nabokovfan87

I see the "weird fin" but I'm not really sure what I'm looking at. If you can provide a top view as well as a side view? If you have the fish with spots as well we can all take a look and see what it looks like. I am trying to understand the full question, basically for the "med trio" the treatment is different than if you're treating with meds. (essentially, meds in the water for 7 days, then monitor). I do not know the "best course of action" but my assumption is to review whatever the med directions are on the box, and to specifically follow those. The fish may need a break to recover or something like a specific temperature if you're treating a specific disease like ich. Once you added meds, have you added any salt or have you done any water changes? @xXInkedPhoenixX You were talking about your QT procedure in the other thread, how would you handle it?

I have (had 😕 ) borneo loaches, a different species, but They did not have any issues with the salt. I had the API salt and Fritz salt, I dosed whatever was on the package itself. If you have a "sensitive" species here is cory's recommendation. https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/aquarium-salt-for-sick-fish

There was an oooooold vlog video. Cory went to the hardware store and got a spray bottle. He calculated it out so that one "spray" was 5 or 10 gallons. It's pretty awesome to see tips and tricks like that. I have questions about shaking it, how long it would last, that sort of thing. For me, one of the best tips I can give anyone is to go and get a big storage bin, then you have a place for "fish stuff". Whatever comes along, be it a mop you make, foam cuttings, trim pieces, media that you never think you'll need (carbon bags) and so many things that you never think you'll use. Just yesterday I took a trim piece off a lid I had from 4-5 years ago and cut out a section to use to patch a hole in a filter basket. I have two or three of these, but one decent size one is a great way to store things and have a place to do so that isn't in the way. As an example, I have some stuff like heaters and pumps in there for the summer. I have a pot to boil botanicals that got "some stuff" on it and became fish tools. I have some tupperware and plastics I use for things. I think we all have something like this in our rooms or cabinets, but having a "bigger" long term tub is such a nice way to have things that you won't normally use very often. It also makes decisions like removing hardscape, adding to hardscape when you need to have some things available to you. That little branch of wood you might trim to get a piece to fit, will end up finding a use instead of wanting to go out into the shops to go buy something for a QT tank. Little things like that, repurpose and reuse, that's how I try to approach things. I've got a nice set of ACO bottles for my bathroom soaps and dish soaps too! Lol.

Definitely don't use pliers! Try to rock it back and forth gently but everything should just lift out.

Well, Unfortunately, poor news. The crushed coral definitely needs a bit more flow to work in this situation. I think it will still "work, but it might need to be a lot lower amount than what I can simply jam into the HoB. Honestly, I'm not sure how to feel about it. If this was something like a sponge filter, I can manipulate the bubbles a bit, but in this situation I really can't without 3d printing something to modify the output. What I've seen multiple times when adjusting the filter is that my KH has stopped climbing (still in the 50's, more on this later) and I am not seeing it increase or hold on anymore. I am also seeing the PH start to crash. Here's a video of the situation: You can see the right side of the bag is slightly higher. this is just the nature of trying to jam it into the bottom of the filter chamber. It's not smooth, and things tend to get caught. The CC is in there pretty good and I filled the zip bag until it wouldn't hold any more of the material. I had to scoop some out by hand just to get the lid on. My assumption was that the bubbles would disperse through the media, but what I'm finding is that it more often than not just channels. Because it's channeling, I'm seeing areas with low movement and I'm seeing a reduction in effectiveness. I buffered the water with Alkaline buffer on top of everything in my last WC. This should've increased KH and PH as well, but I am seeing no change as a result. I have more crushed coral in the water than I did before and I'm seeing the numbers fall as well. It's about... 15% as effective as having it in the HoB I'd say. There's just not enough movement. If I had the media on the substrate, I would think that it has more movement over more of the CC and works a bit better. With the HoB you have much higher flow compared to this setup and it erodes away the minerals a bit easier. Thank you to everyone who offered there opinions and for anyone who stopped along the way for their own curiosity!

If it's any consolation to the ongoing battles, the tank is breathtakingly awesome. If you wish to "feel better" about it, I recorded a video in my last post in my journal for my tank showing everything attempting to fight off the horde of BBA/Staghorn. Slowly but surely.... I'll get there, but I'm really hoping my tank ends up remotely close to where you're at. Power for the 29G in the front of the house should be installed tomorrow, which means I can move fish and start to "fix" that tank as well. It's going to be only anubias, but hopefully I can save the few rhizomes and plants I do have from my original 75G. From this: To this: It looks like your dosing and regime is a lot more detailed than mine. I just wanted to ask if you had any specific tips that might help the average "my tank is broken with algae". The main one I think most of us use is to turn the algae down and/or plant a lot more to increase the plant load in the tank. Is there something "behind the scenes" that you experienced with your project that turned things around? I have the CO2 tank on standby ready to go into my tank. I feel like that's going to either push off the algae for good or will increase back to it's former strength. 😕

Did anything change? Lighting itself? Lighting in the room? Added feeding? A big cleanout or something to do with filtration? I see the filter in the back of the tank on the right side and then an airstone or something on the left. Can you walk me through the filter setup? I'd just like to understand the flow in the tank, that's all. I don't know how the tank shown started to spontaneously grow algae unless there is something that was changed or something that should've occurred in maint schedule that didn't. Last variable to consider is just if there were any casualties in the tank recently? My only guess if everything is normal, that as the plant got right up under the light, it got too intense for the plant itself. If the plant doesn't have CO2 or other resources to grow quickly, it's under high light, then other things might pop up to take those nutrients. If Nitrates are over 20, and the light is set pretty strong, that's the assumption I'd go with.

Here's the older manual, same parts list essentially. https://www.manualslib.com/manual/386398/Marineland-Penguin-Power-Filter.html

Not fun. I will have to see if I can find a method. I'm sure it came up on the engineering side for Marineland. The solution very well could've been to just go buy a replacement. They have to have a method to assemble, could've been a destructive one to disassemble as well. Very well could be a newer design. Working my way backwards.

Oh they definitely prefer the hand method for netting 🙂 . Such a cool little fish! Cory definitely has some fish catching skills

They will appreciate an extra airstone. 72-74 water, and then a little bit of salt if you have it will help too. Cory's recommendation is just over 3 TBSP per 10G https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/aquarium-salt-for-sick-fish For high nitrates it just sort of helps them to recover. I would specifically treat this like an acclimation move as well. Take a little bit of water in a specimen container move the fish into the container. Then slowly add water from the QT tank until the holding container has doubled in volume. Drain half the water off, repeat that process, then move them to the QT tank and top off with fresh water.

Nitrites are just crazy high. From your tap, 0 nitrites/nitrates? I would change water. How long has it been since last WC? They are going to be MUCH happier and suffer less long term damage if they are removed from the tank while this is being fixed. It also lets you disturb the substrate, gravel vac, 90% WC, etc. Because it's liquid tests, there's a margin for error, just make sure you're shaking very well whatever bottle needs to be shaken. Honestly, even in a 5G tub or something for 3-4 days, you'll have it resolved and the fish won't see nearly as much stress as they are right now.

They are both types of bacopa it looks like. Caroliniana looks a little bit different from the top down view, more of a spear shaped leaves like.... The nice thing is, very similar care for either.

Can you show the full tank shot so we can see if there's any high demand plants on the substrate level? I would try to reduce nitrates, remove the algae manually, clean the filters as well and try to keep algae at bay. You may or may not need to reduce lighting slightly. Can you share your lighting schedule and settings please.

This one looks like Amazon Sword to me

This one looks like Bacopa Caroliniana to me. It's a stem plant, so you're going to use easy green weekly on this one. This one looks like Java Fern to me. Likes to be slightly off the center of the light, shady spot of the tank (one of the corners, basically) and it will also only need easy green. This is a very low demand plant. It has a rhizone, so you'd do best to attach it to a rock as shown here.

Did the LFS say anything regarding salt / added aeration?

If you have a breeder box that will fit for the fish, you can put her closer to the surface of the water and relieve some pressure. Some angels/discus lay down when they have pressure issues. Standard questions thought, what are all of your water parameters as well as temp. How is her gills looking, rapid breathing?

One of the major factors is going to be the moisture in the air right above the water's surface. If you're running a lid, it's a slightly different story and it's about being careful. If you aren't, than there is definitely going to be some risk if the light isn't rated above a certain level. https://www.ledlightexpert.com/LED-Light-Waterproof-Ratings-Explained_b_19.html

Anyone else feel like SA could be the bill nye of the ACO forums and just have plant lessons to teach us amazing things we don't know? I always enjoy every breakdown provided. Nice!!!

You might actually have luck calling them up and asking if they have a replacement part or documentation on how to clean it. My assumption would be, something like ebay you can get a replacement pump for pretty cheap. If you're having any issue with the impeller itself, check the shaft and then use silicone grease/food grade lubricant on the shaft itself to help it move a little bit. This is the one I have. https://www.amazon.com/Super-Lube-51004-Synthetic-Viscosity/dp/B000UKUHXK/ref=sr_1_5?crid=195LSO6CZ9WHD&keywords=super%2Blube&qid=1654019745&sprefix=super%2Blub%2Caps%2C165&sr=8-5&th=1 Edit: https://www.amazon.com/Silicone-Grease-Lubricant-Scuba-Regulators/dp/B006QMYW6E/ref=sr_1_12?keywords=100%+silicone+grease&qid=1654020368&sr=8-12

I believe it has to do with surface tension. The density of the water changes and the bubbles have an easier time sticking around. This is a very cool stream and helps a lot to break down a lot of different issues someone might encounter.

Hello @Zenzo and ACO team! Hello everyone, I had a bit of a "moment" this morning. 😂 I was checking my KH/PH/GH on my semi-daily testing and I ran into a question, led myself down a rabbit hole, and I really would love to know a few of these questions. I feel like a lot of hobbyists might have some of the same questions, so I'll share them here. My hope is that eventually this makes it's way to the website or potentially sparks an idea for a video to help people out. First tip, if you have ever had any issues reading test results, I have heard a few people mention converting the results to grayscale to try to interpret them. Here is a really good website where you can do this and potentially save yourself some guessing. https://www.color-blindness.com/coblis-color-blindness-simulator/ Second, If you are having issues with the colors having a different hue around the edges, it is very likely there was some sort of contamination from the other pad. I just had this happen when I tried to take the photo, the pad itself absorbed a little bit of water on the KH pad from the GH pad. You can see discoloration on the KH as well as the PH pad 😕 To avoid this, the tip is to let your strip rest on a towel instead of a non-porous surface when waiting the necessary 60 seconds for results. This really tends to help keep things like that from happening and was a tip I saw from this hobbyist! The third tip I would give people is to use an app like aquarium notebook or a notepad to log your results. This is helpful if you are trying to adjust something in the tank over time or simply to have the data available to look back on when you need it. If a fish becomes sick, or you see a nutrient deficiency on a plant, that data might be invaluable. My questions I'd like to understand: 1. Can you talk about the development of this product and what the process is like to determine what colors end up on the color chart? 2. The directions say to wait 60 seconds before reading results. Does this matter for every test or just nitrite and nitrates? 3. What if I accidentally walk away for 2-3 minutes, are the results valid? Would the results be valid still for some of the pads? Are the results accurate if the pads haven't dried up? 4. If someone is using the ACO strips in comparison to a liquid test kit, what factors determine accuracy? (For instance, which one is newer?) 5. Generally speaking, are strips more accurate because they result in less error performing the test? Meaning, you dip it, wait, and then it's down to understanding the results (Question #2-3) vs. a liquid kit where you have to shake the bottles for a specific amount of time in a certain way. 6. If you have "weird results" what is the best thing to do? (Ex. I had my water reporting very low GH because I forgot to aerate the water thoroughly enough, and/or because I forgot to add dechlorinator. I repeated the 24 hour aeration test with more aeration/dechlor and the results were normal) 7. If you are trying to use something like crushed coral, equilibrium, alkaline buffer, Epsom salt, etc. to buffer your water, is there a general guideline of time to wait before testing for "valid" results? 8. When it comes to planted tanks specifically, I tend to track nitrates for my dosing schedule. However, I am finding myself struggling to read 10 ppm results. Is there any lighting condition that these tests were designed for to be optimal for clear reading? Right now I use a LED flashlight. 9. If a color is "off the scale" it just means it's over the edge of the value indicated, right? 10. How often should I purchase test strips once I open the container? If you have any other questions you think might be useful for this type of a list, please post them below!

Very sorry for your loss. RIP little buddy.

Update #2 for the week. This is going to be, by far the MOST COST EFFECTIVE way for seachem to fix this product in-line. In terms of the production cost, you remove a cutout, which saves manufacturing time and money. Second, this is the easiest thing to mail to customers without costing the company itself an arm and a leg to fix. You would mail out a small envelope of sealant, a small piece of plastic, and directions. In terms of engineering time, you're talking 3-5 days of testing (if that) and then you're talking about what amounts to 1 day of paperwork and a few months of planning/production cost. If they modify the hard tool and incorporate this into the design itself, you coordinate with the tooling manufacturer and they rework the tool (if this isn't done on the manufacturing floor). You then are improving the strength of the part, improving tolerances, improving flow of the part in that area of the tool. It's a very minor improvement, but the point to drive home here is how minimal effort this actually takes. Anyone who knows how to use the program could get the paperwork done in 2-4 hours and have it released by the end of the day. This all assumes they verified the testing results and accepted them as an improvement in the design. This gives you downtime of about, 4-8 weeks and samples are sent for approval. In total, you're talking about VASTLY changing the flow of the basket, easily modifying something, cheaply fixing it in the field, and reducing cost to make up for the change as a result. Tier 3a (prep): I couldn't find my sheet of scrap lexan anywhere so I opted to use a piece of scrap trim from an aquarium lid. We all should have some of these sitting around, and so it's an easy way to patch this hole. I did use the black silicone here, I do not know if this will hold long term. Worst case, I can remove it and then use superglue that is fish safe. I just used a piece of scissors, cut it to size with overlap around the edge and glued it internally as to not disturb fit when loading the basket inside the HoB. It doesn't look great, I would prefer clear, but for the sake of not making a trip to the store for something I won't see, I'll allow it. For now, I did opt to leave those other slots open to allow bypass through them. If they are an issue long term, it won't be difficult to patch them. I'd like to run some tests at this point after it cures before progressing to fill anything further. Edit: I forgot to mention, if someone has one of these and a 3d printer, might be a nice little side project and take about 10 minutes to measure it. The "drawing" won't take too much effort in the CAD software and you could easily print these and mail them out if you feel so inclined. 3d printing them gives you the nice added bonus of being able to fill the thickness needed with some precision compared to what is lying around. I'd probably shoot for .063 thick material if I had to guess. Update for the sake of the curious: I was checking on the filter flow, bypass, etc. and I noticed the "often rare" bypass by the input chute of the filter. Here is the video showing off the bypass, demonstrating the cause of the bypass by removing it, and then restarting the bypass to verify that this is the cause. I'm thankful that I was able to capture this because it shows how detrimental some of these design choices have been for the filter basket and how much it would benefit the design to fix some of these issues.