Any Aquarium Owners?

I have a a 75 liter saltwater but only with Dutch species. No fish but different anemones, sea squirts, snails, shrimps and crabs and lots of small things like feather worms, hydropolyps etc.
I've had freshwater in the past but wanted something different.
 
Picked this up today, ended up getting a 144 liter tank, around 31 gallons. So now going to order some testing kits, ammonia, gravel and what not and hopefully set it up on Christmas Day ready to be cycled.

IMG_20201215_160559640.jpg
 
Then one of my other fav coral I had, a Pink Australian Hammer. Glad to be out of the hobby
still have the tank and custom sump...



Also had a smaller 40B set up just for coral only. Had an orange frog spawn on the left
and the Pink Aussie hammer in the middle

Full tank shot
 
Redwood Ryan said:
Hi everyone,



Recently, my interest has piqued with aquariums. I'm selling my trees as I don't have time to keep watering them, which has made me want to find something to fill the bonsai void. My brother has always been a saltwater aquarium owner and I've always been fascinated. I personally wouldn't do saltwater, but I am interested in having a plant filled freshwater tank.

So, anyone who has experience with them want to give tips and point me in the right direction?
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I just ditched the hobby 4 years ago. Not sure where you reside in VA but I was member of this group for years and years; they're a DELMARVA based org
Home | Capital Cichlid Association (capitalcichlids.org)

I did rift valley cichlids, brackish water, no plants. Fancy fish and fancy catfish. Lot's of fun.

Best advice I can offer is never buy retail. Deal with clubs and stay away from craigslist for everything except used tanks, and scout that 3-4 times a day or set some search parameters to do it for you. Have a clear picture of what you want at the end of the acquisition process or else you'll end up with a garage full of tanks like i did!
 
Years ago I kept a colony of Pelvicachromis pulcher the Kribensis, or at least that is what it was called then. Kept them in a planted 20 gallon aquarium, and a second 20 gallon aquarium where the non-breeding juveniles and the odd adult were held. Produced several hundreds of them over the years. Once you get a pair, they settle down and will keep breeding for 4 or 5 years. Lovely, relatively peaceful species. You can mix them with other fish.
 
So started the cycle today but my water hardness is monumentally high, then again our tap water was subject of an EU complaint at one point so I'm hardly surprised. It took 55 drops which puts it over 900ppm, this I need to sort.
Also explains some bonsai related stuff too, like a light bulb.
 
That limits the plants and fish you can (easily) keep. But it's very well possible to have a nice aquarium with that water.
What do you plan to keep?
 
Bnana said:
That limits the plants and fish you can (easily) keep. But it's very well possible to have a nice aquarium with that water.
What do you plan to keep?
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Well I will try and bring it down by cutting the tap water but I guess it's always going to be high. Initially I'm not planning on plants, they just add another variable and want to keep it simple for the kids, maybe chuck a marimo ball in though.
As for fish, I like the Rainbow fish but tank size will limit me to the smaller ones and they like harder water, not sure about that hard though.
The kids want the Micky Platy's and I think they'd be ok too. Other than that we plan on sitting down and all choosing species that will fit the water parameters. Wouldn't mind a shrimp or three as well.
Certainly open to ideas of suitable candidates.
 
Rainbow fish and lifebearing fish like mollies will do well in hard water.

Having plants reduces problems with algae and the fish like it, so I would add some Java fern and/or Egeria densa. Marimo balls should work too.
Some shrimp species like fire shrimp actually prefer hard water. But I'd get a bunch so they'll reproduce.
 
Japonicus said:
a FW fire shrimp as well?
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F993E3EA-6E5F-4845-8D8E-BDCBC216B091.jpeg
painted fire red - neocardina species.
A cherry red shrimp bred for better coloring.
www.tfhmagazine.com

Keeping Fire Red Shrimp | Tropical Fish Hobbyist Magazine

With so many beautiful freshwater shrimps to choose from, it can be hard to choose the best species for your tank. This author makes the case for adding fire red shrimp to your collection.
www.tfhmagazine.com www.tfhmagazine.com
 
amcoffeegirl said:
View attachment 346509
painted fire red - neocardina species.
A cherry red shrimp bred for better coloring.
www.tfhmagazine.com

Keeping Fire Red Shrimp | Tropical Fish Hobbyist Magazine

With so many beautiful freshwater shrimps to choose from, it can be hard to choose the best species for your tank. This author makes the case for adding fire red shrimp to your collection.
www.tfhmagazine.com www.tfhmagazine.com
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ah, ok this is the only one I was familiar with here
Only had a picture of its belly side and tail I could find but managed to get it cleaning my starry blenny
 
So update on my cycle, it took a month for nitrites to show up, they appeared on the 26th of Jan and are sitting about 5ppm or more atm.
However since then my ammonia dropped to 1 and has been stable, I've not topped it up since.
It's sloooow, been suggested that as the water is so hard it will take time. My plan is to cut it and get an r/o system but until then just patiently waiting.

Frustrating though.
 
@Starfox I have to commend you on your enthusiasm for both your bonsai and marine hobbies.
Gave up 30 years ago on marine.
Just mothballed a 95 Gallon fresh.
Want it? I'll deliver for a fee.
(By the way, it is 20deg F here!!)
 
For a freshwater I wouldn't bother with R/O water. There are lots of nice species that prefer hard water and will do great in your tap water, including rainbow fish and platy's
 
Starfox said:
my ammonia dropped to 1 and has been stable
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Do you have a friend that has a trusted well established FW system?
You probably know this, but you can take a water change from their system
that includes all the crap from the substrate, a nice scoop of the substrate,
and put in your tank. Leave your filtre off line for a few hours while it settles out
unless you're running some sort of "bio-wheel" or similar. You want the bacteria
to populate a bio wheel, but not carbon or filtre out. That should help bring your tank around. Also I strongly
recommend using live nitrifying bacteria supplements when cycling a tank and over the
life of the system now n then. (the kind you have to keep in the fridge and carries an expiration date)

I did this with a brand spankin new system, moving several nice pieces of coral in day 1 as
well as a hippo tang.
I siphoned 50% of the water I needed from a friends tank and maybe 5# of his substrate
and choice pieces of live rock. Cycle was cheated to perfection.
 
I don´t have any friends let alone one with an aquarium.:(:D
That would of been a good option though. In retrospect I should of started with bacteria in a bottle, I was just about to order some then the nitrites showed up. I´m starting to see daily movement in the levels now so I know it´s working it´s way through everything now so that is a positive. Just going to be patient with it I guess.

My wife has suggested getting a second smaller tank for emergencies and such, if we did I´d certainly use that method to kick start the cycle.
Bnana said:
For a freshwater I wouldn't bother with R/O water. There are lots of nice species that prefer hard water and will do great in your tap water, including rainbow fish and platy's
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That may be true but I don´t think I´ve come across many people running a tank at 50+ gh, I don´t think there is any harm in cutting it somewhat.
Plus installing a system would be way better for our health as the tap water is barely drinkable filtered through a brita jug and I have always taken it for granted but the health of some of my trees.

BuckeyeOne said:
@Starfox I have to commend you on your enthusiasm for both your bonsai and marine hobbies.
Gave up 30 years ago on marine.
Just mothballed a 95 Gallon fresh.
Want it? I'll deliver for a fee.
(By the way, it is 20deg F here!!)
Click to expand...

Well cheers, I suppose it keeps me sane or at least on my toes.
I´d love a 95 gallon, not sure where we´d put it, I think shipping to Spain may be a perilous adventure though.
 
Still cycling, zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Any thoughts on 3D printed aquarium decor?
A brief search says it should be fine straight up and coated if it's painted. Anyone ever tried this?
 
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