seftonearl Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 Hi, I hope to pick your brains as its eight years since I have kept a Aquarium. I live in Hastings and have been a member of the Hawke's Bay Aquarium Society, I used to breed red ears , which is not much help for my current project. I am now trying to set up a 1 metre by 500cm, approx 200 ltrs aquarium for the Hawkes Bay Brain Injury Assocciation in its house / office in Hastings. We have a drop in day once a week attended by around 15 people. I feel that they will all enjoy the tank once I get it set up. So far I have only the tank and large canaster filter. So I have a lot ot do. Im thinking low maintanince, eg small stones, plastic plants, rocks and driftwood. Bright colored active fish, (unkown) and two heaters of 150 watts. Any ideas welcome. There are office staff in the building each weekday for feeding. Thanks for any help Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ianab Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 A school of tiger barbs puts on a good show, plenty of action. It does limit some of the other choices, but some small cichlids (rams or kribensis) and a couple of bristlenose plecos (mostly as a bottom / glass cleanup crew ) All low maintainance fish that wont break the bank or outgrow the tank Cheers Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jude Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 Yes, I love the Tiger Barbs. They are always active and are a pretty fish. Plus they aren't terribly expensive. I'd prefer real plants because they would reduce the maintenance by gobbling up some of the "manure" at the bottom of the tank. Use tough plants like anubias, crypts, java fern and swords because the barbs will munch through the tender plants. Barbs like to chase each other through and around things so driftwood and plants would add to the interest Cheers Jude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Afrikan Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 Welcome to the forums from a fellow Hawkes Bay person Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seftonearl Posted July 24, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 Just what i need, I will get some books from the libary and look the fish up, take them to the drop in day and involve everone, should be fun. I have had a planted tank for my daughter 20 odd years ago so Im not against that idea. It was sugested by a pet shop owner that the new costly plastic plants might be better in the long run,the reasons given were that they last forever, and dont need expensive lighting, Im not convinced. Is there a cheaper option to buy from that a local retail store?She has been very helpful, also half the price of my only other local shop.20 neons is her idea for a start . I will have to get any costs passed by the board .I have supplied the tank and filter so hope to get some sort of budget for the rest. Are these Tiger Barbs going to do better on sand or stones?, a mixture of both?. Also do you include a bottom gravel filter as well as the external one?. I have one to hand, is it just more work? so many questions. more to come no doubt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
me love fishy Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 You could try trade me as a cheaper option for plants and fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ianab Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Are these Tiger Barbs going to do better on sand or stones?, The barbs wont worry, but I would go with a fine gravel, just a thin layer. It tends to trap the crud out of sight, then you can vacum it out as part of your weekly water change/maintainance. If you have a decent canister filter you wont need an UG as well. You can allways go with some plants in small pots and hide them behind the rocks and driftwood. Makes it easy to swap them out if they dont do well or you get some more. A big bunch of Neons does look good, but they are just small fish without much 'personality'. Hard to get attached to one when they are all small and look and act the same. Be aware that tiger barbs are very active fish, and will nip the fins of slow moving long finned fish. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_barb Dont keep them with guppies / anglefish etc and get at least 6 of them. That way they will chase each other and not cause touble. My 4ft tank has tiger barbs, kribensis, a bala shark and some pleocs - with no problems, so I know they will live together happily Ohh.. and make sure you read up on cycling the filter once you set up the tank, basically, add the fish a few at a time over several weeks. Gives the filter a chance to built up a population of bacteria and avoids excess ammonia killing your fish after the first week. Cheers Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 This forum, plus HBAS members (if you join), are great places for cheap fish and plants. I much prefer live to plastic and the tank will be easier to look after in my opinion (sorry, I guess I should have said IMO 8) ) as they help the tank keep a nice nutrient (not sure if that is the right word) balance. I would go for a shoaling species like the barbs, rummy nose tetras, harlequins, rasboras etc. They are always on the move. Lighting need not be expensive either. Basic fluorescents will do the job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim r Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Would a donation help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seftonearl Posted July 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Thanks. It was great to read the web page on the Barbs. Im leaning towards the planted tank now. Im going to the drop in day tomorrow and will settle on the placement of the tank. We are moving it from a office L shaped desk to a metal cabinet. I will have to see if the cabinets top is flat enough for the tank. I think its uneven which means a sheet of solid board with closed cell foam on top. I will them have to position the filter and I guess extend its tubes? or sit it on something high. The tank will be in the centre of the lounge/dining room just under head height.If that goes ok I might fire up the filter and let it move the water around for a week to see if it or the tank leaks. Is it a good idea to heat the water at this stage? Why?. (No heater yet.) Thanks for the donation offer Jim. I will have to see what the board and staff think,I wasn't angleing for that. Maybe any good unwanted equipment that we realy need or a plant or a fish would help. I hope that visitors, clients, their caregivers or family might also offer to add a fish or plant to the tank when its up and running.I had a quote of $600 from a suppiler to equip and stock it but have found it can be done for half that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ianab Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Is it a good idea to heat the water at this stage? Why?. (No heater yet.) I would put the heater in at least a couple of days before you start adding fish, mainly because it gives the tank a chance to get up to temp and you can adjust it to the right level. The temp markings on them aren't allways accurate, so it's better to plug it in and wait a day, then adjust.. repeat untill it's right. You can do the setup much cheaper if you make some contacts through the local club, things like plants and maybe some spare fish etc. Cheers Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted July 26, 2007 Report Share Posted July 26, 2007 I'm sure there are many in here willing and able to donate various bits of equipment, fish or plants. I will PM you details for a local man involved in the Taranaki Aquarium and Pond Society. They don't have meetings at the moment but will know who to contact locally (and possibly have stuff to donate as well). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seftonearl Posted July 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2007 Good thinking about the heater, I will do that. Jim, my boss said that any donations would be greatfully received, Caryl , I have emailed your contact Mitch, thanks. I didnt achieve anything today as the tank is around 4cm longer that the cabnet top. I wil have to cut some board to support it . Just to bone up on recycleing the filter, do you mean to clean out one of the 3 filter sections in rotation every 3 months ?. Leaving the sponge Till last? Also do you remove and replace water every week or fortnight? And how much, a quarter or a third of the tank? Thanks, getting informed short answers to questions is fantastic. It sure beats having to find books and read through rems of articals, quite a effort after a head injury. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted July 26, 2007 Report Share Posted July 26, 2007 I only clean my filters when the water flow back into the tank is seriously reduced. My current filter was cleaned after running 12 months. Smaller filters will need cleaning out more often though as they gunk up faster. A lot depends on fish load and plants. If you have fish that like to nibble the plants they wil tend to block a filter a little more quickly with leafy bits. :roll: A weekly or fortnightly water change is good. 20% is a nice amount or a quarter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ianab Posted July 26, 2007 Report Share Posted July 26, 2007 The cycling is the initial setup of the tank and filter. When you first set up the tank there will be practically no ammonia 'eating' bacteria in the tank or filter. If you add a full population of fish the ammonia will build up quickly and kill the fish. Simplest way is to just add a couple of hardy fish (depends on tank/fish size) and leave them a couple of weeks. This gives the bacteria a chance to get establised and multiply. Then add a few more fish each week and after 6 weeks or so your tank should be cycled and fully stocked. There are ways to shortcut this, but they involve having a cycled tank or filter already. If you are starting from scratch, just do it slow and you will be fine. Ammonia and nitrite test kits will let you monitor this, but if you dont have them, just take it slowly. How often / much you have to change the water depends on the amount of fish.. or more exactly, the amount of food they eat. The filters will convert the waste ammonia to nitrate, which isn't toxic in small amounts but eventually builds up in the tank untill it affects the fish. So we do water changes to keep the level down. 20% of the water per week or fortnight is a sensible level for a normal tank. More fish, more water changes.. less fish you wont have to change as much. You can use a Nitrate test kit to work out exactly how often you need to change water, or just use a rule of thumb like 20% week if you dont want to get too technical. Clean out the filter when you notice the flow dropping off. Dont try and get it spotlessly clean though, you will clean out all the good bacteria. Just rinse it out in a bucket of old tank water while you are doing a water change, wash off the worst of the gunge and bung it back in. The filters are working best when they have some gunge in here, but too much cuts down the water flow. How often you need to clean out depends on the filter type and what fish you have. Cheers Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seftonearl Posted July 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 Thanks to Caryl and Ian, very good answers. Ian , my filter has 3 compartments with a sponge at the top and a ammonia absorbing broken rock stuff in the centre. There is ceramic and plastic bio material at the bottom. Will that take not care of the ammiona?. I will start of with only a few fish though, and only when the plants are doing ok. My next subject is heaters. I have owned several 300w glass themosat types which do not last that long.(3yrs approx with turtles anyway). They are hard to hide in the tank, and I should have 2 in case one fails.?. Its not just the glass tube which Ive been told should be mounted at 45 degress on each side of the back wall but you have to hide the electric cable as well. My tank will be set up to stick out between the lounge and dining room and will be viewed from both sides. Is there not a heated pad with good control that can be placed under the tank? does anyone do this? Also are there such a thing as a heated rock that works.?It would look much better.IMHO. All for now Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ianab Posted July 27, 2007 Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 There are other ways to heat a tank, but think expensive. Best option is to use normal heaters, the Jager brand ones seem to be the best. They cost a few dollars more, but they are better. You could probably mount them on the end of the tank, along with the filter pipes. If they are in a good water flow from the filter outlet then they will be OK upright. At least that way you can keep all the wires and pipes in one place and maybe even hide them with a cover. I you aren't around to look after the tank then putting 2 smaller heaters in there isn't a bad idea. If one does happen to fail the other one will hold the temp OK. No matter what filter you have it needs to be cycled. The ceramic beads are designed to grow the bacteria that the filter needs to function. Yes you can get filter elements to absorb ammonia, but they are a one use thing. Once they are used up then you need the biological part of the filter to be working. Cheers Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted July 27, 2007 Report Share Posted July 27, 2007 Yes you can buy under tank heat pads but they are expensive. We have made our own in the past but you need sound electrical knowledge before building such a thing. Also, I believe it is now very difficult to buy the separate thermostat required to control the temperature. A good idea would be to ask someone with an established tank if you can run your filter off their tank for a few weeks while you get your tank organised. This will mean you have already got a good bacterial supply to start when you are ready to stock your tank. Mitch should be able to help there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seftonearl Posted July 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2007 Well, that wasn't what I wanted to hear, but at least I know what make of heater to buy. Ive been thinking about the tank and read in the articals section that you can recreate the original environment of the fish? ( Ive forgotten what its called.> Biosphere<?) I have been given quite a list of fish which will go well together eg. Tiger Barbs, Rams ,Kribensis, Bristlenose, Bala Shark,Rummnose Tetras,Harlequins Rasboras, Plus Plants .Aubias,Crypts, Java Fern and Swords. Do these lend themselves into a theme of some sort? does it have a name? Cheers Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted July 28, 2007 Report Share Posted July 28, 2007 Biotope might be what you were thinking? Im not sure i would put balas in, they get pretty darn large and may snack on smaller fish. Asian themed tanks are quite easy to pull off- a mixture of glass cats, harlequins, loaches of some sort and dwarf gouramis always looks nice and usually peaceful aswell :lol: South american themed tanks can also be quite nice. Rams, rummies or cardinals etc, cories, angels, various plecs and so on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidb Posted July 28, 2007 Report Share Posted July 28, 2007 The word you are looking for is biotope. Most of the plants and animals you mentioned there are part of a south east asian biotope Tiger Barbs -South East asian Rams -South American ,Kribensis -African Bristlenose -South American Bala Shark -South East Asian (But grow very big) Rummnose Tetras -South American Harlequins Rasbora-South East Asian Plants . Aubias -African Crypts -South East asian Java Fern -South East asian Swords. -Mainly South American Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidb Posted July 28, 2007 Report Share Posted July 28, 2007 Darn you beat me Sharn (Ha- that rhymes!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seftonearl Posted July 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2007 Thanks for that Guys, quick answers. I left out Neons from the fish list, up to 20, do they fit in?, how many? Do you know the best source to find South East Asian tank pictures on the web. Just to see if I like the look. Cheers Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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