Amzon Biotope Aquarium

[megladonsharky]

read my sig .. I do two or three changes a week

i would imagine ten% every week would be good but I am not an expert

 

[greenmaji]

how often should I make water changes? As a middle school student alot of time will be focused on school work.

As far as water changes go.. too much is not enough.. in other words.. I wouldnt change more then ~75% at a time but I did change 75% when I did change the water.. and as far as how often.. If your overstocked as often as you can manage.. at least once a week for a overstocked tank with little to now plant life.. but If your going to be heavily planted I would still advise once a week just not as drastic on the % NO3 is a good indicator of how much water should be changed when its hard to tell.. keeping it down to less then 20ppm should be safe.. less then 10ppm would be on the very safe side.. HTH... btw.. this question is highly debatable... check out the FW monster island thread on water changes! ACK.. dont what to start that argument!!! its been done..

 

[azn_fishy55]

But if there are no NO3 would the plants start dieing?

 

[greenmaji]

You would get algae before dead plants... if its planted 10ppm to 15ppm is all thats needed.. If you have high to medium light and CO2 injection then I would say that 20ppm might be needed to keep ahead of nutrient absorbtion but you wouldnt know that untill it happens..

edit.. I just rechecked the thread. seems like your going for a low light tank.. the 10ppm of NO3 will work and a PO4 between .5-1 ppm will do....

 

[azn_fishy55]

~:New New Species Plan:~
6 Corydoras Catfish(Corydoras sp.)
6 Otocinculus Catfish(Otocinclus sp.)
2 Angelfish(Pterophyllum scalare)
1 pair of Cockatoo Dwarf Cichlid(Apistogramma cacatuoides)
7 Rummy Nose Tetras

 

[azn_fishy55]

I'm sorry guys...I can't make up my mind

 

[greenmaji]

that doesnt seem overstocked to me.. I could be wrong (im not absolutely sure on the size of all the fish).. The Cockatoo's look amazing.. I would almost consider trying to spawn them myself.. Defiantly a Great Choice!

 

[azn_fishy55]

so changing the 6 hatchet fish to 7 rummynose tetras is okay?

 

[rubysoho]

just a word of caution, rummynosed tetras can be pretty sensative so make sure they aren't the first fish you add to your tank. I looooooove mine, they are so pretty. One suggestion - add 5 zebra danios as dither fish. They really get all those fish out in the open because the other fish feel it is safe. Danios don't have a huge waste load so I don't think you'd have to cut back on any of your other fish. And, you can use them to help cycle the tank since they are extremely hardy.

 

[azn_fishy55]

6 Corydoras Catfish(Corydoras sp.) I don't know what species to get so I'll suppose the species is a Panda cory(2 in) 12 in. total
6 Otocinculus Catfish(Otocinclus sp.)(2 in.) 12 in. total
2 Angelfish(Pterophyllum scalare)(6 in.) 12 in. in total
1 pair of Cockatoo Dwarf Cichlid(Apistogramma cacatuoides)(3.4 in.) 6.8 in. total
7 Rummy Nose Tetras(1.7 in.) 11.9 in. total
Total:57.7 in. of fish
Do you guys think this tank is overstocked? I also intend to have this tank heavily planted, with slow growth.Thanks for ur time^_^

 

[bussardnr]

have you looked at pencilfish, i have them and their pretty neat

 

[azn_fishy55]

pencilfish are kinda small and might get eaten by the angelfish. And I think my tank is already a little overstocked.^_^

 

[greenmaji]

I dont think you need corys. JMO though..

 

[azn_fishy55]

Why don't you think I need the cories. They are interesting fish and they are also scavengers

 

[Blazeherd2306]

The angelfish and the dwarf cichlids would pick the food off the bottom anyways, but if you want cories then go with them.

 

[mattrox]

I have pencilfish and even thought they are small, it would take a monster angel to swallow them. I have a pic of them in the new aquisitions forum, they look soo good. I have a school of 10.

 

[azn_fishy55]

According to my book they have small mouths and are very hard too feed...is this true?

 

[bussardnr]

if crushing up flake is hard, all i do is rub it between my fingers

 

[Guest]

Yes, the guppies may get eaten by the angels.. this happened to me.

 

[azn_fishy55]

Well, I am not really interested in keeping pencilfish. My tank is already overstocked. And I am not willing to take out any of my fish for pencilfish.