Bill
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Posts posted by Bill
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Nine out of ten times, you'll get three different opinions if you ask three different experts in local shops. This is especially true if you tell them that the other guy said to do X, they'll tell you why doing Y is so much better! Likewise if you told them an expert on YouTube said it.
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@Brian Scott thanks, I'll definitely have to check out the first few you mention, I've not been there. Absolutely Fish and the Fish hut are up on my list, but I've not been to Ely's yet, will check it out. I also love Discus Madness in Union.
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Hello @Brian Scott, would like to hear your top favorite few fish shops in NJ in case I've missed any! I'm central NJ and often find myself driving north quite a bit.
Cheers,
Bill
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Same footprint as the 40 breeder but deeper, same depth and front to back as the 75 but it's 36" across instead of 48":
https://www.petswarehouse.com/ml-53-gal-blk-seal-glass-aqrm-sd-3-l-b-309465/
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186 / 26.5 / 7
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14 minutes ago, ADMWNDSR83 said:
My pair is in a 37 (Same footprint as a 29 but taller) with some others and they are seeming quite happy. My water is not ideal, I believe, as it is quite hard with low alkalinity and pH, but they don't show any signs of stress or anything. Hope this helps.
I just watched a 7 part youtube video last night on breeding angels and the breeder uses 29 gallon tanks for his breeding pairs. I have a pair in community 30 gallon which is only 14" (?) deep and they're doing great.
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28 minutes ago, Ben Ellison said:
One thing I have often wondered is does the more ammonia you use mean the more fish you can add as soon as it cycles? Or would it not really matter because the bacteria can't grow any faster?
I'm a software engineer, not a biologist or chemist, so I leave leave it to them for explanations. Apparently Dr. Tim has reasons for saying not to add any ammonia on subsequent days if the levels are still high, but Dave from aquariumscience disagrees. If you look at the links above you'll see that he references some papers on it, as well as his own experiment that anyone can reproduce, so I went with that. I also should have mentioned, its the filter that is being cycled, not the tank. I was using a Fluval 207 with the factory sponges and K1 media in the upper trays. This was also based on Dave's discussion of filter media.
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I tried the method of cycling with Dr. Tims ammonia as described here:
https://aquariumscience.org/index.php/2-4-cycling-with-ammonia/
and using Black Kow as inoculate as described here:
https://aquariumscience.org/index.php/2-11-inoculate-for-cycling/
1. Setup tank and filter with hardscape, no lights, no plants, and a good size airstone and set temperature at 84 degrees F.
2. Handful of Black Kow in bio bag positioned over airstone, and 1/4 teaspoon of Miracle-Gro Bloom Booster.
3. Added Dr. Tims 4 drops per gallon every day, regardless of the ammonia and nitrite levels.The tank cycled in 9 days, which is exactly in line with the table at the bottom of the second link above.
I would definitely use this method in the future.
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I got my daughter a 10 gallon yesterday and regretted not grabbing the 40 gallon breeder I saw a few days ago for $40. I'm an idiot. I think Petco excludes those from their dollar per gallon sale.
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31 minutes ago, RyanR said:
I don't gravel vac around my plants. If I have room, I'll move the wand around the top of the gravel to agitate the debris and as it floats up, I'll get it out.
I do the same sometimes, or use a turkey baster in the other hand to stir up debris.
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On 9/14/2020 at 7:43 PM, RandyH said:
Ryan squeezing the filter into the tank is not helpful. The beneficial bacteria lives on the filter. It should br placed in the new tank until some bb can grow in the new tank.
Actually squeezings from an established filter is noted here as one of the best inoculates:
https://aquariumscience.org/index.php/2-11-inoculate-for-cycling/
The BB will certainly make its way into the filter. I'm actually trying compost on a tank I'm cycling right now, will report back when its done.
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20 minutes ago, Alexa said:
Where did you end up finding the 53? I don’t think I’ve seen one sold around my area...
Me neither! Out of the 3 shops within an hour from where I live in NJ, I just got lucky as one of them had a dusty one sitting on their floor for sale. Hard to find online also, just checked and found this:
https://www.petswarehouse.com/ml-53-gal-blk-seal-glass-aqrm-sd-3-l-b-309465/
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21 minutes ago, Taylor Blake said:
This is my old 53 gallon I had natives in it but it is one of my favorite sizes I've ever had. It's the same footprint as a 40 breeder just taller
I just finished cycling a 53 gallon display tank in my living room. I would have done a 75 over a 55, but we could not fit the extra foot with the decorum... so 53 was the next best thing. Had a hard time locating one! I really like 36" min length...I have a 29 and 30 gallon in my office, and prefer the 30 gallon for this reason... and I really like the 18" depth. I now have harlequin rasboras in it, and will be adding angels next.
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Best answer I've found is here (see Myth 1 quoting a paper showing BB can survive months to years without ammonia):
https://aquariumscience.org/index.php/2-12-beneficial-bacteria/
Seems what @Cory does (letting the tank hang out) is what my local fish store does. I often see empty tanks with the sponge filters running for quite some time. As long as you keep the filter running and they're getting oxygen you should be good for a long time.
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I also switched stopped using HOB and now use all canisters, but I did like the Seachem Tidal HOB filters. I had the 55 and 75s.
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Ryan, check the PH and make sure it's over 7, if it dropped increase it over 7. I'd also keep the temp over 80.
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2 hours ago, Andy's Fish Den said:
If you have some media in another tank, take some of it out, or even if its a sponge filter, squeeze it out into the new tank. Sometimes LFS will sell cycled sponge filters. I know when I used to work at an LFS we would sell a scoop of gravel out of a tank for people setting up new tanks.
Did they have under gravel filters? I've heard gravel won't have much BB without the flow. Angelsplus also sells sponges, I used two in a 30 gallon, worked great. You may get some snails though (I didn't).
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4 minutes ago, FishObsessed said:
@Ben Ellison I like the guppy tank....do you have your plants in gravel? And if so, how do you clean it?...i.e. do you gravel vac at all or around the plants?
I had wondered the same thing until I saw a planted tank expert using a turkey baster. Just use it in one hand to stir up the detritus while you use the syphon in your other hand. Works great! Gets everything from gravel, rocks, driftwood, and plants.
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BTW, Discus Madness in Union (central) NJ is great! Tons of beautiful angels and other fish, and good plants in addition to discus.
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5 hours ago, Eclipse said:
I have all live plants and my tanks are mostly rather heavily planted or in the process of growing out into a moderately planted look. I am obsessed with colorful and red plants.
I'm the same with colorful and red plants... had a 30 gallon tank for years but recently started up more and I'm taking it more seriously now... disappointed at the number of good local shops in central NJ for fish and plants, looks like you have a good number of better shops in NYC.
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According to this, you can cycle in a week, but get a mature tank (aka crystal clear water) in 6 weeks by continuing:
https://aquariumscience.org/index.php/2-3-how-i-cycle/
I'll definitely try this when I get a chance, for now I'm testing if manure can get a tank cycled in 8 day, just started today will report back!
https://aquariumscience.org/index.php/2-11-inoculate-for-cycling/
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14 minutes ago, Rouxster said:
I added a bulky piece of Mopani to my 40 breeder at the same time I was recharging my Purigen. In about an hour or two, I had a very close to blackwater tank. I put the Purigen back in and it was pretty clean in a couple of hours. I notice a littel bit of tannin, but not much at all.
Yup, I've not used it yet, but have a 53 gallon currently cycling with a large piece of driftwood, and plan to use it once its cycled. A few youtube vids agreed that it worked in this regard, as does this (specifically the tannic acid absorption claim):
https://aquariumscience.org/index.php/7-4-6-purigen/
I'm just waiting until the tank is cycled before trying it.
What is your favorite tank size
in General Discussion
Posted
Yeah, I mentioned in another post, I would have definitely gone with a 75 over a 55 but just couldn't do the extra foot (due to room decorum, this is a display tank in living room) so I started looking for 53s. I called a few local shops and one just had one sitting on their display floor so I got lucky. A lot cheaper than the one in the link but if I hadn't found it I would pay the the $130.