Extra-horny Guppy? Or Too Much Flow in tiny 5.5 Gallon Tank?
- Thread starter KillaGuppy
- Start date
So I need to do two, if not three things with the tank.
1) Remove the powerhead before summer time
2) Pull out the undergravel plates
3) Maybe add a CO2 canister
I believe the powerhead is contributing to an 11°F temperature hike. When the house is 68°F, the tank is 79°F. When the house is 72°F, the tank is 83°F. This summer, the house will probably get up to the low 80's, I don't think the fish will survive mid 90's temperature, will they?
Also the powerhead seems to causing a lot of vibration. It's either that or the HOB filter, or maybe the vibration is from both.
I want to get a Eheim 2211 canister. What do people think about that? Should I try attaching it to the undergravel filter first, until I pull out the plates?
Which brings me to the UGF. Should I pull out the plates sooner, rather than later. Every day that passes by, more and more gunk builds up on the bottom, right? All this ticking time bomb stuff has me worried. When I used to have a 55 Gallon with UGF, the tank conditions weren't as volatile. But with a 5.5, things change too fast and there's no time to react. I've read about ways to take out the plates without removing the fish, but what's more stressful, the netting and moving of the fish, or the release of sludge?
I've also added a nice branch of ADA driftwood that goes across most of the tank. And I've added Carpet Moss across the bigger pieces of driftwood. I want to change the substrate from riverbed gravel to soil, so I can have a fully planted substrate.
1) Remove the powerhead before summer time
2) Pull out the undergravel plates
3) Maybe add a CO2 canister
I believe the powerhead is contributing to an 11°F temperature hike. When the house is 68°F, the tank is 79°F. When the house is 72°F, the tank is 83°F. This summer, the house will probably get up to the low 80's, I don't think the fish will survive mid 90's temperature, will they?
Also the powerhead seems to causing a lot of vibration. It's either that or the HOB filter, or maybe the vibration is from both.
I want to get a Eheim 2211 canister. What do people think about that? Should I try attaching it to the undergravel filter first, until I pull out the plates?
Which brings me to the UGF. Should I pull out the plates sooner, rather than later. Every day that passes by, more and more gunk builds up on the bottom, right? All this ticking time bomb stuff has me worried. When I used to have a 55 Gallon with UGF, the tank conditions weren't as volatile. But with a 5.5, things change too fast and there's no time to react. I've read about ways to take out the plates without removing the fish, but what's more stressful, the netting and moving of the fish, or the release of sludge?
I've also added a nice branch of ADA driftwood that goes across most of the tank. And I've added Carpet Moss across the bigger pieces of driftwood. I want to change the substrate from riverbed gravel to soil, so I can have a fully planted substrate.
I would move the fish to your water change bucket and put the HOB filter on it, running. Then do whatever you want to do with the undergravel filter, change the substrate or whatever, then place them back once the stirred up gunk has settled down.
What plants are you planning to have with the soil substrate? Were you planning on covering the soil with gravel?
What plants are you planning to have with the soil substrate? Were you planning on covering the soil with gravel?
The extra-horny guppy is as horny as ever. It's also getting big. I really want to pull it out, but my kid insists on keeping it. It is her tank, so I guess we're stuck with it
That said, has anyone ever seen a Scarlet Badis shoal with other fish? The larger of our two Scarlet Badis is swimming around with the Ember Tetra school. Before, it was happy swimming by itself around all the driftwood nooks and cranny and chasing around the other Badis.
OrangeCones, for the substrate, the plan was not to cover the current gravel, but to remove it completely. As we remove it, we'll replace it with soil. As for the plants, I'm not sure. It'll be some ground coverage type plant. But I need to first figure out the CO2 situation--currently considering the ADA disposable canisters.
We've also ordered an Eheim 2211.
The is the filter plan. Let me know, if there are any flaws:
1) Week 1-3: Remove powerhead and hook up canister filter to undergravel lift tubes for 3 weeks, letting bacteria grow in the canister.
2) Week 4: Put a tube underneath the UGL plates that's connected to the canister and try to suck up as much of the gunk as possible.
3) Week 5: Remove UGL plates--possibly with fish still in there and with the canister and HOB filter sucking up as much nasty stuff as possible
4) Week 6: Remove half of the gravel
Afterwards, I want to slowly introduce soil. Any thoughts?
That said, has anyone ever seen a Scarlet Badis shoal with other fish? The larger of our two Scarlet Badis is swimming around with the Ember Tetra school. Before, it was happy swimming by itself around all the driftwood nooks and cranny and chasing around the other Badis.
OrangeCones, for the substrate, the plan was not to cover the current gravel, but to remove it completely. As we remove it, we'll replace it with soil. As for the plants, I'm not sure. It'll be some ground coverage type plant. But I need to first figure out the CO2 situation--currently considering the ADA disposable canisters.
We've also ordered an Eheim 2211.
The is the filter plan. Let me know, if there are any flaws:
1) Week 1-3: Remove powerhead and hook up canister filter to undergravel lift tubes for 3 weeks, letting bacteria grow in the canister.
2) Week 4: Put a tube underneath the UGL plates that's connected to the canister and try to suck up as much of the gunk as possible.
3) Week 5: Remove UGL plates--possibly with fish still in there and with the canister and HOB filter sucking up as much nasty stuff as possible
4) Week 6: Remove half of the gravel
Afterwards, I want to slowly introduce soil. Any thoughts?