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Getting back in the hobby

ale36

Member
Joined
16 Nov 2012
Messages
226
Location
Stansted ,Essex
Hey guys been absent from the hobby for a few years back after loosing some of my fish i decided to shut my tanks down. But looking to start up again. I have a 90 x 30x 30 cm tank that i was doing to use for a Malawi set up at the time but decided not to as was maybe too small. It has ocean rock and coral gravel in it. Any ideas what i could use this for? I don't have to use the hardscape but it would be an advantage as already have it. Will also need to get external filters and lights for this too.
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Ocean rock and coral gravel doesn't sound good for planted tanks.
Some river rocks and gravel/sand will be inert at least.
1) find a fish or plant you realy like
2) make hat the center on the tank/scape
3) start investigating (forum, web etc etc)

for examples you could have a look at :https://www.einrichtungsbeispiele.de/
 
Ocean rock and coral gravel doesn't sound good for planted tanks.
Some river rocks and gravel/sand will be inert at least.
1) find a fish or plant you realy like
2) make hat the center on the tank/scape
3) start investigating (forum, web etc etc)

for examples you could have a look at :https://www.einrichtungsbeispiele.de/
Yeah i didn't think so either but as i already had it i thought i ask. Might just have to bag it all up and start with an empty tank.

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Hi all,
I'm not a great fan of gravel, do you have any sand you could use? (coral sand would be fine).Get some Escargot shells and keep <"Lake Tanganyika shellies">.

You could try Vallisneria, Ceratophyllum and Pistia as plants.

cheers Darrel
Yeah did think of the lake Tanganyika shell dwellers. But i cant remember if i decide against it or not its been a while. Need to look up again. How many you think i can get in there?


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A more comprehensive list of

Tanganyika Shell Dwellers

Most profiles will indicate level of aggression & ease of keeping, find out whats available locally & I'll be happy to stock your tank for you :D - my tap is absurdly soft now, so I left the Tangs behind :(

I quite like lampeye killi's with shellies, though other fish choices need to revolve around the chosen Shell Dweller
 
A more comprehensive list of

Tanganyika Shell Dwellers

Most profiles will indicate level of aggression & ease of keeping, find out whats available locally & I'll be happy to stock your tank for you :D - my tap is absurdly soft now, so I left the Tangs behind :(

I quite like lampeye killi's with shellies, though other fish choices need to revolve around the chosen Shell Dweller
Ohh thank you. Will have a look through. I believe i live in a hard water area but not had ot tested. Would you recommend using RO and adding minerals to get it to the right levels or you think ill be ok with tap?

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Hi all,
I believe i live in a hard water area but not had ot tested. Would you recommend using RO and adding minerals to get it to the right levels or you think ill be ok with tap?
You can get a water report for your post-code from your water suppliers web site, but the water will be "hard" or "very hard". This is the <""Affinity Water" report for CM23 2BJ">, (I just used a random Bishop Stortford post code).

Because you live in the SE of England the water is likely to be reasonably high in nitrates (NO3-) and phosphates (PO4---) (although there may be a <"PO4 stripper at the local sewage works">). This is less of an issue for people with planted tanks, because the plants will deplete these fairly effectively.

I would add some "Epsom Salts" (magnesium sulphate (MgSO4.7H2O)) to the tap water, because a lot of the Lake Tanganyika dGH is from magnesium, and some potassium bicarbonate (KHCO3), because Lake Tanganyika is very carbonate rich. If you add a solution of KHCO3 and the tank goes "milky" the water is already fully saturated with carbonates and the least soluble carbonate (CaCO3) is coming out of solution.

You can buy both of these chemical cheaply from Ebay etc. Because it is a planted tank I would use potassium bicarbonate, rather than sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3).

A kilo of food grade KHCO3 is ~£7, and a kilo of Epsom salts is less than £5.

There is a discussion on salt mixes at the <"British Cichlid Association web site"> if you want to go down the RO route.

cheers Darrel
 
Hi all,
This is the report for my post code
Perfect, 19dKH (345/17.85).

Our tap water is about the same dKH, and I'm pretty sure this just reflects the maximum solubility of calcium carbonate (CaCO3), so you would be safe in assuming that your tap water is bore-hole water from a limestone (chalk) aquifer (ours is from a Jurassic age limestone aquifer, but they are both pure CaCO3).

You should be able to get a nitrate reading as well from somewhere on the Affinity Water web site as well. Because your water is likely to be largely from an aquifer you may find it hasn't got as much NO3 as it would have from surface water (reservoir or river), but even deep aquifers are now polluted, so it is unlikely to be less than 10ppm and may well be ~20ppm.

There is an EU limit for PO4--- in drinking water (it isn't hazardous to health), so you don't get a print out from your water company.

cheers Darrel
 
Yeah did think of the lake Tanganyika shell dwellers. But i cant remember if i decide against it or not its been a while. Need to look up again. How many you think i can get in there?


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I started with 8 multifasciatus, gave one back to the LFS as he was getting a whooping from the dominant male, have 2 m, 5 f now... And countless fry in all sizes. Getting close to 100 fish. In a 60x30x30. I'm breaking my back doing waterchanges. Need fish contraceptives.

In other words; a lot. Multies make HUGE colonies; some of the other species tend more towards "family groups". I remember having a lot of fun with N. brevis back in the day.
 
Hi all, Perfect, 19dKH (345/17.85).

Our tap water is about the same dKH, and I'm pretty sure this just reflects the maximum solubility of calcium carbonate (CaCO3), so you would be safe in assuming that your tap water is bore-hole water from a limestone (chalk) aquifer (ours is from a Jurassic age limestone aquifer, but they are both pure CaCO3).

You should be able to get a nitrate reading as well from somewhere on the Affinity Water web site as well. Because your water is likely to be largely from an aquifer you may find it hasn't got as much NO3 as it would have from surface water (reservoir or river), but even deep aquifers are now polluted, so it is unlikely to be less than 10ppm and may well be ~20ppm.

There is an EU limit for PO4--- in drinking water (it isn't hazardous to health), so you don't get a print out from your water company.

cheers Darrel
this is the Report
https://www.affinitywater.co.uk/docs/water-quality/TV018.pdf
i can see nitrate at min:16 mean:20 Max:23

If calcium carbonate reflects the max solubility i'm i right to think that this would be suited for Tanganyika Shell Dwellers with out the need to add any minerals? or am i missing something?
 
I started with 8 multifasciatus, gave one back to the LFS as he was getting a whooping from the dominant male, have 2 m, 5 f now... And countless fry in all sizes. Getting close to 100 fish. In a 60x30x30. I'm breaking my back doing waterchanges. Need fish contraceptives.

In other words; a lot. Multies make HUGE colonies; some of the other species tend more towards "family groups". I remember having a lot of fun with N. brevis back in the day.
got any pics of your setup?
 
nice, so many choices to look for this is going to be harder than i though. need help deciding.
just need to replace most my gravel with sand. humm need a crusher:bookworm:
i like to have as many as i realistically can in my size tank so i guess they would have to be somewhat peaceful. i don't mind having mixed species and some colors. just looked though Thomas thread and looked up some of the ones mentioned in there and i like the look of the Neolamprologus Leleupi.
 
Hi all,
i can see nitrate at min:16 mean:20 Max:23
That definitely suggests aquifer water, if you have water from surface drainage (reservoirs or rivers) you tend to get more variation through the year.
If calcium carbonate reflects the max solubility i'm i right to think that this would be suited for Tanganyika Shell Dwellers with out the need to add any minerals? or am i missing something?
Lake Tanganyika is different from Lake Malawi, and the other Rift lakes, it is much harder, because of the additional minerals from volcanic activity. If it was me I would add some more magnesium and (potassium) carbonates, but you will have Tang keepers locally who will be able to advise you, have a look on Facebook, (<"EA Cichlid group?">).
i like the look of the Neolamprologus Leleupi
I think that is a bit of an exception as a colourful one, they are mainly fairly subdued in colour. I also think they are quite aggressive.

cheers Darrel
 
Hi all, That definitely suggests aquifer water, if you have water from surface drainage (reservoirs or rivers) you tend to get more variation through the year. Lake Tanganyika is different from Lake Malawi, and the other Rift lakes, it is much harder, because of the additional minerals from volcanic activity. If it was me I would add some more magnesium and (potassium) carbonates, but you will have Tang keepers locally who will be able to advise you, have a look on Facebook, (<"EA Cichlid group?">). I think that is a bit of an exception as a colourful one, they are mainly fairly subdued in colour. I also think they are quite aggressive.

cheers Darrel

Yeah, leleupi (and brichardi, for that matter) are beautiful fish; but due to their nature best kept in species tanks. But you could have a family group of either in a tank like yours.

Multies are fairly subdued colourwise, but I found brevis to be quite beautiful, in an understated kind of way. Mostly, what tanganyikans lack in colour; they make up in 'personality' and behaviour. Never a dull moment.

Not a matter with brichardi complex, but if you go for shelldwellers, you'll need very fine grained sand, they like digging; and do so using their entire body. And forget about plants, unless you can attach them to rocks.
 
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