OakenGoby

Plenty of space above - 10 foot ceilings. I decided on getting a stand and moving the tank elsewhere. Going to go with something 20G or below for this space.

20 gallons or less I’m comfortable with. I set the tank up empty to get a visual and it looks a bit too big for the space. I appreciate the reply.

I have a granite countertop about 3 feet wide and 7 feet long. The countertop is supported by an interior wall and cabinets. For the last three years, I’ve had a 10 gallon aquarium without issue. I’m moving that tank and setting up a 26 gallon in its place. This should be roughly 160 pounds more, considering the water, rock, and sand, for a total weight around 260 pounds. Dimensions are roughing 18”x24”x18” (peninsula). Would you feel comfortable putting this size tank on a countertop? Thanks!

I tried using floating plants and got tired of trimming the roots. I do want to incorporate plants for the benefits they provide beyond nitrate export. It is entertaining watching a little fish tear off a leaf and carry it over to the other side of the tank to get it out of his territory, but it just makes for a lot of plant debris that invites algae. I may remove the glass lid and build the hardscape out of the aquarium. I could attach some epiphyte plants to grow emersed with the roots hanging down into the water. With the height of the tank being so low, this would give some dimensionality to the aquarium and the benefits of having plants feed off of the fish waste below. Overall I find these fish (even the males) to tolerate each other. They may dart at each other or flare mouths, but nobody ever gets hurt or banished to another area of the tank. They are clearly happy with the amount of babies they are producing...

I have close to 50 shells in the tank. I'm starting to think they may benefit from a larger setup.

I’m returning to this question for a couple reasons. I have several pairs of neolamprologus multifasciatus and several groups of babies from each pair. All said there’s probably 20-30 fish of all ages. This aquarium is a UNS 60S 24”x14”x7”. It by no means seems crowded, but I’m wondering what I should consider maximum capacity? With the current load and bi-weekly water changes, my nitrates are rarely more than 10. I do find this tank gets dirty quicker, which I contribute to the constant shifting of sand and my vallisinaria getting buried and killing off some of the leaves. I’m starting to think plants in this tank are more of a pipe dream. Even Anubias and Java fern attached to the rocks become dislodged from all the “housekeeping” that goes on in this tank. Any other plant suggestions?

Stick to the Aquarium Co-Op dosing schedule. Fertilizer will not cure the melt. You can dose Fritz complete daily until ammonia and nitrite reaches zero. This will neutralize the ammonia if that’s a cause of the melting. It’s more likely that they are just adjusting. I would trim any melting leaves. Dead or dying leaves will invite algae.

https://www.aquariumcoop.com/pages/water-changes Hers a recent video from Aquarium Co-Op and a link to the recommended flow chart.

Bump

I recently watched Cory’s video on TDS meters. One thing that I found very interesting was the discussion about neocaridina shrimp and low TDS. My reading has led me to believe that neocaridina need a TDS of 150-250 (based on RO/DI, distilled, or rain water remineralized with a GH/KH remineralizer such as Salty Shrimp GH/KH). Cory tested two neocaridina tanks and both were under 70 TDS (one was in the 60s and the other was in the 20s I think). Shrimp were thriving and breeding. My tap water is naturally soft and low tds (around 20-26 consistently). I currently remineralize RO/DI water with Salty Shrimp for all of my tanks except my shelldwellers. They get Seachem Lake Tanganyikan minerals. The more I think about it, the more I think this might not be necessary (except for the shelldwellers). Here’s a test strip of both RO/DI and tap - nearly identical. This is my baseline. I wonder if adding crushed coral or wonder shell would be a better (read “easier”) solution or if that is even worth doing. I also find that I put off water changes if I first have to make water and remineralize it. What does everyone else do?

Had a rethink about stocking. Going with a betta as a centerpiece, the current stock of Endlers, and some otos and/or panda garra for cleanup. I have these three betta incoming…1one for this 12 gallon, one for an 8 gallon cube, and one for a 5 gallon all-in-one. The 8 and 5 have been setup for about 2 years.

I'm still working through this... Some recent ideas 6 - Pseudomugil luminatus (Red Neon Blue Eye Rainbow) and 3 - Stiphodon annieae (gobies) and 3 - Panda Garra and Pair- Bolivian Ram or Pair - Fundulopanchax gardneri (Killifish) (or both?) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Also looking for suggestions on revitalizing a 12" cube. It had cherry shrimp, which have now moved to the 12 gallon long. Ideas: 6 - Chili Rasboras and 6 - Neon Green Kubotai Rasbora

I had a similar experience and decided to stick with Salty Shrimp as well. Brightwell has a couple liquid options that might be worth a consideration.

: Booster RO/DI unit

Interesting...I wonder if Sunset Honey and Honey are the same just a different common name. I've read, although I cannot confirm, that Dwarf Gourami Disease (caused by iridovirus) does not affect Honey Gouramis.

What kind of Gourami is in your avatar? I had a Powder Blue Dwarf Gourami but he succumbed to Dwarf Gourami Disease. He was definitely a wet pet - Salami the Gourami. There are a few Nerite snails in there too.

Similar to the Aquatop bookshelf tank. It's actually a Mr. Aqua bookshelf tank. It happens to fit nicely in my living room without overpowering the space.

The size is not a typo. The footprint of this aquarium opens up a few more opportunities than a traditional, say 10 gallon would. We are looking at about 324 sq. inches, only 50 shy of a 20 long.

I appreciate the kind words. I usually run about 78 degrees. I don't want to go much higher with the shrimp and Endlers. I'd like to prolong the life of the Endlers.

Good Deal. I appreciate you taking the time to post a reply.

This 12 gallon long has been setup for about 3 months now. There are a handful of Cherry Shrimp and 15-20 male Endlers (true and hybrid). The tank is approximately 36"x9"x"9", so long, narrow, and shallow. The Endlers are great and are non-stop all over the aquarium, but I need something else and I'm not sure what. I like the idea of 6 Otos, maybe some Corys, and then a centerpiece fish. I think that should round out the tank nicely. For the centerpiece fish, I was considering a Honey Gourami (sketchy with the shrimp), Scarlet Badis (probably too small for a centerpiece), Plakat Betta, or ??? Another alternative would be a small group of rainbowfish. As for what I and my family like, we want color and/or personality - a wet pet type fish would be awesome. I'm open to any and all suggestions on how to finish stocking this aquarium. Parameters: pH - 7.2-7.4 gH - 10-12 kH - 5-6 Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrate: 0 per Aquarium Co-op Test Strips And here's a picture with about 20 Endlers. As you can see (or not see), I feel like we need a few more fish.

I have a 10 gallon shallow (24"x14"x7"-336 sq. inches of sand). The tank has about 10 Neolamprologus Multifasciatus, which have sections off the four corners of the tank to start their families. I've seen babies around 3 of the 4 groups. The tank is scaped with a few pieces of Seiryu stone, sand, and probably 40 or so shells. Although everyone is happy and thriving so far, I wonder if removing the rocks to provide more sand space for digging and rearranging the shells would be a better option. Another benefit for me as their keeper would be I could see the entire colony rather than just the two in front two corners. My initial thought was breaking up line of sight would be best, but everyone seems to be living happily together. I also have some Val that is slowly creeping around, so that should help some with the line of sight issue. Here's a picture of the tank from a few months ago.

Well, I figured I'd rather be safe than sorry. I'm 100% sure what's coming out of the RO/DI unit, so I'll stick with that.

Regardless of the base water I’m remineralizing. Since the difference is negligible, it seems silly to use RO/DI then remineralize.

Here’s the test results. Water-in TDS 29 ppm, water-out TDS 0 ppm. Aquarium Co-op strips return identical results. Conclusion - negligible difference. tap on left, RO/DI right