 1, Ni: 5+, Na: 160+
Day 16 - PH: 7.9, Amm: 0, Ni: 5+, Na: 5.0 - Ammonia topped up to 4ppm
Day 17 - PH: 8, Amm: 0, Ni: 5+, Na: 160+ - Ammonia topped up
Day 18 - PH: 7.8, Amm: 0, Ni: 5+, Na: 5.0 - Ammonia topped up
Day 19 - PH: 7.6, Amm: 0, Ni: 5+, Na: 160+ - Ammonia topped up
Day 20 - PH: 7.4, Amm: 0, Ni: 0.25, Na: 160+ - Ammonia topped up
Day 21 - PH: 6.9, Amm: 0, Ni: 0.25, Na: 160+ - Ammonia topped up - Added Bi-Carb to up PH to 8
Day 22 - PH: 8.0, Amm: 0, Ni: 0.25, Na: 160+ - Ammonia topped up
Day 23 - Ph: 7.8, Amm: 0, Ni: 0, Na: 160+ - Ammonia topped up
Day 24
AM - Amm: 0, Ni: 5
PM - PH: 7.8, Amm: 0, Ni: 0, Na: 160+ - Ammonia topped up
Day 25
AM - Amm: 0, Ni: 0.5
PM - PH: 7.4, Amm: 0, Ni: 0, Na: 80 - Ammonia topped up
Day 26
AM - PH: 6.8, Amm: 0, Ni: 5, Na: 80 - Added Bi-Carb to up PH
PM - PH: 7.8, Amm: 0, Ni: 1, Na: 60 - Ammonia topped up
Day 27
AM - Amm: 0, Ni: 1
PM - PH: 7.9, Amm: 0, Ni: 0, Na: 80 - Ammonia topped up
Day 28
AM - Amm: 0.25, Ni: 0.75
PM - PH: 7.4 Amm: 0, Ni: 0, Na: 80-160 - Ammonia topped up
Day 29
AM - Amm: 0.25, Ni: 1
PM - PH: 7.2, Amm: 0, Ni: 0, Na: 80 - Ammonia topped up

 

[ryelle]

Gave the tank a clean out today - water was yellow, it had dirt from the substrate everywhere and nitrates were sky-high. I got the Anubias Nana, some more Java Fern and some Java Moss last week. Had a re-arrange of the tank and i am really happy with it now

Just need to get a rock to attach the Ferns to.

My cycle has kind of stuck and it won't shift the ammonia or nitrites. So, because of this, i am getting two Rasbora's on Tuesday and going fish-in cycle It won't be long before it is over and done with, then i will get another two fish, eventually getting 6 fish, around 7 shrimp and 1 apple snail