Author Topic: 1st tank build (Read 2529 times)

beckynlewis · « **on:** February 18, 2015, 01:18:40 am »

hi im a novice to the tropical fish game ,have only been a keeper for around 6months so still have a lot to learn ,
and already own 5 tanks
1, rio 180
1, 64 fish box
1, 30 nano
1, 22 nano
and as of last week when a local fish shop shut an 60cmx18cmx12cm used ex display tank that iv turned into 3 for r lass to have 3 fighters in
ive done this on guess work really ,some of it seems to work well some not so well but ,ill show you where im at and,, hope for any good advice

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beckynlewis · « **Reply #1 on:** February 18, 2015, 01:44:24 am »

firstly i used perspex and aqua safe sealant,,ive sectioned 4" off the rear for a home made filter ,and the heater to sit in ,that is fed back in via a rain bar , the rear has 3 chambers ,the first has been made to fit juwel sponges in ,atm 1 course 1 cheap nitrax and a carbon ,the water flows in from the top down through the sponges and under into the second chamber thats full of a mix of subsrtat pro, bio rings ,and sponge blocks floating on the surface ,i also have a small 100lph filter in with it to add flow and oxy ,this little filter is fully cycled from another tank,,the water then goes over and into last chamber that houses the heater and a 600lph cheap filter with the rain bar attached to lift the water back into the front right section ,
ive managed to get the water flowing round ok now ,but still have to make a lid and find a way of making the perspex dividers dark so the fish cant see through them ,as fighter arnt allowed to see each other ..mardy buggers ,,
ow ive left a gap under the sections in the main tank for flow between as the gravel blocks any fish getting through and also put small holes in each section again for flow

im hoping to put a mature sponge from my juwel rio 180 set up in on top of the new 1s to allow me to add fish
i was going to use fluval cycle but have been getting the idea thats a no no ..

does most of this seem like it might work at all

also ive got 2 heaters in atm as i only have 2x50watt or 1x300w
nothing in the middle could i use the 300 or is it to much?
the 2 seem to cope ok but id rather save a plug socket

plankton · « **Reply #2 on:** February 18, 2015, 09:42:27 am »

Not sure whether the reflective sheets they use on windows would work on perspex or under water to stop the bettas seeing each other?

beckynlewis · « **Reply #3 on:** February 18, 2015, 11:26:15 am »

i had originally thought i would just wait for algae growth to cover them ,but i had an idea last night of just giving them a rough sand over with sandpaper just to scour it, see if that blocks enough view ,will this also help the algae stick to it ?

plankton · « **Reply #4 on:** February 18, 2015, 01:37:36 pm »

What about coloured, plastic folder dividers?

beckynlewis · « **Reply #5 on:** February 18, 2015, 01:56:20 pm »

thats a great idea ill try getting a couple ..

how about the filter set up, does that look like it should work ?

plankton · « **Reply #6 on:** February 18, 2015, 02:22:15 pm »

Don't see why not. If you're getting a flow right round the tank and into the filter it should be fine.

beckynlewis · « **Reply #7 on:** February 20, 2015, 12:21:18 pm »

right ive been a busy bee over the last few days getting this up and running,
i started the filter with new sponges ,but added a small 320lph filter thats fully mature from another tank

i got my test kit yesterday and tested it last night so
1st reading was
ammonia 0.25
no2 0.25
no3 5.00

i also tested my tap water for no3 and got a 0 reading
so i did a 20% water change and added a mature sponge from my juwel filter to try to help it all out
ive got a couple of gorgeous bettas due in just over a week so i need this to be good for them ,
im gunna test again today ,
ive also made a media chamber next to the sponges for bio rings ect,its got a mix of what i had left in it ,thats bio rings substrat pro and some bits of loosed sponge ,
but today im the proud owner of 1kg of biohome ultra mini
theres room for it to go ontop of the other media so i dont see the point in removing it,
ow and the biohome comes with 10 little black balls of bacteria for free

ill go test the water again before i do anything else

BlueWotsit57 · « **Reply #8 on:** February 20, 2015, 12:23:59 pm »

would coloured foamboard work for the dividers - there are always offcuts being sold on ebay, dont know what they are like immersed in water but I believe signwriters use boards like this on buildings

plankton · « **Reply #9 on:** February 20, 2015, 12:45:00 pm »

How much ammonia have you added to get the readings?

beckynlewis · « **Reply #10 on:** February 20, 2015, 12:57:08 pm »

Quote from: plankton on February 20, 2015, 12:45:00 pm

How much ammonia have you added to get the readings?

ive just been adding a bit of food every other day

beckynlewis · « **Reply #11 on:** February 20, 2015, 01:11:05 pm »

i have to admit i dont fully understand the fishless cycle thing ,i used to keep cold water fish years ago and just used the same idea ,
no fish still
just a bit of fish flake and some water with shite in it out of another tank
and a bit of bottled filter start ( that i havent used this time after i was told its useless)

you r gunna tell me im a plonker arnt you ...lol

it did seem to work on my other tanks over 6weeks or so

plankton · « **Reply #12 on:** February 20, 2015, 02:09:03 pm »

No, it's one way of doing it, just a bit uncontrollable, that's all. Easier with ammonia in a bottle

Water doesn't carry many (if any) munchers. The media and squeezes are good though.

beckynlewis · « **Reply #13 on:** February 20, 2015, 02:51:48 pm »

right well after buggering about ,i got the same result again ,

at this point i had an idea
i decided to do a ammonia test on fresh water to compare the results
so its fresh water on the right ,,tank water on the left .
so im presuming ive read it wrong and its at 0 ?

plankton · « **Reply #14 on:** February 21, 2015, 08:51:41 am »

Looks zero to me.

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Author Topic: 1st tank build (Read 2529 times)