AquariumNoob

Does the CO2 injection help with algae prevention?! I did struggle with algae for the first 5 weeks or so- the tank is in a room with bright sunlight most of the day and my plants were still relatively small and young. I ended up getting a canister filter with built in UV that I run about 4 hours a day and that has helped tremendously with the algae, as well as floating plants. I was utilizing liquid CO2 booster, but after further research, I read that it can be bad for snails and shrimp- so I stopped that. I'm curious to know though, if I turn off my UV light completely, if the algae will come back or if my tank is more balanced now. I struggle with wanting to fertilize the plants and provide nutrients but also become worried that i'll have more algae blooms. Thank you! It is mostly from repashy and snello that i put in the tanks, so when the fish eat it or the snails are eating, it creates a small pile of "crumbs" around the actual piece of food!

Makes sense, thank you! Okay, thank you! I have some some bottom feeders and shrimp that have helped with that as well. Okay thanks! I have a canister filter running, no sponge filter currently. I do use a turkey baster to spot clean some extra food buildup areas.

Do you vacuum your gravel with plants? Or just siphon out water?

Thanks! Appreciate the input. I have had freshwater aquariums in the past, this is just my first larger one with live plants. We have a 15 G that has been up and running well over a year and that one, I perform water changes every 2 weeks. But didn't know what the consensus was for larger tanks Thank you!! I do have amano shrimp in this tank too, but they don't seem to be as fussy as some of the others that I've had in the past. I will probably do some water changing then. Thanks! I will probably start doing some then!

Hello everyone! I have a 55G that is about 2 months old. It is decently planted and not overly stocked. This is my first go with live plants! I love plants in general but never really realized I could have live plants in my aquarium until more recently. My question is: I see a lot of people doing water changes once a week or once every few weeks. Are water changes necessary? I check my water parameters about once a week now because typically, they are stable. I check mostly to see if I am fertilizing too much or not enough. I lose some water through evaporation so I do top-offs pretty frequently. Do I still need to remove water if parameters are normal and plants/fish seem to be doing well? Thanks!

Thank you!!! I will just wait and see 🙂

I saw mating almost daily for like a month. I didn’t realize what was happening until I pulled the top snail off and saw his male parts shrink back in 😬. I know that they can lay eggs that aren’t fertile- but these aren’t showing those typical signs (ie. Molding, bad smell, staining the paper towel red/pink, etc). Is there something else I should be looking for? 👀

Hi all! I am a new-ish freshwater aquarium owner. I have found that I love mystery snails, decided to get two of them and recently my female snail laid two clutches of eggs about a week apart. 🥚 I am trying to hatch the eggs, but they don't seem to be progressing. First clutch was laid 6/30 and second clutch (much smaller) was laid 7/6. Both appeared to be fertile clutches just based on some google searching. Neither seem to have progressed though, I know it could be early for the second clutch. Everything I've read says that by week 2, there should be some definitive changes. I have both in a tupperware container that is layered with damp paper towel and then dry paper towel, floating in my freshwater tank that averages 75-77 degrees. Humidity is good, the eggs are never wet, but the tupperware lid does have condensation that I wipe off twice a day. I didn't have a lid on the eggs initially but then I thought maybe there wasn't enough humidity for them. My question is: when do I give up and decide that they're not going to hatch? The first clutch had promise and was darkening, but now it doesn't seem to have changed in the last week and a half- it's not moldy or disintegrating, but some of the eggs when touched with paper towel, seem to pull out a jelly like substance. Has anyone had this- where the eggs seem to be fertilized but then don't end up hatching even with the proper conditions? Thanks for any and all advice!!