Drenon88

Thanks Zenzo! I realize that this is a common question and I DID some searching before posting. As technologies continue to improve, I was hoping that our community had discovered a good alternative to expensive resins. I'm tempted to set up a 10g test aquarium stocked with 10 neon tetras to see if there are any long-term effects using polyurethane. Then I can answer this question for others in the future with experience to back my opinions. OR I could just pry my wallet open and pay $60 for the clear Pond Armor! 🤔

I want to paint my new foam & Drylok background with my typical artist enamels instead of using the Drylock colored pigments. What clear sealant can I safely use to seal the background so the paint won't come off over time?

I have considered this and I don't like it. I should have done better research before buying as I thought that running the faucet was only necessary to start the siphon and then could be turned off afterward. Now that I'm thinking about it. I'll just salvage the parts in the enomol kit and start a siphon the old fashioned way. Thanks everyone that chimed in!

Consider it done - I'll let you know if it improves anything. Thanks!

Makes sense. In the spring, I'll connect it to my outside spigot and see how things improve. I bought this for my relatively new 55 gallon and was trying to get away from 5-gallon buckets!

I've had success finding unique furniture pieces to use as aquarium stands by browsing stores like TJ Maxx, Pier 1 Imports, Gabes & similar discount stores. I have no had much luck at Goodwill, Salvation Army and similar places but I think it's just been bad luck for me. You may get lucky and find an older, well built piece from a thrift store.

I bought this enomol gravel vacuum from Amazon a couple of months ago and I'm not very happy with it. I was trying to save a bit of money by going with this non-Python brand but it just doesn't have much suction. It takes a long time to get a siphon going, much water is being wasted trying to start the venturi effect. I also had to purchase a new kitchen faucet with a removable aerator in order to use any of these venturi style siphons too! I don't know if the lack of suction is do to a poor design, my home water pressure, hose length or something else I haven't considered. I'm on the fence about buying/trying the Python system in hopes that it somehow works better and can properly vacuum the gravel. Any thoughts?

First off, eliminate Prime from the equation until you figure out what is going on. Your nitrates climbed from 40 to 140 in approximately 3-1/2 days? To reiterate what JettsPapa said, to combat a nitrate spike like that, you must change a lot more water than you did. Next time, change 50% of the water and be prepared to change more water 24 hours later after you've tested for nitrates again ... until everything stabilizes. What kind of filtration do you have on the 20g tank?

You probably don't need to switch brands but it sounds like you can/should cut back quite a bit on the dosing.

You can never go wrong with a larger filter. As Flumpweesel said, there is more room in the 307 for filtration media so for that reason alone it is worth the upgrade.

This is interesting. I have about 5 AquaClear HOB filters and I always thought the intake suctions was rather poor. I wonder how the tidal manages such a strong output flow like you describe? 🤔 Next time I need a new HOB, I'm trying the Tidal 35 for sure to see if I have any surfer fish!

That was funny, thanks! Also learned something new - Gumtree!

I have a cheap two tube LED shop light sitting on my planted 55g tank and I'd like to upgrade it to something with red & blue lights to benefit the plants but I don't want to spend a ton of money on the Fluval Plant 3.0. I'm considering the NICREW SkyLED and the Finnex Planted+ 24/7 - the NICREW is about half the cost of the Finnex and I'm wondering if anyone thinks that the Finnex is worth the extra expense and if so, why? I have two smaller Finnex lights that I'm satisfied with and I think the build quality is good and solid. I suspect that some of the price difference between the two candidate lights is the build quality of the Finnex over the NICREW. Please share your thoughts! Thank you!

Easiest and cheapest option is to do water changes more often. Depending on how long the wood has been soaking, the tannins should clear over time. You could also buy a cheap hang on back filter and load it with activated carbon and filter floss (poly-fil) which will really help clear up your water.

Yes Nerite eggs are the worst! I only have Ramshorn snails now but have my eye on some awesome Orange Rabbit Snails!

Wow this one is on my Dream Wishlist now!

I recently acquired some pea puffers myself and I've been wondering what sort of clean-up crew might do well (survive) with them? I'm a fan of the orange mexican crayfish and have been considering adding one just for flavor and because I don't see how the puffers could cause it any harm.

Neon Green Rasboras are very small and look fantastic!

I'm setting up two 20 gallon long betta tanks (divided into 3 compartments) for my current two bettas Hondo and Cap and look forward to getting 4 more to occupy the additional spaces. I often "window shop" on Aquabid and I'm amazed at what is available from sellers in Thailand but nervous about buying from them as I don't understand how the fish could survive the trip from Thailand and arrive healthy in the US. If allowable, please provide a rough idea what the additional cost is for the trans-shipper. Please share your experience buying bettas from Aquabid/Thailand! Please clue me in. (I'm a bit clueless) Thank you!

Interesting topic and I learned some things that I didn't know from all the responses. Thanks all!

Hard lesson learned. More dead fish this morning - I've lost about half now. I suppose it's just a coincidence but the fish started dropping off rapidly after dosing with the Fritz ParaCleanse & Mardel Maracyn. I wish I was able to recognize that it wasn't Ich in the first place so I could have treated them properly from the beginning. Thanks for all the input and support.

Found two dead Emerald Dwarf Rasboras when I got home yesterday. I changed about 50% of the water and added the 1st doses of Fritz ParaCleanse & Mardel Maracyn meds, no Ich-X this time. Woke up this morning to 4 more dead fish. This sucks.

Thanks Fish Folk. You reminded me that I forgot to mention the temperature - I have a lousy heater on this nursery tank but it does maintain temps between 81.4 and 82.1. These fish are particularly shy and were hiding behind stem plants at the back of the tank and I could never see them. I actually noticed a couple of small white spots on a Gourami which caused me to investigate further - I moved all the fish to the nursery tank and was horrified when I saw how badly they were covered in bumps/spots. Just wanted to clarify. I also forgot to mention that I do have the Fritz ParaCleanse & Mardel Maracyn meds but I wasn't confident that it would be OK to use all three together. I believe I've read some conflicting opinions on this.

I'm having a very hard time getting the Ich to clear on these Emerald Dwarf Rasboras! Today will be the 17th day in a row that I do a 1/3 water change and add 5ml of Ich-X to the 10g quarantine tank. They honestly don't look any better today than they did 2-weeks ago. Unfortunately one of them was dead and stuck to the filter inlet this morning and it was one that didn't even have any spots on it. Should I stick with it or are their any concerns about dosing for this long?

From the last live stream, what is this silver fish with the black/yellow striped tail?