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Alesha

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Posts posted by Alesha

    Jungle Tank Log

    in Photos, Videos & Journals

    Posted

    Really great photo journal here! So glad you caught pics at each juncture. It's really interesting to see the vallisneria do it's thing. I've never had it in my tanks, so it's fascinating to me. 

    The only time I dealt with staghorn was with my ruffle sword leaves that were floating on the top of my old 20-high and the airstone bubbles were coming up right beside them. Somehow the air movement seemed to encourage the staghorn growth. In my present 55, I've not had staghorn, but have had black beard. Ugh. But oddly, in the same place - those top floating leaves near the sponge filters. 

    I have my light on a timer now, and do the siesta timing, so it goes off mid-afternoon and comes back on at night. Since then, AND after moving the sponge filter AWAY from the floating sword leaves, I've had NO black beard. So interesting! I have no idea which switch helped...less light, less bubbles or more plant growth in the tank. I'm just glad it worked. 

    I'll be following the thread to see how the jungle grows in!

    • Like 1

    Either black algae or mold

    in Plants, Algae, and Fertilizers

    Posted

    Was the black substance black and HAIRY...like little tendrils of hair? Or was it flat to the surface of the glass/decor?

    If it was hairy, that could be Black Beard Algae, or possibly Staghorn Algae. Otherwise, it was just regular algae. I don't see how mold could be growing in your tank. 

    LED lights do seem to be better for tanks. But I'm not sure the science-y reasons for all that.

    Maybe @Streetwise could "shine a little light" on this question for you. 🙂  See what I did there? LoL! He's got some really great info on lighting that might give you some answers on your fluorescent lights.

     

    • Like 2

    Marimo chiapet

    in Plants, Algae, and Fertilizers

    Posted

    @Expectorating_Aubergine I haven't ever owned a chia pet. Can you believe it? LoL!!! But I think it's a clever idea and a great experiment to try with your daughter. 

    And for the record, I always laugh when I see your name here!!! I mean, "puking purple", I guess? It reminds me of when I was a kid and always said "Cerebral tempest" for "brain storm". It just tickled me for some reason. It's like knowing the secret password for the exclusive club! Anyway...it brings me joy! Thanks! 

    How do you like your UV sterilizer?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    3 minutes ago, Daniel said:

    UV will clear green water. Patience (sometimes extreme patience) will clear green water eventually too. Maybe more patience than you have to give.

    Right now, while there are lots of holiday-ish things going on, it's not bothering me very much. But there will come a day when I just want to sit down and visit with my Sparklers, and if the water is still cloudy, that will probably be the day I order the UV sterilizer. I am pretty patient, but then, when I'm done, I'm done. And I make lightening-quick decisions at that point, most of the time without regret. (Not every time, of course! I have plenty of "Doh!" moments, too.) 🙄😬

    Thanks, @Daniel.

    • Like 1

    Endler Livebearer Tank Ratio

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    You will get to a point that you simply won't be able to keep count.

    That's the point at which you start thinking about rehoming, selling and/or dividing the hoard up into multiple tanks. We started with 14 guppies/endlers and ended up with hundreds in less than a year. It was exponential! We now have a 40-gallon pond and a 20-gallon tank out on our front porch where we keep most of them. And they're still having babies out there too. (We're in FL, so it's not too cold for them.) 

    So...for breeding purposes, you can try to keep count by removing the ones you want to breed in the proper proportion of males to females. But for just fish-keeping purposes, there comes a time when you will no longer be able to count them. It's the fun part of livebearers!!!😄

    • Like 2

    How do you like your UV sterilizer?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    14 hours ago, Patrick M. Bodega Aquatics said:

    Hello everyone!

    I have considered buying a UV sterilizer for a few months now and was wondering how you liked yours. I've learned it keeps the water clear and can kill some parasites. I don't want to spend $90+ unless it would benefit the aquarium. Today I saw for the first time a inline Fluval sterilizer that is compatible with my 407. How did you like your UV? Does anyone have the Fluval sterilizer?

    Thanks in advance!

    Thanks, @Patrick M. Bodega Aquatics, I'd been wanting to ask this question too! So now I'll just troll *your* thread. 😄

    24 minutes ago, Brandy said:

    I have a small cheap in tank unit (basic light + small powerhead ~$30) that I move around at will to clean up algae blooms. I have one tank that catches sunlight on the corner at certain times of the year, and another that catches some in the summer. It has been a handy tool, and because I only use it breifly it doesn't need a new bulb and I don't expect it will for a while. I would happily use it for ich, etc, also. I think a cheap one used as a mobile treatment unit was a great investment, but I don't run it continuosly, and don't find that I need to.

    @Brandy, do you mind if I ask what unit you have? You can PM me if you don't want to link it here. There are just so many options that I get overwhelmed when I go to look. I'm still not convinced I'm going to try one, as I'm keeping that daphnia idea in mind and also keeping the lights off 24/7 for the past 2 days does seem to be helping. 😉 

    Sloppyscaping, an aquarium journal

    in Photos, Videos & Journals

    Posted

    Bummer on the need to move, @RovingGinger, but congrats on a new house! Woot!!! And wow, you have an excellent plan! Way to think it through and make the hard decisions. You're brave to go ahead and unload the ones you aren't in love with. I'm sure your fellow fishkeepers were thrilled with your sharing the bounty. I don't have any advice about the water changes, but I have no doubt you'll work it out. Best of luck with the final move!

    Using Daphnia to Clear Green Water

    in Plants, Algae, and Fertilizers

    Posted

    13 minutes ago, Brandy said:

    what about a breeder "box" that is a fine mesh? 

    DeluxeNetBreeder_240x.jpg?v=1606332587

    6554b6be8c0d829a8bf63ae0c82cf121_link.pn Penn Plax Deluxe Net Breeder

    WWW.AQUARIUMCOOP.COM
    Separates Fry from Larger Fish Adjustable Plants for Cover Easy to Set up The Penn Plax Deluxe Net Breeder is an easy to use, lightweight baby saver - ideal for any livebearer or egg-laying fish. The floating net breeder comes with...

     

    I have that one somewhere, I think. I'll see if I can find it. If I can keep the netting place, that might do the trick. 🙂 👍

    Using Daphnia to Clear Green Water

    in Plants, Algae, and Fertilizers

    Posted

    7 minutes ago, Andy's Fish Den said:

    If there are no fish in the tank, then yes adding daphnia will help clean the green water, but they could clean it so well that they eat all the algae and then die off because there's no food left. If you add daphnia to a tank with fish, the fish will most likely eat all the daphnia before they establish themselves. If you want to raise daphnia, you could put a start4er culture in a tank with no fish and let them go, scoop some out to feed fish, and as the water gets less green, add more green water from one of your tanks. As far as getting the water to clear up, first you need to figure out what is causing the green water? Excess light, nutrients? A combination of both? Be sure to check your timer for lights if you are using one, I had one that went on the fritz and wouldn't shut off. I didn't realize for a while because it's in the basement and I rarely go down there late at night, but it started growing algae bad, and I couldn't figure out why, then one night I went down there in middle of the night and ah ha! The light was still on! Solved the problem.

    Thanks, @Andy's Fish Den. I've been pondering the "why" of the green water. Every tank has a different light. Every light is on a timer. The 2 smaller tanks are on from around 7 am to 2 pm, then from 10 pm to 11:30 pm. One light came with a tank we picked up from FB marketplace (LED, but I have no idea the output or power. I actually put a small square of gorilla tape over the blue LEDs to try to minimize their algae-inducing influence). The other is the 7-inch NICREW Fish Tank Clip on Light, Clamp Aquarium Light with White and Blue LEDs. There are no control to adjust, just white or blue. I always use the white LEDs. 

    I have only dosed one of the tanks with Easy Green within the last month, as it was a new tank and I was trying to give the newly planted plants a head start on growth. 

    Neither tank gets sunlight. One is bare bottom and used as a quarantine tank.  I have java moss glued to a rock and I'm floating hornwort, water wisteria and moneywort in the top. The other is about a month old with blasting sand substrate and several planted plants.

    I've had the lights off for 2 days in both tanks, except while feeding. We did a 50% water change in the quarantine tank as we were getting it ready for new fish. It's a tad bit clearer after that. We start the med trio in there tomorrow. 

    If you have any ideas, I'll be happy to hear them. 🙂 

     

    Using Daphnia to Clear Green Water

    in Plants, Algae, and Fertilizers

    Posted

    @Hobbit, I did actually read that suggestion when I was doing a little research on the subject. But truthfully, out of the 3 breeder boxes I own, I was never able to keep a guppy fry in them. I can't imagine that they would actually corral the daphnia. I'm pretty sure they would just swim right through any little crevice they liked. But...maybe it would protect them long enough to clear the water a bit? I don't know. I'm still researching. Thank you for the thoughtful input. I'll keep you all informed if I give it a try. 👍

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