AllFishNoBrakes

Were you under the impression that your tanks would have ammonia, and you’re surprised they don’t? Are the tanks established? My only other suggestion would be to leave the pad submerged for the 30 seconds, and gently swirl the strip instead of taking it in and out of the water for 30 seconds.

I don’t see why it wouldn’t be. Cory has talked about putting out buckets of water in the summer for mosquitos to lay eggs in to harvest mosquito larvae to feed to his tanks. Feels very much the same to me. Personally, I would sieve the water to try to only get the daphnia and other larvae and try to not being the algae along with it to the tank.

You said you put in 2 cupfuls. Is that as in a 1 cup measuring cup? Maybe you meant capfuls, as in the cap on the bottle which I’m pretty sure is 5ml

I think it’s listed at safe up to 5x, at 1ml per 10 gallons. So, 5ml for a 10 gallon, 10ml for a 20 gallon, and so on. Not trying to be contrarian or an advocate for using dechlorinator as a cure all, just trying to make sure the correct information is out there, perhaps unlike the video you mentioned.

Ah, I forgot about that. If it came with the easy flow kit, I would assume you received the air collar, and I would then further assume the collar will fit. I personally enjoy the collars way more than the Ziss air stones.

One of the pieces should have a smaller nipple to connect the airline. Perhaps there was a mishap at the manufacturer, but I would encourage you to look at all the pieces. From your picture, I don’t think the pieces that connect to all the bases I have look the same. Perhaps the top piece got assembled to the bottom, and the bottom on top.

I’ve never purchased them, but they look similar to what big box stores offer at a much more reasonable price. Also gotta say how much I love that there’s 3 outlets inside the cabinet. Throw some power strips on those outlets and you’ll have all the plugs you need and want, hidden from view.

Probably just an eyesore, especially if you can barely feel it with your fingernail. Personally, I wouldn’t stress about it. But, if you are, a new tank could be worth it. Personal preference.

Yup. I have the nano for my cube and it definitely drifts. Also, last night it was still on after everything else. A quick reconnect to the app does the trick, but eventually it drifts again.

All great questions by @MattyM. While I don’t know what the issue is, I can tell you for certain that it’s not the lid itself. I have lids on all 14 of my tanks and they’ve never been an issue.

Not in my experience. Frozen baby brine shrimp, crushed up flake, and nano pellets has worked just fine for me.

I too waited months and then finally got my hands on them. They’re rad little nano fish. If you already have other Rasboras or similar nano fish they shouldn’t really be any different in my experience.

@EricksonAquatics Please do! Always happy to help! I also have to problem saying “idk, but this is what has worked with me”.

@EricksonAquatics Probably. It’s them, a handful of Green Neon Tetras, shrimp, snails, and CPO crayfish. I intentionally didn’t put any bigger fish with them. Technically the Green Neons are bigger than them, but I think you know what I mean.

@EricksonAquatics Excellent question. One that I’m not sure I have the answer for. I turned this 20L into a blackwater tank knowing I wanted to go the Chili route. I have at least 20 of them (started with 22, and I don’t count them everyday) and they mostly stay out, swimming back and forth across the tank. There are other times where the tank looks like it doesn’t have any fish, but then as soon as I pop the lid to feed they all come racing to the front. My suggestion would be to get the biggest group you can afford, and do the rest of the tank around them to give them the greatest chance of being out and about instead of hiding in the corner.

Agreed. Is the tumbler necessary? No. Does it make things way easier? In my opinion, yes.

Another Wednesday, some more water changes, and a couple of things shuffled around. Got up this morning and decided to start by working on a few air collars. The one from the 10 gallon aquaponics tank, and the 4 on the top of the living room rack. Got those cleared out, reinstalled, and it was time to start moving some water. Got all the water changes done in their usual order, and gravel vac’d the 10 gallon in the bedroom. The additional flow from the upgraded air pump had pushed all the mulm to one side. I also trimmed the cube as the Pearl Weed was near the surface, and the Blue Axelrodi Rasboras were hiding behind the jungle. Once everything was changed, I cleaned it all up, put everything back in its usual spot, and fertilized all the tanks. I’ve been thinking about one last upgrade to the system. A Tetra Whisper 300 to replace a 150 that’s powering the top 4 tanks on the living room rack. It works, it’s fine, but I know what these Easy Flow kits can be and do when they have the air I’m looking for. I’ve been debating it for a week or so, and I’m glad I decided to give myself some time to think about it. Instead of buying 1 new pump to power the 4 way metal gang valve, I decided to just use an old pump. The washed up Tetra 60 was dug out of the air pump graveyard and installed to run the 20 long and 20 high. The 150 was moved over, next to the other 150, to power the 29 and the 55. Now, all tanks are exactly as I want them to be, and I saved myself $80 by waiting it out and continuing to ponder the purchase. With the 5 lb CO2 tank installed on the Pea Puffer tank, and these air pumps shuffled around I think were exactly where we want to be. At least, until I notice the next thing that could be just a little bit better. Some pics I snapped throughout the week: Here’s the 29 the following day. It was too close to the original shot to post its own update, but the tannins definitely darken up on the second day. New pair of Panda Angels’ first spawn. The Male Panda broke his bond with the all black female in favor of a younger model. One of the Panda’s I grew out and added to the tank paired up with the male, and this is their first spawn. Male Bristlenose was out and on display the other day. Pictures truly don’t do this guy justice. Pea Puffer tank as it sits today. Still getting somewhere, and still enjoying this tank.

I would ensure the air collars are clear. I’ve had mine for several months now, and figured out a good way to clean/clear them. I take a piece of airline tubing, and I have that attached to a 20ml syringe. The other end of the airline gets attached to the air collar. Use a cup of hot water, and submerge the collar. Draw back on the syringe. This will create a vacuum, and will draw air in. You can then push on the plunger of the syringe HARD (keeping the collar submerged) and it will blow out the collar. Do this several times, remove from the water, and then continue to plunge HARD with just air to clear the collar. Reinstall. Also, with switching the lines and the problem flip-flopping that leads me to believe one outlet or side of the air pump is weaker than the other. I love the ACO air pumps, and I absolutely love the air collars, but I’ve since replaced the ACO air pumps with the air collars as I simply want more air than they’re currently producing. Here’s how mine look: This one has less air than the pic below, but still plenty of flow notice how the bubbles are coming out all around the collar This one has more air, which is pretty obvious, but still has bubbles coming out all around the collar. (Disregard the tannins in this Blackwater tank). Yours having like 3 places where the bubbles are coming out leads me to believe maybe the collar isn’t clear and therefore not functioning as intended.

Could be a leak in the line. Could be a few things. Are you using the air collars? What happens if you switch the lines on the pump? Does the one that wasn’t working as great now suddenly work great, and the one that used to work great now have less air?

Agreed with what @Guppysnail said. I love Spider Wood and have it in all my tanks. All of them, except one, eventually stops. I have one pesky piece that continues to fungus years later, but it’s good food for the shrimp and nerites in the tank, and if it gets out of control I either siphon some off or take the piece out of the tank and to the sink and wipe it away.

Sounds like to me you just crashed your cycle a bit with changing filters. Keep testing, and water change as necessary and you’ll be back in action in no time. I’d be more concerned about Amazon Swords in a 5 gallon tank, lol. I have some that are 4 years old that have taken over a 55 gallon at this point.

Instead of constantly replacing the cartridge, replace the cartridge once with a piece of sponge, and then all you have to do is clean the sponge instead of replace cartridges.

Crushed up flake food, small pellets. Small frozen foods like baby brine shrimp, daphnia, and cyclops. Don’t overthink it. See what they like, see what else eats it in the tank, and go from there.

Personally, I would add the Embers first. Then maybe the Amanos or Nerites next depending on your tank balancing and what kind of algae you’re experiencing, and the Gourami last. My Amanos eat Xtreme Shrimpee in addition to whatever they graze from the Pearl Weed forest. They’re the biggest thing in the tank and have no problem getting to the food before the snails do.

If it was my tank, I’d go ahead and scrape the glass to your liking, and then add a couple fish. Personally, I would add the Amanos later. I’d want the fish to ensure the cycle keeps going, and I’d want the Amanos to help clean up the algae. I only have Amanos in my 6 gallon cube. My girlfriend brought them home for me as a surprise, and I wasn’t sure that tank was mature enough for them. They’ve been fine and I still have them a couple years later, but if I had it my way I would’ve waited longer. All that is to say, adding them now is probably fine, but like @Tony s said, I’d be concerned about their very little bioload to keep the cycle going. What fish do you plan to stock in there?