Getting my kid a fish tank

[The Oi]

You might have higher algae because of the natural light. Cory are supposed to eat algae and you will know by now if you have enough Cory to eat it. My hallway planter aquarium has a reticulated hillstream loach, which is also known as a UFO because of its fast irrelguar speeds. It supposedly eats algae, it isn't very good at it. I also have a clown loach that is supposed to eat algae and unwanted snails. They keep on living, so I guess they are eating the algae and snails to some extent.



I did a crap jobsetting up my planter. I put in some sand and some aquarium clay, planted the plants, then covered it with the neon gravel. I've researched since then and learned more ideas, but it's enough that the fish poop acts as fertilizer. That's all I wanted out of it, and the plants are up to the top of the aquarium.



I have dead assassin snails and tetras on my soul as I enter the Promised Land after I die. They are fickle. It wasn't you. I'm hoping this clown loach my son bought will do a better job eating baby snails. It's huge for a fish - probably the size of Glen Infante's penis.



I don't know what I planted, but they are like fifteen inches long after three years, the size of gourimoko's dick. All good fun!!

I have a shitload of algae and nothing is touching it. Not even gourimoko’s dick.

 

[Jack Brickman]

Kid dgaf about it.

Told you.

That's why you get a dog. At least once the kid stops caring you've still got an animal you can do shit with.

 

[The Oi]

Told you.

That's why you get a dog. At least once the kid stops caring you've still got an animal you can do shit with.

Already have.

 

[Cratylus]

Told you.

That's why you get a dog. At least once the kid stops caring you've still got an animal who will shit all over your house if you don't let him outside and take him for a walk every few hours... perfect for a busy couple with a young kid.

.

 

[el_capitan]

I’d get more Cory’s. They’re one of my favorites, and I think might be the only schooling catfish/bottom feeder. I had 8 at one point, and it was awesome watching them school around on the bottom.

Harlequin rasboras are pretty cool schooling fish as well, and really hardy. I put mine through a pretty tough time because of circumstances I couldn’t control, and they survived no problem. They stay towards the top/middle, so they won’t bother the Cory’s.

If you want something to eat the algae, look for a Bristlenose pleco. Pretty ugly things but they don’t get as big as normal pleco’s so you don’t have to worry about them outgrowing the tank. They do a decent job of eating the algae. Just don’t get a male and female like I did or you’ll end up with like 12 pleco’s in your tank without even realizing it.

 

[Cratylus]

As somebody who's been an avid aquarium hobbyist for over 40 years, allow me to say that some of the things that people are touting as facts and are recommending for Jigo to do, well...

 

[bcort]

So @Randolphkeys, @The Oi , and @Cratylus ...


I'm thinking of doing a plan planted tank and the wife finally gave the ok.

Tank is probably going to be a rimless 12"X12"X12" cube, ~7.5 gal.

Substrate- ADA Amazonia Powder. (Looks like I have to do a few water changes over a couple weeks before adding anything to the tank due to the excessive ammonia it gives off)

Light- Finnex planted+

No CO2. So pretty low tech.

Really undecided on a filter. Reading, cannisters are the best, but this is probably going on a desk/ night stand/ something I can't hide filters below. It would just be sitting there next to the tank. Internal seems ok but takes up room in a small tank. HOB could work on such a small tank, but apparently that pulls CO2 out of the tank and I'm not pumping any in. Any concern over the additional reduction of CO2? Thoughts?

 

[The Oi]

So @Randolphkeys, @The Oi , and @Cratylus ...


I'm thinking of doing a plan planted tank and the wife finally gave the ok.

Tank is probably going to be a rimless 12"X12"X12" cube, ~7.5 gal.

Substrate- ADA Amazonia Powder. (Looks like I have to do a few water changes over a couple weeks before adding anything to the tank due to the excessive ammonia it gives off)

Light- Finnex planted+

No CO2. So pretty low tech.

Really undecided on a filter. Reading, cannisters are the best, but this is probably going on a desk/ night stand/ something I can't hide filters below. It would just be sitting there next to the tank. Internal seems ok but takes up room in a small tank. HOB could work on such a small tank, but apparently that pulls CO2 out of the tank and I'm not pumping any in. Any concern over the additional reduction of CO2? Thoughts?

Go bigger than 10gal no matter what if you can. Other than that @Cratylus is your guy.

 

[Cratylus]

at work right now, @bcort but I'll respond later this evening.

 

[Cratylus]

So @Randolphkeys, @The Oi , and @Cratylus ...


I'm thinking of doing a plan planted tank and the wife finally gave the ok.

Tank is probably going to be a rimless 12"X12"X12" cube, ~7.5 gal.

Substrate- ADA Amazonia Powder. (Looks like I have to do a few water changes over a couple weeks before adding anything to the tank due to the excessive ammonia it gives off)

Light- Finnex planted+

No CO2. So pretty low tech.

Really undecided on a filter. Reading, cannisters are the best, but this is probably going on a desk/ night stand/ something I can't hide filters below. It would just be sitting there next to the tank. Internal seems ok but takes up room in a small tank. HOB could work on such a small tank, but apparently that pulls CO2 out of the tank and I'm not pumping any in. Any concern over the additional reduction of CO2? Thoughts?

@The Oi is correct in that I would recommend going with a larger tank, especially if you are just now venturing into the hobby. You are better off going larger because larger tanks are more stable and thus more forgiving if you slack a bit with your maintenance and water change schedule. Nano tanks require that you be extremely disciplined. For people just getting into the hobby I usually don't recommend anything less than a 40 gallon tank.

If you are determined to proceed with your 7.5 gallon cube then here are some things to keep in mind...

- with a tank that small your selection (and number) of fish will be quite limited. You're going to be limited to tiny fish like small tetras (such as neons, glowlights, embers), rasboras (chili, phoenix), or pencilfish. You could also do an ornamental shrimp tank.

- I can't stress this enough: you have to be disciplined and have a stringent, regular, and frequent maintenance and water change schedule and you must hold to it religiously. In that small of a tank, even the slightest mishap or gap in your regimen will be magnified because of how small you tank will be. It can literally be the difference between a successful aquarium and having an entire tank melt down.

- ADA Amazonia powder is essentially over-hyped, over-priced compost. It contains nothing you can't get in a cheap bag of Miracle Grow garden soil. There's nothing wrong with the product... if you like boutique substrate.

- I'm assuming you're trying to emulate the aquascaping method popularized by Takashi Amano. While those kinds of tanks can be maintained long-term (with some serious effort), please understand that the look you are going for was really created for competitions where the tank will be up and running for at most one week. Not to sound repetitive, but the larger the tank the more likely you are to succeed long-term... especially with this kind of setup.

- With the amount of organics you are introducing with that substrate into such a small space, you are going to have difficulty fighting algae and maintaining healthy plant growth if you are planning on forgoing additional fertilization (either root tablets or water column additives) and CO2 injection. If your substrate surface PAR approaches the mid-teens there is a fine balance that must be achieved between light, ferts, and CO2. If that balance is not achieved, your tank will be in trouble. As an FYI, at 22 inches the 12-inch Finnex Planted + light has a PAR reading of 60. Now keep in mind that the distance between your light and your substrate will be half that distance. You're talking about PAR levels most likely over 100. You are in for some serious challenges.

- If you're wanting to go "low tech" as you mentioned, if it were me I would forego the ADA Aqua Soil in favor of a small-grained inert substrate like CaribSea Peace River or CaribSea Rio Grande, both of which have granule sizes in the 3mm to 4mm range. I would keep low-light plants like Anubias, Cryptocorynes, Java Ferns, and any of the various Fissidens mosses. And I would definitely choose a different light source with less intensity.

- With respect to filtration, any surface agitation will increase oxygenation and conversely decrease CO2 saturation. If you're injecting CO2, you want to avoid any filters which cause disturbance of the water's surface. That pretty much limits you to a small canister filter. Now, if you're going to go low tech with low light plants, CO2 saturation isn't as much of a concern because you can dose bio-available carbon in the form of Seachem Flourish Excel. Since it's dosed as a liquid and not a gas, surface agitation will have little effect on reducing its availability for your plants. If that's the course you decide to take, I would recommend a HOT power filter. I'm partial to the AquaClear brand, but there are several good manufacturers of this kind of filtration.


OK, that should give you enough to consider for a while. Let me know what you decide and keep us posted as to how your tank progresses.

 

[Randolphkeys]

As somebody who's been an avid aquarium hobbyist for over 40 years, allow me to say that some of the things that people are touting as facts and are recommending for Jigo to do, well...

You have been at it longer than I have, you will help him out a lot. My hallway setup ain't doing too bad though:

 

[Cratylus]

You have been at it longer than I have, you will help him out a lot. My hallway setup ain't doing too bad though:

What kind of cheap ass sets his home thermostat at 64 degrees in the winter???

 

[Randolphkeys]

What kind of cheap ass sets his home thermostat at 64 degrees in the winter???

A man who isn't afraid to tell his wife to use one of those fleece throws she bought if she feels that cold.

 

[Cratylus]

A man who isn't afraid to tell his wife to use one of those fleece throws she bought if she feels that cold.

Just bustin' your balls, man!

Did I read correctly earlier in the thread that you have Hillstream loaches? I'm in the process of setting up a 125 gallon hillstream biotope aquarium and I've been considering them as one of the species I'll keep in there. How do you like them?

 

[Randolphkeys]

Just bustin' your balls, man!

Did I read correctly earlier in the thread that you have Hillstream loaches? I'm in the process of setting up a 125 gallon hillstream biotope aquarium and I've been considering them as one of the species I'll keep in there. How do you like them?

I have one who lives in the hallway aquarium pictured. It has lasted over a year, along with a clown loach and a large male Molly. Sometimes my son buys a female molly or two, but they don't tend to last too long.

The only current I use is the Aquaclear filter and a bubbler. The hillstream loach is supposed to need a lot of oxygen, but what I have set up does the job. It works with the clown loach to clean up different algae and biofilm, the clown also eats snails. I've been dropping in frozen blood worm every month or so as a dietary supplement, but they also clean up extra fish food from the bottom.

The hillstream is one of the family favorites. My youngest son tickles his belly against the glass. When he moves around it's an amazing sight, they are quick as mercury.