Old thread: >>2115748
Discuss anything aquarium related here, including inhabitants, decor and issues.
Google is your friend.
Feel free to ask questions but know that there are a lot of resources out there that could answer your question a lot faster and accurately than /an/.
Make sure to include these things in your post before asking because we can't help you if we don't have the full picture:
-tank size
-parameters
-any and all inhabitants + how long you've had them
Links:
>How to cycle your tank: http://pastebin.com/x4WnB0Ah (embed) (embed)
>General aquarium care sheets - http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/
>Livestock and plants for sale - http://www.petsolutions.com/ http://www.aquabid.com
>FUCKING GOOGLE
If I get a couple feeder goldfish to drop in an old water fountain, will they take care of mosquitoes? And if I put a live plant in there, will that keep their water clean enough to make the fish survive through the summer?
I'm not interested in turning them into pets.
>>2119290
Yeah but here's much better option called mosquito fish. They live to fuck up mosquito larvae.
r8 my dry start
>tiny submersible RC camera
>VR visor
>virtually explore your tank at fish scale
This needs to be a thing.
>>2119294
Just went and picked some up, thanks anon.
Lookin up some caresheets now so they aren't completely miserable out there.
>>2119300
Cool iwagumi style imho. Shows that simplicity can also be pleasing.
>>2119300
I like it
>>2119300
>black pepper on mashed potatoes/10
I just bought a tank that used to be a reptile tank that had water and I want to turn it into an aquarium. Someone told me that they're not meant for that and that ammonia will be absorbed into the glass from the reptile shit. This is a sealed tank that has relatively good thick glass. It came with a heat rock and bulbs and shit like that. Should I just call it a day and sell it on craigslist and buy an actual aquarium?
>>2119300
say goodbye to that clean mayonnaise dip
>>2119303
>be a robot fish
>other fish tries to communicate with me
>unable to talk, they probably think i have autism
>stray away from schools and shoals
>tfw no hot robot fish gf to mate with
why live
Damn why didn't I get one of these before. Makes water changes so easy
Just pump the water out then back in.
>>2119300
Nice! Very good landscaping
>>2119377
Where to buy? Post link
>>2119400
Is the water treated with aquarium treatment?
Also did you fees them ever?
>>2119400
Don't buy feeders. They are full of parasites and other gross shit
>>2119400
He made his suggestion at 12:13, you purchased them by 13:04, and now at 15:44 you've already lost 4/6? How did you manage that?
>>2119406
It's fine, I'm just putting them in an old water fountain to get rid of moquitos.
I'm not keeping them as pets or anything. I'll probably just toss them out in the garden when they die off.
>>2119407
I have no idea. Maybe theirs something wrong with our pipes, we drink the filtered fridge water or bottled.
I set up a salt water tank over the weekend and it's still all cloudy. What do?
>>2119410
1. let it sit.
>few days ago
>can't find my second hermit crab, then spot a 'carcass', and notice his shell is a good foot away, and conclude he must be dead
>don't do anything to the carcass just yet, but put the shell near it to maybe encourage the second crab to use it if he wants it
>suddenly today
>two crabs in two shells and carcass still there
>realise one molted
>but even as I watch he looks irritated
>other crab is trying to fight him for the shell
>move the other crab away
>resurrected one climbs back in but still looks uncomfortable
>sort of climbing out, then in again. Conclude his shell doesn't fit/uncomfy
>dash to the fish store, come back with more shells after an hour, drop them all around tank
>once again empty shell, no sign of him, worried he got chased into hiding again
>finally spot him back, half-burried in sand right next to old shell
>he's not wanting to enter his shell though, not doing much
>I put two of the new shells right next to him and come back every 5-10 minutes to see if he's taken up one
>now he's on his side out of his shell still, only having sporadic bursts of movement before laying pretty still again
>prodded a shell gently slightly nearer again but he just backs away from it a bit
>currently still on his side.
What is happening and what do I do?
>>2119419
Keep the filter running ?
>>2119409
Where did you put them first? In the fountain or a uncycled tank?
>>2119427
Ya duh
>>2119429
Fountain. There's one left that's still going strong, I went and got some more and the lady at the pet shop gave me some Aqua Safe, said my water probably had chlorine in it. I'm also going to let them sit in their bag, in the fountain water, for a good hour or two this time and let the temp adjust.
>>2119449
I mean I let them sit in the water last time two, but it was only about 20 minutes.
>>2119427
yes.
there's 3 likely possible reasons for cloudy saltwater:
1. Dust from the rock and sand.
-----that one you just let it settle for a couple days.
2. Bacterial bloom
-----Run a UV sterilizer
3. Bad salt mix, bad water pH or improper mixing of the salt.
-----100% water change with good salt mixed correctly.
since your tank is new the most likely is dust from the sand. That'll settle out. If it doesn't settle out in a few days then we can look at your salt mix, source water, and how you're mixing it.
>>2119409
There is still chlorine which is toxic even in 1 parts per million.
>>2119482
The shop owner gave me some stuff to put in the water to treat it, I didn't even think about it before. Feel bad for the fish damnit.
My brain didn't make the damn connection because I lived up in the mountains for so long and used spring water for so long, I completely spaced that city water has chemicals in it.
Sigh.
>>2119484
don't get too frustrated, most places don't put enough chlorine in the water to kill fish that fast.
In most cases the chlorine evaporates out in less than an hour anyways.
water temperature and oxygen are more likely causes. Or some other poison in the water or leaking from the fountain.
>>2119351
>>2119495
Welp, if these fish die, I'm just gonna say fuck it and pour a gallon or two of bleach in there.
>>2119357
>ammonia will be absorbed into the glass from the reptile shit
Hahaha, what?
As long as you clean it (no soap) and it holds water it's fine. Aquariums are pretty cheap if you want to buy one anyway.
>>2119357
vivariums use thinner glass.
They won't hold water for long, because they lack the safety factor that's built into aquariums. Aquariums hold hundreds of pounds of water, even the small ones, so they're built considerably heavier than they need to be.
I'd go measure glass on same sized aquariums at pet stores, and if yours isn't at least as thick don't put water in it.
otherwise it should be fine so long as the seals are good. But check the thickness before filling it to test the seals.
>>2119528
Well this new batch seems to be doing much better. They all look good, they're hiding (which I'm assuming is a good thing and means they are getting adjusted), and I see no mosquitos! I doubt they ate them all that quickly, but maybe. Either way, I'm happy.
Now, I can't be possitive, but I believe the fountain is roughly 10 gallons. Is that enough water for 11 minnows/mosquitofish? I'm googling it too, but I'm expecting a few to die off possibly tonight when the temp drops-though it's getting really warm because it's summer.
The fountain is shaded most of the day though, and the stone has yet to heat up, so I doubt the water will get over 80F. If it does, I'll put some icecubes on the stone above the water so they slowly melt in.
>>2119536
This is the fountain, each of those grooves on the inside fit a regular water bottle, but it's probably about a bottle and a half deep.
>>2119545
Looks too small for goldfish.
>>2119546
Ya, was pretty happy when that anon told me there is actual mosquito fish. I hate how dirty goldfish are, hopefully these guys won't be too much work.
Whatever water treatment she gave me only needed a teaspoon per ten gallons, so I still have a lot left. I did a teaspoon and a half though just to be safe.
>>2119449
Water cold?
>do a tank inspection
>count fish
>where did one of them go???
>look at every possible place
>remembered that one of them rested and hid in the moss
>mfw
>>2119593
Watch your six, shrimp just got a new alpha
>>2119300
9/10, incredibly nice.
But the sand is going to be impossible to keep clean unless you do it at LEAST once a week, good luck!
>>2119377
I use a pond pump and vinyl tubing myself.
>>2119288
In my experience, betta fish live longer in small, unheated, rarely water-changed bowls than in a heated, filtered tank that gets changed half as much as it should. I don't deny that a 5-gallon+, filtered, heated tank with regular water changes is best for a betta fish, but how come this happens? Is it just a weird fluke in my experience? Do I just suck at owning fish? It makes me want to stop owning fish because the ones I've owned end up in fishy heaven :(
hey I have a 55gal freshwater tank with a jack dempsey fish.
I've noticed these tiny things growing on my rocks that almost resemble sea anemones.
does anybody know what these are called?
>>2119657
hydras
>>2119659
are they bad? I just moved the fish from a 30gal two weeks ago.
>>2119620
a number of possible reasons-
1. the cooler the water the slower a fish's metabolism, so it produces less waste and consumes less food and oxygen. It also grows more slowly, lives longer, and moves around less.
2. Cooler water holds more oxygen than warm water, and this is probably important in a bowl with nothing moving the water around.
3. Changing water all the time is necessary in heated, filtered tanks, but it every water change is an opportunity to fuck up the fish and the filter by not adjusting water parameters or failing to dechlorinate or just accidentally putting stagnant stale water in there.
also there's the correlate of Murphy's Law saying the more you care about something the more likely you are to lose it. Usually by fucking with it too much.
Fish may or may not be stressed by water changes and filter flow and heat. It really kinda depends.
>>2119660
no, afaik they're harmless. Some fish will probably eat them.
>>2119666
cool thanks nice trips
>>2119669
np
I got on google and it looks like they can harm small fish and shrimp. But then so will a Jack Dempsy, no?
>>2119660
They'll kill your shrimp. Some fish will demolish those for breakfast but i forgot which ones
>>2119536
>I believe the fountain is roughly 10 gallons. Is that enough water for 11 minnows/mosquitofish?
That's a bit much. You'd really only need a couple to keep the mosquitoes down, but I doubt they were expensive or anything.
>I'll put some icecubes on the stone above the water so they slowly melt in.
Ice cubes melt super fast and they'll still have chlorine. A frozen 1 or 2 liter bottle would be better.
>>2119669
They're p sweet. They catch and eat itty bitty bugs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kukv0AtIVdU
>>2119743
Ok, will do the bottled water if it gets hot.
I also got so many this time incase a few died. I went out with the flashlight to check on them and all but two of them look good. The two that didn't look good had some white filmy stuff on their bodies, and I read something online about them having a natural slime around them? Could that have gotten damaged and that's what the white stuff is?
>>2119761
Fish can end up shedding their slime coat if there's something in the water bothering them, or if they have underlying medical issues.
>>2119775
Welp I hope they make it. I'm a little attached now.
>>2119620
i think fish just get used to shit conditions
my grandmother has a tank full of platys/mollies. At the start, 2-4 of the fish would be dead every day. It seemed like the more care was put into the tank, the more fish died
Finally we all gave up and resigned ourselves to a tank full of dead fish. None of them have died since. We just add more water when it evaporates and put food in the tank everyday
The bottom of that tank must be like unto acid but none of the fuckers in there care.
About 10 new platys were added recently. One of them went into shock right out of the bag. Two more died in the next few days. All the dead ones were replaced and now they're all doing well. It's weird
Why do my dwarf gouramis swim up to my big ass head and look right at me, but turn tail and flee from my hand reaching toward them? I would think their survival instincts would lead them to do the opposite -- see my face as a giant predator, but see my hand as a harmless object.
>tiny 1mm gap at top of corner overflow
>every kuhli in the world has found it and is now in sump
>carefully cover hole with fine mesh
>spend half an hour tearing sump apart and catching the bastards
>by the time i get them all one has found its way back into the overflow even though the water level is too low
ARRRRRRRRRRRGH. I'm convinced they're Houdini's ghost.
>had an approx. 2.5" rainbow shark
>go away for the weekend
>come back, rainbow shark looks like it grew an entire inch in two days
What the hell? I had heard they had a slow growth rate. I know the growth will slow down as it ages, but I really didn't expect to come home to this.
>>2119957
Are you certain you didn't just get smaller?
>>2119961
Shit, I actually did get smaller.
>>2119670
I have a few in a 5 gallon with some rcs fry. No problems yet.
I read pond snails would eat them & I have billions and that praziquantel would kill them so I dosed that but they are still here. Oh well they're cool as fuck anyway
>>2119778
Update-one is dead, another is dying, two are actively swimming, and two I can see somewhat hidden.The others I'm guessing are hiding or dead and I can't see them.
The grass I put in is thriving and I'm hoping doesn't mess with the fish. I see a few mosquitoes still, but hoping they'll get eatin when the water warms up a bit.
So far so good.
>>2119957
Put him next to your penis. If he's bigger then it then he grew an inch.
>>2119895
Freshwater squid PTSD
>>2119656
Freshwater Hydras. Should be no problem as long as you have only large fish
>Nano tank has a 15cm thick lip on it
Is there any HOB filter that could fit over this?
I want to have a tank for a couple of fiddler crabs. Is there any fish that I could have in the tank with the crab?
>>2120013
Virtually none, they'll either get eaten by the Fiddler or the Fish will eat the Fiddler. On a side note, they need something to climb on to access the surface and "bask", they do need a little bit of salt in their water as well.
>"Oh it's ok, the tank wont get dirty if we buy a lot of fish! We bought an algae eater to clean the tank!"
>>2120046
that's exactly the right idea though.
only error is in thinking fish are at the bottom of the detrivore trophic pyramid rather than the top and middle.
if you get enough snails, bugs, plants and worms going you don't really need to clean anything. Just turn wasted nutrients into biomass.
>>2120048
Of course anon, I have a bunch of cory's in my tank for that.
I'm talking about geniuses who buy Pleco's to clean their overstocked 10 gallons.
>>2120053
I get what you're saying but I'm not certain why you're knocking it.
I kept a pleco and a goldfish in a 40g for close to a decade. The pleco very definitely ate shit. He ate goldfish shit and then shit that out and ate his own shit. A constant cycle of shit eating. I vacuumed gravel once a year and things went along swimmingly until my pleco fried himself on the heater. He was almost a foot long when he died, primarily from eating shit.
I've had lots of plecos over the years so I know not all of them are shit vacuums. But some are.
>>2119980
I don't have a penis, just a bunch of dragon dildos, and ain't no aquarium fish gonna compare to those.
>>2120059
is he in a big tank?
>>2120061
Think it might be 15mm
My 20 long was leaking and apparently I completely killed the cycle switching it over, so... woo, fun.
I've made a dirted tank before, I've always just put down dirt, then capped it with gravel/sand
But the issue with dirt is it can get everywhere when moving plants/kicking up gravel. Could I use a fabric plant pot over the dirt? That way, roots can still grow through it but it won't be free to get all over the tank
>>2120061
I never said anything about bioload.
I said detrivores consume waste and lock it up in biomass.
if decreasing bioload is your goal have an empty tank.
Anyone else ever tried transplanting aquarium substrate? I have an empty tank full of eco-complete planted substrate that I want to clean out and move to another aquarium. I'm a little worried though since the aquarium has pretty much, been nothing but still unheated water for the past month since I unplugged all the equipment and have been too lazy to clear it out.
I'm worried it might fuck up my cycle.
>petstore near me finally has silver hatchets
UGGGHH I DONT HAVE ANY FREE AQUARIUMS
>>2120125
I've changed lots of substrates.
I do it a bit at a time. Change 1/4 of the substrate, wait a few days, change another 1/4.
it shouldn't affect your biofilter though unless you're swapping out a gravel substrate or you're using and undergravel filter.
for fine substrates, almost none of your nitrifying bacteria are in the substrate. They're in your external filter.
Contemplating getting back into Killifish breeding, bad idea?
>>2120145
Best idea.
Has anyone tried keeping shrimp to breed in a plastic tub? Would you need mechanical filtration or is biological filtration ok?
I want to keep a Marbled Crayfish(self-cloning crayfish), but I'm not sure how to start.
Looking for stand advice, recently got a 40gal tank/stand from a friend that I'm going to use for fresh water fish. The stand is metal and I didn't like the way the legs would dent my flooring so I welded up a square based angle iron frame and then put 1 1/2" of plywood under it to distribute the weight, and in order to ensure the legs don't spread under the weight I welded angle iron in the corners to hold the feet in place. At this point in time I'm just wondering if this is a reptile tank stand and I just spent way too much time beefing up the base or if it can handle 40gallons of water
>>2119288
Okay, so I got this pleco a long time ago but my tank was too small for it, so I gave it to a friend for safekeeping. Now that I have a bigger tank, I got him back, but I have some questions.
1. What kind of pleco is this? I never had it long enough to find out and my LFS didn't have any info.
2. Will it eat baby snails on the glass? I have a bunch of baby mystery snails crawling around and I'm worried he might suck them up, mistake or otherwise.
Thanks in advance, /an/
>>2120251
He looks like your bogstandard Common Pleco, someone correct me if I'm wrong.
Plecos will not eat live snails.
>>2120319
Well fuck. I suppose I should move my babies to a different tank then.
Okay, I just thought I'd update for anyone who is wondering (sorry for the blogging).
I am >>2118149, and it seems that my betta is now able to eat food again. I didn't do anything but try to feed him repeatedly, and now after about 2 weeks he's fine.
I didn't feed him any peas or garlic, as was suggested. Just thought I'd let you know.
Does anyone have experience with sea slugs?
>>2120334
Where the hell do people buy buddha statues and oriental shit. I love giving all my aquariums that oriental/underwater Angkor Wat look but most aquarium decorations are shit and I literally have no idea where else to start.
>>2120361
Do you buy decorations at walmart? Go to an actual aquarium/fish store.
Fluval spec
Guppies and scarlet badis
Heads up Nano anons! Do not purchase the KollerCraft TOM Rapids Mini Canister Filter, It is not for desktop/nano aquariums, its Xbox huge and is probably suited for a 20gal at least. It is a nice package and what not but holy fuck, idk where they get there idea for a "desktop" nano, but it dwarfs my 5gal and probably suitable for 10+ gals if you like a high flow. That is all, just chiming in my 10c.
>>2120395
Do you not hit the specifications tab before you buy things?
>>2120364
hey fuck you dude
a lot of fish stores are over priced and wal mart has the same shit for cheaper
>>2120397
It claimed to be a desktop/nano filter, and fwiw, i would say that 5g and under is nano/desktop. Im sorry i didnt get my slide ruler out before I ordered on Amazon. This Toms is easily a 20g with a natural flow or a 10g with a river flow.
>>2120413
Maybe, but fish stores generally have a larger collection of decorations. Walmart only has something like 4 shelves of decorations.
>>2120414
>i would say that 5g and under is nano/desktop
most people would say anything up to 30g is nano.
5g would prolly be pico?
>>2120419
Boku no?
>>2120364
No but when I've actually gone to my LFS they have the exact same tacky decorations as Walmart for slightly more $$$.
Honestly the best place I've seen for decos is petsmart but they mark the fuck up out of them. Literally 50$ for anything over 4".
>>2120237
This thing looks like it'll break any minute under pressure. I wouldn't put any water in it.
>>2120477
It didn't look bad until I brought it home and put the tank on it and then I was like damn... I don't know how much this stand can take. Oh well, I already have some plans to build a wooden stand with 4x4 lumber
>>2120060
Big enough for now, 40 gal, I plan on moving her to a bigger tank when she matures. Just waiting for the perfect tank+stand sale, and trying to decide how to rearrange my bedroom to allow for another tank.
>>2120237
sold those before, never liked them but they should be fine, it's steel it's not that week
>>2120102
Actually that's an interesting idea, covering the dirt layer with something porous to keep the dirt from getting everywhere. But what do you mean by fabric plant pot?
I did a dirted tank and a lot of dirt ended up on top of the sand. Since the "dirt" seems to be like chunks of bark and what not, it's basically impossible to vacuum up but also impossible to remove by hand, and it's clogging the shit out of my filters.
>>2120102
good luck with that plant roots will just get embedded in it and will probably make replanting even more messy.
>>2120526
meant iron
>>2120395
>drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=16742&cmpid=03cseYY&gclid=CNGI4bjt1MwCFUZrfgod73AC2w
>Measures 3-1/2" x 5-11/16" x 7" high.
?
I mean it's sorta large-ish for a "nano filter," but that's not /that/ big, especially for a canister.
>>2120419
For saltwater, yeah. Typically for planted tanks nano means less than ten gallons. "Pico" isn't generally user but when it is it's 1-3 gallons.
>>2120428
Make my ochinchin twitch, senpai.
>>2120395
it's not my favorite but I've used one on a 3 and 5 gallon before, the flow is a bit strong but not that bad once you stuff it full of media and have a sponge on the inflow. it would actually be perfect for a 10 gallon.
Living oversees due to uni makes me miss my fish back home.
1/3
>>2120145
Killifish are the most underrated freshwater fish. Of course you should breed them.
I'm a lazy fuck who can't be arsed to deal with peat spawners, but I think I'm going to try my hand with f. gardneri soon.
>>2120579
>Since the "dirt" seems to be like chunks of bark and what not
fwiw, that just means you didn't buy the right dirt, or you didn't sift it beforehand. I've made the same mistake before.
I just make sure to only move my plants during water changes, so the dirt that I stir up goes straight into the siphon and out of the tank.
>>2119377
>Being this lazy
>>2120676
>>2120677
>>2120681
vary nice what species?
The wire shelving I wanted to setup a 50 gallon aquarium on is exactly 48 inches wide
Every 50 gallon tank I see is either 48"wide or 36", but 36" is shit
Does anyone know of a 46 inch 50-60 gallon glass tank? I'm wondering if it would even be worth getting a custom one made, buying a new stand would probably be cheaper.
>>2120855
55g
it might be slightly over with the frame though. Probably 49" with a plastic frame.
>>2120860
disregard, I see you want 46"
you can build one fairly easily if you're handy.
I've built tanks b4 and can offer tips if you go that route.
>>2120855
also unless your wire shelving can hold over 500 lbs I wouldn't try sticking a tank of that size on it.
to be safe it should probably be able to support a ton.
My Ammonia readings in 5 minutes says 0.25, 10 minutes later it says 0, what do I trust?
>>2120878
you mean 5 and 10 minutes after adding the test liquid?
the higher reading is likely the correct one, but you should check your test kit against another brand every now and then. So maybe get a second opinion.
the solutions in test kits can expire afaik.
>wanted to use an old aquarium for snek
>saw a video of them pooping
Time to start another planted tank I guess, I'm gonna get a shitload of silver hatchet fish
>>2120883
ah, yes, i'm sorry, it's getting real late over here
i'll see what i can do tomorrow
>>2120897
Pussy.
>>2120865
Each shelf is supposed to be able to hold 1000 pounds. I really liked the idea of having a tank on a shelf, I just ordered 40 dollar casters for it a couple of days ago too...
>>2120337
Welcome to your funeral.
>>2119908
I've had some that "disappeared" in my quarantine tank, only to be discovered poking their heads out of a small 1mm gap in the tank heater a week later. If I had not seen them out of the corner of my eye and thoroughly investigated, they probably would've eventually expired of starvation
Stupid cute Kuhli loaches
>tfw this tank will never be yours https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yEhJWdFUAY
>>2121017
All the plants and fish were jamming to that sweet music :3
>dry start
>been 3 days
>baby tears growing up instead of across substrate
Am I doing it wrong.
>>2121093
you need a stronger light to get them to carpet, according to google.
weak light they grow up, strong light they grow out.
>>2121097
How much more light could it possibly need?
>>2121099
I don't know personally since I've never grown them. It's possible this is just how they start...
others here will have real advice I'd guess.
I only grow corals and such, but the light you've got there isn't nearly bright enough for most of those.
>>2121102
It's all relative to tank size. That's an 8W LED for a 4 gallon tank.
>>2121105
I'm guessing tank depth is as important as volume.
For reef tanks I run about 3 watts per gallon for a 60g and that's not really bright enough for a lot of stuff. But for depth comparison that's a 165 watt LED about 30 inches above the tank bottom.
>>2121099
>>2121105
you know how much lumen you got on that LED? From what I heard, you need around 40-50 lumen per liter and co2 to grow HC properly.
Only real way to know if your light is sufficient is using a PAR-metre which also takes into consideration the different levels and areas of a tank but afaik it's expensive and is mostly used by people who want to grow SPS corals.
>>2121118
It's 700 lux on the substrate. Which should convert to 200 lumens
>>2121130
200 lumen for a 15 liter would be what, 13 lumen/liter? Anon above says a range of 40-50 vs. your 13.
we may be too dim.
though I'd bet the lumen/liter requirement would probably drop logarithmically as the tank gets smaller....
I don't think all these light calculations can be right.
My light is 400 lumens according to the text on the bulb.
The tank is 2ft by 1.5ft so 432 square inch.
That makes the lumens per square inch 0.92
12 lumens per square inch is rated as low lght....
But my tank is very bright.
>>2121137
>my tank is very bright
reef guy here.
Just wanted to say this is relative.
It may seem pretty bright to you but might not be so bright in comparison to other tanks or natural sunlight.
the sun is amazingly bright compared to what our lights do.
>>2121139
Tanks lit by sunlight are less bright tho
>>2121141
different spectrum for one thing. Most of the visible spectrum we see does nothing for plants.
so a lot of that brightness from our LED's is wasted.
Also tanks lit by sunlight don't usually get the full effect of light because of limitations on bringing sunlight indoors. A lake or reef outdoors is perhaps brighter than one inside getting a fraction of the light.
I'm looking at pictures of aquascapes and they don't seem to be 10 times brighter than my tank even though the numbers are saying my tank needs to be more than 10 times brighter.
>>2121143
10 times may be excessive.
measures of light/volume are aimed at a certain size and your tank is smaller than that size.
so your tank probably needs far less than the lumens/liter quoted or whatever.
in your case depth to substrate is probably going to matter more than lumens/liter just because it's a tiny tank. I don't know what's appropriate though.
also cameras and/or photographers adjust exposure in pictures so even if a tank is much brighter than yours it may not be apparent in pics.
Guides online are saying that my tank should be 20 times brighter than this. That would burn your eyes out.
>>2121145
>That would burn your eyes out.
ironically enough, so will the tropical sun if you stare at it.
>>2121145
Also note that irl the dark sections of this picture are full bright sunlight. The camera sees the tank as so bright that it has to adjust it's exposure.
>>2121146
Real life lakes are not that bright though. And often the water is dirty. And yet plants still grow.
>>2121147
>The camera sees the tank as so bright that it has to adjust it's exposure.
this is true of every pic you're comparing to though.
so you can't really compare a pic of my reef tank to one of your planted tank and learn anything.
because my camera will adjust my light to look the same as yours even if it's 100 times brighter.
>>2121130
Are you sure about your calculations? I got a 16 Watt LED (Eheim Power LED - Plants) with 1600 lumen für a 54l aquarium which convets to 30lumen per liter.
Let's assume your LED also puts out 100 lumen per watt, which gives you 800 lumen for 15 litres, which is 53,33lumen per litre, so it would be just right for your HC.
I think that that LED should be fine, unless you got a cheap 10 dollar one from china, I wouldn't worry too much about the lumen/watt ratio.
>>2121151
>Let's assume your LED also puts out 100 lumen per watt
It says it's "400 lumens" on the bulb
>>2121149
>yet plants still grow.
the plants you're trying to grow?
and do they carpet under this dimmer light?
again, I don't know. Just going off of google.
>>2121145
And what you say about brightess is normal, when you switch from normal light to LEDs. I also had the impression that via LED my tank was much brighter, but you get used to it.
I don't think 400 lumens is right because I'm reading planted tank forums and those guys are throwing around numbers saying their lights produce 20,000 lumens and over.
And their tanks don't seem any brighter than mine.
>>2121155
>their tanks don't seem any brighter than mine.
again that's impossible to judge since the camera equalizes the brightness. A look at an actual tank in real life might be helpful.
or maybe not.
>>2121152
ok, so you at half the recommended lumens, but the tank is much lower than an average tank, so I figure the par-value should be alright, of course you don't wanna spend 350$ + on a par meter.
If the HC doesnt grow proper, try marsilea hirsuta. It's a very low demand carpeting plant. You can also carpet riccia like that. Otherwise, get another Bulb, but imho just wait how it grows.
I'm optimistic that the HC will be fine due to the lower tank.
>>2121155
If these guys throw around 20000 lumens then it's certainly for very big tanks or no LED lights.
Just observe how your HC does unter your current bulb and adjust accordingly.
>>2121157
seconding this.
wait and see seems like the best advice to me.
if it doesn't work out try a different plant or a different light.
>>2121054
>plants
>>2121161
>nemo plant
>>2121149
but not alway in the water as most of the plants we keep are margin plants so thay may not be submerged long term the way thay are in aquariums. it's sort of the reason you have to use CO2 and high light to keep many plants.
>>2121152
out of curiosity what spectrum is the bulb? also it looks like it your not getting even light spread even in that small tank. and do you have a link to the specific bulb you are using?
Any advice for what plants and fish to put in a 50gal outdoor pond that will survive a South Carolina winter but still look cool? Trying to avoid goldfish, but wouldn't rule them out.
Has anyone had an acrylic tank vs a glass one? What have been your experiences? I want to diy an acrylic tank because it would be lighter and supposedly more cost effective, but glass is the staple when it comes to tank material so idk.
>>2121253
How will you keep it from freezing?
>>2121253
Rosy red minnows would be a great alternative to goldfish. You could check out NANFA's site for native fish and plant suggestions.
Would it be possible to cycle a aquarium using snails or amphipods?
>Aquarium chillers
What are these even used for?
>>2121137
Lumens and wattage are irrelevant if the spectrum is wrong. PAR is everything.
>>2121149
>Real life lakes are not that bright though. And often the water is dirty. And yet plants still grow.
If I can find the right video I'll link it later, but in one of Aquarium Co-op's videos on YT, he measures the PAR in one of his brightly lit tanks, then compares it to the bottom of a nasty, green-water, algae-infested koi pond. The bottom of the Koi pond had higher par than his crystal clear tank, even though you couldn't see through the water in the pond.
>>2121373
>Aquarium chillers
>chillers
>chill
>v. to make cold
Hmm, I'm not really sure, but I can guess that they are used to chill aquarium water. Just a wild guess, though. And if they're used to chill aquarium water, that means they're making the water colder. Why would anyone want that? Well, maybe there are fish that prefer water that is colder than room temperature. Hmm. Sorta like many tropical fish prefer warmer water than room temperature, so they need heaters. I wonder if a chiller is like, basically, the same thing for cold-water fish?
>>2121382
>maybe there are fish that prefer water that is colder than room temperature.
All cold water fish are fine at room temp tho.
Tryng to get my local lfs to order me some dwarf snakeheads. I really like gachua and stewartii. Anyone have any experience with either of these?
>>2121373
Chillers are mostly used for big reeftanks and amphibia, especially newts and axolotls prefer colder water
so my planted tank is about 1 and a half weeks old, done 6 hours light for 4 days then upped it to 8 hours. plants dont seem to be doing so great. no algae issues. using liquid co2 should i up the light time to 9-10 hours?
>>2121398
not if your room temperature pulls the heat of the water up to 28C
>>2121425
Plants need a photoperiod, turn off lights for three hours then on for one hour.
>>2121404
>Chillers are mostly used for big reeftanks
Doesn't marine need higher temps than tropical like 30 degrees?
>No company may import Opae Ula shrimp in the EU except one that produces sealed "biospheres" with them in.
>You can copyright an animal
>>2121447
is it not more to do with them coming from protected areas?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABEylgC8bAs
Is reef keeping a meme?
>Dad built a pond when I was a kid
>Never had a filter
>Just find out when I start getting into aquariums that ponds should have filters
Is this why all his fish died?
>>2121145
There are some pretty cheap LEDs you can get. If they can grow coral im sure they can grow plants
>>2121445
chillers help to maintain the temp in the tank, so if the heater gets the water too warm the chiller maintains it
>>2121445
chillers are for when your lights are too hot.
our lights are often too hot.
![IMG_20160513_222302046_HDR[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/Pk3aJ5e.jpg "IMG_20160513_222302046_HDR[1].jpg")
>had adult red crayfish for almost 8 months (he didn't molt once and was 9 cm)
>Weeks before the events I notice he has like a wound on his abdomen but don't pay too much attention as it heals "normally". Picture related
>flash forward to the beginning of this week, he started to be more inactive than usual and walking with his abdomen coiled.
>yesterday I found him barely moving his legs and today finally died after several hours moving his appendages less and less until he became fully paralyzed.
I dunno if it was the wound ,some food I gave him that was "old", not enough veggies or even old age. Do you have any idea of what went wrong? I need to know because I may want to take care of these inverts again and ,mainly, because the guilt is killing me for I think I didn't give him what he needed and died because of that.
>>2121534
Did he have enough calcium in his diet? pH level? It's possible that he could've died from old age.
>>2121546
> enough calcium in his diet
Could be this, he never ate the crab pellets I bought. He was being fed with surimi and cooked ham cubes during the last two weeks.Would a deficit do that apart of problems during molt?
>pH level
The tap water comes ironically enough from the same damn I got him. Not sure if the depuration affects the pH tho.
>>2121552
I might stick out with the idea that he died from old age, crayfish tend to molt less once they've grown a large size. pH of 7.0(neutral) is suitable. Not sure if feeding him meat would be a great idea because it would foul up the water a little bit, next time try Cucumbers or Zucchini, calcium rich vegetables.
>>2121376
Absolutely this.
>>2121398
>All cold water fish
>All
Boldly inclusive, there.
>room temp
Not everyone lives in Alaska.
>>2121445
Reefs need an incredibly stable temperature. So if you have really expensive things in it you have heaters for when it gets too cold and chillers for if it gets too hot.
There's also cold water salt water tanks for ie octopus that need to be kept at 55-60.
>>2119288
Found this stuff in my better tank.
Any idea what it it is?
>>2121436
The fuck is this supposed to be emulating?
>>2121510
It was probably due to a number of factors. It could have been
>too shallow
>too small
>overfed
>overstocked
>not cycled
>>2121857
>Reefs need an incredibly stable temperature.
Anyone that dives on reefs knows that's not really true. You can have water in on place that's almost ten degrees warmer than another, those warm and cold gradients wash over the reef often and fast. Plenty of reefs are actually out of the water at low tide, and those ones get way hot and then suddenly cold again when the tide comes back in.
chillers aren't necessarily there to keep a stable temp. They're for keeping the tank from cooking under metal halide lights. LED's are rendering chillers obsolete on most reef tanks.
>>2121878
bubble nest
Does the amount of light people throw into planted aquariums not hurt the fish?
The light on my tank blinds me if I look at it, and I have eyelids.
>>2121899
no.
fish also live under the sun, which is even brighter than your lights.
It's probably not much of a problem when light shines down from above and your eyes are aimed sideways.
not sure about flounder and sole though. They probably just hang out deep enough it doesn't matter.
>Theoretically
If I have a light Bioload in a 10 gallon
Of 3 African dwarf frogs and a Otto
With a absurd amount of dwarf water lettuce and Amazon frog bit and a hefty cycled spongefilter with ceramic media
Could I get away with never doing water changes?
What do you guys think?
(Also spot siphoning waste in my barebottom tank)
>>2121903
Yeah, back in the day (before about 1995) nobody did water changes ever. It was against the rules. They became necessary because the new HOB filters are too efficient and basically pump out nitrates. Keeping plants to consume those nitrates is also a relatively recent fad.
That said, a 10g is really difficult to keep balanced just because of size. And ceramic filter media aren't as great as the manufacturers like to claim. If it were my tank I'd just get a nitrate test kit and monitor the water. See how long you can go before it gets too high. That's your indicator for how long you can go without water changes. But since you're not going to do 100% water changes you need a schedule that exports excess nitrate a bit at a time over a period of months. You'll likely find your water change schedule is pretty much what filter manufacturers recommend because your biofilter out-competes your plants for ammonia and also produces more nitrate than your plants can consume. This will depend on co2, lighting and fertilizer dosing though. With enough plants and nothing limiting their growth 0 water changes is possible. For a few years at least.
>>2121903
I have adfs myself and would consider their bioload high (not as high as acf of course) due to the amount of waste they produce. I'd say keep an eye on your parameters. Your plants and filter keep nitrates low but maybe test it.
And besides, water changes on that soze of tank are really no hassle imho.
>>2121908
>They became necessary because the new HOB filters are too efficient and basically pump out nitrates
That... doesn't make any sense.
Are you saying that HOB filter create nitrates out of nothing, or that waste is less bad for the fish if it's left at the nitrite/ammonia stage?
>>2121919
I believe they mean plants are able to use ammonia and nitrites
But now HOB help convert them to nitrates
So there is excess of that as opposed to various compounds
>>2121913
Best aquarium animals ever!
They totally won a spot on my absolute need to keep list
Got any images of yours?
>>2121919
>Are you saying that HOB filter create nitrates out of nothing, or that waste is less bad for the fish if it's left at the nitrite/ammonia stage?
neither really.
what happens is the filter absorbs ammonia and nitrate turning it into bacterial biomass. They're extremely efficient at this, so they catch nutrients in the filter faster than they can be consumed by competing organisms in the substrate and water column etc.
so you get these really fast growing mats of bacteria in the filter media that suck up nutrients and concentrate them in a single place. This tends to clog the filter media causing a die-off of that biomass.
the die-off of nitrifying bacteria releases ammonia which is then promptly consumed by the remaining bacteria to produce more bacteria. Now the bacterial biomass is never going to exceed what's allowed by the nutrients you introduce into the tank, but because they effectively store nitrogen and re-release it you've got this really efficient factory for taking ALL the nutrients in the water column and turning them into nitrates before algae, plants, or competing bacteria can use them. Or before you can do a water change and export them.
It's like nanobots collecting ammonia as fast as it's produced and turning it into both nitrates and biomass that will later die and produce more nitrates. It's a nitrate battery. A nitrate factory.
>>2121922
this is partially true, plants could use ammonia and nitrite, but the biofilter consumes it faster.
plants can also use nitrate, but biofilters tend to produce it faster than plants can use it except in very heavily planted tanks or ones with very light stocking and feeding.
>>2121919
the previous strategy was to just grow algae instead of bacteria.
algae consume the nutrients from fish waste, algae eaters consume algae, and you effectively lock up nutrients in biomass. A cycle.
of course algae and plants don't really get along, so the current trend towards plants requires a biofilter to starve out algae. Only problem is algae are actually much more efficient than plants for turning nitrates into biomass, so plants don't actually keep up with the nutrient levels in the tank in most cases.
>>2121929
Yeah, I got 2 females and 1 male in my planted. Also bred them a few years ago.
>>2121145
Btw, there's another point I forgot about your HC - did you buy it online/from a petstore? They often are grown emersed, out of the water on a large scale in aquafarms.
It always takes some time for the plant to adjust to submersed growth, so your hc going up, instead of carpeting could be just that its in emersed mode atm.
>>2121886
Uhhhh, night
3 month? update.
Tank is settling in good, moss is starting to grow all over the driftwood in the middle.
1 of the moss barbs died this morning, little fucker wouldnt eat anything (tried everything) and starved to death, leaving me with 9 moss barbs.
Thinking of replacing him with some sort of centerpeice fish, not sure what to get yet
>>2121985
Do you think theyd fuck with a Gourami? that could be cool
>>2121985
building a little rock garden too, the java fern i have sprouted millions of little free plantlets that i have put around the rocks, hoping it gives them lots of space to dig in and i will end up with a huge mass of ferns
Also trying to make a little sectioned off area up the front for dwarf hairgrass to grow in
>>2121986
Yeah i have been thinking of the blue gourami as a good choice, maby an angelfish not sure
I havent really researched much yet, going to go to the lfs tomorrow and see what i like and then research if they will work
the barbs are happy in their group of 9, they hardly even fight now so I doubt they would give anything a hard time.
I have 2 bristlenoses that they will nip at once and awhile but its only ever inquisitive and not like they are attacking them
>>2121985
As pointed out, try a gourami, you could keep two or three, depending on how they get along and the tank size
>>2121988
Also if you want a more mellow gourami compared to marbled/yellow/blue - try a pearl gourami. They usually have better social skills.
>>2121990
>>2121991
I really like the look of the pearl gouramis, i wanted to get a galaxy rasbora when i started out but they dont sell them in australia.
RE: stock levels i think 1 gourami would be all that i can get, im allready at 110% capacity accourding to aquavisor allthough i do have alot of plants, do 50% water changes every week and have a 320lph filter for a 110 litre tank.
stock at the moment is 9 barbs 2 bristlenoses and a mystery snail
The one fish that died this morning was a little runt barb that was allways small, fucker wouldn't even eat bloodworms
>>2121992
Yeah 110l your stock level would be limited. But it also depends on the filtration. Try 1 pearl gourami and see how it goes with paramaters and tank behaviour.
In 110 I would never house Angels - depending on how you scape the tank, I would keep them in anything lower than 200-250l.
>>2121993
*would not keep
Ok I'm now at 800 lumens.
Hope this is enough.
When calculating watts per gallon with CFL bulbs do you use their equivalent wattage?
For example an 8 watt CFL puts out the same light as a 40w incandescent
>tfw your tank cycles in under a week
THE POWER
>>2121979
Where do you live that night is three hours and day is one hour?
>>2122020
The best way to calculate watts per gallon is to travel back to 1995 when WPG actually meant something.
![IMG_20160513_222523722[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/fLi6fam.jpg "IMG_20160513_222523722[1].jpg")
>>2121629
Hopefully it might be just that it was his time,although I also noticed that he had bits of pincers that were bluish and that this pic related (which I don't think it's normal).
Also, thanks for the tip. Spinach and lettuce always ended up floating and I couldn't find leaf clips.
>>2121897
So is it having babies?
>>2122123
Males make bubble nests when they want to breed. If you don't have a female, there won't be any eggs/babies. Bubble nests are usually an indicator that you are taking good care of the fish.
>>2121970
Woah awesome!
Do you have any tips about raising the tadpoles?
>>2122068
People have been growing plants under lights for decades, I'm sure it will be fine.
>>2122020
nope you use the actual bulb wattage
>>2122138
yup and thay have been paying attention to light spectrum for just as long, it's important and it makes a difference.
>>2122161
What about one of these.
>>2122089
>I couldn't find leaf clips.
You can use paper clips or a fork as long as you don't leave them in there to rust.
>>2122185
What point are you trying to make? That's a bulb specifically manufactured to put out ONLY the wavelengths that plants use. The fact that it exists in the first place is proof that wavelength matters.
>>2122209
He's not arguing with you
He's asking if it'd be a good idea to use one.
>>2122292
Yeah, I came off a bit assy there. Whoops.
A grow bulb would work fine for growing aquarium plants, but most people don't want a purple fish tank.
Anyone else try using this?
My shrimp colony hadn't had a berried female in a while. I added some of this and now every female is berried.
It's supposed to be for RO water but I just use a reduced dose to bring my water change water up to 250TDS
