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Stoca Zola posted:The way I understand it, any ammonia at all will hurt fish within hours, nitrite will hurt fish within days, and nitrate over 40ppm will hurt them too eventually within weeks, although some fish need under 20ppm. The nitrogen cycle should be converting that ammonia to nitrite then nitrate, and if you're seeing any ammonia at all it means the filtration isn't keeping up. You could have something dead and rotting somewhere or it could just be residual waste from those big koi. Often the water conditioner for removing chlorine also converts ammonia so in an emergency you could try adding more water conditioner and then doing the water change when you have time. If there is something stuck rotting for example inside that plant, every time you add water conditioner it would be generating more nitrates so it could be why your levels are so high. The stuff I vacuumed out of the gravel was very gross. I'm guessing a few more water changes and getting areas of gravel I missed will do some good. How frequently should I do changes right now?
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Sep 29, 2015 05:38
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Daily changes til its down to safe levels, then most people get by with weekly/bi-weekly changes.
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Sep 29, 2015 05:41
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Yeah what he said, if you change too quickly or too much at once it stresses the fish, so huge water changes are only for if your cat pees into your tank, you got bleach confused with water conditioner, or other such disasters.
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Sep 29, 2015 05:57
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Slugworth posted:I have the python knockoff (Lee's, different colors but appears to be exactly the same product) and I have never gotten great suction for gravel vacc'ing with it. Good pressure at my faucet, but I can't ever get the connections water tight, so I can suction water out slowly, but fish poo just falls back down. What does work well though is filling the line with water, then disconnecting from the faucet and throwing the end of the hose out the front door and down the stairs. It's a little less convenient, but at the same time, I run less water that way I suppose.
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Sep 29, 2015 06:24
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I contacted Aquatic Arts about my missing Sulawesi snails and they didn't question or doubt me at all, they're going to ship them right out. Which is good because today's payday and I'm in the market to buy another school of CPDs and maybe some pretty rasboras and Japanese trapdoor snails. I like GloFish tetras but they're kind of on the expensive side. I'm just happy I spent $108 on an order of fish/snails and everything arrived alive. 
republicant fucked around with this message at 07:58 on Sep 29, 2015 |
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Sep 29, 2015 07:30
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republicant posted:I contacted Aquatic Arts about my missing Sulawesi snails and they didn't question or doubt me at all, they're going to ship them right out. Which is good because today's payday and I'm in the market to buy another school of CPDs and maybe some pretty rasboras and Japanese trapdoor snails. I like GloFish tetras but they're kind of on the expensive side. I've heard very good things about them. Glad to see an official goon success story also!
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Sep 29, 2015 13:06
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Rallos posted:I've heard very good things about them. Glad to see an official goon success story also! I keep seeing other places with lots of variety of animals but very bad reputations. Like this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DufMaL-1Vs This guy unboxes his brand new otos from Bob's Tropical Plants and... they're both dead. So no matter how cool their rabbit snails or whatever look, I will not buy from them because I don't want to have to deal with dead animals that won't be refunded. And now Aquatic Arts says they're moving into a new location and planning to expand their shrimp selection so they'll probably get many of my paychecks in the future. Anyone here have any experience with Thai Micro Crabs? I ordered 10 of them, and from reading about them it sounds like they will go perfectly with the shrimp in our invert tank. I ordered six of these:  It's an empty plastic air-powered filter with an airstone inside and three intake vents. But where some people just see an empty filter and wonder what good that's supposed to do, I saw the potential of filling it with this:  "Sintered pearl-shaped glass" biological media that has great reviews and seems to be awesome. I'm going to soak it in bottled cycle bacteria and let it get nice and cultured, then fill the air filters with it and (hopefully) have very clean tanks that should be able to handle the bio-loads of these new fish with no problem. My tanks are already very chemically stable from using Seachem Purigen and Matrix, I can't even remember the last time I had a problem with ammonia or nitrite, but this should be the cherry on top. republicant fucked around with this message at 13:29 on Sep 29, 2015 |
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Sep 29, 2015 13:13
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I've heard that the micro crabs are VERY small and if you have decent hiding places in your tank you'll never see them. I thought about ordering some myself but reviews saying things like that scared me off. Please post about how they are for you. I'm very curious.
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Sep 29, 2015 13:30
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republicant posted:I ordered six of these: Hah, I didn't know they still made those. That was probably the most common filter type back in the mid 80s when I got started as a kid. Usually they would be filled with charcoal and capped with filter floss. Hey, question for the big tank people in here. I'm upgrading my frontosa from their 4' 120g to something larger this fall. Are there any reasons I should go for a 180g instead of a 220g? My gut is telling me to go as big as I can right now. Enos Cabell fucked around with this message at 16:33 on Sep 29, 2015 |
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Sep 29, 2015 16:27
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SynthOrange posted:Daily changes til its down to safe levels, then most people get by with weekly/bi-weekly changes. ... daily ...  I remember when I said "sure, an aquarium seems like a fun thing to have with the apartment..."
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Sep 29, 2015 16:34
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You're only taking a bit at a time, it's not like you're doing the whole lot, right? I do mine in multiples of 25lt plastic jerrycan; fill it from the RO system, got a tap fitted at the bottom so I can set the jerrycan on a chair then fill a jug and pour it in. That way I can carry the water close to where it needs to be and do lots of short light little trips without killing myself. I need a second one so I can carry my wastewater away just as easily. Anyway once you get it tamed and your levels under control its a LOT easier, especially if you don't overstock or don't stock with wildly inappropriate fish (like koi).
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Sep 29, 2015 17:18
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Would a pair of oscars be too large for a 75g tank? I really want a fahaka puffer but they really need a 120+ tank to be comfortable so I will wait on that. Looking for stocking suggestions. Cichlids are okay but I've never really had a fascination with them. Are discus particularly hard to care for? I know some colors can be pricey. How many discus could I keep comfortable in a 75g? It's gonna be way overfiltered. The sunsun canister I got is rated for up to 150g tank.
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Sep 29, 2015 17:27
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Stoca Zola posted:You're only taking a bit at a time, it's not like you're doing the whole lot, right? Speaking of stocking - that's obviously what all this work is moving towards: stocking with more fish! I got a book that has like 15+ suggested stocking combinations for small/mid-size (50 gallon being the mid-size) first aquariums. Unfortunately, none of these (or rather, only one) has Tiger Barbs in the list. Am I going to successfully be able to add more fish in with the small school of barbs? I was thinking of adding 1-3 more tiger barbs to increase the school size from 5 to 6-8 to hopefully make them interact with each other even more than anything else. I know I probably can't put angel fish in there because their long fins will just get nipped up. But should I not worry about adding in other schools of peaceful fish once I have a school of tiger barbs established? Also, what do I do about these two bolivian rams? Increase their number?
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Sep 29, 2015 17:33
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Rallos posted:Would a pair of oscars be too large for a 75g tank? I really want a fahaka puffer but they really need a 120+ tank to be comfortable so I will wait on that. Looking for stocking suggestions. Cichlids are okay but I've never really had a fascination with them. Are discus particularly hard to care for? I know some colors can be pricey. How many discus could I keep comfortable in a 75g? It's gonna be way overfiltered. The sunsun canister I got is rated for up to 150g tank. 75g is minimum for a pair of oscars, but they should be ok. Personally I love oscars, and hope to keep them again in the near future. Discus are awesome fish, but have pretty much expert level care requirements. We're talking 75% water changes multiple times a week there.
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Sep 29, 2015 18:12
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Enos Cabell posted:75g is minimum for a pair of oscars, but they should be ok. Personally I love oscars, and hope to keep them again in the near future. Discus are awesome fish, but have pretty much expert level care requirements. We're talking 75% water changes multiple times a week there. Holy crap water changes. No thanks.... Do oscars have a lot of personality? I've only seen 1 in person at the LFS and I didn't look very long but it was really nice looking. Also, can they be kept safely with inverts or other fish (maybe a school of tiger barbs or tetras or something small)? Say... maybe a few crabs or a few of those small lobsters.
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Sep 29, 2015 18:19
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Rallos posted:Holy crap water changes. No thanks.... Do oscars have a lot of personality? I've only seen 1 in person at the LFS and I didn't look very long but it was really nice looking. Also, can they be kept safely with inverts or other fish (maybe a school of tiger barbs or tetras or something small)? Say... maybe a few crabs or a few of those small lobsters. Oscars have probably the most personality of any fish I've seen, they will light up any time you come into the room (because they want food heh). They aren't good tankmates with anything that could fit in their mouths though, and in a 75g tank your bioload would be maxed with a pair anyway.
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Sep 29, 2015 18:40
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Enos Cabell posted:Oscars have probably the most personality of any fish I've seen, they will light up any time you come into the room (because they want food heh). They aren't good tankmates with anything that could fit in their mouths though, and in a 75g tank your bioload would be maxed with a pair anyway. Ahh.. cool! I've heard that about puffers too, thats why I like them so much but I just don't have room for that big of a tank in my current house. Last question: will they uproot plants? I'd like to plant the tank if they won't uproot everything, or maybe floating plants (duckweed  ) are the answer to that.
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Sep 29, 2015 18:42
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Rallos I'm pretty sure with oscars if it fits in their mouth they will eat it, they're what comes to mind when people use feeder fish. Maybe hard shelled snails would be safe, maybe not. ShaneB I think your Rams will perk up once the water has less nitrates, as far as I know they aren't particularly fussed about being in a social group the way barbs and tetras are. On the nippy tiger barb front, I think they will be less rude if you have more of them but they've got their reputation for a reason. I think they can't resist trying to nip other fish's long fins, so the only safe fish to mix in would be fish that are faster than tiger barbs and have no enticing dangly bits. Maybe rainbow fish would work as tankmates? Well, obviously not a threadfin rainbow but there are lots of other types.
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Sep 29, 2015 19:01
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Rallos posted:Ahh.. cool! I've heard that about puffers too, thats why I like them so much but I just don't have room for that big of a tank in my current house. Last question: will they uproot plants? I'd like to plant the tank if they won't uproot everything, or maybe floating plants (duckweed Oscars are bulldozers. They will uproot plants for sure. And then flip your driftwood over.
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Sep 29, 2015 19:26
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Beyond an acid test, is there anything I can do to ensure rocks are safe for aquarium use? I found some great pieces of slate, but I think they may have some iron and other metals in it due to some rust color streaks and such.
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Sep 29, 2015 19:44
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astrollinthepork posted:Beyond an acid test, is there anything I can do to ensure rocks are safe for aquarium use? I found some great pieces of slate, but I think they may have some iron and other metals in it due to some rust color streaks and such. Do you have inverts in the tank? As far as I know most fish aren't particularly picky about metal being in the water unless it's some insane amount.
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Sep 29, 2015 19:49
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Yep, a mystery snail and two assassins.
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Sep 29, 2015 19:57
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If you've got a digital ppm TDS meter, you could stick the rock in a bucket of tank water and leave it covered for a week or two and see if the ppm climbs significantly under normal tank conditions. Similarly, test if the pH gets significantly changed, although I'd expect not for slate.
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Sep 29, 2015 20:02
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ShaneB posted:Speaking of stocking - that's obviously what all this work is moving towards: stocking with more fish! I'd keep them as your centerpiece fish. If you want to get something in addition, 3 spot/blue/opaline/gold gourami might work. I think it'd be best to increase your tiger barb school to at least 14-15, keep the rams as centerpiece fish, and add some kind of bottom dweller. Cory cats are always fun, but you'll want Sterba's, a lot of the other ones aren't built for warmer water. Otos are good algae eaters. Both of these species are social and should be a bare minimum of 6 of the same species. Really, closer to 10 is better. You'll still have to keep a close eye on those bottom dwellers though, the tiger barbs still might go after otos. AqAdvisor is your friend. They tend to be conservative with stocking levels, which is good for you right now. They also do fish compatibility. Don't take what they say as gospel though. Here's a site of endless FAQs that might help you. Tiger barbs aren't really my thing, so don't go entirely off what I say either.
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Sep 29, 2015 20:57
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Tiger barbs are known to bully and fin nip (not all of them though), which is probably why your guide doesn't have any combinations that include them.
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Sep 30, 2015 02:04
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Oh my god the new fish are here, they are soooo tiny and cute! Everyone looks healthy and lively, I'm hoping the little cories don't do anything dumb like get stuck in the roots of plants, are they likely to do that? I can't stop being paranoid that something will happen to them.
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Sep 30, 2015 03:10
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Stoca Zola posted:Oh my god the new fish are here, they are soooo tiny and cute! Everyone looks healthy and lively, I'm hoping the little cories don't do anything dumb like get stuck in the roots of plants, are they likely to do that? I can't stop being paranoid that something will happen to them. Need pics!
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Sep 30, 2015 03:11
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Yeah but they'll just wriggle their way out again.
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Sep 30, 2015 03:15
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Coolwhoami posted:Tiger barbs are known to bully and fin nip (not all of them though), which is probably why your guide doesn't have any combinations that include them. No, I get that part. I'm just saying that's what I have now, so either I get rid of them somehow or fit in fish that will work with them.
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Sep 30, 2015 03:32
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ShaneB posted:No, I get that part. I'm just saying that's what I have now, so either I get rid of them somehow or fit in fish that will work with them. The tiger barbs are more of a commitment than most of the other fish that you would feasibly keep. Most of the easier to keep species are relatively interchangeable, your main concern is water temperature because of the rams. If you stay with the tiger barbs, everything from fish to decor is going to revolve around the tiger barbs' temperament.
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Sep 30, 2015 04:09
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The lights are still off while they are settling in so this is a bit potato-cam: With moderate sized ramshorn for comparison. The tetras are both too fast and too hiding to get a decent picture, I have a few shots where the big ones and small ones are in view but they look the same size due to some being close to the camera and some far away even though I would say the new ones are at least half the size of the big ones. There is lots of cover and other small fish to hie among so I'm hoping the small ones aren't bullied too much.
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Sep 30, 2015 06:13
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Dogwood Fleet posted:The tiger barbs are more of a commitment than most of the other fish that you would feasibly keep. Most of the easier to keep species are relatively interchangeable, your main concern is water temperature because of the rams. If you stay with the tiger barbs, everything from fish to decor is going to revolve around the tiger barbs' temperament. So how do I get rid of these guys in some kind of humane way? I don't really want to base every fish decision I have on these 5 barbs I didn't choose in the first place. I feel like, based on anyone I've heard from on CL for my other fish, people are just gonna chuck them into wherever without regard for their temperament.
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Sep 30, 2015 14:11
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That is the general mentality of people who have no regard for the creatures they keep sadly. It's a "just throw whatever in there, they can figure it out." attitude which is prevalent down to the most entry levels of fishkeeping. How many times I cannot count when I see some idiot walk out of PetSmart with a little goldfish bowl and a bag of goldfish they just bought their kid for a pet. Nine times out of ten the person who works their either suggested it, played along when they know better or have no clue what the hell they are doing so no advice to counter that idea is given and likely the person who wanted it doesn't give a poo poo anyways and is determined to go down that path. Two weeks later they are back to complain about how everything went to poo poo.
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Sep 30, 2015 15:05
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My aquaclear 110 is rattling like crazy ever since I did my water change last night. I took it apart, cleaned out the impeller area, and it's still rattling. I'm getting bummed...
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Sep 30, 2015 15:23
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Might be a dumb question, but are you sure it's the motor? Every Aquaclear filter I've had rattled or was otherwise noisy because of the lid on the top being a little loose, so I just leave it off. If it is the motor, that sucks, but if you haven't had it that long hopefully you can get a replacement.
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Sep 30, 2015 15:35
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I had two HOB's and they both rattled, I jimmied them and it quieted the noise but eventually the vibration worked its magic and back to noise. Then I got rid of them switching to a small canister.
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Sep 30, 2015 15:39
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If it's trapped air, it'll dissolve in a few hours.
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Sep 30, 2015 15:39
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Not Your Senorita posted:Might be a dumb question, but are you sure it's the motor? Every Aquaclear filter I've had rattled or was otherwise noisy because of the lid on the top being a little loose, so I just leave it off. If it is the motor, that sucks, but if you haven't had it that long hopefully you can get a replacement. I pulled the lid and not really a difference. I called customer service, they suggested oiling the shaft and replacing the propeller. I've also done some googling and some people have used a floss filter or something similar to pad between the motor and the plastic housing to prevent vibrations. Maybe tonight I'll take the time to test out those two solutions.
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Sep 30, 2015 15:45
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Make sure that support shaft in the impeller well is seated properly or even still there in the first place, too. I may or may not have run forgotten to put that back before. More than once.
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Sep 30, 2015 15:59
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ShaneB posted:So how do I get rid of these guys in some kind of humane way? I don't really want to base every fish decision I have on these 5 barbs I didn't choose in the first place. I feel like, based on anyone I've heard from on CL for my other fish, people are just gonna chuck them into wherever without regard for their temperament. Find someone who keeps oscars or large puffers and offer them some free feeders. 
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Sep 30, 2015 16:08
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