14g Questions

[ravichr]

I have a few questions about my 14g setup. Any help is greatly appreciated.

1. Can I let the air bubbles run continuously? I have a moderately planted tank with a good plant-friendly fluroscent light.

2. Currently housing two platys - 1 Orange Male and 1 Blue Female. They don't disturb each other. Anything signs that I need to look for that mean trouble?

3. How long should I leave the lights on?

4. The water tempereture seems to be fluctuating between 76 and 78F - is this OK?

5. Is it ok to add more decorations later?

6. The platys sometime venture close to the heater. Would the heater hurt them?

Sorry abt too many questions. I still have a few. Will ask them in installements *SUPERSMIL

 

[TabMorte]

1. If it's just a decoration sure.

2. Nipped fins are the most common sign of fighting. If you see them add Melafix it prevents infection.

3. For your plants you lights hsould be on for about 8 to 12 hours a day. Any more and you'll get green algae

4. try and keep it at a stable temp. 76-78 isn't bad from night to day but a good heater that can keep it steady is a worth while investment.

5. Of course. Make sure you rinse them before putting them in. (Boil rocks, soak driftwood)

6. My fish rubs right against the heater and has yet to have a problem I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[ishar]

for your bubbler I believe if you run it during the day the water will not hod as much CO2 for your plants to grow, so if you want your plants to do optimally I suggest turning the bubbler off during the day- the plants should provide O2 anyways, and your filter likely mixes air into the water as well. If you like the looks of it or use it for decoration go right ahead .

 

[ishar]

I would like to post that I am wrong here . If you are adding CO2 in then my statement holds true- it will remove all of the added CO2 in the water. If you are not adding CO2 then there is no problem running the bubbler . So if you ever start adding CO2 then you may want to consider turning the bubbler off during the day.

 

[jediinthedark]

1) The bubbler will oxygenate the water whether it's getting CO2 injections or not. Of course more CO2 will be lost if an injection is occurring. None of that may matter depending on the type of filter you are running. Do you have a Hang-on-the-back filter? And if so does the filter cascade into the water, or is the water level high enough that there is a minimal cascade?
The more agitated the water is (HOB filters agitate water a lot) the less CO2 the water will hold.
With that said... not all plants need CO2 to survive. Most of the time CO2 makes plants grow faster, but the same plant will still live and grow without... just at a slower rate.

So the bubbler can run constantly and never hurt your fish. Your plants wont do as well with it, but that may be ok with you. Most beginner plants will be fine with this CO2 loss.

3) Tab's right with 8-12 hours, but that also depends on the kind of plants you have, and how quickly they grow. Be aware that algae will enter the tank for a variety of reasons: over feeding, high nitrates, slow plant growth, fertilizer/mineral imbalance, etc. All of that may sound like too much to handle at first, but it can almost always be handled through a little observation and trial & error (just don't go out of your way to make crazy changes unless you really know what's going to happen).

4) That temp is perfect for most fish and plants. Any idea why there's a fluctuation though?