New freshwater tank

[sb1227]

BTW, your tank looks really nice! And you can even see fish in there!!! Your tank has always looked pretty neat...I seem to get the jungle look no matter what I do. My fishes like it though.

I have to go and sit in front of the tank and the fish will come out to visit. Some of them anyway...most of them just want to know if I'm gonna feed them.

[Guardfather]

I never could keep plants, I wonder if the CO2 would had helped. Are premium freshwater tanks still not as clear as our saltwater cousins ? In the past this has always been the case.

Just from remembering my last FW tanks and seeing yours now, I would agree. Even now, mine is still a bit cloudy. I also used rocks from Lowe's rather than the $10 bags or rock from WM. But again, it's a brand new tank and the bio isn't established. I'll look at it later and compared to yours. It should clear with time.

Doesn't a salt tank require much more detailed filtering which may contribute?

[Guardfather]

BTW ... Here it is ... Such as it is.

[sb1227]

Looks great! I love to watch Tiger barbs.

[NM354]

Hope those tiger barbs are doing well. I talked to the freshwater supervisor and she said that she will be getting in some roseline sharks as soon as they are available to order.

[Guardfather]

They seem to be well. They stay bunched up in one of the back corners of the tank. There isn't much circulation back there so I'm wondering if the power heads are making them uncomfortable. I've got two Regent 30-60s in the back. One power head is pointing up and pumping at a 45 to the center of the tank. The other is pointing down at a 45. I should have a nice counter clockwise rotation except under the heads. Which is where the barbs are hangin' out.

Plus the temp has climbed to 82 and won't come down past 80, even with the lid open. I caught the heater coming on too, so I lowered the stat in hopes that is the problem.

I'll be in on 2 4 Tuesday and pick up a couple of the RL sharks if you still have them.

[snoopdog]

82 is definitely not warm, that temp is just fine. Some tropical fish do not like high water flow but I doubt that it will effect them at all. If they keep staying in the corner they may still be stressed, be sure to continously look for anything on the scales such as Ich or Fungal growth. You should not even have the heater plugged in this time of year, in fact unless your house has zero heat in the winter it is not even likely to have to be plugged in the winter. The reason I say this, you could imagine if the thermostat stuck in the on position (which has happened) and suddenly your fish are cooked.

[sb1227]

You can also try taking one or both of the glass lids off, if you need something there you can use that plastic waffle stuff you use on flourescent light fixtures. I find alot of fish actually like water flow, as long as it's spread out a bit.

[Amphiprion]

That temp isn't stressful for many things, but it is still odd for a fish only freshwater tank. Maybe remove one (or two) of the powerheads--you may be surprised how much they heat up a tank. Besides, high flow isn't necessary for most freshwater fish, except for certain river fish and rift lake cichlids.

[Guardfather]

I never considered the power heads creating heat, but it makes complete sense. When I was running the Magnum, it didn't heat the water, but the unit itself got fairly hot.

I'm glad them temps are okay, After turning the heater down, however, the temp has stablized at 80, which makes me feel better.

Thanks everyone for your help.

[snoopdog]

Run a powerhead with the head out the water, but the impeller in the water. It will get quite warm.