Archer Fish... Your thoughts :)

[Moreliaman]

Thats the beauty of salt in water, it buffs the water and makes it clear (unlike regular yellow fresh water).

activated carbon removes any water tanning, if i remember correctly tanning is caused by the fishes urine & i think marine aquarium water would turn yellow if it didnt have the correct filteration, in a marine aquarium the protien skimmer would also remove it & combined with an ozoniser, would make it crystal clear

just have some over hanging branches slim6y, can we see a pic of the set-up/pond ? sounds like its a smart set-up.

Wood also tan's the water, but again carbon will remove it.

 

[norris]

Thats true moreliaman, thats one thing all marine systems always have (i think) - a protein skimmer.

 

[norris]

Maybe you could put a branch over the water with a container of some sort or larvae in it ( meal worms) and as the adults come out (somehow make it only adults can escape) they crawl out onto branch and get spat down.

I've also fed my archers meal worms by the way (archers basically eat anything- insects, crustaceans, fish, worms).

 

[Moreliaman]

ahhh...not always norris, it is possible to run one without a skimmer, but its far better to have one as it remove's the protein (waste) before it gets absorbed by the bacteria in the filter, this is better as it also means theres going to be less nitrate produced by the bacteria.

The ozoniser eletrically charges the bubbles in the skimmer, which attracts more protein to the bubble.

 

[norris]

Ok, my mistake

 

[Moreliaman]

what mistake ? you havent made any that i can see:?

Im not replying to deliberately correct you mate, just happy to pass on what i know.

 

[norris]

Oh, my mistake

 

[Moreliaman]

What???:lol::lol::lol:

Cant we have a pic this week slim6y ?? You never know, the world could be hit by a meteor & be ended by next year

 

[norris]

He said he would early next year. It would be pretty cool to have a pond that big.

Do you have any of these fish we're talking about in uk moreliaman?

 

[Moreliaman]

I kept some a few years ago norris, had a 6ft x 2ft x 2ft tank with archers and mudskippers, they are fascinating things to watch.

 

[norris]

cool

 

[slim6y]

Mudskippers - you've just described a Cairns esturine environment - I never thoguht about getting those haha!

Do they need land?

What do they eat?

No... just the archer fish - that's all i want... but mudskippers, they're better than axolotils (sp?) - hmmmm... But no - I will have prawns and archer fish...

The reason it's taking a while MM is because I need the pond to 'settle' - it's completely refilled so there's limited amounts of bacteria and the plants were only put in yesterday - they won't have taken root just yet. And I don't yet know how they will tolerate the salty water. So before I deprive any fish of oxygen i better see that the whole set up will work

 

[Moreliaman]

Hey Slim, It was a really interesting set-up to watch, I put in overhanging branches, with some thicker ones half in/half out the water for the skippers to climb up & some nice large bits of slate (the tank was just over half full btw) thats all the land they needed. Watch the males as they can be a bit aggressive, esp towards other males.
Sorry I can’t remember the exact species I had, perhaps you would be allowed to catch some native ones ?
They will eat the same stuff as the archers (although they seemed to love shrimps esp.) also fed them on earthworms, wax worms, crickets etc.
You have the advantage of it being out side, so I reckon it should do really well.
I usually find it takes about 2 weeks before you can start adding a few fish & they say it takes at least 4-5 weeks for the filter to mature, but as im sure you know that depends on the amount of waste in the water that can be absorbed, hence why fish are put in on a gradual basis for the bacteria to increase in number.
Size will also be an advantage for you, bearing in mind you’re playing with 5000ltrs, the more water you have the more stable the environment, i wouldnt have thought youll have too many problems as long as you dont put too many fish in there.
I know exactly where you’re coming from on the plants, there aren’t many freshwater ones that can take a brackish environment & marine ones also struggle because there isn’t enough salt !!, You’ll just have to try em I guess or see if you can get some native ones perhaps? (Although if plants are struggling you could gradually add more freshwater as most brackish water fish will survive in much lower salt densities )
The mangroves you suggested should take off & most plants will grow really fast with all that natural sunlight, so if you don’t mind doing a bit of regular trimming !!
Personally id want to start of part of the food chain & chuck 10-20 female guppies in, don’t bother with males as im sure there will be plenty of them 6 months down the line:lol:
It would also increase the number of bacteria when it makes the ammonia levels spike quicker.
Cant wait for a pic, sounds like a really cool set-up youve got there m8
Still waiting on the velvet worm pics too from hornet !!:lol:
Busy people!!

 

[Moreliaman]

Forgot too add, I'd only use carbon in filters when its needed & then remove it when youre finished, it can remove chemicals like iron which are benifical to plants & youd be wasting your time if you put any treatments in (i'll will remove those too).
Also remember carbon only usually lasts a few months before it needs re-charging or changing, but it can be left in longer as a good porus material for the bacteria to colonise.
Really carbon should only be used when needed & then removed from the filter once its done its purpose.

 

[norris]

Hey moreliamna, can carbon start to release the stuff that it absorbs. I heard you should put it in, then take it out a couple of days later or it will release what it filters back into the tank.

 

[Moreliaman]

Dont take this as gospel, but i dont think it does, it just absorb's to the point of saturation & then stops because it cant take anymore in, I guess it could leach some out, just depends on what its absorbed....you can re-charge it a few times by soaking it in a salt solution for 24-48 hrs, after the 3-4th time its better to throw it away & start with new.
And activated carbon is better than just plain carbon.

 

[norris]

Ok, thanks. I don't even think I really need it anyway. I virtually always have carbon in my tank, but I don't think I will any more. I didn't realize it could effect plants.