nabokovfan87

For sure! I have tried a lot of things, and I have tried the same things many different ways. We'll see how it goes, but I am going to try as hard as I can to be as precise as need be for this thing to be helpful 🙂 .

I can confirm that the specs and the actual use of the AP150 (single outlet) and the AP300 (same specs, dual outlet) work very, very, very well. I use an AP150 on my tank and it's running 5 drops. It's rated for ponds, for deeper applications, and it works well. The real question here is what sort of a depth are you looking at? I would always suggest single outlet air pumps and running a gang valve as opposed to trying to make the pump fit the number of drops you need at any given time. You will always run into issues on dual outlet pumps where one outlet doesn't work quite right.

I would think that the puffer would really go after the shrimp. They tend to be like sharks (sometimes) and test things with their teeth a bit to confirm whether it is or isn't food.

You might be able to set up a jar with an airstone for an hour or a day and see if it is good or bad. I have noticed and would use the ziss airstones because they are ridiculously quiet when you want them to be compared to the normal cheaper ones.

I'm guessing intensity. Do you think a dimmer switch would work? Is it safe?

I have been dealing with algae in my tanks for a very, very, very, very, very long time and I'm literally just done with it and about to throw everything I can. I kid you not, you can find a video of me taking an hour or two of my day scraping the BBA off of my mopani tank with a glass scraper tool because I had no other method to try to remove it that could touch it. Tank Setup Details Post History of the tank Post I am going to run some tests here and I want to try to log those results for the greater good. There is a few key notes here that I want to mention up front. A. I am not going to change lighting and Fertilizer dosing at all. B. One tank is sand, the other is Seachem Flourite Black. Both tanks have different types of wood and different levels of algae issues. C. I will only be trying to fix the issue with a series of assumptions (hypotheses) to test as to why the algae is in the tank. D. I am literally willing to fill the tank with bleach at this point and sterilize it and start over, if I could confirm it would solve the issue. Unfortunately, I cannot, more on this later. E. I do need some help, guidance, and push/emotional support to eradicate this stuff. I have already received a ton of guidance from brilliantly smart individuals and I want to try to approach this with common methods and with very drastic ones if need be. I want this to HELP someone who has algae and just wants to try to get rid of it. First, I want to post this sheet that I found elsewhere on the forum digging for solutions one day. I feel like it can help and it will be a tool for this type of an issue for other hobbyists. Secondly, I want to start with a very specific question. Has anyone here robustly tested easy carbon (or other products like this) and found a "best practices" method for stubborn algae that has infested a tank? If we know lights and fertilizers are not the issue, if we can specifically hone in on the Plants vs. Algae issue and plan to use chemicals to fight it.... what is the best regiment that has worked for you? Edit: Found this! https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/liquid-co2

oh no, not a programmer! LOL. I do have a computer engineering degree and I do love assembly code, but.... I should be doing architectural engineering, worked in aerospace on seating out of high school while going through college. It all sounds nice, but I have experience for one field and a piece of paper for another. I took a CAD class in high school, then took it 2 more times and just fell in love with that field and that mindset. There is absolutely a ton of incredibly smart and talented people in this forum though. I still giggle when I see someone say "you have your microscope handy?" and I sit and wonder what happened to mine from growing up.

No, you'll be proud of all your hard work. As someone on what feels like the start of year 2 of "construction projects" and all we seem to find is issues, even with professional companies claiming they won't mess up... You'll know every inch of it and you'll be comfortable to fix and or know every quirk. Peace of mind is worth all of that sweat! What software did you use for drawing things? I may have already asked... Sorry about that. I really enjoyed CAD work. 🙂

Oh I totally see what she means! I think in my eye, what I don't see is the hardscape. I am in love with dutch style and jungle tanks, but I think what you have here isn't really either of those? I don't like the idea of a "mold" and "style" and I specifically enjoy scapes that look a certain way and have some aesthetic emotion to them.... I want to pull a few screenshots and hopefully explain what's going on in my brain when I saw the tank. When I look at these two parts of the tank the analogy here is like trying to see through a pile of spider webs. It's obscured. It's difficult for me to see or make sense and artistically I'm trying to put things in their place in my mind. It's kind of like OCD or something where you want to clean a messy desk? I don't intend any negativity in any way, but I am just trying to explain the reaction internally to try to make sense of what your wife had said. Hopefully that helps! There are two other things that catch my eye. 1. There is two types of wood and they don't really compliment one another. 2. The branch shown here is trying to be a "centerpiece" of sorts, potentially, and I don't think the flow suits that specific piece of wood. For #2 and the photo above, what I am trying to explain is that it kind of makes sense to cut that piece of wood back and stick it into the substrate and add to the mass of other branches in that region. Being able to see the rocks better, those branches a little bit easier in the left side of the tank is what I really want to see. A very cool carpet in front of the cave, some plants or moss tucked in the rock pile, but I really am drawn to that feature on the scape. If that front piece of wood (the piece in the middle of the tank I circled and the split branch directly below it in the middle front of the tank). I kind of like that piece that's on the ground to be the focal mid water. I would try to flip it over and see what you think of it.

Alright, I have a challenge! You're very, very limited on funds but you do have $50 or so to spend at the store. If you were at the store and that was in your pocket, what would you spend it on? Not what do you NEED, but what do you WANT. For me.... I would hope to find some eye catching scraps of wood, glue, plants (moss or anubias), and maybe some white clouds or something. Anything remaining go towards some Amano shrimp!

That's awesome, congrats! In my neck of the woods, I shipped out my first box of fish. The local UPS store was really weird about it, sent me down the street and I walked in to ship fish and said exactly what was in the box and got a sigh and a look. IDK how many people do this, but I totally feel for anyone who does that through the mail, for a living, and has to go through that process normally. Fish arrived, stressed, but the key was they arrived ok. I was so stressed because it was corydoras and the whole toxin release situation. I've had the panda horde for a long time and it's so nice to be able to feel comfortable in my ability to rehome them if need be. I added the fish I had received to the panda tank and watched them acclimate through the day. They've been in their home for about 24 hours and I did have to move the scape around, I will need to add some moss and plants. I watched the worlds smallest fry go to town on some brine shrimp and that's the day for me. Normal cleaning, trying to get rid of this insane algae, but doing better than I was a few days ago with regards to all of the things on my mind.

I just had to adjust it and was in the middle of doing too much. I turned it down this morning and it's flowing just fine and silent. 🙂 Yeah, I don't know who brought this stuff upon me, I'm pretty sure it was the water company, but it is just the absolutely most resilient thing. I had a theory earlier today that I was feeding the algae so much it was literally killing my PH. I need to research it, but it's likely to explain some weird test results I've had. I am going to beat this stuff! I want my fancy tank back!!! EDIT: I also was looking into the peroxide treatment. I guess the difference between pharmacy grade and food grade peroxide is they use silver (in some form) as a stabilizer. So I will be trying to track that down. Easy Carbon is on the way and literally should work, but we will see how well I can starve this algae.

You might get slightly less distortion taking a photo from the top looking down into the cup.

First issue, the heater is buried in the substrate. Please turn it to a 45 degree angle so it can fit and work slightly better. In terms of that heater specifically, always check it with 1 (preferably 2) external temperatures. A betta should be ok with 78-82 degree water, but I am not one to suggest temps. @Odd Duck had suggested a range of 80-82 and that's the best advice I can give you for their care. Because those specific heaters can be pretty sloppy with temp, I would target 80, check the temp in an hour with the thermometer, then go ahead and adjust as you need to. It's going to fluctuate slightly up or down based on flow in the tank and that's normal. There is an adjustment on those in the back with the little tab, I believe it's red. But if you're getting temps off a few degrees you'd adjust that, then adjust to your desired temp. re-check calibration, etc. But the main reason you're having issues right now is because it's buried in the rocks.

What the big box store / industry doesn't realize is that you're literally making it so much harder on yourself by using cups. Genuinely. Part of my last job was to make the job / product easier and to stop wasting time doing things that didn't need to be done. Go to any pet shop with a betta / cup wall and ask them what the most time consuming part of their care is? Answer will always be: Water changes, cleaning the tanks, etc. It does not matter what it is, that is literally the most time consuming part of the industry. So if the focus then is on how you make that time easier, the actual task of completing that maintenance easier, then that should be the focus and will save the company money. I like the setup ACO has right now, especially for a store and for the customer. You change water in the sumps / larger chambers or you have a valve that drains the sump. Then you just have to focus on cleaning the tanks themselves. You can clean them very easily with a turkey baster and a specimen container / cart type of setup and you don't break your back nearly as much or handle tanks/cups as much as you would with the older methods. Then someone like me comes in and designs it to make that actual task possible, tests it, creates it, makes it happen, gets feedback, then releases it. I'm pretty sure the big box store hasn't changed much for me since I was a small kid and walmart had their fish tanks. It's crazy to me that companies, especially the biggest ones, just don't really make things easier on themselves..... I am sure the store near me spent a lot more time and money researching how much extra $ the speaker that plays ocean sounds when shopping would do, than on the betta rack and studying how to make the actual care for the animals easier. I HOPE NOT, but I'm absolutely certain that has to be the case. /rant. Sorry for the long wordy post. It's such a critical topic for the hobby moving forward and with passionate, caring, dedicated hobbyists like we have on this forum, let's all hope we can do better. So True! The mindshare always seems to go for marketing and accounting on the biggest companies when so many little, simple, easy things can be done to help the entire company in both of those avenues. Just love this. I wish this was the mindset for so many places and so many employees. Especially from the top down! Needless to say, that quote, those lines is the reason we all are here on this forum. Because that's literally why we all enjoy Cory doing exactly what he does. "Good food takes time" and those words apply to literally everything. She is my favorite too! Can't say why. That tail pattern is awesome! As always, wonderful stuff and I'm really enjoying seeing the small updates and progress. It will be a seriously helpful thread for so many betta keepers.

That's unfortunate. It's so frustrating when you try to find an "easy" heater solution and it just never seems to work well. The last one I had one my 10G was at least 15-20 degrees off and wouldn't let me adjust cool enough! It is sometimes difficult to notice heater issues, which definitely is frustrating. Hopefully with salt, bacterial meds, quality heating, and steady water quality that a lot of these things clear up.

Sandpaper, fine grit should help if you need to smooth it out. I've never had one, but even on 3d printed things, rocks, etc. That's one thing a lot of people don't do and is critical for some fish species. What was the tank on the temp? Sorry about asking again, you may have already answered. I know you have several fish in several tanks and all of them with some issues, I just wanted to confirm that variable for what you're trying to keep them at temp wise. You mentioned a heater is on the way too. 🙂

It sounds like you're nearly complete with stocking. As far as interesting fish. I think something like amanos, white clouds, corydoras would be perfect. You can feed the whole tank with flake foods or pellets if you get small enough ones (I'd recommend the hikari ones over the Xtreme ones for that specific tank). As far as activity and interest, Jimmy has a pretty similar WC tank and probably a dozen videos. If you want to, another idea would be to setup a TV and have one of those channels that have good views. Maybe next to the tank or something. For the tank, I imagine a decent centerpiece of wood, to be planted with a few kinds of Anubias and other very low demand type of plants. I think it would look pretty amazing.

Yeah, this is about the same soccer team and the rescue.

I need to clean mine up and that should fix it. My last step is to fill the side as well. Then I'll have a good idea of what on earth is going on. Cleaning the intake fixed it, then I cleaned the pump the next day.

Keep in mind flow vs. oxygenation. Surface agitation can be gentle (fine bubble ziss airstones) or can be harsh. You can get a baffle for your filter from a place like Etsy and that should give the Betta everything they need in terms of a comfortable tank at any size. There's also videos out of people making these with water bottles too. Tons of great options. Oxygenation helps the fish with energy. Temperature helps with or causes stress (when not right) and flow helps with other things like pushing water through the gills, moving heat around, and helping to push waste away from the fish. I'm sure someone else can explain that better but hopefully that helps. I would make sure any sick fish, ESPECIALLY once you add meds, has an airstone to help increase oxygenation.

In terms of the trio: Bacterial: Maracyn Fungal: Ich-X External Parasites/Tapeworms: Salt+Para cleanse Internal parasite: Expel-P Very likely. Fish do that when sleeping, especially Bettas. They need little hammocks every night. 🤩Fac The big box stores should have anubias, which generally does well and likely doesn't even need a light on the tank if the room has some halfway decent ambient lighting. That might be a great place to start for either fish. Lightly dose easy green once a week and off you go. The floating logs can cause a ton of damage. There's been a few that can attest to this and have been tracking down things like 3D printed floating items as better options. Suction cup leaves also work too. @Goldie Blue

Running some carbon will help with smells as well. Glad you found the cause. Keep up the progress and things will do well. Cloudiness, even algae all could've been caused by the ammonia spike which will simply clear up over time.

A few pretty big changes and updates. Of note, I'm still annoyed at this thing for being such a pain to run for 1 week (or you know, 3+ days) without the clean me warning going off. I am going to start the practice of cleaning the prefilters on the tank a bit more due to the week's issues. First up we have something that @TeeJayhad experienced with his mods and we tried to troubleshoot. There was this air bubble noise coming from my filter. It started randomly. For his scenario the solution was to open up the intake and increase flow a bit. The pump was getting air bubbles into it and the noise was those bits of air getting into the pump and then getting broken up. In my case I was going to sleep and I heard the tank being extremely loud. It wasn't a mechanical issue, didn't seem to be, but simply a flow issue or something where the pump was doing exactly what was mentioned above with the air bubble and something hitting the pump and making that noise. I checked the air stone to make sure it wasn't somehow feeding air into the tube and that everything was working fine. That didn't help, and so I wanted to see if there was an air bubble or something that was causing this noise. Ironically, this is a VERY COMMON issue with the aquaclears. I'll have to find a video or something of the noise that can happen when you first turn one on and air is stuck in the intake. That's exactly what I feel like is going on. I turned off the tidal and there was 5-8 big glugs releasing air out as the water filled the pump chamber. I let it run again, turned it off, same thing. My assumption is that the little opening on the left side of the pump is feeding air potentially or causing some sort of method for air to pool in the pump. When the intake clogs a little bit, that leads to flow coming from the side of the pump housing a bit more and that issue getting noisier and prevalent. Once I cleaned the prefilter sponge the noise stopped and I had a pretty good idea what was causing it. The holes on the bottom of the intake tube are small and not really deburred well. This simply means it is creating bubbles somehow, potentially and that is getting sucked into the pump. It very well could just be that when I removed the tube, I saw bubbles there because of the shape of water holding itself into those holes, but I really don't know how to explain air building up on the sponge or something and feeding into the pump. Either way, something is building up air in the pump housing and that's causing some annoyance. Here's photos of everything once I cleaned it to give you a feel for how bad it was when I cleaned it out. Reminder to everyone, at least once a month, check the impeller. I'm calling this soil/dirt buildup a circumstance of all the BBA floating around in my tank that had bloomed and this is the result of the improvement to the intake and flow. Running a course prefilter means some stuff can get into the pump and that leads to stuff like this internally. Absolutely not an issue, but something everyone needs to be aware of running a HoB style filter or anything with a pump.

That's amazing stuff, congratulations. I absolutely would love to breed some white clouds. One day! I can't tell from the pic, I only see one eyeball in the top one 😂 and then I see the most awesome pleco ever. You're hunch is probably right. One common method breeders use is to take water from one tank of Cory's spawning and get the pheromones into the other tank to trigger them. One group went, then the others joined in their own party.