Aquascaping

[ileks]

I replace 5l of salt water a week but also top up with RO (distilled) water every other day when i feed them.

 

[rynnor]

It always seems a lot of chemical intervention to do what nature does without a degree - are these sized tanks too small to achieve some kind of equilibrium without intervention or is it that people overload them with the wrong species to look nice?

 

[ileks]

The fish shit is eventually broken down into nitrates by the bacteria you have in your filtration system. The idea is that by replacing about 10% a week you reach an equilibrium and the nitrates are kept at a sustainable level. If you have too many fish, you get too much nitrate and thus a load of algae.

 

[rynnor]

The fish shit is eventually broken down into nitrates by the bacteria you have in your filtration system. The idea is that by replacing about 10% a week you reach an equilibrium and the nitrates are kept at a sustainable level. If you have too many fish, you get too much nitrate and thus a load of algae.

Could you achieve an equilibrium without the fish?

 

[ileks]

Could you achieve an equilibrium without the fish?

Yes, but why would you have no fish in a fish tank

 

[CorNokZ]

I probably won't be adding any fish or shrimp for a month or two after I get the aquarium up and running with plants, heater, pump etc.

I am still not quite sure if I should have some sort of Co2 system, and which one I'd like to use for my relatively small tank. I'll most likely end up having a Co2 system, but keeping it at a minimum in order to also control the pH level so the shrimps don't die

 

[rynnor]

Yes, but why would you have no fish in a fish tank

Corals/sponges are incredibly pretty.

 

[TdC]

specially under a UV light as well as a regular one. my old tank had both in the light hood.

 

[CorNokZ]

So I have been doing a fuckload of reading, checking prices for the plants, pumps etc and I think this project will take off sometime after Christmas. It is going to run me roughly £145-160 and that is without the shrimp and fish. We just got a dog two weeks ago and it he is taking up a lot of my time

Found out there is a really great shop on the way to my uni, so I've stopped by there and asked for guidance, looked up prices and what not. I have totally fallen in love with the idea of having two dwarf puffers(they don't get much bigger than 1.5 inches), but I will probably start out with some Pseudomugil gertrudae, just to get the project started.

I can't wait to get started and show you all the progress, but for now I still need some more money and reading up to do

 

[CorNokZ]

Decided that I will put in a root. I will venture out into nature and find one myself! Like a real man! These two guys were of vast amounts of inspiration


View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZC0sV4Z0ig&feature=youtu.be

 

[Raven]

For some reason I though of this

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eCdIe0wdvU

 

[CorNokZ]

made a "small" drawing of what I have in mind. Will still take a while before I can afford it and convince the gf. We live in a pretty small apartment and we will probably have to take down the aquarium we already have at the moment soon, because our fish have grown to sizes much bigger than what good is. They need more room to move, so they will be sold/passed on to others who can take good care of them.

It is a work in progress and the left hand side of the aquarium will probably have some more plants, possibly another root, but not quite sure as of now.

Regarding fish I have narrowed it down, so now I am certain which species I will go for

Danio margaritatus(Galaxy rasbora)

Will only grow to about 1.5-2cm in length and is perfect for my relatively small tank. Also they look beautiful and school nicely

As for a clean up crew(fish to eat any algae that might appear in the tank) I have chosen the Otocinclus affinis(dwarf sucking fish as their common name). Grows to about two inches in size as a maximum and does a great job with keeping the tank clean.

Sketch of the tank. It is not quite finished on the left hand side as mentioned, but will probably stick some more plants in there.

Spoiler

 

[Lethul]

made a "small" drawing of what I have in mind. Will still take a while before I can afford it and convince the gf. We live in a pretty small apartment and we will probably have to take down the aquarium we already have at the moment soon, because our fish have grown to sizes much bigger than what good is. They need more room to move, so they will be sold/passed on to others who can take good care of them.

It is a work in progress and the left hand side of the aquarium will probably have some more plants, possibly another root, but not quite sure as of now.

Regarding fish I have narrowed it down, so now I am certain which species I will go for

Danio margaritatus(Galaxy rasbora)

Will only grow to about 1.5-2cm in length and is perfect for my relatively small tank. Also they look beautiful and school nicely

As for a clean up crew(fish to eat any algae that might appear in the tank) I have chosen the Otocinclus affinis(dwarf sucking fish as their common name). Grows to about two inches in size as a maximum and does a great job with keeping the tank clean.

Sketch of the tank. It is not quite finished on the left hand side as mentioned, but will probably stick some more plants in there.

Spoiler

View attachment 13942

Your handwritting is horrible!

 

[ileks]

Those Danio fish look awesome. I like the way you are planning everything out. Most people just go down the pet shop and buy one of each fish and it looks naff. A school of small fish look beautiful.

Do the plants in a tropical tank remove the nutrients (nitrates & phosphates)?

I've been scheming on upgrading my tank to something bigger in a few months. The new one will have a sump (another tank connected to the main one) in the cabinet to house all the equipment. It's so bloody expensive though.

 

[TdC]

grown to sizes much bigger than what good is dwarf sucking fish about two inches in size does a great job

I like your choice of words

/flee!

 

[CorNokZ]

Your handwritting is horrible!

No need to remind me

Those Danio fish look awesome. I like the way you are planning everything out. Most people just go down the pet shop and buy one of each fish and it looks naff. A school of small fish look beautiful.

Beautiful fish, right? It is pretty new to he hobby, seeing as it was only discovered a couple of years ago. But it is so easy to breed that aquarists have been all over this fish right from when it was first introduced.

Do the plants in a tropical tank remove the nutrients (nitrates & phosphates)?

I've been scheming on upgrading my tank to something bigger in a few months. The new one will have a sump (another tank connected to the main one) in the cabinet to house all the equipment. It's so bloody expensive though.

Plants alone don't remove the nitrates and phosphates. Your filter does most of the work and the bacteria inside it. They break it down to nutrients for the plants which convert it into oxygen(known as pearling when all your plants have little bubbles). If you are experiencing too much nitrate it is because the bacteria cycle is not complete, you are overfeeding your fish or have too many fish.

This guy gives a good example of a bowl in a very good balance. He adds nutrients and co2 for the plants, feeds the fish, makes small water changes and that is it. There is no filtration because of the amounts of plants and the low number of fish


View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9vkHe84xKk

I like your choice of words

/flee!

I knew someone had to point out the dwarf sucking fish, and I am not surprised that it was you

 

[TdC]

you know me so well

 

[ileks]

Plants alone don't remove the nitrates and phosphates. Your filter does most of the work and the bacteria inside it. They break it down to nutrients for the plants which convert it into oxygen(known as pearling when all your plants have little bubbles). If you are experiencing too much nitrate it is because the bacteria cycle is not complete, you are overfeeding your fish or have too many fish.

This guy gives a good example of a bowl in a very good balance. He adds nutrients and co2 for the plants, feeds the fish, makes small water changes and that is it. There is no filtration because of the amounts of plants and the low number of fish

That's a great tank. The minimalist look is always the best, especially when there's barely any visible equipment.

It's all very different to what I know from marine systems. If I upgrade I plan to get a big old protein skimmer and actually add vodka, to the tank. The idea is that certain bacteria feeds on the vodka, nitrates & phosphates and is then removed by the protein skimmer. You can effectively maintain close to zero nitrates / phosphates and be far less reliant on water changes.

 

[Hawkwind]

Spoiler

Good norks!

JC! When she lies down those things must be in seperate post codes! My wifes a 36E but no where near the size of those beach balls.

On subject the tanks looks great, good luck with that Cornokz.

 

[CorNokZ]

So a little update. Due to insufficient funds the tank will be very low tech. I got it started, but it is not finished yet. My fish monger didn't have the stem plants I wanted so had to leave without them. They get new shipments all the time, but will first be able to pick some up at the beginning of september. So far it has a few guppies, a black moor veiltail goldfish(will be sold as the tank is too small for it), a black and a white molly. All guppy females are pregnant as well as the black molly. Will be adding more anubias(the same kind of plant as you see in the pic), some more driftwood and stemplants in the back once I get the cash. Will also add a black background I think, not certain yet.

Sorry about the blurry pic, but only had my Sony Ericsson phone at hand

Spoiler

 

[Aoami]

surely that gravel will be a bit uncomfortable for your child to sleep on?

 

[old.Tohtori]

I do enjoy my cat

Aquarium will provide no love

That's cute, thinking your kitty cares about your puny human life

 

[TdC]

I enjoyed Scouse's cat a couple times as well!

 

[CorNokZ]

A year down the road and not much has changed. Tank still only has that one anubias, which has just about doubled in size, and added a couple of small rocks and some bark. I haven't had the time and certainly not the money to improve it any further, and it just kills me having a hobby you can't afford, even though it could be done cheaply, sucks big balls! But I would rather have a happy fed baby with a fresh nappy on his behind, than a beautiful aquascape

But this Friday I am winning the EuroJacpot 50.000.000€ first prize and I'm gonna aquascape the shit out of my tank!

 

[Job]

I too have a hobby...correlating updates to Corks tank with the celestial pole motion of the Earth.

 

[ECA]

I thought this thread was about shaving your pubes while underwater.