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Permalink Reply by Peter on January 4, 2014 at 8:30pm

I suggest u get the biggest uv filter u can afford to fight te green water u probably will get

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Permalink Reply by Eric Seeger on January 5, 2014 at 1:26pm

Oh yeah. I'll look into it. Thanks man!

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Permalink Reply by Robert Jango on January 9, 2014 at 7:41am

If you put Duckweed in the tank you won't get any green water. It doesn't matter if its in direct sunlight for 10 hours. Additionally the rainwater that falls into the tank will be mostly devoid of minerals and useless for algae.You can also use Water Lettuce or Water Hyacinths. Just about any floating plant will kill algae on the spot. If you put a rock in the tank it might harbor some algae on the surface - that's it.

I have my best luck breeding and raising difficult egg-layers and soft water fish outside in the summer. No filters or other bullshit - just the tanks, sun, fresh air and natural water changes with rain-water. This is by far the best environment for fish. And if you can throw in some live mosquito larvae, bloodworms, or earthworms, your fish will breed like crazy and show colors you never thought existed. Your dad knows what he's doing.

All my tanks go outside in the summer except my 180 (which is too big). If my Rams lay 100 eggs outside I'll have 98 babies that survive. Indoors that number is reduced to about 40 no matter what I do. The temperature in the tanks outside can range between 100F to below 70F but they don't seem to care. If fact it seems to stimulate breeding. I'm going to try to breed Altum Angels this summer. As far as I know, no one in the USA is doing this. They will be placed outside in a small 500 gallon pond.  As far as I know, this is the only way it can be done. They will not breed indoors unless you've got an 8 foot tank or larger.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Seeger on January 11, 2014 at 11:18pm

Ah! Thanks a lot man. I appreciate it!

The altum angel project sounds like it'll be a ton of fun. You should definitely document it on here. Best of luck to you!

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Permalink Reply by Robert Jango on January 12, 2014 at 10:43am

I'm going to document it with a scientist on aquarimax.com. But I'll throw some of the pix on here too. 

I forgot to tell you;

1) Hornwart is a submerged plant that will also keep green water in check.  

2) Do not throw fertilizer in the tank. 

3) If you use soil make sure its mineralized or, in other words, devoid of organics. One way to do this is to spread the soil over tarp and let it bake in the sun for about a week. 

4) Soil is messy only if you've got fish like Comets or Corys that are always digging through it, but otherwise its great. I don't use a cap. The soil provides a home for tiny infusorians that the tiniest fry need to survive. It may also add needed minerals to the rainwater.

5) I would consider soft water fish if you let the tank fill with rain water. If you're using tap water or you want to take the tank outside early and/or leave it out late consider temperate species (goldfish, native fish) or subtropicals (Mollies, Swordtails, Paradise fish).  

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Permalink Reply by George Barrett on January 14, 2014 at 3:33am

if you want an easy tank to take care of then using the floating plants as suggested would be great in your battle against algae. also on the subject of potted plants as long as you have something other than goldfish its a great idea. what I have done is take a regular clay pot and cover up the hole with a yogurt container top and put some soil that has been soaking for a month or 2 and cap it off with some cheap pool filter sand. and boom you have a planted tank that isn't so messy. I have done a small crypt that is doing great, also a red sword and a big pot of jungle val that is presently melting like crazy. these were all just experiments of mine it so far so good. also I would suggest getting the fish and keeping them for a while in an existing tank just to make them a bit hardier when you put them outside with fluctuations in water parameters all the time.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Seeger on January 15, 2014 at 3:34pm

Awesome. Thank you guys so much for all your help! Definitely have made it easier on me. Ill put pictures up in a few days when I get a chance

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Permalink Reply by brendan on January 18, 2014 at 12:40pm

I have seen a power head with a uv light for pretty cheap and white cloud mountain minnows would be a great fish.

 

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Permalink Reply by Cire Loknok on April 13, 2014 at 1:58pm

I do agree floating plants will definitely help keep algae at bay. I would stick it under a gutter drain so when it rains, it overflows and does its own water changes! I would probably try goldfish in it. just keep some feeder goldfish. I personally like them much more than the fancy varieties. You will probably need some current, so you will need a filter, or at least an airstone. I would keep it as lightly stocked as possible, and as heavily planted as possible. Anachris, hornwort, any floating plant really(water lettuce, water hyacinth, salvinia, duckweek) just make sury any plant cant be invasive in your area. Follow all DNR laws. Depending on your experience, you may be able to keep ludgwigia, rotala, baby tears, sag, jungle val, and other aquarium plants. Under the right conditions, (dirt) they have the potential to thrive.

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