j.c fishfan Posted August 21, 2006 Author Share Posted August 21, 2006 Ouch 315 litres a week!i will defianately increase my filtration as i wont be able to keep up with that. i may add another canister either a 1000,1200 or a 1500 lph. would it be ok if i put some alto's ?? thanks jamie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcloughlin2 Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 Ouch 315 litres a week!i will defianately increase my filtration as i wont be able to keep up with that. i may add another canister either a 1000,1200 or a 1500 lph. would it be ok if i put some alto's ?? thanks jamie Nope ... alto's are egg stealers so unless it is a display tank i wouldnt even be thinking about it ... IMO you either have a tropheus only tank or nothing .. tropheus are a specialist fish, not something to be thrown into a display/communtiy tank ... This is partly the reason i have decided to hold of getting my T's for some time till im ready to settle down on what fish i want ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoliroMan Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 Jamie....it is not enough adding more filtration since all that will achieve is reduce the ammonia and nitrite levels. Nitrate levels will still increase and can only be reduced with adequate water changes (unless u have a nitrate reductor). If u can't keep up with weekly 50% water changes then u should think whether Ts are the right fish for u. How hard can it be to set aside 300L of water to change a week? I do 75% fortnightly water changes. Don't get me wrong, u can get away with much less frequent water changes but if something goes wrong like a bit more aggression, overfeeding, new fish added or anything that might stress the Ts - that is all u need to start an episode of bloat! I would forget about the altos as per Mcloughlin, try the other tankmates i mentioned earlier. They tend to luv eating Tropheus fry and they won't like the incessant activity of the Ts. hth Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 What about plants? Don't they reduce nitrates? Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoliroMan Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 Good point Bruce, but keeping plants healthy at high pH and with tropheus is pretty difficult. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 Val, it looks good, grows well and doesn't require much light. Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bijengum Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 Try a plant called "Hornwort". Goes well in hard water and reduces the nitrates considerably. I do 20% water changes fortnightly and have Tropheus healthy and breeding. What about plants? Don't they reduce nitrates? Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoliroMan Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 i had plenty of Val growing but they soon got destroyed by my Ts and i don't know if u can rely on plants entirely to keep your nitrates down Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcloughlin2 Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 Unless you have a plant filter (read below), it wont reduce your nitrates enough ... For example on your pond you might have a big pump pumping water up into a gulley filled with lillies, fast growing weeds ( Vall, and all the other common plants sold) and the odd water plant or two, which then drains back into the pond after running through the plants, roots etc ...it may work out if you have something similiar to this otherwise it wont have much effect.. A nitrate reductor is very expensive. A very hundred dollars at the least! So definantly would be cheaper to just change the water .. The way i see it, jamie you should save up, wait a few months and see if your still keen on T's then if you are have a go .. there are no backdoors in fishkeeping .. You need to get things right in the beginning or you will have potential problems that will cost you a fortune to fix .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoliroMan Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 good points Mcloughlin....i was thinking if u could have a large mini reef with a compartment filled with plants but i guess there will be too much water movement for the plants to be happy in....also my pH is 8.5-9 so not the best for plant growth. Come on Andrea...i think we need your comments on this one....from what i can remember u had such a plant filtration system. David...are u willing to not do water changes and just let the Hornworts do their work? Btw, any picks of a hornwort...i have no idea what they are? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 What about a refugium or something similar but for plants and could also house holding females or fry Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parrdog Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 Sounds to me like it would be way easier to just do the water changes. Weekly water changes are pretty easy, you think they'll take heaps of time in the beginning but they really don't. I do agree though that they are crucial to keeping these little guys happy. They don't like high Nitrates at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spedwards Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 Weekly water changes are pretty easy, you think they'll take heaps of time in the beginning but they really don't. It takes about half an hour for me to change over 120L weekly, that's with a very slow syphon and a very slow refill - it could go a lot faster! I kinda like getting in there and doing it, a little water on the garden and happier fish, you can't go wrong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoliroMan Posted August 21, 2006 Share Posted August 21, 2006 i do 1000L water changes in 6 tanks every 1-2 weeks and with a 3500lph pump it only takes me 1-2hrs....that is with some mucking around with vacuuming the gravel and cleaning the overhead filter wool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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