Show us your Aquariums

[Dash: CF noob]

Personally had no luck with guppies, but my Angel fish are doing well.

[joglynne]

I have had a few Angels in the past when we had a much larger tank and do admit to having a hankering to set up a larger community tank again so that I could indulge in some more exotic looking inhabitants. However I still shudder at the memory of coming home one day to find several gallons of water gracing my sitting room carpet and all my fish squished up in just a couple of inches of water. ... for some reason my filter pump went into overdrive and, as the feed back into the tank couldn't cope with the rate of water, treated my floor as an overflow area. It was lucky that the inlet to the pump was well above the gravel or I would have had a lot of dead fish and a very upset young son to cope with as well.

[Halcyon]

Have you got a photo Jo of your current setup?

[joglynne]

Nope, but I will try.

I don't seem to have the knack of taking photos of my tanks as the flash seems to obliterate the subject. Mind all that you would see is a few moss balls and a couple of White Clouds. The fry seem to hide at the slightest movement anywhere around the tank and the Ghost Shrimp are invisible most of the time unless you catch them moving on a moss ball.

Any tips on taking a photo which will need extra light will be gratefully accepted. I have tried shining torches from the side but the fish went into hiding. My current Fluval Chi tank has a black backdrop and white gravel if that makes any difference to any advise you can give me Hal.

[Graham M]

Turn off the flash, if your aquarium has decent lighting you won't need it!

Here's my 2

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...1&l=7c47896c7d

[joglynne]

<Jo hangs head in shame at not thinking of that and goes to take picture>

OK so the best of a load of bad photos.

To get a clear shot I had to remove an air wall from the front of the tank that I am using to ensure the oxygen levels are as high as possible for the remaining inhabitants so there is now a fair bit of crud floating about. As a result of this the fry and shrimps are in hiding and the 2 White Clouds are very skittish but you get a good idea of how empty my poor tank looks at the moment. Oh just in case you can't see her the female White Cloud is hiding below the heater - bottom right - and you can just see her nose peeking out above her favorite moss ball at the back of the tank.

[Halcyon]

Originally Posted by Graham M

Here's my 2

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...1&l=7c47896c7d

Nice tank Graham.
I like the layout and how the fish have a hiding place too.
I have the same or similar Fluval filter as you.

Jo, your tank looks good. Are you going to restock it with more fish?

[joglynne]

Oooops, sorry Graham. In my embarrassment at not thinking to turn off the flash I didn't finish looking at your post. Very plump and happy looking fish you have there.

@ Hal. I do intend to restock once I have the tank sorted. No more guppies though.

I intend to to put a permanent air curtain at the back of the tank so once that arrives I will do a deep clean, check all the levels, then get a few more White Clouds. The fry should be a tad bigger and I will see how the tank looks as a single species community.

[Graham M]

Originally Posted by Halcyon

Nice tank Graham.
I like the layout and how the fish have a hiding place too.
I have the same or similar Fluval filter as you.

Jo, your tank looks good. Are you going to restock it with more fish?

There's 2 tanks there, the 1 with the internal filter (Fluval U4) is running a Fluval 205 external, I don't really like Internal filters, they ruin the look but it's not really up to the task of a 200l tank even though it's rate as "upto", the 180l tank is running a 305 which is much more up to the task, think I'll be getting another of those

The hidey holes are important especially for Plecos and other Algae eaters which tend to be fairly nocturnal anyway, fish like places to hide away in general though, they need rest too!

Do either of you use aquarium salt, I started about 6 months ago and since then the fish seemed to be a heck of a lot healthier! I just follow the instructions on the carton and add about 3 heaped teaspoons to my 25l bottles I use to stow the water before I add it in with dechlorinator, don't go any more specific than than that as it's not exactly salt-water by any degree, I guess it could be described as brackish.

[joglynne]

I don't use salt in my small aquarium as I found it effected my moss balls and they are too precious to risk. IMO The oxygen/carbon dioxide/ammonia benefits of using the moss balls far out weighs any benefit the salt would give especially in small tanks.

I did use to use salt in my big tank if my fish seemed out of sorts and it did seem to do the job and I was happier doing that than using a lot of the 'cures' that were sold 10/20 years ago. If I had thought about it I would have used it in a hospitalisation tank this time but the fish that died all looked 100% OK before they died and never showed any signs of illness or stress.

Do you have any live plants in your aquariums Graham and if so what types?

[Graham M]

In the tank with my Catfish and Plecos I have a couple of Java ferns growing on Bogwood which I quite like, I bought them already planted, might try and grow my own as I've got 1 piece of bare bogwood and a couple of other pieces soaking at the moment (though doesn't seem to be much tannin leaking out!)

As for my tank with the Shubunkins etc, I don't know what they're called but there a sort of leafy reed that they like to munch on and they look quite nice too!

[joglynne]

Sounds as though you have a good balance then. The Java fern is a hardy plant and I do like them when they are combined with Bog wood. Maybe your new pieces have been pre-soaked or previously used in another tank. I couldn't believe how much brown stain I got out of the one small piece I used a few years ago.

[Graham M]

I added the Bogwood after only about 2.5 weeks soaking, I have been running Carbon in the filter anyway and can't see any discolouration of the water, my levels seem spot on, as close to 0/0 for Ammonia/Nitrite as my test strips can show and pretty low Nitrate levels thanks to fairly regular water changes, need to do a few changes in my other tank as the nitrate levels are a little high in there at the moment.

Went out and bought a Fluval 305 canister filter and a spray bar today to try and get the water moving a bit better in the tropical tank, going to run that and the 205 together.

I added 8 Neon tetras a couple of weeks ago and 2 tiny ones died, don't think they were very healthy anyway but the rest seem fine, so I've just added 8 male guppies today and they are adjusting gradually.

[swoop101]

I have just redone my tank

[Graham M]

My Aquariums, enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tkgP...9lNUx-b5xUl5he