lefty o

put water in it!

the answer is 3, just like the owl and the toostie pop!🤪

sticking a new sponge in a thriving tank is a great way to establish a bacteria colony in the new filter. in a pinch/hurry ive taken new filters and rubbed them along the glass of an existing tank to get 'em going.

in a 10 with just 1 chinese algae eater, id scoop the fish out and stick it in a bucket for a few hours then suck down a bunch of water scoop out the sand, and suction out all you can get. when youre happy stick in your new substrate, let it get up to normal temp, put the fish back.

to me, 6 hours is a good baseline time. you can always adjust up or down in small increments over time to meet the needs of the plants/tank. if a person ran very low light intensity you can run 10-12 hours and not run into algae issues, but many plants want more/brighter light, and a brighter light is more pleasing while watching the tank. its all about finding the right balance of what works best in each tank. based on what you like to see, plant needs, algae growth etc.

basically. long duration, higher intensity lights tend to grow algae's really well, especially if the nutrient levels are out of whack.

id not run a HOB on a timer. main reason being many HOB's wont reliably restart on their own, #2 bacteria die off in the hob itself.

he means cut off the leaves. i agree, green hair algae. a person can try liquid carbon, but meh ive used it and not been impressed. i dont think any chemical treatment will help you out at this point. you will need to get the tank balanced out to prevent this in the future, ie fertilizers, hours/intensity of lighting, etc.

i think you're fine. your bacteria colony is doing its job.

look into a python, its a unit that hooks to your faucet.

the only issue with taller tanks is you tend to end up in them to your armpits while cleaning them. visually i like them better than standard height tanks.

agree with the above, and maybe add in a 2-3gal water change in a few days.

id give 95% odds that its fine as is, but the price for new plywood thats just a tiny bit bigger buys a ton of piece of mind.

how many hours a day is the light on for?

so what im hearing is more country........

All Glass brand aquariums were great.

constructed properly, plain ol' 2x4 framing lumber will support pretty much any tank.

i feed them, then walk out the door.

she will probably be fine. been like that for an hour, so she is getting water movement over her gills. as the food dissolves, she'll get it eaten.

a paintball gun, and night vision goggles.....

probably not going to make it.

here's one of the guys who wrote it, a bit different take, but pretty good! might as well have the other guy....

okay, hang on, i aim to please!!