Asmodeus

Thanks for the replies. I realise there are no fish to pass diseases on to, I was just wary about disease being introduced into the tank itself... Sounds like I'm possibly overthinking it this time. I will get a few initial fish and see how they go. Won't be adding any more for a little bit anyway so should be fine Should...

Ive done a bit of searching and there seems to be conflicting opinions out there on this, and most of the info is for marine tanks where I guess it is more costly to have a nightmare occur. Anyway, I have a new aquarium that is just about re-cycled after being torn down and built again from scratch. I'm getting ready to start adding fish but I was wondering if the first fish should go in a QT before going in the display tank. Rationale being that the new fish could introduce a disease to the tank itself. If so, how long will it take to seed some filter media for the QT using my existing canister? Any suggestions for first fish for a planted 200l tank? Cheers!

You lost 20 litres in your car?!

OK cool, what would be the minimum amount of water you would keep? 30%? 20%?

I have to move house this weekend and , typically, I have just set up a 200l planted aquarium :roll: Luckily I haven't added fish yet, but the tank has just completed its cycle. I'm going to have to do a total tear down but I want to keep as much water as possible. I know the cheap plastic bins and containers you can buy are not always suitable for transporting large amounts of liquid but you can buy cheap water drums on trademe. The ones Im looking at are food grade but have had hog casings in them (brine) so will need a soak and wash. do you think they would be OK after that? What would you wash with? Just water? Would you line it with a big trash sack or something perhaps? http://www.trademe.co.nz/business-farmi ... 284481.htm http://www.trademe.co.nz/business-farmi ... 234124.htm Alternatively is there anything else suitable and cheap around? I dont actually need 200l drum, 100 would do it as that would hold half my tank Cheers!

Here is the latest pic of the tank. Cycle is almost done now and was about to add fish. However turns out I have to move house next weekend so will wait for that. Going to have to do a complete tear down as Im moving to a new house and have to take tank up 2 flights of stairs. Will be way too heavy with substrate in it. REALLY annoying but no choice in the matter Will log the details of the move here. *sigh* Tank sill seems a bit cloudy but only slightly. Hair algae still there but under control with excel and water changes.

Yes they were such plants. Had purplish/green leaves. The similar ones I bought that are all green are still alive and growing though. Algae not too bad but getting a fair bit of the long wispy fine green/brown stuff... Just yanking out the worst of it with the claw at the mo Just found out I have to move house in the next month too, great timing!

Thanks for the offer, I may take you up on that once my tank has settled. I knew the val would succumb to the excel. It was starting to go before I added it though tbh. Do you think the excel would have done that to those other plants (made them go black and fall to bits?) Any insight to my other questions? Thanks!

Damn, I was there last year and the website is still up so figured so was the store... That's a shame as they were good!

Murder Burger in Ponsonby also do some of the best burgers in town, $8-$15 for a burger. Their double-beef and wild boar bacon with kumara fries and an old fashioned milkshake is simply delish. They also do smoked kangaroo sausages with a great dipping sauce as a side

We're at week 4 now and the cycle is well under way Readings are as follows: pH: 6.4 NH3: 3ppm N02: 5ppm N03: 5-10ppm The fine wispy stringy algae is in effect but water changes are keeping it under control. I also have a fine green algae on the background and glass too. The double dose of flourish excel seemed to knock the BBA on the head for now though but melted my val. Still some tiny snails in there but not an issue. My 2 val plants have basically melted into nothing but the "stumps" are still alive so will see how they go. Have had other plants go black and rot too, not sure what they are called but have included a pic. So it's actually a bit down on last week in terms of total plants but others continue to flourish, and my cycle is well under way. Here is a pic and a few questions. Close up of black rotting plants Questions: 1) ph is getting low due to dosing with NH3. Is this what has rotted out those plants? I'll do a near-complete water change before I add fish but don't want to lose my plants in the meantime. Increase frequency of water changes perhaps? 2) Lights currently on for 6 hours but green algae increasing (albeit very slow). Should I leave it at 6 for now and see how it goes or reduce further to 5? 3) when will I know if I "need" CO2? Cheers! :f77:

That's solid info! Water changes it is then I think as they are helping keep the lagae down and don't appear to affect cycling time. I don't plan to fully stock at first. Will prob get a decent school of small fish going first and then take it from there

Thanks for the feedback Good call on moving the swords. They look good where they are at their current size but I agree they will be too big for there eventually. I didn't mind the other coloured stones and other people had commented on them positively but I guess it's down to personal preference. As they get some more algae on them and look more aged they will probably look better. Easy to move anyway and I'm sure I'll want to change the way it looks eventually Has anyone got any input about the ammonia vs water change thing? I am up to 4ppm now but nitrite still 0. Should I still do my weekly water change (20%) and then add a bit more NH3 or just wait? Is 4ppm where I want it or should I go higher? Cheers!

It doesn't take up too much room actually. A couple of parts jut out a bit but only 10cm or so I think. You can kind of tell from this pic (mine is the other way up) Today is my 3 week update All is going well, algae is minimal, I did a double initial dose of flourish excel which knocked it right back. Val didn't like it though and has melted right back too... Hopefully it will re-sprout I have been dosing with cloudy ammonia and by tomorrow it should be up to 4ppm. I was due to do a weekly water change today but I figured no point as water is OK (wee bit cloudy) but still no fish and I would just be delaying the cycle more. Ammonia was 2ppm today, nitrite 0 and pH 7.1. Once I get to 4ppm I will keep it there until nitrites and nitrates start showing, then once the ammonia and nitrite drop off, I'll do an 80% water change and add some fish Anyway here's what she looks like today. Val has died back but other plants are doing fairly well so far. Not added any more since last time Do you agree about holding off on the water changes for now?

If only you lived in the US