RESCUE MOVE

[G2-B]

The table of the 29gl tank was starting to lean sideways, which appeared decidedly unsafe long-term.

I decided to move everything into a 55-gallon tank on a better-quality stand.
I hate having to change water every few weeks. I prefer a self-maintaining system with lots of plants and an added aquaponics "bog filter."

1. Spread out about 1" of recycled potting soil to provide nutrition for the plants.
   
   
   
2. On top of that comes 2-3" of washed riversand to isolate the potting soil from the water.
   The sand must be washed very thoroughly so the water barely clouds up. This should settle in max 2-3 hours without any filtration.
   This is deep well water (pH 7.5) with a few buckets of water from my active aquaponics system. No waiting for cycling necessary.
   
   
   
3. Time to move the plants from the old tank into the new one.
   A hornwort forest on the left, jungle vals on the right and the smaller stuff in the middle.
   The stars in the middle are 2 heads of a papyrus plant. They do not die when submerged but will grow new plants.
   Once the old tank is empty, I moved the fish into the new tank as well.
   
   
   
4. Day 3 after the move.The fIshes have settled down into their new environment. The neon tetras run in the front bottom of the tank, the rasboras the back top and they both appear happy to have the extra space to run. The zebra danios mostly follow the rasboras. There are also a few guppies that I can't seem to get rid of and a few chinese algae eaters which are cute enough when still small.
   

Total time: 8 hours, most of which was waiting for the water to clear out.

TO DO: Add a 'bog filter' on the window sill to make it an aquaponics system that will be virtually maintenance-free.

 

[Andy Sager]

While water changes can be a drag, unless you feed top quality and natural foods and add vitamins and minerals to the water, fish do not respond well long term to " maintenance free" systems. I've seen many attempts over the past 60 years and my fish with water changes always were in better shape. Water changes are about more than just reducing nitrates. You see the results in the fish.

 

[G2-B]

While water changes can be a drag, unless you feed top quality and natural foods and add vitamins and minerals to the water, fish do not respond well long term to " maintenance free" systems. I've seen many attempts over the past 60 years and my fish with water changes always were in better shape. Water changes are about more than just reducing nitrates. You see the results in the fish.

I agree. But there is a huge difference between a plantless gravel tank (weekly to bi-weekly water changes) and a densely planted tank. (Quarterly or longer).
Also the fish density must be balanced with the amount of plants in the system. If the system deteriorates, there are either too many fish or not enough plants.

I have an aquaponics system: goldfish, gravel, sand, plants and water. (See my other post today) It has been running for 1 1/2 years and all I do is feed the fish once a day, occasionally top off the sump tank to compensate for evaporation and flush the sand & gravel filters twice a year. The goldfish have been breeding and are half again as big as the ones in the pond they came from.
I have hair algae in my tanks. They are a very good indicator of the system balance and water quality. If they start increasing more than the fish and snails can handle, it is time to change out some of the water. That happens mostly in winter, when temperatures are lower and plants don't grow as fast.

I realize that tropical fish would be more delicate. My intention is to make this into an aquaponics system by adding a growing bed on the windowsill with outside plants. That will increase self-regulation even more.

 

[Andy Sager]

I agree. But there is a huge difference between a plantless gravel tank (weekly to bi-weekly water changes) and a densely planted tank. (Quarterly or longer).
Also the fish density must be balanced with the amount of plants in the system. If the system deteriorates, there are either too many fish or not enough plants.

I have an aquaponics system: goldfish, gravel, sand, plants and water. (See my other post today) It has been running for 1 1/2 years and all I do is feed the fish once a day, occasionally top off the sump tank to compensate for evaporation and flush the sand & gravel filters twice a year. The goldfish have been breeding and are half again as big as the ones in the pond they came from.
I have hair algae in my tanks. They are a very good indicator of the system balance and water quality. If they start increasing more than the fish and snails can handle, it is time to change out some of the water. That happens mostly in winter, when temperatures are lower and plants don't grow as fast.

I realize that tropical fish would be more delicate. My intention is to make this into an aquaponics system by adding a growing bed on the windowsill with outside plants. That will increase self-regulation even more.

Your theory is solid but it's not 100% for all fish. With Goldfish, when they can be eating the plants and algae consistently, that will give them some of the vitamins and minerals back ( Certain marine fish i.e. Tangs and Surgeonfish do this as well with algae(s) as their main diet) but the same is not true with most tropical fish. It's not about being "delicate" as you say. Algae is not their main diet so where do the vitamins come from? Plus, you have insectivores, carnivores and omnivores in the mix. Where are they getting their vitamins and minerals if not from their diet? Even the omnivores will suffer eventually with a lack of meat protein as some of their diet. I'm a commercial fish breeder by trade so I've seen study after study on how to make fish grow and grow healthy. Even with 0ppm nitrates, the minerals in the water are absorbed out of the water by the fish and need to be resupplied for growth. This is done either by adding mineral supplements or changing water. Just like you can't raise a healthy human child feeding them only water, you can't get maximum health in your fish if you don't give them the proper conditions to grow. As my Mentor, a certified Ichthyologist, told me when I got started breeding fish, "There are no shortcuts to making healthy fish." Goldfish can have a lifespan as much as 30 to 40 years so let's see how your fish are doing starting at just say, 5 years. And FYI, I'm rooting for you to have these same fish 5 years from now. Goldfish and vegetation are a great combo when they have constant access to plants/algae to eat.

 

[G2-B]

I added more plants. I don't care if it will be overgrown in a year. I like dense vegetation, and the more plants there are, the more tanks I can plant. I don't much care for plastic, other than it provides extra surface for algae to grow.
The tank has stabilized. The fish appear comfortable, without interspecies aggression.


I have 2 kinds of pond snails. They keep busy, without obvious damage to live plants. I'd like to get some assassin snails, but it's too cold to have them shipped right now. Even so, they're easy enough to keep in check. When I drop an "algae feeder" tablet in the tank, they come racing from all over the tank and its very easy to remove a whole bunch at once.