I'm semi new to this...

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gmann4231

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Oct 24, 2011
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Ok, I have had fish tanks for about 6 months now, I have 2 55's and a 29g tank. I have a few questions...
1. Why is carbon either good/bad...Some people have a real problem with it I see..
2. why so much filtration? I have one over the back filter and a powerhead on my one 55, and 2 undergravel filters and a over the back filter on my other 55 and I do 25 percent weekly water changes...I have yet to have any problems with poor water quality ( and each of my tanks has over 5 decent sized fish)
3. What is the purpose of an overflow kit or a sump? Do I need one? are they for saltwater only?
4. How does everyone remember all of the scientific names for all of these fish????
Thank you so much in advance, I love being able to come online and ask questions, I really enjoy the hobby alot.
 
carbon can help clean your water but is only good for a very short time.i over filter to have as clean a tank and water as possible for my fish.sumps are for fresh and saltwater.as far as scientific names of my fish i dont know a single one,to many things to do to set around and learn them all.
 
1. Don't think it is ever really bad, just most of the time unneccesary.

2. What is your stock, and what are your readings? A lot of people simply like to overkill their filtration, like me. I am way over filtered for my needs, but it doesn't hurt any, and I also know that if one of my HOB's stops working for some reason, I still have another and a sump. Plus, if I get another tank, I can take one of my already cycled filters and add it to that tank, without sacrificing too much in the first tank. Depending on the brand, 1 HOB may well be fine for a 55, but you have to remember many users hear have tanks that are several hundred gallons, in which one AC110 won't cut it

3. Overflows with sumps are just another type of filter. They are the best, really only, option for very large tanks, but also work well in smaller ones. An advantage to them, is they can be built fairly cheaply and easily. I built mine for under $100 including media, and it certainly outperforms cannisters costing several hundred more. You don't need one if you get filtration elsewhere.

4. Wondering that myself. Probably the same way car guys can tell you what fan belt a 1968 mustang used stock out of the factory. Personally, I use common names most of the time, but often many fish have the same or similar common names. For instance Red Tail Catfish, there is an amazonian one, and a asian one, both completely different, so scientific names help clear up what you may be talking about
 
Carbon is one of those things that you don't really need running in your tank so it's a waste of money. Over filtration is better than under filtration. Over flows and sumps aren't needed for your tanks, they tend to be used on larger setups. Remembering a fishes scientific name can come in handy at times, especially when two fish have similar common names.
 
Some ok reading on carbon:
http://www.ratemyfishtank.com/articles/106
Also, Carbon removes a lot of chemicals and nutrients. It can remove good things as well as bad. For this reason, it has been said that it is possible that the use of carbon in fish tanks could be a partial cause of lateral line disease and HITH.

Needless to say, I don't use carbon in my tanks. I believe that a properly maintained and healthy tank does not need carbon. Just a good mechanical and bio filter is all you need.
 
And about the scientific names:

It's the only way to really distinguish fish species. The same common name can be used for multiple species, and this is done fairly inacurately and frequently. So you really have to know the scientific names in some cases to know what you are talking about. This is especially true for cichlids.

For example:
a Red Terror could be an amphilophus festae or a cichlasoma urophthalmus. These are very different fish.
A Green Terror could be an andinoacara rivulatus or an andinoacara stalsbergi. Again, very different fish.

You catch on to the scientific names of the fish you like to keep after hearing about them for a while. I keep CA/SA cichlids, and know the majority of the scientific names just from hearing about them for a long time. I couldn't tell you a single scientific name of any other type of fish, though.
 
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