[Rusty stock tank]

The galvanization is a sacrificial anode. Once it's gone it doesn't protect the steel anymore 

[First tank questions]

You want a cycled tank for shrimps. No ammonia or nitrites. As far as rodi I just plopped my shrimp into my tap water and there's a billion of them now. Java moss is a must for shrimps. They love it. Sometimes they swim up to the hornwort but usually they like to stay on the bottom.

[Berried cherry shrimps suddenly not berried, no babies.]

The first instars are really tiny. They're also transparent and immobile.  I didn't notice my babies until they were in the juvenile stage

[Ammonia and Nitrite question.]

Plants will remove ammonia directly as well as nitrates. They cannot really use nitrites so those tend to build up in an uncycled planted tank. The nitrite bacteria will take a while to build up... Water changes should take care of it tho 

[Can I set up a viable marine aquarium in a 14 gallon tank?]

I think the Fowlr tanks tend to be larger but there are all in one kits that go down to 5 gallons so I'm sure it's possible 

[Tidal filter spounges and flow]

On 5/14/2024 at 3:18 PM, svachon9 said:

Sure but the thing is if I add 3 sponges they float.  That's the real problem not the maintenance. 

Get a larger sheet of sponge and cut it a little too big for the space and it shouldn't float. Eventually the water is gonna go to the overflow regardless of whether the sponges don't float or the biobag is on top as the media gets clogged

[Tidal filter spounges and flow]

The filter will collect things and that will eventually make it start overflowing. You may want to try a coarser sponge but a hang on back will always require some sort of maintenance to keep it from flooding your house

[Bloodworms]

On 5/14/2024 at 2:17 PM, AdamS said:

@Lennie That sounds like some pretty good reasons to stay away from bloodworms.  What foods do you feed your angels?  Any other live foods?

I find hatching bbs in the Hobby Artemia hatchery to be effort free and super cheap and easy. Just 5 teaspoons of salt in a quart or water and a tiny scoop of eggs. No air or heat needed, just a light. I usually hatch once every week or two and feed for two days off the hatches. All my fish of all sizes love the little guys and spend all day hunting any stragglers that made it to the bottom.

 

I know ac wants to sell the big ziss hatchery and more air pumps and bubblers but you really don't need all that if you only have a couple tanks and don't need to feed fry every day. All that stuff is excellent if you do need it though. 

[pot worms (enchytraeidae) as a live food?]

I think that's what grindal worms are but I've never cultured them. I don't see why they would be problematic 

[Tell me about Brazilian Pennywort, Dwarf Sag, Pearlweed, Guppy Grass and Dwarf Lilys!]

I've found my rooted pearl weed took a while to get established. I think it does better floating than planted. I never use root tabs on the pearlweed and it's plenty healthy.It's still not exactly a super fast grower, especially compared to hornwort.

 

I think hornwort has been the most useful plant for me as far as limiting algae and taking up nitrates. It's grows inches a day and really removes nutrients from the water on a large noticeable scale. It's not the prettiest so I understand why people don't like it but it gets the job done

[Discussion: what "oddball" technique has worked wonders for you?]

On 5/10/2024 at 1:44 PM, macdaddy36 said:

That taller tanks are worse.

I find that with many small community fish, taller tank can be good because they stay in different parts of the water column.

For example in a short tank my apistogramma show lots of aggression but in a tall tank they are much more relaxed.

Or, in a short tank my Kuhli loaches hide constantly but in a tall tank they are much more often out and about.

I think that short, long tanks are good for some species but most can do well either way.

I really like my tall 37 gallon for this reason. I get layers of creatures and it seems like the vertical separation helps keep the inter fish aggression down too

[Filter Media Order]

I would add it last so less junk builds up on it. But it's probably not a huge difference 

[How do you keep your substrate clean in a heavily planted tank?]

On 5/11/2024 at 10:28 AM, Matt B said:

 But is there something negative about haveing detritus in the gravel tanks? Isn't that what root tabs are?  Soooo many ways to keep an aquarium and its inhabitants happy.  😁

As long as it's breaking down and turning into mulm down in the lower substrate it's not a problem. But lots of detritus sitting on the surface is just rotting poop your fish are swimming in. 

[Egg-crate under substrate to support large rocks?]

I was thinking actual egg packaging and I was so confused until the ceiling tiles got posted.....

[Should I put snails in my planted tank]

I got a bunch of ramshorns. I also never have to clean the glass of algae. They're really helpful and good for the fish poop to plant nutrient cycle in a planted tank

[Getting salt out of tank]

Vinegar and hot water would probably do the job. 

[How do you keep your substrate clean in a heavily planted tank?]

I just let the poop go into the gravel and the detritus worms and scuds and copepods and everything else goes to town on it. The surface gravel itself is clean from the snails and shrimps and pleco. I don't think I've gravel vacced since I started the tank.

[Snail Identification]

If you buy aquarium coop plants you're gonna get ramshorns 😄

[Water parameter issues after filter change and mystery snail hatching]

On 5/8/2024 at 10:33 AM, cotasm said:

I assume (correct me if I'm wrong) that when I do a larger water change, that reduction in water hardness allows the pH to slip down.

Yeah this is probably what's happening. I was thinking your ph was much lower than 7.2 and was falling into the 5s or 6s which would indeed cause a cycle crash as the enzymes in beneficial bacteria stop working efficiently at those levels. I think you're doing everything right just gotta wait on that filter to catch up. 

 

Studying how pH interacts with water chemistry and microorganism biochemistry is like communicating with a Cthulhian old one. Its so complicated it leads only to insanity. Every aspect of interacts with every other aspect of in this giant web of cause and effect. That's why I just go the easy way with pH adjustments and buffer buffer buffer. 

[Water parameter issues after filter change and mystery snail hatching]

 

On 5/8/2024 at 9:38 AM, Tony s said:

@doktor zhivago she’s adjusting for the mystery snails. So any water change reverses her adjustment. 

OK I see now. I'm assuming the water is just very soft from the tap and the ph is crashing as the snails use up what little hardness there is. Maybe a buffer solution with aragonite or crushed coral would be more useful than chasing exact numbers? I just feel like that's a path to madness as raising pH naturally uses up alkalinity which lowers hardness which eventually lowers pH and the cycle continues forever...

[Water parameter issues after filter change and mystery snail hatching]

2 things:

First: I think your filter will catch up and you'll be fine soon just some water changes as noted above. Lower pH is actually good for ammonia toxicity as it gets protonated easier and forms less toxic ammonium salts.

Second: Why is your ph dropping so much with a water change? What is the pH in your tank? What is the pH of your tap water? pH forms a complex with hardness and alkalinity. It's tough to move one without moving all the others. I would be very hesitant to try and chase ph around with baking soda without more context here.

 

 

[A floating plant that's not messy?]

I've had good luck floating pearlweed it sends roots out all over its stem. Not sure what you mean by messy tho? I've never had any issues with hornwort other than having to take out a couple handfuls every water change

[Beginner questions, too much eating.]

On 5/6/2024 at 3:35 AM, khongor said:

Thank you for advise Doktor Zhivago. I'll start working on different foods.

Tubiworm food from Coop good on nutrition? 

It's more about variety than one particular food. Same as your own diet. If you just eat potato chips all day everyday it's not very healthy but eating a bag every now and then isn't really problematic 

[Beginner questions, too much eating.]

Fish will eat until they become constipated and sick, especially greedy pig betta fish. The digestive tract will become swollen and press on their swim bladder making it hard for them to stay properly oriented. Frozen brine shrimp are not particularly nutritious either. You want a wide variety of foods, some combination of flakes and pellets for the betta would be better than feeding the same thing every day. Frozen foods are a good treat once a week or so but not an every day food. 

[Emersed Java Moss refugium for sump, help]

Java moss is very slow growing. It's not gonna do much for your nitrates. You really want fast growing floating plants for a refugium. The access to atmospheric co2 really speeds up growth and therefore nitrogen take up.