Newbie from WA State!

[dizzydirk]

Heyo...I haven't had a tank for 20+ years, but my kiddos (8 & 6) decided it was time.  Started doing some research and found Aquarium Co-Op online & realized they were local to me.  Brandon @ the store has been very helpful with all my questions.

We picked up a used 125 gallon setup in January.  Go big or go home...right?  It was cycled & running when we grabbed it.  Came with everything we needed: tank stand, FX4, 2 HOBs (tidal110 & aquaclear110), Hygger 800w heater, LED light, plants, wood, net...he even gave me a clean 5 gallon bucket!

Added a bunch of fish and have been learning as we go.  We ended up with 3 electric blue acaras, 3 jack dempseys, 6 odessa barbs, 5 roseline sharks, 2 german rams, 2 golden rams (female died), 1 redtail shark, 3 pimelodus pictus (F0), 1 Synodontis Piedratus, 2 bristlenose plecos, 1 other smaller pleco.   If it was up to my son, we would only have plecos & catfish 🙂 

Also added a bunch of live plants, more wood & a pile of dragonstone.  I'm new to plants...so trying to figure out fertilizer & how much light is needed has been a struggle.  Upgraded the lights to a pair of Fluval Plant 3.0s.  Have been using the test strips from Aquarium Co-Op to monitor water. 

Issues so far: 

• Noticed the Ph & buffer drop when I added the 2 new chunks of wood...trying some crushed coral in 1 HOB to see if that helps. 
• The golden rams were trying to spawn, but the female suddenly died overnight.  The next morning we noticed that one of the acaras had layed eggs on a plant...pic attached. 
• Our first attempt at having pictus cats shipped in didn't work out with the cold snap we recently had...they didn't make it and my boy was crushed 😞 However, the 2nd attempt seems to have worked great...pic attached. 
• The 3rd acara is being bullied around by the bigger male...not sure if it is sick yet, but it still eats & poops.  Just super skinny...so hoping it pulls through...pic attached
• Having trouble finding a couple more Synodontis Piedratus...at least that is what it was labeled as.  Anyone confirm from my attached pic?

 

I have all kinds of newbie questions...any advice or tips are appreciated.  Hoping this is the place to get info & learn!

Bryan

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

Hi! Welcome to the forum. You may get some of your answers on this thread but if you have pressing ones don't be afraid to start new specific/individual threads for those. 

2 things from me, crushed coral does work, takes time but the best way to stabilize kh/ph I've found so far and I don't even use most of mine in filters (it's usually in the substrate). 

The second is: My kinda kid loving those plecos and catfish! Bottom feeders are awesome!

[Patrick_G]

Welcome!  
Our water is western wa is generally soft so it’s not unusual for the ph to drop. I agree that the coral is a good option. Aquarium Co-op recommends 1lb per gallon. 
 

 

[lefty o]

welcome to the forum.

[dizzydirk]

On 3/7/2022 at 8:14 PM, Patrick_G said:

Aquarium Co-op recommends 1lb per gallon. 

Oh...well then my small mesh bag full of coral in the HOB isn't going to do much for the 125g then...ha!

[dizzydirk]

On 3/7/2022 at 7:19 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

The second is: My kinda kid loving those plecos and catfish! Bottom feeders are awesome!

Yeah...he wants all the huge plecos at every store we visit.  Ha!  I did find something close to the Synodontis cat we have, but not sure it is exactly the same...the LFS has some ones labeled as Dwarf Cuckoo Cats.  Google says that is a Synodontis petricola.  They look really similar, but my cat has white on all sides of the fins and these are only white on the leading edges.  Would these be good little homies for the one we have?  They are a tad small.

On 3/7/2022 at 8:14 PM, Patrick_G said:

Our water is western wa is generally soft so it’s not unusual for the ph to drop. I agree that the coral is a good option.

The tank parameters held steady for over a month, but donked out on the Ph & buffer when I bought 2 new chunks of the TIKI wood.  I guess I will try to work the coral angle...maybe add another bag of it to my 2nd HOB too.  Wasn't trying to add it into the sandy substrate.  

[Patrick_G]

On 3/8/2022 at 10:36 AM, dizzydirk said:

The tank parameters held steady for over a month, but donked out on the Ph & buffer when I bought 2 new chunks of the TIKI wood.  I guess I will try to work the coral angle...maybe add another bag of it to my 2nd HOB too.  Wasn't trying to add it into the sandy substrate.  

It's a tough decision. You have some fish that like soft acidic water and some that prefer it harder and closer to a neutral PH. I think I'd fill a bunch of filter bags with the coral and hide them in the tank.  

I'd also reconsider the Jack Dempseys. They're generally aggressive, and will probably conflict with the Rams. They may turn out to be docile, but it's a gamble. 

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

On 3/8/2022 at 10:36 AM, dizzydirk said:

Would these be good little homies for the one we have?  They are a tad small.

That's a good question. I'm not sure. When they're considerably smaller than tank mates there's always concerns of being moshed. Cat fish and plecos are peaceful but could injure other tankmates accidentally as they can all get spazzy. Plus you have many other occupants to consider, would they bug smaller fish?? (I keep only Otocinclus)

Edited March 8, 2022 by xXInkedPhoenixX

[dizzydirk]

On 3/8/2022 at 11:04 AM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

Plus you have many other occupants to consider, would they bug smaller fish??

I told my boy there could be some issues with introducing smaller fish...these are just the first ones I've found that are close to the synodontis we have.

On 3/8/2022 at 11:03 AM, Patrick_G said:

It's a tough decision. You have some fish that like soft acidic water and some that prefer it harder and closer to a neutral PH. I think I'd fill a bunch of filter bags with the coral and hide them in the tank.  

I'd also reconsider the Jack Dempseys. They're generally aggressive, and will probably conflict with the Rams. They may turn out to be docile, but it's a gamble. 

You make great points about the variety of fish...my tank from many years ago was a 55g with african cichlids.  I remember the pair of convicts spawning like crazy.  I'm basically starting over here...I didn't really consider preferred water parameters.  We were shooting for a community cichlid tank where everyone would be 5'ish inches when mature. 

On the bags of coral...could I stash some mesh bags of it inside the FX4?  The center of both trays has bio rings & rocks.

Originally we thought a single 125g tank would be plenty to keep us busy, but my kiddos are already asking for their own tanks.  Is this how everyone ends up with a tank room?  Ha!  I could see some additional tanks in our future...at least to keep the breeding pairs from fighting everyone else in the big tank.

Edited March 8, 2022 by dizzydirk

[Patrick_G]

Yes, you can put the coral in the FX4, that should work great. 

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

On 3/8/2022 at 11:21 AM, dizzydirk said:

Originally we thought a single 125g tank would be plenty to keep us busy, but my kiddos are already asking for their own tanks.  Is this how everyone ends up with a tank room? 

Yep. Or you're like me and live by yourself and do the same thing alllll by yourself!

You at least can blame it on someone else! 🙃

Edited March 8, 2022 by xXInkedPhoenixX