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Minanora

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Posts posted by Minanora

    Tank ideas

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I look forward to seeing photos of your changes! I would definitely learn about the plants you fall in love with before you buy them. Some plants are picky about their water parameters. I recently decided to keep a lot more "easy" plants in my 75. Just to help me enjoy it more. I spent a lot on plants before and watched them fail. It was really frustrating.

    • Like 2

    CO2, Algae, New Plants. Need guidance on strategy.

    in Plants, Algae, and Fertilizers

    Posted

    Thank you  @Jack.of.all.aquariums.

     

    My CO2 runs just the one set. Through the break of the photoperiod. Lights run for a total of... I dunno, I left my phone out in the garden apparently... Based on my own photo it looks like I may have messed it up and it's 10 hours. Hopefully it's only 8 hours.... >.> Ehehm. My CO2 turns off at least 4 hours before the lights turn off. I think. I'm useless right now without the mobile device. Ugh. Why did I do that and not add it to my spreadsheet.

    I will not kill my shrimp. Their breeding experiment that they started for me is too valuable. Lol.

    Tank ideas

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I have a 20 gallon High tank that has 3 neon, 3 glowlight tetras, 1 male swordtail, 2 peppered corydoras, 1 clown pleco, and 7 female guppies. Oh and way too many snails.

    Overstocked? Technically. But because of my filtration and plants (and maybe the snails) it's been crystal clear and requires only a monthly water change. Nitrates stay at below 20. I only feed once a day, and feed the corydoras and pleco every other day.

    Tank ideas

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    That looks like a Buenos Aires Tetra for sure. Adult size.

     

    Also keep in mind the amount of additional work that comes with higher numbers of fish. A heavily stocked tank can be fine, but may require more water changes depending on planting, filtration and feeding.

    Tank ideas

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Welcome to the community and back to the hobby!

    I would probably skip on the white clouds and up the school of tetras to the sized groups you are planning to total to. 6 of each tetras with that one oddball. (pictures would help with ID)

    For cleanup crew, I would do 6 pygmy corydoras. I would add the groups of fish at separate times to gauge the bio load. Maybe start with the plants and corydoras, then add the first group of tetras, whichever variety you're more fond of first.

    Depending on your water parameters and amount of work you want to do I have several different sets of suggestions. I like to use tropica's "inspiration" layouts for picking groups of plants. You can sort by easy, medium, advanced, and tank size. Makes it easier to gauge the space needed and how many hours per week you may need to spend to maintain appearance.

    As for substrate; I've got no experience with the stratum. But I've used UN soils mixed with eco-complete plant substrate and sand. I have two other tanks that are just sand and one other that is sand and big box awful gravel that I wish I could go back in time and remove. I like having deep substrate. I'll probably never do a tank with less than 3 inches again. Just easier to plant and fertilize in my experience.

    • Like 2

    CO2, Algae, New Plants. Need guidance on strategy.

    in Plants, Algae, and Fertilizers

    Posted · Edited by Minanora
    Wrong ppm for nitrates.

    Alright Fam.

    Here's the situation.

    1. I had and am now seeing new growth of hair algae, and staghorn algae. It was at a standstill before the CO2. I just want to stop its growth.

    2. I added a TON of new plants on Wednesday. They are growing gangbusters since I started injecting CO2 on Thursday.

    3. I dosed a single dose of easy green after a 30% water change where my Nitrates were at 10+\-. Now my Nitrates today are at 20*. Yesterday I moved a lot of the baby swordtails out.

    4. My pH was at 7.8 before CO2. At the height of the day it is at 6.6/6.8. Is that okay? Too much, too little? Plants aren't really pearling but that's not really my goal, just trying to get the plants to outcompete the algae. So far... I think the algae is growing at about the same rate.

    My current photoperiod is a split. See below schedule. It's not well thought out. I just did it fast because I have so much going on right now.

    image.jpeg.0e1bed8f0ffab3af0c51371eefc7ffd0.jpeg

    My CO2 comes on at 3:55am, and turns of at 12:56pm. I run about 4 bubbles per second using a NEO diffuser placed near the bottom of the tank below the center of the spraybar.

    All in the name of fighting this algae and helping the plants get established I could appreciate some guidance in these areas:

    I feel like my course of action should be to change out some water to lower the nutrients down. Maybe a 30% change? Keep the Nitrates down at 20?

    Is it okay to change water while the CO2 is running or is it just a waste?

    Should I lower my photoperiod even with the new plants that need to get established? Or just hold out for a week or so? Same question for the water changes. And should I adjust my CO2?

    Example of current growth rate: Stargrass has an average of three new leaves per stem. The crypt Petchii that I got as tissue cultures have leaves that are 3 times the size at least; the leaves are about 1.3" long on a few of them. There is a baby java fern that has gone from .125 to .3" long. This is in a period of 4 days. Colors look good, I did use Seachem Flourish Advance on day 1 and day 3. 

     

    Thank you for the time and the help! ❤️

     

    Photos of plants and the ALGAE! OH THE ALGAE! *Shakes fist* I don't mind the super cool carpet of algae on the logs and back wall, it's the rest of the nonsense that is getting to me. Mainly it growing on the plants. image.jpeg.953d993f4c32e3ed43f9032f4bea9d90.jpegimage.jpeg.5976da404cfa3a2b80a8c77a38abf358.jpegimage.jpeg.b7b52eaa0047b3a0eb7fbbbafe3a10c6.jpegimage.jpeg.753ad6215fb81d7eea1ca0c7d99c7d5d.jpegimage.jpeg.22036daa011c48ed4ecc11d47377f5df.jpeg

    image.jpeg.3640994ddb9a674eaa02a7244cc171bb.jpeg

     

    Need help deciding which fish to euthanize

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I'm so sad to read about your situation. You're such a strong person. Hang in there friend.

    If that 120 has water in it...I would just get a powerhead UV sterilizer in that big tank, get a heater to start warming it to above 68, drop all of my plants in it, float/add all of my filter media, all the fish, and move one or two of your other heaters into it as backups. Run the air, run a sponge if you have them, run the filter. Set up an auto feeder and lights with a timer and leave it. Top off the tank when it's low, no water changes, add minerals with top offs if the KH gets low and the pH starts to drop below 7.

    That volume, with the added cycled media, will stay stable for at least a month at a time. You could check on it weekly or anytime you are able and be confident that they are hanging in there. You'd also have them all in one place so you could enjoy them when you do check on them. Instead of splitting time up between many tanks.

    *once the water is above 68 I'd keep the temp climbing to 76, add the fish and other heaters set all at 76. 68 is when I'd feel safe to start moving filter media, plants and fish.

    • Like 2
    • Thanks 1

    Breeding Sakura Orange Neocaridina Shrimp

    in Fish Breeding

    Posted

    Micro update: the shrimp population in the sanctuary is booming. Last night I noted many tiny shrimp and juvenile shrimp. I also noted 11 berried females. I'm sure there are more. It's hard to see everyone at the right angle. Most of the 11 I saw had large broods. I have noticed that the younger females tend to have small broods at first. Usually yielding 8-15 shrimplettes. At this point I consider the tank at critical mass. I am going to need to sell/give away shrimp. I am glad I only bought 10 instead of 30. Mind you, I started keeping orange shrimp on December 8th. 14 with losses over three weeks to total 7 adults. Now there's well over 100.

    The shrimp in the 75 are doing great. I saw 5 berried females last night. I added a lot of plants last week and started CO2 injection. Things are thriving.

    The shrimp in the, so named, chili ruins, are thriving. 9 growing shrimplettes I saw last night and many more on the way. It's rather amazing.

    Going to put more shrimp in the 75.

    I wonder if shrimp would do okay in a summer guppy pond....🤔🤣

    Going to groom plants in the sanctuary today. I'll be sure to post before and after photos.

    • Like 1

    Low maintenance denitrifying tanks, 5.5 gallon with nearly zero nitrates.

    in Photos, Videos & Journals

    Posted

    Very interesting. I've read and heard a lot about this type of filtration recently.

    It's very interesting to think about. I feel like substrate is overlooked by most hobbiests as a biological filter.

    The concept is almost alien compared to what we're told by filter manufacturers and most retailers. I was even skeptical at first. However, I may give this style a try at some point.

    I've learned that you can have tanks that only require topoffs and mineral additions. 4 of my 5 tanks are top off only tanks. It just takes time. Those tanks are eating the full bioload that they have with a combination of filters and plants. Not one tank is the same filtration or load though.

    I supply air to all of my tanks. This method you talk about, it's a little confusing due to the term "anoxic". My only questions at the moment are about air. I read the mention of an air stone but I don't see any in the photos. How high do you run that supplemental air?

    • Like 1

    Guppy Coming of Age

    in Fish Breeding

    Posted

    I separate my fry as early as I can. Just for peace of mind. I don't want more babies right now. Lol.

    Yellow is the first color to usually show on dragon strains. More color will come as they mature.

    I will say, if your females were/are in contact with males: The fry they produce will be from those males. Not fry from the males they were kept with by the breeder. Unless they were already close to gestation with a brood when you got them.

    Looking forward to more pictures! Looks to me like you're going to have some stunners!

    Cloudy water

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I have a "whole house filter" from home desperate that we added fittings to connect to the garden hose. We use it when we fill up our camper water. Never thought about using it to fill the fish tank! Smart folks here. Always full of great ideas. Lol.

    • Like 2

    Cloudy water

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I agree with @Guppysnail. You could also use some clarifier, like Fritz Clarifier. It's a flocculant that works really well for most suspended particles.

    You will probably have the water get cloudy again with a white haze when it starts cycling. That will be a bacterial bloom though and should clear up on it's own within a week.

    • Like 2

    Shipping Price Increase.

    in General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by Minanora
    Added more.

    That's a pretty cool idea! A modular light bar would be really cool. I could see using metal dowels in a channel along the frame to connect the lights to create a span; with DC power connections at the end of each light bar to daisy chain them. Could even have a simple wiring daisy chain with RS485 or something to sync them together. Have a seperate control module for the settings or a dip switch to toggle to slave mode between lights.

    But if there was a separate control module it could save money. Especially if it had more than one output port. You could do whole rows of lights on the same schedule. You could even have it so the lights could connect together via extension leads so each light could be spaced apart, or put together with the dowels.

     

    I may just draft this design up in CAD so you can see what's going on in my head. Lol

    • Like 1
    • Love 1
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