Solidus1833
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Posts posted by Solidus1833
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8 minutes ago, d6veteran said:
So what level should I watch for before I do a change? 20? 30?
Thanks for the comment/advice!
This would vary differently to every tank. But!, if you want to raise it a little quicker just use a little easy green ferts from the co-op store to get back to that 10-20ppm if you are low.
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I've actually had an easier time keeping cardinals than neons. I'm not sure really what their differences are besides color.
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One of the best ways is to take some media from the cycled filter and place it in the new filter. Also, If you have any intake sponges shake them out in the new tank, and also as always Seachem Stability. When I set up my largest aquarium 72g, I took some bio media from my 30g and placed it within the new filter, and also took all the sponges from the original filter and shook them out in the new tank. Adding some seachem stability, and I was fully cycled in about 4 days.
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22 hours ago, d6veteran said:
@Cory @Solidus1833 Quick question. I am taking your advice to cut down to one 50% water change per week. That means a water change tomorrow (last change was 50% on Saturday). However, Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrate/Phosphate are all 0 (using new, non-expired API test tube kits, double/tripled checked). Should I hold off even longer to get the Nitrate and Phosphates up a bit?
Like @Cory mentioned, its smart to do either a 30% instead of 50% or just go a bit longer before changes to not remove too much nutrient waste from the water. For me, I go from 10-20ppm to 40-80ppm within about 5-7 days, then when I do a 40-50% water-change I'm back down to 10-20ppm. This is probably due to my FX4 not having enough bio-filtration capacity. I've actually beefed up my capacity using this guide
however, as the Guru mentions, its still really not enough for more than an 80gal tank that's lightly stocked and I'm in a 72g with moderate load. 3 pleco's (L191, L075, L270), 5 dojos, 6 clown loach, 4 albino corys, 4 bosmoni rainbow, 2 siamese algae eaters (perfect for keeping blackbeard away) and one female redtail shark (tank boss). I suppose I could throw some activated carbon or something like Purigen or Bio-chem Zorb below my biohome in the bottom tray to help soak some nitrate levels to go a little longer between changes. I'm hoping to get back to almost a 2wk water-change cycle in this tank, but I'm thinking I may just not have enough bio-capacity in this thing, although I do love it. I thought about going to an Fx6 but honestly, I'm kind of waiting for a move to a larger house and a LARGER tank haha.
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Also my Co2 counter is still blue/green, not fully that perfect green.
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Just now, d6veteran said:
pH went from 7.4ish down to 6.8 between 8am and noon. So adjusting bps from 4 to 3. That is a big swing and not even at peak CO2 yet.
Yeah, Id say maybe even aim for 2.0 bps for now because thats a pretty large daily swing. For myself, the tap is 7.6 and after the first day of a waterchange my ph at the end of the day is around 7.2, then the next day at the end its at 7.0 then by morning its at 7.2.
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8 minutes ago, d6veteran said:
- Danios - no gulping for air. 2-3 of them will come out and swim back and forth the length of the tank rapidly for a bit, then go hide again. Normally, the second I open the lid, all 10 Danios are ready to feed, and then 10 seconds later the Kyathit are out after the food hits the water. Now, once I put food in, about 4-6 fish come out to feed. So definitely something going on. I don't see any visible signs although we do think one of them has super red gills. Hopefully it is not a bacteria, but rather too many changes and they are hiding to destress.
- I feel I need to dial the CO2 down because based on the KH/pH chart, dipping down to 6.6/6.8 is getting into the red (if I understand the chart correctly). But yes - I'd like to stop changes for a couple weeks and see how things go!
- I still am shocked that 18 fish are managing to stay unseen. I cannot find them visually no matter what angle I look through, and don't want to rummage the aquascaping.
Thanks for all the feedback/ideas!
So according to that youtube video I showed you and the one he did before, dipping into the red isnt exactly 'bad' persay. However, I wouldn't dip farther than the 30.0ppm numbers within the chart. I've got a pretty low tech planted aquarium, Anubias, Valsinaria, Red Sword, and Crypts, so I've got no issue staying around 28.0ppm instead of the full 30. I rarely ever see any pearling also. Not sure if that's indicative of not having enough co2 but I do notice my plants are greener and have less die-off than without.
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1 hour ago, d6veteran said:
Thanks for all the help. Here is an update.
- Monday night I added about 3lbs of crushed coral to the sump (recommendation on the bag was 6lbs for 60g, so I started with half the amount for my tank).
- @Cory Airstone added to sump as your recommended. I do have high flow through my nozzles with some splashing, so I think along with the airstone I have great agitation and oxygenation. So at this point I think I am maximizing gas exchange. I like the airstone in the sump idea.
- No water change since Saturday.
- Measurements using API test kit:
- KH has raised to between 5-6. Four tests over the past 24 hours are right between 5 and 6 drops in the test.
- pH is now peaking at 7.4 this morning before CO2, and yesterday during peak CO2 it was 6.6.
- 0 Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate
- CO2 is at 3.5bps
So @Solidus1833 I think I need to dial down the CO2 bps to aim for a 6.8-7 pH at peak CO2?
The thing I cannot figure out is that while the 10 Cory Pandas and 2 Plecos seem active and normal, the 10 Zebra and 8 Kyathit Danios are MIA. Over a 24hr period (even at night) it is rare to see like 3-4 of them come out for a quick dart around the tank. They are so well hidden that I keep thinking they have all somehow been sucked into the filter or died and under a plant somewhere. It's very very strange. Just last week all of them were frenzied eaters and highly active.
Sounds like your on your way to be dialed in. For why your danio's are MIA I'm not too sure, but you have changed the water parameters from what they are used to. It may take time before they feel comfortable again? I don't have Danio's the only mid'water fish I have are Bosmani Rainbows, the rest are Dojo, Clown loaches, corydoras, and plecos. 3bps is the target i think. I myself are probably close to 2.5-3bps, as I feel like having the ph as close to 7.0 as possible giving me small buffer to 6.8 incase any issue. The thing here that's important is to do this all slowly. Like if your happy with the balance in co2 and ph right now then just let it sit for a week while testing water 3x a day. When lights come on, high light point, and when lights go out. Then adjust from there. Seems like you got the right amount of CC in your sump though, good job. You have much more room to dial in PH/Co2.
Do your danio's still feed? Or do you see any signs of stress? Like loss of color? Or attacking the surface for gulps of air?
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During the Snowmageddon in Texas I had zero power for almost 9 days with only 2hrs of power between the 9 days total. Didn't lose a single fish even with water temp dropping from 78-66F (Thermal Blankets). However my aquariums are moderately planted so I'm sure that helped. I would gather that your fine.
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While I don't use them, I think what they are is 'feeding rings' ? I could be wrong though.
https://www.amazon.com/Feeding-Square-Aquarium-Feeder-Floating/dp/B00UF0HTCM
there are tons of DIY vids also
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Use Seachem Stability the day you add the stock. It will buffer your beneficial bacteria to accept the added load. That said, I don't think you would have much of a problem with what you plan to add. Everything on your list to add doesn't really add a whole lot of bio-load compared to what's already in the aquarium. If planted its even better as the plants eat the ammonia.
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np, let me know if you have anymore questions. Cory's videos are also very well done, I wonder if he has used this 'graph' method before, instead of drop counters. Even in my drop counter shows blue/green when im in the greenzone according to the graph.
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There are some 3rd party test tubes which have twist-on caps, which I rather like. Just do a quick search for em.
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Correct, and 6.6 is kind of dangerous for most species I think. I'm already not liking going down to 6.8, which is why I target 7.0 which is still inside the greenzone for me.
The video below goes into more detail. Was helpful for me so you may find it useful. Hes got another video on dialing in Co2 aswell which is also good to watch.
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Just now, d6veteran said:
Thanks for the reply and compliment.
- I did add a small bag of crushed coral. I'll try another small bag or two, added over time.
- Also that is a good reminder on the CO2 to make tiny changes slowly. I'm going to focus on cutting the additional water change, and raising the pH, and leave the CO2 as is for now.
Yeah, I remember when I first got into Co2, I was trying to do the drop counter and adjust every two hours, then i ended up over gassing ph was like 6.5. So I did a 70% waterchange that day ahah. I've been following a neat chart to get to my preferred 30ppm co2. Essentially follow the chart. You need to know your KH and initial PH. Then go from there slow walk your way to the green zone. So for example, I begin at 7.6 PH with a KH of 6. so I target 7.0-6.8 ph by the end of my Co2 cutoff for the day. 7AM-1500hrs.
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I don't think 10 seconds of co2 over dosing could really damage livestock in a tank that large. I myself am still trying to dial in mine for a 72g. Slowly going from 7.6ph to 7.0-6.8, one tiny rotation on the needle valve at a time once a week. You would know if you over gassed if your PH took a hard dive. I think Cory's advice is spot on. Your water changes should slow up, as your removing nitrates which are needed. I believe Cory recommends around 20ppm at all times in planted tanks. Buffering your PH may be where you want to start to help balance and raise it. Not sure if crushed coral could help here? Also great looking aquarium, very bold and great color.
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Just thought I'd post two of my three plecos having a chat on my intake sponge. I'm rarely able to get photos of them as they scurry off when I get too close.
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1 hour ago, Cory said:
We got the initial water flowing into it, drain almost done. Ordered some more filtration parts, and the sound panels for the stand cover showed up as well. So hopefully this week we can put some more work on it. Slow and steady will hopefully produce the results I'm looking for.
The aquarium will look small on the stream, I'm ok with that. My plan is to have a much larger field of view for the viewers, with more things to look at than just 1 aquarium. This will be especially useful when I have guests.
I've been wondering when you were going to move that beast. Glad you made it with no damage. I was wondering, what ever happened to that massive Dojo you got a few years ago? Also, what do you plan to stock with this time? I really enjoyed your last stock list for that tank. It inspired me to get a school of clown loaches, they are so awesome to keep and watch.
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From what you have explained, that looks like a Cycled Tank. Nice Job!
The plants could be a reason why your NH3/4 levels dropped, but if nitrites dropped too, then I'd say your cycled. Prior to adding fish, dose some Seachem Stability, it works over 3days (approx.) buffering your BB to accommodate the fish you add.
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49 minutes ago, GoldenGardner said:
Oh looking up Loaches now!
Depending on the size tank, I'd say, Zebra loaches for aquariums 20g and lower, and maybe yoyo loaches for 20g and above, and clowns for 50g and above. Clowns can be kept in 30g but in my opinion its just too small. If your looking for a good snail cleaner, for a small tank id just go grab 5 zebra loaches and watch them go to town. Keep in mind however, all loaches will peck at nerites and mystery snails so beware.
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I love the bladder/pond snails I inherited from the co-op. I keep them in my 20g with fish that leave them alone. Then transport some every week or so to my 72g and my Loaches go wild. Its honestly awesome to watch. Like a game of Clown Loach Rugby.
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1 hour ago, Daniel said:
This early work by Dr. Innes has to be on of the best of all time. I uploaded it earlier to the Forum:
now that's an amazing classic looking book!
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2 minutes ago, Solidus1833 said:
I've got a few books, and a rainbow fish pdf I like to read from time to time.
1. L-Catfishes: Back To Nature (helpful for pleco research and identifying)
2. Loaches: Natural History and Aquarium Care (helpful for loach species)
3. http://rainbowfish.angfaqld.org.au/Book.htm
Number 3 is a very very interesting source on Rainbow Fish. It has a free downloadable pdf that you can save to your computer for referencing.
The L-Catfish Book illustrates each L-fish by genus and the water parameters where found. Also some breeding and feeding guides for many. The Loaches book is more or less like the catfish book. The rainbow pdf however is just an awesome monster of data. Almost like an expeditionary field book with scientific research and new discoveries. It may be a little dated 2011, but the work was decades in the making.
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I've got a few books, and a rainbow fish pdf I like to read from time to time.
1. L-Catfishes: Back To Nature (helpful for pleco research and identifying)
2. Loaches: Natural History and Aquarium Care (helpful for loach species)
3. http://rainbowfish.angfaqld.org.au/Book.htm
Number 3 is a very very interesting source on Rainbow Fish. It has a free downloadable pdf that you can save to your computer for referencing.
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Trouble in paradise! (unhappy plants)
in Plants, Algae, and Fertilizers
Posted
So, while I dont have alot of experience diagnosing the health of plants I figured Id pipe in with my 2cents as I also have struggled with 'some' plants. First, what is your substrate? Sand, gravel? Something like Fluval Spectrum or seachem flourite? Maybe a mixture?
Are you maintaining 20ppm of nitrate in the aquarium? Is your light full spectrum?
For me I have Anubias, Red Swords, Jungle Val, and crypts. My swords seem to be doing ok, with some die-off but still grows new leaves so I dont really bother with them. My crypts and jungle val do very well, and my anubias is mostly healthy however some leaves are filled with black spots. filled with black spots. My substrate is SeaCarb white sand and Seachem Flourite mix. I have hard water and dose Co2. I've always had a problem keeping stem-plants except for Pogostemon stellatus octopus. I've tried scarlet temple, ammanina gracilis, even hornwort seems to just rot away in my aquariums. I only dose ferts when my nitrates fall below 10ppm which is almost never. And I've also not really kept up with my root tabs which is probably why my red swords dont really grow as much. The dojo's in my tank will dig to my root tabs and just tear them up haha, not sure what to do about that. I got tired of replacing the root tabs and 15mins later my dojos are digging for em. If you zoom in on the anubias glued to the wood you can see the black I'm talking about, and the die-off on the amazon swords 'right side'