Filter size-tank size help
- Thread starter Randy West
- Start date
Fin level simply means take the level of the water down to such an extent that the dorsal fins of your fish almost break the surface of the water. This works for most people but if you have sharp gravel and skittish fish this can be a recipe for disaster as they will thrash about in panic and injure themselves on the gravel. As already stated you need to up your water changes but if i was you i'd get to the fin level stage gradually. See how your fish react first and if they're ok take more and more out each change. If you do have coarse substrate be very aware of going too low.
Thank you. I figured fin level was self explaining but i dont want to kill my fish, so I had to ask. I have gravel and chunks of flint rock, which can be sharp but I retrieved most of it from creek beds while arrowhead hunting so its fairly worn down. So when doing the w/c of high volume how do i put water back in? I use tap water. Will the chlorine etc harm the fish?
Prime/safe will take care of the chlorine, but I would at least step up to 50-75% weekly. Start by doing a couple 25-30% changes, then go to 50% for a couple weeks then 75%. If the tanks been running this way for a while this will give your fish time to adjust. Your nitrate levels are more than likely off the chart high, so if you can get an extra water change in here and thereit’ll help. Once you get to 75% changes check your nitrate levels before and after changes until you get a handle on the actual water quality. Shoot for staying at least under 40ppm nitrates and lower than 20 would be even better. The API test kit works ok, I want to try the Seachem kit but I can’t find it anywhere.
Also if you’re using the bucket/siphon method, get a python, it’s so much easier.
Thank you. Getting test kits is on my list from walmart today. The EBA Pleco and Cory are about 4 years old and the person i got the tank from did 50% monthly and added straight tap to replace it. After reading different threads i either have the toughest fish alive or my local water supply is almost absent of chlorine lol. So ive decided i will start 50% weekely and go up from there and test often. My dad had multi 55G, 20G and 10G but i never paid attention to the what when where and why as a child. I wish i had paid better attn to the methods. Thank you.
We had a 50-65 gallon tank while i was growing up, and all’s it got was refill of the evaporated water every couple weeks. Like most things, what and how we take care of things has evolved. Test strips are useless. Walmart most likely won’t have a proper test kit, may be able to find them at Petco/Smart.
Well it's a good thing Petco literally makes its grand opening this saturday in my town. I was going there to see if they have danios anyway so I will just add that to the list. Thank you so much.
as far as your filtration, i recently read someone say that a canister is only half as effective as its rated capacity, and a hang on back is only a third. i typically agree with this, as ive found that hob filters generally are useless on bigger, deeper tanks.
so in other words, with your 29g tank, shoot for something rated at least 3 times that, hence why i recommended an ac110.
so in other words, with your 29g tank, shoot for something rated at least 3 times that, hence why i recommended an ac110.
