What do you like least about maintaining an aquarium?

[sudofish]

Keeping up with plant health & algae. I've never really gotten my tank dialed in to the point where I don't have algae and the plants thrive. Almost wish I went with an African cichlid setup instead.

[Struggle]

I feel you there except for the African Cichlids. We have a 40ish bow front of PRL caridina shrimp that’s been cloudy for over a year. I also think our 75G mineralized top soil tank is on the outs as well. 
 

On 10/7/2021 at 7:15 PM, sudofish said:

Keeping up with plant health & algae. I've never really gotten my tank dialed in to the point where I don't have algae and the plants thrive. Almost wish I went with an African cichlid setup instead.

At the end of the day if you’re thinking of making a change do it. There’s nothing that says you can’t go back, just my 2 cents.

[stowcenter93]

Caring for a plant that isn't doing well. 

It's such a bummer and it takes weeks to bring it back since it probably took weeks to get that way.

 

[Torrey]

On 10/7/2021 at 3:35 PM, Patrick_G said:

Yeah, that is irritating. I think I need a cheat sheet so I don’t have to break out the instructions every time I do a test. 

I thought everyone created a cheat sheet and laminated it to make testing easier....😬

Mine includes "shake until arm falls off"

[Odd Duck]

On 10/6/2021 at 6:51 PM, Torrey said:

My solution for catching fish in a heavily planted/scaped tank is to rinse blackworms in my mesh strainer, leaving a few inside the mesh, and then allowing the fish to swim into the strainer to get the blackworms. 

I move the whole strainer to a bucket, select the fish I need, and then return everyone else to the aquarium.

I am continually impressed with clever solutions my fellow aquarists have found!

[Ruud]

dealing with all sorts of algae and get the plants to thrive. I think next step for me will probably be CO2 once I moved my tanks to my new house

[Hobbit]

On 10/7/2021 at 5:35 PM, Patrick_G said:

I think I need a cheat sheet so I don’t have to break out the instructions every time I do a test.

I write the (abbreviated) instructions on the bottles with permanent marker. 👍

[BMoreHokie]

Wanting to fix problems that need time to fix themselves. 

[Torrey]

On 10/7/2021 at 3:32 PM, HandymanMatt said:

Shaking and waiting on the API liquid tests.  trying to remember which bottle to shake, for how long, then "does the vail get shaken for a minute?" its all non sense!

I believe @ARMYVET had a model paint shaker, that has been modified/came equipped to do the shaking for you. 

Or maybe it was @Atitagain🤔

Today is a cranial flatulence day, I honestly can't remember 🤦‍♂️

 

The point is, instead of double fisted shaking (I have tested as many as 13 tanks at once😬) the suggestion was buy the paint agitator, and hang on for dear life🤣

 

[I still recommend laminating a card with the directions for each test, because I don't remember how many drops of each bottle, or which bottles need to be shaken, or how long]

[Beccs410]

Let's see...losing a fin baby is always difficult, especially when you can't figure out what happened. I concur with the "anything regarding hair algae" for sure. And the API testing. I can remember all the steps and number of drops, but after dislocating my rib last year, my shoulder and side seriously hurt after testing 5 tanks. I ended up switching to Co-Op's test strips weekly and now only do API liquid tests when I need more exact results and once a month. 

[Tanked]

On 10/7/2021 at 9:59 PM, stowcenter93 said:

Caring for a plant that isn't doing well. 

It's such a bummer and it takes weeks to bring it back since it probably took weeks to get that way.

 

On the other hand, Bringing an ailing plant back from the brink is it's own reward

[ccurtis]

I hate cleaning the lids to my tanks. There is always algae, hard water deposits, and somehow fish food in the hinges. I use glass lids. 

[Waka88]

I still haven't figured out how to do the low tech plant balance of fertilizer, nutrient and lighting.

I've already decided to toss the Excel stuff, since I think it's doing more harm than good.

I upgraded the lighting, but dunno if that will just grow more algae or not.  I got a small tank so I don't want fast growing plants as I think they will just grow too large and overtake everything. 

I got more Bacopa Carolina coming, really hoping those will do well.  I'm going for the stem plants over the rhyzom plants.

I'm discovering all the recommended easy to grow plants aren't that easy 😕

On 10/9/2021 at 9:17 PM, ccurtis said:

I hate cleaning the lids to my tanks. There is always algae, hard water deposits, and somehow fish food in the hinges. I use glass lids. 

I've decided to just get rid of the lid and keep water level about 2 inches below in case of any fish jumping, but I doubt any of my fish will jump.

On 10/8/2021 at 11:30 PM, Beccs410 said:

Let's see...losing a fin baby is always difficult, especially when you can't figure out what happened. I concur with the "anything regarding hair algae" for sure. And the API testing. I can remember all the steps and number of drops, but after dislocating my rib last year, my shoulder and side seriously hurt after testing 5 tanks. I ended up switching to Co-Op's test strips weekly and now only do API liquid tests when I need more exact results and once a month. 

I'm doing the zero testing and just do more frequent water changes if I feel I need it.

I only got the Seachem Alert for Ammonia level and that thing is supposed to last a year, just hangs in the tank.  I'm hoping I can find something like that for nitrite/nitrate.

[Torrey]

On 10/9/2021 at 7:42 PM, Waka88 said:

I still haven't figured out how to do the low tech plant balance of fertilizer, nutrient and lighting.

I've already decided to toss the Excel stuff, since I think it's doing more harm than good.

I upgraded the lighting, but dunno if that will just grow more algae or not.  I got a small tank so I don't want fast growing plants as I think they will just grow too large and overtake everything. 

I got more Bacopa Carolina coming, really hoping those will do well.  I'm going for the stem plants over the rhyzom plants.

I'm discovering all the recommended easy to grow plants aren't that easy 😕

I've decided to just get rid of the lid and keep water level about 2 inches below in case of any fish jumping, but I doubt any of my fish will jump.

I'm doing the zero testing and just do more frequent water changes if I feel I need it.

I only got the Seachem Alert for Ammonia level and that thing is supposed to last a year, just hangs in the tank.  I'm hoping I can find something like that for nitrite/nitrate.

Water parameters do play a large role in plant success. 

 

I used to get frustrated with our hard water, because I had bred discus for over a decade before we moved, and it took me 2 years to find the sweet spot on how to get stable water parameters **and** water soft enough/ acidic enough to get the eggs to hatch.

Because I was focused on breeding, I wasn't focused on plants.

Fast forward 25 years, and I am back in the state with hard water, and for the first time in my life, plants are growing *despite* what I do😬

My plants are now the healthiest things in my tank🤣

If you don't want to water test to make the hobby more enjoyable for you, it may be worth sending tap and aquarium water off for professional testing to identify what is missing so you can fine tune your ferts schedule and type of ferts.

 

I know that the more in depth testing made a huge difference for @Irene and helped usher the joy of a planted tank that was *attainable* and fun into Irene's home.