The Roma 240 has landed!

So before Christmas, I sent my other half an email with an ebay link for a 240 litre tank about 40 minutes away. It was a very good price due I imagine to it being fully stocked. Anyway much to my surprise, he encouraged me to bid, so I did...and I won! Hurrah.

Fast forward to the start of January, and it was time to pick up the tank! It took several hours to bag all the fish, empty and completely break down the tank, and several cars to move it all, but I got there in the end thanks to the help of my wonderful husband, the previous owner who was extremely patient, and my cousin and her husband who helped transport the tank and cabinet.

We got back to our house about 2.30 in the afternoon in the knowledge that my brother in law and family were shortly scheduled to descend on us, so got to work right away. I am pleased to say that all the fish survived the ordeal, and they seem to be doing really well in their new home. Unfortunately as the whole things was a bit rushed and little lives depended on it going as quickly as possible, I didn't have time to take pictures, but after a few hours it was all in place, and it looked like this:

The stocking has been played around with a fair bit, and is is a mixture of old and new;

21 cardinal tetra
1 angel
1 dwarf gourami
6 loaches
6 cories
7 harlequins
6 red rainbows
2 very bristley bristlenose plecs!

I set up the co2 a week later and am waiting for a new glass diffuser to arrive, as I don't like the JBl ones. It was much easier the second time round! We have since added in a background and it looks like this:

I really like it, and am very glad I went for it. I have been monitoring the water stats and even though we had to move two external filters there has been no sign of any ammonia or nitrite, which is very lucky and a huge relief. We have done one large water change so far, another one is scheduled for tomorrow. It isn't actually too much hard work compared to the two tanks it replaced. In the 200l, there is now;

1 angel
8 danios
5 male guppies
7 five banded barbs
7 glolwlight tetras
7 dwarf chain loaches
1 BN plec
1 blue phantom plec
1 clown plec

I apologise for the state of the pictures, they are a bit blurry I'm afraid! However I hope it shows how well the co2 is working, the plants look fab and I am so glad we did it.

...we rehomed two BN plecs, ten rummynose, several platies and a krib much quicker than I was expecting and broke down the 125l, which has now been sold, and the 65l which we are intending to keep as a spare/quarantine. (Update: we got rid of this one too in a house cleansing exercise!).

That takes our total tanks down to four, including the betta tank and the kitchen tank which currently houses two elderly guppies and some platy fry.
So what is next? Well my plan is to enjoy the fish and the plants for a while, and not add any more fish or change any of the stock. I absolutely love my tanks, they are a fantastic thing to watch and now wherever I go, any living room without a tank looks like a room wasted!

New year's resolution!

Well Christmas is almost a distant memory. My poor doggy went in for an op and the stupid vet made an awful mess of it which meant he was very poorly over the whole of Christmas :( He is now on the road to recovery, snoozing on the sofa next to me, but countryside walks are off the menu for a long time I'm afraid.

Poor doggy, not impressed with his ultra-festive cone of shame.

In better news, I got aquascaping tools for Christmas, and an ipad keyboard, so not only will I be able to take better care of my plants, I'll be able to update much easier too :)

And now on to the exciting bit... On 5th January, I will be picking up a new (to me) second hand tank. It is 240l and also a Fluval Roma. It comes with co2, which is fab, and is already lightly stocked however my plan is through rehoming some of my fish and some of the new fish, it will ultimately replace my 125l Fluval Roma and my 65l tank.

This is my plan!

200l with co2
1x large angel - stay
6 x botia rostrata - move to 240, swap for dwarf chain loaches
12x cardinal tetra - move to 240, swap for glowlights, rummynose or harlequins
7 x five banded barbs - stay
5 x danio - stay + 3 from 240
4 x male guppy - stay
3 x male platy - stay + males from 240
1x BN plec - stay
1 x blue phantom plec - stay

125l - all fish, plants and wood to move to 240. Close down tank & sell.
1 x female guppy - move to 240
4 x female platy - move to 240
4 x red rainbowfish - move to 240
1 x angel - move to 240
6 x peppered cories - move to 240
1 x clown plec - move to 240

65l - keep as QT tank
10 x rummynose tetra - move to 200 or 240
1 x krib - rehome, will stay in QT tank until somewhere is found
Assassin snails - to move in with betta

15l - stay as it is
1 x betta
7 x pygmy cories
+ shrimp/ snails

Eventually close down and sell QT tank (20l Arcadia Arc)

New tank

240l with co2
7 x dwarf chain loaches - move to 200 - replace with botia rostrata
1 x dwarf gourami - keep in tank
9 x cardinal tetra - add 12 from 200
9 x glowlight tetra - keep
4 x BN plecs - keep one or two. Rehome others
6 x harlequin rasboras - keep
3x danio - move to 200
3 x platy - males to 200 and females to 240
Plus shrimp, snails etc, move to 15l
All stock from 125 to move in.

Rehome list:

10 x female guppies - done :'(
1 x female krib
2 or 3 x BN plec
Possibly some platies

Now I am aware that, by conventional standards, my tanks may appear overstocked however I should probably mention that I do a lot of maintenance and also make sure I factor in the life span of certain fish - the livebearers have been with me for a year now, and several have died of what appears to be old age (gradually slowing and fading, no sign of parasites/disease) in the past few months, so by the time the loaches, plecos, angels etc have grown to adult size the guppies and platies will most likely have lived their lifespan. I read differing reports but it seems that two years from purchase is sadly a good lifespan for a platy or guppy these days.

I also have a lot of good filtration. I currently run an eheim 2217 on my 200l which is rated for up to 600l, and the new tank comes with two external filters. I will also have the 2213 which I currently run on my 125l if it is needed or in case of a breakdown.

I will also be taking it very slowly. For a few weeks at least I will be running all of my tanks, and break them down one by one, piece by piece. I will be very sad to part with my 125l Fluval Roma (particularly when it was so close to being part of a matching set!) but to make space for the arrival of the new tank it has had to block the back door in the living room so alas it must go!

My Fluval Roma 200 and Fluval Roma 125 - temporarily together.