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Hello,

I don't know what's happened. My tank was doing really well. I hope someone might be able to give me a clue on 1. What’s happened and 2. More importantly, what I might be able to do about it.

Started with a Hoplo and a Green Corey I rescued from extremely bad conditions. After making numerous rookie mistakes, they somehow survived it all. They’ve survived a few other tank mates over the last 3+ years too.

Bought a new group to add to the tank about a month and a half ago. I was assured by the store that the 2 (male and female) Kribensis, 1 Dwarf Gourami, 2 hoplos and 4 Corys wouldn’t be too much for the tank to handle at once and also, that the Kribensis and Gourami would be peaceful to the rest of the cats.

Well the Kribensis weren't peaceful.

Two days later I found one hoplo dead (though can’t blame them for sure). They traumatized the rest – nipped their fins, etc. I took them back to the store. I kept the Gourami and tried everything I could to keep him away from the corys and the Hoplo. Feeding rings, night feedings, but he wouldn't leave them alone either – more nipped fins and general terrorizing them when food was around - so back to the store he went too. Slowly lost 3 of the new corys and my oldest Cory hasn't done well since. I figured they were just too freaked out to eat, or they were already too weak by the time the Gourami left. Or the nipped fins (and missing barbells) were too much for their little bodies to heal.

So i bought 4 new Corys last week (and 4 Nerites) to keep the last two Corys company. I would have bought another Hoplo too but they didn't have any. And probably a good thing. The 4 new Corys were all dead 2 days later.

So I don't know what's gone on in my tank, but either my LFS is reprehensible (and i don't think they are), or there's a major tank problem.

I don't see any ick or any evidence of disease on the fish, however I do notice that the corys and the hoplo don’t have barbells, which I originally blamed on the aggressive fish, but I believe also could indicate a water quality issue? I don’t have a planted tank. I had a Marimo Ball (Cladophora ball) and it got flattened/ opened (I blamed the Kribensis/ Gourami), and when I had the deaths I removed it in case it was releasing something weird into the water (it was still green, just no longer ball-shaped).

Have tested for Nitrites and Ammonia a million times and both remain at zero. My understanding is that if they're at zero, Nitrates would be too.

I also recently wondered if it was pH? I can’t believe that the one Cory would have survived for 4+ years if that was an issue (where I rescued the original two from weren’t even treating the water with anything!). Or we got an old sink working again - maybe the pipes were releasing something?

When i was having the Gourami/ Kribensis issues, there was a lot of left over food on the bottom of the tank, so I was cleaning it... too much? When I realized that might be the problem I slowed down.

My other thought is the substrate itself and/or I’ve disturbed anaerobic pockets. Reading now, It looks as if I should have been ‘disturbing’ the substrate when I clean. I moved all the furniture around to give the tank a good clean before adding the new guys 1.5 months ago, and then did so (but just a little bit) again before I added the recent group. The hoplo shoves himself on the side of the tank between the glass and the heater, and I wonder now if I was seeing the others trying to stay away from the bottom too? Am i imagining this? If it’s the substrate, how do I change it without killing the remaining fish? I don't have another tank.

My oldest Cory is on his last fins now. That will leave me with one unhappy spotted Hoplo and one unhappy green Cory. I can’t with good conscience keep sending fish to their doom in my tank. I also can't with good conscience keep community fish sad and lonely for the rest of their time with me either.

I don’t know.

I feel like it could be a bunch of things - obviously I've made a lot of mistakes - but if anything specifically jumps out at anyone (and in particular how to fix it!), I would be really, really appreciative.

I've clearly messed up, but how can I do right by these last little dudes? Maybe just give them away to someone who can take better care of them than me.

But of course with all of the deaths, who would take them for fear that they'll bring something into a new tank.

Kat
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Aquarium Size: 736.60mm x 304.80mm x 2971.80mm
Temperature: 25.5 to 26
Furniture:
Substrate: Black Sand aka Black Slag
1 Tracked Nerite Snail (Neritina natalensis sp. "Tracked"),
3 Zebra Nerite Snails (Neritina natalensis sp. "Zebra")
Filtration: AquaClear 300 aka: AquaClear 70
Lighting: Incandescent Solar Series 2 x 25 watt bulbs
Heating: Stealth Pro Shatterproof Heater
Current: Air (vertical)

According to the Aquarists in my area, our stats are:
```````````````````````units```````max```````min``````average
Alkalinity`````````````mg/L````````87.8``````80.8 `````85.2
Conductivity```````````mhos/cm`````398```````280```````307
Hardness ( as CaCO3 )``mg/L````````125```````116```````122
pH`````````````````````````````````7.9```````7.4```````7.7
Total Solids```````````mg/L````````198```````168```````180
This comes out to a GH of less than 7 and a KH of less than 5.

substrate might not be ideal. is the black slag a type of blasting sand? maybe too sharp, eroding barbels and causing other probs with water chemistry because of stuff like Ca and Iron concentrating in the water at high levels. idk, just guesses, but i f you have another tank, set a tank up with good sand substrate.

Your best bet now is just do a substrate switch over. and hope for the best. give it time before adding new fish. even if the current ones die. ie. one dies, don't go get a new fish right away. wait for living fish to recover for a few months. if all die then yes add new ones to keep bacteria going. make sure everything stays cycled and that you're changing water properly every week.

Whoa, you have some sweet cories! just checked what they looked like.

.Plecomania. wrote:substrate might not be ideal. is the black slag a type of blasting sand? ....

Thanks, .Plecomania. Yes, the black slag = blasting sand. They use it in their tanks at the store. I brought up those same concerns about it leaching and they assured me it was safe. There is SO much info (and lots conflicting) on the internet, i really have relied - perhaps too heavily - on my LFS.

Ironically I changed the substrate initially (it was small pebbles) because my Holpo kept injuring her barbells sifting through them. And it wasn't problematic (or so it seemed) for the oldest two as they lived for 3+ years with me, but perhaps they would have lived longer if it weren't for that stuff?

I don't have another tank but it just occurred to me, that perhaps i could just siphon out 1/4 or of the old stuff per week and replace it with new stuff? I could use a piece of (untreated!!) wood, or a new food-safe plastic 'something' in there to divide the old and new?

And i just found something new that said that corys are actually pretty sensitive and that i shouldn't be doing the old 'floating bag' thing... as recommended by my LFS. So that might account for the most recent deaths as well.

Man. Every time I turn around, I realize that I've done some new awful thing to these poor creatures. I've read and read and read, but clearly i'm not always pointed in the right direction - until i realize I've made some new grave error.

I initially was saving the two fish I got from imminent death. Now my fish need to be saved from me. I think i will continue with this tank. Do the slow substrate change, but if these guys don't make it, my fishkeeping days are certainly over. It's too cruel for them and too heartbreaking for me. I view my fish as pets not animated furniture, so I actually care.

I seriously can't stand that I've done this to them.

Hello katgermain, well you've said a lot here. But I'll give it some time. Remember, I don't know what you know.

The first thing that popped out for me is you said 'if my Nitrites and Ammonia are zero "Nitrates would be too". No. Please read about the Nitrogen cycle (again if you've read it before). Ammonia >Nitrite>Nitrate. The Nitrates continue to build up until you remove them with water changes. That is the main reason for water changes. "cleaning" is the second major reason.
And you didn't speak about your water changing regimen or what you do when you clean your filters?

There is such a thing as 'cleaning too much', but food on the bottom for more than 15mins is generally not good. And I would put the 'clad' ball back, plants are natural filters.

It sounds like you like the Callichthys group. Cories in general like high dissolved oxygen levels. You have a 100 gallon "deep" tank. So one thing to look at is weather your getting good oxygenated water to the bottom of the tank. And that can be achieved in a number of different ways.

Definitely replace the sand. You can take it out to the bare bottom over a couple of days. The fish won't mind. Then replace it with sand you have looked at under a magnifier/microscope yourself. It has to be round in nature. Too many jagged and sharp edges is a no go. Also, as Plecomania suggested, check the elemental makeup of the sand if you can. I don't know what they sell up there in Canada but if you stick close to sands that have a track record in the hobby you should be okay. The only thing I would be cautious about is releasing unwanted nitrogen pockets while taking the old sand out. This can be avoided by siphoning/cleaning the sand once or twice thoroughly during water changes, before removing it.

I'm sorry you had to learn the hard way that cichlids and catfish are not the best fish to combine, particularly when you are just starting out. I would avoid that combination for a while until you become more competent in other areas.

So far, what you've described in terms of problems is normal. The only thing that leaves me wondering is why the last group of cories died? A basic rule for probably 99% of the fish you get is -quarantine- always quarantine your fish for about a month. No matter where they come from, isolate them in a bare bottom tank, air filter, dark background/bottom, low light. Fish can carry disease that may not show up for weeks. And it allows the fish to get use to you and you to it. I know it means another tank- quarantine, quarantine, quarantine.

The nature of this hobby is that you are going to loose fish. Even the best of us do. If your lucky you'll have some fish that will live out a 'good' natural lifetime in your care. But remember some fish have evolved to live for a couple of years and some for decades. One of the reasons many of us get into this hobby because of all the different challenges and ways to solve them. We don't look at fish as furniture. Believe me, it takes a piece of your heart when you loose a fish you've been caring for for a decade. The whole point for me is to make my beautiful animals thrive.

yeah I think we all care about fish here
people that view them as furniture usually do not care enough to go looking for information or join forums to find info. they just keep goldfish in a bowl, or bettas on a wall or w/e.

I do not think you should worry this much. You are doing your best,mistakes are a part of learning. The issues presented in this thread are all ones that most fishkeepers had to go through at one point. so do not be too hard on your self. it would be sad if you give up on the hobby if these last fish do not make it.

please tell us about how you change your water, how often, and how you do filter maintenance. do not leave out details like with what you treat tap water before you put it in your tank or with what you rinse your filter media.

In the past I have changed out my substrate in my 40gallon all in one reckless go and the fish somehow managed fine through that. I also added some Prime to the water to help them through it. I DO NOT recommend doing it in one go, and just do what you said you would. use a siphon to siphon out the old sand and any air bubbles that are in the sand.

You will succeed, and with patience you will be able to restart your tank, if not with the old fish in tow, then surely with new healthy fish. you can bet on it. don't give up.

as for the floating bag thing, I have always done that method with anything from SW fish and coral and other inverts, to FW fish like L260 plecs. it works if you are patient. i do it for 30mins-1 hour. i was never able to control temp when i tried drip acclimation - the water in the cup or bucket always cooled more than the tank water and that would likely shock the fish when they were put into the tank. I liked to float bags in tank water to let the temps balance out.

if you can do drip acclimation properly, then do it, it's definitely better. I just never learned how to control temps...

I always drip acclimate... the temperature thing is never an issue because I have no heaters in my tanks - they are all room temp. No issue there for me.

Yes, the nitrates may be sky high ... which leads to something called Old Tank Syndrome... where the old fish seem fine but new fish die fast. However, sometimes it is impossible to know what the real issue is. It is a process of elimination. Start by testing the nitrate levels. I had one cory die after another at one time. it devastated me... I kept googling the symptoms and couldn't find the issue. I found something I thought it could be (a description of a type of parasite) and treated them with Quick Cure - and all my deaths stopped. Honestly, don't beat yourself up... it takes hard work and time to learn .... you will get there!

naturalart wrote: And you didn't speak about your water changing regimen or what you do when you clean your filters?

There is such a thing as 'cleaning too much', but food on the bottom for more than 15mins is generally not good. And I would put the 'clad' ball back, plants are natural filters.

.Plecomania. wrote: please tell us about how you change your water, how often, and how you do filter maintenance. do not leave out details like with what you treat tap water before you put it in your tank or with what you rinse your filter media.

Hi Naturalart and .Plecomania., thanks very much for your replies!

Filtration: AquaClear 300 aka: AquaClear 70; current: Air (vertical)

Maintenance/ Cleaning: Used to do about 25% water change 1x a week, a filter sponge ‘squeeze out’ (in the removed water bucket) and charcoal filter change once a month (but spaced out and not at the same time). Now with all the problems, I’ll suck out about 10% along with leftover food, every 2 days or so and alternating it on the days between by putting new water in. Seemed it would be easier on fish with slower changes. Big tank for only 3 fish, so a less than full tank doesn’t seem like an issue.

Because I got paranoid that I was cleaning too much, I haven’t done a sponge squeeze in a while but changed the charcoal just last week (and continue once a month).

Water type: Used to use tap water treated with “Prime” water conditioner, but I now use filtered tap water with the Prime. My tap water filter is “certified to reduce lead, mercury, chlorine (taste and odor) and many other contaminants. It also removes 99% of trace levels of pharmaceuticals. Yet it still leaves behind beneficial fluoride.”

Someone recently said I should be treating the whole tank with Prime every week. Just dump some in? How much?

Oh, and I’m not great with math, and we’re on the metric system up here, but from my calculations, it’s only a 27 US gallon tank. 29 (w) x 18 (h) x 12 (d) inches. The water definitely gets to the bottom, naturalart. It pushes the slag all over the place where it touches.

naturalart wrote: Definitely replace the sand. You can take it out to the bare bottom over a couple of days…The only thing I would be cautious about is releasing unwanted nitrogen pockets while taking the old sand out. This can be avoided by siphoning/cleaning the sand once or twice thoroughly during water changes, before removing it.

.Plecomania. wrote: I DO NOT recommend doing it in one go, and just do what you said you would. use a siphon to siphon out the old sand and any air bubbles that are in the sand.

>sigh< so I also didn’t know about “deep cleaning” slag/ sand. I thought that was only with rocks/ pebbles. So how do I minimise damage when I remove the slag? You said to remove it over a couple of days. Maybe it should be longer? It’s quite fine and easily removed by my cleaning hose. If I get a good stream going in the hose, in your (or anyone’s opinion), can I kill two birds with one stone and just suck the whole mess away (in stages over xx number of days)? Obviously I’m anxious to improve the conditions for my little siluriformes.

naturalart wrote: food on the bottom for more than 15mins is generally not good

If you are able, will you please help me figure this one out: My fish don’t seem to be eating. Obviously they are in some capacity, so I assume it’s only at night. How do I contend with this? I obviously can’t sit there all night waiting for movement, feed them then net out the rest within 15 minutes. I also sometimes give a half a wafer which soften slowly. What’s the time frame on those? Could I put a half in the tank before bed then scoop anything that’s left in the morning?

naturalart wrote:
We don't look at fish as furniture. Believe me, it takes a piece of your heart when you lose a fish you've been caring for for a decade. The whole point for me is to make my beautiful animals thrive.

.Plecomania. wrote: yeah I think we all care about fish here
people that view them as furniture usually do not care enough to go looking for information or join forums to find info.

Sincere apologies to you two and the rest of the folks on here! I didn’t mean to imply anyone here felt that way. I just meant that *I* don’t see them that way… I was worried that with all my stupidity that someone here might think I didn’t care. And good point, .Plecomania.

Thanks to you, Shazray and .Plecomania. for info about the drip method too!

.Plecomania. wrote: I do not think you should worry this much. You are doing your best, mistakes are a part of learning. The issues presented in this thread are all ones that most fishkeepers had to go through at one point.

I hear you .Plecomania. It’s just that with the majority of other hobbies, when one is learning, there isn’t the same kind of carnage. A carpenter can just start the chair over or chuck it into the wood pile. Or repurpose the pieces into a picture frame. I recognize that some things will be beyond my control, but this last 2 months has just been so much.

That said, thanks very much for the encouragement

Filtration is good!
Do not overfeed. Feed a little bit of all those dry food plus one wafer. Feed once at night and see if anything is left in the morning. just a pinch of the dry foods.

Weekly water changes sound good enough. anywhere around 15-20% is good. you can get away with even less if you do not overfeed and its only 3 fish.

All filter maintenance sounds correct. never let any part of the filter be rinsed in tap water. treated tap with Prime may be ok. rinse in old tank water as you are doing.

what do you mean by filtered tap water? why was simple tap water not good enough? (from what you are saying the tap water is like RO water but with extra fluoride?)

you can just siphon up the black sand out and replace with a safer sand. if your filter is fully cycled then you should be fine.

.Plecomania. wrote: what do you mean by filtered tap water? why was simple tap water not good enough? (from what you are saying the tap water is like RO water but with extra fluoride?)

I am using filtered tap water (along with "Prime" water conditioner) because I got paranoid that there was a problem with my fish was being caused (or partly caused) by old pipes leaching something into the water in our old house. I also believe our water in Toronto (Canada) is on the “hard” side, and Corys prefer a lower pH. I thought (mistakenly?) that going through a filter would lower that for them to some degree. The tap water filter I use snaps right on to the faucet and is called a "Pur" filter.

Thanks again, .Plecomania.!

For my two bits, I use quick Crete play sand in all my tanks. Requires a lot of washing before adding to tanks but it is only $10 for a 50 lb bag and can be found at most Home Depots. I grow plants in it and my corys love it no barbel issues. I have started recently adding a layer of black sand Caribbean Sea is the brand to mix in to darken it as the playsand is a very light color and my collection seem to prefer a darker blend as they are less shy with it. Hope this helps.

i second play sand as safe for corydoras. i had pygmy cories on mine and of course all my plecos like it too.
I still have one pygmy cory in my tank that i hatched myself. (after my breeder group was sold).

so you use a water purifier filter that attaches to a faucet i guess? I wonder what TDS, GH, and KH you get from that filtered water? can you test?
also Prime is a good choice for water conditioner. but don't randomly put it in the tank each week. only add to new water that's coming into the tank. 2-3 drops per gallon. so basically just treat new water.

I have had no problem breeding bristlenose plecos, and now pygmy cories in my hard water. i have TDS of 600+ppm and very high GH values. 6-8 dKH.
i'm sure your water filter might soften the water for them, but we need the GH and KH values to be sure.

.Plecomania. wrote:also Prime is a good choice for water conditioner. but don't randomly put it in the tank each week. only add to new water that's coming into the tank. 2-3 drops per gallon. so basically just treat new water.

Agreed.

You aren't hurting anything with the foam filter squeezes... sounds like you were doing good with that. It seems that the jury is out on using carbon in filters so you may want to google "Hole In The Head" and Carbon.... I only use carbon in my filters now when I need to remove meds from the water.

i think carbon is pretty useful especially if there is a concern about toxic stuff in the tap water. it should help bind the toxic chemicals and prevent them getting to the fish.

.Plecomania. wrote:so you use a water purifier filter that attaches to a faucet i guess? I wonder what TDS, GH, and KH you get from that filtered water? can you test?

Pur faucet filters use carbon cartridges, so TDS, GH, and KH should not be significantly effected.

if that is indeed true (it would still be nice to test this with actual data) then using filtered water in a decent option, but it does not softer the water for the cories, so the water is still hard if tap water is hard. not a big issue as i think cories do fine in such water. just add some dried leaves and have plenty of driftwood and they should be ok.

can I kill two birds with one stone and just suck the whole mess away (in stages over xx number of days)?

Yes.

I also sometimes give a half a wafer which soften slowly. What’s the time frame on those?

Please don't make it so exacting. Of course if you just want to drop the wafer in the tank overnite thats fine, but if its still there in the morning, this could mean there is something wrong, you might be feeding too much, and definitely take the remaining wafer out.
Wafers don't last more then 5mins. tops in my tanks. Some folks tend to feed their fish like dogs and cats(warm-blooded). And generally their biology is very different. You can miss a day here and there and its no problem for fish (cold-blooded).

My fish don’t seem to be eating.

Don't feed for a couple of days then when you have a @30 mins - 1hours time: put in about 1/3 of what you normally feed and sit quietly and watch. Let us know what you see.

I would continue to clean sponges and ditch the carbon.

Hope this helps.

Also, I can't tell if you have a top on your tank, but if not, I would highly recommend it.

Thanks again, everyone, for your help, suggestions and support... and for being patient and not tearin' me a new one!

I've got the slag out of my tank (though keep finding a bit here and there ) - did it in 3 stages over the week. i can already see evidence that the barbels on my little guys are growing back! Know I'm not out of the clear yet though.

I've been looking for play sand. Online I found "Premier" play sand but FIRST review reads, "I just wanted to say that this sand is not at all suitable for use in aquariums. The ratio of silica to clay and mud is very low. Look for pool filter sand instead." Ack! Pool filter sand? So is this even better than play sand, then? Just got a little spending $$ so I don't care about the cost - I just want one, really peaceful tank, whose inhabitants are happy little swimmers (or crawlers in the case of my nerites). Also, my tank's not that big, so won't be THAT out of pocket either way. Two other online stores have "KING" play sand and "Quikrete" (as Supercorygirl suggested). Looking online, the reviews for both go from "I'll never use anything BUT that!!" to "I'll never use that EVER again!!". Looking at online purchases at on of our big aquarium supply stores in Toronto, Canada, the closest sand I can see is Carib Sea Super Naturals Torpedo Beach or Instant Aquarium Sunset Gold. Online everyone's got an opinion! And they're all different! Any of you fine folks care to weigh in about brands - perhaps one or two as obviously not all will be available where i live.

I'll also be getting a QT Tank with that little extra $$. And I'm jumping to planted now too. Always wanted to, so feels like now's the time.

Aaaand my AquaClear 70 filter has started a slow leak, SO I'm on the market for a new filter (and aerator? Don't know how that works). Anyone have any suggestions? I've heard a bio-wheel is the best (is it??), and that the jury may be out on carbon in filters. Anyone care to recommend a brand my swimmers will thrive with? Again, everyone's got an opinion when I do an online search. You nice people have taken the time to respond to my queries specifically, so figure you're the ones to listen to. I can't say that price is ZERO factor but, say, under $200 to ensure my fish have as much clean water and air they could want in my 27 US gallon tank? Is that a reasonable ball-park?

Thanks for all input, and thanks in advance for anyone who can weigh in about specifics in regards to what the best sand is for my Corys and Hoplo cat, and also filtration/ aeration brands/ types.

naturalart wrote:Also, I can't tell if you have a top on your tank, but if not, I would highly recommend it.

Yes, naturalart, my tank does have a lid

The only issue I have found with the quick crete sand was washing it enough to get it clean, as for filters why not go with straight sponge filters? I run 2-80 G sponges in my 75G and that's it. The fish are healthy happy and breeding lol. Plus provide extra food source if yours decide to breed. I over filter as I'm prone to overstock. My 75G houses 4 gold rams, 20+ pygmy, 20+ habrosus, 20+ hastatus corys, 10 thread fin rainbows, 10 sparkling gouramis, 12 Orczy Woworae, and 6 ottocinclus without issue.

I've kept cories on play sand w/o issues. its pretty cheap from Home Depot. i still have it in my tank. i switched over from fluorite substrate because that was unsightly but i never removed all of it so it floats up to the sand a bit. i dont mind because a thin bottom of fluorite might help plants.
You just have to run water through a bucket of play sand if you want to wash it out.
other sand like the pool filter sand you mentioned is prob good too if others use it.

As for plants, your catfish will likely dig up anything that isnt mounted to wood/rocks or doesnt have a good root system, so you may not want to waste money on short ground cover like hairgrass and HC. go with stuff like swordplants, vals, maybe giant hairgrass, and pygmy chains or dwarf sag can be your mid ground or ground cover. they have ok root systems. just suggestions. I have some red rubin swords that i do not want, and i want to get one amazon sword and keep my tank simple.

Did your AC70 filter crack somewhere? or is it leaking from the motor-filter seal?

canister filters are good, penguin filters can be ok with those biowheels. spongefilters that corygirl was talking about are great.
To increase oxygenation in a tank you can just over filter it and you wont need an air pump or air stone. the more surface agitation the better. things that make water falls work, and sponge filter powerheads pointed upwards work too.

I don't know if its available in Canada, but you can get the RMC brand "monterey" beach sand or the pool filter sand. I've used it for years. Since you're into cories I would go with the smaller grain sizes.

Glad you're getting a QT tank. You won't regret it.

I personally would go with a small canister filter, but all others are good as well. $200. is very reasonable.

As far as plants go: check out Anubis sp. and Java fern for starters.

And maybe you can join your local fish club. They are usually a wealth of great 'first-hand' information.

Hi katgermain,

You cant undo a past mistake but you can learn from it as all people in the hobby do. People give advised based on what they do and works for them and we are all over the world so things differ allot.

A QT tank is always a good idea I keep new fish in mine for 2 weeks in it. It should be longer really more like 6 but like all keepers I want to see them in the home they were intended for not a tiny little tank that has little cover and a dim LED light. This serves purpose in terms of not stressing the fish but the cover is just down to size of tank its swim room or cover.

If you want to keep smaller fish or anything prone to heading up an intake a foam filter is great. I use one with my little 30 litre and fish I had done for my 2ft as its better for the fish they love to hang out on it. Even though its now switched off something is always chewing on it.

I have personally been reading up on big DIY foam filters. They are based on a wedge of foam the end of 1 tank and an uplift taking it back in front. Humburg filters work this way and I am still doing research into it. I am not sold that they are the best lowest maintenance, cheap filters to answer every keepers dreams of cleaning once a year. If you are redoing something you might want to consider a little home work into them. I'm not saying I've used or bought the hype but they do exist I don't know if anyone here has tried this style.

A canister filter is always better as a general rule as bigger media surface area and a good turn over of water. Try to do your home work on them as often you need to purchase additional taps and spray bars to get the best from them.

Please remember to run both filters at the same time for a few weeks to give the new one a chance to kick in. I would say 4-6 as a rough guess but others will disagree but a ball park figure. If you cant run them and you have a nice old bit of sponge on the old one wedge it into your new filter somewhere safe among its fresh media it will help to seed it with good bacteria.

To help a little with water changes in the uk we can simply leave an old air pump running on a bucket of tap water near the tank. This turns over for 24hours + in a covered area, air still needs to circulate but it removes the chlorine and brings it up to temperature handy for preparing a ready supply of water. Ask some of the people near you if this is suitable for use. Sorry different area's water is different. You can use a heater to bring it up higher than room temp but depends on how cold your rooms get. Please remember to turn it off 30 minutes before removing a heater and don't switch it on for 30 minutes. Assuming you use a glass one as they may crack if removed to early or switched on quickly. Please remember to keep it covered in some way but with air flow as you don't want anything dropping in it.

If you can find some members geographically close to your area I am sure they will share some advice / tips that relate directly to your area.

As others have mentioned live plant helps a little with water conditions but its not the no water changes needed solution. If anyone finds one that doesn't involve a chemical bottle please let me know.

Sorry but in my experience money can be quickly wasted on high tec solutions that don't work as well as old systems that have been proven over and over.

Best advice is research 2-3 filters / types of filter and pick the one that you believe suits what you want to keep. I assuming a restock is going to happen and its an ideal time to change your tanks contents a little.

Been waiting 6 months for some of my plants to take and they are very slowly. I use rounded quartz gravel and will be slated for it but my fish still have all their barbells and no signs of injury. after 2 years I would have expected to notice some by now if they were in trouble and only 1 guy never grew any from when I bought him.

If you haven't decided on a substrate yet check what it does to water. Some buffer or lower things like PH others are inert.

Overall chin up and keep trying and remember the hardest part is waiting for mother nature to do its work with bacteria for you. If you are unsure always ask and hope for good advice but always do a little home work on it as many people do things and it works for them but doesn't for others.

Sorry little jumbled post but hope it helps. Sorry has been a long day.

P.S forgot the old rule that I follow and I am sure many others do something close to it. If you tank is 100 litres get a filter capable of 150 litres as it helps keep things stable. Basically add 50% - Theory behind this I cant remember but its down to blocking up, detrition over time of parts and probably that almost every keep over stocks the tank really.