# One week Finnex 4



## Quentin (Mar 16, 2011)

Up for a bout a week.

Finnex 4 G
21 LED light replaced with 9W TOM Perch Light
Standard HOB filter it comes with
Sand sustrate
3 Gold Barbs
1 Bloodfin Tetra
2 shrimp coming soon, going to let water stablize some more
Plants: 1 compacta, 1 argentine sword, 1 idk? (the smallest one)

I had a 2 gallon tank the fish came from, so I just moved them here. 

Orginal set up with led light


















New light.





























Plants are looking so so. Gonna keep an eye on em.


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## Zac (Dec 16, 2010)

Was the original light not strong enough? I like the look of the back of the aquarium w/out the rounded edges, lol. Nice work!


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## HolyAngel (Oct 18, 2010)

I hope the substrate and/or filter were seeded before you put the fish in. Tank definitely needs to be cycled..

Other than that it's looking good ^^

Could go for some more plants, also some ferts or root tabs would help If you're not already using them


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## Quentin (Mar 16, 2011)

Yea that orginal LED light, was weak. It had dark spots in the corner, looks much brighter in that picture. And plus it was on 2W. Yea tank still needs time to cycle. I put about a gallon of water from my old tank in there which hopefully helped a bit. 

Should I wait another week or two to buy some shrimp or would they be safe now? Also would 2 or 3 shrimp have enough room with that driftwood? It takes up a bit of space, but provides some nice hiding places. 

Not sure what you mean by seeded? Buy I had the tank running for 2 or 3 days with no fish. And I yea i need to add some ferts to it.


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## PaulG (Oct 10, 2010)

Check your water parameters.


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## TLE041 (Jan 16, 2010)

Good start so far!

I had a Finnex nano recently (just sold it). It had a 26W CF light that could grow any plant (and an algae farm if you weren't careful). I was surprised to see they changed that to this underpowered LED fixture.

You should consider switching the stock HOB for an Aquaclear 20. It can store a ton more media and give you much better filtration.


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## HolyAngel (Oct 18, 2010)

i would wait atleast another 2 weeks on adding any shrimp to make sure the tank is cycled.

'Seeded' just means it's used filter media that has been running on another tank, it's therefore 'seeded' with the beneficial bacteria the tank needs to keep ammonia and nitrites at bay, while producing nitrates for your plants 

Tank water doesn't really have much if any bacteria, its the substrate and filter especially. 

As per what TLE said, an AC 20 or a zoomed 501 canister filter would add a lot more media capacity and higher/better filtration rates. Up to you though on that. ^^


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## sjuapseorn (Feb 17, 2011)

you know.. 
I have the Finnex 4g and the stock HOB seems to be pretty decent. I had room to add some Fluval BioMax in a nylon baggy behind my cartridge.

However... If you're interested in knowing Finnex has a Canister filter system

If you still have the other tank running you might want to put that filter in the Finnex for a while and give the tank a chance to cycle. 

I didn't have that option on my old tank.. it was a ghetto built in top thing and now I'm paying for it.


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## swoof (Jun 30, 2010)

Just wanted to mention something. You know those gold barb get quite big right? They can be bully's in small groups too.


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## Quentin (Mar 16, 2011)

The barbs get along with the tetra in there. They kind of hang out together. You think the barbs will bully/eat shrimp? If they get too big, then i'll move them to my dad's bigger tank. 

I need to post an update on this tank, probably do it in a week or so.


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## sjuapseorn (Feb 17, 2011)

I know for certain...
Black Neons + CRS = Fat Neons & No CRS 

I've always heard that barbs can get mean.. Be interested in seeing if they stay friendly or not.

Oh and I'm going to scold you for only having 1 shoaling fish in that tank.. Poor tetra only hanging out with the barbs because he/she has no other tetras to hang with..

but thats just my opinion and you know what they say about those..


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

I agree you've got some serious stocking issues in this tank.

First off, you didn't cycle your tank properly before adding those fish. They're going to experience toxic levels of ammonia and nitrites very soon if they are not already.

I recommend reading through this write-up I did for TFH about how to start up a new tank: http://forums.tfhmagazine.com/viewtopic.php?f=132&t=26634&sid=e6f64a1986141893617d9b5d0a64f233

Second, even if your fish do manage to pull through the tank's cycle, both are not only schooling fish so should be kept with a minimum of 4-5 more of their own kind, but also both simply get too big and/or need more swimming room than they have in a 4gal tank.

I'd rehome your current fish ASAP to make sure they don't get stuck in toxic soup, get your tank's biofilter fully cycled, and then pick some more appropriate species for your tank.

Shrimp-only tanks are awesome and would be a good choice. Or shrimp and some "nano" fish like Celestial Pearl Danios, dwarf rasporas, or Ember tetras... fish that stay much smaller than what you've currently got.


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## Quentin (Mar 16, 2011)

:icon_sad: ok i'll look into finding approriate fish. I got all those fish back before I did any research on which fish to buy, back when I had them in a 2 gallon tank (got the fish mid January) . I'm sure they are happy their tank size doubled. But looks like they still might be in a tank too small. No bueno.


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## sjuapseorn (Feb 17, 2011)

**Theoretical advice**
You mentioned your dad's bigger tank.. How hard would it be to make up a bag of Biomax to fit the filter on your Finnex and then place that bag in the filter unit on his tank for 2 weeks. That would build up alot of beneficial bacteria in the biomedia that you could then transfer back to your tank. 

If I had that option I would have done it


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## Quentin (Mar 16, 2011)

Tank has been up for 15 days. Still waiting for cycle to finish. Ammonia (edit ammonia is safe, was reading scale wrong) and Nirites still running high. Nitrates at 10. Water is still discolored from the driftwood. I soaked the wood before putting it in but I guess it wasn't long enough. Hopefully it will go back clear in time and after some water changes (shouldI take wood out and soak it more?). Anyone know what the ghostly white looking mucus is inlast pic? It's on a few parts of the wood. Also looking for a light that would rise from the back of the tank instead of the side. Hate how the wire hangs. Let me know if you have any ideas on lights. Also added a Anubias nana on the driftwood.

EDIT- also started using Excel and Flourish Comprehensive. Plan on getting some shrimp in a week or 2. CRS or Cherry or both.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Kudos on taking care of the fish and now waiting out the cycle! :smile:

To deal with the tannins from your DW you can either keep buying and replacing carbon in your filter, try and fit a bag of Purigen in there (IDK if there's room or not?), or just keep up with the water changes.

Or you can try boiling it some more to pull more tannins out.

No telling for sure how long it will leech- I have a piece that I've had for more than 8 years and it still leeches. I've had other pieces that stopped leeching after a few days.

The white stuff on the wood is fungus. Normal, totally harmless, and will go away eventually on its own if the shrimp don't eat it first.


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## Quentin (Mar 16, 2011)

Thanks. And turns out i was reading the Ammonia scale wrong it was giving me .35 and I was like no way. Turns out it's under .02. 

I don't have a pot big enough to boil the wood. So idk if thats an option. My current pots only let me get a part of it in there not the whole thing. I do about a 20% water chagne once a week, should I increaes it or stick to once a week. I'll look into the carbon thing. Thanks


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

I stick big driftwood in my dishwasher on the "sanitize" cycle with no chemicals. So that may be another option.

[I make sure to do it when no Significant Other is around, though... :hihi:]


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## sjuapseorn (Feb 17, 2011)

lauraleellbp said:


> I stick big driftwood in my dishwasher on the "sanitize" cycle with no chemicals. So that may be another option.
> 
> [I make sure to do it when no Significant Other is around, though... :hihi:]


 
Hahaha that's grounds for divorce right there.. Unless your significant other is a planted tank fanatic too


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## mattycakesclark (Jun 11, 2010)

sjuapseorn said:


> Hahaha that's grounds for divorce right there.. Unless your significant other is a planted tank fanatic too


I lived with a roommate once that would microwave her socks in the winter morns to warm them up . . . . until they caught fire :icon_conf

Specifically, what type of sand did you use?
I like tannins . . . . it's natural


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## Quentin (Mar 16, 2011)

Update. Tank now has 4 CRS and 1 Ghost (he was the test shrimp). All the shrimp and fish get along just fine. Oh and Matty I used "CaribSea Super Naturals Moonlight Sand Premium Aquarium Substrate" from Petco. It's nice, but clouds the water so easily when I need to plant.

I plan on soon ditching most my plants and getting some new ones. That will be my next update.


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## demonr6 (Mar 14, 2011)

The easiest method I found to handle the wood issue is run it under hella hot water then soak in the same preferrably in a soaking tub - you know the kind you get at the hospital that you take home because they inevitably charged your insurance $700 for it. I repeat that process twice daily for three or four days and the water runs pretty much clear. I do like the darkwater tanks though so I do not go through the process completely but rather the initial treatment.


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## Quentin (Mar 16, 2011)

Well 2 month update. All my shrimp died:icon_frow. I blame the Gold Barbs as the culprits and maybe the high ph, its at 7.5. Also no nitrates. All other water parameters are good. I'm going to take all the fish out, buy more shrimp (get the water perferct first) and then get 2 carefully selected "shrimp friendly" fish. Also going to rescape. Should have my new driftwood in a week. Will probably be a month before I have it where I want. Oh, notice the new 13w light. Woot, about the only good thing that happened.


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## Jerrayy (Mar 16, 2011)

Quentin said:


> I put about a gallon of water from my old tank in there which hopefully helped a bit.


Hey man you gotta remember that water does not hold nitrifying bacteria, 
they only stay on surfaces like plants, or filter media
your fish may stay at the bottom until the tank is properly cycled


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## Quentin (Mar 16, 2011)

LOL, that post was from 2 months ago. Tank finished cycling long time ago. And I learned that water doesn't carry much if any beneficial bacteria.


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## demonr6 (Mar 14, 2011)

Celestial Pearl Danios.. they get along fine in the same tank you have with my ghost and Amano shrimp. Mine is a freaking forest too..


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## gnod (Mar 24, 2011)

hm...do you have a thermometer?
asking only cause i don't see it on your tank..
could the temperature not be right for the shrimps?


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## Overgrowth (Feb 19, 2012)

Are you getting big shrimp, like Amanos or Ghosts? If you are getting more CRS and smaller shrimp like that, otocinclus catfish are the only safe fish. Also, your CRS probably died because of the high pH. If you want to keep them, invest in an RO/DI unit or buy lots of distilled water at the store. CRS are really hard to keep; I don't even want to try them anymore because all the correct parameters are hard to reach. I just don't have the money for an RO/DI unit to keep the pH stable.

^ If you don't have the money, stick to neocaridina shrimp like RCS, Blue Pearls, etc.


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## Quentin (Mar 16, 2011)

Ha Overgrowth this is like a year old. I should update this. Actually seeing this thread back on top will make me update this. My tank looks a ton different than the last pics I posted a year ago.


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## Overgrowth (Feb 19, 2012)

Quentin said:


> Ha Overgrowth this is like a year old. I should update this. Actually seeing this thread back on top will make me update this. My tank looks a ton different than the last pics I posted a year ago.


Oh. Lol. :icon_redf I didn't see the year. But im eager to see new pics!


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