beginner wanting to get more serious

M

matthewvl

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May 25, 2006
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I'm pretty amatuer at this whole aquarium thing. I've had this 50g for 4 months now and I feel like I have been doing great. Tank cycled successfully and easily. No deaths at all, water is always clear and of good quality. Tests are in the sweet spots. Good setup with hiding spots and such for fish. It took me a while but I've gotten good at feeding the right amount. I've been doing 25% weekly water changes with a gravel vac. Anyways, things have been going fine but I would like to learn more and get more scientific in my hobby.

Let me start off by listing the facts. I have two african cichlids, both fairly large at 6 inches. One common pleco thats a little less than 6 inches and looking great. One Leporinus fasciatus thats about 3-4 inches, one pictus catfish thats about 3 inches. Like i said before, I have a 50g with a fluval 305 canister filter. The top two medias are bio max and the bottom is zeo-carb that also removes ammonia, which I just recently switched to from carbon at the suggestion of a lfs guy.

Now for the questions.

How much bigger can I expect the cichlids to grow... They were in the assorted african chiclid tank, are about 6 inches and in my opinion they are pretty thick looking At another lfs, petsmart, where I bought the Leporinus says that I will get to 6 inches but some websites say 12 inches. Both call the fish the exact same thing so its not a mixup. What should I believe?

All the plants and decorations are aquarium made stuff, none live. I don't think I'm ready for live plants and such because of the extra attention needed to address water quality. Or so I am to believe. Are there any benefits to having live plants in my situation? If so, what extra care is needed?

I've been using a test kit, but just out of curiousity, what are ALL of the various main things I should be testing for and what levels should they be at?

Is a weekly 25% water change enough? I add water conditioner every time I do a water change for the amount of water I add. Is this correct? Should I also be adding cycling stuff, because I haven't although the cycling package says I could.

The LFS where I got the Leproninus says the tank should be lightly salted, so I have done so. They have also said its good for the health of all fish. Is this true? How often should I be adding the salt and how much should I be adding? The amount I change out the water? More or less?

How often should I clean the sponges inside my filter? I have been cleaning them every so often but don't have a defined schedule yet. How often should I replace the bio max stuff? I know it can be reused for a while but I am unsure what it looks like when it goes bad. I know the carbon is once a month thing. I already know that I have to stagger the filter replacements and sponge cleaning, don't worry.

Is my equipment sufficient? Is my combination of media a good selection?

I know this is a lot to read and a lot of question to request being answered but I appreciate all the help. Anything else that I have forgot to ask and you think would be good to know I definitely wouldn't mind reading about. Sorry for the confusing layout of questions. I tried to space out the questions and group the ones related. Thanks
 
Hi Matthew
Great to hear that you are getting on so well with your new tank. Early successes like yours are always so inspiring and encouraging and from what i am reading you certainly seem to be on the right tracks and have a good regime going. Well done you.
I cant really comment on your fish as I have no experience of them but i can comment on some of your other questions.

25% water change weekly sounds good to me. Some people here swear by 40-50% and i have to say i am one of them but really i think its down to personal tanks and stocking/ water conditions. You should take regular weekly tests for ph, ammonia nitrates and nitrates and the latter 3 should read 0. If they dont then water changes are needed to bring the levels down until they are at 0. Yep the dechlorinator you add is fine

As far as carbon filters are concerned. Most people advocate taking out the carbon as it is only really necessary for taking meds from the water anyway.

Personally i think real plants are much better than fake though i know excellent fake plants are made these days and again i think it comes down to personal taste. If you grow the right types they are not difficult to grow. My plants go balistic with very little attention and feeding.

As for cleaning your filter I would recommend once a week or anytime if you see a reduction in your outflow. When you clean the fileter always use water from the tank as tap water will kill off beneficial bacteria cultured when your tank cycled.

I know i havent addressed all your questions here but i hope some of it helps :)
 
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Glad you got the cycle done and the fish in. If they truly are african cichlids I wouldnt guess they would get much bigger than 6 inches. South American cichlids are for the most part much larger than ones from African lakes. You should check out species profiles on this site and others to see exactly what type of fish you have. Some require different care/water parameters than others.

Dont have any experience with the Leporinus so no clue. Fish do tend to stay smaller in captivity than they do in the wild.

I only use carbon in my tank to take out the tannis from my driftwood, otherwise I wouldnt use it.

I dont have any experience with real plants, mine are all fake. Cichlids are known for ripping at plants anyway.

I do weekly/week and a half 30% changes, my parameters are good.

You should test for Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, and Ph.
I only test Ammonia, Nitrite, Ph once in a while, I check Nitrate regularly.
Ammonia and Nitrate should be 0, Ph for africans should be 8.0+ and nitrates should be as low as possible, hopefully never over 20.

The salts you are using are probably not needed. Most times they are used to raise Ph so check yours and see if it needs to go up.

I clean my filter out MAYBE once a month, and when I do I usually just clean off the impeller. I havnt noticed any reduction in flow over the last 2 months so thats how long its been since the media was cleaned. When you clean the media use tank water so you dont kill your bacteria. In my filter I have filter floss, carbon for tannis, crushed coral for Ph, and some bio-balls.

IMO I would get rid of the common pleco(huge crap makers) and get a smaller one if you like them, that way you could put more cichlids in there.

Good luck.
 
Lepernious Faciatius Grow huge, say 13 inches or so, Mine are pushing 7 inches now.
though I never salt my tanks I dont think they reqire it because my little shoal is doing marvelously, (6 to keep down the aggression) they are interesting little critters and appreciate some shrimp now and then and bloodworms.

Pleco's are nice but Commons Crap.....Alot, and they grow 20+ inches, the 4 pond ones Crap a copious amount making me clean the bottom alot with a little vac I make.
 
Just a couple of things..
I wouldn't mix live plants and ciclids they tend to up root them and rip them apart. Unless you would add a clump of java moss, its good for cover and doesn't root or take a lot of light or time on your part.

A little salt never hurt anything.

Im guilty of only doin 30% monthly water changes and never had a problem, but i keep my tanks well filtered and never overstocked.

You will have to see how bad your filter gets and how often to figure out your own cleaning schedule its diff for everybody. I guess every other month i clean mine unless i notice they are slowin down or something.

Ofcourse plecos poop alot, and thats good because every ounce of it would have been extra break down in the tank, they clean the tank great!! But they do get to be too big down the road, let him grow and when he gets to be a problem trade him for a smaller one and probably some $ for more fish stuff!!

hope this helps, and btw dont worry if you ask alot of questions, thats a good thing!!
 
podheadx said:
A little salt never hurt anything.
QUOTE]

I have to disagree with this statement. I would not advocate keep salt (even a small amount) I n a fresh water tank. It is true that a trace amount can be found in natural sources of fresh water, but that much is probably already in your tank.

Too much salt will make it difficult for a fish to regulate the amount of water, and water soluble chemicals it keeps in its body. This can mess up all sorts of biological systems.

Salt also irritates a fishes “skin” . Both results put long-term stress on the fish.

In addition to the direct impacts it has on fish the Salt can create salt-resistant strains of disease. This makes it much harder to treat ich and other outbreaks.
Click to expand...
 
You are right that salt can make a great medicine (for the right disease). I just wouldn’t use it long term in a fresh water tank. It can do more harm than good. :cool2:
 
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