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It feels like just yesterday that they were in diapers and eating paramecium.

I'd leave it messy; fishes love messy plants. The messier the better. Of course you might want the plants to fit your visual needs rather than your fishes so i suppose there is that aspect but... still something to think about.

I have babies!

I like aqua clear filters. You can look them up on amazon

It looks like a very young black-beard algae. Algae is a plant, so treat it as one. If you want to reduce it, you can: manually remove it reduce light do more water changes (removing nitrites, nitrate, ammonia, and excess nutrients) reduce the amount of fertilizers you're using add more plants to out compete the algae add a critter that will eat the algae You could do a combo of this, and I would recommend doing a combo. I've heard otocinclus will sometimes eat black beard algae, but siamese algae eaters are some of the only fish that actively do. I have also heard amano shrimp eat it... I have no personal experience though. P.S: love all that anubias! P.P.S: is that a wine glass? What is growing in it?? Cool tank!!!

with a constant ph of 6.6, tells me you have water on the softer side. snails would like neutral to harder water. hardness being determined by the amount of calcium and magnesium dissolved in your water. something snails need that for their shells. that's your gh values and don't worry about the betta in harder water. he'll be fine

Im going to do it. Re-seal, windshield repair, silicone, glass panes, and a dream. Don't hold your breath for a post of how it goes, because I have to do everything little by little since I work full time and take care of kids. Also don't want to rush it. Plus, I am going to have to move it to my basement for the testing phase and that thing is heavy and BIG!! I might even have to do it on my back deck to avoid the basement stairs.

you need to change the water whenever your ammonia is above .25 parts per million. probably by half. this is strictly to keep your fish safe. or when your nitrites get above 0. then re dose with prime and stability. you will lose some bacteria. but it should be fine. bacteria are not in the water column. they're on your plant, decor, substrate and filter media.

I say go for it. Patch the crack, or find a piece of glass. It's plate glass maybe you can find a glazer that has a piece big enough that you can get or something.

I would keep an eye on him and see if he is nibbling on himself. It just seems like a lot of fin went missing in one day. To provide enrichment you could put a mirror in front of him for 5mins to 10mins a day to get him to flare. That will exercise his fins. I’d hate to recommend Meds if that’s not the problem. Here is a really good video from Irene. Keep me posted and good luck.

My understanding is that if you put the prime in the bucket, then put that water to the tank, the prime will bind with the chlorine in the bucket water before anything in the tank has to opportunity to bind with it. If you put the water straight from the tap to the tank then if you only use enough prime for the replacement water then it may bind with things already in the tank (ammonia, nitrite, etc) and not have enough prime left to bind with all of the chlorine.

She wants an arowana so not filling the tank to the top would be a good idea for that fish ie: they are big time jumpers.

I am the lone go for it person on this thread but I freely admit that a crack forming down the road is a major issue. Just curious if a Windshield Crack Repair Kit could be used. Another option if you are a I like to fix/build things kind of person. Since you want a arowana, a low boy style tank would work just fine. You could breakdown this tank and cut off the damaged glass, the bad section is near the top. So now you have a ~72" x 18" x 18" tank instead of 21" tall. For this project, removing the frame would be the first and possible the hardest part of the job. So the good news, if you can't do this then just trash the tank. What you need is a thin razor knife which can hold 4" razor blades. You have to cut the silicone inside the frame. I have never cut glass but a local glass shop may cut if for a reasonable price. Or cut it yourself. The overflow boxes would have to be cut down, I assume they are acrylic and can be easily cut with the right tools. Where are the holes for the thru hole fittings? Resealing a tank is not that difficult. The hard part is removing all the old silicone. A DIY job may be better than the factory sealing Aqueon does on their tanks.

The good news is it's high up, so the water pressure should be lower. How comfortable are you with working with epoxies/resins? There are "chip fixing " epoxies for use on windshields that could (maybe should?) fill the voids and stabilize the chipped area. You'll want to get the epoxy into the finest of the voids though and fill them thoroughly. There are windshield repair kits that I'd give a shot to and see if it worked. A good epoxy will be as strong or stronger than the original glass. The challenge is getting it everywhere it needs to be with no voids. Some poking and jabbing with as fine a needle or wire as you can find to get the epoxy deep into any voids would help. The water pressure at the top of a tank is a lot lower than the water pressure at the bottom of a tank. If the epoxy can stabilize the situation, you could have a very long-lasting tank.

There are at least 6 species called “Kuhli” loaches. Let me see if I can find the good article. Found it. This article has some very good information and info about the individual species of “eel loaches” as they recommend they be called since only one has the species name P. kuhlii and as @doktor zhivago mentioned, is now thought to have never been imported into the US and possibly never exported from its home range. Funny the tidbits my creaky old brain has collected! 😆 https://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/features/keeping-kuhli-and-other-eel-loaches-in-the-aquarium

I'm long winded. Lifelong problem (writer) lol. I'm a bit baffled. I finally re-scaped an aquarium that I had running for about 6 years. I'm mostly did this because I was starting to see reduced plant growth specifically in my stem plants, even though my Anubias and other plants were suffering as well. I also started having to deal with green spot algae and green dust algae which is the first time I've had noticeable algae of any kind in this tank. The tank seems to be unbalanced, leading me to believe that the substrate was exhausted. Through dosing with root tabs and being more consistent with my liquid all in one(easy green), my ludwigia repens bounced back. And after a few months my water wisteria started having new growth at the tops only. However this new growth would eventually start to brown and seem to wilt/go limp And the stem never gets taller. I propagated and planted the newer growth directly in the substrate hoping it would grow a new. This is when I noticed that the stems were dying at the root level. The stems themselves were getting mushy and brown. Rotting at the base. The luigia eventually fully recovered. What was once a single surviving stem was propagated and replanted and grew back into a bushel that was up to the surface of the water. I also introduced some pearl weed knowing that it would soak up nutrients in the water to help me deal with the green spot algae and the green dust while I was also dosing small amounts of phosphorus. The pearl weed grew incredibly well. I've had to trim it multiple times. All the while the water wisteria continued to dwindle away. I even purchased new healthy wisteria only for it to die back. I also started to notice some of the remaining wisteria starting to present in it's wide leaf form. Which I've never seen before in wisteria that was already grown underwater. Over the course of several months and observing the different plants and what I thought was different deficiencies, I was dosing everything from phosphorus and potassium to flourish trace. All this lead me to rescape the tank eventually, in the hopes that some fresh substrate would help. I'm several weeks into the rescape with mixed results. The ludwigia is once again growing like crazy. My S.Repens that were struggling are starting to bounce back pretty well. The pearl weed is once again growing like a weed. But my water wisteria and Hygrophila Corymbosa 'Compacta' seems to be struggling. Actually some of the compacta is doing well and some has pinholes. As the new setup is still settling in and only a few weeks old I'm not too concerned about the new plants struggling. I just find it odd that only the two hygroophilas are really suffering. I've mostly been using test strips as it's been a long time since I've been concerned about a swing in my water parameters. I had to toss some test strips as I guess they got exposed to moisture and stopped working. Using new Tetra easy strips the tank as of yesterday was nitrate above 40pm, nitrite 0, GH around 150- 300, chlorine , KH about 40 and PH around 6.8. if any of these seemed crazy to me I'd break out the master testkit but these are roughly the parameters that my tank has run at for years. I did do a 50% water change the other day just to reduce nitrates a bit as they were above 40 but possibly approaching 80. (Deciphering test strip colors can suck sometimes). I also had some green dust algae on the glass. I'm not running CO2 and the tank is using a hygger 26W 24/7 Lighting Aquarium LED Light. ( I got a new light at some point hoping that would help) Short version: My water wisteria is hardly growing and some is dying back. I'm getting new leaves at the top but no growth to the stem. The older leaves seem to be browning or maybe that's algae. But no real growth considering wisteria usually grows out of control. Ludwigia repens, pearl weed and java fern wendilov in same tank are growing very well. Any help or insights is welcome and helpful. I've included some photos from within the new setup. Sorry again for the long read.

Looks to me like fungus which grows on new wood in tanks. I have some in my new - ish 25 gallon cube right now. Look up “driftwood fungus aquarium” on google to see more pictures. How long has your tank been set up and/or how long have you had this driftwood?

What’s the best hob for a 29 gallon plz provide links

Good idea, I agree. If it gets worse you will be ready. Aquarium Co Op sells and makes the best product.

@Tony s Thank you!! That is really helpful! I have another post in General thread about one of my Betta's caudal fins simply half gone overnight would love your thoughts on that if you can take a peek!

Looks like it's injured itself am not seeing any fuzzy appearance that would indicate a fungal infections what I would do is add Indian almond leaves as they have antibacterial and antifungal properties you might have to add one leaf per gallon to get a beneficial effect and monitor give an update if it gets worse @haliboo

maybe add a hob, temporarily? sponge filters are great in some ways. mostly biological filtration. they are mostly bad at mechanical filtration. taking stuff out of your water column. there are various techniques to improve it. but a lot of the gunk still ends up bank in the tank. where sponges excel, is using one air pump for multiple sponges. but you're looking for more mechanical filtration. the best source of that for a small tank is a hob. if you have small fry in there or shrimp, then a prefilter will be best. but that also cuts down on mechanical filtration.

@Kurt Brutting Thank you for the video rec. I actually just ordered those meds she recommended just incase it turns to an infection. I feel with 4 betta tanks, it's best to have it on hand anyways.

@HelplessNewbie You reacted before I even finished the writing the post haha

Tested mine on deck also

If it's brown algae it will disappear over time. or get a few snails to eat it. when your silica levels drop, it will go away. unless you have a cheap black substrate made with ectra silica. I did. it took several months to go away. and covered everything in 1/4 inch of brown goo. I left it without fish for 3 months and kept dusting off the plants. eventually it cleared. but such a pain. so mostly patience, unless you're getting silicates from an outside source. like your water or substrate

I’ve heard some bettas eating their own fins. Have you seen any nibbling?

Aquarium Co Op has an article on how to do a Fish In Cycle. You might find this helpful Cloudy water is common in brand new aquarium set ups and is usually due to a bacterial bloom (sudden rise in nitrifying bacteria). https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/fish-tank-cycling

I'd still go down the sides with the extra glass. between the lid and the bottom frame. it will help redistribute the weight away from the chip

The tank came with tight fitting, heavy glass lids because the heaters and air can go in the sump or in the back thingys. It would be perfect if is wasn't for that stupid chip. Keep the ideas coming LOL

I just had to google what a paludarium is LOL. They look pretty cool. I got a windshield repair kit so I am starting there. I still don't know if I will trust filling it up after that I will keep brain storming. I am using it for something cool no matter what. There is just to much potential. Maybe a paludarium is the way to go. Or just not filling it to the top so I can still get the arowana that I wanna.

One more idea for this tank, make a paludarium with it.

Hi! Perhaps somebody in this community can help me - I'm looking for leucistic dojo loaches. Gold (or pale) with BLACK eyes. Not wild type weather loaches, absolutely not albino dojos. I haven't seen any of these leucistic guys for a few years and it's heartbreaking! Is there anybody still breeding them? No fish store I've spoken to has seen them on an order list. The last time I found them in a store was 2018, I believe. Their personalities are so much sweeter than the other lineages but I understand they are tricker to breed. Many thanks for any information or leads anyone can provide me with! Pictured on the left my dear now-elderly Divot with her late partner (RIP 😭 I miss him so much too). She needs a new shoal and it *has* to be leucistic dojos.

I checked with Cory (Edit: I actually emailed with store manager Brandon) first and he said to post here and Facebook, unfortunately. I called Aquarium Zen and no dice but thanks for the lead! I think albinos and wild types are more suitable for ponds, leucistics aren't nearly as feisty, but I will look into pond shops too anyway! Follow up: no luck at Bridges, the guy I spoke with doesn't see any in the ordering system. Same answer I got from Farmland in Silverdale. Thanks though! The search continues!

I grew those long ones in the front from seeds. They were supposed to be mini leaf grass but I let them go, and they are not mini anymore. I had them planted all around the border of the aquarium, but they didn't thrive in the back so its pretty bare back there except for a Java fern that is exploding into a bunch of other ferns. I think I might take the suggestions to trim them down and try moving the trimmings to the back and see if they will thrive now that they are big. They are basically doing what ever they want at this point.

Got it, thanks! I've been thinking about starting to hatch my own baby brine shrimp recently

I have loved reading this journal so far you have an engaging way of writing and inspire passion in the reader to keep our ecosystem's clear of invasive species. Keep up the good work 😀👍

BBS = baby brine shrimp

I cleaned my Aquaclear-50, it was so clogged with sludge that it was barely trickling water out on full blast.

Take the fish out rearrange the decorations and make lots of hiding spots then reintroduce the fish all at the same time. This will help cut down on some of the violence.

Thanks for this! I've ordered around 40 Easy Flow upgrades since they've been release and I've noticed a few from the first ones I got were getting clogged. I use oxygen to pack my fish, so I hooked up the airline and blew a quick burst through them. Now they are good as new!

You could still make it look more natural without it looking messy. I’d move those plants in the front towards the back since they’re growing taller then add some anubias, buce and maybe dwarf sag in the front. You could also get other stem plants to give the tank some variety and different textures so it doesn’t look flat. You can use echinodrus bleheri (amazon sword) or red tiger lotus for the corner if you want some shade for your gourami.

For the most part, I think you can just replant the tall plants in the back rather than the front. You'd usually stagger stuff like: short, medium, tall - from front to back. I usually like to leave an open spot in the middle so you can see the fish even in a very overgrown tank.

I wish I had your problem.🙂 It looks like most of he plants tend to be in the front. You aren't a fan of floating plants, so you need to eliminate those long naked stems. You could trim the remaining taller plants, or better yet move them to the back of the tank and move some of the hardscape forward. Mounding up extra substrate to add elevation might also be worth considering, and it may help showcase some of your shorter broadleaved plants. A small plant free zone somewhere in the foreground might be worth considering.. Whichever route you take, the tallest plants will benefit from a regular trim.

Not in my experience. I haven't seen that in any of my fish. I guess it could be normal, just haven't seen it myself. Attaching pics of my male and female.

I was just looking into that as an option for them. The kit for filling the windshield voids were cheap when I bought the last one less than 20 dollars.

Live bearers like hard water. Hard water by it's very chemical nature tends to have high ph. Most of the fish are pretty hardy tho. Putting some crushed coral or wondershell in the tank wouldn't hurt

This thread went off topic and became negative. That portion has been moved to a locked closed thread. Further dechlorinator discussion from this thread is to be done through direct message. Original media discussion has been preserved as it’s positive and informative. Further media discussion may continue on this thread in a positive manner.

Yes they work the same as sponge for biomedia. Biological filtration is simple. Oxygenated water moving over any surface your bacteria can grow. No matter how much media / surface you have you will not grow more bacteria than the amount of bioload. I’m excessively over filtered. Not because it does more but each thing does something different for my different needs. Flow, spares to drop in project tanks, HOBs =planters etc The more really only comes into play in something like a bare bottom tank with minimal to no plants. I’ve even run tanks with NO FILTER that were incredibly stable and produced lots of offspring. For a few years I used a pile of rocks with an air hose (no stone) to make a bubble volcano. That was my filter. Then box filters made of pillow fiber floss and a deli cup. All worked great and did the same for biological filtration as the fancy power filters. The advantage of power filters with different media is mostly just mechanical filtration and the ability to put permanent media that does not need replaced to preserve biological filtration. Putting different medias stand alone or combine gives you the desired affect you want. Play around I’ve tried most all of them. They all do just fine. I am LAZY so chose sponge because it’s an easy squeeze and also works fabulous for my HOB planters. Moral of my story. They all work just fine. Have fun trying things and find what you like. Some sponge 20-30-40 offers some measure of mechanical filtration your pot scrubbers do not.

Glad to see that Pot Scrubber on the list with good number, just bought some for my new sump filter. I am starting to regret my purchase of Seachem Matrix, it was expensive and I may have fell victim to marketing hype. But i agree with Galabad, use separate media for mechanical and bio-filtration. On my sump filter, I use filter socks which are so easy to clean. I just toss them in the washing machine before my wife wakes up :-). The bio section is a moving bed filter, more like a lazy river filter as my bio-media are too big 🙂 But i never have to clean this section.. My original sump filter used multiple foam pads, it was a nightmare to clean. No more foam pads for me.