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CJhilljack

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Posts posted by CJhilljack

    A question... With an answer

    in Plants, Algae, and Fertilizers

    Posted · Edited by CJhilljack
    added one tip

    On 3/5/2023 at 10:10 AM, JoeQ said:

    scoop it up with a net

    The net scooping would work if duckweed's the only floating plant, but as a few others stated, I have frogbit (which I much prefer for all the reasons others already stated) and it's difficult to scoop it without getting the frogbit too. It also likes to cling to the frogbit roots and frogbit definitely doesn't like it's top getting wet. I also happen to have 2 very small water gardens that are round jars and the nets just don't work well in them at all - at least, not the ones I have. I had a thriving frogbit cover on one of my tanks, but when I thinned it & allowed some duckweed to remain, I found I had been overrun by duckweed & my frogbit was barely a presence, so there's that too. 

    I have had good success in my water gardens with a turkey baster to suck up the duckweed - I use that same baster to clean those 2 little jars too, so it's a multipurpose tool. 😄

    But to each his own, if you're having success managing it, more power to you.

    What to Expect with a Used Filter

    in General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by CJhilljack
    accidentally reposted same reply

    I'm not using the tank, gravel, etc. yet. The used filter went into a brand new tank. Just clarifying. So I'm cycling with a used filter, first time and I'm already very new to the hobby, so far having only cycled tiny 1 & 2 gallon water gardens.


    Thanks for the video links, I'll check them out.

    What to Expect with a Used Filter

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I'm pretty sure they drained the tank & bagged the filter just a couple hours before I picked it up & I put it in a bucket as soon as I got home & hooked it up to a pump I had here, I even added some frogbit the next day, just because I had too much in my little water gardens & wanted it for the cube. It was set up in the tank with plants on day 5. Just finished testing tonight & I do see ammonia at .25, nitrites still 0, nitrate is at 80. More melting plants, so I did more trimming & cleanup. 

    Thank you so much for the quick response & advice, I appreciate it so much!

    What to Expect with a Used Filter

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I recently purchased a 20 gallon tank from an LFS closing it's brick & mortar store. It was one of the tanks from their fish room & came with the sponge filter (heater, gravel & decor too) all bagged up in water from the tank. I won't be setting up that 20 gallon just yet, but I put the filter in a bucket & then used it a few days later to set up the 14 (or is it 15) gal cube I had already been working on. 

    My question is, what should I expect in terms of cycling and how do I know when it's ready for stocking? It's only been a week and I was roughly estimating it might be ready for fish in April, so I'm not asking in order to rush the process, I just don't know what I'm looking for in this situation. 

    So far, the parameters have consistently tested at 0 for both ammonia & nitrite. Nitrate started a 10 for the first couple days & then rose to 40, where it has stayed. I'm not worried about it sitting at that level since there are only plants in the tank so far. But what should I expect to see in order to know when it's ready? Will it eventually show results on other parameters? Or am I just watching for Nitrate to reach zero?  I've seen some videos & read some things lately - even on the AC blog that gave me the impression we don't actually want Nitrates to be at zero - for the health of the plants. 

    I have added fish food, but ammonia & nitrite have remained zero. Do I even need to do that? 

    I've had some melt on the plants, as expected, & have trimmed, replanted, etc., so it's not looking as nice as it did last week, but I'm attaching a photo anyway.

    20230302_162909.jpg

    Hydrocotyle Tripartita Japan

    in Plants, Algae, and Fertilizers

    Posted

    On 2/22/2023 at 10:49 PM, CJs Aquatics said:

    took 2 plants, cut them up and planted the whole tank, it’s grown in even more since

    What a neat shape that pogo has!

     

     

    On 2/23/2023 at 10:57 AM, knee said:

    I will ALWAYS have room for Rotala Indica 'Bonsai'

    Very pretty plant!

     

    On 2/23/2023 at 3:49 PM, Ray B said:

    love Hydrocotyl Triparta Japan as well. It is fresh and vibrant. However, It grows like a weed in my tank. I have to keep trimming it or it would take over!

    Wow, it looks amazing! I hope mine grows in like that. I'd be a very happy camper. 😄

    • Thanks 1

    Hydrocotyle Tripartita Japan

    in Plants, Algae, and Fertilizers

    Posted

    Just have to say, I'm absolutely in 💚 with this charming little plant. After seeing it on one of Cory's videos, I knew I had to include it in my new tank. I just set it up yesterday and I'm so pleased with this little gem, those little shamrock shaped leaves are adorable!

     

    What are your favorite plants to include in your aquariums?

    20230222_195929.jpg

    • Like 1

    Noob Stocking Questions

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    On 2/21/2023 at 4:23 PM, knee said:

    I believe seachem equilibrium raises GH but I can’t speak much on it because I don’t use it. I do know some members on here use it so hopefully they can chime in.

    Thank you! I actually just finished watching a video about this from Girl Talks Fish - I knew she & I had similar chemistry in our tap water and sure enough Seachem Equilibrium is what she uses to raise her GH. Thank you so much for the help!

    Noob Stocking Questions

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    On 2/19/2023 at 7:54 PM, Schuyler said:

    The secret history living in your aquarium is from the same area and he has subs mini pond videos too.

    I have watched some of his videos, but not about ponds. I didn't realize he was a local, but when I mentioned what you said, my Godson said he's run into him at another local fs. Cool. I'm on the south end of King County in the foothills. 

    On 2/19/2023 at 7:23 PM, CJhilljack said:

    I would check the KH because if it's super low then you're more susceptible to ph swings.

    I finally got my GH & KH test (plus my new plants) today so I ran tests. I tested both, plus re-tested high ph. The KH is 13, Gh 2 (no surprise, I knew we had soft water) and the PH is 8.4 today. I noticed Cory has mentioned soft tap water at the store too and that they use crushed coral in their store tanks, but that it also increases PH & KH - clearly not the path for me. Is there a way to increase only calcium & magnesium?

    • Like 1

    Noob Stocking Questions

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    On 2/19/2023 at 7:22 PM, Schuyler said:

    What sort of climate are you in?

    I'm actually in the greater Seattle area, just a little over an hours drive from the Aquarium Coop store in Lynnwood. I live at a higher elevation though - so anywhere from 3-5 degrees cooler than Seattle on any given day. Thanks for the video links, I've been meaning to watch those videos. Ryo Watanabe has some great videos about miniponds that I have watched a lot of but having Cory's input with be great since we live in the same climate.

    • Like 1

    Noob Stocking Questions

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    On 2/19/2023 at 4:18 PM, mynameisnobody said:

    Do you have somewhere for the extra fry?

    I do not, yet, but my 14 gal isn't even set up yet, then needs to cycle so I'm thinking April at the earliest, then hoping that by the time they are ready to reproduce I'll have a mini-pond set up for the summer and I'll either move the adults outside or put the floating plants with the eggs in them in the minipond & let the fry live start out there. I also do have plans to eventually set up the 20 gallon I picked up Friday - once I can find a stand for it, so one way or another, I'll have something for them. 

     

     

    On 2/19/2023 at 5:20 PM, knee said:

    I would check the KH because if it's super low then you're more susceptible to ph swings.

    Thanks for this tip. I just ordered the GH & KH kit from AC, it's coming with my plants. 

     

     

    On 2/19/2023 at 6:44 PM, Scapexghost said:

    Adding all 6 rice fish at the same time is the way to go imo. Less opportunities to introduce disease. Its not like 6 rice fish have a crazy bioload anyway.

    I would wait until your first algae bloom to add the snails. Cories can be a little sensitive so i would wait til the rank is well established to add them. Shrimp also like a well established tank as well. I would be hesitant to add both a nerite and otos, since theyll be competing for the same food.

    Thank you! All great tips. I will either have Cories or Otos or shrimp, not all 3. I tried shrimp in my 2 gallon water garden and they all died, so I'm a bit wary of going with shrimp again. I hadn't thought about the otos and nerites competing, great point. 

    Also, if Pygmy Cories aren't going to be good for cleanup, I likely won't get them. I'd rather have the tank space for the otos or whatever I go with.

    What do you all think about Kuhli Loaches? We had them when I was a kid and I always thought they were pretty cool. I read up on them earlier today & it seems like they'd be ok with the other fish and have similar parameter needs. They might need to go on the list. 

    Thanks for all the feedback everyone!

    • Like 1

    Noob Stocking Questions

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I'm sorry, I can't believe I left the tank size out. It's a 14 gallon Aqueon Cube I got for Christmas. Plants are going in as soon as I receive the rest of my plants, some are coming from my Godson and some are en-route from AC. My sponge filter has been in my Godson's tank for about a month, but Friday I picked up a used 20 gallon tank from a closing LFS that came with a well-established sponge, so I'm going to use that filter for this tank, then use the one my Godson is keeping in his tank for me when I'm ready to set up the 20 gallon (which I don't even have a stand for yet, so it'll be awhile). I started the scape last week - which is the thumbnail I posted, but I've been holding off on adding the plants until I can add get those last few plants. I have the rest here already between dividing plants from my existing water gardens and some plants I have in an emersed setup. 

    No water parameters to share yet since there's no water in the tank yet, but we're on a well here with soft water that has a high ph. It tests 0 on ammonia, nitrite & nitrate, 8.2 PH. I'm hoping to start adding fish in April. 

    Pothos speed of growth?

    in Plants, Algae, and Fertilizers

    Posted

    Glad I found this post, the timeline should be helpful. I tried to start Silvery Ann Pothos around Thanksgiving time - just 3 cuttings, all but one have failed & the one that has not is now just a stem with no leaf. I took 3 more cuttings yesterday & just put them in jars of water for now, also took some wandering Jew cuttings. I thought maybe if they had roots before I added them to the tank? 

    How did y'all secure your cuttings so they stay put and in the water without the leaves falling in?

     

    Noob Stocking Questions

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I'm thinking a bit far ahead since I don't even have plants or water in the tank yet, but I have a couple questions about stocking as I start to look forward to it more & more. 
     

    1) It's my understanding that stocking only a few fish at a time is best practice. So what do you do with schooling fish? I plan on platinum medakas and it's generally recommended to have a minimum of 6, do I get 3 at a time? 
    2) At what point in the stocking process do you add your cleanup crew? 
    3) In addition to the Medaka, I have been wanting CPD's, but I'm on the fence about the cleanup crew. I'll definitely have at least 1 ramshorn snail & probably a nerite (or 2?), Pygmy Corys have been strongly recommended and after seeing a video where they were shoaling with the other fish in a community tank, they are on my list as a possibility. I was also considering Otocinclus, and I haven't discounted shrimp. The PH in my tap water, which is sourced from our well, is generally 8.2 and I have been trying to keep my selections to fish that are likely to be ok with the high ph and who also do well with lower water temperatures (I'd love to have something for cleanup that can go outdoors into a minipond with the medaka in the summer). 

    You've all given me great advice so far, so I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts. 

    Pump Question & a Dilemma

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    On 2/17/2023 at 8:31 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

    In all honesty, the usb nano air pumps are so cost effective that I’ve never had to use 1 to run multiple filters. That being said, I wouldn’t hesitate to use a T airline splitter and run 2 sponges with 1 nano air pump for a short period of time. You only need a little bit of air to keep the water circulating to keep the bacteria alive. I wouldn’t do this for a long term solution, but for a bandaid I wouldn’t think twice about it. 
     

    Also, if that doesn’t work or you simply don’t want to rush to set up that 20 gallon, there’s no harm in recycling the tank/filter. As long as you know what you’re doing, have the time, and have the patience it’s not a big deal at all. 

    Thank you so much, this really eases my mind. for now, I'm going to get it in a bucket & get it running. I'll hold my new plants in it until I'm ready to get to work on my 14g, then I'll place it there. I think my Godson will be ok with holding onto my other sponge filter until I can get a stand & stuff for this new 20g. 

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