Aquarium Fish

I started this tank out as a community tank because that is what I was familiar with. The tank has Otocinculous(Otos), SAE, Red Tailed Shark, Zebra Danios, Yellow Barbs, Red Eyed Tetra and 2 Male Kribs.

The Kribs where added because I thought it was time to venture into th Cichlid world. I thought I had purchased a male and female but I ended up with 2 males.






The aquarium is peacfull for the most part but the SAE, Red Tailed Shark and Kribs generally are agressive towards each other. The RTS and SAE are 4-5" in length and the Kribs are about 2" right now. The kribs are growing quickly.

Yellow Barbs




Simaese Algae Eater (SAE)



Red Tailed Shark (RTS)

Fertilization

I use the Estimative Index method to dose fertilizers. I will give a summary of what I do here. If you want more information on the EI method read about it here.

EI seems to be the newer PMDD (Poor Man's Dosing Drops). PMDD is still widely used and I have had much success with it in the past. A lot of people have had success with EI so I thought I would give it a shot.

Some people say that you do not need test kits but I like to double check the Nitrates and more importantly the phosphates prior to dosing. Personally I do not like to blindly does phosphates. Too much and you have pea soup and various other types of algae. Been there, done that.

TIP: Purchase fertilizers from a Hydroponic store and mix them in distilled water. More details on how I mix everything in another post. I get about a 9-12 months worth of fertilizer for $20. Try and beat that.

EI operates on a 7 day cycle. I dose the tank to the levels below. I may not be following the EI rules 100%, but I do what has worked for me.

Day 1
50% Water Change
5 PPM Nitrates
.5 PPM Phosphate
7.5 ml of a Trace Mix
Dry dose Potassium Sulphate (1 tsp which is about 10 PPM for my tank)

Day 2
Do nothing

Day 3
5 PPM Nitrates
Test Phosphates, Dose as needed to 1PPM
7.5 ml of a Trace Mix
Dry dose Potassium Sulphate (.5 tsp which is about 5 PPM for my tank)

Day 4
Do nothing

Day 5
Test Nitrates and Phosphates.
Dose Nitrates to 10 PPM
Phosphates, Dose as needed to 1 PPM
7.5 ml of a Trace Mix
Dry dose Potassium Sulphate (.5 tsp which is about 5 PPM for my tank)

Day 6
Do nothing

Day 7
Dose Nitrates to 10 PPM
7.5 ml of a Trace Mix
Dry dose Potassium Sulphate (.5 tsp which is about 5 PPM for my tank)

Equipment Pictures

The pressurized co2 setup is simple. I just run the co2 line into the xp3 intake.
Here is a picture of the regulator on the 5lb tank.

I just recently purchased this nice 10lb aluminum tank. Given my work schedule it is very difficult to get a CO2 refill so I will use the 5lb as a backup.

It is hard to see exactly what this is but I installed a GFCI plug. With all the water an aquarium has, this is a must have and very easy to install. Safety first.

The XP3 filter. This filter has kept my tank clean. I am not sure why some people double up on the filters. I have not found that it is necessary.