starlyte Posted March 19, 2006 Report Share Posted March 19, 2006 Couple of things: 1 - I have an air pump with 2 air stones and two seperate air tubles - the pump has two outputs. when they are on i think there is too much air coming out of the air stones... So i tied a knot in the tubes to restrict air flow. Will this dmage the pump? 2 - My plants were not overly healthy and im constantly having to scoup out leaves that have fallen off - plus i think the cichlids keep eating them, Ive replaced most with fake plants and have thrown away the yucky plants. the LFS have suggested java fern plant as the cichlids dont like them. Are there any other plants that are overly easy to care for??? I have some flax type plants at the moment and another in which i dont actually know what it is thats still reasonably healthy. 3 - One of my dwarf gouramis died last week... He/she was doing okay and then my wife noticed it sitting on the ground not doing much.. By the time i got home from work - about an hour later it was lying on its side, Its gills were still moving... i paniced for a few mins and decided to do a water change and by the time i got my bucked it was dead complatly... I dont really know why it died, We did notice a few days before it was up the top blowing out bubbles and we think it was trying to make a nest or something... apon examination when i took it out of the tank i didnt notice anything out of order... other then it not flapping around full of life.. I only had the two dwarf goramis and the second one has been a bit "lost" appears to have been looking for the parnter for a few days... Even though when they were both together in the tank they had thier own end of the tank and very rarely even cared about each other... Should i replace the gourami? or will my other fish be okay without her (i think it was a her) The other fish i have: 6x glow light tetra 5x neon tetra 1x red tail shark 1x golden algae eater 2x baby cichlids 3x baby bristle nose 1x dwarf gourami I do regular water changes, Usually once a week, But when the gourami died i had not changed the water for 2 weeks, I did tests and the nitrates were a bit higher then usual... memory tells me about 80 Its ususally below 50 and the amonia and nitrites at 0 The water was clean and clear with no signs of real problems.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustcooktea Posted March 19, 2006 Report Share Posted March 19, 2006 Sorry to hear about your fish I can't help with your plant and air line questions but wanted to comment about your nitrates. Your tank is obviously cycled since you have no ammonia or nitrites. It's great that you are able to give that information. I would be concerned if my nitrates were getting to 50 each week as it doesn't give you much lee way for times when you are busy and water changes are a little late. They may be high because of the trouble you have been having with your plants. Hopefully this will settle down once you work out what plants do well in your set up. I would recommend doing an extra couple of water changes to get the nitrates down (below 20?). After that continue to monitor the nitrates. If they continue to be high you may need to increase the size of your water changes each week. What proportion of the water do you change at the moment? MCT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted March 19, 2006 Report Share Posted March 19, 2006 when they are on i think there is too much air coming out of the air stones... So i tied a knot in the tubes to restrict air flow. Will this dmage the pump? I've asked this same question...and yes, it could cause damage. Apparently there is a diaphram and causing restriction could cause damage to it so you should probably untie the knot. My test kit for nitrates doesn't register in the amounts like yours. But, if you are doing regular water changes, missing a week shouldn't hurt. Mustcooktea asked a great question, what amount are you changing? I usually change around 25% a week with the occasional stretching to every 2 weeks. I only have test kits for nitrites, pH, and ammonia and *knocks on wood* are usually ok. What size is your tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted March 19, 2006 Report Share Posted March 19, 2006 1) the best way to reduce the air coming out is to add a gate valve to your air line (same device you would use if you wanted to connect two air stones to one air line) and just bleed some air out of one of the gates. This will reduce the back pressure on your air pump. Next option would be to add extra air stones. My proffered option, turn the noisy thing off and remove it. They don't do anything much in the tank unless they are running a filter (like an under gravel filter) 2) First place to look if you have problems growing plants are your lights, but Java fern is a really good low light choice, Java moss is good to, Indian fern grows really fast, Anubia (sp?) is tough to so good with cichlids. (all these will do ok in lowish light). 3) That nitrate is pretty high and it shouldn't change so much with just missing a water change. Need to know how big you tank is and how long it's been setup before making too many suggestions. By the way to you vacuum you gravel when you change the water?? There could be dead stuff building up in there causing your problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlyte Posted March 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2006 Okay, THe knots are untied, and i will look at getting a gate It didnt help that the air bubbles were pretty much under a plant so they were constantly being hammered by the bubbles... But other plants away from the bubbles were still suffering the same The tank is 90 litres (25 galons) Its been running since october last year and at about christmas time it was fully cycled and the nitates have always been about 10 and i have done weekly water changes, Just ive missed a week here and there recently. I usually take about 20-25% of the water out and replace with slighly wamed water with water conditioner added THe lights are on a timer and are on for about 12 hours a day. THe light turns on twice during the day: at 7am and turns off at 11am and then turns on again at 5pm and turns off at 12pm - the location of the tank doesnt really get any light so when the light is off its impossible to see anything in the tank, So the idea was that when we were home the light would be on (before and after work) THe air bubbles are also connected to the light timer so are only on when the lights are. When changing the water i always clean in the gravel lots to get rid of anything laying down there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted March 20, 2006 Report Share Posted March 20, 2006 I might be wrong (I am occasionally) but I think plants need 12 hours straight, rather than a break in the middle, to photosynthesise. Too much cleaning around the plants isn't good as they feed off the nutrients there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted March 20, 2006 Report Share Posted March 20, 2006 I would advice against too much gravel cleaning also as gunk is good for plants and cycling bacteria (although your nitrates indicate that they are doing their job). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feelers Posted March 20, 2006 Report Share Posted March 20, 2006 You definately want a constant light cycle, the photosynthesis process takes about 2 hours to fire up, so this means that the plants are really getting ~7hours light a day. And it will probably make them do funny things too. Their biological clocks are set by the length of darkness they are exposed to, and in this case it's for two diffent amounts in the same day. Think of it like a state of perpetual jet lag. Perhaps just have them so they are on through the day when you get home from work and so you get to see the tank for a while. Say from 8am till 8pm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted March 20, 2006 Report Share Posted March 20, 2006 Your plants may be pot plants and not aquatics. There are plenty sold in the shops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zev Posted March 20, 2006 Report Share Posted March 20, 2006 Your plants may be pot plants and not aquatics. There are plenty sold in the shops. This means they look good for a short while, like a couple of months, then they deteriotate. Some need their tops out of the water to survive. There's this really nice plant with a rich metallic purple underside to the leaf - looks great in the shop, but does'nt last long under water in your tank. If your Flax type plant is varigated yellow/green, I think this is a cold water plant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlyte Posted March 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 Right, So i will change the timer of the tank! I dont know what all the plants were called. We bought them when we bought the fish tank, the LFS asked what we wanted and we said any of them as we didnt know the differences Thanks for all your advice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanksman Posted March 21, 2006 Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 The flax type plant sounds like Japanese rush. From what I have heard this is usually grown hydroponically for the japanese cut flower market and any surplus is dumped in the aquarium market. It does not do well in the aquarium and is more than likely breaking down in your tank contributing to high nitrates. Chuck it in the bin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlyte Posted March 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2006 Unsure if these images will actually work... I dont remember my photobucket login at the moment... But these are the two living plants i have.. Does anyone know a name for them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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