Pygmy Sunfish Tank
#1 Guest_sounguru_*
Posted 13 January 2010 - 05:12 PM
#2 Guest_nativeplanter_*
Posted 13 January 2010 - 05:31 PM
#3
Posted 13 January 2010 - 10:23 PM
#4 Guest_jase_*
Posted 13 January 2010 - 11:04 PM
#5 Guest_sounguru_*
Posted 14 January 2010 - 12:47 AM
Still have a little to do to the tank. I want to seed it with fairy or clam shrimp and blackworms. I also want to remove the duckweed as much as possible and get a good growth of Salvina going. I also want to remove the 2 guppies (which will be a real chore) that I have in there that I was using to keep the decopods under control and let them prosper again.
All this is so there will be a variety of foods already living in the tank when I introduce the pygmies in.
Oh and I need to add the sponge back to the intake of the filter.
Edited by sounguru, 14 January 2010 - 01:18 AM.
#6 Guest_Newt_*
Posted 14 January 2010 - 11:43 AM
#7 Guest_sounguru_*
Posted 14 January 2010 - 01:08 PM
Now to find a few scuds.
#8 Guest_Elijah_*
Posted 16 January 2010 - 03:35 PM
accidentally posted on wrong quote. der...Thanks after looking into the fairy shrimp more I see you are right. Still I think I will start some colonies as feeders seems easy to do.
Now to find a few scuds.
Edited by Elijah, 16 January 2010 - 03:41 PM.
#9 Guest_Elijah_*
Posted 16 January 2010 - 03:37 PM
Why bother using a filter at all with all of those plants? I have done a lot of reading on this subject and have since given up using filters on most of my tanks. My tanks maintain 0 nitrates, nitrites and ammonia. I change 20% of my water every 2-3 weeks just to add fresh minerals. Not sure how long I could go with no h2o change, but I bet it would be atleast a month or more on tanks that are not overstocked.Thanks guys now to just find someone to sell or give to a really wonderful fish guy like me.
Still have a little to do to the tank. I want to seed it with fairy or clam shrimp and blackworms. I also want to remove the duckweed as much as possible and get a good growth of Salvina going. I also want to remove the 2 guppies (which will be a real chore) that I have in there that I was using to keep the decopods under control and let them prosper again.
All this is so there will be a variety of foods already living in the tank when I introduce the pygmies in.
Oh and I need to add the sponge back to the intake of the filter.
On tanks where I do use filters it is only for water flow- in tanks with species that need flow. Pygmy's prefer still water. Plants provide a plenty of oxygen. Most plants grow better when the surface of the water is still- not offgassing co2.
I just got some pygmy's. If you do not get any before then, check back with me in April or May and I might have some fry to spare.
Nice tank by the way!
Edited by Elijah, 16 January 2010 - 03:39 PM.
#10 Guest_gzeiger_*
Posted 16 January 2010 - 05:57 PM
I can send you some Elassoma zonatum for cost of shipping (about $12), or in trade for something interesting I can't get locally. If you're interested just let me know how many you want.
Edited by gzeiger, 16 January 2010 - 06:04 PM.
#11 Guest_sounguru_*
Posted 17 January 2010 - 08:37 PM
Why bother using a filter at all with all of those plants? I have done a lot of reading on this subject and have since given up using filters on most of my tanks. My tanks maintain 0 nitrates, nitrites and ammonia. I change 20% of my water every 2-3 weeks just to add fresh minerals. Not sure how long I could go with no h2o change, but I bet it would be at least a month or more on tanks that are not overstocked.
On tanks where I do use filters it is only for water flow- in tanks with species that need flow. Pygmy's prefer still water. Plants provide a plenty of oxygen. Most plants grow better when the surface of the water is still- not off gassing co2.
I just got some pygmy's. If you do not get any before then, check back with me in April or May and I might have some fry to spare.
Nice tank by the way!
The filter is for 2 reasons on this tank.
#1 To keep the duck weed and salvania from covering the entire top of the tank so basically water movement. If I do not keep a clear spot that is flowing the CO2 build up at night will kill off the tank in a hurry. Found that one out the hard way. I ran a sponge filter and the bubbles from it where not strong enough to keep an area clear and one night I lost almost an entire tank of shrimp. Man Duckweed and Salvania grow quick and in still water they will choke the tank in a matter of a couple of days if not sooner.
#2 Basically a bio bed since I was running sensitive inverts in the tank that any build up of any chems would wipe out. The substrate is a mix of sand, Pond planting medium, peat, and potting soil and the process of the tank breaking in can create ammonia spikes over time and I just want to make sure it is backed up. Although I will admit that is probably well over by now.
If plants grow better in a still tank then I really want some water movement that shot was 2 weeks after I did a major trim back on some of the plants and removed over a cup of duck weed. I will say that all my tanks have water movement to some degree some light like this tank to some with heavier movement and I haven't really noticed any difference in growth, but I also use Excel, Flourish on all, and CO2 injection on a couple. I have setup a few Walstad (aka Natural Aquarium) style tanks and had them run for years and it was a nice experiment, but I just don't like balancing all my eggs on a knife edge. If one thing fails in a tank like that it can crash in a hurry without a redundant back up. I have had that happen so I'm a believer in some back up filtration, but not of the school of over filter as seems to be the new trend. I like to turn my tanks 2 times an hour on the low end to 10 times an hour on the top end depending on the critters needs.
Oh and I will keep you in mind if I don't find any by then....
I bet with that many plants surface agitation would add rather than remove CO2 That is a beautiful tank. How long has it been set up?
I can send you some Elassoma zonatum for cost of shipping (about $12), or in trade for something interesting I can't get locally. If you're interested just let me know how many you want.
Actually Co2 build up can be a problem as I explained above...
It has been running about a year now I guess.
Oh man if I hadn't just done a major trim back, needed to seed a new tank with plants, I would be all over that. As far as interesting stuff I live in Washington and we don't have any interesting stuff but salmon and trout. I deal mainly with Assassin Snails since they are my favorite invert and not a native yet, until some stupid dweeb dumps his in a Florida waterway....
If you have some in a few weeks when the tank grows back in I will take you up on that if it still stands.
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