Lifeisgood
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Posts posted by Lifeisgood
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Has anyone kept emerald rasboras at 68 degrees F? I see rasboras listed at different temperature ranges. Just wondered what experiences people have had with them.
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On 11/7/2023 at 3:29 AM, nabokovfan87 said:
They sell it for the hobby too. That video is of a pond style of zeolite. I have some of this on hand:
There's stuff sold under the term of De-nitrite too:
Cool! Thank you for your help! Now I will double check the make up of the pellets and see about making a mesh bag to put them into my HOB.
The goldfish tank has bb Algae that I am fighting all of the time. I am feeding less, controlling light and now if I can reduce ammonia and nitrates I am hoping it will be better. The Purigen is so fine it clogs up in the fine mesh bags too quickly.
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On 11/6/2023 at 9:13 PM, nabokovfan87 said:
For some of the resins I've heard of using salt solution, that goes into the pellets, then the salt is replaced with minerals and that softens your water. It could just be for that particular application of the resin beads. I've never heard of being able to recharge zeolite.
Ironically, first google search goes to an amazon page and just says:
To reuse zeolite pellets, you must “recharge” them. To do this, add 1/4 cup of kosher salt per gallon of warm water. Dissolve the salt. Pick out and dispose of fecal matter and pour used pellets into saline solution.Thanks for interacting with me about this idea. I am remembering back from something I looked into earlier this past summer. So I will look closer at the package.
So when you were mentioning the use of zeolite to remove nitrates and nitrite from tanks, you were referring to water tanks for supplying water for drinking and cooking right? Not fish tanks?
As I looked at the video it refers to koi ponds. So if the pellets that I found are truly only zeolite, I may be able to use them in my HOB as I would use bio rings. And I could recharge them from time to time with salt. Is that how you are seeing it?
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On 11/6/2023 at 7:16 PM, nabokovfan87 said:
Zeolite is a thing they use for removing ammonia or nitrite/nitrates in tanks. Zeolite can also be found in some cat litters. As far as absorbing ammonia, maybe that's the thing that is used? Purigen is a resin bead used in things like wastewater treatment.
Small, spherical resin beads are packed in a “bed” inside the tank of a water softener. The resin beads hold a negative charge that will attract any positively charged ions.
Edit: I checked the catbox thing. I saw a video of someone talking about the product refer to them as zeolite pellets. Maybe that is closer to what they are as opposed to purigen.It’s interesting because according to directions on both products you can use chlorine bleach to recharge both Purigen and the zeolite kitty litter pellets. Hmmm…maybe it is worth looking into a bit more?
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Out of the box question:
My daughter was trying out a new litter box for her cat- “Tidy Cat Breeze.” It has a grid insert in the litter box where you are supposed to pour pellets that are made of the same thing that Purigen is. The cat pees on the pellets and the pellets absorb or neutralize the ammonia from the pee and the urine is soaked up by a pad that is in the bottom of the pan.
I was wondering if those pellets would work to use like you would use bio rings—but they would also have another benefit in that they neutralize or soak up ammonia too? Is there any reason that that wouldn’t be a good idea?
The company makes two different pellet types. One is scented and one is not. I would not want to use the scented option?
I have tried to use Purigen in my HOB for a large goldfish tank. They seem to need extra filtration to keep water parameters good. But the Purigen is so fine and the mesh bags don’t allow good water flow through them.
What do you guys think???
I did not mean to put the question mark after what I meant as a statement:
I would NOT want to use the scented pellets.
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On 10/18/2023 at 10:46 PM, Lifeisgood said:
I will try that! And thank you for your advice. I really appreciate it, and will give you an update after a few days. 😊
On 10/18/2023 at 9:13 PM, Colu said:What I would do is keep stable water parameters and only water change if you see any ammonia or nitrite daily water change will add extra stress and feed a once a day what I would do is add a small amount of aquarium salt 1 table spoon for 5 gallons and add some Indian almond leaves as they have antibacterial and antifungal add an extra air stone
Hi Colu—here’s the update after a few weeks. I only had one more fish die. That is wonderful! Thank you for helping me through this crisis!
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On 10/18/2023 at 9:13 PM, Colu said:
What I would do is keep stable water parameters and only water change if you see any ammonia or nitrite daily water change will add extra stress and feed a once a day what I would do is add a small amount of aquarium salt 1 table spoon for 5 gallons and add some Indian almond leaves as they have antibacterial and antifungal add an extra air stone
I will try that! And thank you for your advice. I really appreciate it, and will give you an update after a few days. 😊
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The pictures appear a bit redder than the fish really are. They should be silvery and transparent ish.
There are less dead today. The temp is about 65 degrees F. They have never been heated for over two years. Just room temperature.
I fed them some today. There are about 20 dwarf neon rainbow fish with them. None of the rainbow died over night. I do 1/3 water change daily. I don’t know if I should feed or not. Or what I can do to help them.
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On 10/16/2023 at 7:09 PM, Colu said:
What are your water parameters ammonia nitrite nitrate pH KH GH temperature can you take a picture of the loach if it's possible
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125 gallon tank has been set up for two and one half years and became over stocked due to over enthusiastic fish breeding. I noticed a bad smell but fish seemed to be fine. Kept up partial water changes but likely over fed fish because of worrying about babies not getting enough. All that to say—green water ensued and then died. Viscosity of water changed because bubbles were collecting at the surface. Tried a larger water change. Noticed the underside of the Hillstream loaches flesh looked cloudy instead of silvery and translucent. Saw the first dead fish.
I drained the water, caught the fish and put them in large tub of dechlorinated water with air stone to aerate the water. I have been cleaning out the fish that die and doing partial water changes daily to keep the water clean.
Does anyone have any suggestions as to how else I can help the loaches recover? Medications? Or any other ideas? They have a large Annubias plant and some narrow jungle Val with them in their tub.
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I bought a young goldfish labeled as an Oranda from a box store. It was smaller than yours but had a very thin wen as well. I think when we get them from stores that don’t take pains to get well bred goldfish we end up with hybrids. But your fish is beautiful anyway and my little “Dot” is now quite large but still has a thin wen. Oh well, she still greets me eagerly and is fun to watch.
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On 3/22/2022 at 11:40 AM, Jeff said:
@Lifeisgood no; what I meant was, I squeeze out my sponges in a bucket of water I take out of my aquarium during a water change.
This water gets fed to plants outside my house.
😅. Good! Does your tank get any direct or frequent brightness from sunlight?
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I am thinking that it would help not to squeeze the filter sponge into your water. It seems that you are putting waste back in that you are trying to filter out. Also, maybe cut back on feeding? Watch and see if your fish eat up what you give them—or if the excess settles into the substrate.
Nerite snails have cleaned my plants up well in the past. If you don’t mind the white eggs they lay on the hard scape.
Does your tank have exposure to sunlight?
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My cat caught a mouse one night and brought it up to my second floor bedroom and let it go on my bed. I realized what happened when the mouse ran across the covers over my husband and me!😳
Here is a picture of another of my cats “window shopping”.
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On 3/11/2022 at 3:29 PM, HH Morant said:
It would depend on the design of the sump, but in the event of a failure of the siphon/overflow, with most designs the entire capacity of the sump would not be pumped into the tank, just the contents of the pump compartment.
With most designs the water flows from the filter media compartment to the pump compartment by flowing over a baffle or through holes in a divider. The holes or the top of the baffle are at or near the top of the operating water level of the sump, so if the siphon/overflow fails, the water level in the filter compartment would only go down to the level of the holes or the top of the baffle. The return pump would empty the pump compartment.
That may or may not be enough water to overflow the display tank. If you were using the 29-gallon tank as a sump, with the operating water line at the 17-gallon mark, and if the pump compartment were 20% of the length of the tank (6 inches of the 30-inch length), the pump compartment would hold about 20% of 17 gallons of water, or 3.4 gallons.
I never thought about it much, but I guess the smaller the pump compartment, the better.
It seems to me that the chances of this kind of failure are greater with a siphon than with an overflow.
Your thoughts help me to be less scared—and more thoughtful as to how to design the sump if I decide to go that way. Still contemplating risks and benefits…. Thank you for thinking this out with me.
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On 3/11/2022 at 1:37 PM, OnlyGenusCaps said:
So... I'm going to echo what the last two posts have said - seems like going canister might be better in this case. I know there are "siphon overflows" both commercial and DIY, but those two words shouldn't be used together as a long term plan. I'm less concerned about flooding the sump (although a 10gal for a 125 would be risky at best, in my experience). I'd be more worried about the siphon breaking, resulting in the entire volume of the sump being put into the tank and potentially overflowing the display. You can calculate for that so your overflow sits low enough that the tank won't flood, but then you end up with a dry sump, and if your heater is in the sump there is a fire danger there. It just has a number of risks that would make me nervous. Good sump design is based on the concepts of guard rails, fail safes, and backups. It stems from the idea that every piece of equipment in your tank will fail, it's just a matter of planning for it.
All that said, if you end up drilling the tank, sumps are absolutely the way to go!!!
Been a rough couple of days for me. I dislike canisters and love sumps, but I've recommended canisters to two people in as many days. All while I am working on a giant sump, and drilling tanks for overflows. Ugh. What's become of me?!
Thank you for the great advice—even though it has come at the cost of personal angst!😂
Really, if something did fail—it would have bad consequences on the wood floor and on my husband’s patience level for indulging my fishy habits!😅
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On 3/11/2022 at 11:50 AM, Wrencher_Scott said:
I would never try it unless the intake was high enough to run dry before flooding!! I can't think of any way to do this and make it reliable and safe really. You can't have an 'overflow'.
If I were you I think I would shop for a large canister filter.
I went from a Tidal 110 to a Cascade 1000. The cascade isn't a lot bigger but it flows way better and the foam stays put better.
I am hearing the cautions on this idea—and I appreciate them! How often are you finding you need to maintenance it? How long does it take you to do it?
My tank is overstocked with juvenile Hillstream loaches right now—but when I have the nerve to catch out a bunch—hopefully there won’t be such a burden on filtration and need for water changes.
On 3/11/2022 at 1:46 PM, KentFishFanUK said:Ok so not sure how easy it would be/how well it would work but technically I think one option you could consider is an above tank sump? So the water is pumped into the sump above, flows through it then overflows back into the tank - meaning the sump tank would be drilled instead of the display tank? Kind of like a giant hang on back, except it would need a big shelf or cabinet or something above the main tank instead of below which isn't as easy to install/hide.
Love the out of the box thinking!😁 I even thought of a horizontal black three inch PVC tube with some kind of filter media in it—that could be taken off and power blasted with water every six months or so.🤷♀️
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I have been trying to use HOB filters for 125–but would like to try a sump. Since the tank is already in use I don’t want to drill it. I have an extra 10 gallon and a 29 gallon tank to use. Would either size work?
Also, I wonder if any of you could suggest a favorite design for intake and output tubes. There are YTube videos—but what have any of you used and would suggest? Thank you in advance for any suggestions!😊
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I have three fancies in a 55 with a sponge filter and a hang on back. One Black Moor and one Oranda, the third started out the smallest and was supposed to be an Oranda but probably was a mix. She is now the biggest.
I love them. They beg me for food and watch us as much as we watch them.
I would be a bit concerned that they would go after the Mystery snail’s feelers. They do try to eat everything! I keep five large female guppies in with them—don’t want any more guppy fry. And ramshorn snails. Maybe that is asking for trouble too—I am not sure!
I am planning on putting some Hillstream loaches in with them to enjoy and help combat the algae.
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Vertical spaces are challenging. You could do a betta, OR a small Gourami like Honey or licorice Gouramis and a mystery snail (if your betta is chill). Mystery snails are quite fun to watch. They glide around and parachute from the top to the bottom very gracefully.
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So my goldfish beg me for food whenever I enter the room. They are getting so big now I am beginning to wonder how much food is enough for them throughout the day?
I give them each a significant pinch of quality goldfish pellets and usually an amount of green beans or duckweed if I have it, and later on some frozen brine shrimp or bloodworms.
But since they like to graze so much—they are eating the floating hornwort, which they generally don’t like to eat.
Anyone have a good guideline as to volume of veggies I should be putting in there for them?
I have three fancy goldfish all of which have bodies the size of my clenched fist (excluding their fins).
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Also try to scratch the surface with your fingernail and if you can’t that is good. Softer rocks are more likely to break down in water. I always collect my own rocks for my aquariums. So far only had trouble with gypsum (didn’t think about the softness test at the time). It completely melted and I had to change out a bunch of substrate. Lost some plants but no fish.
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Latex house paint works fine too. It peals off easy with a plastic scraper too.
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One event to add—I had a lovely personable Half-Banded eel who would eat from my fingers. She would burrow occasionally but always come out for food. The top was secure with no gaps to escape. She was maybe a year old and seven to eight inches long. Then she burrowed and I never found any trace of her again. I even dismantled the tank and sifted through the sand. Never saw a snail pile. Nothing. Just gone.
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Emerald Rasbora Temps
in General Discussion
Posted
Since having a heater malfunction that nearly cooked my fancy goldfish, I have shifted my other tanks to running with no heaters.
I have a 125 that was stocked with rainbow fish and Hillstream loaches but am now wanting a smaller schooling fish that would do well in cooler temperatures.
The background Ian’s substrate are black and I was hoping to find a smaller fish with some color.
But living in Michigan maybe danios are my best option if I do not want to use a heater.