Proper Water Chemistry
- Thread starter Gprime
- Start date
Gprime, you're main concern is to have a cycled tank. (One that has an establish bacteria colony to breakdown the waste that a fish produces).
Second to that, is to have a tank that has NO Ammonia (NH3) and Nitrite (NO2) but produces Nitrate (NO3) when fish are in the tank. All are byproducts of waste, the former two are significantly more toxic that the latter. Nitrate is removed by plant filtration, or water changes to dilute the nitrate level.
PH, KH, and GH are far less important (to simulate in an aquarium) to a particular fishes natural habitat. Unless the fish are extremely sensitive, they will adapt to different levels, provided they are slowly acclimated to them. For example, 'Drip Acclimation' is done by keeping the fish in a large container of water that it is coming from, and slowly dripping water from your tank into the bucket until the levels equalize.
Also you should know that in Ontario to keep native Fish, you must possess a Fishing License, and the native fish you keep in your Aquariums count towards your Catch Limit. I believe this is still in effect.
Second to that, is to have a tank that has NO Ammonia (NH3) and Nitrite (NO2) but produces Nitrate (NO3) when fish are in the tank. All are byproducts of waste, the former two are significantly more toxic that the latter. Nitrate is removed by plant filtration, or water changes to dilute the nitrate level.
PH, KH, and GH are far less important (to simulate in an aquarium) to a particular fishes natural habitat. Unless the fish are extremely sensitive, they will adapt to different levels, provided they are slowly acclimated to them. For example, 'Drip Acclimation' is done by keeping the fish in a large container of water that it is coming from, and slowly dripping water from your tank into the bucket until the levels equalize.
Also you should know that in Ontario to keep native Fish, you must possess a Fishing License, and the native fish you keep in your Aquariums count towards your Catch Limit. I believe this is still in effect.
i know all the bylaws towards keeping native fish i looked into it before i got mine. right now he's in a 30g tank thats hes growing really fast in, upgrading to a 120+ on the weekend, wondering what filtration unit i should get, and "One that has an establish bacteria colony to breakdown the waste that a fish produces" how would i go about doing that? and i should have real plants in the tank?. Ok time to go get some lol. i had some in the tank before but they seemed to cloudy it up for some reason so i took them out after a week , that and he kept ripping them out of the gravel.
also how should i go about algae removal? just some snails or something? thats what i got right now and they seem to do the job.
also how should i go about algae removal? just some snails or something? thats what i got right now and they seem to do the job.
Awesome. So many people assume they can do what they want to native wildlife without repercussion. I do so love a good looking Native Species Aquarium though.
As far as tank setup, a 120 would be great, but buy as large as you can afford or as size allows. It is unlikely that you will regret a bigger tank. I've sold many tanks, and it's not uncommon for me to have the customer comes back days later to say that it looks smaller in their house.
As far as filtration is concerned. This is a matter of opinion. There are many various options for filtering an Aquarium. If you ask me I will say; For "Hang on the Back" filters I would suggest TWO of the Aqua Clear 110 units. For canister filters, I personally like the Fluval FX5 Filter, which is rated for 400 Gallons. And lastly, Sumps or Wet/Dry filters are effective in their own right.
Do you have a filter on the 30 gallon now? When you upgrade, you should put whatever filter media or cartridge that is in that filter, into the bigger filter with the new unused media.This will hopefully allow the establish bacteria colony to spread into the new sterile media. During this time I would suggest using a product per labeled instructions, called Stabilize made by SEACHEM. If this product is not available to you, try NurtaFin CYCLE- though Seachem has a great reputation for quality and Nutrafin is very run-of-the-mill. These products help to stimulate growth of the "Waste Eating" bacteria. Remember to use a product like SEACHEM Prime, or Nutrafin AquaPlus to remove Chlorine, Chloramine, etc from the new water you fill the new tank with.
Alternatively, you could keep the LMB in the 30 gallons for 6 weeks after the new tank has been up and running. Once the tank has been filled for a couple days, and the filter in running and the temperature has stabilised you could add fish to preform your cycle. A common fish to use are Danios, Such as Zebra Danios. They are very hardy fish and are better adapted to survive in water with Ammonia and Nitrite, which is going to spike during the 6 week period. These fish can cost between 0.75-2.99 each. If you can get them for about a dolllar each, I would add 3 dozen or so. These fish will produce Ammonia, which feeds the bacteria, which converts it Nitrite, and another bacteria eats at and converts it to Nitrate. Once there is enough bacteria in the tank, you wont see Ammonia and Nitrite, but only Nitrate. At this point you could remove the Danios (or leave them to be eaten) and put in your LMB. During the period with the Danios only, using the previously mentioned products will help the cycling process.
Lastly, you can prepare the new aquarium with what is called a "Fishless Cycle" which involves adding Ammonia daily into an aquarium. There is plenty of info on this if Googled.
Live plants are not required at all. They are simply one means of removing Nitrate from the tank. Since the LMB likesto play with them and redecorate the tank on his own accord, IF you wanted to use plants in your aquarium, you might try sticking live bamboo down the back slot opening of the tank, or by floating a common vineing philodendron houseplant called Pothos. The leaves will grow out of the water, with the roots hanging down from the surface. Enough plants in the aquarium and you might find that you need to do waterchanges every 2 weeks, rather than weekly. After a tank is cycled, Nitrate testing is what will tell you how frequent you must do water changes.
The only way the plants could make the aquarium cloudy was if they were rotting. Could be coincidence that the plants were in at the same time you had a Biological boom which makes the water cloudy too.
Algae is a natural- non harmful plant that goes because the tank has certain nutrients that are not being used. Most commonly these are Nitrates, Phosphates, and ofcourse Light. If your water params are in check, and algae grows there is no problem. It is just considered unsightly, yet it is found everywhere in the wild in various forms. If you want the tank to truely look like a slice of the river/lake you collected from, I would let it grow on the rocks or wood, and simply scrape it off the viewing glass. Snails are great to keep the algae growth in check. Reducing the light that the aquarium receives will do the same.
Also, the more liveplants you have in an aquarium, the less algae grows. The plants use the same nutrients that algae does.
Finally- you better post some photos! MFK loves photos.
As far as tank setup, a 120 would be great, but buy as large as you can afford or as size allows. It is unlikely that you will regret a bigger tank. I've sold many tanks, and it's not uncommon for me to have the customer comes back days later to say that it looks smaller in their house.
As far as filtration is concerned. This is a matter of opinion. There are many various options for filtering an Aquarium. If you ask me I will say; For "Hang on the Back" filters I would suggest TWO of the Aqua Clear 110 units. For canister filters, I personally like the Fluval FX5 Filter, which is rated for 400 Gallons. And lastly, Sumps or Wet/Dry filters are effective in their own right.
Do you have a filter on the 30 gallon now? When you upgrade, you should put whatever filter media or cartridge that is in that filter, into the bigger filter with the new unused media.This will hopefully allow the establish bacteria colony to spread into the new sterile media. During this time I would suggest using a product per labeled instructions, called Stabilize made by SEACHEM. If this product is not available to you, try NurtaFin CYCLE- though Seachem has a great reputation for quality and Nutrafin is very run-of-the-mill. These products help to stimulate growth of the "Waste Eating" bacteria. Remember to use a product like SEACHEM Prime, or Nutrafin AquaPlus to remove Chlorine, Chloramine, etc from the new water you fill the new tank with.
Alternatively, you could keep the LMB in the 30 gallons for 6 weeks after the new tank has been up and running. Once the tank has been filled for a couple days, and the filter in running and the temperature has stabilised you could add fish to preform your cycle. A common fish to use are Danios, Such as Zebra Danios. They are very hardy fish and are better adapted to survive in water with Ammonia and Nitrite, which is going to spike during the 6 week period. These fish can cost between 0.75-2.99 each. If you can get them for about a dolllar each, I would add 3 dozen or so. These fish will produce Ammonia, which feeds the bacteria, which converts it Nitrite, and another bacteria eats at and converts it to Nitrate. Once there is enough bacteria in the tank, you wont see Ammonia and Nitrite, but only Nitrate. At this point you could remove the Danios (or leave them to be eaten) and put in your LMB. During the period with the Danios only, using the previously mentioned products will help the cycling process.
Lastly, you can prepare the new aquarium with what is called a "Fishless Cycle" which involves adding Ammonia daily into an aquarium. There is plenty of info on this if Googled.
Live plants are not required at all. They are simply one means of removing Nitrate from the tank. Since the LMB likesto play with them and redecorate the tank on his own accord, IF you wanted to use plants in your aquarium, you might try sticking live bamboo down the back slot opening of the tank, or by floating a common vineing philodendron houseplant called Pothos. The leaves will grow out of the water, with the roots hanging down from the surface. Enough plants in the aquarium and you might find that you need to do waterchanges every 2 weeks, rather than weekly. After a tank is cycled, Nitrate testing is what will tell you how frequent you must do water changes.
The only way the plants could make the aquarium cloudy was if they were rotting. Could be coincidence that the plants were in at the same time you had a Biological boom which makes the water cloudy too.
Algae is a natural- non harmful plant that goes because the tank has certain nutrients that are not being used. Most commonly these are Nitrates, Phosphates, and ofcourse Light. If your water params are in check, and algae grows there is no problem. It is just considered unsightly, yet it is found everywhere in the wild in various forms. If you want the tank to truely look like a slice of the river/lake you collected from, I would let it grow on the rocks or wood, and simply scrape it off the viewing glass. Snails are great to keep the algae growth in check. Reducing the light that the aquarium receives will do the same.
Also, the more liveplants you have in an aquarium, the less algae grows. The plants use the same nutrients that algae does.
Finally- you better post some photos! MFK loves photos.
with Will Hayward 100%. Awesome advice!Im doing good not so sure about Bob though(my fishes name....lol) he doesnt look too happy, probably because his tanks to small :\ hopefully going to get the 120g today, and i want to go bigger just so i can put more fish in there with him because he looks lonely lol but dont really have the room for bigger, i want to turn the spair bedroom into a whole fish but that wont happen. and he's a small-mouth btw =P and ill try and get pictures up soon, and thanks alot im sure this is going to help ALOT and i want to get some real plants in there just cus they look really nice, btw whats best for the bottom of the tank? sand, gravel or rocks? i have gravel right now and i hate it, its that stuff that you gotta thoroughly wash and its going to be a pain in the ass doing that for 120 tank.....its natural gravel or something though, it looks like real plants to better in sand
just got back from Big Al's
I bought a:
- 120g tank
- perfecto lighting
- eheim prof. 2 canister filter
no stand though, going to make our own, need extra storage space for things. I also got Big Als Bio-Clean and Bio-Support for the bacteria, the guy recomended it...wonder why....lol
Wide Arrangement of products and other things. I saw some clown fish....they were reaaally tiny like the size of a quarter. some puffer fish, i made one of them inflate, "please do not disturb the fish." The coolest thing was a white tipped reef shark. pretty cool to see swimming around in this huge tank. I think we might have to reinforce under where the tanks going though, that may take awhile hopefully not too long.
I bought a:
- 120g tank
- perfecto lighting
- eheim prof. 2 canister filter
no stand though, going to make our own, need extra storage space for things. I also got Big Als Bio-Clean and Bio-Support for the bacteria, the guy recomended it...wonder why....lol
Wide Arrangement of products and other things. I saw some clown fish....they were reaaally tiny like the size of a quarter. some puffer fish, i made one of them inflate, "please do not disturb the fish." The coolest thing was a white tipped reef shark. pretty cool to see swimming around in this huge tank. I think we might have to reinforce under where the tanks going though, that may take awhile hopefully not too long.
unstead of pics i though id take a video , no full view of the tank though because camera wouldnt zoom out and i didnt feel like backing all the way up so here it is
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GFS5G2dRC0
My Smally
might go fishing today and go catch a sunny and a perch , no LMB though because season isnt open >=[
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GFS5G2dRC0
My Smally
might go fishing today and go catch a sunny and a perch , no LMB though because season isnt open >=[