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Dealing with condensation

The ammonia from the AS at the start is not a big deal IME, especially if you are fishless cycling. In fact it saves having to add an ammonia source! Once the nitrite is down to 0 your can add Otos and possibly shrimp to stay on top of any algae and then wait a while longer until you add other fish. This gives you a nice long time into adding the fish and your filter and tank will be so mature that you can add a nice shoal of 20 tetras in one go IME.

If you do have anyone nearby then if you can get some mature filter media it will speed up the maturation lots - shame you're all the way up in Kendal!
 
Shame you're all the way down in Nottingham :lol:

My LFS is two minutes away - not much good, mind, but I reckon I could cadge some active filter media off them. But Kendal has no fishkeeping club, and LFS says no-one does planted tanks up here - got the impression they're just not interested 🙁

Still, one good thing about Kendal is that my garden is crammed with rock - the whole town is awash with the stuff - so I'm hoping I can economise on hardscape!

Re. that shoal of tetras - how did you know?! As a first-time fishkeeper, I almost feel obliged to consider a shoal of neons as the major population for my first tank. It seems keeping them is almost as much a rite of passage as goldfish (which I missed out on, too). But the phenomenal affection shown on these pages for rummynose tetras means they're high up the list too.
 
Oops, I've just looked at my own posts and realised I'd mentioned the neons and/or rummies already 😳 -so you're not psychic after all.

But how about the size of that tetra shoal? In a 90x45x45 tank, how big should it be?
 
Well I am a teacher mate so nearly psychic!!! Personally I like to get smaller fish and add much bigger shoals. The tiny fish in a big shoal of 30 or so give a real fake sense of scale. I'd look at some of the microrasboras, Lampeye killifish (which I've just bought), Pseudomugil rainbows, small danios and maybe tiny tetras like Ember tetras. Another advantage of the smaller fish is that you can keep shrimp more sauccessfully as they are a lot less able to eat the babies due to the smaller mouths!

If you want to go with standard sized tetras then neons are nice but cardinals are way more classy... I'd get at least 20 still.
 
Nice modern windows are the real cure, but in light of that, I've had to go to a dehumidifyer and a fan with 5 open top aquariums in my place, mould city otherwise..........

PITA, not bad when it's low humidity here in /CA like most of the year, but the wet cool winters are murder.
You folks would feel right at home. I've not seen the sun in 2-3 weeks, fog........

Regards,
Tom Barr
 
Ed Seeley said:
Personally I like to get smaller fish and add much bigger shoals. The tiny fish in a big shoal of 30 or so give a real fake sense of scale. I'd look at some of the microrasboras, Lampeye killifish (which I've just bought), Pseudomugil rainbows, small danios and maybe tiny tetras like Ember tetras. Another advantage of the smaller fish is that you can keep shrimp more sauccessfully as they are a lot less able to eat the babies due to the smaller mouths!
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See, fish are completely unknown territory for me. I can see the attraction of a nice orderly shoal, so the rummies reputation for that had me thinking along those lines. And I had an uncle who had well-lit neons in a tank in a purple painted hallway (yes, an arty type) that wowed me as a child. And I certainly would prefer lots of littl'uns - I still have slight reservations about keeping anything captive, so tiny fish in a (relatively) big tank makes sense. Sorry if this offends anyone, but there we are - I suppose that worry won't go until I've kept some happy little breeders and can see for myself that they are enjoying themselves.

I've looked at static images of different fish on the web, of course. It's obvious that fish have very different habits and movement characteristics that you can only appreciate firsthand - but with one poxy LFS with unmarked tanks, it makes trying to get a feel for what's out there next to impossible. But that list of suggestions will certainly help focus things when I get a chance to visit a decent store.

Can you tell my interest in this hobby was spiked by the plants, not the fish? :lol:
plantbrain said:
Nice modern windows are the real cure, but in light of that, I've had to go to a dehumidifyer and a fan with 5 open top aquariums in my place, mould city otherwise.
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We've got big 1930's bay windows with leaded lights that look a treat, but I know we'll have to rip 'em out sooner or later. Cost a fortune...

Sounds like you're in San Fran, Tom - nice! Never mind cool winters, we've just had a ton of snow as only northern England can do it - soggy, slushy, icy and 'orrible!
 
It's not the condensation on the windows that's a problem in our house, but we have 9" thick solid walls that get cold and condensation forms on them. We've only been in the house a year so this is the first time we've noticed mould forming just above the skirting boards. And no, I don't even have an open topped tank!
 
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