The 50 gallon i don’t even know what go in it yet journal

[face]

I’ve had a 50 gallon sitting in the corner for more than a year just waiting for me to get the bug and fill it with water…it’s time 

equipment 

the tank itself is a petsmart bundle it was a display so I got it for a decent price it has glass lids and a pretty standard stand and lights that I have literally 0 information on it’s led that all I know lol the filter is a canister I still have from my old tank eheim 2215 the heater it a fluval e series never used one of these before so we’ll see I usually use jagers but wanted to try something different this time 

as for everything else stocking it or aquascaping it I’ve got nothing yet lol I do want to try planting it I’ve always had big cichlids so planted were just expensive salad but this time I think I’m going with the community of some sort o plants

now setting it up I’ve so far just filled it and got the pump going stuck the driftwood I already had in it to get waterlogged and it’s been like that for a couple days no leaks so I was going to add something to get ammonia but then I smelled the water when I was moving the outlet of the filter  smells like there’s already something in there’s so I tested it and there’s a ton of ammonia…for some reasons my best guess it it’s the driftwood it’s been sitting outside for probably two years but  either way I’m going to have to do a big water change on a tank that completely without livestock…it’s going great so far lol

Edited December 11, 2023 by face

[beastie]

Are you looking for suggestions for stocking? I love suggesting what to stock :)) 

[face]

By all means suggest away my water is soft with basically no kh it changes with one drop from an api test kit

2 drops of gh test solution can’t remember what that is in actual numbers off the top of my head 

with high tds almost all of it coming from salt about 100 ppm of salt to be exact 

If any one has  a good place to order fish from in or around Ontario that would be helpful all I really have is petsmart there’s also a saltwater place but that’s no help to me lol

[jwcarlson]

Where's the salt coming from?

Also, I'd test your tap water for ammonia.  Not sure how there'd be that much from a piece of wood breaking down for two days unless a dog was peeing on it for a couple years. 😄

[face]

I honestly don’t know where the salt is from it’s been in our  water report for as long as I can remember the only thing I can think of is runoff in winter but the water around here is strange from decades of mining back about 30 years ago they put thousands of tons of lime to raise the ph it was down near 4 in most lakes so who knows about salt 

 

And the water out of the tap has no ammonia first thing I checked I did clean the tank out but maybe cleaner it was a display 

[jwcarlson]

There's also interaction between certain dechlorinators and test kits showing them as ammonia.  So maybe that's it as well.

[face]

There’s no water conditioner in at all I was just leak testing either way I did a 50% water change and it’s still probably to high but definitely lower probably 4ppm I’ll test Tomorrow and see if it’s higher again if so I’ll empty it clean it and see from there 

 

[beastie]

So if you have natural salinity, that could mean no plants, mangrove roots and brackish fish with amano shrimp? some gobies for sure, with sand, rocks, to keep a colony to fit their purpose, and for the water column Indian Glass Fish ?

Overall all the research suggests plants do not do salt in their environment very well, so if you are aiming for a planted lush tank, you would have to get a RO and mix and match, not sure if that is worth your time 🙂

[face]

It’s possible the salt might cause a problem the thing is it’s a lot of salt for drinking water not that much compared to salt water though really salt water being 25000 to 30000 ppm ones the ammonia is figured out I might just throw in a cheap plant of some kind to see i might do some reading tonight to 

[face]

Ok so the ammonia isn’t coming back so whatever it was isn’t persistent it’s at about 2ppm now so I’m just going to leave it to do it’s thing 

as for the salt 1 tablespoons per 5 gallon seems to be acceptable for plants that’s about 1000 ppm so I should be ok…he said hoping lol

[face]

Well  I’ve added a bottle of quick starter to the tank never tried bottled bacteria before so we’ll see if it works just wanted to try it still no nitrite but a small amount of nitrate has appeared about 5ppm other than that I’ve started to add sand still need to put more in but the thing I’m most excited for is the plant it turns out there’s a store in town that sells fish and plants not a  terrible selection it’s not a big place by any means but not terrible the plants I grab were an Amazon sword java fern vallisneria and the floating stuff that’s name eludes me as of typing this lol now to see if I kill them all 

as I was there I started to gravitate towards some fish in particular neon green rasbora and Cory cough my attention especially the dwarf Corys and the Sterba's corydoras seemingly like they’d be fun to watch I hate this part so many fish so few tanks lol

[nabokovfan87]

On 12/10/2023 at 5:21 PM, face said:

the heater it a fluval e series never used one of these before so we’ll see I usually use jagers but wanted to try something different this time 

You'll love it. Just keep an eye out for low flow sensors.

[face]

Ya I might just pull off the case so I don’t have to worry about that 

[face]

Tanks still cycling but in starting to get an idea of what I want I think basically a large school of something some Cory’s of some kind a bristlenose pleco and something with personality 

for the school I’m thinking galaxy rasbora or ember tetra or lamp eye killifish for the Cory’s I’m thinking a dwarf of some  kind and for the fish with personality maybe honey gourami probably 6 or so of them I originally was thinking bolivian ram but I don’t want to deal with aggressive cichlids again lol a part of me wants to try a betta but I don’t know about that at the end of the day I just want a relatively peaceful community 

[nabokovfan87]

On 12/27/2023 at 12:42 PM, face said:

Tanks still cycling but in starting to get an idea of what I want I think basically a large school of something some Cory’s of some kind a bristlenose pleco and something with personality 

Which have you kept before?

On 12/27/2023 at 12:42 PM, face said:

I originally was thinking bolivian ram but I don’t want to deal with aggressive cichlids again lol a part of me wants to try a betta but I don’t know about that at the end of the day I just want a relatively peaceful community 

Just be careful with temps.

[face]

On 12/27/2023 at 7:17 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Which have you kept before?

An Oscar for about 11 or 12 year the old girl was my buddy but she was a loner it was most definitely her tank after her it was some severums ended up with a pair they constantly squabbled with each other they were fun to watch and interact with but constantly having to watch for actual aggression was annoying there was also a betta but that was when I was very young that was more having a fish then keeping it 

I still like the interaction but I just don’t want to deal with aggression anymore but there’s something about cichlids particularly South American ones that’s hard to find anywhere else 

and just because here’s the male severum

[nabokovfan87]

Depending on temp you're looking at, panda corydoras are pretty fun and special, easy to find... And then option 2 would be trilineatus/false julii corydoras for slightly warmer temps.

[beastie]

And i have bolivian rams with sterbais corydoras and my rams are constantly breeding and the only aggression is chasing the other b-ram aways. May be charging at the sterbais to swim in another direction but zero injuries. Maybe their agression is in smaller spaces or so.

I recommend against the ember tetras, they don't appreciate the large space and are lazy and not fun to watch and prone to overeating so it is a hassle to feed corydras with them. For cpd think 'jungle' tank, not a bare tank like yours, they will be so stressed and so shy. 

Absolutely yes to the honey gourami, get as much as your space allows, their behavior is said to be so different in a group setting other than in a pair and they are so lovely. If i had a good source here i would so do that!!!

Keep the betta for a small tank you will inevitably end up with, they don't enjoy the community tank and it doesn't enjoy them right back. Consider other schoolers and you have a great setup!!!

[face]

On 12/28/2023 at 4:52 AM, beastie said:

And i have bolivian rams with sterbais corydoras and my rams are constantly breeding and the only aggression is chasing the other b-ram aways. May be charging at the sterbais to swim in another direction but zero injuries. Maybe their agression is in smaller spaces or so.

Not making me want them less lol 

honestly might just end up with something simple and boring like harlequin rasbora

[beastie]

Tbh out of all the schoolers i have had so far i loved my harlequins for the five years i have had them very much. Also zebra danios, fun fish and now i have white cloud minnows, also impressive behavior, not too dull for a schooler. 

[face]

Well my tank has its first signs of life… a pond snail no idea how this thing is surviving in an aquarium with 4 or 5 ppm ammonia no detectable kh and a ph of 6.4 but here’s we are lol

[knee]

Bolivian rams would be a great addition to this tank. I keep mine with nano fish and Pygmy corys and they don’t bother them. The only aggression they show is when they chase them away from their eggs. They don’t even try to bite unless the other fish are actually going for the eggs. Some good food and patience, and they will color up nicely for you 😁

Here’s a photo to help change your decision 🙏🏻
 

 

[face]

On 12/30/2023 at 10:49 AM, knee said:

Bolivian rams would be a great addition to this tank. I keep mine with nano fish and Pygmy corys and they don’t bother them. The only aggression they show is when they chase them away from their eggs. They don’t even try to bite unless the other fish are actually going for the eggs. Some good food and patience, and they will color up nicely for you 😁

Here’s a photo to help change your decision 🙏🏻
 

 

How many would you recommend out of curiosity…asking for a friend you see lol

and do you guys think a group of rams a group of gourami and a school of small Cory’s would all work together? I might just pass on the tetra/rasbora for the time being could always add them later if something catches my eye 

And also starting to wonder if the ammonia reading is some sort of false positive I’m still not seeing any nitrite it’s been 3 weeks also it seems like whatever it was isn’t persistent the ammonia went to more then 8 in one day I did a water change and it’s just been sitting at 4  ever since if it was something rotting it should go up I would think I might just do a complete water change and add something for ammonia to be safe 

[nabokovfan87]

ammonia in the tap?

[face]

On 12/30/2023 at 5:46 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

ammonia in the tap?

No 0 coming out of my tap and I’ve been in this house over 15 years have never had any