Dodgy Guy Posted July 21, 2005 Report Share Posted July 21, 2005 ok so we have had a smaller tank before and about 7 days ago got our large 250L tank. now we did the good things like upgraded the filter and heater, used the right chemicals and let the tank sit for a long as we could bear. (1) after a few days we noticed the water was kinda cloudy, looked a tad oily and smelt a tad foul. so we added some chems for NH4 and no luck. finally emptied the whole tank washed everything down and refilled. and it was ok. so what causes the water to go dirty so quickly in such a large body of water? (2) our oscar and pleco just today destroyed some very expensive plastic plants :evil: any solutions? esp with living plants? (3) under gravel filtter vs a standard sucky tube. pros and cons? cheers Dodge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faran Posted July 21, 2005 Report Share Posted July 21, 2005 The cloudiness would be the bacterial bloom that happens in the early stages of a tanks cycle. You REALLY need to refrain from doing water changes or playing with the tank until this phase is over, which should only take a day or two at the most. No answer for 2.... I'd probably get some fast growing plants like Indian fern and water sprite and drop some lettuce in the tank to keep the pleco's appetite for plants satisfied. Sorry your plants got ruined. As for the undergravel filter.... not with Oscars. They're EXTREMELY messy eaters and you don't want all that getting into the gravel. You need good strong filtration for Oscars and I recommend a canister filter (preferably external). There's a thread on filtration for oscars and how many to keep in a tank here. Hope that helps and I'm sure others will chip in with their thoughts as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HummingBird Posted July 21, 2005 Report Share Posted July 21, 2005 Plecos and Oscars are terrible with plants, not much you can do really. Agree with BlueandKim on the filtration though, the more the better with oscars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodgy Guy Posted July 21, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2005 cool - we have a 1000L/hour external canister filter, but isee you can get a undergravel attachment for it. its only about $30 so might get it and see how it goes. oscars are messy bugger, but they sure enjoy live food!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wok Posted July 21, 2005 Report Share Posted July 21, 2005 If you already have an external canister filter I would not bother about getting a $30 attachment for undergravel. The canister filter will be fine doing its job by itself. Spend the $30 on either more fish or more tanks. :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HummingBird Posted July 22, 2005 Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 Careful about feeding Oscars live food though, they might like the taste so much that they won't eat other types of food anymore! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodgy Guy Posted July 22, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 Careful about feeding Oscars live food though, they might like the taste so much that they won't eat other types of food anymore! are you serious!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misnoma Posted July 22, 2005 Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 He is Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faran Posted July 22, 2005 Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 1000/250 = 4 times an hour. While that's decent for regular fish, Oscars may need 5 or 6 times. I'm not saying you need to go buy a new filter, you may need to gravel vac a little more than once every two weeks though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserole Posted July 22, 2005 Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 following on what blueandkim said you could try a reverse under gravel filter . what you do is divert SOME of the clean water from your canister filter DOWN your up pip. the perpose is more biofiltation . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vapo Posted July 22, 2005 Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 Hope I don't sound dumb here, but how do you do that caserole? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livebearer_breeder Posted July 22, 2005 Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 simple, turn the output nossle, down you UG uplift. Shae Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vapo Posted July 22, 2005 Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 DOH!! :oops: Reverse under gravel jobby. Sorry didn't read caseroles post properly. Thought you meant back down the intake of the cannister filter!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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