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Post by insayne on Jun 23, 2018 17:55:48 GMT -5
Hi everyone.
I was just introduced to the AAP site and there's a wealth of information. I'd like to see if im on the right track to getting my 100 gal cichlid tank back on track. First what brought me to the site is the fact my two oscars are showing early signs of HITH. The local aquarium stores in the area has been telling me that the high levels of nitrates (80PPM+) in my tank was fine as long as there were no issues with ammonia or nitrites. Looking at the HITH article this information was clearly wrong. After reading the article I've identified some of my shortcomings. My feeding is 95% hikari gold with very very rarely frozen blood worms or cichlid frozen food and they have had feeder gold fish 1-2 times a month. I haven't been monitoring GH & KH. I also haven't been supplementing vitamins in the food at all.
I immediately ordered up some stuff to start rectifying these issues. I have ordered AAP crumbles, Spirulina 20, medicated and non medicated wonder stones & a GH & KH tester kit. I am also looking at a UV light filter too. I believe the HITH is at the point where it can be rectified without Metroplex. i do have EBJD that doesn't look so hot and could potentially be a parasitic issue but I'm not 100% sure.
On to the questions. How beneficial is a UV sterilization unit? will it help my current situation and then add more piece of mind down the road? whats the average lifespan of a bulb? what else should i be doing to help improve the life of my fish? I'm also thinking about adding one the combo #5 sponge filter setups for the added filtration on the fx5 intake. I am currently doing daily water changes to get these nitrates down to an ideal maximum of 20PPM. all of this started yesterday. sorry for the long post hopefully this is where i need to be to get some support with my tank.
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Post by insayne on Jun 23, 2018 18:03:58 GMT -5
quick details about the tank itself 100 gallon 6ft tank: florescent lighting two different temp bulbs in the 4ft hood fluval FX5 canister filter standard fluval filter pads pond matrix in the bottom two baskets blue filter floss between each basket carbon and purigen Fish: 2 - Tiger Oscars 1 - Electric blue jack dempsy 1 - blood parrot 1 - green terror 1 - firemouth 1 - ruby jewel cichlid 1 - Leopard Pleco 1 - fire eel 3 - tin foil barbs (planning on re-homing these. girlfriend brought them home as a distraction to keep the bullying down) A little background. Daughters had an end of school project where they turned Tupperware into a make shift aquarium and were given a goldfish the last day of school. One died shortly after. I felt bad so we went to the pet store to get a replacement and a little 12 gallon fluval edge tank. while the girls were looking at fancy gold fish, dad and all his infinite wisdom thought, "that little black and orange fish is so cool! Wait its a fresh water fish? oh man its only 7 bucks too? buying it!" we got home with our purchases and things were fine for the first few days as the fancy gold fish were bigger than my new friend Steve. Maybe two weeks in Steve is picking on his tank mates and I decide to do some research. That's when i find that this little 1" long fish is going to be over a foot long and needs over 55 gallons alone. We lucked out and i got my tank, stand, fx5 and replacement pump motor for $120. its been almost exactly 11 months the tank has been up and running and now I'm here. I've learned a lot along the way but i don't know any other hobbyist near me and it appears the shops in my area are less than competent.
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Post by Carl on Jun 24, 2018 18:48:32 GMT -5
Hi and welcome to Everything Aquatic! It seems you read our article: www.aquarium-pond-answers.com/2008/02/hole-in-head.htmlHere are a few thoughts Other than the the feeder goldfish, this is not a terrible diet. Often optimized diets do not need supplementation either If possible, isolate the Electric Blue Jack Dempsey. Your order was definitely a good start and it is noteworthy that defeating HITH takes time and likely scars will exist indefinitely, but once it is taken care of, it is not likely to return A Category A or B UV Sterilizer that is properly plumbed will help with lowering oxidative stress and thus indirectly with recovery, but not too much direct help. The UV lamp should be changed every six months as per our in depth article on the subject: www.americanaquariumproducts.com/AquariumUVSterilization.htmlThe #5 Combo may help with improved filtration, but do what ever it takes to lower your nitrates (at least to 40 ppm) as well as bringing all parameters in check More about Nitrates: www.aquarium-pond-answers.com/2007/07/aquarium-nitrates.htmlCarl |
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Post by insayne on Jun 25, 2018 3:30:37 GMT -5
Thanks Carl. Some of my goodies came in today including the medicated wonder stones and new food. I have been doing 20-30% water changes the last three days. my GH&KH tester kit came in today also. Here were my readings before my water change today:
PH - 7.6
Ammonia - 0 PPM
Nitrite - 0 PPM
Nitrate - 30 PPM (this is the best I've seen this in quite some time, its usually blood red 80+ PPM)
KH - 71 PPM
GH - 161 PPM
the nitrates are coming down which is good ill be testing the water again tomorrow after work and possibly doing another partial water change. I tend to do one weekly water change of 20-40%. Is this not enough for a cichlid tank? GH appears to be ok according to one of the articles on your site but my KH seems low. If memory serves you recommended a KH of 100-200 PPM. How do I bring the KH up? is this something continued use of the wonder shells will sort out? sorry if this was covered in the article its pretty late here and I'm struggling a bit to get this out to you before bed.
Regarding isolation, I've never had a separate quarantine tank. the local pet store is currently doing a dollar a gallon special on fish tanks so this is the perfect time to get this set up. is this a tank that will be set up and running constantly in reserve say in the garage? or just something i get going for short term when needed? what size would you recommend for a quarantine tank for cichlids? I assume a setup with a HOB filter should be fine. Will I want substrate in the quarantine tank?
I think I'm pretty much sold on uv sterilization and a foam filter too. With the Fluval FX5 which of each do you recommend. i know the FX5 boasts a pretty high flow rate but I believe fluval gets these numbers with the canister empty. so with filter media its quite a different story. Is the combo #5 ideal for my setup or would one of the others be more beneficial for in my tank? Also the UV cannot be used with medication so i would need to wait to install it until after my medicated wonder shells have run their course correct?
Regarding the EBJD shes a little on the thin side. cheeks are sucked in a little and her belly too. shes the only one i notice who has white stringy poo. again this sounds like a parasite issue. What should i be treating her with when i get the quarantine tank up and running? i have some Pazipro on hand but I'm not sure that's what i need for her.
One more question before bed. I see lots of different feeding opinions. I've been told once a day, twice a day, once every other day and even once a week. were currently feeding once a day. Ok i lied, one more... the fire eel's mainly eating night crawlers as this is all everyone in my are recommends based on its size. I recall there being issues with night crawlers with cichlids from one of the articles, is this the same for the eel? i tried wax worms once as i read it was supposed to be a tasty treat and the eel refused to touch it.
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Post by Carl on Jun 25, 2018 9:29:56 GMT -5
This is not a bad KH number for the type of fish you are keeping, especially considering your pH (generally I would recommend about 80 KH for these fish, so you are pretty much spot on) I think whenever possible, having a quarantine tank available is a good idea. If not used often the most simply way is to keep a "seeded" AAP/ATI Sponge Filter running in the main tank, to readily transfer to this quarantine tank The AAP/TMC Vecton 25 Watt would be my suggestion Resource: www.americanaquariumproducts.com/TMCUVSterilizer.htmlI would start with General Cure, but PraziPro is also an excellent choice (I just like the combo in General Cure) Resource: www.americanaquariumproducts.com/AquariumPharmaceuticalsAPI.html#generalThis is a grey area where I do not believe there is a right or wrong answer other than going to extremes With predators, many fish can go longer, so keep this in mind. I would also consider whatever is easier for you, what keeps your fish happy and of course what does not pollute too much (use nitrates as a guide) Carl |
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Post by insayne on Jun 25, 2018 11:53:44 GMT -5
I appreciate you taking the time to help me with this stuff. I'm limited on space and I'm not sure exactly what I'm going to do regarding a quarantine tank. I may put a 20 gallon under the main aquarium. if that wont work it'll have to be setup as needed on a kitchen counter. i'm going to be ordering the UV sterilizer and foam filters this afternoon. i think ill set the quarantine tank up with my spare decorations and a HOB filter and order a foam filter as well. Are all the foam filters the same size? this way if I have to setup the quarantine tank intermittently i can swap a foam pad from the large tank to jump start the quarantine tank?
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Post by devonjohnsgard on Jun 25, 2018 11:58:42 GMT -5
I appreciate you taking the time to help me with this stuff. I'm limited on space and I'm not sure exactly what I'm going to do regarding a quarantine tank. I may put a 20 gallon under the main aquarium. if that wont work it'll have to be setup as needed on a kitchen counter. i'm going to be ordering the UV sterilizer and foam filters this afternoon. i think ill set the quarantine tank up with my spare decorations and a HOB filter and order a foam filter as well. Are all the foam filters the same size? this way if I have to setup the quarantine tank intermittently i can swap a foam pad from the large tank to jump start the quarantine tank? The total sponge size is different, but the way it fits on it's parts is universal between all the sponges. The sponge sizes are located here: www.americanaquariumproducts.com/SpongeFilter.html |
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Post by insayne on Jun 25, 2018 12:24:28 GMT -5
Sounds like the internal diameter of all the sponges are the same. (On the road so haven’t checked the link yet) If thats the case I could get a combo #5 for the main tank and then the single sponge setup that uses the same size sponge as one of the combo 5 style. Regarding the UV sterilizer will I need new hose? Or can I adapt the fluval corrugated hose that came with my fx5 to the UV sterilizer?
Edit: for instance get a pro 5 for the quarantine tank. Question is would it be to much for a 20 gallon tank when coupled with a hob unit?
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Post by devonjohnsgard on Jun 26, 2018 8:39:01 GMT -5
Sounds like the internal diameter of all the sponges are the same. (On the road so haven’t checked the link yet) If thats the case I could get a combo #5 for the main tank and then the single sponge setup that uses the same size sponge as one of the combo 5 style. Regarding the UV sterilizer will I need new hose? Or can I adapt the fluval corrugated hose that came with my fx5 to the UV sterilizer? Edit: for instance get a pro 5 for the quarantine tank. Question is would it be to much for a 20 gallon tank when coupled with a hob unit? It is a bit harder to hook up to the fx5 tubing...but can be done I believe. A 5pro is large for a 20 gal, so paired with a HOB, might be a lot. |
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Post by Carl on Jun 26, 2018 8:52:32 GMT -5
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Post by insayne on Jun 26, 2018 10:53:22 GMT -5
ok we set up a 20 gallon quarantine tank from our local pet store. We grabbed a Fluval aquaclear 50 HOB. I'm read to make a purchase but want to make sure I get the right stuff.
For the 100 gallon tank with the fluval fx5:
The AAP/TMC Vecton 25 Watt
and a filter max #3 opposed to the Combo #5 sponge filter for the intake tube
For the 20 gallon quarantine tank:
a #1-3 Pro
will the #1-3 pro work with the rather small pickup on the fluval aquaclear 50?
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Post by Carl on Jun 26, 2018 14:57:32 GMT -5
This AAP Hydro Sponge Combo will actually have a considerably higher bio capacity than the AquaClear 50
Carl
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Post by insayne on Jun 26, 2018 15:29:33 GMT -5
Ive had more time to look things over. I think ive got this sorted out now. Max 3 filter for the 100 gallon tank. Sun sun power head with the 1-3 combo filter for the quarantine tank. I was about to order but the UV sterilizer is out of stock. any idea when this will be back in stock?
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Post by devonjohnsgard on Jun 28, 2018 11:24:56 GMT -5
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Post by insayne on Jun 28, 2018 13:39:57 GMT -5
well... evidently i was looking at the TMC 25 watt advantage unit. haha sorry guys. ordering this now. I need to wait until my medicated wonder shells have run their course before hooking this thing up right?
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Post by Carl on Jun 29, 2018 9:16:26 GMT -5
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Post by insayne on Jul 9, 2018 20:20:28 GMT -5
Just wanted to check in. Things are getting better on our end. The HITH wounds appear to be healing some as they are getting smaller. Fish activity is up and the UV sterilizer is in. You guys were absolutely great! lifetime customer moving forward.
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Post by Carl on Jul 10, 2018 9:15:31 GMT -5
Just wanted to check in. Things are getting better on our end. The HITH wounds appear to be healing some as they are getting smaller. Fish activity is up and the UV sterilizer is in. You guys were absolutely great! lifetime customer moving forward. Great! In my experience, even with success, scars are often permanent Carl |
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Post by insayne on Jul 10, 2018 22:25:25 GMT -5
scars are better than holes any day. Thanks again guys!
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