Installing background in running tank

In article ,
says...
Doesn't even have to be another tank. I have used a Rubbermaid container.

Heh - I've got another tank, I haven't got a Rubbermaid container!

It's the hassle of the process and the stress on the fish that makes
me reluctant, not the availability of a reasonable container.

--
FishNoob

Sorry about that ladies. Force of habit. You have to think about it from a
fishes point of view. They will be in the same water as usual & the stress
is not really that bad. Fish are much stronger than many people think. One
thing that will stress them out is if you "KILL" your biological filter by
not running the filter with the fish. That can cause a cycle which can kill
your fish. The heater is not a big deal as long as they are in a heated room
the temp shouldn't fluctuate too much & should stay within safe levels.
"FishNoob" wrote in message
...
In article ,
says...
Doesn't even have to be another tank. I have used a Rubbermaid container.

Heh - I've got another tank, I haven't got a Rubbermaid container!

It's the hassle of the process and the stress on the fish that makes
me reluctant, not the availability of a reasonable container.

--
FishNoob

In article ,
says...
Sorry about that ladies. Force of habit. You have to think about it from a
fishes point of view. They will be in the same water as usual & the stress
is not really that bad. Fish are much stronger than many people think.

Well yeah, but there's the stress on me too ;-)

Besides, those danios are hard to catch - they're quick little
beggars!

Would what I've suggested work? Can anyone see any problems with it?

--
FishNoob

On Fri, 24 Feb 2006 16:30:53 -0000, FishNoob
wrote:

In article ,
says...
Sorry about that ladies. Force of habit. You have to think about it from a
fishes point of view. They will be in the same water as usual & the stress
is not really that bad. Fish are much stronger than many people think.

Well yeah, but there's the stress on me too ;-)

Besides, those danios are hard to catch - they're quick little
beggars!

Would what I've suggested work? Can anyone see any problems with it?

The only problem I see with your plan is that it's going to be pretty
hard on you. If you take Prozac, double your dose until the project is
over. The fish will probably enjoy the ride and the change of scenery.
If the fish seem to be getting stressed out, toss a couple of Prozac
to them too. Maybe you could tape the Sunday Comics page on the wall
of their temporary tank. Give them something to do while you fret. Now
if it were my tank . . . I'd give it the same background that all my
others have - a piece of black, dark grey, or dark blue fabric, with a
weave or faint print to give it some texture, a couple of pieces of
invisible tape and call it good. Corduroy and heavy flannels work
nicely. I also have several other tanks, usually used for breeding and
raising fry, that I've spray painted the back and bottom glass with
flat black barbecue paint. Saves a trip to the dressmaker each time I
set one of them up.

-- Mr Gardener

FishNoob wrote,
Plus the
filter set-up from the Rio is too big for my other tank, so I'd have
to just leave the sponges sitting in the water..........
Could I turn off the Rio filter, put the old filter on its side
near the bottom of the tank, and reduce the water level to about 1/3
of its normal level?

Hi, I'm Frank, a spill over from alt. aquaria news group.

The bacteria colony within the filter needs an air supply (water flow)
or the colony will die. You could put the filter on a 5 gal. plastic
bucket filled with the tank water you need to remove to install the
background and install the filter on the bucket. I beleave silicone
takes 48 hours to cure .......... Frank

In article .com,
says...
Hi, I'm Frank, a spill over from alt. aquaria news group.

Hi Frank :-)

The bacteria colony within the filter needs an air supply (water flow)
or the colony will die. You could put the filter on a 5 gal. plastic
bucket filled with the tank water you need to remove to install the
background and install the filter on the bucket. I beleave silicone
takes 48 hours to cure .......... Frank

There are two filters involved here - the one that's integral to the
Rio 125, and the one from my old tank, which has been inside the 125
tank for the last three months (I've had both running).

The old one would be the one that would be running inside the 125
during this procedure, so it would be operating as normal. The other
- the larger filter from the 125 - wouldn't be. That's why I'd be
leaving both filters in the 125 afterwards - to give the larger one a
chance to re-colonise.

Make sense? Or am I missing something?

--
FishNoob

In article ,
says...
The only problem I see with your plan is that it's going to be pretty
hard on you.

Do you think so? I'm thinking:

Tomorrow: drain water to 1/3 usual level, move old filter towards the
bottom of the tank, put old heater in too, silicone dry bit of back
of tank, slide background in, press into place.

Sunday/Monday (once silicone has cured): replace water to its usual
level. Start Rio 125 filter running again.

That doesn't seem like a whole lot of work. Less than adding the
plants next weekend anyway!

If you take Prozac, double your dose until the project is
over. The fish will probably enjoy the ride and the change of scenery.
If the fish seem to be getting stressed out, toss a couple of Prozac
to them too. Maybe you could tape the Sunday Comics page on the wall
of their temporary tank. Give them something to do while you fret.

LOL

Now
if it were my tank . . . I'd give it the same background that all my
others have - a piece of black, dark grey, or dark blue fabric, with a
weave or faint print to give it some texture, a couple of pieces of
invisible tape and call it good. Corduroy and heavy flannels work
nicely. I also have several other tanks, usually used for breeding and
raising fry, that I've spray painted the back and bottom glass with
flat black barbecue paint. Saves a trip to the dressmaker each time I
set one of them up.

The fabric is a good idea; I hadn't thought of that. Might do that on
the smaller tank when I get around to setting it up again. But there
are silicone smears from where a background had previously been in
the Rio 125, so I think I really need to put something *inside* it,
because with a background on the outside, those will be visible.

--
FishNoob

Just remember. Since you have been running with two filters the have been
sharing the load between them. If you take one out of the equation in a
small tank it can cause a mini cycle. Now take into consideration you are
going to have the same number of fish with 1/3 the water in the tank. If a
mini cycle does happen you could be looking at ammonia & nitrite levels
rising quickly.


"FishNoob" wrote in message
...
In article ,
says...
The only problem I see with your plan is that it's going to be pretty
hard on you.

Do you think so? I'm thinking:

Tomorrow: drain water to 1/3 usual level, move old filter towards the
bottom of the tank, put old heater in too, silicone dry bit of back
of tank, slide background in, press into place.

Sunday/Monday (once silicone has cured): replace water to its usual
level. Start Rio 125 filter running again.

That doesn't seem like a whole lot of work. Less than adding the
plants next weekend anyway!

If you take Prozac, double your dose until the project is
over. The fish will probably enjoy the ride and the change of scenery.
If the fish seem to be getting stressed out, toss a couple of Prozac
to them too. Maybe you could tape the Sunday Comics page on the wall
of their temporary tank. Give them something to do while you fret.

LOL

Now
if it were my tank . . . I'd give it the same background that all my
others have - a piece of black, dark grey, or dark blue fabric, with a
weave or faint print to give it some texture, a couple of pieces of
invisible tape and call it good. Corduroy and heavy flannels work
nicely. I also have several other tanks, usually used for breeding and
raising fry, that I've spray painted the back and bottom glass with
flat black barbecue paint. Saves a trip to the dressmaker each time I
set one of them up.

The fabric is a good idea; I hadn't thought of that. Might do that on
the smaller tank when I get around to setting it up again. But there
are silicone smears from where a background had previously been in
the Rio 125, so I think I really need to put something *inside* it,
because with a background on the outside, those will be visible.

--
FishNoob

In article ,
CanadianCray wrote:
Just remember. Since you have been running with two filters the have been
sharing the load between them. If you take one out of the equation in a
small tank it can cause a mini cycle. Now take into consideration you are
going to have the same number of fish with 1/3 the water in the tank. If a
mini cycle does happen you could be looking at ammonia & nitrite levels
rising quickly.

Oh cycle schmycle. Turns out Barr is right (again). Stick 3" of
floating plants in any tank and you don't need to cycle it.

I tried it a few times, it works. Damn his eyes.

Water sprite, sprigs of hygro, duckweed, hornwort, that sorta
stuff.


--
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FishNoob wrote,
There are two filters involved here ..........
The old one would be the one that would be running inside the 125
during this procedure, so it would be operating as normal. The other
- the larger filter from the 125 - wouldn't be.

Mabe I'm the one missing something here (?) - if both filters were on
the same tank to start with, the bacteria colony needed for the
bio-load would be split between the two filters. To remove one and let
half the bacteria colony die off, the colony within the other filter
would be under sized, alowing mini spikes of ammonia and nitrites while
the other filter is re-colonising - playing 'catch up' for the next few
weeks. Now, if it were to be placed on the side of a bucket of tank
water, and fed a few drops of pure ammonia every day, for however long,
there wouldn't be any die off of the colony and no need to cycle the
filter again - jmo............ Frank