flyingcow Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 After about a 20 year hiatus, I'm getting fish again! My awesome wife got me a 36 gallon bowfront for my birthday, and we are getting it ready now. I figured this is as good a place as any to document our misadventure! I started a fishless cycle with Dr Tim's. I'm not sure how well the bottled bacteria held up, but next time I try it, I'm going to get it straight from them instead of paying for Jeff Bezos to tear down Dutch bridges. Currently there's a bunch of driftwood and a few rocks in the tank... plus a fake plant thing that will be removed, but it was holding down some of the driftwood while it sank. (don't judge my little plane... I like my little plane) While this is cycling (we are very much so in the land of Nitrate spike at this point), I've been slowly and slightly obsessively accumulating plants in a 5 gallon tank I'm going to use for quarantine. Apparently Dwarf Baby tears actually really like floating... who'da thunk? My java ferns need to be trimmed back of all the brown crap, and I have one Dwarf Sagitaria that isn't looking so good. The one I got from the Co-op is looking great though! I have these guys lit for 8 hours a day, and every few days, they get a squirt of all in one. Hopefully, these plants will make the trip across the living room next week, and I'll be able to get some fish soon! We have well water here, and, while it isn't SUPER hard, it's Carbonate Hardness is high enough that getting the pH below 8.2 is really difficult. The original fill was well water, but I now have a 50gpd RO and am building water with a more reasonable KH and lower pH. All this because I REALLY like South American fish. Eventually, I'll semi-automate the RO down in the basement with a batching tank and storage tank. I'm pretty sure that when the RO came home was when my wife regretted getting me the tank. As far as fishies, I'm planning on two Bolivian Rams, a school of either Rummynose, Emperor, or Colombian Tetras, and an Angelfish, or an Electric Blue Acara... or a Flag Cichlid... or a Keyhole Cichlid... Anyone have thoughts on an EBA or Flag Cichlid in a 36 gallon tank? I feel like I'm pushing it there. That said, we have the space and resources to move this tank to the other side of the room and put in something bigger eventually when they grow. This should be fun, and I've already found a bunch of things I would have done differently had I known more when we bought the tank a couple weeks ago (cough... substrate... cough). Thanks for reading, and as we progress, I'll keep this up to date! Should I also do updates on the water treatment side? That's one of those places where my career and hobbies meet, so I think I'm going to nerd out a bit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Burke Posted August 18, 2022 Share Posted August 18, 2022 On 8/17/2022 at 6:42 PM, flyingcow said: don't judge my little plane... I like my little plane Every tank needs a little plane….. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingcow Posted August 19, 2022 Author Share Posted August 19, 2022 (edited) In the "never buy a kit aquarium" department. I realized that my stupid cartridge filter was the reason my cycle is taking so long. All the bacteria got held up on the cartridge floss, it plugged the filter, and I had to chuck the dang cartridge 24 hours after I put in bacteria. I decided to exact my revenge today. ...why is this rotating 90 degrees when I upload? Oh well, NO MORE CARTRIDGES! I spiked some more bacteria in there as well in hopes of getting some to settle in. For those playing at home, I have now replaced the light and the filter. All that is left is the lid (that already broke) and the heater. Edited August 19, 2022 by flyingcow 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miranda Marie Posted August 20, 2022 Share Posted August 20, 2022 LOL. Lids seem notorious for breaking. I broke mine shortly after getting my 20 gallon long and decided on getting sheets of Polycarbonate to make my own makeshift lid instead. Best of luck with getting back into the hobby! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingcow Posted August 25, 2022 Author Share Posted August 25, 2022 I'll get a better shot when the water clears a bit, but PLANTS ARE IN! 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anitstuk Posted August 25, 2022 Share Posted August 25, 2022 Looking good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingcow Posted August 26, 2022 Author Share Posted August 26, 2022 Just from moving them out of the quarantine tank and into the new tank, the plants are looking AMAZING! It's astonishing how much they perk up in two days. I might go pick up some buddies for the tank today depending on how my work schedule goes! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingcow Posted August 26, 2022 Author Share Posted August 26, 2022 BUDDIES! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardedbillygoat1975 Posted August 26, 2022 Share Posted August 26, 2022 @flyingcowwhats in the bag? Id go rummynose vs emperors or Colombian size is an issue the 36 g doesn’t have enough floor space for the larger characins. The action with the rummy’s would be better as well. As a flag or festivum dad who also has an EBA I’d say dominant male Festivum get large. Over 2 years mine got to 5 inches and top to bottom of his trailers was 4 “ and he was nearly an inch thick. I think EBAs are a better choice, I’d say 2-3 max. Start with 5 Bolivian rams let them do their thing and you may have to rehome a few. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingcow Posted August 26, 2022 Author Share Posted August 26, 2022 2 Bolivian Rams are in the tank! I'll take some pictures once i turn the light back on. In talking with my LFS, they were of the opinion that a 36 is a great place to grow out Angels and EBA's, but not enough space for them in a community as adults. So I'm gonna a hold off until I have a better plan for when they grow up. I think I'll do either Rummy Nose or possibly Black Neons and see how the two Rams play out. If they pair up, then the bottom of the tank is theirs. If they don't maybe some Cory's join the fun. If not, maybe some Silver Hatchet's up top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingcow Posted August 26, 2022 Author Share Posted August 26, 2022 (edited) Edit: as an aside, plugging a submersible pump into a smart plug so you can control it with your phone rather than scrambling to unplug it when the tank is full is game changing... Edited August 26, 2022 by flyingcow Musing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cawafuoshi Posted August 26, 2022 Share Posted August 26, 2022 On 8/26/2022 at 4:08 PM, flyingcow said: Edit: as an aside, plugging a submersible pump into a smart plug so you can control it with your phone rather than scrambling to unplug it when the tank is full is game changing... While I agree that a lot of "smart" can be helpful, be careful which smart plugs you use. My KASA one used to run aquarium lights but had to be dismissed since it always forgot its schedule after a power outage and kept the lights off. This was several years ago. Might be that glitch is fixed, but it was super annoying. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingcow Posted August 26, 2022 Author Share Posted August 26, 2022 (edited) On 8/26/2022 at 4:52 PM, Cawafuoshi said: While I agree that a lot of "smart" can be helpful, be careful which smart plugs you use. My KASA one used to run aquarium lights but had to be dismissed since it always forgot its schedule after a power outage and kept the lights off. This was several years ago. Might be that glitch is fixed, but it was super annoying. Yeah I noticed with the Fluval Plant 3.0, after a power outage, you need to connect your phone in order to get the Bluetooth schedule up and running again. The only "smart" stuff I plan on doing is the pump (since it's only plugged in during a water change) and a heater safety. I'll have a separate thermocouple and a smart plug for the heater. If the heater stays on and goes runaway (had it happen in the past), ill get a notification and itll shut the heater off. If the power blips, I can program it to reset. Edited August 26, 2022 by flyingcow added appropriate quotes because let's face it, "smart" can be dumb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingcow Posted August 26, 2022 Author Share Posted August 26, 2022 Ok. I'm gonna apologize in advance for my geeking out. This is my first time with Cichlids. They have now teamed up to explore the tank together. 15 years of keeping community fish never prepared me for the level of interaction of these little buddies. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingcow Posted August 27, 2022 Author Share Posted August 27, 2022 (edited) and now we are getting into Cichlid land.. so I've tentatively named them A$#hole and Non-A$#hole. A$#hole has suddenly developed a very dark band on the eye and red on the tail. Non-A$#hole has not. Non-A$#hole keeps coming back for more, though... Edit: Yeah, that took less than an hour... I feel like a beginner all over again! Edited August 27, 2022 by flyingcow 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anitstuk Posted August 27, 2022 Share Posted August 27, 2022 I think the plants look so much better after the tank finally cleared up! They look beautiful! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingcow Posted August 30, 2022 Author Share Posted August 30, 2022 The Rams got a few friends yesterday! In an attempt to quell some bullying going on, I added ten Black Phantoms to the tank. They are adorable, and they definitely gave the subdominant ram some confidence and cover. The bullying is still going on, but it's noticeably less and the victim of the bullying is now hanging out in the plants and rocks rather than hiding up by the filter intake. Hopefully as they settle in, this calms down a bit more. There's plenty of sight line breaks, but this little Ram keeps following the bully around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingcow Posted August 31, 2022 Author Share Posted August 31, 2022 The Black Phantoms were crazy this morning! Having the tetras in the tank is definitely chilling out the Rams a bit, as well. Today I saw a little bit of ammonia and nitrite on the water test, so I fired up this bad boy and got a water change done. First water change since the fish came home! I think the next project is going to be getting this contraption out of the bathroom and in to the basement where I can semi-automate it. I currently disconnect the cold water line to the washer every time I use it. It's getting annoying. I'll be sure to document those shenanigans as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingcow Posted September 8, 2022 Author Share Posted September 8, 2022 Today looks like a nice day for a bit of a cleanin! The diatoms are definitely visiting this tank, and I'm seeing some hair algae form. I'm going to pull out some of the epiphytes and wipe them off a bit under water, scrub the driftwood, and squeeze out the sponges in the filter with a 10 gallonish water change. Non-A$#hole was feeling a bit photogenic as well. I'd love to see some more growth out of this little buddy, but so far so good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingcow Posted September 12, 2022 Author Share Posted September 12, 2022 (edited) So I'm setting up a 10 gallon in my office. This is likely to be a hotel (prison) for my aggressive Bolivian Ram so that the other Ram can grow a little. Gonna order plants soon! Why the hell is this upside down? Like seriously... I'm a part time pro photographer... I'm stupid, but damn... am I THAT stupid? I give up on shooting from my phone... I'm only 40, I work in innovation, and I can't handle basic technology... back to my FujiFilm. Edited September 12, 2022 by flyingcow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingcow Posted September 12, 2022 Author Share Posted September 12, 2022 ok... I've literally tried 4 ways to right side up that picture, and I have failed... I'm gonna crawl back under my bridge now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingcow Posted September 12, 2022 Author Share Posted September 12, 2022 Let's try that again... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingcow Posted September 12, 2022 Author Share Posted September 12, 2022 With spousal input... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingcow Posted September 16, 2022 Author Share Posted September 16, 2022 De-nitrifying filter installed! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingcow Posted September 17, 2022 Author Share Posted September 17, 2022 Fish were all sluggish and barely eating this morning. I was sitting there for a while, and finally glanced at the little thermometer on the side. Their water is down to 70F! The 200W heater is still working and still drawing 200W, but I think it just isn't enough when the house gets down into the low 60's. I saw a rule of thumb that it's 1/2 watt per gallon per degree delta T. If it's 61 in the house and we want 78 in the tank, that's 300W of heating. Time to get a second heater. I put my ACO heater from the 10 gallon tank I'm cycling into the tank for now, and I'm gonna head out and get a second heater today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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