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stevie667 · 06-03-2007, 02:13 AM

*reading back over what he said in the first place, then goes to find chemistry notes*

Agreeing with you on the filter part, not absoloutly 100% essential to keeping fish, but pretty danged handy if you want something bigger than a bumblebee goby in a 20gal tank. I would not call very many fish tanks complete ecosystems (though i've seen the odd very advanced example).

As for the drop in hardness, what about if you happen to live in a softwater area? Apart from being on my black list for being able to keep much more in your tap water, a pH crash is still not inevitable.

It is possible to not require waterchanges due to rising nitrates. I went and did a water test on one of my big tanks, <10ppm. Considering the amount of meat related meat foods that the inhabitants get through, this is quite good. The tank is also planted to the gills.
This i always feel is the most important part of keeping fish (unless you happen to keep fish which for whatever reason don't get along with them, in which case you should be familiar with the whole set of issues anyway), without them your water will foul pretty quickly.
They will remove nitrate plus many more organic and inorganic compounds and serve to oxygenate your water. For those who feed high protein diets (like myself) a thin protein layer can accumulate, which has the potential to reduce gas exchange. Pointing your filter outlet to cause surface disruption also helps.

There are several very neat peices of kit one can get for removing nitrate from tanks, such as some of the more clever trickle filters and the likes, which will encourage bacteria that convert nitrate into nitrogen. They are often prohibitavly expensive. One can also experiment with a system of using terrestrial plants with roots dipping into a tray of flowing tank water (similar to a vegetable filter in ponds, just with nicer looking plants). These plants are excellent at taking up nitrogen compounds in the water, and if done well, can make a fish room look much nicer.

But, as actnic said, the simplest way is a water change.

I will stick with my guns and say that your 'typical' tank is in part a self sustaining system. Granted, it does help the tank to do regular maintanence, but one does not need to be doing the constant changes that would come from say, a betta in a jar. Much in the same way its a bit nicer to give your dog a wash instead of throwing him outside whenever it rains.

06-03-2007, 02:13 AM	#3 (permalink)
stevie667 Too Awesome for Aardvarks Location: Angloland	reading back over what he said in the first place, then goes to find chemistry notes Agreeing with you on the filter part, not absoloutly 100% essential to keeping fish, but pretty danged handy if you want something bigger than a bumblebee goby in a 20gal tank. I would not call very many fish tanks complete ecosystems (though i've seen the odd very advanced example). As for the drop in hardness, what about if you happen to live in a softwater area? Apart from being on my black list for being able to keep much more in your tap water, a pH crash is still not inevitable. It is possible to not require waterchanges due to rising nitrates. I went and did a water test on one of my big tanks, <10ppm. Considering the amount of meat related meat foods that the inhabitants get through, this is quite good. The tank is also planted to the gills. This i always feel is the most important part of keeping fish (unless you happen to keep fish which for whatever reason don't get along with them, in which case you should be familiar with the whole set of issues anyway), without them your water will foul pretty quickly. They will remove nitrate plus many more organic and inorganic compounds and serve to oxygenate your water. For those who feed high protein diets (like myself) a thin protein layer can accumulate, which has the potential to reduce gas exchange. Pointing your filter outlet to cause surface disruption also helps. There are several very neat peices of kit one can get for removing nitrate from tanks, such as some of the more clever trickle filters and the likes, which will encourage bacteria that convert nitrate into nitrogen. They are often prohibitavly expensive. One can also experiment with a system of using terrestrial plants with roots dipping into a tray of flowing tank water (similar to a vegetable filter in ponds, just with nicer looking plants). These plants are excellent at taking up nitrogen compounds in the water, and if done well, can make a fish room look much nicer. But, as actnic said, the simplest way is a water change. I will stick with my guns and say that your 'typical' tank is in part a self sustaining system. Granted, it does help the tank to do regular maintanence, but one does not need to be doing the constant changes that would come from say, a betta in a jar. Much in the same way its a bit nicer to give your dog a wash instead of throwing him outside whenever it rains. __________________ Office hours have changed. Please call during office hours for more information.