85l Apistogramma tank

[Stefaan]

Hi guys, this is my newly designed fishtank:

The tank is 80cmx35cmx30cm, and I want to make a true blackwater tank from it.
My plans for this tank:

I would like these fishes:
1m 2f Apistogramma agassizii
8 Carnegiëlla strigata
And 3 algae eaters (allready in there)

I want to put new lights in there for the plants.
I was thinking about putting 2x 24W HO T5-lamps in there replacing the 1x 18W T8.
And I would like to give extra nutrients, probably easycarbo and profito from easylife.

Then, I wanted to upgrade my internal small filter for a big external one of 400-600l/h

And last but not least, I want to reach good water values but my water at home is pH 7,8 KH 5 and GH 10
In the tank, pH goes to about 7.0 because of all the wood. Watter looks yellow too in real (not visible on photo)

I am going to wait another month or so before I put in all the fishes,
because I want a stable tank with stable water before I introduce the fish.

So now my questions:

1) will these fish work together? I would love to have some fry every now and then.

2) Is it smart to upgrade the lights, or should I better keep low lighting?
Problem in here is that I would love to have some decent looking plants in there.

3) Is an external filter needed, or not usefull at all?

4) What would you guys do for reaching better water values? I was thinking of maybe taking rainwater, it has got a lower pH of about 6 I think. Or filtering over peat moss? And what values are best for my fish? I was thinking of pH 6 and KH=GH<3

5) I want to make the background black (for the moment tere is nothing at the back) Any suggestions how to do that?

6) Any other comments? maybe some plants or wood I should move?
I could really use any critic to make it better looking

 

[aquaticclarity]

1)What type of "algae eaters" are you considering? The rest of the fish should be just fine together.

2)Lighting is your call! Do you have time to trim plants? If you can spend the time on maintenance every week go for it! But if you think you want brighter light do it sooner then later so you don't shock the plants and fish with the increase.

3)I think the internal filter is justr fine for the tank and the bio load you plan on having. Just make sure you have enough circultaion if you end up with a heavly planted tank.

4)Stable water is MUCH better then water values that constantly are in flux. Even if the water perameters aren't perfect the fish will be fine.

5)Can you paint the back of the tank? Or purchase a pre-made backdrop (readily available in the USA). Or paint some cardboard or the like and cut it to fit (It will need to be replaced everyone and a while as it WILL get wet at some point during maintenance!).

6)Make sure the females can each have a territory with shelter/cave(s) that is out of direct line of site from each other. This will save you from some head aches down the road. Hopefully!

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
Looks a really nice Apisto tank. If you still want an external filter I'd recommend an Eheim, I like the classic 2213, but you can get a more modern one if you want (I'm not so keen on the Ecco range). With a power filter you would need a sponge pre-filter for the intake, you can buy the Eheim one, or you can DIY them out of sponge.

Stable water is MUCH better then water values that constantly are in flux. Even if the water perameters aren't perfect the fish will be fine.

Very true, I think your water may be a bit hard to bred A. agassizii, you may be able to lower the pH/dKH with sphagnum peat, otherwise you need a less hard supply, I use rain-water (or RO is another option).

A. cacatuoides would be fine in your existing water, and there are other possibilities as well, A. eunotus, A. borellii etc.

cheers Darrel

 

[Stefaan]

Thank you for the tips guys!
And remember, more comments are allways welcome
I will probably buy an eheim external filter when I am back from holidays. Should I take 2213 or 2215? Watter will need to be pumped up 1m.
And spending time in the tank is no problem for me, so I'll put some good lighting in there
For the water values, I will try to find a good way to get it down and stay sable.
I hope I can use rainwater actually. Can't test the parameters right now cause everything is frozen outside
If I can't get good water, I will not start playing with chemicals
Then I will probably better buy the cacatuoides as you said.
Well, I am not buying any fish for the next month or so, so enough time to play with the water and find the best way.

The algae eaters I would like in there are ancistrus dolichopterus. Cause I like the tentacles

 

[Stefaan]

Oh, and why I want to put some better water in there is because pH of the water in here is 7.8,
and once I put it into the tank it becomes 7.0 in a few hours, so the fish would feel a pH shock everytime I change some water...

 

[Stefaan]

Hey, me again.
I bought en eheim 2213, and installed it today. I allready like it
Now for the back of the tank, what kind of black paint should I use?
Anyone any experience with this?

 

[Mike Wise]

I used flat black engine spray paint - but never when it was full of water & fish. Now I usually cut up black plastic trash bags and fix it to the glass with black electrical tape (waterproof). Not as classy, but works.

 

[INPUT4YOU]

If you want to have a good background for small money so you can take a thick styrofoam plate. This plate you will style by a hair dryer with the hot air. after you re finish, you paint it (green, brown, dark green and brown) and put it behind the aquarium. It looks nice.

Another nice possibility is there, if you glue a cardboard with leaves, and these do behind the aquarium.

best regards

Andreas

 

[Mike Wise]

Great ideas, Andreas. Another advantage of styrofoam is that it helps insulate the tank.

 

[Stefaan]

Indeed a good idea, but I am not such a great artist that I can make a really nice looking background with styrofoam.
So I bought a self-adhesive black foil today.

I am also thinking about buying 48W LED strips in place of 2x24W T5
That should give almost as much lumens as the T5 would.
What do you guys think about LED?

 

[Stefaan]

Well, a little update is needed I think...

I bought a black foil for the back of the tank and the eheim 2213 filter.
And I was curious about the effect of LED-light, so I bought myself a led strip of 5m (600 led, 48 W, 6500K, normally 3600 lumen).
I wanted to see the difference between TL and LED, so I installed my dad's camera, and took some pictures.
I took all the pictures (last 5 ) with thesame shutter time and diaphragm on the manual modus of the camera.

Time for some pictures:

Outlet of my 2213

light cap before modifying

After modifying

LEDs turned on

Now the effect on the aquarium:

T8 sylvania daylight 18W (1,5 years old)

1 LED strip turned on

2 LED strips turned on

3 LED strips turned on

4 LED strips turned on

So it looks like 1 LED strip of 7 W (87led*0.08W) gives as much light as the 18W T5
In total I got 7 LED strips + the T8 now.
And it really doesn't look overpowered with all turned on.
I think it is because of the yellow water that dims the light.
Well, on the last photo it does look overpowered,
but that is only because my camera had fixed shutter time, so it didn't adapt to more light...
So what do you guys think?

 

[Smac]

That one wants Anomalochromis thomasi! But apistos would be just as cool. Love the tannins!

 

[Stefaan]

That Anomalochromis looks like a cool fish
but maybe a little bit too big for my tank?

 

[Mike Wise]

Anomalochromis species stay small; rarely get more than 3"/7.5 cm.

 

[Smac]

Yeah, they're not really much bigger than the larger Apistogramma spp. Really great fish.

 

[Stefaan]

I just changed 2/3 of the water with rainwater (first filtered over active carbon)
Now my water parameters are:
PH 6.8
GH 5.0
KH 2.5
NO³<0.3

I have also put some peat in my tank, and a DIY CO² system.
This I have made with 3 bottles. 2 bottles with yeast and sugar, and 1 bottle with water to clean the co² that comes from the 2 other bottles.
I have got some good experience with that system in one of my other tanks.
So now we will have to look what the effects are of the peat+ all the driftwood+ CO².
My plan is to change 10L of water (75%rainwater, 25% tapwater) every week.
Hope I can get stable and good watervalues with this

So what do you guys think?
Did i do something verry stupid, or does this sound like a good plan to you?

 

[Stefaan]

Hi again.
I got my water parameters constant at
pH 6,3
GH 4
KH 2

Are these optimal for A. agassizii and the Carnegiella Strigata?
Or should I use more tap-water to get harder water?

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

I got my water parameters constant at
pH 6,3
GH 4
KH 2

Are these optimal for A. agassizii and the Carnegiella Strigata?

You don't need any more tap water in the mix, that should be fine. You really need to feed the Carnegiella some flying insects to keep them healthy long term, I use a mixture of Vestigial winged Fruit flies and Aphids.

They also get Daphnia and Mosquito larvae, and if you have an area with strong flow, you may be able to get them eating Grindal worms and dried food from near the top of the water column, as long as it is in motion.

cheers Darrel

 

[Stefaan]

Hi all,

You don't need any more tap water in the mix, that should be fine. You really need to feed the Carnegiella some flying insects to keep them healthy long term, I use a mixture of Vestigial winged Fruit flies and Aphids.

They also get Daphnia and Mosquito larvae, and if you have an area with strong flow, you may be able to get them eating Grindal worms and dried food from near the top of the water column, as long as it is in motion.

cheers Darrel

Thanks for the tip.
Where do you find these Vestigial winged Fruit flies?
Cause that would come in pretty handy if I don't want flies flying all over the place.
Aphids won't be a problem I think, and I allready have some frozen Mosquito larvae, cyclops and dried food ofcourse.

 

[sasikan]

http://www.buyfruitflies.com/ try here