1. It seems like the filter is causing much more of a current in this tank than it was in the smaller one. I have a Whisper 40i in-tank filter, 170 gph. I have noticed that when I put the food in it swirls around in a circle at the top of the tank, which it did not do in the 10 gallon. I have the filter in the back corner of the tank, would it do better if it was in the middle? Since it takes up swimming space I try and keep it as much out of the way as possible. I will be getting a new, better filter for this tank soon, but this one will be on there for awhile so it can help with the cycle. It seems like the fish like to stay underneath the filter canister, where there is no ciurrent, so I am wondering if this is too mcuh for them? They are huge fish (between 5-10") so they are very strong. They do like their bubble wall though, and hang out in it sometimes. I try and turn the bubble wall off sometimes, to make the water more peaceful, is that advisable?
Here is a current picture of the tank, in case that helps you to see how it is set up. The big black thing in the upper right corner is (obviously) the filter. The bubble wall is in the rear left. The white bag-looking things are nylons full of gravel from the old tank, to help with the cycle. The bag hanging out of the filter is crushed coral to try and raise my ph and buffer.
2. The water seems a little bit cloudy. like when the fish scrabble around in the gravel stuff comes floating up. This never happened in their old tank either, so I am wondering what the cause is. I am guessing it is one of these things:
***This filter is not strong enough for this tank (it is the same filter I used in the 10 though), so more junk is left lying around.
***I have larger gravel in this tank, medium sized river rocks. In the old tank I had smaller, more standard aquarium gravel. It seems like with this larger gravel there is more space for stuff to hide in between it. I am considering switching to bare bottom or maybe using a food dish.
***I no longer have an undergravel filter. I had one in the old tank because Joanna (who I got the fish from) had always used it and we were trying to retain the cycle when we moved the fish and tank. I decided, on the advice of people here, not to use on in the 20 gallon tank.
***I also considered the possibility of a cycle problem since this is a new tank, and bacteria issues, but my levels seem ok, same as they were in the old tank. I have added some crushed coral to the filter to try and raise the ph, but I wouldn't think that would make the water cloudy? I moved the old filter and some gravel over to the new tank to help with cycling. The ph problem was present in the old tank as well.
My levels:
Ph: 6.4 (low, but I am trying to raise it and my buffer with crushed coral)
Ammonia: 0-.25
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 5
Alkalinity: between 40-80
Hardness: 50
I could only get strip tests for the alkalinity and hardness, but the rest are done by drop tests.
I do 50% water changes every other day to keep the ammonia under control, and I am using Prime water conditioner.
3. I have an ornament in the tank, it is a plastic thing that looks like rock and has little cave areas for the fish to swim through, you can kind of see it in the picture of my tank above. My question about it is that it is hollow, and I have heard that is not good for the tank. It has no bottom on it and is completely hollow inside. It isn't shoved down in the gravel much, I thought that would help the water flow in it better. Is this safe? What if I move it each day to keep the water from getting too stagnant? Or should I remove it?
4. This tank has a flourescent lighted hood. They did not have a light in their tank before, and I wonder if they are adjusting to it? Like i said, they like to stay down under the filter mostly, which is probably the darkest area of the tank. They are very sensitive to light changes, for example if the room is dark and I even turn on the room light they freak out. I understand this is fairly normal because they have no eyelids. So I am trying to adjust them as easily as possible. I am keeping the tank light on during the day, and off at night. Is having it on all day too much for them at first? I was thinking having it on all day would be consistent since the changes seem to be what bothers them the most. Any suggestions on acclimating them to their tank light, beyond what I am doing already?
5. Last one I promise! I am going to be buying a new filter for this tank, since 170 gph of my current filter is not enoiugh for four commons in a 20 gallon. I am trying to choose between the Penguin 350 or the Emperor 280.
Emperor 280 $44.99 280 gph
Penguin 350 $39.99 350 gph
Any suggestions on which one is better? I am thinking the Penguin since it has a higher gph. But i figure there is a reason why the Emperor is pricier.
Thanks for any advice! I am still a total newbie, and always worried about my fish. I am trying to take really good care fo them, and want them to be happy. Sorry this is so long....
