my upgrading adventure

Hello everyone

I just thought ide put up a little post about my fishies adventure they had today

So lastnight I filled my 55 gal and let it sit with a air pump running all night and most of today about a hour ago I hooked everything up and let it run for about 30/45 minuts then I put my fishies in the tank they seem to be doing well so far

The shall was the first to go in he went around then went and hid inside his tikI head but it's been a wile and he has came out and adventured some more
The Mollies went in next and they have been swimming around I think they really like the upgrade


So I went from a 10 gal to a 55 gal
Temp in both tanks is 80-82
Ph in both tanks is around 7.5
So that made the transfer much easier on them sence the water was in the same area

The only things I need to get now are
2 glass tops
More gravel
And bigger decor
More plants

 

Did you cycle tank? If not, please read about the nitrogen cycle.

We'd love to see pictures of your progress as you move further! Good luck!

 

The 10 gallon was well cycled it was up for almost a year before I got the new tank and everything set up

I didn't cycle the tank first I'm seeding the new tank with all the old gravel decor and filter media so the cycle should not take very long and will not be as stressful on the fish

They seem to love there new house they are very active and show no Singh of abnormal behavior but I am keeping a close eye on them to make sure


I didn't take pics of the old take but I'll take a few of the new tank and post them up in a few minuts it should give you an idea of what the old tank looked like

I have no new decor
So everything you see was in the old tank except the heater and filter itself ( the media has been switched to new filter )

 

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My happy lil fishies
1 rainbow shark
2 Dalmatian Mollies

Shark is about 7 months old
Mollies are about 4-5 months old

 

I like it! Keep up the good work. Any ideas on future stocking?

 

Thanks I did the best I could with everything from the 10 gal until next week when I get paid

As for stocking
I'm going to get 2 angels
And either 2 more Mollies and 4 corys
Or 2-4 corys and some outher fish

I'm more worried about getting the gravel decor and hoods rite now I got time to think about stocking


UPDATE ON TANK
So I took a reading Lastnite
Ph 7.4-7.8
Ammonia 0.00 ppm
Nitrite 0.00 ppm
Nitrate 0.00 ppm

About 15 minuts ago I took anouther reading to see what was going on
Ph 7.4-7.8
Ammonia .25 ppm
Nitrite 0.00 ppm
Nitrate 5 ppm

So I'm guessing the cycle is almost complete I'm going to check it later to see if there is any changed

 

Can't tell, but you should have a 0, 0, 20-40 reading. The only suggestion I have for your stocking, is always keep at least 5 or more corys. Look forward to seeing your progress!

 

I was looking at these really cool looking pictus catfish

Ph 6-8 temp 71-77

It says they are not aggressive but very active adult size around 4 inches

Even though the temp is lower that my tank would it be a problem or should they be ok adapting to a 80 degree tank although I could lower temp easily by lowering heater at night because the only time my heater comes on is night time

I'll take some more tests later tonight to see how it has progressed

I'm going to look more into corys but I'm not to familiar with the species arnt most catfish corys

 

Yeah, there are tons of cory catfish to take a look at!

I think the pictus cats would work. Just keep in mind they may find small fish to be snacks! As far as the temp goes, you can lower it down to the 77 degrees before you got the cats. That temp is good for most fish. Just do it in slow increments. Maybe go down a degree or two each night, not all at once, so you are keeping your other fishies happy!

 

Ya the only thing I have to watch is my ph it has to be around 7.5
I can lower the temps easily the heater I have goes in increments of 2 so it shouldnt be to stressful

I'll do some more looking but I think I will get 2-3 of the pictus cats instead of a few more Mollies

 

Well today there is still no singh of stress so the fishies are doing good

I took some readings today
Ammonia .25
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5 ppm

So I added the rest of my ammonia neutralizer (API )

Added some ph down to try and lower the ph to as close to 7.5 as possible I'm going to add some ph packets to my shopping list for next Friday when I get paid

Also I have decided that I'm going to switch from gravel to sand ,

 

instead of PH packets, why not add some driftwood to your decor instead?

 

That is on my list of things to get for the tank

But I'm just trying to get it down a bit cause the shark needs a lower ph that what mine is now

My ph is between 7.6-7.8 the shark needs to be 7.5 or lower do you think the driftwood would lower it to about 7.5
He is doing fine in the tank now but I know he would be happier if it was lower

 

Many fish will adjust over time to a different PH level, especially one that is only .1-2 off of recommended. Of course, the hardier the fish, the better it will adjust. But the driftwood would definitely help.

 

Ya I know it can adjust I was just worried a bit cause it was around 7.8 at first and that a bit off for me so I just dosed ph down and tested again and it's around 7.4-7.6 now so that's better for me I know it's not to far off

So I been searching all night and this morning for stocking in the future I like to write everything down and get what would do best in my tank this is what I have came up with so far

I have
2 Mollies
1 rainbow shark

Eventually I'm getting
2 angels
4-6 corys
2-4 more Mollies

And I am slowly lowering the temp to 76-77 over the next day or so and after I get the driftwood my ph should be close to 7.5 so all the fish I have and am going to have will be happy with the temps and ph in my little community

What do you guys think of the selection

 

Fish can adapt to a wide range of pH. The most important thing is consistency. It's best to just leave it alone.

That pH down is only temporary and can do more harm than good with fluctuations.

It's easier to raise pH and keep it consistent then it is to lower it.

Driftwood doesn't make much of a difference really. Makes the water have a tea-like appearance from the tannis and the wood looks natural. So it makes tanks look great.

 

I have
2 Mollies
1 rainbow shark

Eventually I'm getting
2 angels
4-6 corys
2-4 more Mollies

Make sure to get at least 5 corys, as they will be happier!

 

Thanks for the ph advice alyeskagirl I'm going to get some driftwood but I'm going to boil it first to release some tannis

I think I'm going to get 6 corys just to keep up with the happiness

 

Well I took a reading today

Ph 7.6-7.8
Ammonia .25
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 15-20

So we are moving along nicely has only been 4 days and we are almost cycled

 

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View attachment 89096View attachment 89097

My happy lil fishies
1 rainbow shark
2 Dalmatian Mollies

Shark is about 7 months old
Mollies are about 4-5 months old

How did you get red flame like bits out of volcano?

 

It is called the hydor h2o show
They have a few different ones that come in different colors

In the volcano there is a bubble maker that has a stand at the top for a LED bulb there is anouther LED stand down inside that makes the red come threw the sides of the volcano but then it doesn't come out the top at night it goes almost half way up my tank


Edit
So I was watching my fish and noticed that my shark was laying ontop of his tikI head I think he was sleeping

 

Well it has been 2 days sence I took my last reading so I took one a little bit ago

Ammonia .25
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 20-30
Ph 8.4-8.8

So I have been wondering where the ammonia was coming from and I tested my water and itcomingming from the tap
I tested the ph of my tap because the ph in the tank is a lot higher thank would like it and the ph in tap is only 7.4-7.6 so I don't know why the ph is going crazy unless it is just from the cycle

But any ways I'm thinking the cycle is done sence the ammonia is coming from the tap it disappeared for a few days but I added water last night to top off and it came back so I tested it to make sure my thoughts were correct


Yay no lost fish during transfer and seeding I'm glad

But I am pretty angry with my male Mollie he bit the females tail fin and took a chunk out of it
But she has a body guard now the rainbow protects her he won't let the male Mollie anywhere near the female it's funny the shark shares his food with the female Mollie but if the male comes he chases him off

 

Well today was an exciting day for the fishies they got some sand finaly

 

Good news today

The cycle is over finaly it took only 9 days so that's not bad

But here is todays readings
Ammonia .25(I need to get some conditioner tap water has .25 )
Nitrite 0
Nitrates 30-40 ( a bit closer to 40 )
Ph 8.2

I'm happy the ph went down from 8.8 to 8.2

 

I live the nighttime look of your tank with the blue light, and the volcano is awesome with the red lights!

 

Thanks

The night lights are half the reason I went with the LED fixture the outher half is power they are super bright brighter than a 2-3 bulb t5 fixture but use way less energy

The volcano was a plus from my 10 gallon I used it as a night light

 

Today I went shopping
And got
2 female Mollies
( one white and black)
( 1 white and yellow)


1 Java fern



I got a free snail with the Java fern

 

Well yesterday was a good day had fun and bought a few things for the fishies

I got
Bubble bar
A big stump decor


Anouther tikI head for the shark



Also my shark must love tikI theme or something he tries to squeeze in the new tikI head but it's kinda like a carved totum pole and just has openings all over and he doesn't think he is too big it is funny here is a few pics he does this all day

 

If I remember rightly that volcano has an led in it.

As for driftwood, it will lower the pH slightly and should add a nice tough to the tank. IF you decide to get a pleco they will want the driftwood in there anyways.

 

Yes it has a LED

The stump isn't real I would like to find a piece like it

 

It's been a wile sence I posted so I figured it was time for an update

All fish are doing really great
the 2 smallest females are loveing the new home there colors are really popping now

The shark has taken over the fake stump
I plan to eventually get a real driftwood stump for them but it has been difficult to save lately

The Java fern has grown a lot and is starting to produce new plants so I'm working on getting a mat or a way to attach them to the new piece of driftwood I got

The new piece is really small about 7-8 inches long light tan but it hasn't sink yet so I have it proped under a tikI head to keep it under until I get some fishing line and can attach it to the rocks I got


Should be able to build the new stand in the next few weeks so that should be fun

Any questions or comments are welcome

 

Well it's been awile sence I been on here soi figured I would drop in and say hello and let everyone know what's been going on

Well finaly got my glass tops and today I did a 20% water change after removing everything and vacuuming the whole sand bed then rearranged everything so it looks nicer and not as cramped I will post a few pics tomorrow I have the lights out so they can calm down

I finaly got some excel so tomorrow is going to be my first dose still need to get some root tabs for the melon sword hopeing it does ok until I can get them shouldn't be long