# Back to the Future.



## KhuliLoachFan (Mar 8, 2008)

I'm baaack. After contemplating returning to the Aquarium hobby for about a year, I bought a 48G bowfront from Kijiji yesterday. I apologize to the fellow I was PM'ing here that I was also considering, but the Kijiji deal had a filter and a light and a hood, and I wanted an Instant Kit. 

My two youngest kids are just the right age to LOVE the idea of going to the store and picking out some fishies. So we're going to have a nice 48G community with platies and mollies, for a while. Eventually I'll do a low tech planted community setup, but for now it's gravel and rock, and driftwood. At least it's not Clown Puke Gravel (that's the blue and red and white kind) that I had the FIRST time I was NEW at this.

Anyways, very excited to be back into this. I'm going to attempt a fishless cycle of the sponges in my filter, before I buy any fishy-wishies.

Anyways, hi again, I'm REALLY back.

Warren


----------



## tom g (Jul 8, 2009)

*welcome back*

welcome back look forward to seeing some pics ...


----------



## zenins (Sep 17, 2013)

KhuliLoachFan said:


> At least it's not Clown Puke Gravel (that's the blue and red and white kind) that I had the FIRST time I was NEW at this.


... but kids love that stuff ... even the neon pink stuff 

How old are your kids ?


----------



## KhuliLoachFan (Mar 8, 2008)

The younger kids are 5 and 3. My older kids are teenagers and are not into it anymore though they loved it when I was doing this last time.

At the height of my addiction (sorry, hobby) I had 12 tanks. Then a series of tragedies involving vacation and automatic feeders caused me to lose all of the fish in my 75 gallon malawi tank. I had puffers (fresh and brackish), I kept shrimp, multies, I had some hilarious and gorgeous clown loaches that I still miss. I had a horsehead loach, and of course a lot of Kuhli Loaches. I miss my loachy buddies.

Been out of it for 3 years, and now I'm back. My 48g is just at the beginning of what is looking like a LONG cycle. There is zero evidence of nitrobacter activity after the first 3 days. I suppose I could just be patient but that's not in me nature. 

If anybody in Scarborough (401/404) has a used filter sponge I could trade ya a fresh one for, please shoot me a pm. I'd like to get this show on the road.

W


----------



## KhuliLoachFan (Mar 8, 2008)

Here's my first setup picture:










This is a 48 gallon bowfront that I got used from Kijiji. There's a Fluval 204 cannister and a pair of nano-fluval 10x filters inside, which I'm using to increase surface agitation, hopefully that will speed up the Fishless cycle which is now on day 4.

After 3 days of no apparent downward movement in the ammonia, today I see Nitrites are up, and Ammonia level is down 80% from about 1.2 ppm to about 0.3 ppm. I added some of a common floating pond plant called hornwort which I bought at big-als today, with the idea that the hornwort is probably hosting all kinds of nice bacteria, and also I added a little of the big-als cycling liquid to hopefully speed this along on its way. Last time I was into this hobby, I found hornwort is wonderful stuff, and that my live-bearers, especially the platies and their little babies, just loved it.


----------



## zenins (Sep 17, 2013)

KhuliLoachFan said:


> I had some hilarious and gorgeous clown loaches that I still miss. I had a horsehead loach, and of course a lot of Kuhli Loaches. I miss my loachy buddies.


Loaches have always been my favourite fish


----------



## KhuliLoachFan (Mar 8, 2008)

zenins said:


> Loaches have always been my favourite fish


I kept my loach book even while I was not actively keeping fish.

My cycle is going slow. Nitrates have not even started going down.

Sent from my LG-H812 using Tapatalk


----------



## zenins (Sep 17, 2013)

KhuliLoachFan said:


> I kept my loach book even while I was not actively keeping fish.


Which Loach book do you have ?


----------



## KhuliLoachFan (Mar 8, 2008)

This one, I got it at Menagerie:

https://www.amazon.ca/Loaches-Natur...dp/0793806208?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0

My tank has finished cycling! So EXCITED! IT'S TIME TO BUY FISHIES! WHEEEEEEE!

I can't decide!? Celestial Pearl Danios. Angels. Swords. Bleeding heart tetras. Oh so many fishies and only one 46 gallon bowfront.

I bought some hornwort and there were little ramshorn snails in there. That makes me happy, I actually like having those around. I didn't mind the malaysian trumpet snails either.

I of course HAVE to get some Kuhli Loaches as that's my handle around here.
My two youngest boys get to pick some community fish (from my approved list) and my wife is happy to pick something too. I think she likes Gouramis. I'm a little worried that Gouramis are not happy in stock toronto water pH.

Warren


----------



## KhuliLoachFan (Mar 8, 2008)

KhuliLoachFan said:


> This one, I got it at Menagerie:
> 
> https://www.amazon.ca/Loaches-Natur...dp/0793806208?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0
> 
> ...


Fishies.









Sent from my LG-H812 using Tapatalk


----------



## KhuliLoachFan (Mar 8, 2008)

KhuliLoachFan said:


> Fishies.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Mo feeshies.









Sent from my LG-H812 using Tapatalk


----------



## KhuliLoachFan (Mar 8, 2008)

KhuliLoachFan said:


> Mo feeshies.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Even mo feesh










Sent from my LG-H812 using Tapatalk


----------

