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nabokovfan87

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Everything posted by nabokovfan87

  1. nabokovfan87
    I actually like moss shelf or moss wall methods. That's why I have the little plant basket in the tank to try to get it to grow in a column for me. To be fair.... Moss on wood is a thing of beauty! Getting the moss to attach to the wood is a horse of a different color. Dry start method is absolutely the easiest and best way to get it done, but not as easy without certain parameters for starting up.
  2. nabokovfan87
    Here's mine. If it helps at all. The "nano one" is removed because I added on a HoB breeder box yesterday. Note how "dirty" the sand is visually due to feeding and lack of circulation compared to other filtration methods.
  3. nabokovfan87
    To be fair.... Depending on the sponge itself and how it works, I've never not had stability issues in a sponge only setup. As a result I run 2-3x more than recommended for my tanks. I size the filters to the tank (not the stocking) and just about every single tank is a largest size when possible. Keep in mind that there's 2-3 "designs" for the foam themselves. The older designs would commonly have only a height change but the diameter of the sponge was similar. As the sponge itself is thicker, you have the inner diameter of the sponge, closest to the air movement, where you have the bacteria taking a bit of a hold. On my current setup with the newer sponges, the majority of the bacteria I see is on the air diffuser, air stone, and the uplift tube sections themselves. Let me see if I can find a photo to make this make some sense.... Hikari versions (sponge is the same, but cut to length based on tank height) Other versions where sometimes the sponge is a certain length, but the diameter does change as well. So..... This simply means that depending on the design, performance is very, very different. Not all filters are created equal. Not all sponge filters are created equal! Some "shell" a lot more and others are very much designed for that mechanical side of the filtration equation as opposed to anything else. If you're running a sponge filter only setup, using something like lava rock as hardscape gives you a bit more biological stability too.
  4. nabokovfan87
    Hello, Welcome to the forums! First note, I think your PH may be too low (you have no KH) as well as your temperature being very high for this fish. I would encourage you to drop the temp to the 76-78 range over the next couple of days. Heat adds stress and that can make diseases pop up and cause issues. Here is an article explaining about the KH - PH relationship. https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/ph-gh-kh Here is an article explaining about the use of aquarium salt for treatment: https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/aquarium-salt-for-sick-fish I would suggest starting with the following steps in addition to the above adjustments. -Try to use a KH buffer or crushed coral to boost up your KH, to get your PH to be more stable over time. (preferably 6.5-7.0 range) -Add in some catappa leaves to help with any fungal issues and encourage some anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties to the water. -Add in aquarium salt to help with overall fish health and any external parasite (or protozoan) issues that you might be seeing. The black sections on the body could be indicative of this. (Normal dose is usually around 1/3-Cup per 10G of aquarium water) -Add in erythromycin (Fritz calls this Maracyn) to help start bacterial treatment. -Add in Ich-X to help with any external parasites and/or fungal issues you may see. Once you have those going, you would follow the directions on the Erythromycin box for the sake of when to time your water changes. You would do 30% of the tank volume each time you change water. When you do your water change you would dose in the Erythromycin and Ich-X as directed. Once we see how the fish respond to the first week under these conditions we will have a better idea of what you're dealing with.
  5. nabokovfan87
    @Chick-In-Of-TheSea do you think this is what you dealt with on your tetras?
  6. nabokovfan87
    Most cypranidae are this way. These guys are part of the same order, Cypriniformes, and likely have similar behavior traits. This is just trying to show dominance most of the time, but it can get really nasty and they don't have a quit button when they decide they don't want a certain fish in their territory. This is where size of the tank and hardscape design can really help. My RTBS was very intolerant of some of the SAEs that I had in the tank, especially the larger females. This same behavior is also shown in barbs and other species of that same cypranidae family.
  7. nabokovfan87
    I'm not sure if you've read this, but I wanted to share. https://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/ambastaia-sidthimunki/
  8. nabokovfan87
    A betta typically wants lower flow in the filtration due to the long fins causing stress and/or damage to the fish. The warnings on AqAdvisor are generally pretty good advice. There are two basic types of calculation on the tool. 1. Filtration and how often you should change water. 2. Fish load and tank volume giving you the stocking level. Your tank does seem pretty well stocked. I would encourage you to only stock it to say... 85-90% just to give yourself a bit easier time with bioload, waste, and other issues that crop up from a heavily stocked tank. You may also have fry and that would lead to an overstocked tank. I would cut the chain loaches by half. For the tetras I am seeing minimum groups recommended of 8-10 which gives you some adjustment there as well. Corydoras you can stock in ~10 to start with if you so choose as well without many issues. You should have those breed for you, boosting the numbers. I assume some of the stocking QTY is based on a sort of a buffer if you lose one or two fish in each group? Bolivian rams, I would try groups of 3, 5, 7, etc. Just due to aggression. You don't want even numbers.
  9. nabokovfan87
    Nice tip! They do sell the same stuff in sheets as opposed to fluff that might make it easier for you too.
  10. nabokovfan87
    Depends on the setup, but mostly no. The only real issue is controlling temperature and running through the water heater.
  11. nabokovfan87
    Alright so there's a few things going on here but let's break down the slightly technical side of things. Mechanical filtration is entirely about removing the particles in the water through some sort of device. For the most part sponge filters are 99.999999% mechanical filtration in my view. They do support biological life, but they can entirely be used to simply polish off the water. Because the flow of water isn't as optimal as something like a HoB the turnover on that filter is much less. What you end up with is this slowed version of mechanical filtration. Now, when you think about the different types of mechanical filtration there is "extra coarse" foams, coarse foams, medium foams, fine foams, and then you have very fine pads. There is matala mats, polyfil, membranes, and even pleated paper filters you can use for the mechanical side of things. In the entire gamut of filtration the sponge works in a pretty specific way. First, the largest chunks of debris are stuck on the outside layer of the filter foams. Sometimes these particles (like plant debris) don't get sucked into the pores of the foam, sometimes they do. For those particles that do get sucked into the pores of the foam, you have the effect where the pores are constantly shrinking and the particles can filter out smaller and smaller debris over time. Depending on the pore size on the foams initially then you're going to see different performance out of that filter. The older hikari sponges did a great job, but cleaning the debris wasn't always the easiest. I don't know that there is an easy sponge to really clean out if the sponge is too thick or acts a bit like velcro and grabs all of the muck without letting it go.... unless you're using a higher pressure setup like a hose. Hopefully that helps. Ultimately, you can rubberband or tie on a piece of polyfil on your filter for "fine pad" style of filtration in a pinch or you could have a HoB you use once a month or something to polish the water and just toss the cartridge when you need. You can run one fine sponge and one course sponge too. There's a lot of ways to handle it, so hopefully you find something that works for you! For just polishing... Aqueon quietflow works very well. There is also a marineland polishing filter which has a pleated reusable filter you can get.
  12. nabokovfan87
    @Dork Fish I understand... I am using a hose on the outside of the house to feed through a window I have to remove the screen whenever I use that to fill the tank. Needless to say I don't use the python too much! The other tank locations I had in the house, hose through the front door to get water access.
  13. nabokovfan87
    I'm right there with you. I think I have 10-20lbs? no idea.... but not nearly enough. The acid washing also really shrunk the rocks down a little.
  14. nabokovfan87
    I found this.... It's a little bit related and so I wanted to share it for design sake. I haven't seen this before and it's a pretty interesting little setup! https://2xod.com/articles/aquarium-fish-tank-arduino-raspberry-pi-diy-water-change/
  15. nabokovfan87
    Do you have a bathroom sink, shower, or some other water device you can use to fill it? Honestly... you're better off moving the tank to a place where you can access water. Especially for water changes. Something to keep in mind before you fill it...
  16. nabokovfan87
    https://firsttimemarinekeeper.com/2020/05/31/critter-identification-leopard-polyclad-flatworms
  17. nabokovfan87
    Is this it? Polyclad Flatworm – Not Reef Safe Found this here: https://www.extreme-aquatics.com/707/saltwater/how-to-indentify-worms-in-your-reef-aquarium/
  18. nabokovfan87
    It's no longer available due to a lawsuit about environmental damage. Just a heads up. This stuff looks really similar to detail aquascaping stone. As long as you don't have fish trying to eat off the bottom and hurting themselves constantly, there shouldn't be any issue using this at all.
  19. nabokovfan87
    Here's another for longer term auction help: 2 hours, I don't think it's necessary.
  20. nabokovfan87
    I think that a type of bacopa. It does extremely well! Add some to the wilds tank if you feel like it one day. Here's the aforementioned moss photos. For full disclosure, I am not pruning, trimming, or doing anything right now because my plan is to pull the rock and wood and remove all of the glue. I will be trying some thread or something on the next setup. I may also try a dry-start method on the wood to get the moss to really take hold better. First photo, moss under the light. It's doing a bit better now, but you can see the dead section underneath. Second photo, this is the lower section of the wood where the moss is slightly shaded. I did turn the lights down slightly due to BBA, but the plan is to cut back on nutrients and turn the light back up to where it was. Just a slight drop, but I have better understanding as to what is going on. All of the other plants are doing perfectly fine/well! Third photo, rock after the move, it loses a chunk of moss a day. Grace tries to clean it, the shrimp are focused on it, it's all just about the placement here. Again.... I don't mind losing it because the plan is for something different in future. What is your floating plant?
  21. nabokovfan87
    Well about another 50% of the moss is gone and what is left is pretty yellowed in color. I owe you a photo for the update, but I don't think it'll be today. Last water test things were: -GH: ~10 deg ~KH: 3 deg I did a big water change, which means that KH remains about the same and GH drops right where it needs to be! Water is basically "perfect" right now. The plants are growing, the moss is dying, and it's really just a struggle given the temperature is on the rise. I've got the hardscape a bit better off. I have re-learned that the fern I have isn't going to grow or thrive in the current conditions. It's there, it was submersed growth, but it's not a plant that likes water. I have a stem plant converting in the side tank that will be added to the 75G soon (I believe it's moneywort). It will be a vast shift for this tank because it's a new leaf and a new shade of green. I had a bit of an eye on the swords today. The injured male was still getting picked on and so my course of action to ensure he was able to eat was to move the mail that keeps chasing him out for a week or two. It might only take a few days, but I want to monitor the injured guy and decide if I need to move him to a QT tank. Whatever that choice is, I'm going to end up with a tank on the floor somewhere, which is a real pain in the butt due to the limited space. I think most of his issues are coming from being harassed by the other male, which I'm waiting on 3-5 females to drop fry any moment now! If I don't see fry soon I may move all of them to the side tank which now has a plethora of cover for any fry that get hatched out. There's nothing to predate on fry in the big tank, except the parents and there is slowly more plant growth creating those hides for the fry. The new rock layout helps as well! It's a work in progress, but it's getting there. I'll have to post about the filter next time around, but there is a bit of news on that front as well! (Thank you again @Goldie Blue for the donation!) Things are in work and it's all about *IF* we can get it going well enough. There's enough leaks and floods in this house, I definitely do not need to add another.
  22. nabokovfan87
    They are like bears and trying to hibernate..... Yeah, some are so sensitive that a small jump is detrimental. It's one of the reasons I've found why I struggle with algae and most of my plants just fall apart out of nowhere. It explains a lot of the issues!
  23. nabokovfan87
    Yep! It's all very low growing plants and I've got the bucket on a bucket so things are at a similar height. The bucket is very blackwater-ey and it's just the type of thing where there is so much moss. One of the big issues in my tanks right now is temp. It's been low 100's this week and when the tanks went from 73 up to 74 or so it was like a death rattle for the moss. It all completely melted in the big tank. I'm trying to get it back to thriving but I've pretty much reserved it so that the moss is only in the shrimp tanks now.
  24. nabokovfan87
    Ah yes.... Such a nice shift when the background goes on. Why don't they just make tanks with black glass! I know they do, but you get what I mean. One day I'll end up modding a tank and having one of those black acrylic backs to hide an overflow or something. Mmiller's tank is ridiculously nice! I was looking at my bucket of plants. The moss is all but mush it looks like. They are going to go bananas when they get the plants back.
  25. nabokovfan87
    Those cones are no joke! Definitely going to stick to those or plant a stinking tree.
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