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30 Gallon Journal

52K views 1K replies 31 participants last post by  Elsewhere 
#1 ·
I got my aunt's 30 gallon on Sunday March 24th, 2013. It was filled with sand and covered in Hermit Crab crap. After three hours of meticulous cleaning, everything was cleared out and ready to go. On Monday March 25th, 2013, I set the tank up empty in my living room. Today, March 27th, 2013, I purchased all I would need for the tank, including:
One 22lb bag of gravel
Three 4.4lb bags of gravel
One Aqueon Quiet Flow 30 Aquarium Filter
One Fluval Submersible Heater, 100 WATTS
One Thermometer
One Greek Pavilion
One thoroughly cleaned used Greek vase type thing
One thoroughly cleaned used wood decoration
One Gravel Vacuum
One thing that makes bubbles

I set it up about an hour ago and got it filled with water and running and everything is working GREAT. I have a massive, long plan on how this will work, which I will put on in a minute. This is my stocking plan:
1 Pearl Gourami
9 Bloodfin Tetras
6 Otocinclus
4-5 Mystery Snails
4-6 Ghost Shrimp

Here is my overall plan:
1. Get the tank set up empty and plant-less, run it for two weeks empty to judge the quality of the products.
2. Buy four plants, buy two snails.
3. Two weeks later: buy four plants, buy two snails.
4. Two weeks later: buy four plants, buy two shrimp.
5. Two weeks later: buy four plants, buy two shrimp.
6. Two weeks later: buy 6 Otocinclus, QT for two weeks, add to tank if healthy.
7. Two weeks later: buy 5 Bloodfin Tetras, QT for two weeks, add to tank if healthy.
8. Two weeks later: buy 4 Bloodfin Tetras, QT for two weeks, add to tank if healthy.
9. Two weeks later: buy Gourami, QT for two weeks, add to tank if healthy.

The QT tanks I have are a 5g and a 2.5g, but I'm hoping to keep the 2.5g as a Betta Emergency QT if someone gets sick... Plus, I think these fish are too big for that kind of tank :p

Here are some pictures of the 30g:





What do you think? I've been planning this for months and it will take months more to complete.
 
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#328 ·
Okay, she is now cupped and now that I can actually SEE her, a sigh of relief has escaped me. It is DEFINITELY not what Kass has/had. Just some seriously bad fins, a mild case of popeye and some bite marks. I'll try and get pics in the morning to be 100%, but otherwise I'm very happy that she'll hopefully be okay with some TLC.
 
#330 ·
OMG LOOK WHAT INDIGOBETTA MADE ME ON HER THREAD:



I am SOOOOO excited for when the Pigg plush comes!!! Everyone on this end is good, just finished up the water changes and the Guppies were not fond of them XD I'm not sure if they've ever even had a proper WC before :/ A bit of a delay for the lady getting the Cories, but hopefully she'll be here this week :)
 
#331 ·
I'm sort of starting to regret the Guppies... I don't know if it's the sponge filter or stress levels or just Guppy-ness, but they're so incredibly shy and inactive. I'm so used to Betta happiness, the greeting at the tank and the constant movement, that the Guppies seem very bland to me, especially with their colours. One of the only times I ever even get to see them is feeding time, when they swarm the flakes. Right now I can only see one, hiding in the coffee mug :/ I have the sponge filter in there mostly because I thought they were active and would like the current and aeration, but I'm now considering going and buying a smaller filter...Erg, I hate that I love fish! If I do end up feeling like I would like a Betta again in my 5g, I have a friend who wants all of the Guppy fry, so I'm sure she'd take the mum's too :) Maybe start her own breeding farm, haha!
 
#332 ·
So just finished Kass's salt bath of the day, and I'm very happy to say that I think she can finally go home :) I'll keep monitoring her in the 2.5 until Tuesday, and if I think she's ready I'll float her in the 10g until Thursday so everyone can remember her and release her after school Thursday :)

I'm sadly going to have to keep the QT going, though, and get Demeter in there as soon as Kass leaves. She's looking better, but it'll be another long road ahead for her and that tail... Oh, that tail... The Guppies are now swimming about the tank, since it's now dark. Their old home had no light, so I think that's a big adjustment to them and could be causing their inactivity. Hopefully so, as I really do like them :)
 
#333 ·
Oh good luck with the Guppies :) cute pic of Pigg btw :-D loving the ponies! I should actually finish my pony version of Rembrandt haha too much to do right now though!

I hope Kass get's better really soon so Demeter can get better too lol. How's Kass's face doing? Any of those bumps at all left? I wouldn't put her in until all that stuff is gone just in case it's something like columnaris....
 
#334 ·
Uugh, guess who has migraine and just missed two days of school? I'm not even supposed to be on the computer, but I'm sneaking in Betta time and trying to do an assignment that was due today that I didn't get in. AND I get to miss an assembly I've signed up to photograph when I go to school tomorrow, regardless of how much my head hurts, because an assembly will be worse than murder. Erg, I'm on my brother's Netbook and it's very frustrating to type, especially since I'm super dizzy.

In fish news, Kass will be kept in the 2.5 until I'm confident that I can lift that tank to clean it properly. I haven't treated Kass in a couple of days, since I don't want to shatter the tank, as my headache and dizziness also affects my hands (SPLENDID) so I've been turkey basting her poop out. I'm going to try a 100% today with my mum's help, and a salt bath, but I don't know if I can. Demeter is looking a lot better. I can see regrowth and definite change in her popeye status. The egg clutch is due to hatch any day now, and I'm super nervous about that. I need to fill the 30g a bit more to raise the level for the hatching snails, but can't til my mum is done work :/ I'm also not moving now, so mum and I want to move the 30g out of the light from the window that's causing my algae issues. We've discovered a spot in my room for it, with a hidden plug behind my bed (LE GASP) so we'll be moving that this weekend. It should be... interesting. I'll be moving that big fish and the snails to a bucket and leaving the Otos, since they are SUPER hard to catch (like, nearly impossible) and then my mum and brother will take the tank upstairs, as my mum doesn't trust me with the lifting and carrying part, and I'll be running upstairs with the stand and getting that in position.

Anyways, I have to get off, as it hurts my brain to look at the screen. I'll hope to be on a little more than the last few days, but this is probably it for today, sadly.
 
#335 ·
Oh ouch, I hope you feels better soon :-( I don't have the migraine but I do have sudden chills today and an upset stomach caused by new meds....it seems to be a fun week for the both of us :-(
 
#336 ·
Aw, poor Lil :/ Yeah, my migraines have been with me since I was little... I think we talked about the pediatric ones, haha! Kass seems to be so much better, no signs of fungus, but very depressed in barren little 2.5. I so badly want to just net her and dump her right in, but I know it's too risky :/ I've said it at least three times, but I think I'll leave it to this weekend when all of the fish tank moving craziness will happen. Demeter finally ate, and she seems to be perking up. Aphrodite is NOT happy that her sister's missing and keeps circling the cup like a shark... Silly girl!

Erg, the lady that wanted the Cories backed out. At least she hasn't spoken to me since she cancelled getting them on Sunday. No one around me seems to drive, so I'm trying to get them gone by Sunday, when the 30g will probably be moved... I feel so bad for them, all trapped in their little corner. When they do go, I'm really looking into some Amano Shrimp to take their place. It'll leave my tank at 94% stocked according to Aquadvisor, and the Ghost shrimp I had for about three days before they became a meal were super helpful too. I don't know. It won't happen for a while, I need to calm down with things that live in the water for a bit.
 
#337 ·
Still no baby snails, still have the Cories... The Guppies are being much more active and will actually stay near the glass when I go near it now. One is looking extremely large and I think within the next week there could be little midget baby Guppies ^.^ I'm hoping to do some plant switching, get the Wisteria out of their crappily lit tank and into Pigg and Atlas's and then trade some Java Ferns and my growing baby Swords into the Guppy tank. Hopefully it'll look nice :) I might even steal some of the hundreds of Cabomba I've stuffed into the girl's tank, though Aether might get mad, they're her favourite. Erg, the Wisteria is just melting in that tank. The two baby swords look great, but it is just dying on me... I'll probably do that sometime tonight when I clip some leaves off of a sword that needs to be re-rooted.

So I'm hoping for another photo shoot soon, for some updates on Kass and Demeter's status. Also because you can never have enough pictures! These might also be the last ones I can get of the Cories. My poor little babies, I really want to keep them :(
 
#338 ·
Yay pictures!

As for the swords, do you have root tabs for them or some enhanced substrate? They're heavy root feeder's and will survive without anything but they won't do well at all. So root tabs are great to use unless you have some enhanced substrate is all. Water wisteria is a water column feeder/leaf feeder so liquid ferts will help with those, plants also tend to like softer water so driftwood/oak leaves/IAL all that stuff is great for those too ^_^

How's your migraine's doing?
 
#339 ·
Nope, no root tabs, I always forget them. But I do add double Seachem Flourish to the mix.

I've separated this girl because she looks HUGE. Like, about to pop. I'm posting pics on the Guppy thread to see what they think...




Demeter:


Kassiandra:




30g pics:








Sorority:




Divided 10g:





5g:



And the migraine is so-so. I've got a friend over now, so I've gots to go :D
 
#340 ·
Nice pics and yay you remembered to do it during night time! haha or at least just not with the sun out momentarily ^_^

I see Kass still has some of the fungus left on her, it's definitely diminished but there's still some there underneath her eye. Oh and that's why you have algae issues: double dosing of Flourish?? I mean, I guess the Otos help that but that's quite a lot for any tank honestly, I think you should try just the regular dose to see if that helps get rid of some algae if you still want to get rid of it.
 
#341 ·
Not on the 30g- I give enough for a 15g for the divided 10g, and enough for the 30g, because I know that would cause my algae problems, haha. I'm hoping to get root tabs soon, but whenever I go to PetSmart their out... Erg. Hoping to move the big tank soon, though.

And yeah, I see a little on Kass, but SO much less than before! I'm really hoping next week will be when she's better :) I might just start treating her in a floating cup and move Demeter to the 2.5, but I don't know yet.
 
#342 ·
I am so angry. I didn't catch Corinth, I caught Lana! Corinth is also known as "Super Fat Pregnant Fishy" and I got Lana instead of her. So I've decided to leave it until tonight, because their all probably traumatized after my trying to get them out for an hour... Anyshway, she still hasn't popped, and I don't think she will this weekend. She's pretty big, but not as massive as they should be. She also really active still, and I've read they slow down near birth.

Still no snail eggs, but they keep getting more fragile and seeming like they're going to hatch!

Mum and I decided we're doing the moving of the 30g tomorrow or next weekend. I really need the Cories gone for this, it'll stress them out like CRAZY to be moved like that. And that's all for now! I might have another photo shoot tonight, I enjoyed how well the pics came out in the dark last night :D I also might get to see Insidious 2, which I'm excited about as well!
 
#343 ·
When I first started reading I was like....Corinth...Lana? huh? and then realized...oh right! Guppies lol

Do you have two nets? Sometimes you can use both and sort of corral her into one or both if that makes sense. And yeah, I know how you feel though...I once had to chase the last danio out of my 33....practically tore up the entire tank just to get at him and finally had to literally stress and wear him out so much that he just lost all energy and practically swam into the net. I felt bad but I had to get them out!
 
#344 ·
Oh, yeah, probably should've announced I named them! Their names are Corinth, Lana, River and Aul. Aul (pronounced AY-ULE) is the only one that isn't pregnant- at least not noticeably pregnant, haha! I haven't tried the double net trick... I'll do that soon!

So I've stressed Demeter to no end with her cup change. I know it should be daily, but it almost kills her from stress to be netted from the cup, so I do them every other day to give her a day of rest before I change them. I've also gone all out to try and get that last layer of fungus off of Kass. I've given her another 1/4 of a tab of Anti-fungus and 1/4 TSP of Melafix. I'm also starting twice daily salt baths at a half an hour a piece tomorrow. She hates being in that empty little tank, so I took some of the floating Wisteria and put it in there. She's having a blast, swimming in the roots and sliding across the tops! I forgot it was in there until I changed Demeter's cup and moved it around. Andromeda is super mad at me for taking it out- it's her favourite place!

I've been once again contemplating an 8th girl... Mostly because now Demeter's sick, and I don't know how long it's going to take her or Kassiandra to heal. I might take a quick peak in the pet stores, see what I find. Having five instead of six is making a big difference, and I'm noticing that Hera can't protect Aether for much longer from Jumper. Little turd, she's such a jerkface!
 
#345 ·
As long as you can handle all the cup changes, sure! I know I was getting really bogged down with having like 10 fish in QT >.< technically my 33 right now is one giant QT but...meh. So if there just so happens to be one...yep.

Also! I don't know if you've contimplated this before, but I believe Catw0man still has some females she needs to rehome, if you message her for pictures, you might find one you like and then most likely it's just shipping you need and if it's regular 3 day Priority over 2 day Express it will be much cheaper like 6-10 dollars instead of 30 lol
 
#346 ·
OHMAHGOODNESS! *Furiously tries to find Catw0man and ask for fishies* My mum would probably only agree to 3 day priority, though, which would suck. But at least the fish would be from a member, so maybe only a 5 or 6 day QT :D I'M GETTING TOO EXCITED!
 
#347 ·
lol don't get your hopes too high! I said she MIGHT have females she needs to rehome, I took 7 from her on our trip so I don't know what she has left now. I know she still has a pretty blue dragon scale girl in her rehome album, I would have loved to take her but my tank is primarily blue >.< as is my room....my bed sheets...my clothes...sigh...I love blue but sometimes it just get's overwhelming lol
 
#348 ·
Still! Haha! And I too have a few blue fish, but I could always use more! I've lately been kicking myself that I didn't name Atlas Blooregard Q. Kazoo, so perhaps a blue fish is just what I need! My room is an array of colours... Green, purple, white, brown, a little bit of everything! I'll go and stalk her albums now!
 
#349 ·
This is just me, crying in the corner. There are now FIVE clutches of eggs. I am so screwed. I hate not being able to kill the little baby snails! ERGAMUFFIN. This is so frustratingly annoying.

Anyshway, moving the 30g to my room tomorrow afternoon. Catching Corinth tomorrow, because I'm too tired at only 8:30. Bye for now!
 
#350 ·
So we're moving the 30g today, and the Cories are still in there, which sucks. Here's my plan of attack:

1. Get the hood off and far far away.
2. Do my regular 40% WC
3. Fill another bucket without gravel vacuuming.
4. Catch Soleil et Les Nuages, the snails, the five Cories and any Otos that are willing and put them in the bucket of tank water.
5. Take out the filters and heater and get them on a blanket far away.
6. Take the bucket of fish to my room.
7. Get my mum and brother to lift the tank (I have an irrational fear of things dropping on my feet and CANNOT lift things like that tank, or heavy furniture. I cool with most stuff but lifting the tank would give me a heart attack, and my mum knows it! My brother will be bribed, though)
8. I run upstairs with the stand and treasure chest.
9. Get the stand ready.
10. Everything is put back perfectly next to my bed.
11. Fish and tank water go back in.
12. New water goes in.
13. Everyone gets a little bloodworm treat for being to AWESOME.

Hopefully it all goes well... And Catw0man says she has a couple of girls to rehome :D Excited about that as well!
 
#351 ·
Going off on my merry way to do the WC on every tank but the 30g- erg. Still need to mix the salt for Kass's bath, which takes FOREVER. Why do I always leave things to the last minute? Afterwards, I get to go and do HOMEWORK! YAY! So much fun! Later in the afternoon we'll go about moving the 30, which makes me incredibly nervous, but it has to be done. My dad got himself a new TV recently. I don't know why, it's ridiculously stupid, but he got a bonus and I guess however he wants to spend it, right? Anyways, he thinks that my tank is sucking energy out of the room so he wants me to move it as well. At least now I can just live up here LOL. Not really, but it will certainly be nice not to have to drag my buckets of water from one end of the house to the other every week, since my room is right next to the bathroom. I still need to move my rug for the tank and clear away space... So off I go, to have my joyous adventure!
 
#352 ·
So all the WC are done... Norman's passed out on the carpet, I need to put chicken fingers in the oven, homework still awaits and Corinth has finally been captured! She looks really pissed off, but she's just so big... She had a little freak out at first, but now she's calmed down and I'm trying to assess her and see how big she really is. I couldn't actually tell before, as it was mainly glimpses, but boy, she certainly is huge! I'll get some pics in a bit, and I want to take a before and after of where the 30g will go in my room... The absolutely last physically available spot of room that I have left! Grr, I need to make myself a fish room! ;) I could totally sneak it into my dad's man cave in the basement... He wouldn't even notice... I mean, he didn't know about Boreas until he died, and he didn't know about Pigg until the week after I got him when he took me to PetSmart and I bought his 10g.

Ah, memories. I got Pigg nearly fifteen months ago, and I'm sure you know the story, but when I first got him he was in a tiny 0.5g, what I'm using as a breeder box right now for Corinth, actually. Anyshway, after I got him I put his picture on Facebook. My dad also walked right into my room, looked at the little tank on my dresser, but didn't even know he was there. He told me to do the dishes and left. The next week he was like "WHAAAAAT?" He thought I had gotten Pigg for my friend, hence the FB pic, and that he didn't even notice the midget tank on my dresser XD

Back to reality for a moment... Gotta go put in some chicken nuggets and fries... Man I love the weekend!
 
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