nabokovfan87

just depends on how thick the substrate is. Some people have very shallow substrate, others have 4+ inches.

The real question is are the materials for this "pond" fish safe. 🤔 *puts on engineering hat* OK. I dig the setup. HoB on the side. add your circulation pumps as a bonus, the entire thing could be done in PVC if you wanted and not even have a HoB, but that does make life easy. 1. Get a tidal 75 or 110 or canister 2. Seal it good, easy maintenance with the tidal filter 3. PVC around the perimeter of the tank, the output of the PVC is connected to the down tube of the HoB. 4. integrate into each corner (opposite of the PVC) two circulation pumps with one on either side that feed into the bottom grid, feeding into the down tube of the HoB. 5. Design the input, which is connected through the PVC grid opposite the HoB, which is going to either be sponges or some sort of a spray type of setup. The "best option" will be to hide this behind some sponge to keep the pumps clear and further make maintenance easier. (Think, Rachael's setup, but instead of being corner mounter, it's on the bottom edge of the tank and you have a small plexi wall keeping substrate off of the sponge.

What are the dimensions of the stand (top surface) and the stocking in both tanks? You might even get away with a larger tank (40B or 75) with a divider? It's a nice stand I saw you built, might make things easier for you if you go that route.

so you're the one that got the last Anubias coffeefolia as I was attempting to put my list together and check out! LOL The tank looks awesome and I am extremely biased to the 29G setup. Nicely done. I like the scape you have and for a first time setup (literally just meaning attempt 1) I think you did a really awesome job with plants and substrate and the rocks. The general rule for me, I let the tank just run for a month and let things settle. I didn't let the plants settle in on my last startup and I absolutely am still paying the price a few months later. I would dial in your lighting, dosing, and work on stocking and research while you have the time. The floating plant (I think water sprite) might end up causing you some issues with this size tank by blocking out all of the other ones. What light are you currently using? 100% you are absolutely fine. you did not mess up the cycle. The goal for the cycle is to go from ammonia --> Nitrate. the ferts don't have ammonia, so you didn't do anything to the cycle. The plants won't mind. the range you're shooting for is 20-40 ppm nitrates. right on schedule. Do your weekly/biweekly water changes as normal (acclimate the plants to your water) and this will not mess up the cycle at all. You'll be feeding oxygenated water to the bacteria, help them grow, and your plants will get new minerals they need during each change.

So I'm sitting here... 1 of the 5 Corys is doing the usual up/down on the glass and the others are watching. I dropped some wafers in and a very funny amano took off with one of them. I can hear in my head the corydoras expert talk I saw where he says "be the fish". I see the big mom on the right side of the tank and she is moving towards the output of the flow. The air pump is giving me oxygenation but the vast majority of the flow is from the HoB itself. I really feel like I'm going to end up going back to side-mounting this guy which means I need to find a lid that actually works. I will hopefully find someone who can cut some thicker glass for a glass one, but it means that the light and everything is going to not work as well. The light I have is 6" narrower than the tank because that's the original setup I had. Decisions decisions... I got the stuff for the mesh back today, perfectly fine and I'm excited to do that. I've been talking with the moss store and it looks like I am going to be at risk of snails if I go through them. I see the small bit of DHG retreating ever so slightly every time I look and it really just means something is off in the light and the dosing. I am tempted to turn up the light even more but I really need to get some more plants in there to thrive and absorb some nitrates. I feel like this tank is so close to success it hurts. Question, does anyone know a good source for lids that isn't custom aquariums or Amazon? I do have this.... Edit: The powerhead was just way too powerful. The fish seemed to enjoy the flow, but it doesn't have adjustability I am looking for and it is fine to run for a weekend or something (try to trigger a spawn) but it won't be in there long term. I ordered more dwarf hairgrass and some sterogyne repense. Should be here soon. I don't have any mosses yet, but that's still in the plan to use for the moss wall on the back of the tank.

That is the greatest pond ever. I know what I want now.

Highly recommended. For angels specifically I'd say get a 40B or 75G but a 29 works for a nice plant tank. Hopefully the next transition you have for your tank and this setup is a beneficial one. There's a lot of cool plants to play with and a ton of options depending on the fish you wish to keep in the tank itself. I remember my old 5G hex and it didn't last long at all. I definitely didn't know what I was doing and didn't run it well. That was probably 20 years ago!? (Now I feel old) I wish you the best, genuinely. If you need any advice on a 29G hit me up!

I would recommend starting here. You can also (recommended) get a gang valve and drop a ziss air stone somewhere in the tank. Depending on what pump you're using this might not be required. It also gives you the flexibility to run a second sponge if you want to try to eliminate dead spots on the opposite side of the tank. Running one on either side vs. one in the middle for instance. I understand what you're asking in terms of air pump vs. turnover, but there is some other things that come into play. Height of the tank and how much depth of the tank can the pump handle as well. The pump you have is the one I would've purchased as well so I think your setup and plan is perfectly fine.m

what is the overall size right now? what was the size of the tank it was in previously? The broken heater slows the metabolism a bit, but I would think most common plecos handle cooler tanks pretty well (My clowns don't mind the low 70's). Old food sounds about right, I am sure the little guy (hopefully) really enjoyed having normal food for once.

I got so confused once when I saw this somewhere else. I literally never heard the term "bushy nose" and I kept trying to recall the term "bristlenose pleco"

I would say the majority of the plants you have here are slow growing. Just something to keep in mind when it comes to the fert schedule and what you're putting in the tank. I don't have photos and how much of what plant is pretty critical to give any fert advice. The Bacopa Coroliniana, crispus, and sword plant will grow pretty fast and set the tone, but everything else is going to need a bit milder dosing schedule. For the sake of anyone who goes through a similar situation, and if you need to dramatically lower nitrites in a tank: If possible, move the fish temporarily (if you have a sponge filter, move that and the fish to a bucket for a few hours). Ensure the bucket is covered with a towel or something to keep it dark and reduce stress on the fish. Take your hand and gently disturb the substrate, find the root tabs if you need to remove any or ensure they are pushed all the way down to the bottom of the substrate. The goal is to get as much of the mulm or whatever is buried in the substrate to the water column. Then perform a very large water change (75-90%). Refill the tank with water and then run a test and report back. As mentioned, the fish can use some salt to help if there is any extremely high spikes. At this point, slowly acclimate the fish to the new tank water (adding some to the bucket with a cup or drip acclimation) over an hour or two. Then return everything to the tank. If you simply have "high nitrite" and you think it's something more than a fertilization issue, go ahead and get some bacteria from a bottle, which you're already doing, going for the next week to try and boost the speed on the tank cycle.

Any advice or updates on this? Did you figure anything out with regards to flow or use of the tumblers? I applaud the use of mopani here! I love the use of a wood with this massive of a surface and I have basically only this variety to use locally from shops. (the only local shop I have is fully saltwater) I have one piece that was pretty big like the one you have and it had a nice moss carpet. I have another piece with a little natural hole that I turned into a cave for a very special tank inhabitant. She would hide out and every so often you'd see here eye peering out wondering who was walking by. Last time I found a good piece of mopani, it ended up having some weird sap on it. I mailed it back to zoo med and ended up with this massive piece made for a lizard cage or something (2' x 2' face, square piece). I never ended up with as dark of a water as you've had and that was something I wanted to ask about. What is your preference for tanins (even if the water isn't dark) compared to having very dark water and low lighting conditions?

yeah, that's one of the options. The troubling thing mentioned was growing 1" since under new care.

I have 2 on hand. I have stacks of batteries. I feel you! I hope things are doing ok.

The best part is when you have "enough" and there is enough room and the fish form off in little parties to explore different parts of the tank. You get to see the way they function socially when you have them in a larger space!

I am just going to assume the "best route" for a flow through setup (hopefully you can find one curved to force the water down?) would be to have a custom acrylic design. Super interesting way to have an aquarium and is definitely something that sets up a tank no one else would ever have.

I would keep him there, until you know what it is and have a plan. Definitely sucks that some of these fish are hard to ID (same photos around all over the place with 3-4 different names), but it also is extremely unfortunate it's so easy to get your hands on gigantic fish without really knowing how big they truly get. Using the idea of "they are hearty" and low return rates as a means to ignore the lifespan / size of a fish..... very unfortunate.

Yeah I definitely understand that. What size tank is he in right now?

I finally remembered the name, so let's call this the official request! https://www.planetcatfish.com/common/species.php?species_id=7028 I believe this is the other one I have: https://www.planetcatfish.com/common/species.php?species_id=734 Probably both are the same (second link) but yeah.... A lot of people are going to find these because of the availability, and I don't think I've ever seen them at the co-op or featured.

I would love it if there was a reverse photo search here. but this is likely your best bet to narrow down what could or couldn't be. https://www.planetcatfish.com/common/species.php?species_id=580 I would try to find someone locally if you can who has a big tank? Donate the fish that route if at all possible. If it's a clown pleco they want some wood. If it's a sailfin or other variety it's going to mostly be on the glass. If it's a common pleco, you'll know. Do you have any idea how old it is? It would also help slightly if you can get a photo of the dorsal fin extended out to get an idea of the shape. Rio Negro (or clown pleco varieties): Small Sailfin = 20 inches Common = 24+ inches.

totally agreed. There are also varieties of these I have seen at the big box stores. Hard to say. I don't see the spots, but everything else looks extremely close. https://en.aqua-fish.net/fish/spotted-sailfin-pleco Here is an article with a similar coloration "common pleco". I am going to wager both of these aren't the scientifically "common" variety or a sailfin pleco, but something else entirely. Sailfin's I have seen are grey/black with a very specific fin, and the common plecos I've seen are very specifically black. https://pethelpful.com/fish-aquariums/Common-Plecostomus-Fish-Care Difficult to say which one until it gets a little bit bigger.

It's a plastic, so definitely don't boil it. (probably want to make sure it didn't ruin the pan). You just need to rinse them thoroughly. You won't have any issues as long as you do that. It's easier to rinse them in a bucket as well. This method, basically, but just use a bucket.

Looks like some of the clown plecos at the big box stores. This is what mine looks like for comparison. Close but slightly different. https://www.fishlore.com/aquariummagazine/mar09/clown-pleco.htm

Moss balls would be perfect for them, especially in a 10G just make sure you don't have any contaminated ones. This gives you an idea on how "fine" of a gravel they enjoy. Sand of course, but stuff like this or around this size is just fine.