http://www.fishkeeping.co.uk/ Resources for UK Fishkeepers Sat, 5 Jul 2008 21:20:58 +00:00 http://backend.userland.com/rss/ Fish Blogs weBLog fishadmin@fishkeeping.co.uk fishadmin@fishkeeping.co.uk en http://www.fishkeeping.co.uk/images/logo.gif http://www.fishkeeping.co.uk/ 88 31 http://www.fishkeeping.co.uk/modules/weblog/details.php?blog_id=142 finally got it all planted up transfer everything over from the q tank and other main tank i had the kribs in and added my doradids all the left is the blue acara a lot more bog wood thanks to hillstream for thatand a load more plants but all in all its coming along nicely and to plan with no problems so faroo and ive still got to finish the final touches to the stand adding doors and things but that will wait for naw time for picks hope you like it Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:18:21 +00:00 http://www.fishkeeping.co.uk/modules/weblog/details.php?blog_id=142 http://www.fishkeeping.co.uk/modules/weblog/details.php?blog_id=141 Isnt it amazing how things never go to plan Last time i wrote i said i was waiting for the concrete to dry on the side, so it dried, however while painting it with the sealer, the concrete dissolved away from the polystrene, so it was to plan B, using wood and giving it a good few coats (4), which from cutting to finishing took about 2-3 weeks.Its darker than what i wanted (due to the sealer), however if i can get willow moss to attach onto it from below and hopefully like a over hanging bush, it'll blend in.Other than that been working on wiring in the hood.You can see the "mirror on the roll" stuff as a reflector (just hope it dont burn off) and the starting of the wiring for the bulBS.Lastly you can see the pump chamberNot really much to see in here so best if i explain it. Youve got the pump (an Aquamax 6000) at the bottom surrounded with flocur (plastic coils) with a grid on top where there is strips of air stones attached as at the top of the chamber there is going to be k1 media, which needs constant areation.Stay tuned for more updates, hopefully not as before Thu, 26 Jun 2008 22:32:52 +00:00 http://www.fishkeeping.co.uk/modules/weblog/details.php?blog_id=141 http://www.fishkeeping.co.uk/modules/weblog/details.php?blog_id=140 So far, i've had 3 ponds, getting bigger each time. I'll quickly take you through them..1st pond: I'd always liked the idea of having a pond, so we decided to get a small rigid one. The construction was simple, we dug a hole and plonked it in, filled it with water and left it. It was more of a wildlife pond.2nd pond: We thought we'd do a better job than the first one, and maybe something where we could keep a few fish. So we dug a square hole, put some liner in and filled it up. All in all it was about 1.5 - 2ft deep, and only very small really. We got a few small Koi, and this is where it all started.3rd pond: The Koi in my previous pond got me into fishkeeping, I used to love watching them swim about etc so I began to read up about them and saw that they needed a big pond, so that's what I give them. A big L shaped pond, but the problem was - I didn't realise it had to be deep as well, and so I only dug it to 1ft. This was my first "proper" pond, a pond that would be filtered and well looked after with pumps running 24/7. I got some bigger Koi, about 8-12inch and then began getting really interested in fishkeeping. I did my homework and found out that Koi should really have around 1000 gallons minimum, and my pond was only about 300.Heres a picture of it:Its 6ft from left to right, and 9ft top to bottom, and of course 1ft deep.So now knowing a lot more about Koi (or thinking I do anyway)..I've decided to expand again.This pond is more of a "modification" of my previous pond if anything else. I began digging the bottom section of the L deeper, and wider and filled the top of it in using some of the soil.Heres some photos of the pond as it is now:The hole :)Nope, thats not me - my friend helping me out with the digging :)Once its finished, this pond should be 9ft x 6ft x 3.5ft. Which equates to around 1200 gallons.And, thats as far as we are now, so i'll keep you updated with my progress in the blog, and HOPEFULLY amaze you by the end result! :D Wed, 18 Jun 2008 09:32:52 +00:00 http://www.fishkeeping.co.uk/modules/weblog/details.php?blog_id=140 http://www.fishkeeping.co.uk/modules/weblog/details.php?blog_id=138 built the stand frame today its all in place reddy for cladding and a nice sturdy top adding major over engineered loltotal cost: tank £90wood local wood shop £12 screws £4and hears a picky lol Fri, 13 Jun 2008 18:37:13 +00:00 http://www.fishkeeping.co.uk/modules/weblog/details.php?blog_id=138 http://www.fishkeeping.co.uk/modules/weblog/details.php?blog_id=137 hi all i'me starting on a new project. I've always had a love of cichlids and kept a few in various species tanks but i've always wanted a cichlid community that would work. Rather then sticking aggressive fish that hide constantly or fight constantly as most community's you c out their seem to be. Seeing some of longhairdgits tank just reopened that wanting for a community tank and under his excellent species advice help and guiding i've gone ahead with project cichlid comunity selection 1 of LHG home bread blue acaras (Aequidens pulcher)2 fire mouths matched per (Thorichthys Meeki, Cichlasoma meeki)2 kribenses matched per2 Chocolate Doradids (Platydoras costatus)At first i thought i had hit the nail on the head with a second hand tank a 4 foot 99gallon tank for 50 quid. But disaster struck as the delivery driver decided to carry the tank by himself from the road side to my front door and dropped it on the front concrete step cracking 4 out of five panels needles so say i was not A happy bunnyI returned to the lfs to sort this out and was refunded my cash and offered another 4 foot tank as a replacement a 46 gallon 4 footer not as good as i had hoped but theirs no way ill find a 99gal tank for the same cash so i excepted whilst i was their i browsed the cichlid sections and spotted a matched per of fire mouths one of my listed species for the community they where defending a corner of a 55 gal from all the other fire mouths and had dug a breeding pit i snapped them up a placed them into qtI also found a male kribenses to attempt to mate up my femail also going into the tank but so far there not getting along so i have separated the male and am currently building him up in size as he is a good third smaller then the femailI picked up my tank nice heavy duty all glass ways a tone lolAfter i had took those photos i looked into the tank i have the fire mouths in and lo and behold their flaring like mad at me and their is a nice shoal of fry below them So tomorrow ime of to the wood shop to get my wood and then construction of the tank stand shall commence Wed, 11 Jun 2008 22:33:11 +00:00 http://www.fishkeeping.co.uk/modules/weblog/details.php?blog_id=137 http://www.fishkeeping.co.uk/modules/weblog/details.php?blog_id=136 Story so far:As most of you will know by now, I've recently started an SFF (Siamese Fighting Fish) species Biotope project with the intention of keeping 1 male and 2 females in a heavily planted tank with some kind of planting substrate, mopani wood and natural caves for the females.The tank is 4ftx1ftx1ft or 31gal and currently sitting on my bedroom floor: I have a heater and filter already, as I intend to use the Fluval 205 external in there after the Eheim 2215 fully cycles, but because the 44gal is stricken with mycobacterium (and of course, that's where the filters are ), I'm going to be forced to ditch the media in the Fluval, sterilize the filter, buy fresh media, and start another fishless cycle.The hood and a background have been ordered, but they're taking their time. If they're not here by the w/e, I'll contact the company.Well, that's about it for now More updates to follow . . . Thu, 5 Jun 2008 21:42:41 +00:00 http://www.fishkeeping.co.uk/modules/weblog/details.php?blog_id=136 http://www.fishkeeping.co.uk/modules/weblog/details.php?blog_id=135 Been over a week since my last post mainly for two reasons;1) I aint done much as i cant really do anything until certain bits are done.2) Been taking it easy a little bit Anyway since last post ive done quite a bit of the work that you cant see, like grids etc, air tubing etc etc. Anyway finaly had a serious day working on it (or at least half a day).Thats the filter inlet cover, so you dont see horrible green pipes in the tank, also theres space for heaters, auto top-up etc, so if i wanted to add anything later one i can do.Siliconed a load of gravel to the top of the ledge background, cause it was cut from middle sections of the background it had a black top, which looked stupid.Ive changed my plan, orginaly i was going to have a weir at the end of the tank, however i thought that this would end up loosing too much volume by the time the water level was lower than the weir, so instead just going to have a peice to block it up.Thats now drying from the first two coats of cemet and it should be another 4-5 days until its dry and sealed up. Then another two for the silicone to dry and then its time to fill it, can't wait Thu, 5 Jun 2008 21:20:33 +00:00 http://www.fishkeeping.co.uk/modules/weblog/details.php?blog_id=135 http://www.fishkeeping.co.uk/modules/weblog/details.php?blog_id=134 lost the other two over night...sometimes, life sucks Fri, 30 May 2008 11:32:33 +00:00 http://www.fishkeeping.co.uk/modules/weblog/details.php?blog_id=134 http://www.fishkeeping.co.uk/modules/weblog/details.php?blog_id=133 well I thought instead of bombarding you all with posts about my to remaining fish I try this blog thing...update for today: feeding well @ 7, and swimming about until about 11 ish this morning, now lurking on the floor. Still treating with protozin but its the day off today, and no change. Have gradually hoiked the temp up.. so fingers crossed. Still bloody covered in ich, but at least alive... Thu, 29 May 2008 11:19:48 +00:00 http://www.fishkeeping.co.uk/modules/weblog/details.php?blog_id=133 http://www.fishkeeping.co.uk/modules/weblog/details.php?blog_id=132 In the form of be sawing my finger, not very pleasnt but thats life. Any way first of started to make the grids and the grid supports, also managed to get a rough guide for the diy background bit. Then got a call from my mate from work who told me that the backgrounds i ordered (the juwel clay background) had came in so, started to cut all of them size (not as easy as it sounds).However i started to really run out of silicone so i can to pop back up to work to get some more, so came back one and continued with the backgrounds, then i had a brain wave and a new idea to add the backing to the ledge at the front and around the flow in take section (to the right of the same picture, and the bit with the pebbles on).So managed to do all the background section, (dont think i can smell now due to the silicone ), i just finished of the day creating the water change valves which goes inline with one of the filters. At some point it'll go through the wall and then go straight onto the flower beds and im thinking of having auto top up in the future.Aint sure what im doing tomorrow just yet, might not do anything, allow silicone to dry totaly before addign gravel etc. Still got to sort the branch i found Wed, 28 May 2008 20:52:32 +00:00 http://www.fishkeeping.co.uk/modules/weblog/details.php?blog_id=132