My schools aquarium

[Dubs1281]

The biology teachers set this up. They have 8 comets, one black skirt tetra, and one Colombian tetra. Water is at 78º. Kind of ironic how the people teaching us about ecosystems have no clue how to set one up.

 

[bigfuzzymonster777]

Oh, god. Maybe you should give them pointers?

 

[Taiken5968]

I agree you should tell them. Let us know how that goes.

 

[Dubs1281]

I agree you should tell them. Let us know how that goes.

Its my friends dad. I've been trying to give him hints at what he's doing but he seems to think its fine.

 

[Taiken5968]

I agree you should tell them. Let us know how that goes.

Just outright tell him.

 

[bigfuzzymonster777]

Oh... You could have your friend say something, maybe? Tell him to say something like, "Dad, I really think those fish aren't going to live long, etc."

 

[Dubs1281]

Just outright tell him.

How do I even approach him on the subject. "So yeah, you have in fish that will reach ten inches and are extremely messy which require cooler temps with fish that should be I schools of 5+ in water of 78º. And your filtration probably doesn't even cycle the aquarium more than 10 times per hour so I assume that your doing a 60% waterchange an hour. So if you could stop that'd be great"

 

[bigfuzzymonster777]

How do I even approach him on the subject. "So yeah, you have in fish that will reach ten inches and are extremely messy which require cooler temps with fish that should be I schools of 5+ in water of 78º. And your filtration probably doesn't even cycle the aquarium more than 10 times per hour so I assume that your doing a 60% waterchange an hour. So if you could stop that'd be great"

Maybe, "Hey Mr. ---, I'm a little concerned about the fish tank. I am really into fishkeeping, so I have some advice. (Say what you wanna say)."

 

[Dubs1281]

Maybe, "Hey Mr. ---, I'm a little concerned about the fish tank. I am really into fishkeeping, so I have some advice. (Say what you wanna say)."

True. I'm just pretty shy around adults. I am told that I have that look where I can't be taken seriously for who knows what reason.

 

[jwh0818]

True. I'm just pretty shy around adults. I am told that I have that look where I can't be taken seriously for who knows what reason.

Give him a paper that says "check this site out for fish keeping to better your knowledge on teaching us" and put www.aquariumadvice.com

 

[bettaowner]

I'm shy too but if I see fish being kept in poor conditions I'm not afraid to say something

 

[Taiken5968]

Start by asking questions. Ask him how big those fish get. Then tell him that you got interested and looked them up. Turns out they get up to 10 inches? And tey are really messy.

Almost like you discovered information together rather than you telling him something you already know.

 

[bigfuzzymonster777]

True. I'm just pretty shy around adults. I am told that I have that look where I can't be taken seriously for who knows what reason.

Yeah, I know how it is... I even hate ordering at Subway...

 

[Wy Renegade]

So the word you are looking for is "respectfully". Don't go up and say "hey, obviously you guys don't know much about environments." Instead simply say that you are really into fish keeping and that you were excited to see they were setting up a tank, but based on what you've learned, you have some concerns about their set-up. They may surprise you and be aware of the issues already, or they appreciate the fact that you pointed things out because they don't know much about keeping fish and you could end up in charge of a new project. Having a degree in biology doesn't imply detailed knowledge about fishkeeping.

 

[Dubs1281]

So the word you are looking for is "respectfully". Don't go up and say "hey, obviously you guys don't know much about environments." Instead simply say that you are really into fish keeping and that you were excited to see they were setting up a tank, but based on what you've learned, you have some concerns about their set-up. They may surprise you and be aware of the issues already, or they appreciate the fact that you pointed things out because they don't know much about keeping fish and you could end up in charge of a new project. Having a degree in biology doesn't imply detailed knowledge about fishkeeping.

I was talking to my bio teacher today (not the one in charge of the tank) and we are looking at water under a microscope ti identitify all of the micro organisms. I asked if I could bring in water from my tanks. Hopeing she would bring up their tank and I was going to explain the problem to her then. But she didn't. Ill try next time I have her which is Thursday.

 

[Wy Renegade]

I was talking to my bio teacher today (not the one in charge of the tank) and we are looking at water under a microscope ti identitify all of the micro organisms. I asked if I could bring in water from my tanks. Hopeing she would bring up their tank and I was going to explain the problem to her then. But she didn't. Ill try next time I have her which is Thursday.

Good, nothing wrong with correcting bad advice or misconceptions. My wife has a masters in Zoology, but she doesn't know anything about fishkeeping beyond what she has learned from me. Having a science degree doesn't equate to knowing everything about everything. Even people who have PhDs in ecology may not know much beyond the basics about fishkeeping if their area of expertese was big game managment or birds. Knowing about fish and fishkeeping takes a lot of time and research, and unless you have a degree in something like aquaculturing it isn't typically taught in school.

 

[Crobb]

How do I even approach him on the subject. "So yeah, you have in fish that will reach ten inches and are extremely messy which require cooler temps with fish that should be I schools of 5+ in water of 78º. And your filtration probably doesn't even cycle the aquarium more than 10 times per hour so I assume that your doing a 60% waterchange an hour. So if you could stop that'd be great"

Ten times per hour? I have fx5 (rated 925 gph) does that mean my 125 gallon is under filtered?!

 

[Dubs1281]

Ten times per hour? I have fx5 (rated 925 gph) does that mean my 125 gallon is under filtered?!

Only if you have goldfish. I think the general rule is 8x an hour. But for goldfish or cichlids you should go 10+ an hour. My 55 does 750 gph. I have thirteen African ciclids to clean up after. Lol

 

[Crobb]

Only if you have goldfish. I think the general rule is 8x an hour. But for goldfish or cichlids you should go 10+ an hour. My 55 does 750 gph. I have thirteen African ciclids to clean up after. Lol

Interesting that sounds overboard to me, but I'm still pretty new to fish keeping so going to take your word. My filtration is less than the 10x and I have some pretty heavy bio load to deal with in both my tanks.

 

[Dubs1281]

Interesting that sounds overboard to me, but I'm still pretty new to fish keeping so going to take your word. My filtration is less than the 10x and I have some pretty heavy bio load to deal with in both my tanks.

It is extreme. I believe in overfiltering by a longshot. Some people think you should do whats on the box. Neither opinion is wrong. But imo if you have lots of fish with medium bio loads or a few fish with huge bioloads, in my opinion which is not right nor wrong you should have plenty of filtration. An fx5 is an absolute fantastic filter and unless you have a giant bioload. You are perfectly fine.