MattyM

If your water is hard it could be eating mineral deposits on the tank glass as water evaporates. My nerites sometimes climb up into HOB area to get those tasty minerals.

I think that is a Malaysian Trumpet Snail (MTS) - I have them in one of my sanded tanks and they typically burrow down into the substrate and spend most of their time there, surfacing occasionally. They churn the sand which helps keep the tank clean and bring nutrients to plant roots, buy they multiply insanely quickly. I'm not sure if they burrow into gravel or not.

Hi all - I have a giant neon tetra. I assume it's a female and that she is egg laden. She has been this way a few weeks, and moves around, eats, no heavy breathing or anything. Just chill: From what I've read, breeding neons involves dropping the ph and temp, and providing a spawning ground of sorts. And even then it could take several tries. I'm not that interested in breeding tetras right now, and am more wondering how long it will take her to reabsorb the eggs (assuming she is indeed egg laden). Tetra folks - have you seen anything like this and/or tried breeding them?

Great idea!

That is weird! It almost like the tank isn't cycled - maybe? What size are your sponges and what size/bio-load was the tanks they came from? Did you have plants and substrate in those tanks? As far a bottled bacteria, I've had great results with Fritzyme 7 - but with a bare bottom, plant-less tank maybe you need more bio media for bacteria to grow on? Again guessing, but maybe some things to try.

The Tidal 35 actually works pretty well on my 10 gal hospital tank. I use the sponge on the bottom, then poly fil, then the bio media it comes with. You can slow the flow on it and/or baffle it with a sponge or a pre-made baffle like this https://www.etsy.com/listing/769221604/the-original-aquarium-filter-baffles-3d

Could be scuds, I had some in a cycling tank as well. They eventually went away as things balanced out, but yes - fish snacks!

This is also a good idea. I went through a few rounds of plants before I found the magic bunch that liked the soup I serve (and I figured out my lighting, fertz, etc).

For my small fish, I also like crushed up Bug Bites. Mainly I feed them Xtreme Community Crave Flakes, crushed up pretty fine in the morning when everyone is hungry - I like how these flakes have spirulina. At night they often get live/frozen baby brine shrimp, and other times frozen/thawed Daphnia for variety.

@madmark285 - yeah, that's why (at least these) sumps are drilled more towards the top. No check valves, but in the event of a power outage, since everything is drilled towards the top, the sump reservoirs under the tank would ideally be able to hold enough water so that when the water gets below the tank holes, the siphon will break before the reservoirs overflow. Those would all be drilled for me by the pros - I don't intend to mess with that stuff. But you raise some good points. I assume they do not recommend 2 3/4" drillings b/c of the size of the side panel and it's integrity. Are you recommending that b/c of stronger flow? Here's a much larger version of what I'm looking at (only with holes drilled in the back of the tank vs side). Here's someone with a side drilled setup like I'm looking at:

Hi all - as some may know, I'm working on a custom tank build. I initially thought I couldn't use a sump (thus my previous canister post), but it turns out I probably can! But only if the tank is drilled on the side(s). I can do a single 3/4" return or two 1/2" returns, along with the overflow. They can all be on one side, or split between both sides. The tank will be around 65" L, 22" H, 18" deep - any advise? I'm so used to the intake being towards the bottom of the tank that I'm not sure about flow. Any tips appreciated!

No fish yet, but in the next video it's nutz what she does.

WOW, I mean - inspiring, but the amount of effort she puts in is daunting... can't wait to see how that tank turns out! Looks like she has some other crazy vids. I actually have some of those left over from my brewing days! I used them as a filter before I kegged off a beer. Thank you for sharing!

Hi all - after trying out 3 types of substrates (all gravel, all sand, all eco-complete) I've found I really like sand the best. Plants have grown well in all, but the sand seems to show the least waste, and I really like the look. For my next tank, I was thinking of using some of the old gravel inside media bags, capped with sand, perhaps to build height in some areas of the tank (and add some beneficial bacteria) or just layered in the bottom (still in bags) so I don't have to use so much sand. I'm thinking the sand cap would be at least a few inches (maybe less where the bags are), as I've found a deep substrate works best for me. Would this work? I learned in my sand-only tank that any hills/slopes I make just level out over time. I know some folks put aquasoil in bags, but I've never used it and don't want to introduce an unknown variable since all my current tanks are happy w/o it. Tx!

Welcome to the forum! This is a great place to be for aquarium lovers, and Peaches is a great name 🙂

Thank you! I appreciate the pics.

Hi all - I'm fielding a quote on a custom tank, and the rims they use are metal, and 1.5" wide. I'm a bit surprised that canister manufacturers don't supply the info on how wide a rim their j-hook/rim accessories will accommodate. The builder of the tank it pretty sure that the fluval fx rim connectors will fit over it (they usually do sumps, I just don't have the room) - but it will be tight - if it's too tight I'm worried it will eventually break. I'm looking at other manufacturers like Oase and Eheim, but am not sure on the width by just looking at the pics and vids I've found. If you use any of these brands (or any brand you would endorse), would you mind measuring for max rim width? I suppose I could make my own jhook and use any filter I want (I know Cory did a vid on that), but I'm curious if there's anything out there that would work out of the box and look a little sleeker (and save some setup time).

Those 850s are like skyscrapers! No way those are fitting under the tank I’m planning but I get the idea, tx!

I was pondering that. How would you place the inlet and spray bars? I saw a Green Aqua vid where they placed an intake and spray bar on each side, pointing at each other.

I'm doing some research into canister filters, in particular to the Oase Biomaster line. Let's say I'm putting together a 100 gallon planted community tank (70% planted). According to the Oase site, the Biomaster 600 would work. Their site says that this filter is suitable for tanks up to 160 gallons, and has a max flow rate of 350 GPH, that sounds pretty good! I'll inject some CO2, but nothing crazy - just a boost, maybe dropping half a ph point. BUT - from what I've found, flow rates could be measured with an empty canister - as in, no media. If so, and I stuff that thing with media, I assume I'd get much less flow than what the specs for this filter say. So... maybe I'd need to size up? Is that true?

No room for a sump folks - thus the question about canisters.

FWIW, when I was doing this, the filter would be silent for hours, or a day or so - then start rattling again. Eventually it just stayed silent. Just make sure you remove the impeller and really get in there.

I had the same type of thing in a female Platy. I quarantined and followed Colu's directions (basically what was said here), and no real change. She was still eating and active. I put her back in the main tank after a full round of treatment, and some weeks later the swelling finally went down and in place of her eye is a black spot. She often clamps her fins, and tends to hide down by the gravel - often against something with her good eye pointing towards the inside of the tank. Then when feeding time comes she goes bananas - prob b/c it's hard for her to hone in on the food w/ only 1 eye - but she manages. She's my oldest fish and a fav of mine - so when feeding I make sure to put some food right on top of her so she has an easier time getting it. I think maybe a male honey gourami in breeding mode nipped her eye, or she bumped into something fleeing from him.

I run the AC30 and 50 - they are silent, but it took some work and time to get them that way. For the 1st couple weeks, every few days I had to re-lube the impeller shaft. I used a q-tip and got into the impeller chamber and lubed it, not just the shaft. Now that enough bio slime has built up, along with the vaseline, they are silent. Don't even need rubber bands on the lid anymore. The AC usb nano filters are louder. Hope that helps!

Yup, I have 2 running (HOB and sponge) in my 20's.