Show off ya fish tanks!

[sammy]

I am getting in to my fish tanks so if you got some show off ya set ups please!

[distractor]

You want salt or fresh?
I got out of fresh 2 years ago but I got a 30cm reef cube currently after downsizing many times over the years. I'll dig up some pics.

[chasenash]

Used to have quite a few freshwater tanks, Cichlids and plecos.

Can only find this shot of my 6 by 3 by 2 tank atm.

They are always great for pics to, especially when mouthbrooding.

[Addicted]

[topwater]

what type of fish do you keep sammy?

nice Geo's keith,
and that reef tank is lookin good addicted! u know your doin good when the coraline algae starts to spread! gotta love the powder blue tang theyre awesome fish!


Ive been into american +african cichlids for around 7yrs and also dabbled in marine too...
after moving houses a few times i culled the collection from 7 tanks down to 2.
cant find all my old pics of my kickass showtanks, must be on my other laptop.
anyway heres a pic of my wetpet Greenterror I took around a year+ ago before he got big and cranky

[sammy]

I can't post pics but I am in to the natives and overseas fish. I love my Saratogas and jacks and I got my hands on some peacock bass only about 5 cm at this stage!

[yellow door 1]

Instead of starting a new thread I thought I just jump on the back of this one.

Heres my problem - I can keep the tank looking clean for about 3 days - but then the algae starts building up on the glass. (The Vid was taken on day 3 after a clean)

My cleaning regimen is as follows

Remove 1/2 the tank water and replace with water straight from the tap. (not recommended)

Scrub the glass with a magnetized tank cleaner.(feels like felt on one side and velcro on the side that cleans the inside of the tank)

Spray the bejeezus out of all the rocks with a high pressure setting on a garden hose while they are in a spaghetti strainer. ( not recommended)

The tank is a 20 litre Kmart version - the filter has 3 mediums.

first is a 1 inch "sponge" with very large holes

Second is the polyester fibre used to wrap foam inside of cushions - Looks like a ball of cotton wool but half the size.

And the 3rd is a a plastic cage full of holes with charcoal inside.

I feed them the fish food flakes you buy at Coles. (I used to feed them live minnows and live worms but I think that was adding to the algae problem) (and those little bastard minnows would tear apart the gold fish tails when they werent looking)
p.s. anyone who thinks carp dont eat live minnows - chuck 50 in a tank and count how many are left at the end of the week)

The dude at the pet shop "reeled back in horror" when I told him I had 3 gold fish in a 20l tank......... I said - you've got 80 in a 100l tank -...... he said - yeah its not ideal but we know how to keep the tank clean and you dont

He said gold fish are filthy little buggers who never stop rooting around and messing up your tank - thats why you cant keep that many unless you know exactly what you are doing.

So long story short. If you were a tight arse - and had the exact same set up as me. What are the tight-arse ways to stop algae building up on the glass?

[sucker]

bristlenose catfish, cheap as.

[jgarner447]

Move tank away from window , problem solved

[yellow door 1]

Originally Posted by jgarner447

Move tank away from window , problem solved

Dammit - I knew I should have mentioned the light source above the tank.

The closest window is approximately 5m away - the tank never gets warmth from the sun - or direct sunlight. Its is on top of a fridge but its located in the coldest part of an office with its aircon set to 22 degrees.

The lights above the tank, are 3ft above. They're those "Eco-Friendly 90cm long Fluorescent tubes" you find standard in most offices - I think they are 42 watt from memory.

[jgarner447]

Originally Posted by yellow door 1

Dammit - I knew I should have mentioned the light source above the tank.

The closest window is approximately 5m away - the tank never gets warmth from the sun - or direct sunlight. Its is on top of a fridge but its located in the coldest part of an office with its aircon set to 22 degrees.

The lights above the tank, are 3ft above. They're those "Eco-Friendly Fluorescent tubes" you find standard it most offices - I think they are 42 watt from memory.

Haha looked like natural light...just get a couple of 7cm bristlenose....definitely dont get snails..

[yellow door 1]

Originally Posted by mbp

Haha...we call them 'drain prawns'. Even better are the rare 'blue pearlers'��
(I could tell you where to get emy but the 'Secret Society for Rare & Endangered Blueys' would stitch me up big time����)

Yeah Victoria has a "Perch Mafia" but they are a bunch of "razzle dazzle wayne kerrs" compared to the "Yabbie Mafia". The difference between the 2 is - the "Yabbie Mafia" dont warn you before they set your car on fire

[Broomstick]

Bristlenose are tropical. It doesn't look like you have a heater YD? It's bloody cold in Melbourne at the moment

[yellow door 1]

Just did a quick google search and it says they like water temps between 20 and 27 degrees - (other sources say 16 to 28 degrees) I'll bring a thermometer to work and see what the water temp is. Its feels warm to the touch, and if I was guessing I'd say it was over 20 degrees. Its a hell of alot warmer than tap water at this time of year

[yellow door 1]

Originally Posted by sucker

bristlenose catfish, cheap as.

When you say "cheap as" - I dont reckon you know who you are dealing with

I bought my tank at "Kmart" and a fully functioning, 240 volt replacement filter with 3 separate filtering mediums, costs $9

I do have access to free snails - but 6 of them could fit on your thumb nail. (I dont necessarily want them all over the tank like flies on a fresh log

I'd be willing to spend under $10, for a permanent solution to the problem - how many of these bristle-nosed buggers will I need to clean the vertical sides of a 20 litre tank?