A Mature Tank - A Discussion

I would like to open up a discussion, particularly with those who have been in the hobby for a long time. On the question of a mature, seasoned or balanced aquarium. From the start, I am not talking about a “Cycled tank”. What I am suggesting is that certain qualities are added to a tank over time that one it reached this stage the keeping of fish becomes less thwart with stress and disappointment not just for the owner but the animals too.

When I first got in the hobby it was in the 1970s. A colleague had a friend who was making and selling tanks. 5 of us bought a 3-foot tank each. We were given instructions on how to set this up and we followed it to the letter. We all set up community tanks and no one had a fish death.

Here is how we did it. Started by fitting the under gravel filter and adding substrate. This was in Australia and I went out and got course river sand from a dry river bed, free and illegal. Then fill the tank with water. The tap water was treated with chlorine, not chloramine. We stood the whole setup for 3 days to settle and let the chlorine dissipate. Next, we added some plants, I remember Vallisneria was the main one and what other plants we could get hold of. We would then wait 2 weeks or so and as long as the plants were growing we would add blackwater extract we used to empty the bottle in. I think it must have been less concentrated than this stuff you get these days, but if certainly make the water very dark. We were also running an air driven HOB that contained activated charcoal and filter floss. We would then add our first fish usually two danios or guppies. They did not mind the tannin water, in fact, they seemed to like it. Every 2 weeks we went to Crystal Palace Aquarium in Five Dock, Sydney (Still trading) and we would buy more fish. Water changes were about 10% weekly

Cycling? Never heard of it, we just worked to a discipline. What I think we established was a ‘Mature’ and balanced tank without even thinking about it. The other thing that I have heard people say stock these days are not as strong.

I would like to hear comments from anyone of my vintage and how much things have changed and do they follow it.

 

Interesting! Just 2.5 years into this "Wet Pet Underwater Garden" journey.
I am a member of another forum with plenty of "Seasoned Mature" keepers. Whom share their trials, tribulations and how much the hobby has changed but also remained the same. Primarily, the new tech involved programmable lights, all in one ferts and most agree the stock that is available now is subpar due to the big farming practices. All about the $'s.
Watching!

 

I’m maybe a bit younger than you but set up my first tanks in the early 80s.
Yep, never knew what a nitrogen cycle was but did weekly water changes like clockwork on my tanks. I even took care of the aquarium in the biology room at school. Didn’t stay in the hobby once out of high school though. Oh to have the seemingly extra free time as in high school but I digress
Fast forward 30 years and wow, sure is a lot to learn!
The interesting thing to me is the smell of a cycled tank. I distinctly remember that smell from my high school tanks! So I was extremely pleased to have it return in my current tanks.

 

Interesting! Just 2.5 years into this "Wet Pet Underwater Garden" journey.
I am a member of another forum with plenty of "Seasoned Mature" keepers. Whom share their trials, tribulations and how much the hobby has changed but also remained the same. Primarily, the new tech involved programmable lights, all in one ferts and most agree the stock that is available now is subpar due to the big farming practices. All about the $'s.
Watching!

I’m maybe a bit younger than you but set up my first tanks in the early 80s.
Yep, never knew what a nitrogen cycle was but did weekly water changes like clockwork on my tanks. I even took care of the aquarium in the biology room at school. Didn’t stay in the hobby once out of high school though. Oh to have the seemingly extra free time as in high school but I digress
Fast forward 30 years and wow, sure is a lot to learn!
The interesting thing to me is the smell of a cycled tank. I distinctly remember that smell from my high school tanks! So I was extremely pleased to have it return in my current tanks.

Thanks for the comments. Certainly, the Aquascaping side of things these days is fantastic. Basil, you just had me sniffing my tanks. I can't say that I smelled a lot but a new tank I have set up with just plants and there was a 'missing' smell.
It will be interesting if we get more comments I would like to hear.

 

I would like to open up a discussion, particularly with those who have been in the hobby for a long time. On the question of a mature, seasoned or balanced aquarium. From the start, I am not talking about a “Cycled tank”. What I am suggesting is that certain qualities are added to a tank over time that one it reached this stage the keeping of fish becomes less thwart with stress and disappointment not just for the owner but the animals too.

When I first got in the hobby it was in the 1970s. A colleague had a friend who was making and selling tanks. 5 of us bought a 3-foot tank each. We were given instructions on how to set this up and we followed it to the letter. We all set up community tanks and no one had a fish death.

Here is how we did it. Started by fitting the under gravel filter and adding substrate. This was in Australia and I went out and got course river sand from a dry river bed, free and illegal. Then fill the tank with water. The tap water was treated with chlorine, not chloramine. We stood the whole setup for 3 days to settle and let the chlorine dissipate. Next, we added some plants, I remember Vallisneria was the main one and what other plants we could get hold of. We would then wait 2 weeks or so and as long as the plants were growing we would add blackwater extract we used to empty the bottle in. I think it must have been less concentrated than this stuff you get these days, but if certainly make the water very dark. We were also running an air driven HOB that contained activated charcoal and filter floss. We would then add our first fish usually two danios or guppies. They did not mind the tannin water, in fact, they seemed to like it. Every 2 weeks we went to Crystal Palace Aquarium in Five Dock, Sydney (Still trading) and we would buy more fish. Water changes were about 10% weekly

Cycling? Never heard of it, we just worked to a discipline. What I think we established was a ‘Mature’ and balanced tank without even thinking about it. The other thing that I have heard people say stock these days are not as strong.

I would like to hear comments from anyone of my vintage and how much things have changed and do they follow it.

Just browsing and found your thread - it's so good to hear a group discussing the way we used to do it, and TBH I still do. I still remember my first tank tap h2o and having to wait all night to put the fish in! No chemical of any kind, I also kept it by the window so I could see the fish. I can smell "sick" water from across the room and just look at my water to know whether or not it's ready.
It sounds crazy(and kinda wrong)to say it here in this forum. Anyway that was my back in the day. It would be nice if there was a place to share the old ways of doing this there's still a lot to learn.

 

Just browsing and found your thread - it's so good to hear a group discussing the way we used to do it, and TBH I still do. I still remember my first tank tap h2o and having to wait all night to put the fish in! No chemical of any kind, I also kept it by the window so I could see the fish. I can smell "sick" water from across the room and just look at my water to know whether or not it's ready.
It sounds crazy(and kinda wrong)to say it here in this forum. Anyway that was my back in the day. It would be nice if there was a place to share the old ways of doing this there's still a lot to learn.

Ah, we are about the same age.
I used to wash out the gallon plastic milk jugs and fill them and then let them sit in my room for a day or so to do water changes.
Of course, I also lived in a city known for good water. Now I live north of that city and have well water. Which is a whole nother kettle of fish lol!

 

Interesting thread. I started into the hobby in the late 60's, at about the age of 10. My father always encouraged my interests and set up my first aquarium, a steel-framed 5-gallon with the glass caulked into place with some black industrial tar-like goop. The tank sat in the corner of the living room, was filtered by a corner air-operated box full of actual fibreglass batting and charcoal, heated only by the incandescent light fixture. No understanding of anything like a bacterial cycle; bacteria were "bad", plain and simple, and water changes were frequent and complete. A few fish were supplied by one of my father's friends, and we occasionally visited the K-Mart in "The City" and broght home something exotic.

As I got older I delved into the hobby a bit more thoroughly; one of the toughest challenges I faced was convincing my dad that an aquarium could be kept clean and healthy without ever removing the fish or all the water. Eventually progressed into marine aquaria, and had a 2-tank system (a 100-gallon and a 120) that were filtered by a single homemade sump. It was successful enough that I was able to bring several large bags of Caulerpa into my local fish store each week to trade for supplies.

Today, a mature tank is something I value very highly. I always have a few extra sponge filters operating in mature tanks, ready for use to create a cycled tank at the drop of a hat if needed for quarantine purposes, or in case of "emergency" acquisitions, spawnings, births or injuries. I haven't run through the cycling process of a tank from scratch in years, and can't see doing so in the foreseeable future. It amazes me when beginners slog through the lengthy and tedious task of cycling a tank, and then think nothing of scrapping it for one reason or another and starting all over again.

 

Ah, we are about the same age.
I used to wash out the gallon plastic milk jugs and fill them and then let them sit in my room for a day or so to do water changes.
Of course, I also lived in a city known for good water. Now I live north of that city and have well water. Which is a whole nother kettle of fish lol!

We used to collect rainwater!

 

We used to collect rainwater!

Haha! I didn’t go that far!

 

Years ago we didn't really know why but were taught you start with only a fish or 2. After a month you could add a couple more. A month later a few more. So we were doing fish in cycles but with very few fish so with the weekly water changes we were keeping the ammonia and nitrites down with out really realising it.