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When you're cycling you need to keep ammonia going in to the tank so the bacteria don't starve off. You're supposed to be simulating a fish load, and fish excrete ammonia all day every day. It's not practical to trickle a small amount in, constantly, but you should be feeding every day or two, whatever your chosen ammonia source is. I don't think it's necessary to dose bacteria every day, in theory you want the natural bacteria to seed your media and grow there, not be free floating in the water. So how I would cycle a tank would be to make sure I have a good amount of porous bio media, a little bit of mechanical filtration to keep the bio media clean, keep the ammonia around 1-2ppm and no water changes (only top ups with treated water) until nitrite appears, then keep feeding that same amount until you see neither ammonia nor nitrite and only nitrate. If you're seeing only ammonia and no nitrite or nitrate it does mean the cycle has stalled, since you shouldn't expect nitrite to vanish without nitrate building up to indicate that the bacteria are present and operational. It honestly doesn't hurt to add those liquid bacteria products but I don't know that it helps either.
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May 14, 2021 08:31
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Stoca Zola posted:When you're cycling you need to keep ammonia going in to the tank so the bacteria don't starve off. You're supposed to be simulating a fish load, and fish excrete ammonia all day every day. It's not practical to trickle a small amount in, constantly, but you should be feeding every day or two, whatever your chosen ammonia source is. I don't think it's necessary to dose bacteria every day, in theory you want the natural bacteria to seed your media and grow there, not be free floating in the water. So how I would cycle a tank would be to make sure I have a good amount of porous bio media, a little bit of mechanical filtration to keep the bio media clean, keep the ammonia around 1-2ppm and no water changes (only top ups with treated water) until nitrite appears, then keep feeding that same amount until you see neither ammonia nor nitrite and only nitrate. Thank you for that, Shall I purchase an off the shelf ammonia product and add it in? I have bio media in my filter but assume the bacteria has all kicked the bucket.
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May 14, 2021 08:57
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pepperchomp posted:What are they eating? I love when my blue velvets pile on top of food and are just a mass of movement. A dead guppy. It died and they went to town. I feel like a monster
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May 14, 2021 15:09
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Extra row of tits posted:Thank you for that, Yes. Dr Tim is what I used. https://www.amazon.ca/DrTims-Aquatics-830-Ammonium-chloride/dp/B006MP4QG6
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May 14, 2021 17:53
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I am getting a new SAE and I am so loving happy. My 8-9ish year old 6" beast died a bit ago and while I thought that I had the algae under control it turns out the SAE was doing a lot of the heavy lifting. None of my places had them or had seen them in awhile. The algae is gone now, but what good is a community without a bigass SAE? I am also getting some new MTS genetics and some new Amanos to grow out. Amanos are my best preforming shrimp and I am going to grow them out for my 29g now that I know they won't get eaten thanks to the Neos in there. If they're big enough they might just go in. This is why I just sat on my Aquatic Arts store credit, someone had to get in SAE's eventually. it is so weird to not have an SAE. I started back up in this hobby like 18 years ago and have almost never not had an SAE for the last 15? or something. Not an SAE: 
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May 14, 2021 18:19
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Extra row of tits posted:Thank you for that, I used Dr Tim's as well, you only need a bit of Dr Tims at a time - dosing instructions are on the bottle. It's my preferred method because you can have pretty good control of your ammonia levels, vs variable results and other unwanted contaminants if you used ghost feeding or a raw prawn etc. The bacteria are pretty much ubiquitous, as long as there is food and somewhere to live with decent flow of oxygenated water, the colonies will grow back. Give everything time, the only way I know to short cut cycling a tank is to transfer pre-seeded media from an existing tank.
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May 14, 2021 18:53
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I didn't know anything about adding ammonia for starting a cycle out, but I got my sponge filters fired up by just running them in fish bowls filled with plants, and adding liquid ferts & bacteria cultures. Kept all that running until I got a bunch of new plant growth, then bought a proper aquarium, planted it out with all the plants I'd been growing in bowls, and put the sponge filters in there. I ran the sponge filters along with the included filter with the same process of feeding the plants, and dosing nutrafin cycle and waste control until it looked like I had a healthy growth of algae and plants. After confirming no nitrites or ammonia, with regular fertilizing, I started adding animals. Months of patience, and enjoying growing a bunch of plants I've never grown before happened before I felt safe putting livestock in there.
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May 14, 2021 19:35
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quote:Shake well before use. Turn off UV/ozone. Use 1 capful (5 mL) for each 40 L (10 US gallons) on the first day with a new aquarium. Then use 1 capful for each 80 L (20 US gallons) daily for 7 days. Fish and other aquatic species may be introduced at any time as long as dosage is maintained for 7 days. For optimum biofilter performance use 1 capful for each 80 L (20 US gallons) once a month or with each water change and whenever introducing new fish or whenever medicating an aquarium. Product shelf life is 4 years from date of manufacture. Seachem Stability. No time to wait, it worked for me. e: https://www.seachem.com/stability.php
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May 14, 2021 20:10
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoyUkglyK8Q There's babies in the endler/guppy tub now, and the boys are really interested in the female guppy I put in there with them! Eta https://youtu.be/GejprLxQE9M This is where they're heading, come summertime. B33rChiller fucked around with this message at 21:21 on May 14, 2021 |
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May 14, 2021 20:27
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Extra row of tits posted:Thank you for that, Thirding Dr Tim's, but also seconding Seachem Stability. I completed Dr Tim's cycle and then went hog wild with the Stability just in case. I still use Stability with water changes because I bought a giant bottle and why not use it while I got it.
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May 14, 2021 21:02
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BONGHITZ posted:A dead guppy. It died and they went to town. I feel like a monster Hahahahaha yeah I been there, I came home to a bunch tearing up my rasbora that died one time.
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May 14, 2021 22:36
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I will pop down to my local store and pick up some dr Tim’s. Thank you everyone!
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May 15, 2021 00:05
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VelociBacon posted:Yes. Dr Tim is what I used. I used that, too, though the American branch of Amazon. Stability is a good compliment to it.
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May 15, 2021 02:54
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I figure this might be the proper place to ask for some help, but I'm trying to make like a very basic small pond basically out of a 30-ish gallon tub (so it's standing, not installing this into the ground). I'm trying to read up on what kind of fish I could have with my limited space, and I'm okay with whatever species but I'm also sad that some of them say like each fish needs 10 gallons so I'd basically only end up getting 3 fish total? I'm also not sure what species would suffer from a lack of being with other fish or if too less would result in bullying. I'm keeping this outdoors so I'd want hardy species that can tolerate weather changes. I'm also having a lot of difficulty finding any real pond supply stores nearby to buy plants that would go in a pond to oxygenate the water and not strictly aquarium plants that wouldn't tolerate outdoor weather. Every time I search, I only get results pointing me to any local Lowe's or Home Depot but the stores around me have absolutely no pond/water plants at all. The only place with anything was Petsmart, but they were all aquarium plants that seem to need to stay in a very specific temperature range. If anyone knows a better thread/post/site to read, please let me know.
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May 15, 2021 05:36
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I was completely freaked out yesterday because the night before I forgot to turn on the filter after the water change. Parameters seem to be good so cool beans. I was freaking thinking I killed all the bacteria. Cool beans!
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May 15, 2021 05:39
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Willsun posted:I figure this might be the proper place to ask for some help, but I'm trying to make like a very basic small pond basically out of a 30-ish gallon tub (so it's standing, not installing this into the ground). I'm trying to read up on what kind of fish I could have with my limited space, and I'm okay with whatever species but I'm also sad that some of them say like each fish needs 10 gallons so I'd basically only end up getting 3 fish total? I'm also not sure what species would suffer from a lack of being with other fish or if too less would result in bullying. You've found the right place! Where are you located, or what are your suspected temp swings? Also, filtration information would be helpful in offering suggestions. https://aqadvisor.com/ is generally the gold standard in determining suitable stocking, it gives good recommendations for tank mates. If you're content with smaller fish, 30 gallons is a great choice pile of guppies and/or endlers, but is not really large enough to maintain a happy and healthy adult Koi or Goldfish if that's what you had in mind. Your local fish supply may sell freshwater plants that would still be suitable for this type of setup if you're not having luck at the big blue and orange stores, though I commonly see them carry Water hyacinth which is a common pond selection. Water lettuce is also another common pick and is IME pretty cheap/easy to find, plus it multiplies like crazy. I've also seen Ludwigia mentioned for ponds. I, however, do not maintain this kind of environment so maybe one of the more experienced pond goons can chime in!
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May 15, 2021 06:05
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When I've had wild guppies outdoors they started to struggle at 15deg C and to die at 10 deg C. Rosy barbs are sub tropical and can reportedly handle a pond getting iced over but I think that was for an in ground pond, not a tub that will get colder due to being a smaller body of water. A smaller fish that reportedly is okay in cooler water is the medaka. If you have access to power there's no reason not to heat a tub pond but that will add to your upkeep costs. Depending on where you are, your local fish might be suitable for keeping in an outdoor pond, here we have Murray river rainbowfish (m. Fluviatilis) which can handle 15-10 deg C and there's a guy I watch on YouTube who both traps fish from his local creek and has bought shiners/minnows from a local bait shop, and nursed them back to health to keep. There will be different legalities on taking fish from the wild so look into that before you try it. I think keeping aquarium plants outside isn't that much of a problem, if your pond is in sun a lot of plants will enjoy it except for low light plants like anubias and moss. It's a good idea to have a shaded part of the pond so fish can feel sheltered so more sensitive plants could go in that portion anyway. Surface movement is the best oxygenation for a small pond vs plant activity so having your filter outlet aimed at the surface for ripples, or a waterfall type return would keep things oxygenated.
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May 15, 2021 07:23
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That's what I'm trying to set up for the first time. I'm planning on using aa sponge filter, so I know the water is getting aerated. The plan is to put a bunch of frogbit and salvinia in there, from my aquarium. I have a bit in there now, and water temps down to 12 C didn't kill it immediately. Luckily google gave me a local result for pond supply store, so I can source hardy water lillies and water hyacinth. I expect the floaters, and guppies are only going to be comfortable for a season, and plan to bring the fish indoors/ rehome them come autumn. I'm a total noob though.
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May 16, 2021 01:59
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Note to self: for the last loving time, DO NOT PUT JAVA MOSS IN THE TANKS WITH SCUDS. It's not the light that kills the moss, it's the loving scuds! Damnit.
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May 16, 2021 20:27
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Cowslips Warren posted:Note to self: for the last loving time, DO NOT PUT JAVA MOSS IN THE TANKS WITH SCUDS. It's not the light that kills the moss, it's the loving scuds! I am 40 years old. I have been in this hobby for like 33ish years overall. Java Moss and Java Fern are supposed to be these super hardy indestructible plants and seemed to be and probably used to be. I would place good money on modern Java Moss and Ferns being super specifically adapted to conditions in Florida fish farms at this point. Like holy loving lol you're not supposed to die Edit: fuckers die if you vaguely wave the salt at them lol no. Am I insane or did Java Moss and Java Fern used to be a lot hardier? Do I need to breed my own or what poo poo's ridiculous. Edit #2: I have spent 15+ years and 7+ years working on different Malaysian Trumpet Snail lines if I say i'm gonna try and fix some weak rear end genetics i'm gonna do it. Where is the good Java poo poo from my youth??? Desert Bus fucked around with this message at 22:35 on May 16, 2021 |
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May 16, 2021 22:30
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Cowslips Warren posted:Note to self: for the last loving time, DO NOT PUT JAVA MOSS IN THE TANKS WITH SCUDS. It's not the light that kills the moss, it's the loving scuds! I can grab you a handful of Java Moss/Subwassertang/Marimo epiphytes and mail it to you if you want to try some diff stuff.
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May 16, 2021 22:49
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Desert Bus posted:I am 40 years old. I have been in this hobby for like 33ish years overall. Java Moss and Java Fern are supposed to be these super hardy indestructible plants and seemed to be and probably used to be. I would place good money on modern Java Moss and Ferns being super specifically adapted to conditions in Florida fish farms at this point. Like holy loving lol you're not supposed to die Oh thank god. I’m so glad I’m not the only one that can’t keep Java moss and Java fern alive. Been in the hobby for almost 20 years off and on, and I’ve never been able to do it. I’ve killed crypts too. Great luck with terrestrial plants, awesome at semi aquatic stuff grown out of filter boxes, algae galore, but I’ve never been able to make even Java moss or Java fern happen. Gonna try some water lettuce or water hyacinth when the pond stores open up. Maybe i have a chance at not killing plants then.
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May 16, 2021 23:09
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Axqu posted:Oh thank god. I’m so glad I’m not the only one that can’t keep Java moss and Java fern alive. Been in the hobby for almost 20 years off and on, and I’ve never been able to do it. I’ve killed crypts too. Great luck with terrestrial plants, awesome at semi aquatic stuff grown out of filter boxes, algae galore, but I’ve never been able to make even Java moss or Java fern happen. Killing it over and over makes me feel crazy when I do so good with so many other plans AND I used to be able to grow it no problem. I really feel like it is the plants and not me that have changed.
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May 16, 2021 23:34
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Enough flow in those tanks? I find my moss does well when it's getting a lot of it.
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May 16, 2021 23:38
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Axqu posted:Oh thank god. I’m so glad I’m not the only one that can’t keep Java moss and Java fern alive. Been in the hobby for almost 20 years off and on, and I’ve never been able to do it. I’ve killed crypts too. Great luck with terrestrial plants, awesome at semi aquatic stuff grown out of filter boxes, algae galore, but I’ve never been able to make even Java moss or Java fern happen. I'm new to the hobby (~1 year) and started with the Java stuff because it was "easy", but I can't make java Fern happy AT. ALL. Makes me sad all day. I like the big bushy green plants but my Amazon sword and Java fern look like crap. Java moss on the other hand grows like a weed in my tanks. I also have this bright green floating moss stuff that my shrimp love but I haven't the foggiest gently caress what it is that can't be tamed either. http://imgur.com/gallery/deZfMXt If you're in the states, I have an rear end ton of water lettuce I can send your way. I was just wailing about how I didn't want to throw it away but it's blocking out all my light now. Cowslips, I can cut off some more Java moss if you need some!
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May 16, 2021 23:44
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That looks like riccia fluitans which is about as 'invasive' as duckweed in terms of never quite going away no matter how much you try to eradicate it.
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May 16, 2021 23:46
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Wandering Orange posted:That looks like riccia fluitans which is about as 'invasive' as duckweed in terms of never quite going away no matter how much you try to eradicate it. That certainly looks like it, thank you! Thankfully, I'm not bothered by it. After googling and seeing it growing on rocks and such I might try that instead of just floating it.
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May 16, 2021 23:52
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I would totally love to get some more Java moss except for the fact it's getting into the hundreds now, so no matter how well it's packed it's probably going to be melted by the time it gets to me. However some java moss a goon so nicely gave mme (thanks again!)I split into three tanks, and the only tank where the Java moss is stringy and looks dead or dying is the one that has shrimp and scuds in it. The other two tanks look pretty good and the Moss is growing, hence I suspect it's them destroying them.
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May 17, 2021 00:30
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VelociBacon posted:Enough flow in those tanks? I find my moss does well when it's getting a lot of it. That might be part of it for me. I keep mostly aquatic amphibians and (with few exceptions) they tend to like really low flow. candystarlight posted:
Dude you ROCK. I’ll drop you a PM in a bit. Definitely gonna take you up on that. I’ve got fry and frogs that will appreciate the cover.
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May 17, 2021 01:18
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Axqu posted:Oh thank god. I’m so glad I’m not the only one that can’t keep Java moss and Java fern alive. Been in the hobby for almost 20 years off and on, and I’ve never been able to do it. I’ve killed crypts too. Great luck with terrestrial plants, awesome at semi aquatic stuff grown out of filter boxes, algae galore, but I’ve never been able to make even Java moss or Java fern happen. My ferns go through this cycle of looking great and happy and then spotting up and budding off. They never just stay big, green and bushy. I've got dozens of little baby ferns floating about though. I'm assuming I'm short on some nutrient they need and once they burn through it the spotting starts. Ah well, I like my swords better anyway.
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May 17, 2021 01:49
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Willsun posted:I figure this might be the proper place to ask for some help, but I'm trying to make like a very basic small pond basically out of a 30-ish gallon tub (so it's standing, not installing this into the ground). I'm trying to read up on what kind of fish I could have with my limited space, and I'm okay with whatever species but I'm also sad that some of them say like each fish needs 10 gallons so I'd basically only end up getting 3 fish total? I'm also not sure what species would suffer from a lack of being with other fish or if too less would result in bullying. Japanese rice fish seem pretty tough https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Uebui4tyfI
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May 17, 2021 10:35
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One strain of ricefish has even been in spaaaaaaaaace and sometimes you can buy a few of the offspring that came from the original experiment.
Aerofallosov fucked around with this message at 13:42 on May 17, 2021 |
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May 17, 2021 13:37
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I plan all of my Duckweed removal/water changes around days the maids come so they can clean it off the everything.
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May 17, 2021 14:41
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https://youtube.com/shorts/pS4Ueq0O_7I?feature=share
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May 18, 2021 12:26
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He's very clever. A fine fish.
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May 18, 2021 20:41
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candystarlight posted:You've found the right place! According to the USDA hardiness zone, I'm in 9b. My town's average high in the summer is 92°F and average low in the winter is 39°F. Doing a little better math, my tub is closer to 22 gallons. Roughly 9 inch bottom radius, 14 inch height, 12.5 in top radius. The store I'm planning to make a trip to with pond supplies has mosquitofish, and they seem to be the only hardy fish I'd like to try throughout the seasons. I don't really care as far as breed of fish goes, I just want some tiny fish swimming around. Given all this, how many mosquitofish would I be able to keep in this setup without overcrowding? I'm also worried about pump/filtration. If I'm planning to plant submerged oxygenators and a few baskets of emergent plants, would I need to worry about needing a filter to remove nitrogen and all that? I know I do need a pump to keep the water going, and I'm kind of a newbie at this and my understanding is that the main point of a pump is to get the water from as deep in the pond possible back to the top to keep the flow going so it's not stagnant, right? I've also seen a video where they have the pump make the water go up into a planter basket filled with lava rock and pebbles and water celery planted in there as a sort of filter, and would love to try that as well. The guy mentioned he might eventually have to buy a filter for the water pump tube to lead the water to? Would it be some kind of filter screen that I'd just have to pick up and wash from time to time? Or would my 22 gallon tub with enough plants not even need to go through all that? I figure the waterfall-y aspect would look and sound real nice, but would that rail planter basket get clogged up if I don't have some filter for the water at the top?
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May 19, 2021 10:09
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Getting back into the hobby for the first time in 20 years and set up a 40g breeder tank as a planted native streambed tank with a nice beefy canister filter. Been cycling it for the past two weeks with the Fritz Zyme bacteria and things seem nice and stable. Tonight I get to move a little school of Redbelly Dace out of quarantine into the tank along with some amanos and cherry shrimp they hopefully won't snack on. Gotta say the filters and lights have come a long way in the last 20 years. Next up: figuring out how to treat driftwood again. Warbadger fucked around with this message at 03:13 on May 20, 2021 |
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May 20, 2021 03:11
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Willsun posted:According to the USDA hardiness zone, I'm in 9b. My town's average high in the summer is 92°F and average low in the winter is 39°F. 22 gallons seems like a small pond, though I'm no expert. Is this setup going to be in the ground, or more like an outdoor aquarium? Either is doable but the setups would obv need to be different. IME, most quality ponds still run filters to provide the best environment possible for the livestock. Plants will help provide filtration and oxygenation,but the oxygenation isn't part of the filtration discussion. The setups I have seen have the pump tied into filtration, so the filter will have an output that would likely solve your stagnation concerns. Ideally the filter runs 24/7 and not occasionally. I think the term you're looking for is "filter media". Mechanical, chemical, and biological are the different kinds. In the example you described, lava rock would be the biological media, and filter floss or sponge would be mechanical. I personally run both. There's TONS of YouTube videos about the different kinds and why to use them. Stocking limits really should be based on both size AND filtration capabilities rather than simply tank size and fish size. Better filtration allows for heavier stocking, and stock lighter if filtration isn't. This is why AqAdvisor has great information on stocking. AqAdvisor will also provide details on temps and potential conflicts in livestock, but as with everything I've found in this hobby I'd still recommend double checking the info elsewhere just by googling fish+temp, or similar. IMO, first step would be to figure out how you want to set up your pump and filter, second would be to get it running and complete your filter cycling, and lastly think about how to stock it. Related - I once bought an aquarium setup from a guy on Craigslist. His entire backyard was around 200'×50', and consisted of a small in-ground pool/spa surrounded by a MASSIVE pond system. The pond plants were easily 5' tall. He had over 50 koi easily a foot long, along with goldfish and plenty of smaller fish. The pool had a clear wall so you could actually swim "with" to the fish. He used a small spa pump/filter setup to keep it all running. It was the most luxurious desert oasis I've ever seen!
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May 20, 2021 07:16
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https://i.imgur.com/W7ib19v.mp4
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May 20, 2021 19:18
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That's a busy tank! The BBA is giving me nam flashbacks to my own issues.
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May 20, 2021 21:18
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