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wilkyb

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Everything posted by wilkyb

  1. wilkyb
    I think the overgrowth looks great have you considered trying out some red plants? I think 3-4 stems here & gives the tank a bit of visual weight!
  2. wilkyb
    I made a nice & neat post in the journaling forum for my new planted aquarium:
  3. wilkyb
    stealing this first reply for future updates
  4. wilkyb
    hey everybody I've been making posts here & there on the general forum about this new aquarium I've put together. I thought I'd start a thread dedicated to this aquarium and it's progress. I'll be updating photos, keeping journals, among other things here. Here's a breakdown of my setup: -20 gallon plastic planter pot from Home Depot -construction site clear-crush 1/8" gravel (seems to be keeping the water nice & hard) -20 gallon air pump hooked into an upside-down glass beer bottle with 2 small holes at the top filled with filter media & an intake sponge, effectively filtering ammonias, oxygenating the water, and circulating the water -20 gallon submersed water pump mounted on top a small clay ornament, also buried in the gravel (to reduce death by suction); the out-take of this pump travels through a pipe which exits the waters surface and falls back into the aquarium from ~2.5 inches -100W TopFin heater; I also have a 100W EHEIM heater but the TopFin 100w takes up a bit less space / less noticeable -DIY co2 rig using 2 soda bottles, baking soda & citric acid -A 3 piece LED light with 5 different light settings; timers that I've not bothered to mess with yet -A big hunk of driftwood, anubias plants, a couple egeria densa, and a few pieces of floating green cabomba, or maybe hornwort -Plant growth additive, 5-in-1 test strips (pH,KH,GH, NO-2, NO-3), an ammonia test kit, and some de-chlorinator in case I need to quickly balance the aquarium with fresh water due to an ammonia spike or something -3 guppies currently while in cycle; one male and two fry who are yet to be gendered; I'll be adding 2 more males and 5 females, and I'll also add two otocinclus to help clean up I plan on bringin' this baby outside in the springtime to the front veranda or the deck in the backyard; I'll put wire mesh overtop and place a weight on it to keep out the riff-raff at night time
  5. wilkyb
    Yup! that makes perfect sense. I was never any good at chemistry in high school; if you couldn't tell 😛 I don't understand the role of carbon in an aquarium. From what I read, carbon is the most abundant solid matter in the universe, and from what I know, carbon composes the large majority of solid particles that make up life. What I don't understand about carbon is where it sits on the periodic table, and how it interacts with acids and metals. It is non-metallic, and I don't know what the heck that means with respect to the stuff I've been reading about acids & alkalis in aquariums. I don't understand the bicarbonate, carbonate terminology, and I'm eager to figure it out! because it doesn't mean much to me right now why are carbonates/bicarbonates unstable? This means that unless they are kept in check via bonding then on their own they are dangerous to life?
  6. wilkyb
    So then binarily speaking, a fish with a high metabolism has a larger net exchange of (hydrogen atoms, or electrons?) in a shorter amount of time? Does that mean, typically, that fish who prefer acidic solutions have a shorter, but faster lifespan? Life in the Fast Lane! makes sense!
  7. wilkyb
    Yes, that's what I meant! Thank you for pointing out the inconsistencies in my language! From time to time I may not sufficiently nor consistently use language as I actually meant to/should be. That's why I come to the forum to figure it all out!😄 Thanks for providing so much information btw, I'm only just beginning my reply now as I read along...! So in an acidic solution, it is hydrogen atoms that are being exchanged... Hydrogen atoms are completely traded from one molecule to another. Is that correct? When you mention "in an acidic solution"... from this I infer that the alkali solution then exchange electrons of hydrogen atoms, but not completely the entire hydrogen atom itself? Haha! I'm not going to look into redox potential, as fascinating as it sounds. I will learn more at my pace before I inevitably go too deep into the rabbit hole and develop a personality disorder. 🤪 yes! thanks again for that... can you describe the difference between cations / anions? When you say hydrogen ions in an acidic solution, how does that relate to cations / anions with respect to being acidic or alkali? or am I way out in left field on this one? lol
  8. wilkyb
    gotcha, makes sense to me now
  9. wilkyb
    Right on. I think you're right about ammonia levels, etc... I don't need to worry about it in this aquarium w/ such a small bio-load. I still wonder how the productivity of the filter is affected when there is competition coming from another filter.
  10. wilkyb
    update: I've attached anubias conogensis & berteri to the driftwood, and then planted in the gravel near are 2 groups of 3 stems of Egeria Densa. All from a local business nearby where I live.
  11. wilkyb
    My aquarium is currently in day 4 of the cycling process. I would like to know if simple aquatic plants such as anubias can be introduced to a tank that has not yet established it's nitrite levels. I've added plenty of fish food for the filter to process the ammonia into nitrites. As far as I understand, plants will consume acidic substances in the order of ammonia>nitrite>nitrates. Is this true? What kind of growth patters can I expect from aquatic plants in the early stages of the cycling process? Is adding fish food sufficient fodder for my new plants? I also have Nutrafin Plant Gro formula. I don't know much about these products to be honest.
  12. wilkyb
    I think the API test strips simply don't provide enough information for a new cycling tank. Nitrites and nitrates will be showing up in the following days/weeks from now. Having an ammonia count on this test strip would take it from a B grade device to an A- in my books. Would you reccomend I include plants in my tank now that it's been in cycle for 4-5 days? There is plenty of ammonia from the fish food I've been putting into the aquarium. It's only a matter of time until I have higher nitrite levels.
  13. wilkyb
    I know that waterflow alone can't handle ammonia; the question is how much does my one filter without a biological media reduce the flow of water to the bubble filter with a biological media?
  14. wilkyb
    Interesting... that might help explain goldfish waste being neutralized in waters they prefer below 70'F
  15. wilkyb
    loud & clear!
  16. wilkyb
    Affirmative!
  17. wilkyb
    I'm a bit confused by this. Are you saying that plants do not consume nitrates, phostphates, and iron? I've been operating under the impression that nitrates can only be removed by water changes. I read about how plants consume ammonia & nitrites, but not nitrates
  18. wilkyb
    Right now I'm putting in quite a bit of fish food at a time. I think the more fish food = the more nitrites being made via filtration which is what I'm after. In particular I want my plants to thrive. Are plants readily consuming both ammonia and nitrite? If yes then I presume I can add my plants as soon as tomorrow when the shop is open!
  19. wilkyb
    I don't need a definite answer. Thanks for the tips!
  20. wilkyb
    The way I imagine it, the water particles in your aquarium have no choice but to eventually enter one filter or the other. In theory, if the same ammonia molecule is pushed through the filter without filtration media once per day for seven days in a row, the ammonia and toxins would not be transformed to nitrates. I'm actually more curious to know the rate at which ammonia is transformed into nitrate. The water in my city is very hard, and so I want to have an idea about how long this process should take with my given filters etc
  21. wilkyb
    I'm a new member to the forum; I'm just starting out with establishing my first proper planted tank. I plan on adding mainly anubias, as well as a plant that can absorb more nitrites if there happens to be a spike, like hornwort. I'll plan to add guppies and ghost shrimp, too, once things are all nice and dandy. attached are two photos: one photos is of the aquarium, and another is a photo of a test swab of GH, KH, pH, and nitrite & nitrate levels The water from the tap in my city has a GH and KH of around 180ppm. As far as I understand it, this means I will have to add more ammonia to the tank in order develop the beneficial bacteria that my aquatic life needs to thrive. Is this accurate? I've added a good hunk of fish food to the aquarium in the past 2 days. How long does it take for ammonia to be processed into nitrite via filtration? Thanks ahead of time! I'm open ears to pointers in particular to establishing an aquarium like I am now.
  22. wilkyb
    I was using just a 20-gallon air-bubble filter for the purpose of processing ammonia, as well a providing water flow & circulation, oxygen, to the water for my planted guppy/ghost shrimp aquarium. I've now added a 25 gallon submersive pump that I've pulled apart and rigged to flow water back into the aquarium from the surface (just like a HOB filter would). Unlike the air-bubble filter, this submersive pump does not have filter media or a sponge to collect debris. To save fish from being sucked into the propeller, I have tie-wrapped a clay ornament to the bottom. The ornament reduces the power output from the pump by ~20% due to the limited space allowing water to be sucked in by the propellors. The details of the last bit there isn't so relevant to my question I have here, though: My question is this: Will the air-bubble filter with media be less effective at processing ammonias when the sub pump is running? The way I see it, if the aquarium is 20gallons, the air bubbler is rated for 20gallons, and the sub pump is rated for 20gallons, then the effectiveness of the filter media inside the air bubbler will be less due to the flow being diverted to the submersive pump. I'd imagine this may result in an ineffeciency of the processing of ammonias by the filter media by ~15-20%. What do you guys think?
  23. wilkyb
    THANKS. That's a photo of my brother, actually, and we look and act very alike. And what kind of egotistical jerk uses a profile of their own photo these days anyways? hahaha!! I kid, I kid. 😛
  24. wilkyb
    I think I'll learn more useful things down this rabbit hole than some of the others I've been down recently! haha! The computer nerd in me lusts for DATA!! and the more datas I have to compare relative to one another helps me generate more true/false statements. It's important that I don't give myself the wrong feedback. Kind of like after making a putt on the golf green, for example. If the outcome goes as predicted (the ball goes in the hole), the statements I make afterwards can be the pitfall of my following putts. Was it really my ball contact that produced the outcome? Or was it the small break that I didn't account for which helped direct the ball in to the cup? I see it the same way with aquariums, where I may have the desired outcome, but if I'm not aware of the concentrations of solutions (ie, the break of the green in golf), then I will be making inaccurate true/false statements. The more data the merrier, I say! It's interesting that you mention calcium testing kits being more common, but magnesium testing kits are not! Good to know! But for simplicities sake, I need to establish a pH and water hardness like you describe. I also need to produce more nitrites before I do my planting. I've watched your ph gh kh video on youtube, too, by the way! thanks for that! *claps*
  25. wilkyb
    Please correct me where I'm wrong, or where I'm not not necessarily right about something. For context, I am building a 30gal guppy/ghost shrimp in a planted potted aquarium. I am using a liquid plant fertilizer and fish food while I cycle the tank to increase it's nitrite levels until I buy all my plants. I also have a DIY co2 system I'll be using later. I've been doing research the past week or so now, and I'd like some help pulling all these threads I've got going in my head together. There's a lot I mention here, so I don't expect a full response by any means! pH is the measurement of ionized hydrogen particles in the water. The more ionized particles in the water means the pH will be lower. Acidic particles exchange electrons more readily with the alkali particles around them. If a fish naturally has a high metabolism (versus that of a cichlid, for example), then it makes sense that they can more readily process the acids present in the water. Thus, it leads me to believe that fish with a faster metabolism can process more acids with fewer minerals in the water (softer & more acidic water). Cichlids on the other hand, from what I've read, prefer hard water, and don't react well to acidic/reactive solutions -- they much prefer more stable alkaline environments. Is this accurate? From what I can gather, the alkali metals (minerals in the water) are what neutralize the acidic nitrites and convert them into nitrates. It makes sense to me that if fish and plants lack these specific metals then they have no way of metabolizing / neutralizing the acids in the water. This also explains the general malaise of fish in mineral deficient water. KH, as far as I understand it, is both a total amount and also a ratio of carbonates vs bicarbonates in the water. KH describes how hard or soft the water in the aquarium is. Acidic water is often accommodated by soft water, and alkaline is accommodated by hard water. What is the typical golden ratio between carbonates and bicarbonates? What is a healthy total amount of this ratio in an aquarium? GH, as far as I understand it, is, again, the measurement of the ratio and the total amount of magnesium and calcium suspended in the water of the aquarium. Are carbonates & bicarbonates directly relative to the amount of Magnesium and calcium (among other minerals) in the water? From what I have read, carbonate is produced by magnesium, and bicarbonate is produced by calcium (crushed coral). Is it as simple as this?
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