Pepere
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Posts posted by Pepere
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I usually siphon off around 3 gallons on my 29 gallon tank. It drops water from a half inch below frame to maybe 2 inches below the frame.
this level drops the water low enough that I can fit arms in without displacing water above and over…
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It sure is hard to say not knowing what the contaminants are…
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You can just glue hem to rather small rocks too. Just big enough to held them down. They dont have to be glued to large decorative rocks.
then you can rearrange them in the tank to suit your fancy…
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This particular tank of mine is fairly densely planted, and pretty significantly stocked, and has injected co2.
I do not run an airpump, airstone on this tank and have not seen any indication of livestock stress.
I do have a canister filter discharging through a spray bar that disturbs the surface and the pickup is through a glass pipe with a surface skimmer.
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On 6/19/2024 at 7:16 PM, Mordecai13 said:
I've heard ppl on different forums say that air pumps if anything should be turned on at night when the light is off
The rational for this is that plants consume oxygen during their dark cycle.
your tank though is not particularly densely planted and also has low livestock stocking. Further both cories and Gourami are able to get oxygen from the surface if needed..,
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I generally remove leaves this infested. You end up removing a fair amount of algae all at once that way, which means less left to re colonize, and removes mass that slows flow and shades new growth.
byand large leaves infested to that degree seldom recover.
Healthy plants defend themselves well against algae. Plants sometimes abandon leaves and once abandoned the leaves leak from the margins and the leakage seems to feed algae…
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I have 15 Green Neons in a 29 gallon. They will often be close together in a cluster, and often enough they will also be scattered across the tank.
so moments of schooling but nothing consistent…
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On 6/19/2024 at 5:34 PM, Mordecai13 said:
Thanks! So would you recommend that I keep the air stone off?
I dont see a negative to shutting it off. @Lennie feels a gourami would benefit from it being off. I am not sure that I see it, but, it is nothing I would be doctrinaire on and he may well be right…
you could certainly shut it off and observe if you see any changes.. I cant see a negative to removing the airstone as your tank is lightly stocked.
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On 6/19/2024 at 5:57 PM, jkh772 said:
My goal is to not have not have to micrormanage the parameters so for me the answer is to avoid overstocking and to test more frequently to not let things get so out of hand.
While I am not a fan of crushed coral personally and do not intend on using it again, I dont think it is horrible. I just think there are better options…
for your needs given the kh of your tap water, once you get excess acids neutralized and get kh back up I suspect weekly water changes will be plenty to kep kh in a good range for you.
for myself I have 1 degree kh in my tap and do nothing to supplement it. All of my tank inhabitants tend to be the acidic water variety and are quite happy with it and my plants seem to like it too.
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My gut feeling is that based on current stocking the surface agitation from a hob would be plenty.
on the other hand I cant see where the airstone would be bothersome for a gourami.
The only benefit I would perceive from not having an airstone is less mineral deposits from not having the air bubbles popping…
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On 6/19/2024 at 10:06 AM, jkh772 said:
@PepereWhy don't you like crushed coral?
I know Cory recommends its use.
The reasons why I am not a fan follows.
GH is comprised of calcium and magnesium. K.h is carbonates. Crushed coral adds calcium and carbonates as it dissolves and no magnesium.
plants need both Calcium and Magnesium and do best with a specific ratio. I have very soft Tap water, 1 degree GH, 1 degree KH. By dosing both Calcium and Magnesium in known amounts I can optimize plant growth.
as a general rule KH does not aid in plant growth but it can be important to some livestock.
If I dose crushed Coral, I have no idea what the end stage of increase will be or how fast it occurs, and that dissolving will also slow with time as there gets progressively less crushed coral in the tank as it dissolves over time.
plants continually work to reprogram to optimize themselves for the conditions they find themself in to make the best of things. You do a waterchange, and assuming you are using crushed coral because you have very soft water asI do and conduct a 50% waterchange and essentially gh and kh will roughly be half of what it was before the water change, and then it will start rising so your plants are continually trying to reprogram for changing conditions. Personally Iuse Equilibrium in my water change water that doses calcium, magnesium, iron and potassium. The new water going in will be roughly the same levels of these as what is coming out except for any depletion that occurred over the week, so stability and consistency in my opinion is enhanced.
plants tend to do better with all parameters staying pretty much the same, CO2, temp, GH, KH, Nitrate, potassium, phosphorus, trace elements lighting, etc…
@Mmiller2001 uses individual dosing of lab grade calcium and epsom salts for magnesium instead of Equilibrium and his planted tanks are both award winning and absolutely stunning. In no way would I argue that Equilibrium is superior to his method, and when my stock of Equilibrium starts to approach the end I intend to consider his method in more detail…
I originally had crushed coral in my tank also based on @Cory recommendation and still have a bag of it. I pulled what I had in my tanks as I learned more about it not providing magnesium, and the water change issue. My plants are doing much better now than before, but I in no way attribute it all to removing crushed coral. I have changed a lot in my tanks both with water and light parameters and plant husbandry practices etc…. I do not however foresee using crushed coral again…
One might set up a test tank and add crushed coral and graph GH, KH changes over time and what affect water changes has, but I cant see doing it myself. Honestly it is just way to easy to dose Equilibrium with a measuring spoon into replacement water…
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On 6/17/2024 at 1:22 PM, jkh772 said:
I don't really mind water changes but how quickly the tank went from very stable to huge pH drop took me by surprise. I was looking for other solutions that don't require daily water changes (that's what I've been doing this week to keep pH > 6.5) or getting rid of my baby snails!
I bet the kh was steadily decreasing while ph wasnt moving as fast, until kh depleted..
If your tap water is 80 ppm kh, that is a little under 5 degrees of hardness. A 30% water change will raise tank kh to just over 1 degree kh, and it might not do that simply due to acids in the tank converting carbonates to co2 early on.
I dont think you need to do daily water changes, but initially you might need to do a few back to back 50-70% water changes to get kh simply from your tap water. Alternatively using Seachem Alkalinity buffer to get kh back up and then doing weekly 30-50% water changes should keep up on kh depletion.
I am personally not a fan of crushed coral for a number of reasons…
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On 6/16/2024 at 10:39 PM, jkh772 said:
I was hoping there was an easier way than water changes
I find it amazing how much more difficult people try to make things to avoid simple water changes…
I have been guilty of the same thing.
Sometimes, investing to make waterchanges easier is the better path.
I have found routine simple water changes makes keeping a tank free of visible algae so much easier for me and has sold me on doing the work…
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I bought an API Nitrate test kit recently that came with a 5 ml plastic test tube with the cap hinged to the top.
you can flip it closed with your thumb… no needing to use another hand to get the cap on. No more glass breakage.
I was very pleased. I went looking for replacement plastic test tubes to get rid of my glass ones. Unfortunately I have not been able to find any for sale…
I am hoping API intends to offer them soon.
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Yes. And you really should have a ground probe and not just rely on the gfci alone. Without a ground probe there is no alternate route to ground until you stick your hand in the water and also touch a ground source yourself…
If I have a ground fault, I want there to be a path to ground inside the tank so it trips before I stick my hands in the water….
and you really should get in the habit of tripping and resetting your gfci outlet once a month. I do mine the first Saturday of every month during tank cleaning….
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I have not been too terribly impressed with any algae eating inhabitants. None that I tried seemed to make much of an impact even when I didn't feed the tank for a week to encourage more algae consumption..
I have tanks that are free of visible algae now, but I don't attribute it to any of the inhabitants…
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On 6/14/2024 at 9:25 AM, Chris45 said:
At the very least I will replace the o rings for the aquastop. I wonder if I could find equivalents at a hardware store for 10c each instead of 100x that much...
Maybe yes, maybe ever so slightly smaller that they leak….
personally I wouldnt risk it unless I had a spare aquatop valve on hand, cause if it dont work, you are waiting on a replacment…
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On 6/14/2024 at 5:35 AM, Chris45 said:
I assume the aquastop assembly is the valve at the end of the pipes? Do these often fail? Also, what is the usual shelf life of the o ring gasket? I assume this gasket is the rubber that goes around the motor head?
They may not fail often, but they are cheap enough to simply have a spare on hand. If you ever need it, you would be very happy to have one on hand. $18.00
the manufacturer recommends cleaning and lubricating the large O ring every month and replacing it every 6 months. Having one on hand and using it at the 6 month mark and replacing it means you would never have to worry about the shelf life.
given the low cost of O ring and impeller kit at $27.00 the inconvenience of a leak, I change them at 6 months…
alternatively you can buy just the o ring for $9.00
$21.00 for a hose kit is cheap enough to have on handnin case you accidentally nick one too…
Of course the ultimate back up would be to have a spare pump in the box just in case…. $145.00
If I had 5-6 tanks with canister filters I would probably have a spare canister on the shelf…
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On 6/14/2024 at 5:22 AM, Becky412 said:
For me, until I see an explanation/response from company, I will continue to use the API even though I know it tests TA
I rely on the API ammonia test for that very reason. I know what it is testing.., Total ammonia… and the test results correlate very well with known ammonia dosing. Ie if I dose a sample to 4 ppm ammonia using ammonia drops, the API reliably reports consistent results.
I had initially questioned the co op strips ammonia reporting when I tested ammonia using the strip after having dosed my tank to2 ppm for a fishless cycling and it didnt register at all. A sample dosed to 4 ppm did not change the color on the test strip anywhere near 4 ppm reporting. My water was under 7 ph and that might very well be the reason if these strips do not test for total ammonia.
Since I dont “know” what these strips are actually testing for I dont have the confidence to use them.
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On 6/14/2024 at 12:36 AM, daggaz said:
bought 5 glass catfish. They are all thriving. Four of them swim together at all times, and the fifth one is like Diogenes sitting in his big pot outside the city walls. He doesn't give a ****.
Similar is what has caused me to question the received wisdom…
I have seen groups of 5 sticking together where the 6th fish is a loner…consistently.
obviously some cant count….
And that has me thinking I need at least a seventh.. cause if the one loaner is harming the other 5 cause they dont have a sixth to school with them,,, If I have a seventh the loaner will only be hurting himself…
But what if the new one buddies up with the loner? Back to square 1…
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My suspicion is the same as above. The bacteria should be mostly fine.
It is well worth keeping a spare impeller kit, aquastop assembly, o ring gasket and hose assembly on hand for oopses like this…. With those parts on hand you can pretty much turn an oops into a halfhour inconvenience at worst…
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I often wonder about so much “Accepted Wisdom” in this hobby. Someone reads posited “Wisdom” and vociferously defends it…. And reading multiple care guides often finds them in conflict with one another…
I am often left wondering where the data is to back up assertions…
Where is the data supporting that Shoaling fish need at least 6 of a species…. Do they fall off the cliff with 5? I dont know…It is easy enough to comply with 6…
As to why the recommendation for minimum tank size for different species with similar body size? Could be due to temperament, activity levels..
Personally I have a hard time contemplating keeping an 8 inch fish in a 29 gallon tank. The majority of my fish in my 29 gallons top out under an inch, with a few approaching 2 inches…
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On 6/12/2024 at 5:01 AM, daggaz said:
2) Liquid Fertilizer: Father fish calls this stuff "poison" which is just factually incorrect and entirely dogmatic.
father Fish makes a fair number of similar inflammatory comments…
On 6/12/2024 at 5:01 AM, daggaz said:Carbon. I added rotting woodchips to my substrate. In my haste, I forgot to add a layer of crushed charcoal and wood-ash.
You can easily enough add activated charcoal after the fact. I have excavated capping a bit and placed items down there and recapped…. And I mention activated charcoal as the process of activating expands lots o nooks crannies and channels in it. Great for harboring various beneficial bacterias, not just nitrifying bacterias…
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On 6/11/2024 at 7:41 PM, svachon9 said:
Fine for 24 hrs?
When I face a power outage that is likely to last over a day, I shut down my canister filters and put the media in buckets with air stones to keep the bacteria alive as a single air pump uses a whole lot less power than 3 canister filters…. 3 watts vs 30 watts…
After lutting them back in service I have not seen any ammonia or nitrite spikes, so my guess is that the bacteria has done fine.
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Is this Staghorn Algae?
in Plants, Algae, and Fertilizers
Posted
Maybe shade that 1 spot a bit and improve flow in that area…