Wroberson's 125 Gallon Tank

[Wroberson]

Water Test 9-13-2012

Temp 76
PH 7.5
GH 180
KH 120
NO2 0
NO3 40
PO4 1
Ammonia 0

The rainbow fish were spawning this morning and I got to see my fish batch of of rainbow fish eggs. They chose to have fun in the floating plants at the top of the aquarium. I don't know which two fish were at it, and with any luck a few off the eggs managed to stick to the plants or fall between a couple of rocks. But I now see the angelfish picking through the floating plants. I estimate 80-100 eggs were falling through the water. I see spawning just about everyday, followed by a feeding frenzy, but I had never actually seen any eggs.

The fish store didn't get in wisteria in so I saved some money. There are a few more stores in the area that have an aquatic plants set up and I'll them them on Saturday. I'm going to try adding more plants to lower the NO3 and continue with small water changes every 10 days or so. I don;t have the same budget I had almost 4 weeks ago so I'm limiting myself to 10 bucks per week.

Here's an external link to a video of my fish swimming in the current. They really enjoy the exercise. I think it's about 45 seconds. The circulation pump may be seen to the right. It not a fixture, I take it out after use and store it in it's box. For your enjoyment, I suggest turning down the volume.

http://youtu.be/8H28jMFOWZU

I would have preferred the FB link, but can't seem to get it work. So, my 1st youtube upload will have to do. If I can figure out the right tag the thing could go viral. I was thinking, aquarium crash, fish tank fail, aquarium explosion, dancing fish, some lie along that line.

 

[Wroberson]

Water Test 9-15-2012

Temp 76
PH 7.5
GH 180
KH 120
NO2 0
NO3 40
PO4 1
Ammonia 0

I learned that there's another female in the tank. They really love the floating plants. There's a picture of the fish on the 1st page. She's the greenish fish to the top and left. I was able to "shoo" the fish from the falling eggs to allow time for many to work their way into a protected area. Maybe in a few weeks, There will be some fry. Not counting on it though as the ground crew started working the area over. They would be mixed bred with the fish in the same picture.

I bought 2 wisteria plants and reconsidered my idea. It will be cheaper in the long run to save my pennies and order another $150.00 in plants some time later when I don;t have such pressing need to save money for a couple of trips I'm taking over the next 7 months. This will allow me to get better plants and a bigger selection. There is a not pot of micro sword I was eying, but 6 bucks is too steep for that plant.

While shopping for plants I saw a NEXX filter system from API. What caught my eye was a nitrate pad using Nitra-zorb. 18 bucks for 2. It says this pad should be used if nitrate levels are over 20ppm. I may be willing to go this route. I was told to give the Deep Blue pad 6-8 weeks to effectively lower the nitrate. I've seen some improvement in the first 2 weeks. Mainly at the start. The nitrate level was just so high at 200ppm that the pad may have already done most of what it can do.

 

[Wroberson]

Water Test 9-16-2012

Temp 76
PH 7.5
GH 180
KH 120
NO2 0
NO3 40
PO4 1
Ammonia 0

Today I run the drop test and the strip test and the level of NO3 was the same.
A water change is 2-3 days away as it's about time to water the house plants upstairs.
The only notice of any new algae is on the side glass panels with just a little haze.
I will be returning the bottle of stress-zyme I bought and will not be using. I want that $15.00.
Many of the plants have a new leaf coming in. Lower part of plants look good.

Dosing: trace 35ml, iron 15ml, potassium 25ml.
Inherent: NO3 40ppm, PO4 1ppm
Estimate: iron .1ppm, K 5ppm, CO2 4-6ppm
Desired: Iron .1ppm, NO3 10ppm, PO4 1ppm K 20ppm, 7-8ppm

The iron is the mineral that when added causes a slight haze in the water.

 

[Wroberson]

Kind of working on a late night emergency. One of my heaters went out and the water was down to 74 degrees The heater that went bad was a 300 watt aqueon. I took it out of the tank and was playing with it. I found that when you turn the temp adjustment knob counter clockwise you can remove a threaded pin. Not that it does anything, but you can remove the temperature adjustment pin. Conversely if you turn the temp knob clockwise you can tighten it. Again it may do something with a working heater, but nothing with a broken heater. You can tighten it too tight and not be able to unscrew it. You basically strip out the plastic adjustment knob.

So, I saved the suction cups, clips and noticed the Aqueon heater box in my cabinet. I figured I would just stick it in the box and toss it. Much to my surprise, there was a 200 watt Elite heater in the box. It works! Not only that, I can see the temperature it's set to, 79 degrees without climbing up on my step stool, leaning over the tank trying to see the setting like on the other heater(s). I don't think it's as accurate. The light went out pretty quick, so I turned it up.

Hopefully in the morning, the tank will be a little warmer and I can spend all day dialing it in. Anyhow, having it around saved me some money and that's always a good thing.

 

[Wroberson]

Water Test 9-17-2012

Temp 76
PH 7.5
GH 180
KH 120
NO2 0
NO3 40
PO4 1
Ammonia 0

The tank warmed a bit from 72 to 76. With a little luck I can get it dialed in by midnight. Everything is looking good. Looks like I'll have to try and knock out 1/2 the nitrates with a water change sometime in the next week. I did notice the the test didn't fully cancel out the color chart. I could still see the 40 strip through the red liquid. That's how I judge the color. This would mean the fluid is a lighter shade than the color on the chart so the color on the chart shows through the "filter".

I returned my plan B stress-zyme no questions asked. All but one of the rainbows at petsmart were female. There was also males in the Australian rainbow tank. The one I noticed is going to be a great looking fish. It'll have a dark tail fin with yellow flames. I just didn't want to spend the 2 bucks for it.

 

[Wroberson]

One of my Yellow Rainbow fish has a slight injury. He and a female Bosemani were all over each other today. They would spin head to tail in tight circles nipping at each other. The act would usually end with the male's tail being bitten by the female. All the while they both displayed really dark colors. It's like they were both the aggressor. Sometimes he would start it. Sometimes she would started. I really think it was some kind of foreplay. They've become close friends over the past 2-3 weeks. She has no sign of injury. His injury is some peeling at the nose and heavy breathing. He may have hit something. A rock, a leaf, or driftwood. After I noticed the injury, he's moved to the back of the tank. I hope he didn't take it personally. I just wanted to see if everyone was okay.

 

[Wroberson]

Water Test 9-18-2012

Temp 76
PH 7.5
GH 180
KH 120
NO2 0
NO3 40
PO4 1
Ammonia 0

Most of the fish were hanging around the left area of the tank this morning. It was as if they were afraid to move. I had another situation I was dealing with and eventually fixed the dripping faucet. By 3pm I was done and the fish were back swimming the entire tank. The Yellow Rainbow Fish's injury is not good. I read several descriptions from dislocated jaw caused by mouth fighting to collision injuries. His beak is swollen and mouth is open. There's nothing I can do to fix it. The first thought is a wet injury takes longer to heal. He has isolated himself from the group.

 

[Wroberson]

Water Test 9-19-2012

Temp 77
PH 7.5
GH 180
KH 120
NO2 0
NO3 40
PO4 1
Ammonia 0

The injured Yellow Rainbow fish didn't make it. The red tail shark was seen running up the fish's nose. An angelfish took a stab at it's eye. I couldn't keep the shark away, so I set him in a breeder net. I haven't seen any similar treatment with the healthy fish. It's a bummer. I hate losing older fish. The only things I got on it are the changes in the water, the fighting, other fish, and 4-5 degree temperature changes in the water.

The extra light has increased algae growth. It's mainly on the sided of the tank in an area that most likely wasn't cleaned well and spores were left behind. Some of the plants have the beginning of algae. I'm going to have to get serious with it's prevention. I figure 8 hours of light instead to 12, and maybe a back to back water change to reduce the remaining nitrate.

The best outcome would be to get it down to 10ppm and have it stay there. There's hasn't been an increase so I guess the pads are keeping spikes or increases in check. The plants have some really nice new leaves and are in good condition. I could remove some of the old leaves and the plant would still look great.

I'm also thinking about setting up the 5 or 10g tank. I have a few 2-3 year old plants with a solid coating of algae and would like to find a way to get rid of it. I've read about flourish and it's side effect of destroying algae. I have an algae destroyer that I've had since the 55g tank. I'll give that a shot first.

It took me 50 bucks and 5 hours to stop a leak in the sink. I also had to reduce the J-Trap. The last couple of days I have been down in the dumps. I may not be getting enough natural light. It's so bad it's stopping me from planning a trip to Glacier National Park for August. All I had to do was reserve the rental car at no cost.

 

[Wroberson]

Water Test 9-20-2012

Temp 84
PH 7.5
GH 180
KH 120
NO2 0
NO3 20
PO4 1
Ammonia 0

Today was a water change. I guess I used some warm water. I am uncomfortable with a temperature of 76 degrees. The Yellow Rainbow has a spot above his right eye. Hopefully the heaters will keep the temps up long enough to get rid of it. I even think the fish prefer the warmer water. I'll do another water change on Friday and hopefully there will be a definite change in the nitrate level.

I can tell the fish have lost a little trust in their keeper.

 

[Wroberson]

Water Test 9-21-2012

Temp 78
PH 7.5
GH 180
KH 120
NO2 0
NO3 40
PO4 1
Ammonia 0

The other Yellow Rainbow died overnight. I noticed an injury to it's side near the tail. I think he just gave up after his brother died. I've had 5 madagascar rainbow fish all die at the same time or within 24 hours. I don't know what to say. Maybe none of this would have happened had I left the tank alone. They're getting too much stress.

Water change will have to wait. I need another heater to get the temps stable. And the fish need a break from all the inconsistencies.

 

[Wroberson]

Water Test 9-22-2012

Temp 78
PH 7.5
GH 180
KH 120
NO2 0
NO3 40
PO4 .5
Ammonia 0

All the fish look clean. They seem to be themselves again after the brief but sudden temperature changes. Got all the windows closed and the temperature is finally stabilizing at 78 degrees. That's great for now, but come November, it cools off in the basement even with the windows closed.

Will have to get around to removing the dieing leaves of the old growth to make room for the new leaves. One of Radican sword babies is flourishing. Can't say the same for the Kleiner Bar sword babies. The anubias are all producing new leaves. The Ozelot swords are looking awesome. And the Brazilian sword is as green as ever. The Red Barclaya are doing well as are the Balansae Crypts.

 

[bosoxlobsterman]

Sounds like a very neat, involved tank! Could we (in the royal sense) get some updated pics, or possibly a stocking list? I would also be interested in what you are using to measure your phosphates with. Thank, and hope you don't lose any more fish anytime soon

 

[Wroberson]

Thanks. It sucks to have a fish or two die in such a public manner. I've had relatively few deaths of large fish. I would say fewer than the the total fish currently living in the tank. The tank is almost 2 years old. A few of the fish are older than the tank starting in a 10g moving to a 55g and settled into the 125g. The next tank on my list is a $1600 370 gallon tank or larger. 13x2x2 foot glass tank.

Fish:
3 Dennison Barbs
1 Trifastica Rainbow (male)
1 Millennium Rainbow (male)
2 New Geunia Rainbow (female)
2 Bosemani Rainbow' (female)
2 Angelfish (pair)
1 Red Rainbow (male)
1 Veil Betta (male)
1 Redtail Shark (female)
2 Flying Fox
1 Clown Loach
1 Assassin Snail

Plants:
13 anubias,
5 radican sword,
25 aponogetons
7 crypt Balansae
3 Red Barclaya
1 Kleiner Bar Sword
2 Ozelot Sword
1 Brazilian Sword
1 Water Sprite
2 Wisteria
1 Amazon Sword
1 Melon Sword
3 Red water Lily
10 misc plant

The fish get a diet of veggie flakes, brine shrimp and a rare occasional treat like sunflower seeds, pistachios, cashews, grapes, blueberries. I have never had any direct problems with any of the treats I'm given them. I've given them a few live foods, some fruit flies, brine shrimp. I've seen a month land in the water causing quite a commotion. I'd like to see more of that going on.

The fruit and nuts and mashed or ground into small pieces or powder. I might give them these treats 3-4 times a year. A few things they wont eat are cooked rice, lettuce, cucumber, carrots. It might be that they were too big, but they just seem to ignore them. An angelfish readily took the piece frozen fruit juice.

I use API Phosphate drop test a 150 test kit. API Nitrate dropper test 90 test kit. API Ammonia strip test, API NO2 PH KH GH strip test kit. I only began testing the water a month ago. The tank went untested for 21 months. The first test showed 200ppm NO3, 2ppm NO2, 1ppm NH4 10ppm PO4. I've been using different media pads to control the PO4, NH4, NO2, and NO3. The pads also remove lead and other heavy metals. The PO4 media has been very effective and seems to keep NH4, PO4 and NO2 under control. The NO3 pad is credited for reducing NO3 from 200ppm to 80ppm. Water changes and additional plants have aided in reducing NO3 from 80ppm to 40ppm over 1 month.

I'll get a current picture up sometime on Monday.

 

[Wroberson]

Water Test 9-24-2012

Temp 82
PH 7.5
GH 180
KH 120
NO2 0
NO3 40
PO4 .5
Ammonia 0

30% water change. NO3 is getting closer to 20ppm. I can say this because it took every bit of the 5 minutes to hit the 40ppm color. If I had recorded it before the cleaning girl had her input, I could have easily said it was 20ppm. But, after I gave it to her, I checked it out in the sunlight in my room and the color did get darker. I really hope to report 20ppm by Friday after the next water change.

Removed all the dead or dieing leaves. The Kleiner Bar, the big one in the center now has 2 leaves. It was only 10 bucks, so I'm not complaining too badly. If it was 24.95, I'd be pretty upset. Will hope for new leaves to come in. All the other plants that had leaves removed look great. The melon sword is full of new submersed leaves. Other than the 2 remaining yellowing leafs, you'd never know it had a haircut. Plenty of new leaves on the wisteria. I just noticed a column of tiny bubbles about 1 inch apart coming from the center of the plant. Must be from the water change. The occasional monster bubble pops up from time to time.

I also notice that I have tight node spacing on the plants which indicates that plants do not nave to stretch to get good light.

Dosing: trace 45ml, iron 15ml, potassium 40ml.
Inherent: NO3 40ppm, PO4 .5ppm
Estimate: iron .1ppm, K 7ppm, CO2 6ppm
Desired: Iron .1ppm, NO3 10ppm, PO4 1ppm K 20ppm, CO2 7-8ppm

 

[Wroberson]

Water Test 9-28-2012

Temp 82
PH 7.5
GH 180
KH 120
NO2 0
NO3 20
PO4 .5
Ammonia 0

Finally got the NO3 down to 20ppm. I don;t know if the drop is due to a loss fish or the water change. I can't believe that I've lost 4 fish, 1 new fish that came in with issues, 2 yellow rainbow that were 12-18 months old 1 was injured fighting and the other may have given up when his brother both the farm. 1 28 month old Dennison Barb that I've had since a pup in a 10g tank. He either had a heart attack, stroke, or injured in a jumping accident. The term if it ain't broke don't fix it come to mind. I could almost make a case of the dangers of disrupting an established and stable system and the dangers of water changes.

Had a slight ich breakout from when the temp dropped to 72 degrees. It was minor, I saw maybe 15 spots in the entire tank. Cleared up with 1 dose of malachite green. Will add one more dose, and maybe a 3rd Sunday. Ich will be a threat until I get another 300 watt heater. 78 degrees is a good temperature, but my fish have been kept in 82+ water for at least a year and they may need time to adjust.

Plants are doing great. a lot of new growth on the anubis, Melon sword, wisteria, water sprite, Ozelot swords, bacoppa, and floating plants. The Brazilian sword doesn't even have a spot on the leaves. It's by far the most stable of the new plants that were purchased. Several of the old apongeton bulb have started growing. I think I have a bag of the around. Barclaya is large enough it been noticed along with balansae which are nearly large enough to be moved to the mid-ground from the front glass. The two remaining leaves of the Kleiner Bar are hanging in there.

Dosing: trace 50ml, iron 20ml, potassium 50ml.
Inherent: NO3 40ppm, PO4 .5ppm
Estimate: iron .1ppm, K 10ppm, CO2 6-8ppm
Desired: Iron .1ppm, NO3 10ppm, PO4 1ppm K 20ppm, CO2 7-8ppm

I found a neat little game.
It was just $2.99 at gamehouse.
It's called Youda Fisherman

 

[Wroberson]

I'm planning on doing another water change Tuesday. And cutting back on the testing and will test after the water change. I'm not running out of drops, the NO3 is down 80% from where it was a month and a half ago, and from what I've seen, the plants are not taking up enough NO3 to see a day to day change in the level. An overnight drop might be seen if I added another 30 plants, but that's not going to happen for a little while. I got other plans that have been in motion for months.

I also did some more reading on the Nitrogen to Phosphate Ratio. This ratio is used to determine how to reduce the growth of algae in a body of water.

The first post in this thread touched on it briefly where I posted information from a water management expert. There are other ratio in the tank at can achieve an optimum or desired result.

My tank is still a nitrogen limiting system, where I need to limit the nitrate to increase the health of the body of water. For a natural body of water, like a lake stream or river, environmentalists look for a ratio of N of 10-1. At 10:1, the system becomes a phosphate limiting system and algae easier to control when you manage the phosphates. Most of the phosphates in the aquarium comes from food put into the tank. At an N of 15:1, algae growth is encouraged.

My current ratio of N is (4.524 : .163) or, 27:1.

To find the amount of nitrogen in Nitrate, divide your NO3 level by 4.42.
To find the amount of phosphorous in Phosphate, divide your PO4 level by 6.2.
There are 10ppm of Nitrogen in 44ppm of NO3.
There are 10ppm of phosphate in 62ppm of PO4.

Light is another limiting factor in an aquarium. In nature it practically impossible to control, but in the aquarium it's easy to limit the amount of light the tank gets. The problem is I like looking at my tank and fish. I'm trying to limit it, but time flies and before I realize it, 10 hours have passed. I rarely get 8 hours of sleep and I only work 3 days a week in the evenings. I've always been like this. The truth is, I like looking at my lighted fish tank. There is hope that when the 10:1 ratio is reached, the amount of light won't have much influence on algal growth.

To recap my testing of the Pura Phosphate Removing filter media, I can't offer enough praise or say enough good things about this product. The tank started with 10ppm and over 6 weeks, the PO4 phosphate has been reduced to .5ppm.

To recap my test of a Deep Blue Nitrate Removing filter pad, I find it difficult to say anything but it's use is inconclusive. My tank started off at 200+ppm. In the first 2 weeks the level fell to 80 and stayed there. I began partial water changes of 30%, 3 total changes and in 2 weeks. the NO3 Nitrate level dropped to 20ppm.

I learned that the anotin resin has a capacity. Once the nitrate capacity is reached, the anotin resin starts releasing NO3 back into the water. It does this by removing a sulfate from the tank and releasing a nitrate back into the tank. So this pad might be more beneficial for removing sulfates when preforming a deep substrate, 4"+ deep cleaning.

 

[Wroberson]

Water Test10-2-2012

Temp 82
PH 7.5
GH 180
KH 120
NO2 0
NO3 20
PO4 .5
Ammonia 0

30% water change today. Cleaned the EX40 filter. Impeller was dirty. The EX 70 filter pad was surprisingly clean. Cleaned and replaced. Added the last of my Pura Filter Media to get the PO4 down .25. The original pads will have to be removed in a month. They're clean, but in bad shape.

Going to read up on how to recharge the Deep Blue Nitrate bad. I remember that it can be recharged by soaking the pad in saltwater. I don't know if there's a way to remove the NO3 from the resin in the pad. I think it's just trapped there. I don't think NaCl has any other effect or plays any part of removing the NO3 from the resin.

One of the small Anubias may be a terrarium plant and is not doing very well submersed. I think it's the Anubias Afzelii. It grows best emersed, but remains small when it is under water. It's leaves have been yellow from the start and seem to come off the rhizome rather freely. The other Anubias of the same strain just popped out a new leaf and the original leaves are in good shape.

Dosing: trace 55ml, iron 20ml, potassium 55ml.
Inherent: NO3 20ppm, PO4 .5ppm
Estimate: iron .1ppm, K 10ppm, CO2 6-7ppm
Desired: Iron .1ppm, NO3 <10ppm, PO4 .5 K 20ppm, CO2 7-8ppm

 

[Wroberson]

Water Test 10-5-2012

Temp 82
PH 7.5
GH 180
KH 120
NO2 0
NO3 20
PO4 .25
Ammonia 0

Removed the plants from their containers and rotting them in the gravel. 30% water change, and re planting the aquarium. I rarely see any of the 1000+ MTS I had. I think the loach is doing a great job getting rid of them. I had to hold up on the water change for 1/2 hour because the clown loach was busy working the gravel along the from of the tank. 1 spot was severely in need of 10 minutes worth of attention.

Pictures from 10-2-2012.

 

[Wroberson]

30% water change for 2nd day in a row has dropped the NO3 to 10ppm. After hanging around the top of the water, all the females are back in the middle to bottom part of the tank. I blame the 4 degree temperature change and the chlorine from the tap. I also found out that my tap water has SO4 22.4ppm.

 

[Wroberson]

Water Test 10-6-2012

Temp 82
PH 7.5
GH 180
KH 120
NO2 0
NO3 10
PO4 .5
Ammonia 0

I finally got the Nitrate level down to where I want it. The PO4 seems to flux between .25 and .5 and for all I know the number is 0.00. One thing I have noticed is a lack for "stars" at the top of the water. Usually when I feed the fish freeze dried brine shrimp, there would be a cloud of bubbles at the top of the water. They reminded me a stars. They were long lasting. I haven't seen them since the NO3 level was at or below 20ppm. The dust and tiny bubbles show up nicely.

The N Ratio is 13:1 which is really close to where I am hoping to get to. At 10:1, algae production is supposed to be restricted and it will have to compete for the nutrients rather than having easy access to excess. I will do one more water change on Monday. The test should show the NO3 to be 10ppm.

From there I plan to let the tank stand for 1 week and retest to see if the NO3 increases or remains stable. I'm hoping for stable. If there's an increase, I will change 30% of the water and try again. If the water remains stable at 10ppm of NO3, I will let the tank stand for a 2nd week.

Here are the most recent pictures of the tank. The kleiner bar sword is still in the tank to the right. It's just one leaf. If it survives another month, I will be removing it from the tank and trim down the crown. Originally the crown was a mass of 15-20 stems supported by a very small root system. Much of the roots had died off in the pot.

The lone leaf is in the middle of the original crown and that crown is tight and compact. This restricts new leaf formation. According to what I have read, if I remove most of the old crown from around the surviving stem, the plant have a chance of reproducing new stems and new leaves. There is a similar plant in the tank, and most of the original crown was removed leaving a few leafs and an actively growing crown.

The Melon sword, near the vertical log and wisteria has 2 crowns. This was a pleasant bonus I found while I was removing the plant from it's pot. The two plants also share an old crown. This is the plant mentioned above where the plant was worked and the older original crown was removed. This plant will remain as 2 for some time, but eventually I will separate the 2 plants.

The Marble Queen plants. They have issues. There is new growth. You can seen the newer leaves in the gravel. There three plants in total and all have 4-5 new leaves.

The Asian Red Barclaya are to the left from. There's also one across from the left intake filter tube near the front glass. 3 in total, but one seems to have sent out a running under gravel and the leaves from a 4th plant can be seen also to the left. These plant came in very small rhizomes of bulbs. maybe 1/8 inch in size. They are flourishing.

The Crypt Balansae are all to the right and near the front glass. There are seven. 2 plants are very close and look like 1 large plant.

There's an Amazon sword to the left that was once bigger than the Brazilian sword to the right near the back. It's looking a lot better since being removed from it's pot. The was also an old potted crypt that was actually 2 plants. That thing had been sitting in the back for over 15 months easy. It has been saved and there are now two. One can be seen just off center near the front.

The free red crypt I got from pet supplies plus is off center back near the large piece of driftwood. It's looking good.

The three lilies scattered about the tank. 2 are part of a bulb, one is rooted. There are actually 4-5 red and pink lilies. 2 each growing from each bulb. Sometimes a fish will knock one of the plants off and when I notice it floating, I stick it in the gravel.

Only one of the plants I ordered 2 months ago is gone. It fell apart when being removed from it's pot. The tiny rhizome is planted somewhere. It was an anubias. You can see that just about all of the anubias in the tank all have several fresh new leaves.

Overall, I have very poor landscaping skills, or planning skills. There realy isn;t any theme to the planting, it was a rush job to start to get the plants into the water fast after shipping. For now bith the fish and the plants have been stressed to the max over the last week and deserve a break. The fish have thinned out and the plants need to recover. It may not look like it, but there 16 fish in there.