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Plant-less scape

If you pre-soak the flake food for a few minutes ( 2-10 depending on food type), it will sink. You can add a good sized pinch - if you feel you added too much, just do a water change next day or 2 ...

All the shrimp I mentioned will eat flake, I'm less keen on Amano's as mine all get lazy - except for racing out at feeding time, then watch out! - (maybe I feed too much "good stuff" ;)) & they get quite large (males stay smaller for most shrimp species, color may be stronger in either male or female depending)
If you go with "wild type" colouring (eg, red cherry is fine, but "bloody mary" variant is usually less hardy) most shrimp are quite tolerant
- I use a Python for water changes & just add Prime for tank volume when refilling with tap water that is 1-3 C lower than tank temp, cooler is always better.
If your water is very soft, you many want to add some GH booster for moulting (I don't but I do feed frozen brine shrimp, daphnia, bloodworm).
Just get shrimps that won't break the budget - I usually establish shrimps before adding in any fish other than oto's, but it should work fine either way (unless you want barbs! they tend to be quite avid shrimp hunters).
 
looks good deano, great to see a tank running in your house again fella, you should get full enjoyment from this one without any of the headaches!

If you want to put some leaves in do so, just soak them for a day or so before hand in a jar, changing the water daily to get rid of most of the tea effect. You will lose some of the benefits of the leaves but generally they look great and very natural once they are in. Remember they do degrade though so just add half a dozen or so and swap them out completely from time to time. The fish will love you for it.

Floating plants would be a good idea, helps the fish be a little bolder and also stops a lot of jumpers in open tops. Covering the corners with a triangle of plastic or failing that cling film, will also reduce jumpers dramatically.
Have you considered dwarf cories? Awesome fish and quite suitable for a 60p.
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/corydoras-habrosus/

will look great with some microsorum and anubias when you get that far :thumbup:
 
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Thanks for the nice words , has been running for 5 days now and i am working till saturday, was hoping to get some fish when off off saturday till tuesday, will add a bit food daily then later in week will check ammonia and nitrate and niterights hopefully all 0 you think that might be long enough ?

I may get some cattappa leaves like i say iain but want nice clear water thats all so might get some floaters instead but not sure as like the clean look at the minute, do you get many jumpers normally ?

My seachem prime was off when checked other day had it for years stinks now lol so got some tetra aquasafe but need 5ml for every 10l so using 20ml every water change so not going to last long , with seachem prime u hardly used any what do you use to purify tap water ?

Thanks dean
 
I use Prime - it's effective for both chlorine & chloramines (water supplier was considering switching over to chloramines, but went with chlorine substations in the end) & helps protect against nitrite toxicity as well - use up to 10X normal dose BUT be careful with this if you have shrimp ... though I suspect Prime would still be better tolerated than nitrite - just be careful to dilute before adding as it's viscosity can result in localized high concentrations & if a sensitive fish or shrimp swim through that blob, they are less than impressed.
This concept (of dilution) really applies to anything that you add to the tank, conservative is always appreciated by livestock.

If you add in just a few fish, I suspect you'll be fine, especially if you're able to do 25% daily water changes.
I'm completely guilty of tossing 8-10 guppy juveniles - brilliant orange dudes that I just couldn't leave behind in the shop - into a newly set up tank, I add Seachem Ammonia alert (pH Alert as well sometimes if I'm concerned about hardscape etc affecting pH) & do frequent water changes ... I do always have some sponge or bit of media I can pull from another tank, but this is not the same as a cycled filter, though it's a good starter culture so cycling is faster.
You can also pick up a product such as Dr Tim's "One & Only" - there are a couple on the market (not to be confused with the vast array of wannabeaquariumnitrifiers) - they can work well but as these bacteria are rather fragile, you need to be sure of the source & follow directions closely.

If your tap water measures zero nitrates, & tank measures 5-10ppm nitrates, you know filter is on it's way, then check for nitrite & ammonia - it's common to see nitrates beginning while nitrites are still waning.
Due to the mechanism of action of nitrite toxicity, you can add salt (sodium chloride) to protect fish (sorry I don't recall salt levels, but The Skeptical Aquarist is always a good source of information - & attitude ;)) + water changes of course + Prime etc & it mostly all works just fine out in the end o_O ... it's just not the conservative approach :nailbiting:
 
Thanks again alto when I run out of tetra I will order some seachem prime next time, I am a little confused about what you mean about 10x dose is that just to protect from nitrites ? Is normal dose ok for getting chlorine out of water ?

Will check my levels on Saturday then of ok get a few fish , are jumpers common in open top tanks ?


Thanks Dean
 
Jumpers can be a problem but it largely depends on species......however i had an angelfish jump out and that was a sad surprise. I had a glass top made for my tank to avoid this, also as im running 80 farenheit temperature, evaporation and resultant condensation in the conservatory became an issue. With the top i dont have jumpers anymore and i dont top the tank up all week :D win win! Its pretty unobtrusive also as its glass and rests on ada tank hooks. The only negative is you cant have protruding wood from the scape and you have to dust it :mad:
I dont think you should add fish after only a week Dean, dont rush it mate or you could end up with a lot of stress. Just add the pinch of fish food every other day for a couple of weeks and stock slowly :thumbup: Ive been cycling a nano this way for nearly two weeks now with some floating plants and weekly water change and will look to add some fish next week.

Also regards your sand, you can keep it pristine by using a gravel cleaner syphon as part of your weekly maintenance.
As others have stated plecs of any size are messy, and ones that will keep your wood clean by eating it are particularly messy. I have several small clown plecs and bristlenose but they do produce a lot of waste. Ottos are good cleaners, but they really dont like immature tanks and should be a last addition if you opt for them. No matter what you add nothing beats good maintenance :thumbup:

Cheerio,
Ady.
 
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Thanks for that ady I was thinking about getting a lid think you can buy direct from green machine, will have a look, u think is best to see of have many jumpers first then decide ,

As for fish I will add the ottos last and and tetras first then shrimp, not sure weather to go for green tetra or neon as the greens have less colour and will look better in the scape I think but I normally go to pets at home and don't think the Washington one has them, could try metro center pets at home or dobies see of have green tetra, as as you say I will keep adding the fish food and over weekend check my levels

Do you just use the recommended amount of seachem prime with your tap water ? And will get myself a gravel vac as had one but think chucked it out. When I fill my tank I been using hose connected to my kitchen tap but need a decent way to hook onto tank so can leave it to fill what do you guys do

Dean


Thanks Dean
 
The 10X dose on Prime is just for emergency nitrite toxicity (may protect against ammonia as well, but there are better products on the market for that, eg, the zeolite compounds you add to your filter).

I refill direct from the tap, I've a Python system & just use an Eheim suction cup with clip (one clip is the perfect size to tightly hold the Python tubing & Eheim suction cups out-suction the competition :lol:) ... recently I've added an intake tube to the assembly, the Python tubing slips neatly inside & the intake strainer diffuses the flow, each has an Eheim suction cup/clip.
This is also useful for draining the tank as no fish can enter the out- bound flow.
A tank lid is also useful for holding that tubing in place - here again the Eheim suction cup make a nice obstacle to prevent the tubing leaping out.
It's alot more zen if you can see tank & tap at the same time & can dash back & forth with few obstacles ;)

While vacuuming the sand just use the tip of a finger to gently stir the upper cm or so, any algae-discolored sand get's turned under - you can obviously do this any time, but I like to make sure any particles are vacuumed up first (this may take a bit of practise so as not to syphon up sand as well).

I vote for green neon tetras - though they get plenty bright when settled.
Black phantom tetras are always a favorite, though obviously different behavior than the neons.
There are lots of rasboras available these days, just make sure to get at least 10-12 - or alot more if you go micro (though for kids, I'd likely go with neon size rather than micro)
 
Just a quick update done a large water change yesterday even if not necessary (couldn't believe the amount of crap I threw up stirring the sand and cleaning the black off the wood , the water was very cloudy) but took best part of hour so give it a thorough clean as need to get used to it, also got the background on but not sure of like it but staying for time being

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Need to turn the wood so facing down on the left like before

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Then took bairns to ue reef aquarium yesterday to kill some time quite a nice day out here is jake looking at (shark)

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Anyway still looking locallys for green neon tetras as stay nice amd small so hopefully find some

Also anyone seen twinstar nano on sale at tgm for £92 seems a good price whats the overall opinion on them or is it split ? Seems to give clearer water etc

Dean
 
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at that price, heck yeah :lol:

(lot $ more here)

It will likely keep your rocks looking much cleaner, I like mine as it's decent at maintaining water oxygen levels - even when I accidentally bump up the CO2 & then leave all day :oops:
 
Yeah was thinking might be a nice help ☺ works out at £92 all in but is there not a new version coming out ? Found the m5 one on amazon at around £105 whats difference etc
 
I just watched yesterday's walking dead really enjoyed it so is the m5 the new one is there no uk suppliers ?


Thanks Dean
 
Twinstar product info & tank size recommendations here
For your tank you could go either way (shame the company didn't switch out all the bright white "in tank" parts for dull grey)
Difficult to comprehend the differences between the actual offered products as the same reactor appears to be used for algae & fish & shrimp disease inhibition ... perhaps the controller just does different timing on the reactor action :confused:

When my local shop got them in (they tested the product in their display tanks) the sales mumbo jumbo implied that differences in the reactors were what separated the algae vs disease effects ... I thought perhaps something along the lines of silver ion release in the disease prevention models BUT as the above site promotes same reactor across the models ... it may just be the same increased water column oxygenation (which to give credit, is a significant consideration in preventing fish diseases - especially in aquaculture systems)

(I'd just buy the cheaper one from TGM ;))
 
Hardscape looks great!
Will look even better with a school of tetras swimming around.
Maybe a lighter background as well, even go a off white which will look darker through the water anyways.
Also have you considered adding some good old java moss? even if its in the back out of sight. I find it does wonders for water quality, and overall balance/stability by taking up access nutrients & toxins and control algae. Fish and shrimp will also be happier.
 
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PlAnts will be coming after a while

Have some while algae on the wood even though lights haven't been on but there are on now as purchased a few fish got 4 green neon tetras as that's all they had on stock however one was sucked into Lilly pipe and stuck on inlet and one must have jumped as disappeared but other 2 seem to be happy, carried out water change after a day to help cannot wait to have a large shoal hopefully if still have 2 will get 8 next week as only very small fish green tetras are stunning fish,blue from underneath and green from above ,

Only set my lights to come on from 6 till 8 for viewing but might change as when I am off that's no good

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what type algae is this

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Thanks Dean
 
It's the famous wood slime/mould/whathaveyou :D
- the perfect excuse to add shrimp!

Creatures that get stuck on the filter inlet are often not in the best of health - adding a sponge cover of some sort when adding in new livestock will give them time to adapt/recover.
After a few days of good activity/expected food response, it's safe to remove the filter guard.

Sorry for your losses, I suspect the missing green neon is stuck somewhere out of sight, these fish aren't much for jumping.
Green neons really are stunning fish (usually less inbred than some of the other "neons"), definitely try to get a shoal of 15 or so (you may see a few losses in the first months & they are not stocked as commonly).

No java moss please!
I like the scape just as it is :thumbup:

Panda loaches would also clean your stones (& likely cost less than the Twinstar ;)) - these loaches are making the rounds in the local shops at the moment but I'm resisting so far - they are the perfect excuse for more lighting as they really need a good portion of algae in their diet

....... & rock algae is perfect!

(perhaps they will even relish that wood slime)

Note that as with most loaches, these should be kept in small groups
 
Thanks for the kind words again alto keeping as iz for now, yeah the green neons are tiny little fish and very beautiful to look at, I have added my shrimp guard to the inlet for now so hopefully not as strong on intake and still 2 fish there today haha, you think would be ok to buy 8-10 green neons at once or is that too much for the beneficial bacteria ?

After got nice shoal I will be getting shrimp and loaches as suggested





Thanks Dean
 
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