It certainly can be an expensive hobby but it is enjoyable and relaxing.
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
For sure!!
@tomcrossan82632 жыл бұрын
Yes - they can turn into a money pit if you are not careful. I sometimes think when I go to a fish shop that they are like a fish tackle shop in that their goodies can catch more customers than fish.
@mikecole10952 жыл бұрын
Hello from the states 😊 congratulations on another informative video. I think you are doing a good job, I’ve been keeping fish off and on since the 70s, back then we just set up a tank, scaped it, waited a week and added fish knowing nothing of the nitrogen cycle 🤪 what a long way we have come. Anyway, it seems that you have done your research and are quite knowledgeable about the hobby. I enjoy your videos keep up the good work 🌹
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
Hello! Thank you so much :) That sounds similar to what I did when I was younger too!! I had no idea about the nitrogen cycle but things still worked out ok somehow
@Rooster26282 жыл бұрын
I second Mike's statement from the States. I have a 75 gallon cichlid tank. Learning a lot from you!
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
@@Rooster2628 thank you!!
@frankvee Жыл бұрын
A viable option is running a sump with plants. You would basically have a planted tank underneath your display tank with its own lights and secluded from the display tank so the fish cannot destroy the plants. Of course you will need to choose plants that do well in hard water since you’re running a cichlid tank.
@Urjfhskioeuwjd Жыл бұрын
Why not just go with an Unscripted Aquarium Clarifier (UAC)? Much safer with no UVC bulb to replace. Works just as good as hydrogen peroxide weekly doses and it can handle up to 300-gallon tanks easily. Hope this helps! 😊
@feebleknievel2 жыл бұрын
That store looks like paradise.
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
It's amazing!
@FranknBerry056 ай бұрын
You're so adorable and awe so wholesome love learning about aquatics and all that comes with having a aquarium I so love your set up and the your African cichlids are beautiful my goodness awesome job I know it takes lot of patience and understanding
@Kaityscichlids6 ай бұрын
Awww, thank you so so much 😊🙏 I really appreciate it!
@muhammadinadghazwan46752 жыл бұрын
Thanks Kaity this is important cause good job you are always awesome
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
Thank you so much 😊
@carlosmunozlivelovelaugh51712 жыл бұрын
Congrats on 3K! Next 4K kaity
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
Thank you!! 😄
@bigmick10622 жыл бұрын
Love to see the fish store when it moves.....Your fish stores are much nicer than most here in the USA I use Purigen all the time, great product and works well. You can easily regenerate it by using bleach, then rinsing and soaking in Prime or other dechlorinator....makes it much more economical that way. I have two sets of Purigen.....one that is regenerated and soaked in Prime and the other in the filter......so easy to switch when time comes. You can regenerate it many many times before it needs to be replaced......it normally gets kind of mushy when it's time to replace. Never let it dry out once used, as it ruins the Purigen. Awesome video, very informative.
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
That's a great idea having the two different lots. Do you know how many times you can regenerate it with bleach before it needs to be completely replaced?
@bigmick10622 жыл бұрын
@@Kaityscichlids A lot of variables but, I've been getting about 15 regenerations before it starts to break down. Two things I've found that prolong life of Purigen...... 1. Never let the Purigen dry out once used, always keep it wet 2. Limit amount of time exposed to bleach.....instructions say 24-hours but that is not necessary. About 2 - 4 hours I've found is more than sufficient to clean out the Purigen and bring it back to a solid white color. I use large glass jars with lids for the regeneration....after a few hours I rinse it out a few times then add water along with a large dose of Prime to neutralize the bleach. I let this sit until the next changeover. If you smell any bleach whatsoever in the jar before removing it you need to use more Prime. Helpful hint: If you get any bleach on your fingers (smells very bad) use a few drops of Prime on your hands and rub them together and rinse with water......no more bleach smell!
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
@@bigmick1062 thank you so so much!! That is so helpful. I'm definitely going to be coming back to this when I have to regenerate it. 15 regenerations is fantastic. It's really not that costly to use because it lasts for so long
@Rajskr162 жыл бұрын
Love from India!! Recent subscriber of your channel, it's so good as it is.
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
Thank you Rajashekar!!
@underwater.tales1012 жыл бұрын
Great video Katie! Very informative! As someone with 40+ fish in 700lt and low nitrates(a bit over 20 before water change) with weekly changes of 30%, the key is proper filtration. I'm not a big fan of chemicals, especially when there is a natural solution. Unfortunately FX6s don't even have the ability to filter properly a 5 foot overstocked African cichlid tank in my experience and that's simply because of their limited space for media. They're mainly full of sponges which is mostly mechanical instead of biological filtration. That's why I've changed to the big boy (eheim1500xl) which fitted the bio media of two fx6s plus a bit more. The main protection against the nitrates is your media, so investing in a good quality bio media is necessary instead of low quality not fully bio-loaded media(like lava rock etc). I'm using biohome which is arguably one of the best if not the best in the market. I know all this adds up to the cost but have in mind that I'm keeping wildcaught fish, which are very sensitive in water quality. I would recommend watching the pondguru talking about the fx6 on YT. PS. Great store tour! I really enjoyed it!
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
How interesting!! I just had a look at it, and it says it can produce anaerobic bacteria to reduce nitrates. That's good to know for people who have sumps/large enough filtration systems. Thank you for the info 😊
@paulrichardson22292 жыл бұрын
I hear you when you talk about filtration , I have a 5 ft overstocked cichlids tank and battle high nitrates, the tank is filtered by 1 fx6 and a Sunsun Hw-5000, the Sunsun is same size as the fx6 without all the sponges I filled my Sunsun up with the expensive Biohome media, but my thoughts it’s over rated and way to expensive, I seen no change to my tank with bio home to having fluval fx bio media So to me the bio home is just a gimmick and really is no better than many other good brands
@underwater.tales1012 жыл бұрын
@@paulrichardson2229 I agree. I'm not saying it's definitely the best but one of the best in my opinion. Is not that other brands don't have good products, I'm just saying that investing in a good product(like biohome in my opinion) is a lot better than lava stone or any cheap plastic or glass or low porous material. Seachem also does very good bio media products but these are even more expensive if you want to fill big filters.
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
@@underwater.tales101 I had a look into it and watched a video by Kaveman Aquatics using it in an FX6 (which is what I have) and it didn't work out too well in the canister filter for him. I don't think there was enough space for it, so I'd probably be more inclined to give it a go in a sump. I think one of the pros of canister filters is they're small but have a fast flow rate so if you cut the flow rate by jam packing them full of media they lose a lot of their efficiency. I appreciate you sharing your experience with it heaps though! I always love learning about new ideas/different ways to do things. It's definitely a very interesting concept, I'd never heard of bio media that houses anaerobic bacteria until you mentioned it
@stevegee80102 жыл бұрын
The problem with Biohome is it will need replacing (not all at once) as it becomes clogged and ineffective, and it's expensive to keep doing that. From my own experience I've seen it start to lose efficiency at around two years of use.
@brendanlawrence18 Жыл бұрын
Loving your channel! So much knowledge 🤌🏾
@Kaityscichlids Жыл бұрын
Thank you so much ❤️
@lucky4142 жыл бұрын
Love from Milwaukee, WI USA. I love your fish tank.
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
Thank you so much!! 😊
@nathanhoveyaquatics2 жыл бұрын
I find if I use 2 small rocks to kinda pinch the plants after planting they don't really mess with them. Now every tank is different and mine is a perfect example. I have what i would say a light/medium planted African Cichlid setup. I don't know what y'all call the plants but here in the 🇺🇸( SouthWest Florida) they are Anubias (multiple kinds in my tank) broad leaf Ludwigia Cabomba Caroliniana and also corkscrew Val. Now when I plant in the open areas they pull them BUT if i plant close to the rocks work or driftwood they leave them alone. You have an amazing tank and some really beautiful fish. 🌱🐠🌿🐡
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
Thank you so much Nathan :) Yes we call it Anubias here too!! I think they are good because you can attach them to the rocks. I do love a nice planted African Cichlid tank
@tomcrossan82632 жыл бұрын
Yes I have planted these the same way in my 500ltr Cichlid tank and the fish leave them alone. In fact I discovered a surviving fry living in the plants and he is about 2 centimetres long
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
@@tomcrossan8263 that's amazing!
@seanaustin8516 Жыл бұрын
Dope video ❤❤❤
@Andy-px1mj2 жыл бұрын
Great video as always. That store is already huge. There is nothing even close to that near me in the U.K. I had a disaster cutting my pipe for the fuval UVF on my fX6. I’d not even thought of internal ones.
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
Thank you Andy 😊 We seem to have a lot of stores around South East QLD here! And yep, that was my concern haha, if I tried to cut the pipe it would definitely end up in a disaster
@markbee42382 жыл бұрын
Nice video Kaity. May I suggest that when you make 2 changes at the same time like this you won't know if it's the purigen or the UV light that is improving your water (and we won't either). It may be better to do one at a time to see the impact of each change. I like the heavier stocked tank though and I also like your store tours.
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
Thank you Mark!! I did them together because the changes I want them to have are mostly independent of each other, so we should still be able to see the impact of each broadly speaking. The goal for the UVC is to remove green algae from the water (but won't lower nitrates), while the Purigen is to lower nitrates and improve clarity (but isn't going to remove green water). They may overlap a little bit, in terms of less algae = higher nitrates and vice versa. However, I don't think it would be significant enough to matter too much. That was my train of thinking anyway
@supastihl892 жыл бұрын
Great work and editing. 👍🙂
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
Thank you :)
@JonVlogs1232 жыл бұрын
Wow! Great channel!! 😁👍
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
Thank you so much 😊🙌
@JonVlogs1232 жыл бұрын
@@Kaityscichlids You're so welcome 😁🙌
@jjpro200212 жыл бұрын
Very inspiring video ! And what a cool store 😊
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
Thank you so much!!
@mathieucharton26942 жыл бұрын
Hello from France ! keep going like that It would be cool to have a video on the different diseases and how you treat them
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
Hello!! I can definitely do a video on that :)
@noelmangion63162 жыл бұрын
Great video Katie keep doing what your doing i like watching your videos the tank is looking great and your cichlids are really nice 😊
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
Thank you so much Noel :) I really appreciate it!!
@Danyal70162 жыл бұрын
In the salt water hobby we use a refugium to keep the nutrients low. Plumbing may be required and a separate tank for freshwater macro algae that’ll solve your problem.
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
Ahh, so that's what a refugium does! The saltwater world is so much more ahead of the game 🤣
@Danyal70162 жыл бұрын
@@Kaityscichlids it’s really convenient I’ve seen few people attempt it to keep it a freshwater tank. Your tank is huge and a refugium will work great and save you money. Just need to trim your macro algae a little bit of maintenance.
@davidolsen32092 жыл бұрын
Thanks for your videos. You are very knowledgeable. Love the content
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
Thank you so much!! 😊
@johnharrand97652 жыл бұрын
Hi Kaity, great video again. I use Purigen in my tank and it does work well, you're right in saying that it's not cheap. You can however recharge it by using a bleach solution, I believe you can do this process two or three times before the Purigen looses its affectiveness. Thanks again for a great informative video. Stay safe and take care. John
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
Thank you so much John 😊 Yes being able to recharge it makes it a lot more cost effective!
@michaelfagan5229 Жыл бұрын
@@Kaityscichlids Another GREAT video thanks. I did quite a bit of research on Purigen and have also added it to my 210 gallon AC filtration system. One caution on it and I have read this over and over. If you are recharging it, go overboard with recleaning it and letting it sit between a few cleanings. It appears many users have rushed the recharging process, not removed all the bleach and ended up wiping out a lot of fish. I found a pretty "cheap" source for it ($9/250ML) and probably won't even risk the recharging of it and start with new in 6 months. My "dollar decisions" usually come down to this "How much would it be to replace even a few of my precious AC's, if something goes wrong?" The AC's life usually wins out. :) Thanks again for your AWESOME content and presentation, I refer to you as my "AC Queen" and everyone I have hooked up to your content feels the same.
@lilterrellatl2 жыл бұрын
Get you some Seachem Matrix ,also helps with your problem also
@htarash2 жыл бұрын
Try seachem matrix as your media in your filter (buy a4 litre bucket from Amazon), with the addition of puregen, i am now pushing to water changes every two weeks. In fact I had a 3.5 week holiday and it was still within 20ppm. But it took couple of months to kick in. This is with 160L tank with 11 discus, 3 Cory cat in the tank.
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
Wow!! That's amazing!
@doubletrouble67182 жыл бұрын
Nice tank keep it up. From the Philippines.
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
Thank you 🤗
@justinrvarga72362 жыл бұрын
that was really informative and interesting. Everyone's aquarium system is different. I tried using purigen but find it useless for nitrates but great for clear water. One system I have had nitrates 80 to 160ppm plus lol I used a product from Aqua Forest called Zeo Mix which worked extremely we'll. It can also be used on marine tanks. My nitrates wen't down quite a bit. It has a 6 week life span as we'll.
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
Thank you 😊 Yes I think I'm having a similar experience with the Purigen. The water is super clear but nitrates I'm not seeing a difference. I'll have to check out the Zeo Mix then
@henrybowman78872 жыл бұрын
I have a 56 gallon tank with mbuna and have had a high nitrate problem as well... I do 40-50% water change every 8-11 days (depending on my work schedule)... I added Anubias plants to my tank... From my research Mbuna do not like them,and they clearly don't mess with them at all... I also added Fluval Clearmax Phosphate Remover pouches to my two Marineland hang on filters ,it traps phosphate, nitrite, and nitrate... Both additions have seemed to keep my nitrates at a much better level than before... I've been doing this for around 2 months now...
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
That's great to hear!! Yes I've heard from some others that anubias tends to fair quite well in African Cichlid tanks
@chino72872 жыл бұрын
It's so odd that the nitrates jump so high even after weekly 80% WCs. I've kept a 75g African Cichlid tank (~15 fish) for almost 2 years now & do a 50% WC once a month. I always measure the parameters & the nitrates barely reach 10 ppm. I'll keep checking your updates. Keep it up!
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
Thank you so much 😊
@kbkcichlids8112 жыл бұрын
nice video, i'd love to paint the background black though. oh btw maybe change your substrate to the Caribsea african cichlids, it helps with the ph and keep it optimal for them so you will use less buffers.
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
Thank you!!
@andreashessler8382 жыл бұрын
Check out BCB bags. You make them using baked clay (non-clumping cat litter or spill control granules) and laterite. You should be good for laterite in Oz. They remove nitrates and phosphates from your water. I have hard water with high phosphates. Killer for algae.
@ricardoparedes27812 жыл бұрын
Hi! Nice tank and if I may, i would recommend you use aqua vitro products. I have a 70 gallons heavily loaded with discs, corydoras, and lots of tetras. I used to use Stability and pristine together with Matrix but parameters were not stable at all. Im now using seed, remediation and alpha by aqua vitro and my parameters are more stable. But i also changed the matrix for marine pure bio spheres and noticed that my algae problem reduced considerably. P. S. I am not using purigen, i am leaving the bacteria do the work in my fluval fx5.
@GavinStatikGoddard2 жыл бұрын
You may not like the aesthetic but you could always add an internal hanging planter and grow houseplants from it using lava rocks as a substrate. I have a peace lily in mine, I've seen others use pothos or monstera
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
I tried having pothos for a while on either end, but it was annoying with my lids. My lids fit pretty snug on top so it was a pain trying to squish them in. I do love the look on some tanks though!
@GavinStatikGoddard2 жыл бұрын
@@Kaityscichlids I had to custom build my lid which meant I could cut a small area for the peace lily to grow through, im gonna add some monkey mask monstera this weekend too which should do a great job sucking up nitrates. I can appreciate not everyone wants to start slicing into their lids, especially when they're such a good fit. If my original lid hadn't mangled I'm not sure I'd be so quick to start hacking away at it.
@MClover420 Жыл бұрын
I had the Pea Soup problem in my 75 Gallon and the Green Killing machine cleared it up in a week but, the water was still green when I took a picture with the flash on . I’ve had it going since December 7th. Not exactly a fan of putting electronics in water though considering it contrary to what we are normally not supposed to do 🤷🏻♂️. The only main issue I have with it is the fact that you can only use it for about 9 months then have to buy the whole part with the UV bulb instead of just being able to replace the bulb
@666Maeglin2 жыл бұрын
You could put the Chemnical filtration in a seperate watertight pot container behind one of the regular filter pots. using the water stream by the big filterpot to pump throught thios container. back into the aquarium. If your put it in a bipass system witha vale in front and behind the extra chemical filter pot, you can easily disconnect it if you treat the aquarioum with medicine e.g., This means you do not need to get your big filterpot disconnected to remove the chemical filter material. Also makes it easy to replace yuour chemical ffilter material while keeping the main filter running unimpeded.
@tomcrossan82632 жыл бұрын
Hi - a very interesting video. Just a couple of points. I have 200 and 500ltr Cichlid tanks, so understand about your.water parameters. Purigen looks like it is resin based and if so it could lower your PH while removing nitrates. I found this happened when I used a fine resin to control nitrates. Secondly if you go to your local Home Brew shop you may be able to get very fine mesh bags. I get mine here in the ACT pre packed at $7.00 for 10. Yes 10 and with a draw string! Plus I can also buy it in 1 Meter lengths. I will be interested to see if it does lower your nitrates with no drop in PH.
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
That's interesting, I will definitely check for a drop in pH. I did have a look at the other mesh bags but the Purigen is so fine I was worried it'd fall through. The other thing about "The Bag" they sell is its meant to tolerate being in the bleach solution to recharge the Purigen, which I think some other materials don't cope so well with
@rgarcia15632 жыл бұрын
What do you think about having a black background that covers ever behind the tank and makes the fish color pop even more? Great videos
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
Thank you 😊 I might give that a go at some point! Maybe when I move houses
@greygoose1172 жыл бұрын
I have the fluval uvc one on a fluval 407 and I know it’s just a clarifier but my fish have never been healthier. Fluval also has a uvc for the fx4 and fx6 in the works, not sure when they’re releasing it but they definitely are making one
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
I was surprised they didn't have one available for the FX6 being such a popular filter!
@fishmunga1014 Жыл бұрын
I think your tank looks wicked unplanted but what if in an external bio filter you make the first stage the water go through a planted tank within the stand? ps. Your vids are heaps cool, 1 of my fav channels. ;)
@Kaityscichlids Жыл бұрын
Thank you so much 😊
@laurag10762 жыл бұрын
Haha Liverpool creek and tech den. Finally names I know cause I'm in Australia. In SA so online. Love both. I just got the email they're moving too haha
@kenlawton15312 жыл бұрын
Must be an Aussie thing, I also used to pronounce Seachem as you do, however I've since learnt (after over 10 years in the game) that it's pronounced Sea Chem as in chemistry, who knew! 😂😂 love your set up BTW, I used to have a 5ft African Cichlid tank and loved it but had to move so sold it. I'll do it again one day when I no longer have to move.
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
Omg so funny you should say that!! I was literally having a shower after I did the video thinking "Why is it called Seachem? That sounds so weird" Then it dawned on me it's short for sea chemistry haha. I was like I hope no one notices I've been calling it Seachem with the ch 🤣 I'm glad I'm not alone though. And thank you 😊
@kenlawton15312 жыл бұрын
@@Kaityscichlids 🤣🤣🤣🤣 my local aquarium guys must have been laughing at me the whole time🤣🤣🤣🤣
@jessecoleman41402 жыл бұрын
Hi Kaity I love your tank! And I have a quick question.. do you have all males or a mix of males and females? The colors are amazing that’s why I’m curious. Also did you buy gender specific larger fish or unsexed juveniles as you know there’s such a big difference in price. I’m asking because I am looking into stocking my first African cichlid tank and want it to look like yours but also don’t want to break the bank. Any info will help and I really appreciate your videos. Thank you!!
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
Hi Jesse! Thank you so much :) I bought mine as juveniles mixed males and females, they were super tiny. I let them grow out and after about 5 months and they did some breeding in the tank. Then I started feeding them a food called Absolute Colour which we have here in Australia. It says it's a "no sex hormone" food, but I would beg to differ haha. Now all of my females are colourful like males and don't breed anymore. So I think I started with males and females, but my females are now more male, if that makes sense...
@scottroberts930 Жыл бұрын
Love your vids. Thank you!
@Kaityscichlids Жыл бұрын
Thank you so much Scott! 😄
@paulrichardson22292 жыл бұрын
Great video Kaity my tank very similar not as large only a 5 ft , but over stocked and I always worry to about my nitrates been high over the week and I do 50% water changes weekly, and dosnt seem to do much to change the nitrate level , I use a similar product to the Purigen called Beta Pet Macropore which I purchase also from the Techden and is way cheaper than the Purigen and does the same job. I have a canister filter that has a Uv light built in but never run it as I didn’t think it did anything to the clarity of water but does help with algae Very interested to see what you think in a weeks time
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
That's great to know!! I'll have to check out the Beta Pet Macropore. The UVC won't change the clarity but hopefully it'll help with the algae 🤞 The other benefit of the UVC is its meant to help kill bad bacteria so I guess that could be a plus of running it even if you didn't need it for the algae
@sspreadfire2 жыл бұрын
Suggestion: build a small sum and then grow many pothos plants with grow light. Or, get a hang in the back filter but instead of doing filtration, just put the roots of pothos in place. That way, no fish has access to nip on plants.
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
That's a great idea!
@Shaden00402 жыл бұрын
Add floating plants such as watersprite, frognit, rederoot floqaters, salvinia, water lettuce, water hyacinth.
@mrchristopher1814 Жыл бұрын
Does anyone know how long the bulb lasts on the GKM24? I got one and it does a good job but the bulb didn't last very long and they're expensive to replace. Btw love the channel Kaity, helped me out alot.
@Kaityscichlids Жыл бұрын
Thank you Christopher!! I think they are meant to last 6-12 months. I probably need to replace mine, you actually just reminded me
@GTR-SR2 жыл бұрын
Thanks for sharing 👌🏽🐟
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
Thank you for watching!!
@laurag10762 жыл бұрын
Great video. Really large anibius barteri and Java?. U can glue to rock. X
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
Thank you!! Yes, I think gluing Anubias is the way to go, I've heard others have success with that in their African Cichlid tanks
@milkesnowboards2 жыл бұрын
Thanks great Info 👍
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
Thank you 😊
@ianswenser29862 жыл бұрын
Kaity you need to get onto anoxic filtration and bcb bags. They will be your best friend and should reduce your nitrates to zero. Do a phosphate test on your water as the food maybe not helping your algea problems.
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
I'll definitely have a look into it! I want to grow green algae on my rocks, but I just don't want the algae in the water which is why I'm going for the UVC
@ianswenser29862 жыл бұрын
@@Kaityscichlids Kaity Dr Kevin Novaks on KZbin will answer all your questions. Trust me it works, if you go down that path ask me where to get the media here in Australia
@tripshobbies28102 жыл бұрын
I have 0 N0³ in both my Discus and African cichlid tank with a waterchange once a week, sometimes once every 2 weeks with no chemical filtration or a single Seachem product. Actually every seachem product tends to be the reason you stuck using seachem products. My solutions really simple. Anoxic filtration and without the seachem trash along with the anoxic filtration there's enough organisms to deal with everything, algae, water clarity etc.
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
Wow!! Well done 👌
@aheimsvensson15732 жыл бұрын
Best way to keep the water cristal clear is to focus on the biological filtration, that creates colloids in the water that will desolve any small particles in the water! Using superfine materials to collect all the particles is a losing game because they will appear faster than you can collect them ex. by feeding....
@tuco86x2 жыл бұрын
Have you considered using plants that the roots would go down into the water and the foliage would drape across the top of your tank?
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
I did consider it but I think I'd find it a bit annoying with the lids. And because of the way my lids are I'd be limited to having only one plant on either end of the tank
@tuco86x2 жыл бұрын
Hmm have you considered floating plants? I've been using red root floaters and they've really helped with the nitrates on my 75 gallon
@michaelstruyf86412 жыл бұрын
Im going to try Seachem denitrate in my mbuna tank and see how that goes.. hopefully it will keep my nitrates low👌😁
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
Keep us updated on how it goes!
@Ralph-ny1ey2 жыл бұрын
Not only harmful to fish, but high nitrates can stunt their growth. Big fish just produce so much waste. You can also do a overhead or under planted sump cheaply. Get a planter, small pump, some tubing, and some type of plastic grate for a disposable filter floss and to hold plants in place. If you want to conceal it, you can make one under, but you may have to add lighting for the plants.
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
It's unfortunately not an option for this tank because it's not designed for a sump. I've got to stick with the canister filters so it'll be interesting to see if the Purigen makes much of a difference as an alternative
@alevnafiz16762 жыл бұрын
API nitrate test kit Is known to be inaccurate, I was chasing my nitrates down for years, until I was recommended to compare the JBL nitrate test kit. I was shocked at the result as I was stressing for no reason. Give it a try and you’ll surprised.
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
I'll have to give it a go! That would be nice to find out my nitrates are actually low 🤣
@alevnafiz16762 жыл бұрын
@@Kaityscichlids I have around 30 Africans in a 340ish litre ( including the 2 canisters) tank and my nitrates were always giving me grief, didn’t get below 20 after water changes. When I was told about how inaccurate API was and to try JBL I thought I had nothing to lose. My nitrates now hover between5-10 max. I do a 50% water change every week regardless.
@MrTroenokarso Жыл бұрын
Hi, Nice aquarium. Do you have female and male cichlids in your tank.
@Kaityscichlids Жыл бұрын
Yes, I've got both male and female but I colour feed them so the females look like males 😊
@Shaden00402 жыл бұрын
ty gowing anubias and crazy glue them to the hardscape.
@stevegee80102 жыл бұрын
Look into biocenosis clarification baskets/bags (BCBs) to help denitrify your system. You won't get immediate results so carry on with regular water changes and other methods for now and if you're using Prime stop using it.
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
Thank you for the tip! Why do you say to stop using Prime?
@stevegee80102 жыл бұрын
@@Kaityscichlids Prime inhibits the propogation of anaerobic bacteria. Other dechlorinators appear to be safe, however.
@paweld-882 жыл бұрын
Hi! I don't speak english very well. Can you help me? Will quartz sand or dolomite sand be better? Is the 0.5-1mm or 1-1.5mm fraction better? Is serpentine a good stone for Malawi? PS You have a beautiful aquarium. Best regards from Poland 😃
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
Thank you so much :) I'm not too sure about those sands, I've never used them or looked into the sizes for sand. I use pool filter sand in my tank, and I know some others use aragonite
@andytuna152 жыл бұрын
Hi kaity how big your fish tank and where to buy the fish tank you have now and how much is cost ???
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
Hi Andy 😊 it's a Waterbox Clearpro 7225. If you go to the Waterbox website it'll tell you your closest retailer for them. It's about 6ft by 2ft by 2ft and costs around $5000AUD for the tank and cabinet
@samperson87872 жыл бұрын
I have that exact uv and after a while it started emitting a white film that would cloud the water. Interested to see how it works for you.
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
That's interesting! Yes I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out
@markbaumgardt28682 жыл бұрын
I have just a sand substrate with the rock substrate the detritus stays under them which causes a nitrate factory
@nijmakayastha3052 жыл бұрын
hi i'm ur new subscriber .how can recharge perigen n when???
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
Hi Nijma! Thank you for subscribing 😊 it is meant to last between 3-6 months, but sometimes it might last less depending on the bioload. Once it goes a dark brown colour it is meant to be regenerated with bleach diluted in water
@LuisAlvarado-yp8kr2 жыл бұрын
Plants love
@fishmunga1014 Жыл бұрын
I do have another question for you, have you ever swam amongst the Great Barrier Reef?
@Kaityscichlids Жыл бұрын
I have been there once a while ago!
@fishmunga1014 Жыл бұрын
@@Kaityscichlids having Magnetic Island just off townsville (where I live) we use to go out nearly every wkend & used to snorkel around some of the bays. Was so much fun.
@MRGUSTAVOCHICKENFRING2 жыл бұрын
What are those spotlights on your tank called?
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
They're freshwater AI Primes 😊
@jeffburnett15272 жыл бұрын
I'm wondering if chemi pure blue does the same thing ? do know anything about that product ?
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
I believe it's meant to do the same thing, but I haven't used it before
@jeffburnett15272 жыл бұрын
@@Kaityscichlids ok I'm setting up a 125 long for my cichlids and putting chemi pure blue in my fx6 canister I'm curious to see how it does , keep up the great videos love watching and learning .
@pareshkeer5616 Жыл бұрын
Nice
@freddyaquinteroc6819 Жыл бұрын
❤❤❤❤ Beautiful 😊
@Kaityscichlids Жыл бұрын
Thank you :)
@manslayerdbzgt2 жыл бұрын
You should think about drilling that tank and putting a sump on it and you can put as much biological that you need in it
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
If I'm reluctant to cut my FX6 outlet pipe, I'm definitely not drilling my tank 🤣 But in all seriousness I would like to try a sump one day!
@Andy-px1mj2 жыл бұрын
A second FX6 would be a much easier option if needed. And one could be entirely for bio media.
@sauravraj5891 Жыл бұрын
Can I use overhead sump filter
@Kaityscichlids Жыл бұрын
I've never used one before, but I'm sure it would work!
@jlmm39682 жыл бұрын
I used put my purigen and Chemipure in my cannister, but it becomes a pain to change , I have a overstocked cichlid tank, so I bought a hob aquaclear 110 I put my purigen and Chemipure in there also I buy 50 micron filter pads and put in 110 aquaclear also . It is so much easier to change my purigen ,plus my 50 micron pads catch so much junk and make my water crystal clear, and I can change pads out weekly and it’s not a pain like the cannister filter.
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
That is an EXCELLENT idea!! It's perfect for it too because I was surprised how little you actually need to add for such a big tank
@stevenk9072 жыл бұрын
I always recharge my purigen. I used to have a big bag like yours but it’s got leaked and it was a messed !!! Plz be careful. So I decided to go with small size 100Gram and go with multiple
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
Oh no!! That would be a nightmare trying to remove it if it leaked out
@greygoose1172 жыл бұрын
Try seachem matrix and seachem de-nitrate. You shouldn’t really have to use buffer if you’re using crushed coral / aragonite for substrate. What size is your tank?
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
If I don't add a buffer my KH is a 5, so I definitely need to. I have limestone and crushed coral in the filter, but the sand is just pool filter sand. The tank is 670L altogether, 6ft X 2 ft X 2ft
@stevegee80102 жыл бұрын
Coral will do nothing if the water is already alkaline, it will only dissolve if the PH falls below 7, so that's the only buffering capacity it has. There's a reason coral skeletons last for thousands of years in the sea and are only diminished from erosion. I'll probably get jumped on by a hundred cichlid keepers now, but before you all linch me look into the actual science of it.
@greygoose1172 жыл бұрын
@@stevegee8010 sooo the actual science of it not buffering ph doesn’t work how? It also releases minerals into the water that they need too. Been keeping African cichlids for over 20 years and it’s all I use for substrate, I have close to 30 large tanks in my fish room and I’ve never had a problem with it, or never had it not buffer my water. In all my years of fishkeeping, I’ve never once tested the alkalinity of my water for my fish either. No need to. It’s not even in master test kits either. My tap water ph is 7.4 and above. The only times I ever test for alkalinity is for maintaining chemicals in my hot tub, which is a totally different subject.
@greygoose1172 жыл бұрын
@@Kaityscichlids so 180 gallons. I’ve kept cichlids for over 20 years and never needed to test for gh or kh, nor needed a reason to make huge water parameter adjustments. I use the substrate I mentioned, and only add seachem prime for all my tanks, I have close to 30 large tanks in my fish room. I never have a problem with my fish. People think you need all these chemicals to mimic African cichlids natural habitat, but the majority of the fish we buy are captive and farm bred, so they’ve been raised to tolerate totally different parameters. Save your $$$ and keep things simple. I’d bet there’s a lot of waste hiding in and underneath all those Texas holey rocks which is raising your nitrates also. I removed mine from my office lobby show tank and it made a huge difference. It also cut down on algae and brown diatoms in the tank because you can’t clean all those crevices and my bristlenose pleco couldn’t get in those places either. Beautiful tank regardless. Good luck!
@stevegee80102 жыл бұрын
@@greygoose117 It requires acidic conditions before it will dissolve is the science of it.
@manslayerdbzgt2 жыл бұрын
Love your videos though
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
Thank you!! 😊
@Ichthyology- Жыл бұрын
I know this was 11mts ago but you could try Pothos for more of a natural way to rid nitrates...
@Kaityscichlids Жыл бұрын
It's never too late! I love pothos, I just don't like the look of the roots in the tank. But if I had a sump on the African Cichlid tank I'd definitely put some in there
@EggSpotTank2 жыл бұрын
I’ve been using purigen for 6months and literally change my water clarity but I don’t think it will lower nitrates nor UV. 🤔
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
That's great! It definitely helped with water clarity but I haven't seen a difference in nitrates from it
@lgtvsmart4078 Жыл бұрын
Interesting 80% water every week. A lot folks recommended do 30% water change more frequently. I think the reason being beneficial bacteria will be lost and also chemistry. I never did 80% in my 5-7 years experience.
@laurag10762 жыл бұрын
Love
@cdropbox2 жыл бұрын
hey this is cool
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
Thank you!! 😊
@metinboruc47782 жыл бұрын
Çok güzel olmuş
@ThaSilentOne4202 жыл бұрын
That deep sand bed isnt helping anything i know they are popular in the saltwater world but if that sand is disturbed alot by the cichlids its working against ya . Add more bio and consider making a filter based off bio like a 55 gallon under the aquarium made into a wet dry filter thats atleast 60% bio or more . Purigen is more of a bandaid then anything . I ran way more cichlids then the numbers u got in a 120G and once i did the DIY based wet dry filtration and filled it with 60% bio media water was always crystal clear u might also want to look into DIY pond filters if your looking for that sparkling clean clear water . Cichlids was my thing before saltwater 9years ago . Unless u bump up to 2 or 3 canister filters u will be constantly working . Take it from someone who tried everything . I had probably 200 mbuna in a 120G like that . The setup i suggested will keep nitrates super low due to the bacteria have the surface area to breed and live on with the amount of fish. Also allow u to add alot more
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
Thank you for the info! For my situation it's not really practical to add another canister filter or a sump to the tank, so Purigen makes sense to give it a go. But I can see how if you had a filtration setup specifically designed to grow anaerobic bacteria it would help a lot. It would be great to try it one day. My cichlids don't disturb all of the sand bed so I am hoping maybe some of the deep oxygen deprived layers that don't get disturbed might grow some anaerobic bacteria 🤞
@stevegee80102 жыл бұрын
@@Kaityscichlids If your ammonia and nitrites are zero but you're getting a lot of nitrates, that indicates your flitration, as far as nitrifying bacteria goes, is doing a good job. So I believe the only extra filtration you may need to consider is to denitrify your system.
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
@@stevegee8010 100% agree!!
@michaeleber4752 Жыл бұрын
Purigen will give you a clear tank, but if you have a black water tank then you cannot use Purigen or charcoal. On the other hand, Purigen will be selective (which charcoal is not) so it will filter out waste biproducts without filtering out medicines.
@Kaityscichlids Жыл бұрын
That is very true!! And a good point to consider 😊
@Ravin2692 жыл бұрын
Try annubias or Java fern. superglue to your rocks and they dont touch those plants
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
I do love anubias but I don't think it would do well with my bright lights!
@飛雲-o7g2 жыл бұрын
😘🐟🐟🐟
@ArunKumar-n2 жыл бұрын
Hai kaity.. ur tank water looks little green colour is because of high light intensity but nice vedieo on store ....
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
Thank you 😊 I'm really excited to see if the UVC will allow me to keep the high light intensity while preventing the greenness I normally get at the end of the week
@adamk46622 жыл бұрын
Techden is NOT on the Sunshine coast!
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
It is right on the cusp. Close enough 😂
@freddyaquinteroc6819 Жыл бұрын
Hola saludos besos 😊
@tiago.downunder2 жыл бұрын
Having such a deep sand bed will build up nitrogen.
@ernestokettle87082 жыл бұрын
I see your videos just to hear and see you.. Katty I really like You sweetheart.❤️
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
Thank you so much 😊
@jeancharlesprunier24422 жыл бұрын
👍🇫🇷👋
@SergioBernardoAlmi Жыл бұрын
Recharge it don’t throw it away
@mangold7192 Жыл бұрын
好吃
@jam9762 Жыл бұрын
Beautiful tank
@Kaityscichlids Жыл бұрын
Thank you 😊🙏
@brianthiel14882 жыл бұрын
No replacement for plants. Cichlids screw them up so a plants in a sump would work.
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
That's the way I think!
@WhatOfFox2 жыл бұрын
sorry but you don't know how to add plants for the cichlids, you have to put anubias with large leaves stuck on the stones, if you put fine substrate plants it's obvious which will leave 2 hours later.
@Kaityscichlids2 жыл бұрын
Anubias isn't really appropriate for my tank because of the high light, and aesthetically I prefer leaving the rocks for the algae to grow on. Plus parameters wise I chose vallisneria since it likes high pH and hard water unlike Anubias. I'm sure that adding a larger vallisneria in a pot would have helped with the success. Thank you for the info though 😊
@sabrinakosova2613 Жыл бұрын
Die Steine gehören nicht zu malawisee 😅 typisch hauptsächlich den Menschen gefällt es wie es denn barschen geht weiß keiner 😂