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What to do with my Fluval Edge

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Debs

New Member
Joined
3 Sep 2010
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10
I have never posted on a forum before as always been a big scared of the answers - well here goes!

Anyway got some money for my birthday and saw the Fluval Edge in my lfs while getting the Koi food. Thought it would be easy as it was so small and would fit on a shelf and no special stand and no shoring up the floor and thought it may well sit there for at least a week before "him in doors" realised we had more fish.

I've kept Koi for more than 20 years and still have the same one's we started with, except they are massive now even the cats don't bother with them. We used to keep marines but again it was a big tank - in those days it was "the bigger the better". The advice was always more volume more stable.

I think I have been a bit over zealous and haven't thought about what I was trying to do, I just liked the tank and my birthday money was burning a hole in my pocket.

I didn't like the lights so have changed them for LED's and added a little blue strip LED for night effect. I've taken the carbon out the filter and added an extra bag of the bio media that comes with the EDGE. I buy RO water every week with minerals added (have just stopped the mineral bit). My Amonia, Nitrite and Nitrate is all at 0. My PH is a bit high at 8 which is why I have stopped having minerals added to the RO water and will add my own in when I need to. The Kh and Gh is coming up "moderately hard" and "Excellent Buffer".

I'm still not happy with the lights as it still seems dark at the edges and have found this web site http://www.theledshopuk.com/fluvaledgeaquarium.html - does anyone think this upgrade would be good. The plants I have seem OK but I want to do better. I don't even know really what I have put in there. I know I have a couple of moss balls, Java Fern, some Anubis Nana and about 3 or 4 other plants that I just liked the look of.

I have gone mad with the fish and put in 6 Endlers and 4 Galaxy Rasbora (renamed but can't remember) all very small and will only grow to about 2cm according to the lfs. I have 2 Amano Shrimps and 6 Crystal Red Shrimp. Although I know I have gone mad with it they were all put in slowly and have all been there happily for over a month.

I do 25% water changes every week with said RO water. Personnally I find this "little" tank needs more work than my 3000gallon pond. I look at these forums and there is so much knowledge about the science of it all - when I went to school we didn't have to do a science for O level so I dropped the lot so not sure I feel confident about CO2 equipment incase I end up poisoning everything.

The birthday money has long gone now but any advise on my idea to upgrade the lights, what media would be best in the little filter and are my readings OK, should I drop the Ph a bit. I have had to give up on the Fluval Edge heater - I have gone through 3 of them and they all failed to raise the temperature above 72 (my pond in the garden with no heating was more than that) so have now put in an Aqua EL 25w Easy heater and it is now a steady 77 degrees.

Long first post (I know) but any advice gratefully received for my new hobby - maybe next year another tank for everything that outgrows this one.
 
Hi, welcome to UKAPS!

I've worked on these a few times but never actually owned one. The lights are dull and it's going to be hard to overcome given the location of the light fitting - right in the centre and close to the surface.

If it were my tank then i'd aquascape the tank into a "mound" composition where all the plants are grouped to the centre of the tank, thus giving them optimum light and flow.

I don't presume you want to go down the route of CO2 for this little tank so i'd suggest a bottle of Easy Carbo and Tropica Plant Nutrition Plus dosed according to the instructions.

See how it goes for a month or so.

Hopefully you'll make a great success out of it, it's quite rare to see a well aquascaped Edge - a challenge maybe ;0)

I hope this helps.
 
Thanks very much for the comments.

I will think carefully this time as to what to do. Now the tank is fully stocked I don't want to terrorise the inhabitants. I have only really had the tank set up since August and took out the bamboo background and added wood and some rocks from lfs and several plants. If I change my mind again do I need to get all the fish and shrimps out or can you re-vamp with them all insitu. Catching the little blighters in an Edge will not be an easy task.


Maybe I should have a go at uploading a picture so you can see what I have done and then advise what might look better or if I am on the right track already.

A bit off my original topic but I came down this morning and one of my Crystal Red Shimps was dead. I ran the 3 main tests Amonia, Nitrite and Nitrate and they are still all Zero. Amazing for a 23l tank really. Ph is still at 8 though. They have all been in there about a month with no problems and have grown a bit as I always seem to be picking out empty skins. Do I need to panic.!!
 
Think I have worked out how to upload and you can see my pics OK. I hope they are not that bad as this is my first go at aquascaping. Originally the Edge was going to be a few silk plants and a couple of fish. Since August it has all got out of hand and this is what I have done. As you can see the fish must be very tiny as you can hardly see one of them.

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In my original email I showed a website which is advertising Edge mod lights. Do you think this may improve the dark edges or is it just my layout. I hope this is not a strip down and start again. I sort of like the "unkept" jungle look.
 
Debs, although the lighting spectrum may not necessarily be correct (I am certainly no expert on lighting) could you not potentially move the tank into your kitchen or some such and take advantage of potential under the counter lighting? Or use a desk lamp to light the tank from above, as this could potentially light the area's that the built in system is not covering?

I am sure someone with more knowledge will be able to offer a more technical and informed opinion but looking at the tank I think it would be quite difficult to cast the light across the tank from where the bulb is currently positioned.
 
My daughters got one of these tanks and if you tweak the bulbs slightly you can get them to splay out sideways
Matt
 
Kitchen move not really an option as quite small and I could do with all the work tops. Also it is north facing so what with the cooking and central heating on timed I figured temperature would fluctuate more. However in the lounge I keep staring at it wondering what I can do next and how to change it.

I am beginning to think it might just be the layout. I have tall plants on the right and they are on the top glass already. On the left I have a piece of bogwood (I think) which I only just got into the tank through the very tiny opening and only after removing the HOB filter. Maybe instead of having it upright I could tip it on its side and get rid of the taller plants.

Any ideas.
 
you have some Java windelov planted in the substrate, you might want to remove it from the substrate and plant the rhizome above the substrate as it will rot the rhizome and you end up with a dead plant.
 
Is that the one with the jagged edges on the right. Thanks for the info. Am thinking of mving things about again and having the wood on the left lying down this would then give me more planting on that. Should it really be attached to a piece of wood or rock - does it latch on like the anubias.

Thanks again
 
yes, java ferns and anubias are much of the same when planting. If you want it on the substrate, then superglue it to a pebble and slightly bury it, leaving the rhizome above.
 
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