Eric Schreiber wrote:

I had a spare 30 gallon tank sitting empty, as well as assorted
filters, heaters, gravel, rocks and driftwood. So, I got that set up
in a spare corner of my office/living room tonight, and I'm carefully
acclimating the fish to the new water conditions (temperature is easy,
but their 'natural' pH and hardness are each a point or two higher
than my tap water). I've got three established tanks, so material to
kick start the ammonia cycle shouldn't be a problem. For that matter,
I've got some Bio-Spira that might still be viable.


Just an update...

The fish, all thirteen, are doing fine in their new home. I still don't
know what species they are. I did a quick romp through Axelrods' atlas,
but not a careful, in-depth search yet. Hopefully they aren't game fish
that will outgrow the tank over winter.

The fish took to flake food right away, and race to the top at feeding
time. I'm also feeding occasional freeze-dried bloodworms.

A piece of driftwood I put in the tank released a lot of tannins, as
expected. I finally accepted that a very small Penguin filter wasn't
going to cut it for this tank, and yesterday I pulled the Big Gun out
of storage - a Magnum HOT with bio-wheel. The charcoal media is doing a
great job, and overnight pulled all the tannin color out of the water.

Through regular water changes (10 to 20% daily) I've kept the ammonia
levels fairly under control at about 1.0 ppm. So far, Nitrite levels
remain at zero, so the cycle hasn't really gotten a good start. I did
add some Bio-Spira early on, but it had been in my fridge for a long
time and was probably no longer viable.

I haven't added any material from an established tank yet, but now that
I've got a bio-wheel in place, perhaps this would be a good time to do
so. Get that wheel seeded so it can do its magic.

Best of all, since the project didn't cost anything (everything used so
far was from a heap in the basement), my wife decided not to kill me.
Not being dead is good.

All I'm missing are some decent decorations (the rocks and driftwood
are better scaled for a ten gallon tank, and look a tad absurd in the
30), lighting (currently being provided an an overgrown room lamp) and
a cover of some sort. With a little creativity I may be able to hobble
together a lighted hood on the cheap.


--
Eric Schreiber
www.ericschreiber.com