KoolFish97

The HOB overflows are notorious for failing or overflowing. But doesn't mean they won't work (also way more expensive then glass drilling) I'm always for drilling tanks just as it's sleeker and less failure rate (not gone but less) It's not as scary as it seems but feel free to research a bit. Plus very few if any tanks are tempered anymore because they know people drill them. The only really common ones are tempered on the bottom Pane not the sides. But it's always worth checking. There is also a few ways to check. Polorized sun glasses are one. And their are a few others. I went into drilling a tank pretty blind with cheap online drill bits and I had a lot of success. It is way less scary than you think. Get the gear together take a breath and just do it! If you can get a spare bit of glass or maybe a broken tank or a free or cheap one you think you might like drilled and try it out if the 40 Gallon is more valuable.

It's not a noob question. Everyone has to learn. Rainbow fish are mostly really adaptive. But those conditions if kept stable will absolutely awesome it they would be more than fine

I think you'd love a big group of angels or discus. I also second that you could enjoy a Oscar or green Texas or any of those larger cichlids. I actually reckon if you got a 100g a Fahaka are really pretty (may not have tank mates though..maybe..) and he will be a wet pet through and through.

That's a sweet idea. Sadly one that I'll never try (can't get any order plant or otherwise here to Australia) But that's a great idea. I really think the heater is not necessary! Especially if climate controlled. Just have a basking UVB bulb he will love it. I see the water levels been raised a bit that's also really good. The carbon is a good idea. Especially if your not always there in a pinch to help water change etc. It'll just make sure the smell and colour of the water is nice mostly aesthetic but it's good none the less! To hell with the water chemistry and waste. You could always get or repurpose a small hang on back to grow some emergent plants from like pothos and peace Lily just to help it stay as clean as possible. It's awesome to see Sam getting his tank get better each update. It was a joy to see him sunbathing like they do!

It is realistically completely safe to have in an aquarium It is just molten stone spun into fine strands to make the wool. Inert and doesnt "rot" just "Dissolves" at best but left undisturbed it's all good. Completely safe and fine to use. But if your concerned or you have fish digging into it/eating it/ pecking at it always then I'd just pull it out to be sure.

Alright I'll play! Crypts and anubius are killer of course (obvious choice) I know their isn't much variety by comparison but I LOVE Vallisneria a tank of it is always eye stopping. But my other favourite choice would be Potamogeton as I've collected many wild specimens (crispus, perfoliatus, ochreatus, wrightii etc) Both have some pretty awesome variety, cool styles and unique colours too. Especially when you look at all the species possible. Pretty damn easy plants too.

Oh and to add I'd 110% put it on a timer. So it's a good 10-12 hours a day and doesn't get forgotten about or put on to long.

I completely agree with all that Taylor said. With temperature unless a 110% tropical species they can have cool water and a warm sun to regulate their heat. Plus your comfortable in the room they are also. The lighting I also agree. I do like the reptisun. There is many good brands but for price and reliability they are a great choice. I also second the replacing of them every 6 MAX 9 months. As their UVB pretty quickly burns out even if the globe looks great. If the room gets a little cool and you can't get a heat+UVB bulb just use a UVB bulb and also use a very small heat lamp just over the basking spot or just off to the side to help it stay warmer. I do recommend it as it also helps them dry out a bit which is good for them as per what Taylor has said. But a good bulb like reptisun does both so recommend that. Just make sure it stays warm and has UVB in it.

So just wanted to share this as I find it cool. I recently set up a 55 gallon outdoor tank for a pond for breeding pseudomugils and native glass shrimp and put in cycled sponge filters and a few of plants from my LFS (I work there) and my plants from my Ranchu goldfish pond (Hornwort in particular) and after a few weeks letting it grow and do its thing I have atleast 20 odd Ranchu babies! Plus the glass shrimp I wild collected are doing quite well and I think possibly berries hard to see it though. So the ranchus were a complete surprise but a pleasant one. The photo attatched is one of the largest fry I've found. Getting fat on hikari first bites and baby brine shrimp!

Well, yes and no to are they necessary. Your current conditions that your testing for is good. 20ppm of nitrates is great for plants just as long as its not skyrocketing higher as that just leads to crazy algae growth. With planted aquaria you generally do a fair less amount of water changes as they are natural filters that literally remove the waste not just convert it like the standard filter. But some things you don't test for like minor trace elements, carbonates and minerals can be used up by plants and sometimes it's just worth a small water change to freshen those up if your water source has any. Sometimes to your water can get a slight colouration due to tannins and other dissolved organics and a small water change can help clear that up super easy. In short in a well planted not over stocked aquarium you don't have to water change all that much if really at all. But it doesn't hurt to do once every so often to boost some of those minor elements and clear up the water. But topping off can sometimes do that anyway! Just always be sure to keep an eye on your levels when there to high for your liking then water change. But nitrates of 20-40 are good for planted tanks.

Look if it appears happy then it's Okay is it ideal or the best situation for it well not really. It would probably benefit from more of its own species. Doesn't mean it needs it to survive it could live a long content life on its own for sure. Just may be more comfortable and vibrant if it had more to shoal with.

It's never necessary till you eventually have a problem. It's an optional extra (tank, bucket or tub) that I think is far more important to own then people give it credit for. In my opinion yes it is necessary. You'll wish you had one once something unfortunate happens. I deal with people all the time who "never needed one or never had one without a problem" till they loose all their fish.. As said before in this thread any body of water bucket tub or tank + a filter and heater even a simple sponge filter for a week or more even without meds incredibly helps your chances for success!

Well bacteria no matter the filter pretty much establishes at the same rate. (Some are better than others but really it is normally minor differences) Bacteria according to a study replicated every 16 hours in ideal conditions. Assuming our aquariums are ideal but not perfect let's say more likely 24 hours for the bacteria to double. So in theory around 24-48 hours depending on the increased bioload and lag time for bacteria to make its way into the filter. Realistically though I normally say around a week. Gives 24 hours to get bacteria in it. That needs around 24 hours to double. And because it's not perfect it make need to double many more times to reach the load of the tank. But it all depends on bioload and many other factors you can't really take into consideration. When I was converting to a ziss filter in my goldfish pond from a standard sponge I waited a week and had no changes in my ammonia and nitrite.

How is your minerals? KH and GH? If their low it may be looking for minerals. Other idea may be food. If it's not getting enough it will be searching for more. Maybe up feedings or target feed a bit. A way to help may be to shove some lose Polly filter around the outflow making it hard to climb or push through. The cheeky buggers can do it from time to time.

In honest truth. No pH is truly stable it always changes as fish breath as minerals dissolve or turn back to rock etc. You absolutely 110% can use driftwood and botanicals. It won't do a whole lot but the tiny tiny bit of softner they output may help bring it down basically a tiny bit more. It won't have a negative impact in the slightest. Timber and leaves are fine pouring in raw acid though I never stand behind like most of the chemicals you can use. 8.4 it is fine for the pea puffer and I have seen Bettas in higher pH (I've kept mine at 7.4-8 without any issues and what seemed a long happy life) pH is a indicator it is not a be all and end all for fish health. Obviously there is exceptions but nearly all fish regularly kept can be very adaptive as long as you meet their needs! I can promise you from doing field research on plants and fish many ecosystems even huge rivers can vary dramatically seasonally even spatially. I have done one river where one creek had 6.1 pH and another was 8.2 pH just upstream and both the exact same type of fish were living in both and everywhere inbetween. If the driftwood or botanicals doesn't change it very much then oh well it's just more decorations and fun for the pea puffer or Betta fish they will enjoy it none the less. But any acid they put out will neutralise some of the minerals (as in a acid base reaction) so it may help a little more than you think but not be a problem or be to shocking or negatively affect your fish. Plants consume minerals and salts to grow. Therefore if their in your water and growing they will absorb it up be it carbonate or sodium or calcium etc. Only very lightly and over time not immediately but that's a good thing about plants. Don't panic yourself about numbers or chasing perfect figures. It's not really all that true. It's about general care and about you being in tune with your animals and knowing how to meet their care. Same as a dog. If you don't have a massive yard but get a larger active dog. You don't have to give it up because you haven't got a huge yard. If you care for and love your dog you'd walk it as much as you could to keep it happy. It's the same with fish. pH isn't perfect. Well make sure everything else is as good as possible and take your time to adapt it and then it will be just as happy. Someone can have the right pH and still hurt/kill their animal because all they cared about was the pH and nothing else.

That does look like possibly a shed Scute(part of the shell shedding) could be a minor fungal growth but highly doubt it. Looks a lot like it's most likely just a scratch or mark from a decoration rock etc. If you can feel the texture if soft a gooey its fungal or a wound so get that fixed. If hard but rough most likely damage to the shell. It will be fine just keep the turtle healthy and he will recover without any issues!!

Care Guide for Pea Puffers – The Smallest Pufferfish in the World WWW.AQUARIUMCOOP.COM Pea puffers are one of the coolest oddball species you can keep in a smaller-sized aquarium. They’re... The article. 😊

I haven't personally kept pea puffers (there rare if even available here in Aus last time they were they cost $250 AUD) but I do remember aquarium coop putting up a article on them saying they can be kept from 6.5-8.4 preferred range of 7.2-7.5 but if you keep it healthy in all other ways it would be happy. Also put lots of plants and timber on maybe even some botanicals like almond leaves to slowly soften the pH but it isn't crazy important just an idea they do enjoy that all though. no problem with your minerals as the plants will help eat up the minerals. Stability is far FAR more important for fish species then a specific number. The pea puffer would love a plant filled timber and botanical tank for sure! Giving it it's own 10 gallon kitted out for it and you to spoil and care for it I think it would be living the life.

Ember tetras would be amazing very small and brightly coloured and beautiful or if you wanted to spend the money Galaxy rasboras.

Really been interesting to read all of these inputs this forum is awesome for stuff like this. But a bit to the original point. Does more knowledge and technilogy scare/bar/reduce people from the hobby. To that I have no real answer I work in a pet/aquarium shop and I see very similar numbers of people leave bewildered as I do people buying it all as they love the high tech stuff. I will say that globally aquarium keeping has massively grown in popularity and Marine keeping (a now very heavy tech areas) has had some of the greatest increases. If technology barred people we wouldn't see this kind of growth .. or I could be wrong and we would have more without it. I'm afraid I don't have any data on it it's all conjecture from my experiences and talking with others.

Shrimp are really nice in small tanks I would start there. Or just make a stunning nano terrarium so easy maintenance.

I can say I have kept many Turtles (not red ears sliders as they are illegal here in Australia) and I have used a tonne of different emergent and aquarium plants to no I'll effect. My idea was less in the tank (to provide more space and less mess) more grow them from the filter I do believe no substrate would be far easier but if you can have a better filter to pick up debris and work is put in properly for them it can work. I have kept turtles both way and though no substrate is easier I just find they miss out on core behaviours like digging and the reflection off the glass I believe can annoy them many baby turtles seemed to avoid areas where the glass reflected until I either painted or tiled the bottom or put substrate in. If you want a middle ground I'd say you could always get a stone look tile and cut it to cover the bottom it won't allow digging but will be more pretty and remove reflection.

Oh and sorry either smooth rounded river sand or pebbles or a mix would be good. But only a thin layer just to avoid it from building up debris. But really substrate isn't life or death. But I find it does give them something to shuffle through, reduces reflection on them and nicest looking.

Carbon will help with the smell of the tank and the obvious ting of the water. I definantly think without upgrading I think he may need a lot more water changes to keep that water in good conditions turtles are messy animals as adorable as they are. Generally you want the maximum water height with a land platform fully out of the water to bask under and to dry out which is needed. Doesn't have to be massive but they actually do like a little room to roam sometimes. Don't forget it may need a lid if his tank water level gets higher. Remember a 3rd filled 55 gallon ain't 55 gallons. More filtration will help but I would second 2 other bits of advice. 1. They do need UVB and even if they have a globe it needs replacing every 6-9 months or else it doesn't have any UVB. 2. Live plants, maybe not aquatic but emergent plants like papyrus peace Lilly swamp Lilly pothos etc there is a tone of plants you can use that will help keep the water clean. Even growing them out the hang on back as a means of nutrient export. The floating stuff is a great idea but Sam may also munch on it haha. Upgrading would be the best but if you can't I'd make sure his lighting is adequate and that you can improve his filtration and water condition. Oh and for the timer I'd say run around a min of 10-12 hours. Basically like a daily cycle. Even a DIY top filter (run along the top of the tank acting like an exposed trickle tower just pump water in one side and it'll drain out holes on the other.) This will make a easy to clean filter and also fill it a tone with media and emergent plants to act as a wetlands filter. The plants would easily grow from room lights I know this all adds work but I've done the same as you many times for many animals just to improve there lives and help where I can. Awesome work man even for what you've done now.

It is nearly the same cost to just buy another filter and use that tube and have the other as a backup. But really they will always work without the uplift tube just not create as high a flow. So don't panic to much.