General Aquarium Talk

[stacey]

Thanks phreeky82, when you say ditch the carbon and just give it extra biological material - what does extra biological material mean?

[phreeky82]

Originally Posted by stacey

Thanks phreeky82, when you say ditch the carbon and just give it extra biological material - what does extra biological material mean?

Biological material is normally something like foam, filter wool, ceramic noodles or bio-balls - basically surface area for the "good stuff" to grow. Carbon is there to specifically remove chemicals from the water, so unless you've added something to the tank (i.e. a medicine) and need to remove it then you don't really need the carbon.

[afcca]

Ok pictures time, excuse the bad photos, lights are off and he's a quick little bugger so needed high ISO and some PP to get it visible.

What it looks like now

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What it looked like two weeks ago

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These new spots have only appeared in the past 24hrs, and there hasn't been a single sign of the ich since day 2 of the treatment (3rd May). These new ones aren't easily seen unless looking really closely, and as I mentioned they don't seem to be raised rather part of the skin.

[toopy28]

Originally Posted by afcca

Ok pictures time, excuse the bad photos, lights are off and he's a quick little bugger so needed high ISO and some PP to get it visible.

What it looks like now
image
Click to view full-sized image!
Hosted by UGBox Image Store


What it looked like two weeks ago
image
Click to view full-sized image!
Hosted by UGBox Image Store

These new spots have only appeared in the past 24hrs, and there hasn't been a single sign of the ich since day 2 of the treatment (3rd May). These new ones aren't easily seen unless looking really closely, and as I mentioned they don't seem to be raised rather part of the skin.

its scars from the spot, they will disappear over time.
I'd say you can end the treatment now, so 50% water change now to remove half the salt, level will be 50% salt, another in a week etc.. to reduce it to 25% and so on.
make sure you keep track of the salt level, I write the percentage on the tank in whiteboard marker to make sure I don't forget.

EDIT: I forgot to tell you, the salt treatment can be hard on plants. I hope yours made it through, its best if possible to remove the plants when treating with salt. The can be sterilized with some condies crystals(potassium permanganate) from the chemist. Make sure the plants are thoroughly rinsed before reintroducing them to the tank. Do not use the crystals on fish it will kill them.

[broccoli]

How big's your tank, stacey? Doesn't it come with a filter?

[afcca]

Originally Posted by toopy28

its scars from the spot, they will disappear over time.
I'd say you can end the treatment now, so 50% water change now to remove half the salt, level will be 50% salt, another in a week etc.. to reduce it to 25% and so on.
make sure you keep track of the salt level, I write the percentage on the tank in whiteboard marker to make sure I don't forget.

EDIT: I forgot to tell you, the salt treatment can be hard on plants. I hope yours made it through, its best if possible to remove the plants when treating with salt. The can be sterilized with some condies crystals(potassium permanganate) from the chemist. Make sure the plants are thoroughly rinsed before reintroducing them to the tank. Do not use the crystals on fish it will kill them.

Thanks for that. Plants seem fine, no browning or bad behavior just general plant-ness :P

Will start bringing the tank out of the treatment now.

[mazmorbid]

Originally Posted by toopy28

EDIT: I forgot to tell you, the salt treatment can be hard on plants. I hope yours made it through, its best if possible to remove the plants when treating with salt. The can be sterilized with some condies crystals(potassium permanganate) from the chemist. Make sure the plants are thoroughly rinsed before reintroducing them to the tank. Do not use the crystals on fish it will kill them.

Ahh, funny how all the info I read on treating a tank with salt none of them mention this, I did wonder why my plants were looking a little off thanks for the tip

[stacey]

Originally Posted by broccoli

How big's your tank, stacey? Doesn't it come with a filter?

hey broccoli - tank is about 32 litres or so and it comes with an undergravel filter which does nothing i think

[broccoli]

The undergravel will give you the biological filtration, you might want to add some mechanical, but in such a small tank you'll have to be vigilant with your weekly water changes and gravel vacs so as long as you are doing that, you shouldn't really need mechanical as well (you'll be doing the mechanical manually).

Anyway, the only thing I'd look at with adding another filter is how much room it'll take up in your tank, given that it's only small, and whether you've got access through the lid for the power cord.

[Boo Baby]

Originally Posted by stacey

hey broccoli - tank is about 32 litres or so and it comes with an undergravel filter which does nothing i think

Personally I would skip the undergravel filters, they work but are a pain and produce a lot of sound.

U could go with something like this which works great and gives u lots of option media wise, cleaning them is also super easy.

http://www.aquariumproducts.com.au/c...=3346&catID=83

Just not sure if it will fit. does your tank have a hood? if not a fluval u2 would work fine just a bit costly.

the under gravel will work it just comes down to if you want a lot of sound depending on the power head you use or if you with an air pump (not advisable) you will also have to clean the gravel weekly, if you went with a top filter or u2 you can use sand which allows you to just change the water and give the sand a stir every 2-3 weeks if you dont have corys or so.

[stacey]

Originally Posted by Boo Baby

Personally I would skip the undergravel filters, they work but are a pain and produce a lot of sound.

U could go with something like this which works great and gives u lots of option media wise, cleaning them is also super easy.

http://www.aquariumproducts.com.au/c...=3346&catID=83

Just not sure if it will fit. does your tank have a hood? if not a fluval u2 would work fine just a bit costly.

the under gravel will work it just comes down to if you want a lot of sound depending on the power head you use or if you with an air pump (not advisable) you will also have to clean the gravel weekly, if you went with a top filter or u2 you can use sand which allows you to just change the water and give the sand a stir every 2-3 weeks if you dont have corys or so.

Thanks Boo Baby - Yes tank has a inbuilt hood and light so dont know if the filter u attached will work? I dont know - i dont mind overkill so if the U2 will fit - i think this is it - thanks for all the input guys!

[Fraggle]

Anyone happen to know if the Yi-Ding tanks are available anywhere in Sydney?

Been looking around to setup a ~2 ft and found this build:
http://www.aquariumlife.com.au/showt...mi-scape-on-TV!

Tank looks like something I'm after, is there anything similar? ADA and CADE are way out of my budget atm Can't find any results for Yi-Ding, so not sure if they're still in business even.

[Boo Baby]

Originally Posted by stacey

Thanks Boo Baby - Yes tank has a inbuilt hood and light so dont know if the filter u attached will work? I dont know - i dont mind overkill so if the U2 will fit - i think this is it - thanks for all the input guys!

good choice, nice, easy and effective


anyone happen to know if the Yi-Ding tanks are available anywhere in Sydney?

Been looking around to setup a ~2 ft and found this build:
http://www.aquariumlife.com.au/showt...mi-scape-on-TV!

Tank looks like something I'm after, is there anything similar? ADA and CADE are way out of my budget atm Can't find any results for Yi-Ding, so not sure if they're still in business even.



Mmmm Eheim opal? 1000$ 4ft lol. or go into a good lfs tell them you want a rimless tank with a clean silicone job and they can make it for you, you could go down a different road my fav and get starphire glass with black silicone much better then the ADA and cade tanks imho but its a little costly depending where you go and harder to work with you cant clean it the same way as a plate glass tank. just make sure its real starphire if you this way lots of fake crappy stuff going around its nicer the plate glass but still your paying for starphire glass you want it high grade.

[Fraggle]

Originally Posted by Boo Baby

Mmmm Eheim opal? 1000$ 4ft lol. or go into a good lfs tell them you want a rimless tank with a clean silicone job and they can make it for you, you could go down a different road my fav and get starphire glass with black silicone much better then the ADA and cade tanks imho but its a little costly depending where you go and harder to work with you cant clean it the same way as a plate glass tank. just make sure its real starphire if you this way lots of fake crappy stuff going around its nicer the plate glass but still your paying for starphire glass you want it high grade.

Thanks for the suggestions! Yeah, I found the Eheim Opal 100 tho it's a bit above what I'd like to spend and actually about double the size I'd like too. Afaik, the Opal is 3 panels of Starphire/Opti? I prefer the cleaner appearance of the rimless tanks and not yet sold on the light fixture and black silicon on the Opal (personal taste).

Gotta drop by the airport on Sunday, so might check out some stores on the way home. Any opinions on the Do!Aqua tanks? I found them via www.fishforum.com.au and they seem a bit more affordable for beginners.

Also, wasn't sure of the terminology but clear and black silicon are obviously the joins at the edges...what are the tanks that have the black plastic eblow covering the corners called?

[Boo Baby]

Originally Posted by Fraggle

Thanks for the suggestions! Yeah, I found the Eheim Opal 100 tho it's a bit above what I'd like to spend and actually about double the size I'd like too. Afaik, the Opal is 3 panels of Starphire/Opti? I prefer the cleaner appearance of the rimless tanks and not yet sold on the light fixture and black silicon on the Opal (personal taste).

Gotta drop by the airport on Sunday, so might check out some stores on the way home. Any opinions on the Do!Aqua tanks? I found them via www.fishforum.com.au and they seem a bit more affordable for beginners.

Also, wasn't sure of the terminology but clear and black silicon are obviously the joins at the edges...what are the tanks that have the black plastic eblow covering the corners called?

They use the cors when they dont do a perfectly neat job, they can rush it and just have a few little bits off which is fine.

if its your first tank I would just go with a 2ft shop made one =P or a fluval all in one they are also nice but 250-300$.

I find black silicone the best ;P not sure on glass, just had a look lol.

The rimless tank u did link was starphire glass also lol. thats why its clearer then plate glass. starphire is the cleanest u can get, but it comes in different grades most use a lower grade giving a blueish tint but nicer then plate glass.