anewbie
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Posts posted by anewbie
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On 10/28/2023 at 6:32 PM, Galabar said:
The question remains: why do you need to test it? What are you trying to accomplish?
Determine how much kh the ro unit is leaving in the water. TDS is not just kh.
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Added this strange critter to my aquarium last week:
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How did you determine they were expensive? Were you looking at wild caught or tank raised fishes? If wild caught - wild caught are always more expensive.
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This question is more along the lines is what plants do well in warmer waters. I plan to setup the tank up with wc discus and wc gbr and will likely run it around 84 but need to double check if that is warm enough for wc discus.
I mostly prefer crypts/anubia and echinodorus but not sure off hand if any of the individual species have problems with warmer waters. Oh and also aponogeton; though in that genus i only care about 3 species and can look them up.
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On 10/25/2023 at 8:04 PM, Galabar said:
Are you using it for a reef tank?
You could measure TDS with a cheap TDS meter. If you are under 25 ppm TDS (typical for RO water), there probably isn't a strong reason to measure KH specifically.
no not a reef tank; still i want to check kh - my ph never gets very low.
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On 10/25/2023 at 3:51 PM, Galabar said:
What is the reason for wanting to measure low KH?
I want to see how much kh is left in my ro water.
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I'm looking for a good kh test kit for measuring low kh water that is more sensitive than api drop method - i'm pretty sure hanna has one but that would be around $80; so something a little less expensive would be helpful. Suggestion ?
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On 10/24/2023 at 3:56 PM, Galabar said:
For some perspective, here is the ACO light (on a 29 gallon):
Here is the Fluval 3.0:
They are both around the same wattage. The Fluval will leave some outer parts of the tank less lit than the center.
Here's another perspective of the ACO light:
Notice that the Fluval really compresses the LEDs towards the center:
A "real" 30" version of the Fluval would be a killer. However, as it stands, it just doesn't quite do justice to 29 or 20 long aquariums.
As noted earlier in this thread the problem is that the co-op light misses one 'critical' feature and that is ramp up in the morning. The value of this feature really depends on the fishes you keep but there are quite a few species that get quite stress/startled with the sudden turning on of a bright light. Not sure i fully understand why this feature was removed as the light intensity can be set so having a feature that step through the intensity at startup for the first hour would not be horribly expensive.
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The plant 3.0 does a good job covering a 29; i have several on those aquarium; but at the price point the blade is stronger; and more neutral. The plant 3.0 offers good water proofing and 3 year warranty compared to the blade ip66 and 1 year warranty.
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My oldest plant 3.0 is around 4 1/2 years while my oldest blade is around 8 months - here is my comparison picture:
Same aquarium with plant 3.0; as with all such comparison the setting on the lights make a difference but still looking at the substrate esp the left front corner show the difference in colour balance; take this with a grain of salt since the camera is also adjusting white balance.
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I really like the new freshwater ai blade; having said that a 20 long is pretty shallow and a lot of lights that are less expensive will do equally well with regards to plant growth. You could probably get away with the ultra cheap hygger, beamworks, or a dozen other lights in the $50-$70 range; the 30 inch blade would cost around $270. I've not used the co-op light; so i don't know how neutral the spectrum is to the eye but the fluval 3.0 which it seems to be based off of has a bit of a yellow tint - i don't find it that bad but others object to it (I have several plant 3.0); also the co-op version doesn't come on gradually it comes on at whatever setting you have so if you have sensitive fishes it can startled them pretty bad.
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I'd not get anything stronger than the blade which is already overkill for a 12 inch tall aquarium. Chiros has a low end light but no clue how the spectrum compares; i know the plan wrgb 2 is not very neutral and while very strong i don't really like them much.
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I'd use a smallish sponge filter in the back behind the scaping; in my 10 i use sponge filters in the two back corners - this is what it looks liked in the past:
This is what it looks like today:
(i moved a few weeks ago and never really got around to fixing it after dumping everything back in - the pearl weed in the first picture got gobbled down by the mystery snail -there is a little left in the hornworth which was a small strand transplanted from another aquarium - kind of prefer the pearl weed but as noted so do the snails - and one mystery snail can eat a *lot* of pearl weed in a few days).
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On 10/23/2023 at 6:10 AM, BucketAquatics said:
What I've noticed with sellers is "sky blue" anything, just means "not as blue as usual" lol
people can call fishes anything they want; there is an electric blue variant (this is colour morph human bred); anyway those fishes look pretty stressed and i doubt they are temp compatible with the other fishes in that aquarium which might be why they are stressed (too cold).
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I'd recommend some of the following:
ember tetra
green neon tetra (similar to size of ember tetra) (go with these over cardinals or neon for a 15 gallon tank as they are smaller).
kubotai rasbora
pygmy cory ( you said no cory but the pygmy have a different behavior than larger cousins and are adorable)
sparkling gourami (very pretty nano fish but can fight among themselves at times)
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all mentioned fishes i've personally kept and found easy to keep and robust. the ember tetra are nice but kind of boring unless there is something else in there to stir the pot. I'm a big fan of pygmy cory - highly underrated fish. I've had mix success with sparkling and found them a bit more fragile. My kubotai rasbora keep on ticking but only negative is they are very active and a 15 gallon is a bit small. green neon a little more active than ember but not bad. I truly enjoy kubotai rasbora and in a smaller tank the colours are stunning - details which get miss in a larger aquarium - not as happy with the cdp i've kept - never had chili and some of the more exoctic rasbora which are also quite lovely.
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One thing to keep in mind all the above fishes prefer soft water - if you have very hard water you definitely better off with endlers or guppies.
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On 10/22/2023 at 6:32 PM, Guppysnail said:
Thank you. Yes my trifs and borellii are in trios. The info on the more violent was needed. That I did not know. This is first spawn for both trios so I would not have known. My caucatoides trio dad takes care of the fry when moms are done.
As for the jungle river my Laetacara dorsigera and curviceps easily dig holes all over the place. I do not have it in my GBR tank. It’s the only Carib sea I’ve enjoyed.
I've not noticed any digging by any of the fishes - the geo do filter the sand but they are still small (1.5 inch - eventually will get up to 7-8 inches); my biggest problem is the loaches keep wearing away the substrate down to the glass bottom when they surf - need to add another bag in the far corner and a rock to cover the glass. The substrate in the loach tank is estes stony river (similar to bbs); very fine very good for plants. My domestic angels and festum really enjoy the larger aquarium. Previously when they were in the 120 the festum would never come near me (they are wc) but since i put them in the 550 they started behaving like puppies lining up front for food - i speculate because in the larger aquarium they feel safer but that is only speculation for the change in behavior. In the 120 they would go to the back corner whenever i approach and stay there till i left. When not feeding them they mostly hang over by the over flows (stronger current?) and hornworth (middle). The only sad thing is my loaches have gotten lazy and stay hidden most days now - when i first put them they spent a full week zoom across the tank full length 24/7. I do have one black knight in there - it was actually purchase to help cycle the tank and i thought for sure it died but every now and then it flashes the white tail and i know it is doing fine (been in there for about 8 weeks now).
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On 10/23/2023 at 7:19 AM, Fish Folk said:
Nope. Male got sick and passed. Moved along rest of them. I’ve never successfully bred apistos.
If you try again avoid cz stock; wc are best but if not available than hobbist bred. Be sure you understand the species behavior and water requirement - a few are pair bonding but most are polygamous where the female just 'uses' the male and then wants him gone.
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I'm mixed on jungle river which i have in three aquariums; it sure looks a *lot* nicer than hth pool filter sand; but it lacks the ultra fine-ness that geo and a few other species deeply appreciate; conversely i moved some of my a. pucallpaensis to a tank with it and they lost a lot of their colour - their kids (who are now breeding) are still on stoney river estes (a very fine black substrate) still have that pop.
To be honest other than cost i really like stony river estes black substrate as it seems to do very well over long period of time unlike some of the caribsea substrate which have caused me grief due to aneraboic pockets forming and killing my plants.
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Do be aware that like borelli trifs are polygamous and unlike borelli they are more violent both females iwth frys and males towards other species. Now that i'm using much larger aquariums (4ftx4ft for my pucallpaensis); i'm finding even 29 quite small - i have a pair of d50 in the 29 and they keep telling me it lacks elbow room. I think when my D50 pass (probably 2 to 4 more years); i'll hunt down some wc borelli which are a bit smaller and i've seen some brilliant wc borelli though they are much more rare than the domestic breed.
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Curious to see how they do; i picked up 4 tank raised once two weeks ago and while mine are still around 1.5 inch they are like little puppies; not sure what i'll do once they get larger - the aquarium is certainly large enough to support a pair and the other two (8ftx4ft); but we shall see. Right now not much to compete with them but when the geo get larger it might be more of an issue and i might need more structure to fence the geo towards the front.
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Borelli opal are definitely one of the favorite; not sure how large your aquarium but you should be aware that the female with eggs can occasionally kill the male; like most polygamous species the females want nothing to do with the male once she has her precious. Naturally the actual issues are very dependent on individual fishes with some more harsh than others.
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I did the usual weekly water change on my 72x30 bedroom aquarium (which used to be a 40B). It has been running for approx 6 weeks; though most of the fishes and plants are from the 40B. I've not hooked up co2 yet though it does have a pair of reactor; undecided if i should hook up co2 as the plants seem to be doing fine and co2 causes other issues. Here are a couple of pictures:
The first picture shows a not commonly seen crypt cordata var siamensis; ive had it for a couple of years but in the 40B it was buried in part due to co2; it seems to be growing fine without co2 but i am keeping a close eye on it. Unfortunately the 'timid' keyhole saw me and came a dashing in hope for some cat-nips or similar treat.
The reactor not yet hooked up to co2 but water flows through it.
Below is a semi close up of one of the uninteresting crypts; kind of a shame i chose this one to photograph since all around it are pink jacboi; nuri rosen and a few others begging to be photographed; but beggers usually get passed over... You can see a bit of a pink jacobi to the right of it; just look at the pink/purple thing at the edge of the frame.
The only crypt really hurting without co2 are the spiralis which are kind of pale - they had much better colour with co2. Also my little prince kleiner is starting to regrow (when i tore down the 40B a lot of the plants had suffered terribly from aenerobic bacteria destorying their roots). Anyway i think it'll take 6 months for the plants to fully adjust so maybe by Feb or March i'll make a decision on turning the knob on the co2 canister.
As a bonus here are a couple of pictures from the blackwater aquarium which had the water change yesterday:
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The general rule is 48 inch long for rummy; i have 20 in a 8 foot aquarium and when i first got them they 'schooled' back and fourth; back and fourth; back and fourth using the full 8 foot; more recently now that they've settle down they have become a bit lazy - though if I even glance at the aquarium they come a running for hand outs.
Also be aware that there are 3 or 4 species commonly sold as rummy and i'm unsure if they have slightly different behavior. I do have a pair of adult angels with them but they mostly ignore the angels and have no problem snatching food from them though the smaller ones might show a bit more caution (not sure there - haven't paid close attention).
To be honest 'cept as a specialty aquarium i've pretty much given up on 29s. I recently moved my pair of D50 there (they were in a community 40B) and they definitely are pouting the loss of space despite having the full tank to themselves. Not sure if i would use a 29 for any tetra larger than an ember again.
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On 10/18/2023 at 1:59 PM, nabokovfan87 said:
For sure! I am just waiting to see a school of "hundreds" of corydoras. It's too majestic. 😂
It's just not the same as a ton of them!!!! I love seeing them do this.
I only have around 12 sterbai in my 450; but i gotta say those females are not small fishes - mine are 6+ years old and the females are easily 3+ inches and quite stocky. To be honest my sterbai spread out and almost never behave like the ones in the video - usually i have 3 or 4 males chasing a female...
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You think global warming (sudden heat wave) is bad to your home aquarium; think about what it is doing in natural environment 😞
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On 10/17/2023 at 5:42 AM, anewbie said:
Not going to happen; i'll have 30 hastatus; my colony of a. pucallpaensis (approx 14 right now); some otto (around 15) and a group of wavrini when i can find them. That's it for this aquarium. Oh and lots of plants.
I should take a picture of my upstair aquarium at some point - it has the most adorable group of keyholes; that aquarium is only 72x30 (inches):
@nabokovfan87 don't be sad keyholes are like little kittens bringing joy to all. They just love to play with each other and while another aquarium i have 20ish orange lasers and 30 ish pygmy cory in their aquarium bringing the total between the two aquariums to around 80 cory !
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On 10/16/2023 at 10:52 PM, nabokovfan87 said:
Definitely unique, beautiful texture! I'm excited for you to have 100-150 corydoras in that tank when you're ready!
Not going to happen; i'll have 30 hastatus; my colony of a. pucallpaensis (approx 14 right now); some otto (around 15) and a group of wavrini when i can find them. That's it for this aquarium. Oh and lots of plants.
I should take a picture of my upstair aquarium at some point - it has the most adorable group of keyholes; that aquarium is only 72x30 (inches):
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plants for discus tank
in General Discussion
Posted
But does he name the species that work and don't work ?