Help please

[Billynomates]

Hi I'm new to fish keeping and due to space or lack of it in my flat I've opted for a column style aquarium, it's approx 6ft tall and 14" diameter. It has been up and running for approx 8 weeks and I have just lost my first fish after a water change. The tap water in my area is very hard and full of chlorine so I have purchased RO water from my local aquarium shop.
I am using an under gravel filter system and would like to know the best way of knowing if this is working correctly and if anyone else has managed to setup an external filter on one of these tanks without it looking unsightly

Thanks in advance

Steve


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[Billynomates]

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[cgthebeast]

Oh wow, see no matter what you do, there is no swimming space at all in that tank which is a big problem. Like being in a room that's 1ftx1ftx10ft. Also do you cycle the tank? If not then that could be it

Next is that's since there is so much water and the filter is on the very bottom then it's probably not cleaning it properly, if the out put is no high enough to push the dirter water towards the filter or something like that. It creates dead spots basically

So 2 ft in diameter equals roughly or mabye a bit more then a 10g has to offer in swimming space.

Best advice for this, I belive is to buy a new tank if possible. One to fit your stock, cause in long run this is gonna be a hassle as in you will not be able to scrub the alage off the class, can not use a vaccum to effectively clean the waste off the bottom. Very very narrow stocking choice of any

 

[Mebbid]

I think a ugf can work for this type of tank. It's pulling water from the bottom of the tank and depositing it on the top. its a crazy tank size but you should be able to stock it with any of the fish that will fit in a 10g minus a betta, gourami, or Cory cat.

 

[Delapool]

Wow - that's a challenging tank. Nice post.

Are the plants real out of interest?

Your filters are working if ammonia is at 0 and water clarity is good imo. A canister filter might be the way to go if you can hide it next to the tank in a basket or something.

Just thinking out loud but wondering if something like bn catfish (with a gnarly branch) or a rope fish (never kept them) would be doable? Something different to normal fish torpedo shape?

Edit - plus 1 on ugf.


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[Billynomates]

I have gourami in there, out of all of the fish in there they seem the happiest. I have spoken with an aquarium shop today and have ordered test kits and a modified vacuum so that I can reach the bottom. They have also advised that installing an external filter is a nightmare.
No the plant is artificial. I'm going to look at modifying the lid to allow room for an external filter although after a good clean the fish may be happier


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[Mebbid]

I have gourami in there, out of all of the fish in there they seem the happiest. I have spoken with an aquarium shop today and have ordered test kits and a modified vacuum so that I can reach the bottom. They have also advised that installing an external filter is a nightmare.
No the plant is artificial. I'm going to look at modifying the lid to allow room for an external filter although after a good clean the fish may be happier


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The problem with the tank height is that labyrinth fish are going to have a hard time reaching the surface for breathing sometimes. they do best in shallow tanks.

 

[Billynomates]

Touch woods they are doing great. Very active, come to the top whenever I go near the tank expecting food I'm presuming as they are greedy buggers lol


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[Coursair]

What is your current stock ?

Using straight RO water is too pure. You'll have to remineralize it.

I use tap water with Prime
Or
Part Tap/part Distilled with Prime.

What are your water tests showing ?


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[Coursair]

That is a VERY difficult tank to stock as the water surface area is so small. Less oxygen.

I would def look at adding a Canister or HOB filter. I would just add a background on one side or hide tubes behind plants.


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[Billynomates]

My ph is around 7.2 I've not tested the ammonia or nitrates yet. I have 4 gourami a clown loach 5 tetra 3 kribensis and 4 tiger barbs. Although not got home yet so hoping i haven't lost anymore


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[Billynomates]

I haven't used pure RO I used that to lower the ph as it was over 8


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[Mebbid]

My ph is around 7.2 I've not tested the ammonia or nitrates yet. I have 4 gourami a clown loach 5 tetra 3 kribensis and 4 tiger barbs. Although not got home yet so hoping i haven't lost anymore


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The clown loach, kribensis, and tiger barbs are absolutely not suited for that tank. The gourami might be okay if you have dwarf gourami but you will very likely run into aggression issues with those dimensions of tank. The tetras, it just depends. What kind are they?

 

[Billynomates]

Cardinals. They've been in since day one and are thriving. They started out tiny and have grown quite significantly


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[Billynomates]

Yes I have dwarf gourami


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[Mebbid]

Cardinals. They've been in since day one and are thriving. They started out tiny and have grown quite significantly


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The cardinals are a decent fit for that tank.

Yes I have dwarf gourami


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Ahh okay, just keep an eye out for aggression. I don't personally think gourami should be in that tall of a tank but if it seems like its working *shrug*

Gourami can tend to turn on each other in a heart beat and shred each other to pieces. I'm not sure how they are going to handle a tank like that so just be wary.

 

[Billynomates]

They've been in about a month and seem to be doing well. Only time there seems to be a little bit of boisterousness is at feeding time. I spoke to the aquarium shop about the kribs and told them my setup and they said they should be fine. They have only been in a few days and have found there hidey holes. I'm just not sure why I lost the barbs


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[Mebbid]

They've been in about a month and seem to be doing well. Only time there seems to be a little bit of boisterousness is at feeding time. I spoke to the aquarium shop about the kribs and told them my setup and they said they should be fine. They have only been in a few days and have found there hidey holes. I'm just not sure why I lost the barbs


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It's a matter of lateral swimming room. Fish don't care about up and down swimming room as opposed to side to side swimming room.

Your tank is 14" in diameter. Since I don't really care enough to figure out the area of a hexagon atm I'll figure it as a circle. A 14" diameter circle is approximately 150sq inches. whereas a 10g tank has an area of 200sq. inches. That means at most you should stock fish that can fit in a 10g tank at the very most. Kribensis on the other hand need a 50g tank, which is 648 sq. inches of space. They need a tank with 4x as much floor space. Clown loaches need a 125g tank so they need approx 1300 sq. inches of floor space.

It may suck, but you did ask for help and my recommendation has been given. You will quickly find that LFS people are generally full of crap and just want to make money. You can pretty much ignore the overwhelming majority of their advice.

I would also wager money that the majority of people here on this forum would agree with me on this.

 

[Billynomates]

I am a complete noob to this so I have no doubt what you are telling me is correct. But I can only go by the advice that I am given and appreciate any advice given. I have read quite a few websites and they all seem to contradict one another so I am a little stuck. I will be getting rid of this tank in the next month or 2 and am going to try for a 4ft one as this one seemed a great space saving idea at the time and aesthetically it does look the nuts but it seems a little high maintenance and I didn't get fish just to stress them out. I'm hoping that the stock I've got stay happy enough in this tank until I set a new one up and cycle it


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[Mebbid]

The tank will work, and it should be an amazing tank, however it just needs some special consideration.