gg really ah, i thought not enuff light n nutrient sumore. okayla i going to change water n dont put anything except anti chlorine now.

No la. don't do that. I get that lot sometimes too.. if everything else in your tank is blooming its a good sign. just because these plants godamn slow. these algae take advantage of the slowly rotting leaves to grow.

Drew

Hello guys! Remember I asked about 2littlefishes aquarium the other day? Ok the next day I decided to buy a tank from Pet Safari at Ikano. And I decided to try guppies. Bought two males and two females

The 35x21x23 (so..8 gallons?) comes with Aqua Zonic 11w lamp that is said to provide 8hours of sunlight.. And Classica hang on filter. 4.5w, max out put 400-550 l/h (what's this ah?).

And the guy at that place recommended me to buy bio rings (which he pronounced as bio ling making me a bit confused ).

And then I took some water plants from my mother's tank (full of guppies but no filter or lamp!) which I don't even know its name. The plant has many roots on its body, so I cut it into pieces and tanam the roots into the sand in my tank.

At last the tank looks like this:









Okay so I have a few question for u guys!

1) How do I clean the tank? Just take out 3/4 of the water and wipe-wipe and wash out using the water from the aquarium? How often do I have to clean?

2) How do I clean the filter and how often? The guy at the shop told me to wash using water from the aquarium also. He said no need to clean thoroughly but just rinse gently. True?

3) There are things in the filter called bio-foam and carbon cartridge with wool that according to that guy need to be replaced every 3 months. Where can I get these things?

4) Is it okay if every time I see the fish poops I quickly scoop the poopies out? Or that will disrupt their natural environment or something?

5) Do we have to clean the sand thoroughly once in a while?

6) Oh does anyone know the name of that plant?

So urm.. for now thats all I guess.

This post has been edited by Roz: Sep 19 2010, 03:03 PM

1) water change 1/3 of the water weekly can adi... wipe wipe the glass if u see got green green algae sticking to it...

2) yes, rinse the filter element in aquarium water can adi... i mean not rinse in ur aquarium laa... when u do water change, the water that u removed can use to rinse ur filter... no need clean filter so often... once a month or less also can...

3) bio ring promotes bacteria growth in ur filter... ada also can, takda also can... without it, bacteria growth will be slower lo...

4) no need to scoop laa... guppy poop vr small only... after ur tank has matured (after a month plus), the bacteria will turn poop into nutrient for the plants... but u are using normal holland sand only, no nutrient in the soil... if u want ur plants to survive also abit hard... unless if hardy plant mayb can la...

5) no idea... photo so small....

To roz, u made the same mistake as mine when I first started the planted aquarium project.. Both the aquazonic light and the classica hang on back filter are the crappiest equipment they were selling.. The filter can overflow and leaks due to the cover being so close to the rim of the filter body.. Change the gravel to ADA soil and better quality hang on back filter.. U don't need bio ring for hob filter

Alamak really? Let me try first for few months... Urm what filter would you suggest? And the price?

150L/h good enough la, for your tank its almost 4x turnover already. But if china brand filter then cannot say its enough cause they always overrate their filter. But you can keep using it see got any problem or not...

Ammonia must be maintained at 0, but since yours is new tank should give it some time to stabilize first.

How many watts is your lighting??? Whats the spectrum???

And I read somewhere that if you want to grow hairgrass you'll need CO2 injection...

Does anyone know where to get aqua moss?

---

Added on September 19, 2010, 6:41 pmHow much is your set up?

This post has been edited by nismo87: Sep 19 2010, 06:48 PM

what's ur budget? if ur thinking long term, invest in a canister filter.. if u want to try2 first and upgrade later.. any china brand hang on back is fine (except classica).. to me, i'd prefer one with a built in surface skimmer.. example is sun-sun brand http://www.sunsun-china.com/en/Product/Pro...nfo.aspx?ID=426

next, invest on ADA soil and a fan.. those two really makes a big different to ur low budget tank

later get a CO2 tank and better lighting

after that u'll realise ur hooked to this hobby and will spend spend spend for other accessories hehe

the filter is about rm25, u can get it at 88 pets mart at pandan indah or sunway


This post has been edited by imr4n: Sep 19 2010, 07:01 PM

2watts per gallon. Full spectrum.
I found conflicting info about hairgrass. Some say easy to grow no need co2 some say need. I have a co2 tablet in there. Give it a few more weeks n see la

Mine only 1.44 watts per gallon

I'm trying to grow hairgrass also, but in black gravel

same here. it's fine black gravel. hope it works lo

Oh thanks a lot for the reply. Really appreciate it
Urm I bought the tank set (+ filter and lamp) for RM88. Then plus sand, anti chlorine, bio ring, fish scoop, fishes, food about RM140?

Hey thanks for the info! For something as important as filter I think Im willing to buy anything under 50? Thanks for the suggestion ya!

If you do intend to get a nice fish tank and to continue in the hobby, you will definitely need a canister filter. try to get a small eheim 2213 now. It's only rm199 (cause its eheim promotion in all major stores). it's useful because:
1. its easier to get cleaner water (nicer tank) as the flowrate is higher
2. next time if u ever get a bigger tank, the canister filter can be used as well (cost saving in the long run).

i started this hobby about 2 months ago, and i now have a few HOB filter lying around doing nothing because it's not really effective and these relic from my initial investment into hobby turn out to be rather useless. just my 2 cents.

btw, i got myself a 2215 and 2217 from the promotion.. wheee!

how much is eheim 2217?

My tank is only 1.5ft and about 10 gallons of water. Is that suitable to use Eheim2213? Will the water flowing rate too strong for my tank and cause my fish every minute in the disco mood?

Thanks

if u have rm200 bucks and not rich.. u'd better invest on a CO2 tank than an eheim filter... prioritise urself.. it's easier to achieve a nice planted tank using chapalang filter + CO2 than using Eheim filter with no CO2...

i've observed lots of aquarium using chapalang filters, as long as u spend more time looking after them, the result is as nice as a branded filter

not trying to say eheim filter is crap but i think it's overrated for the price

@imr4n , agreed with the comment that , No c02 tank , eheim filter also useless..

I myself personally use a lot of eheim filters. And I must say the quality is superb. less problematic than the dolphins i used before. Not to say I am a huge fanboy but the quite accurate rated flowrate does help at times..(especially in hi light hi maintenance tanks)

And the service is good. There was once my one of my eheim failed to prime itself due to power outage and I was overseas. the whole impeller shaft melted due to 2 days worth of churning air and heat. Eheim replaced the entire head for me in a matter of days...

Only spend in it if you can. Not a necessity. Get Necessities first, then upgrades come later..

-more info= Eheim promo price is
2213-rm199
2215-rm299
2217-rm399
I am no way working with eheim or Qian Hu so don't fire me LOL

Drew

This post has been edited by chuppy2: Sep 20 2010, 05:33 PM

Dear Drew/@Imr4n,

Thanks for your input. Appreciate that.

I am planning to get CO2 tank + solenoid soon.

Currently i am using HOB filter for my 1.5ft tank.
I was thinking to change my filter to Eheim 2213 but some of the LFS owner saying that 2213 is not suitable for my small tank. The water flow rate is too strong. Any opinion on this?

Many thanks
Lee

How big is your tank again? total literage