MadTurtle

I have a Tetra whisper 60 air pump and I am setting up a 29 g planted tank. Is that going to be too much flow for a medium Aquarium Co-Op sponge filter. I am going to use it with an airstone and the pump will be right underneath the tank, so less then 4 foot away.

I thought clay was a good source of minerals for plants? I just filled a glass with gravel and pushed the tab to the bottom. I won’t be using them in gravel, but I had some lying around. Mine will be pushed to the bottom of a 1 inch layer or topsoil, capped by a 1-1 1/2 inch layer of BDBS. Within 30 minutes it had basically disintegrated Isn’t that essentially what it’s supposed to do? Wouldn’t the minerals then become absorbed by the soil for the plant to use? I am brand new to this, and just trying to learn.

My main reason I use it is because it makes my water super clear. I also liked the fact that it can help control nitrates and ammonia in my tank. I have never had an issue with either one of those, so whether that helps with that or not, I couldn’t say for sure. I can say that my water always looks great.

I have been using it in my 10 gallon planted tanks and my plants (crypts,sword,java fern,and java moss) all grow just fine. I love the stuff.

So I just bought some of the Craftsmart Natural clay from Michaels to make DIY root tabs. I am mixing it with some organic potting mix, rolling into balls, and letting it air dry. I am probably going to bake it in the over for an hour as well. I am having a hard time finding any information online about it, other then the product stating that it is 100% natural and non toxic. Has anyone used this clay in their aquarium or know if it would be safe to use? 🤙🏻

They just don’t seem to be mentioned that much.

I recently saw a video on them and I have to say, they are kinda cute. They remind me of like a chubby little bulldog for some reason. Are they just hard to find, or do people just not find them attractive or interesting. From what I am reading they are peaceful, plant friendly, and stay relatively small. I have see them at my LFS, so I am pretty sure he can get them in again. I was going to set up a 20g long, but after seeing these guys, I changed my mind. 40g breeder it is so I can get a small gang of these guys. I am in love 😍

Or would it be better to get the Aquatop AP-50 and use a t-splitter to power both pumps? I really have no idea about these things.😂 I have been a HOB guy my whole life.

So I am starting a new tank and I would like to use the co-op sponge filters. I want to set up a 20 gallon long planted tank with low-moderate plants, and I am planning on getting a couple apisto’s and hopefully getting them to breed. My plans were to use 2 medium sized sponges with airstones, and a tetra whisper for 10 gallons to house some filter floss, and possibly some purigen. I have two questions. 1) Would it be better to use 2 because of the length(30 inches)? Or just one large one? 2) Will the a USB nano pumps for each one be strong enough?

Absolutely. I think 3 or 4 times a week sounds good. I would be more than happy with that. Thanks for the reply, it really has helped me out

Thanks Fish guy! So your tank was a 10g? So you did 1 pump per day until it reached 20ppm? I would eventually like to get to the point where I am dosing smaller amounts frequently instead of large doses weekly. I appreciate your reply, it was most helpful. I could be wrong but I would think most fish would be more tolerant of parameter changes than invertebrates.

I am not sure Tami. My tank is not overstocked and I was doing weekly 30% water changes.I have a 40 gallon breeder with 16 red eye tetras,a mollie that thinks he is a red eye tetra, a kribensis, and a clown pleco. Also 3 mystery snails. I use an aquaclear HOB. My nitrates never went above 5, but I was having an algae problem, which is the main reason I decided to add plants. If I am going to grow something, I would rather it not be algae. I just added some amazon swords, wisteria,water sprite, and an annubias. I am fairly new to all if this , so I am trying to figure it all. Sometimes I think I over complicate things

Thank you for replying! So I could test the nitrates before dosing. and then test the nitrates a few hours later to see where they are? If I do that, would it be okay to dose again the next day if I am not at the 20ppm yet? Meaning will it be harmful , or cause problems if I do.

I don’t mean to hijack this thread but I have a question if anyone can help. If my nitrates are at 5ppm and I want to raise them to 20 pom like Cory recommended, would it be safe to over dose slightly to get my nitrates up to that level? Then test daily and monitor how my nitrates do so that I can calculate how much it drops over the week?

My bottle of Easy Green is on the way and I had a question. I apologize if I sound less then intelligent on the subject, but I am🙂. My question is about nitrates. My nitrates are less then 5ppm and it says that I should be running at about 20ppm while dosing Easy Green. I am assuming that dosing will increase my nitrates, but by how much? The tank is a 40 gallon breeder.