A few questions about maintainence of an 84 gallon Cichlid tank.

[Donna]

Hi everyone,
Since I'm relatively new to having an aquarium, I wonder if anyone could offer some advice on how to maintain my 84 gallon.
A little background:
I have
three 4-5" Severums
2 Convicts (both females, I hope)
3 baby clown loaches

So far I've been doing weekly water changes of about 30-40%, and vacuuming.
Water temperature is running between 79-80 degrees.
I haven't done any maintainence on my fluval 405 filter yet. The aquarium has been up and running for about 2 1/2 months, (we did a fishless cycle) but we only started adding fish the 17th of November. I was using Nutrifin cycle, and the day before we started adding the first lot of fish I added some mulm from my local fish store.
Then the next day we added the 3 baby loaches first, and then a week later adding the three severums, and then a week later (last Sunday) adding the 2 convicts.
I'm still getting the 'brown' algae, which I'm told is because my tank isn't completely cycled yet? They tell me once I start getting green algae, then I'll know it's completely cycled. I am starting to see a little 'green' algae around the spout of the exhaust on my filter, does this mean I'm on my way to getting the green algae I'm waiting for?
I keep a close eye on my water parameters, and so far no ammonia spikes, and really no readings of Nitrites, or Nitrates.
My lights are fairly bright, and I have them on for 12 hours a day.
No real plants, they're all just plastic.
My questions are:
How often do I change the carbon, and white noodles in my fluval 405 canister?
Is it true that the brown algae means my tank isn't completely cycled yet?
Do I need to scrub the brown algae off the decorations every time I do a water change?
Do I need to take the decorations out of the tank every time I vacuum the gravel, or can I just vacuum in and around them most of the time? (so far I've been taking them out, and scrubbing them off in the old tank water) but it would be nice if I didn't have to do that.
I'm sure I'll have more questions, but if someone could answer these, it would be a great help.
Thank you

Donna

[Mikeinco]

Hi Donna. Have you tested the water? PH, Amonia, Nitrates, Nitrites? You might want to go out and buy a test kit if you don't already have one. Make sure your tank is cycled properly. You don't need to remove all the plants and all the rocks everytime you do water changes, although I do. I would say the most important thing right now is to make sure your tank is cycled properly and do weekly water changes especially with it being such a new tank. I usually remove 30-50% of the water and always use declor which I'm sure you are. Are you cleaning the plants to keep the algae off? I just let that stuff grow on my plants and it might help strenghten your biological filtration if you just leave it alone. Is there a reason you leave the lights on for 12 hours? Just curious. Also I don't use carbon in any of my tanks but maybe someone else will chime in on this one.

[Donna]

Hi Mike, and thank you for responding.
Yes, I test for everything on a regular basis. I test for ammonia almost every day, or every second day at the very least, and I test for Nitrites weekly. I did a test on all three the other day, and as I said in my post, I don't have any ammonia readings, or nitrite readings, and as far as I can tell my nitrate readings are zero too. The color after waiting for 5 minutes was a pale mauve, which according to my test kit means zero. So hopefully I'm doing this right. I understood that first, I'm going to see ammonia readings, which I'm not. I'm thinking one reason for that could be that I've been doing about a 30-40% water change twice a week right now. I'm doing that because I know my tank isn't completely cycled yet, and I want to make sure I don't get any ammonia readings. Is that okay, what I'm doing? And yes, I am using aqua safe....which is a declorinator.
Yes, I am cleaning the plants because they have 'brown' algae on them, and I number one, don't like the look of it, and number 2, thought that would be healthier for the fish. Should I not be cleaning them off?
The reason I leave the lights on for 12 hours a day, is because someone told me that in order to help establish 'green' algae, it needs lots of light, and I need to have lots of light in my tank, so that's one reason I'm doing it that long, and the other reason is because I thought that's how long they should be left on. Is that too long?
Would you answer some of my other questions above too? I just want to know how to do this properly, and what's best for my tank, and fish.
Thanks for your post though, I really appreciate your imput.

[Donna]

Oopps, I forgot to mention too, that my PH is running around 7.8. We're on city water, and that's what it is. I was told that I shouldn't mess with the PH, that it's better to have a consistant PH, than it is to try to lower it, and have it constantly changing. Does that sound right?

[afrabat]

Hey Donna thanks for putting in an effort to make sure your fish have a great life. Quality of life! As far as brown algae meaning that your tank is not cycled is not true, IME brown algae comes from lights on your tank that are not simulating the brightness of the sun. I too was having the brown algae problem until I purchased a compact flourescent with 2 50/50 bulbs which means 1 actinic and one 10000k. Only then did I start getting green algae. If you take a rock and put it in a mason jar and fill it with water and put it in the sun for a couple days it will grow green algae. If your Nitrates nitrites and ammonia are down then your tank is cycled properly. I have set up many many tanks and added the Nutrafin cycle right after getting water to 78-80 degrees and same day added fish without a problem. The point of cycling a tank is to build up beneficial bacteria. When you add Nutrafin cycle you also add thousands of beneficial bacteria.

Yes it is always best to not alter the ph and just keep the fish that will take the water parameters you have. Make sure you are using a water conditioner to keep the nitrates and ammonia down, as they add them into city water to make the water sanitary. I would recommend Prime I have always used it and never had a problem.

As far as how long you are leaving your lights on I would recommend trying to simulate an actual day of light. Sun comes up turn the light on and when sun goes down turn it off. Up to you though, it doesn't have a lot of direct effect on the fish or water conditions.

Hope this helps and happy cichliding.

[Donna]

Thanks Afrabat,
So in layman's terms, what should I look for as far as new lights go. What you said you put in yours means nothing to me...hahaha.
I will look for some Prime, but I live in Canada, and what you can buy in the US, and what we can get here in Canada, are often two different things. If I can't find that, I'll check for a good substitute.
The reason we have our lights on from 10 AM to 10 PM, is because we both work, leaving the house 7:30 in the morning, and not getting home till 5 at night, so if we want to enjoy watching the fish, we have to have them on in the evenings. But if it doesn't really matter to the fish, I think I'd like to keep it at those times. I just wondered if 12 hours a day was maybe too long for them.

[afrabat]

No it's not to long for the fish but the more you expose your aquarium to light the greater chance to have algae. The light I mentioned was pretty pricey but I got it to go with my all male show tank. I paid a little over $200 for it. You don't "have" to produce green algae, there is no difference in algae to the fish. I may stand incorrect on that depending on the fish. The light I bought was a compact flourescent which is typically used for saltwater tanks.

[Rockriverfish]

Hi Donna,

It looks like you are off to a good start and have been getting some good advice from members already. Here is my two cents...

How often do I change the carbon, and white noodles in my fluval 405 canister? I rarely use carbon in any of my filters, and think that you could probably do without it. The "noodles" are most likely one of the various types of biologic media (Fluval Bio Max?). The purpose of this media is to provide a surface for beneficial bacteria to grow on; so the less you disturb it the better. A very gentle rinse with tank water is all that should be needed if you see them getting clogged up with fish waste. Here is how I usually maintain a canister filter. Fill a bucket with tank water. Disconnect/shut-off the lines to the filter. Open the canister and remove the media baskets. Gently squeeze out the sponges in the bucket of tank water. Remove the impellor shaft and clean it off. Rinse out the inside of the canister and then re-assemble everything. I try to do this once a month, but your mileage may vary.

Is it true that the brown algae means my tank isn't completely cycled yet? What you are refering to as brown algae is probaly a growth of diatoms, and is very common in a new tank. There may be some correlation to the Nitrogen cycle, but I wouldn't use it to determine whether the cycle was complete. Feed sparingly, keep up with water changes, and continue to test for Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate. The brown algae will go away in time.

Do I need to scrub the brown algae off the decorations every time I do a water change? It won't hurt anything, so cleaning it off is more a matter of personal preference.

Do I need to take the decorations out of the tank every time I vacuum the gravel, or can I just vacuum in and around them most of the time? (so far I've been taking them out, and scrubbing them off in the old tank water) but it would be nice if I didn't have to do that. Most of the time I vacuum around the decorations, but will do a more thourough cleaning every once in a while.

With regards to lighting... Since you are not keeping live plants at this time, there is no need to change your lighting. If the tank looks good to you, then you are all set. Unless the tank is in a very dark room, the fish will be just fine with ambient light during the day. Just switch on the lights when you get home (or put them on a timer). This will save money and reduce the amount of algae growing in the tank.

Good Luck,
Dan

[Donna]

Hi Dan,
Thank you for your very thorough post! You answered ALL my questions! Great!
So what I got from what you said was that right now, it's probably not necessary for me to change the bio media in my filter......or even wash it off right now, for that matter? We've only had fish in the tank for 3 weeks, and even at that, we started off adding a few every week, so there can't be too much waste in there yet. Okay, I'll start taking my canister apart and doing as you suggested, in a few weeks.
It's a relief to know this brown algae, or diatom will eventually go away. I have been trying to keep as much as I can off the plants and decorations, but it's good to know that if I don't, it won't hurt anything.
I am amazed at all the people I talk to about tank maintainence.....here where I live! There's not ONE person, and I DO mean not ONE person who changes their water, or vaccums their tank every week. EVERYONE I talked to, and it was at least 4 and maybe 5, ALL say they only clean their tanks, and change their water once a month! The best part is, they all say their fish are thriving, and not one has died! Like, that's hard to believe! Here I am, changing my water at least once a week, and up to this point twice a week, and I'm still concerned that that's not enough! There's something wrong with this picture! I was beginning to think I might be killing my fish with 'kindness', doing this so often.
In fact, I had one guy, on another aquarium site tell me that I should keep my water changes to a minimum, that it stresses the fish with all that activitity in the tank, so at the most, I should only clean it once a week, or even two weeks.
I feel better doing it at least once a week, and if it's okay to do it, I'd prefer to do it twice a week.
For one thing, we've got three baby clown loaches, and I was told by our LFS that they need a clean tank to thrive. That they can't survive in a tank that's not properly maintained.
So, thank you again for your imput, you've been a great help!! I feel better about this now. I really want to do all this right, and when you get so many different stories, it's hard to know which IS the correct way to do it.

[afrabat]

Dan, great post and very informative! Donna, to Dan's comment about brown algae, I will add one more thing. I received a bit of advice from a few people in my local club about how to keep your tank free of brown algae: bushy nose plecos! These little guys are fairly inexpensive for plecos and they go crazy for brown algae. Unlike regular plecos, they won't stop feeding on algae as they grow, and their "bushy" noses act as little scrubbers on your plants and tank. They have worked marvelously for me.

And about tank maintenance: when I first got into the hobby, I made time to do water changes at least once a week. But with schedule changes and the addition of new tanks, it became quite a task. So I over-filter my tanks to the point that I don't have to do water changes every week if I just don't have time. I run quite a few sponge filters in my tanks. These are super inexpensive, easy to maintain and run off of an air pump underneath your tank. Just an idea for the future.

One more bit of advice: you shouldn't change your bio media unless you are replacing it with a different kind of media; i.e. upgrading. Removing the beneficial bacteria that grows on it will have harmful effects on your tank.

[Donna]

Thanks a bunch Afrabat!
I'll have to look into getting a bristle nose pleco! The reason I haven't up to now is because I haven't seen a pleco yet, that appealed to me! They're all so ugly! Buttt, having said that, if it'll do a good job on keeping the algae down, I might have to break down and get one. Oh Lord help me! lol
I'll have to see how big they grow, because I don't really want to add anything more in a bigger fish. The three Severums are a good size right now, and they're only going to get bigger.
Oh, how will the pleco and my Clown Loaches get along? Is there any chance for conflict there?

[baldtaxguy]

I agree, good advice/info from Dan!

[Donna]

Okay, we went out this afternoon and bought 2 more baby Clown Loaches, and 1 baby bristle nose pleco. He's only about an 1" and maybe a bit long right now, but he's actually kinda cute. (I never thought I'd hear myself ever say that) He's dark brown, and he's got white tips on his fins.
I didn't think of it till we got him home, and in the tank, but where he's so tiny, I'm worried now that the Severums, or maybe even the Convicts will EAT him! I know Severums don't have a very big mouth, but I'm not sure if this little guy is big enough to be safe or not. As soon as I put him in one of the Convicts swam right over to him, and it looked like he gave it a quick peck. The pleco swam away, and now he's lost in the tank somewhere. Where ever he is I hope he stays there till he grows a little bigger.

[Mikeinco]

Okay, we went out this afternoon and bought 2 more baby Clown Loaches, and 1 baby bristle nose pleco. He's only about an 1" and maybe a bit long right now, but he's actually kinda cute. (I never thought I'd hear myself ever say that) He's dark brown, and he's got white tips on his fins.
I didn't think of it till we got him home, and in the tank, but where he's so tiny, I'm worried now that the Severums, or maybe even the Convicts will EAT him! I know Severums don't have a very big mouth, but I'm not sure if this little guy is big enough to be safe or not. As soon as I put him in one of the Convicts swam right over to him, and it looked like he gave it a quick peck. The pleco swam away, and now he's lost in the tank somewhere. Where ever he is I hope he stays there till he grows a little bigger.

I would have gotten a Pleco just a bit larger than that but maybe he'll stay hidden and only come out when the others are resting. Make sure you have lots of hidding spaces where the other fish can't get to so he can hide but don't be surprised if you just find him missing one day.

[Donna]

Oh Mike, you took the thought right out of my head! Yes, I'm so afraid that's going to happen! When we put him in the tank yesterday, he swam right over to the side of the tank and latched on, and he was no sooner there, and one of the convicts came after him. He was fast enough to move out of the way that time, but I don't know how long he'll be able to avoid it! We do have a number of hiding places for him, but I don't know if it'll be enough. He's just about as big as the convicts and severums mouths, it's borderline if he could actually fit in it or not, but I'm just praying he doesn't get eaten. I don't know what I was thinking!