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Hey ya'll I'm starting a freshwater tank for the first time since I was a kid and I've been doing my research into the nitrogen cycle, bioload, the types if fish, lighting for plants etc... However the only thing I'm finding a real hard time getting info on is the actual tank. It seems I can find like a 50 gallon tank (sans accessories, equipment, etc. . .) For like 120 bucks, but other tanks that are smaller and also standalone are more than twice as expensive. Is it the shape of the glass? Or is there a quality difference I must know about? I was thinking about getting a 50 gal if the price stays at around 120-150. Is this reccomended or should I go smaller? I've seen people say that for beginners, a 30-50 is preferable. Should I go for a 30 then?
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Feb 11, 2019 17:48
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| # ¿ Apr 26, 2024 17:34 |
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Update: my local fish store has a 75 gallon + metal stand for MUCH less than a 50 gallon + stand at petsmart so I'm goinv with the 75! Weight should not be an issue, even 800 lbs
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Feb 11, 2019 21:20
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So I guess the last question I have is filtration. I've seen that you should get a filter rated for 2x the volume. So I should get a filter rated for 150 gallons? Should a HOB work just fine or at this size is a canister more appropriate? How do I actually remove the water for changes? When I was young I would siphon it like you siphon gas by suck starting a hose. Gross, I know but I was dumb.
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Feb 11, 2019 22:03
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If I only have that 1 110 HOB will I need to worry about oxygenation and get an airstone? Flourite or ecocomplete for the substrate? Phi230 fucked around with this message at 22:42 on Feb 11, 2019 |
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Feb 11, 2019 22:39
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Where do you get pure ammonia that's safe for aquariums? Is ammonium chloride safe? When during for the cycle process is it safe to start planting? Is shrimp substrate necessary if I wanna put shrimp in, in the future? Phi230 fucked around with this message at 23:06 on Feb 11, 2019 |
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Feb 11, 2019 22:48
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Thanks everyone for being so helpful. I'm very excited to get this thing started and growing my bacteria I read online that someone just dropped a raw, unprepared shrimp into his tank to start the process. I think I'll do that
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Feb 11, 2019 23:24
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So I'm confused as to what lighting I need for a 75 gallon tank (planted). They say you should have 2 watts per gallon. Therefore I need 150 watts right? I'm shopping and only see LED lights which seem to barely break 32w or 50w. My fish store guy recommended an expensive light with timer (which I think is good) but also advanced stuff like different colors and changing spectrums etc... which I don't see as necessary. Do I just need to buy a bunch of these 32 watt lights? I'm looking at this one for example: https://www.amazon.com/KOVAL-Aquari...sr=8-1-fkmrnull Phi230 fucked around with this message at 03:00 on Feb 12, 2019 |
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Feb 12, 2019 02:53
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I'm really sorry I gotta clutter the thread with noobie questions but I'm doing research into which substrate I want (Planted tank, I wish to add kuhli loaches and Cory Catfish, as well as shrimp and a snail) I keep seeing conflicting information. People say eco-complete is too harsh for corys and loaches, but others say they have kuhli/corys with eco-complete and its fine. People say flourite is too harsh for those fish, others say its fine. At this point, I'm leaning toward Eco-complete or Flourite Black Sand. I can't seem to find any info as to which would be best for both a planted tank and bottom-dwelling fish/inverts.
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Feb 12, 2019 18:51
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Is it possible to mix substrates or partition substrates like have 25% of the tank be flourite black sand and the rest be eco-complete? I see that its hard to plant in flourite black sand, its hard to clean/ water change, and is devil to rinse Could I even layer sand onto ecocomplete or will it settle to the bottom? Phi230 fucked around with this message at 19:45 on Feb 12, 2019 |
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Feb 12, 2019 19:40
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How about this stuff: https://www.amazon.com/Fluval-Plant...=gateway&sr=8-1 Is it safe for Kuhlis/Corys and good for planting?
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Feb 12, 2019 20:06
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mango sentinel posted:Welcome to the aquarium hobby! Stoca Zola posted:I would not get eco complete for kuhlies as they like to burrow in the substrate and that stuff is hard and sharp. Flourite black sand doesn't look as bad but I haven't used it myself so I can't say. They'll probably feel more secure on a dark substrate so it's a good choice colour wise at least. I'm using "Azoo Plant Grower Bed" for my kuhlies and it is soft rounded grains of aqua soil. But black iron sand is what I would use for a dark sand for corydoras. I'm quite fond of brown river sand too. You don't necessarily need a super fancy substrate, much like lighting it depends on which plants you want to grow. Some will get fine tiny roots and do well in soft river sand, some will get long robust roots and be fine in bulkier substrate, and many plants leaf feed and are just using their roots to hold on. I Thanks again for the help, one more question. I keep seeing that these kinds of things are insane to rinse/clean. Is this true? I have that python vacuum tube that was recommended earlier. Also will these substrates destroy my Aqua Clear 110 filter?
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Feb 12, 2019 20:14
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I'm leaning toward Flourite Black Sand since Aquasoil is incredibly expensive. For basic low light plants, will I need tabs with this substrate? Actually I'm kind of torn between Flourite Black Sand and Fluval Stratum. Any aquasoil degrades into mud right? Must you clean out all the old mud and replace every year or so? Seems expensive. Phi230 fucked around with this message at 00:53 on Feb 13, 2019 |
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Feb 13, 2019 00:38
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I got a wrought iron stand on recommendation and this thing freaks me out. Its not wobbly. .. its not uneven. But like a 75 gallon tank with water and substrate is like 900 lbs right? I'll take pics and put them up tonight, see if this is safe. Phi230 fucked around with this message at 00:44 on Feb 14, 2019 |
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Feb 13, 2019 23:45
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My Flourite Black Sand is coming in the mail today . . . I got everything (Light + Timer, 300W heater, Filter, Thermometer, Bucket/Cleaning/Conditioner) and typing this out now do I realize I forgot to get a surge protector to plug all that into. Well, regardless I've never been more excited about dirt
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Feb 15, 2019 21:31
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Is my Amazon Fern planted ok? Even dug that deep this fucker keeps wanting to float. Is superglue safe? I'm about to super glue it to a rock Phi230 fucked around with this message at 02:33 on Feb 17, 2019 |
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Feb 17, 2019 02:19
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w00tmonger posted:Super glue is safe. Use cyanoacrylate in particular (can't vouch for other stuff) I glued 3 plant tabs to it, it is still resisting. Its just now floating around exactly halfway up the tank. Gonna get a rock The plant has broken free of 3 glued root tabs. I am now attempting to tie it down I have defeated the Amazon Sword. I tied 3 plant tabs to it then buried up to the crown, it is holding. Tomorrow I begin my cycle by dropping in a raw, unprepared prawn. Day 0 I guess: 
Phi230 fucked around with this message at 05:17 on Feb 17, 2019 |
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Feb 17, 2019 03:15
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So there seems to be kind of this white, gooey film developing around one of my plant tabs that was un-buried by the Amazon Sword that is constantly trying to float. The Sword seems to be settled in the substrate now so I don't wanna touch it. Is this a bacterial bloom? Is it harmful? I haven't yet started the cycle.
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Feb 18, 2019 18:20
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Day 2 update - Temp is about 77 degrees F. Ph is about 7.6. From what I read that's too basic. I wanna get it lower. How? Also my plants dont look healthy to me:     What is this stuff: 
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Feb 19, 2019 01:33
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VelociBacon posted:Those plants look pretty healthy to me actually, I'd be curious if the other more experienced people in the thread agree though. I noticed the leaves on the Egeria Densa and Dwarf Hairgrass to go transparent and thought that meant that its dying. The Egeria najas in the front and the rotala (I think)off to the side seem "wilty" and a little bit browner than they used to be. The rotala seems more spritely though, its pointing straight to the light which at least means its alive. No idea if its growing roots because I will not touch them, both the egeria and rotala wanna break free of this light substrate. The Amazon Sword is rooting already, I see roots beginning to snake around. Also 2 new leaf sprouts! To be honest I kind of forgot what kind of plant the flowering one with the round leaves was. I remember googling it to research it before putting it in the tank but it completely escaped me. I also have a snail that made it in, hopefully its only one. I've only seen the one, he's gotten a tad bigger over these past 2 days. Weird how he's still alive when the tank temperature is a little high (gonna bring it down to 72-74 degrees) and completely uncycled. I just began the cycle by dropping in a completely raw and unprepared shrimp.
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Feb 19, 2019 03:07
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Mozi posted:Phi230 as others have said don't worry about the plants, you can expect most plants to wilt or melt a big (or sometimes entirely) before they start growing again. And the white stuff on the wood is fine, just ignore it. Although personally I am in favor of snails (MST snails, nerite snails, apple snails, even pond snails), they help quite a bit especially in this phase of the tank where there is a lot of dying plant material and maybe some algae growth and not much else going on. Well as long as its only one snail I'm more than happy with keeping it, I just hope it survives the cycle. I lowered the temperature from 77-78 to 72-74 and the white bacteria/algae took a big hit. I also shortened the timer to about 7 hours instead of 10 hours and it seems the growth has scaled back already. I dropped the shrimp in last night, and less than 12 hours later I've already got .25 ppm of Ammonia. Very excited that a shrimp is decomposing.
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Feb 19, 2019 19:31
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 This white filmy gooey stuff is beginning to show up all over the place, but you all say its ok so shrug. Should I be worried about this algae on the plant tabs though
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Feb 20, 2019 04:00
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So after 6 days of having 2x dead raw shrimp in the fish tank, ammonia is only .5 ppm. I decided to dose ammonia and remove the shrimp.
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Feb 22, 2019 01:14
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 Is my anachris dying? It's turning brown and leaves are wilting
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Feb 23, 2019 15:57
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mango sentinel posted:I wouldn't be alarmed yet. I just say it again because this seems to be a new browning. It was more green yesterday. I noticed there are 2 snails in the aquarium. Both seem to be Nerites, but their shells are still too small for me to tell for sure. Would 2 snails be enough to eat up these plants?
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Feb 23, 2019 16:19
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w00tmonger posted:It's not the snails. If you just planted and they're browning then it's likely just some melting from planting them. Check chemicals and see if your ammonia is bonkers or anything, otherwise you should be fine with time I did recently dose up to 3.5-4ppm of ammonia as apart of the tank's cycle
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Feb 23, 2019 17:27
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 Is this a bladder snail or nerite snail? These are the kind in my tank. This is snail #3
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Feb 23, 2019 20:54
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What should I do
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Feb 23, 2019 21:24
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Getting mixed signals here
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Feb 23, 2019 21:40
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Wrath of the Bitch King posted:It really comes down to if you want a perfectly controlled pristine tank or if you're willing to let some of the ordinary chaos of a freshwater system live there. If you like snails, have good self control with feeding, and are down with occasionally picking a big one off the glass, let them live in there rather than going through the hassle of dipping your plants or dosing algaefix (kills inverts) or copper to deal with it. I was planning on getting Kuhli loaches but I hear (and hope) they don't eat snails because I want a few nerites
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Feb 23, 2019 21:45
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I am still very early in the cycling process and I think I will wait and see towards the end of the cycle in 2-3 weeks how I feel about these snails
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Feb 23, 2019 21:49
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Will Java Ferns/ Java Moss eventually anchor themselves through growth to rocks/driftwood or will I constantly need to apply glue as they shed the cells glued to the anchor
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Feb 25, 2019 20:36
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I saw my bladder snails mating this morning Also: nitrites have appeared! Phi230 fucked around with this message at 17:43 on Feb 27, 2019 |
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Feb 27, 2019 17:36
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big dong wanter posted:has anyone ever dealt with black bear algae? my big tank has a real bad case, i've scraped off all of it on the glass but its all over the sponge filters and driftwood I'm starting to see some of this too
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Mar 1, 2019 18:46
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I'm nearing the end of the cycle, with nitrates starting to go way up; and 4ppm of ammonia disappearing every day. Nitrites are still off the charts, gonna wait till nitrates are off the charts before I do a water change. Algae is going crazy, getting Black Beard algae, different green algaes and a tiny bit of brown algae. Should I not worry about this stuff while the cycle is ongoing? I still think I maybe have a week to go. Should I just throw a couple algae-eaters in there when the tank is cycled and not worry about it? I was already thinking about getting Kuhli Loaches, Cory Catfish, and a Bristlenose Pleco (as well as snails and shrimp in the future). The bladder snail population increased and they WERE laying egg sacs every day . . . they laid a total of 5 sacs. I allowed 1 to hatch and destroyed the other 4. However they completely stopped laying egg sacs over the past few days and have been very, very inactive. Is the cycle hurting them? Nitrites and nitrates are starting to get high. I have a plant called Parrot's Feather and it seems like its dying . . . anybody have experience with this plant? Secondly, my Amazon Sword isn't turning brown, but there is something brown growing on it. Is this diatom algae? It's almost covering the big leaves, but the sword is growing like 4 new leaves and I think there's more on the way.
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Mar 6, 2019 20:52
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How should I deal with Black Beard algae then? I just saw your earlier post. Blackout begins now Phi230 fucked around with this message at 01:51 on Mar 7, 2019 |
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Mar 7, 2019 01:46
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I'll try excel and blackout
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Mar 7, 2019 04:01
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Wrath of the Bitch King posted:Be super careful with anything bleach, it will kill everything in your tank with even trace amounts in the water. Like triple dosing every day? I have lots of anachris and val
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Mar 7, 2019 04:56
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I'll try a dose of excel tomorrow. I'm having to clean the glass every day, the algae is going crazy I'm gonna dose excel daily for a week, do a huge water change tomorrow and deep clean. Should I be pruning the parts of my Parrot's Feather that are browning? Phi230 fucked around with this message at 00:35 on Mar 8, 2019 |
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Mar 7, 2019 23:55
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Synthbuttrange posted:If you're cleaning the glass daily you might have other problems. Is it near a window or other lightsource? Besides the normal lightbulb for the room, no.
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Mar 8, 2019 04:50
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| # ¿ Apr 26, 2024 17:34 |
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 My cycle has been like this for a week. 4ppm of ammonia disappears in less than 24 houra but my Nitrates don't seem to be moving up
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Mar 10, 2019 15:24
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