Helena

I set up my tank about 6 weeks ago and this brown algae has been steadily growing. I've read that it seems to be diatoms since it's a new tank and is expected. Should I let it run it's course and go away on its own or would it be better to scrub it off while it's manageable? I've read conflicting information so I wanted to see what everyone else would do

Thank you everyone, from what I am taking from this is that I need to look into ways to upgrade my filter and to wait for my ammonia to come down before adding my other fish. I added bacteria from a bottle (APIs quick start. I already had my doubts but didn't know what else to do) on the 7th and on the 20th my fish store gave me sediments from their sponge filter. I was hoping to get my fish back before the holidays but I think you (and everyone else) is right that I should just wait. I do have an air stone running and I recently added red root floaters so hopefully they and the rest of my plants can help speed this up. I miss my fish but I know they are in good hands at my store

I just did a light vacuum of my gravel to get any food that might be decaying but I couldn't find any pieces. The only thing that I could think about causing ammonia would be this Nana petite. I have two and one of them isn't looking as good as the other. Does it look like it's decaying? Or is it just slow growing?

Thank you I will definitely save those sources. For my birthday my parents got me a lot of "fish supplies" and in that care pack was a years worth of the company supplied cartridges. I figured I would use them since I have them but when I run out I will definitely be switching. I do have a prefilter sponge which I have found has helped with the overall clarity of my water

I am using the carriage and I have added a purigen packet. There might be some stray fish food rotting somewhere but I can't see it easily and would need to vacuum gravel. I just don't want to crash my unstable cycle.

I have plants in there and they seem to be thriving. I have a couple anubias and I can see them growing new leaves but my ammonia level is still reading which is what is puzzling me. The only fertilizer I have used is the easy green but from what I have read in the bottle it does not seem like it should affect my ammonia. The substrate I am using is Seachem Flourite Black Clay Gravel and white pool sand

I have a 20 long with a Penguin 150 bio wheel filter. In it I have a carbon filter and a Purigen pack. I think the spike in ammonia was because of over feeding. I am used to my Corys picking up what the danios miss. I have 5 white clouds in my tank as of right now and I think I added too much for for their tiny mouths. My local fish store is housing my fish (6 Panda Cory, 1 Columbia Zebra Pleco, 5 Danio fry and one mystery snail) while I wait for my tank to cycle and they were the ones who let me borrow the white clouds to make sure everything is okay. The minnows seem to be good but I know corys are more sensitive to ammonia and they are the ones I am most concerned about. When I saw the high ammonia I did a dose of Prime to detoxify it, did my 50% water change (vacuum graveled and found some left over food which is why I suspect over feeding caused the ammonia spike) and it was a couple days after that that I noticed my nitrates weren't reading. Today my parameters read: Ammonia: .25 ppm Nitrate:0 ppm Nitrate: 15 ppm I am using the liquid API master test kit. I had to do a complete reset of my tank due to an insane drain fly infestation.

I have 6 Panda Cory (each about half an inch to an inch from nose to fin), 1 Pleco (3 inches long), and 5 zebra danio fry (they're about 2 months old). Is that too many to add all at once?

Hello! I have been trying to cycle my tank and have been met with ups and downs. On Nov 7th my water parameters were: Ammonia: .25 ppm Nitrite: 0ppm Nitrate: 10 ppm I was advised to get some White Cloud minnows to help it cycle before adding my fish (Panda Cory, Columbia Zebra Pleco, and Zebra Danios Fry). On Nov 14th my ammonia spiked to be .5 ppm so I did a 50% water change (RO water in a 20 long). After that water change my Nitrate barely read anything. My local fish store gave me some live bacteria on Sunday (Nov 20th) to help my cycle along and now my water reads: Ammonia: .25 ppm Nitrate:0 ppm Nitrate: 15 ppm Should I wait until the ammonia reads 0 or would it be okay to add my fish now? Thanks!

It does look like a bean sprout! If it doesn't raise any red flags then I will continue to document the growth and we can see later what king of plant it is

Hello! I recently ordered plants from aquarium co-op (Anubias Nangi, Anubias nana "petite", Anubias Nana, Java Moss Mat) and I just noticed this little guy sprouting. When I got them I did a 32 hour Alum dip (1 tbs per gallon) and put them in my tank about 2 weeks ago. But I wanted to see if anyone knew what this sprout is and if it would be okay to leave it. I'm curious to see what it will grow into but have no attachment to it if it's going to be bad. It's about a half an inch tall and I just noticed it today. I have inert substrate and am using easy green for my plants while my tank cycles

I have it plugged into a power strip with my air pump and heater (both tetra brand don't know the specifics) and when I plugged it in I didn't hear it start whirling but I did hear my air pump start skipping so i unplugged it and tried another outlet (not on the same power strip) and it didn't start so I'm pretty sure it's dead

I have (or had) a Marineland Penguin 150 with a BIO-Wheel Power Filter. I am switching to a aquaclear My plan is to make a bubble curtain along the back by poking holes every half an inch down the length of the back of the tank to add more bubbles. I am just waiting for suction cups to come in the mail to fix it to the back do you think that would suffice?

This is my tank. I am sorry I am new to this and it might be a stupid question but I just have an airline tube coming from an airpump. Does this count as an air stone or do air stones do something else to oxygenate the water?

Hello! I am cycling my new tank and noticed my ammonia was high so I did a 30% water change. When I went to plug my filter back in it shorted. I have 20 long with a bubbler and 5 white cloud minnows. They will be okay for a few days while I wait for the new filter to come in? Or do I need to go and get a backup filter tomorrow morning? Tank parameters prior to water change: Ammonia: .50ppm Nitrate: 5.0 ppm (I didn't test nitrite since ammonia was already high enough to suggest a water change)

I just emptied my tank and it's fair to say that I had over a couple thousand larvae is not an understatement. I only have a Columbian zebra pleco, panda corries, and fry zebra Danios. I think the khulis loaches would be the best fit for my 20 long but I appreciate all of the advice. My moss balls are currently plastic wrap in my fridge to help slow down the flys reproductive cycle. I have 6 moss balls so my plan is to use one as a guinea pig to make sure I don't lose them all but they are not going in my new tank until I am certain they are free of flies

Thanks for the advice. My local fish store is watching my fish while I reset and after seeing how many larvae I have: I am definitely adding some khulis loaches!!

Hello! I am having to redo my fish tank and wanted to add just Anubis plants. Does my tank need to be fully cycled (like is there a specific parameters I need to have) to add Anubis plants or could I add them within a day or two of a adding water + bacteria starter to new tank?

Hello! I have an infestation of these flies (they are about 1/4th inch big and very slow at flying). I was told they are Drain Flies and I have so many in my tank that I have to remove everything and start over. My biggest concern are my marimo moss balls. They are currently in a quarantine mason jar while I reset my tank. But as you can see in the gif, there's already visible larvae wiggling around. Do you have any advice as to how I can save my moss balls but kill any larvae that might have worked their way deep into them? Thank you for your help!