hopeful1

I wonder if anyone has tried this adding a few balls of plant substrate underneath a stem plant for fertilizer? Some people only have a few plants. Has anyone tried using the neck of a water bottle upside down top hold plants and offer a space to add root tabs or plant balls? What are the best and safest root tabs and organic plant substrate?

Is it true that chlorine can be neutralized in the tank? What about putting water in Sunlight to break down chlorine? Thanks I just heard someone say you could add the water then the treatment and curious.

40 gallon tank: I currently have 4 black skirt testras, 1 small golden ram fish. 1 2-3 inch pleco (which I shouldn't have bought but okay for now) I have two flying foxes (perhaps not my favorite they bother other fish and eat twice as fast) They say they eat algae but eat everything, including fallen fish). 10 gallon tank: a small breeding pair of angel fish. This tank is bare bones right now because originally the parents were not suppose to stay in the tank with the babies.

Most of my fish are 1 inch (4 black skirt tetras), 2 silver flying fox, 1 golden ram, and 1 3 inch pleco) how many times a day would you feed them? My Angel fish are about 3 inches tall how many times a day do you recommend feeding them? I feed both flakes and brine shrimp. I have been feeding 3 times a day.

Has any one used bio-media balls or rings as a substrate in their aquarium? Perhaps a second layer?

My goal in learning what is needed for a stable tank is to try and upgrade my 40 gallon tank right away. I have been doing a lot of water changes and maintaining poorly as far as nitrates go. My tank has been up for at least a year. Do you feel that plants rooting in the substrate are better than plants who get their nutrients from the water itself for the nitrate cycle? I am tempted to get the bacteria from the store and add it. I know that this is sometimes done in aquariums that are unpopulated tanks, but my tank is populated. Do you have any background with these. I will be adding a pothos holder to hold more pothos plants, or may be go to lucky bamboo. Thinking about adding porous bio-rings to my Eihiem canister, and adding sponge filter per Cory to intake tube. Just added Cory intake sponge filter. I vacuum every day or every other day.

How many plants, rocks, and filtration elements do you need to set up a stable fresh water tank? Do you need a lot of plants? I have seen people set up salt water tanks that are pretty stable. I right now I am prone to like plants that get their nutrients from the water.

It was the hope they would lay eggs on the bottle (filled with sand). They chose the heater next to the filter and good circulation, which makes sense. Unfortunately they laid and devoured eggs in less than three hours. My wife said the eggs were all no good from the start. I figure we lost about 300 babies, so sad. The eggs occupied a rectangle of 1/2 inch by 5 inches. Originally the Angel fish lived in the community tank and also laid eggs on the heater. 98% of the eggs looked good but became fish food. There are people who want some Angel fish from me.

I am a retiree from the hi-tech field in the San Francisco Bay Area. I was a graphics engineer. I am a novice, and I am real interested in obtaining a stable balanced aquarium. You know there are people who doubt the possibility. My aquarium life began when I found a 40 gallon plexiglass tank and stand at a yard sale about 20 years ago. I started out with regular tropical fish and in a few years I switched to koi because of no need for temperature and special water concerns. The 2 koi fish reached about 18 inches and died in fifteen years. At this time I had never experimented with a planted aquarium. My daughter-in-law brought me several baby Angel fish about two years ago. I am still in this 3RD aquarium period. The 40 gallon tank has an Ehiem canister filter and an air stone. The substrate is a single layer pebble bed with glass marbles and stars. The heater is digital. Recently I added three plants and three pieces of java moss on stones, some river stones, and an external pothos plant. I vacuum almost every day and change 25% water weekly. Two angel fish started mating and producing eggs, so they were moved to a new 10 gallon tank to produce children. The 10 gallon tank has a aquariumcoop nano sponge filter and an air stone, run by an aquariumcoop nano air pump. I vacuum daily and do a 50% water change one a week. The angel fish have mostly been eating brine shrimp.

Good but sad for moving fish to kitchen floor.

Yes Please excuse my thinking normally the entire process would follow suit and I am assuming the normal process here. I am kind of relating to the degree of saturation indicated by the API test kit. Normally water changes could hold nitrates at bay, but I am trying to get an idea of how fast the process might create nitrates. For instance if you do a 25% water change, will the process red line next week before the water change based on my number of fish? I changed over 60 gallons of purified water in a month in 40 gallon tank. The most I have done is 15 gallons at a time, mostly 10 gallons at a time, while vacuuming everyday, adding rocks, and plants under and above water (pothos). In my tank nitrites do not register, because of so many water changes, however I am stuck with nitrates. I may try a 40% water change soon, and adding a substrate (at which I am a raw beginner). My fish are happy and strong thrilled with brine shrimp. What is the worse case contamination of 12 fish in 40 gallons?

Is that one inch of fish per gallon?

My wife has suggested moving the aquarium against the bedroom wall in the kitchen. At night the Ehiem canister has this noise, where as a sponge filter driven by your USB air pump has almost no noise. The tank is 40 galllons, is it okay to suspend canister activity during the night and run a sponge filter during the night? There is water in the canister, even though it might be off?

Are there miniature Plecos? Do the Corydoras replace the cleaning level of the Plecos?

Is there any general idea, based on the number of fish and the size of the tank, regarding the rate of Nitration, without intervention?

Is there some rule to determine the maximum number of fish per gallon, based on their current size?

The Tank is pretty old, but since receiving higher nitrate readings I have begun planting, Java fern, Java moss, and two rooted plants in sub-straight of small polished river rocks. I also have pothos plant coming out of the back. Currently 10 smallish fish. I have cleaned the canister, but not all of the hoses yet. I gravel vacuum everyday or so, away from plants. I have added recently replaced 40-50 gals of water 10-20 gal/time. I will look into the aquariumcoop test strips.

What is the best nitrate test product in your opinion? One of the solutions mentioned to deal with nitrate is to add a additive with pre-developed bacteria. Some of the videos speak of adding the bacteria to a tank which is unpopulated? Is it possible to add one of these additives to a tank without harming fish? Do you have a favorite brand? I have done so many water changes that my nitrites are nothing, but my nitrates are high. It is a 40 gallon tank with 10 fish now, so it could create nitrites quickly. The aquarium is planted a bit with a canister filter.

I have a bare 10 gallon tank with a Nano Sponge Filter and an air stone. Inside I have a pair of angel fish, that have previously produced eggs in a community tank. I vacuum daily and do water changes with purified water. The water still gets dirty, and then I do 50% water change. Right now the tank is bare. What is the minimum of things I should do to keep the water in the tank clear? I see that angel fish can't handle much water circulation in a small tank.