Setting up a new Freshwater Aquarium: Getting it Right

garylkoh

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when do the fish get added and how many

It's Day 14 since the tank was set up, and besides the fish that were in there to start the system cycling, I don't think that it is ready for fish to be added yet.

Day 14.jpg

Some of the plants have grown a little, others have died back. However, it does look like it is establishing well. We have added 10ml of Seachem Excel and 5ml of Seachem Stability a day. I also changed 20% of the water on Day 10. The fish in the tank have been fed a tiny bit every day - still keeping them hungry and being sure that there is absolutely no chance of left-over food discomposing. As a rule, it is far better to under-feed a tank than to over-feed it.

There are a few "rules of thumb" as to how many fish a tank can accommodate. One of them is "an inch of fish for a gallon of water". However, I feel that that over-stocks a tank especially if you have large-bodied fish like Discus or large Cichlids. There are fish that generate a lot of pollutants like goldfish, and while an inch of goldfish for a gallon of water might work, you need 2 to 3 times the amount of filtration. You also have to remember that the fish will grow and might out-grow the tank. Also, if the tank is odd-shaped like my very deep tank, the inch per gallon formula would not work. You will also have to factor in the space taken up by gravel and rocks and reduce the volume of water accordingly.

Another "rule of thumb" is 12 sq.inches of surface area per inch of fish. Again, if you have very active fish like a school of Bala Sharks, that may be insufficient. With my tank being 60" x 18", using the second rule would allow me 90 inches of fish. Using the first rule, I would be able to put in 140 inches of fish. It would always be far better to understock the tank than to overstock it.

As to how much fish to add at any time, a rule I use is not to add more than 25% more fish at one time. So, for example if I am going to stock my tank with 60 inches of fish (eventually), I would add no more than 15 inches of fish at a time. Allow the tank to stabilize as the biological system will need to catch up before putting in more fish.
 

garylkoh

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One more thing.... wet/dry filters go underneath the tank. Gravity pulls the water from the tank down to filter where your water is processed and then pumped back to the tank. This makes it easier to add supplements or to alter your water chemistry when you need to. Another benefit is that it permits you to get those unsightly water heaters out of the tank.

That works until the day that the return water pump breaks down. If you use gravity (siphon) to pull water from the tank down to the filter, after an electrical failure unless you have fail-safe solenoid valves, you come back to an empty tank and water all over the floor. I prefer to have the tank and sump filter at the same level, and a pump to pump water OUT of the sump and let gravity feed the filter. The last time I had a sump filter, it was built above the tank, the pump fed the filter, and the return simply poured down like a waterfall back into the tank.
 

elescher

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Hi Gary,

I would never recommend something that would flood your house in the event of a power outage. It seems that you have mapped out your stradegy and are having fun. If you ever want/need any advice or ideas on solving any problems that arise you are always welcome to PM me or just post here. I have a lot of experience in everything aquariums and enjoy helping people out with new systems and sharing my knowledge.
 

garylkoh

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Thanks, elescher. Please let us know if you see anything wrong that I am posting.

Can you describe how you would build siphon-fed a wet/dry sump filter under the tank that wouldn't flood the house? I would love to have a wet/dry sump filter. Then that will be the primary filter and the canister I currently have will be the back-up. My strategy was to have a very light load of fish. If I can build a larger filtration system, I can have more fish :)

I don't have space for a sump filter beside the tank, and don't want the eyesore of a sump filter above the tank. I had considered a Berlin-style overflow sump, but that would have had to be built beside or behind the tank taking space away from the tank itself. That's why I went for a sealed canister-style system.
 

garylkoh

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With Dimfer and elescher bringing up sump tanks, let's take another detour.

A Berlin-style sump filter is essentially a whole water treatment plant that is the ultimate in filtration. Unlike a sealed-type canister filter, a sump filter is typically open. Here's a picture from reefmaniacs.com - but this one looks like a freshwater sump with refugium (that part that has all the plants with the light above it).



If you are setting up a tank where you can leave it for weeks at a time, a large sump filter is probably the way to go. In case you lose power, the sump (especially a wet/dry type) is likely to stay alive even for days at a time. If you lose power to a sealed canister filter for more than a couple of hours, the canister is likely to go anaerobic and the bacteria will die on you. If the power comes back on, it may flush the dead bacteria into your tank, and kill all the fish in the tank. That was what happened to my last tank in the office.

There are a number of commercial designs for wet/dry sumps available, and dimfer or elescher might be more capable of describing how to build one than I am. The last time I built a sump filter was over 40 years ago, and technology would have significantly change by now.

What is important to know is that a proper sump filter is likely to be almost the same size as your tank, and could either be used to increase the population capacity of your tank, or to give your vacation home a tank that could survive a couple of weeks without attention.
 

Dimfer

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That works until the day that the return water pump breaks down.

this can be overcome by properly computing your sump's size and overflow height. I had mine setup in such a way that the sump can accommodate additional water from the main tank and the overflow height measured so that it would only allow so much water to overflow, when the pump stop running, water will stop flowing into the sump just before the sump fills up. definitely not for beginners because you have to watch the water level at the sump when filling up after partial waterchange

this is the picture of my 210 gal setup with 70 gal sump underneath. The overflow chambers are in the back corners. I would once in a while leave a feeder fish inside these chambers to eat food that gets trapped in there.



I had a mature asian arowana (26"), a full grown tigrinus (15") a mature male motoro stingray (14" dia) 2 bloodparrots bigger than my hands and an 8" flowerhorn and a mature green severum here at one point. I had to wakeup some nights to wipe the floor when they decide to rumble.
 

Dimfer

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I was into rare fish at one point - chased rare stingray and rare catfish. I don't know if tigrinus is still considered rare, but it was really hard to get during the time I was looking for it because it was never bred in captivity.

One fish that I will chase if setting up another freshwater aquarium is the paretroplus menarambo. It was only available commercially from Oliver Lukanus back in early 2000's.
 

elescher

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Hi Gary,

If you truly want to get it right you need to bite the bullet and figure out a way to install a wet/dry filter. I can explain to you how you can use the canister filter to make your water changes much easier and at the same time make
your tap water more suitable for your animals. It is a good idea to take a sample of your tap water to your local fish store (LFS) and have them test for quality so you have a handle on what elements you need to deal with. You should already have test kits at home however it is still recommended to get a 'second opinion'.

Unfortunately Gary in order to properly implement a wet/dry filter, you are going to have to drain your tank. You will be able to keep your fish and plants alive however. You will have two options. Either buy a new tank with overflow boxes already installed, or you can very easily install one that you can readily buy over the Internet. www.glasscages.com can make an acrylic tank for you with any dimensions for pretty cheap. Their tanks are very well built too. If you want to DIY (I bet you wouldn't have a problem here) I like Aquacave http://www.aquacave.com/overflow-box-1-200gph-6-25-w-x-3-75-d-x-5.html for best selection and good (not the best) prices.

If you decide to take the challenge, let us know and I will provide further guidance.
 

garylkoh

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I was into rare fish at one point - chased rare stingray and rare catfish. I don't know if tigrinus is still considered rare, but it was really hard to get during the time I was looking for it because it was never bred in captivity.

One fish that I will chase if setting up another freshwater aquarium is the paretroplus menarambo. It was only available commercially from Oliver Lukanus back in early 2000's.

I would love a monster tank, but not this one in the office. I once had a red tail catfish that grew so big it ate everything else in the tank. Then I put it in the pond, and it ate everything in there too. One day it disappeared. I believe that the servant fished it out and we ate it, but I was just a kid then and don't know for sure. I wonder if Carol remembers this, we were very young....... one day, my tinfoil barbs disappeared and appeared on the dining table. They were extremely bony, but steamed with black bean sauce, they were delicious.

Now, I'll only keep fish too small to eat :D
 

garylkoh

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The final part of the life support system is the oxygen cycle. Like on Earth, growing plants take in carbon dioxide when there is sunlight, and produce oxygen. However, in the world that is the aquarium, there is usually insufficient carbon dioxide. So, we introduce carbon dioxide, provide enough light, and plants will produce oxygen for the fish to breathe.

You need a tank of CO2. I get it from an industrial air supply place around the corner from the office, but food-grade CO2 is easily available as they are used for soda machines and for brewing. Medical grade CO2 is also easily available. To dose out the CO2, you need a regulator. This is a spring-loaded valve that regulates the output pressure. Then, a solenoid valve (because you only want CO2 injection when the lights are on and plants are growing), and a needle valve for fine-adjustment and a bubble counter to see how much CO2 is being introduced into the tank.

This is the exact one I use - made by Milwaukee Instruments.

CO2 Regulator.jpg

It incorporates two dials that give you the pressure before the regulator (tells you how much CO2 there is left in the tank) and the pressure after the regulator (works with the needle valve to supply precise amounts of CO2), a solenoid on/off valve, a needle valve and a bubble counter. About $200, but deals are easily found on Amazon and other pet supply websites. Unfortunately, the needle valve supplied is not very accurate, producing either too much or too little flow - so, a needle valve with greater precision is usually needed. I bought a stainless steel one off eBay that worked far better than the brass one supplied with the regulator.

To introduce CO2 into the tank, many aquarists use a simple airstone-type reactor, but if the bubbles don't dissolve completely in the water before popping on the surface, that is a waste of CO2. If there is not enough air-flow over the top of the tank, CO2 could also pool above the water and prevent oxygen from the atmosphere from coming in contact with the water surface. After a bit of research, I ended up with this:

Vortex.jpg

It has a little submersible pump that pumps water into a chamber. The black hose brings CO2 down into the chamber, and the water flow creates a little vortex of CO2. So far, it looks like it is working great. I could get up to 60 bubbles a minute of CO2 completely dissolved and I haven't seen big bubbles of CO2 escape yet. Because the plants are just beginning to grow, and the tank is cycling, I am introducing only 15 bubbles a minute. When the plants grow more, we can then raise the flow of CO2. Because CO2 dissolved in water is carbonic acid, do not introduce too much CO2 too quickly or the water may become too acidic. Getting the water to the acidic side of neutral (pH 6.8 or so) is useful because the acidity also buffers the toxic ammonia waste from fish.

Oh, one more thing. Do not use ordinary airline tubing for CO2. Use special CO2 tubing as ordinary airline tubing gets brittle quickly, and silicon tubing is permeable to CO2.
 

garylkoh

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Four weeks into the cycling process, and it's time to introduce fish.

But just in case - a word about the cycling/stabilization process. I did what is called a "fish cycle" - a few "sacrificial" fish were put in to start the process going. Plus the addition of Seachem Stability and bio-active substrate. This starts the bacterial load to grow the beneficial bacteria and the fish provide the ammonia to feed the bacteria.

Three weeks into the process, the water becomes milky and cloudy - this is a bacterial bloom and is good! This just means that you are growing bacteria. Throughout the cycling process, you need to test the water. I'm lazy and used test strips (accurate enough for my purposes) but there are purists who say that nothing less than a proper liquid and test-tube kit will do.

During the cycling process, you will first see the level of ammonia go up. Ammonia is toxic to fish, but only if the water is neutral to alkaline. So, the addition of CO2 is critical to the survival of the sacrificial fish at this point. Keeping the pH well below 7 (acidic), the ammonia stays in its ionized form (NH4). If the pH of the water goes above 7, the ammonia de-ionizes to NH3 and even 2 ppm will wipe out all your fish.

In the second stage of the cycling process (about 3 weeks in this particular case), Nitrosomonas bacteria begin to multiply. Then as the bacteria multiply, the ammonia will be converted to nitrite and you begin to see the nitrite levels go up. I did a couple of big water changes at this time - 40% - when I noticed this, and another 40% three days later. Nitrite is also toxic to fish.

That was when I began to put in fish.

Unfortunately, I went a bit overboard. The local PetSmart had a blow-out sale on Denison's Barb (Roseline Sharks) and I couldn't resist the bargain. I bought 9 of them at just $6 each. A fantastic price - these live 7 to 10 years and will grow up big and beautiful in my tank. They are schooling fish and are happiest with a minimum of 6. They will probably grow to a maximum of 4" - and that will take up half of my available fish population in the tank.

The additional fish put a big ammonia load on the tank - which got the Nitrosomonas bacteria to bloom. But, it also accelerated the growth of Nitrobacter bacteria. This is the final stage of the nitrogen cycle. The Nitrobacter bacteria started to convert the nitrites to nitrates. The growth of the Nitrobacter bacteria in the water column also caused the water to become cloudy.

I tested the water every day at this point, and when I saw the level of nitrates going up, I did 20% water changes every 3 days. I wanted all the good bacteria I had carefully cultivated over the past 4 weeks now to populate - in the filter media, in the substrate, on the tank walls, etc. So, here's the tank just at the end of week 4. The water is beginning to get less cloudy, all the "sacrificial" fish all survived the cycling process, and ammonia and nitrates are practically zero. The level of nitrates is going up, and some of the plants even sprouted new leaves. :D

Week 4.jpg
 
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garylkoh

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Week 6 - the water has started to turn green from algae, water parameters are stable, the critical ammonia and nitrites are zero, and nitrates are at about 20ppm. I would say that the tank is pretty well cycled at this point. The plants are beginning to grow, but as there is much more nutrients than there are plants to take it up, I have been doing 20% water changes every 3 to 4 days. Despite this, green water-based algae is growing. While it isn't bad per se, it is unsightly and hide the colors of the fish.

Rose Line Sharks.jpg

Now that the good nitrogen-cycle bacteria has established, it is time to set up a UV Sterilizer. This will kill off the green water-borne algae and the result in a few days should be crystal-clear water. The beneficial bacteria - which convert ammonia to nitrite and then nitrite to nitrate - are not in the water column. They form a film over the substrate, plant leaves, tank walls, and the biological media in the filter systems. Hence, a UV Sterilizer is something that I always install. By killing bacteria and other water-borne organisms, it also helps to keep the fish healthy.

This is the one I ended up with after much research (on specs - no, I did not do a double blind test): a Coralife "Turbo twist". The effectiveness of a UV Sterilizer depends on the power of the lamp, as well as "dwell time" - the time which water is exposed to the UV light. The spiral that the water is made to go around the UV bulb in this case theoretically increases dwell time significantly.

Sterilizer.jpg
 

garylkoh

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An important aspect of healthy fish - and I cannot emphasize this enough - is oxygen supply. This is critical to their survival.

As I want to have a fully planted tank, CO2 is also important to feed the plants. With ample supply of light, the plants take in the CO2, excrete oxygen into the water, and they grow (with the supply of other nutrients). However, when the lights go out, the fish still need oxygen. Enter surface agitation.

With a planted tank and CO2 injection, having an air pump and air stones is counter-productive. The bubbles remove CO2 from the water and bubble it away. In order to introduce oxygen into the water, the surface of the water needs to move but not be broken. This video illustrates the movement of the surface of the water that is created by having the return-bar of my canister filter below the surface of the water, but pointing slightly upwards.

This serves 3 purposes - it creates water movement which the fish I selected like, agitates the water surface without breaking through the surface (which would dissipate the CO2 I so carefully injected) and helps to remove the oily film on the water surface that impedes gas exchange. At night, when the lights are off and the CO2 injection is off, this surface agitation and an air pump is all that is keeping the water oxygenated and the fish alive. If you wake up in the morning and your fish are gasping for air at the surface of the tank, you do not have enough surface agitation.

 

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