[Rimmed vs Rimless/Framless Leakage]

Hi!

Thanks for the info!

I am wondering how the two kinds of aquariums hold up over time. Like is one kind more likely to break/leak?

[Rimmed vs Rimless/Framless Leakage]

Hey everyone

I just wanted to know if aquariums that have rims (and silicone) are more likely to leak or break compared to ones that have the rounded glass corner look.

Thanks!

[Paranoid About Tank Leaking]

Hey everyone!

So I have a 20 gallon high aquarium and I had it set up for maybe 1.5 years and then drained it and put it into storage until about 2 years ago. So I have had it set up for about 4 years. I am noticing some wear around the corners (see pictures) and have been so worried something might happen.

What should I do? Will it be ok? 

Thanks so much!

[New Fish. Lights On or Off?]

On 8/7/2023 at 6:23 PM, lefty o said:

i dont think it matters much, unless its some really skittish fish. 

Thanks! I added neon tetras, endlers livebearers, and a mystery snail.

[New Fish. Lights On or Off?]

On 8/7/2023 at 4:25 PM, Guppysnail said:

Congratulations on your new fish. Leaving the lights off reduces stress. If I add in the morning early afternoon I leave the lights out until the fish start exploring. Then only on lowest setting the first day. Evening late afternoon adds lights stay off til next day. 
Im sure you are anxious to see them so usually about 2 hours and lowest light setting is fine. 

Got it! Thanks!

[New Fish. Lights On or Off?]

Hi!

I have some new fish to add to my display tank and I am wondering if after people acclimate their fish if they leave the lights on or off? And if you turn them off for how long?

Thanks!

[Any results with Easy Carbon?]

On 8/4/2023 at 12:44 PM, Sarina said:

The biggest issue with using Easy Carbon to address algae long-term is that it is just one tool, it doesn't address the cause of the algae, it just weakens it and allows you to get rid of it faster. Easy Carbon should ideally be one facet of correcting an algae problem, while you address the imbalance that is causing the algae in the first place. 

This is essentially the most simplified version of the balance you are trying to maintain in your planted aquarium: 

When one of these things is out of balance and your plants are not using what is available to them, you end up with algae. 

In my opinion, small amounts of algae are normal and healthy for aquariums. As long as the algae is not out competing your plants for nutrients, or taking over your tank, I would just leave it alone. You could certainly try Easy Carbon, but keep in mind that some plants may be sensitive to it. I do keep a bottle on hand pretty much all the time, however I don't usually use it as part of my regular dosing routine.

Wow thanks for the detailed reply! Yeah I definitely don't have algae that is outcompeting my plants.

On 8/4/2023 at 12:56 PM, Pepere said:

I never noticed any benefit from it.  Daily dosing for months…

This thread a bit down on the page might interest you…

 

 

Thanks! I'll take a look!

[Any results with Easy Carbon?]

Hi!

I'm just wondering if anybody has noticed positive results with using Easy Carbon and how you got those results (how often you dosed, how much, etc). I have a planted tank that does not have that much algae and I am wondering if this will help deal with the small amount I have.

Thanks!

[Floating Plants On AC's Website?]

On 8/4/2023 at 5:28 AM, JettsPapa said:

Pearl weed does very well floating.  It will form a dense mat that provides great hiding places for shrimp and fry.

Ok! Maybe I'll try it!

On 8/4/2023 at 7:51 AM, Maximus said:

Lots of their floating plants are only sold in the retail store and not online. I wonder if many floaters just don't do well in a sealed bag, or something like guppy grass just falling apart too easily. 

Ok! I live pretty close to the retail store so maybe I'll go check it out!

[How Long Between Fish Additions?]

On 8/4/2023 at 12:34 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

Just add one school, give it a week or two, add the rest.  It's hard to say specifically without numbers of fish involved, but you seem to be fine.  Just be sure to check for disease well on all of the new fish, QT preferred.  It sounds like you've already done that.

Got it. I am hoping to drive to the Coop store tomorrow so hopefully the fish will be pretty healthy.

Thanks for your help!

[Betta Fish With Cherry Shrimp]

@Lennie What a cool color of shrimp! Invisible from a distance but when you look closer there they are!

[How Long Between Fish Additions?]

On 8/3/2023 at 11:53 PM, Lennie said:

They said they wanna increase the number of existing school of neons. so there is already neons and guppies and they already went into the tank before betta claim the whole tank as its territory. No need to move anything or whatsoever

You are quite lucky I must say. All bettas of mine would try to kill guppies %100. And very likely would hate neons due to their flashy colors. You must have a really calm one, good news

Got it! Yeah I think it really helped to add the neon tetras and guppies first and then let the betta after. The betta completely ignores the other fish. I also have a planted tank and right now it is very understocked.

On 8/3/2023 at 11:17 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

@OfficialThomas It definitely can matter.  You have a pretty good size tank.  There is a few things to consider here, but I will try to give you a bit of an overview on my thought process for adding fish.

1.  You have a betta in the tank, which just means you want to add fish that the betta will be unlikely to harm.  Don't add too few, and make sure they will be ok long term.

2.  You want to slowly add the bioload, which just means to make sure you're testing and have some safeguards for the process. (I'll explain more on this below)

3.  You want to add one species at a time to allow that species to be able to school and protect itself.  This also helps with stress to give the group comfort in numbers.

Safeguards:
-Moving hardscape and decor resets the boundaries on the tank and forces the species to find new territory.  This is important for species that are aggressive or semi-aggressive.
-Have a well developed filtration system.  This might be age, but this is moreso the type of filtration and having adequate filtration for the FINAL bioload in the tank.  (AqAdvisor is a tool you can use to check this as well)
-Have something like carbon or stability on hand for emergency use.  Aquarium salt can also be used to help with ammonia burns or nitrite issues if you run into a big spike.

Let's say you have 3 species to add to this betta tank.  1 school of 10 and 2 other schools of 6-8 fish.  I would ensure the filtration is in place for the full capacity of that tank with all of the fish in the tank.  I would add the largest school first just to ensure that the betta is used to having companions in the tank.  Smaller schools might be at risk for getting attacked easily.  You would give yourself a minimum of 2 weeks between adding fish.  If possible 3 weeks is better.  This gives the filtration time to do it's thing as well as 1-2 water changes in between adding new fish.  When you do add in new fish, be sure to test daily for at least 1 week.  You want to see ammonia at 0, nitrite at 0.  If you do not, then consider the methods above or moving the fish to their old aquarium and reviewing filtration.  If you add the fish and right away you see 2.0 ppm of ammonia for an extended period, it likely means you don't have adequate filtration and the tank is not cycled.  This is what we want to avoid.  If you see a very small ammonia bump and it goes away in 1-2 days, that is fine and tolerable.  (0.25 or below being small and tolerable)  You can dose in dechlorinator 1x every 24 hours in that instance as an emergency method.

Thank you! I already have some neon tetras and guppies in the tank right now and the betta is not harming them at all. The tank is definitely cycled (been running for a year) and has many live plants.

[How Long Between Fish Additions?]

Hi!

So I recently added a betta fish to my 20 gallon display aquarium that has some neon tetras and some guppies. I want to add more neon tetras but I am wondering how long should I wait after adding the betta to add the neon tetras to my display tank?

Does it matter how long you wait?

Thanks!

[Floating Plants On AC's Website?]

On 8/3/2023 at 8:56 PM, Ninjoma said:

I've floated brazilian pennywort and it worked well. I'm also very confident you can float Pogostemon Stellatus Octopus, but I have only ever planted it. 

Thank you! I have Pogostemon Stellatus Octopus planted in my tank so maybe when it grows a little larger I will cut some off and float it!

[Floating Plants On AC's Website?]

Hi! I'm just wondering if anyone has found/tried floating any of the plants on AC's website and if any worked out well! 

Thanks!

[Betta Fish With Cherry Shrimp]

On 8/3/2023 at 11:55 AM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

The quick answer is yes you can. Betta are all very individual animals- each as if they are their own fish species. One that gets along with everyone could be one that harasses and/or eats a shrimp population OR doesn't even care. You have to be ok to try it and see. As you said babies could likely be eaten but given enough hiding spaces that fish can't get to, you never know! 

Got it! Thank you!

[Betta Fish With Cherry Shrimp]

Hi!

I have an aquarium with 1 betta fish, some neon tetras, and some guppies. They all seem to get along well. I am wondering if I could add some cherry shrimp (6-10 shrimp for my 20 gallon tank). I don't need the shrimp to breed because I know the baby shrimp will get eaten. 

I also have quite a few live plants.

Thanks!

[Best Place To Buy Cherry Shrimp Online?]

Has anyone ordered cherry shrimp online? Any website recommendations?

*Also I can't order from Aqua Huna because I live in Washington State.

Thanks!

[Ideas For Quarantine If Short On Space?]

On 7/23/2023 at 12:55 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

Sterilite totes or setup a 10G on the floor temporarily. If you setup the tank on the floor you would want something hard like a wood board under the tank to prevent the bottom glass from getting stressed. It is a semi-permanent thing, but just try to figure out something where you can lay on the floor or sit on the floor and visually monitor the fish.

If the tank is empty, yes, but if the tank is not empty then it would not be considered QT.

Ok! Thank you so much!

[Ideas For Quarantine If Short On Space?]

Ok! Thanks!

Happy almost birthday!

[Ideas For Quarantine If Short On Space?]

Does anybody have any ideas on how to quarantine new fish if you are short on space? I am 15 and I really can only keep aquariums in my room but I also want to be able to make sure new fish are healthy by quarantining them before adding them to my 20 gallon display tank. Does anybody have a solution? Could I "quarentine" new fish in the display tank and just treat the whole display tank with meds?

Thanks!

[Does a Quarantine Tank Need to Be Cycled?]

Hi! I have never quarantined my fish (and never had problems) but I want to start quarantining new fish from now on.

I was wondering if you need the quarantine tank to be cycled. I saw the video Irene made on the aquarium coop channel about using a sponge filter but I use a hang on back filter in my display tank and I don't want to add a sponge filter.

Does a quarantine tank need to be cycled?

Could I use a filter intake sponge instead?

Thanks!

[Best Shrimp For Low PH?]

On 12/9/2022 at 10:58 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

What is your KH and GH?

I have not measured that yet. Sorry! Would that be something I should do prior to getting any shrimp?

Thanks!

[Best Shrimp For Low PH?]

Hi! I have a sort of low PH (6.4-6.8). My tap water is 7 but I think items in the tank (driftwood) lowered it. Anyway I also live in Washington state which means my water does not have a lot in the water. Is there any shrimp I can get for my tank? Anything I need to do to create a better environment?

TANK INFO:

Size: 20 gallon high

Stocking: 8 neon tetras, 3 guppies, 2 mystery snails

Plants: 2 dwarf aquarium lilies, 1 Bacopa Caroliniana, 1 Pogostemon Stellatus Octopus

[How Do You Trim Dwarf Aquarium Lily?]

On 10/17/2022 at 10:23 PM, TheSwissAquarist said:

Yes, as it’ll lose a large amount of energy which it put into all those that have been cut off, and will experience a short-term set back.

It’s OK, when I first joined all I seemed to be doing was asking questions 🙃

Thank you!