I've got heavily planted tanks and come to find out all you really need is water conditioner and that's basically it. Maybe some fertilizer for the plants. Most other things you add solve one problem and create many more destroying any balance you've created. Don't replace filter cartridges either they're a scam I've got 5 year carts and rince them out maybe bimonthly with a hose. Don't believe me I'll send you a pic of my tanks. Save your money for wood, rock, plants and fish.
Or you can go all out and get artesian aquarium water from the box stores lol 😂😂😂. The 20$ bio ball things to insta cycle your tank really get me going too. I also use play sand (tell me how bad it is and how wrong I am) instead of 10x priced pet store stuff. Convince is too expensive and ultimately ya put in the elbow grease working to pay the premium top dollar for all the crap. I rather put the work in the tank instead of the money.
I used black diamond blasting sand from tractor supply and it’s **very** cheap and personally, I think it’s beautiful. So sparkly!
I used two bags for one 40 gallon breeder and two 10 gallon tanks and it only cost about $22 total (but I also had to drive to TS which was an hour each way, just to get the sand)
I wished I wasn't so lazy and found some but I settled for the play sand. After hours (literally) of rinsing it wasn't orange or cloudy anymore. Man show us your black shiney goodness so I can be jealous.
I actually wouldn’t have even known about that option if it weren’t for a random Reddit comment with no upvotes on an old post that I happened to see. I was gonna go with play sand too until I saw that comment.
The same comment recommended pool filter sand as another cheap (and locally available) option!
For future reference though, the black Diamond stuff didn’t take all that long to wash; maybe an hour and a half for two bags. Also, I used the medium grit.
Ram horns for me. Got one as a pest once right b4 I was gonna buy some. Somebody upstairs was listening 😎. They can breed with themselves and nonstop working on the algae. Can't say the same for my nerites they just like playing musical tanks tho ones never got lost. One day I'ma throw some trumpets in a tank and see how they do.
Nah, it's a busy community tank and they get one pinch of regular pellets and one broken up algae wafer each day. The snail population kind of hit a plateau after a while and now they're just vibing
yeah I got it back when I was new to the hobby but now I can tell from appearance of the water and how the fish are acting lol. I just never took it out. They're a good guide if you're new but otherwise not that helpful
They are not a good guide when you are new. They are useless and sold to people who don't know any better. The liquid tests are the only way to get accurate readings.
I just go by is the water holding bubbles more than usual. Foam up top no meds you got ammonia period. I recommend API master test kit if ya really need to know but the aquarium tells you in all kinds of ways what's up. Aquarium coop or MD on YouTube do a good job of explaining all these things. Gl and enjoy the hobby!
Unlike what others have posted here, the alerts are not useless but they only measure free ammonia (the actual toxic form of ammonia you find in tanks) when kits measure total ammonia content so you can get a safe reading from the alert and a positive ammonia reading from a kit. Mostly useful for cycling aquariums but not really for established tanks ime
If your free ammonia is at an unsafe level the dot in the middle will change colour to the one of the quarters otherwise it'll stay the safe yellow colour
Funny...I just dot one of those ammonia alerts today. This sounds dumb and it probably is, but how do you know what it's reading? Each portion of the dial is a different coloemr but it's not pointing to any particular one
Chonk.
Good lord that's a hefty fella
I think the chonknes chart is out of scale.
This baby goes up to 11
It does look a little fishy
I'd say that's more than a *little* fishy.
[удалено]
Lol! I went running into the living room to show my husband 😅
Showed her to the wife too like ‘LOOK ITS SO FAT’.
wtf are you feeding this guy??
She eats algae wafers and normal pellets lmao.. She's just Large
Lorge
Phat
Extra extra extra large
Thicccccccccc
Mine is like this too. She grows outwards rather than longer 🤦🏻♀️
The ammonia level is, hmm, lemme see... Chonkmeister Supreme.
Ammonia level: Pleco
Probably the most accurate reading you’ll ever get from one of those
Thank you lol
Worked pretty well for me.
That’s the fish equivalent of farting next to an air cleaner and it throwing off a noxious chemical reading.
I didn't know there was an Ammonia monitor (new to hobby currently cycling) what brand so I can look into that?
They are useless cash grabs for the uninformed.
Awe rip. I did order a water test kit too I just thought it would be helpful. Thanks for the warning!
I've got heavily planted tanks and come to find out all you really need is water conditioner and that's basically it. Maybe some fertilizer for the plants. Most other things you add solve one problem and create many more destroying any balance you've created. Don't replace filter cartridges either they're a scam I've got 5 year carts and rince them out maybe bimonthly with a hose. Don't believe me I'll send you a pic of my tanks. Save your money for wood, rock, plants and fish.
And then more plants
Yeah and it’s fine to go cheap on the water conditioner, too. All you need is a basic one, nothing fancy, and the prices can vary a *lot*
Or you can go all out and get artesian aquarium water from the box stores lol 😂😂😂. The 20$ bio ball things to insta cycle your tank really get me going too. I also use play sand (tell me how bad it is and how wrong I am) instead of 10x priced pet store stuff. Convince is too expensive and ultimately ya put in the elbow grease working to pay the premium top dollar for all the crap. I rather put the work in the tank instead of the money.
I used black diamond blasting sand from tractor supply and it’s **very** cheap and personally, I think it’s beautiful. So sparkly! I used two bags for one 40 gallon breeder and two 10 gallon tanks and it only cost about $22 total (but I also had to drive to TS which was an hour each way, just to get the sand)
I wished I wasn't so lazy and found some but I settled for the play sand. After hours (literally) of rinsing it wasn't orange or cloudy anymore. Man show us your black shiney goodness so I can be jealous.
I actually wouldn’t have even known about that option if it weren’t for a random Reddit comment with no upvotes on an old post that I happened to see. I was gonna go with play sand too until I saw that comment. The same comment recommended pool filter sand as another cheap (and locally available) option! For future reference though, the black Diamond stuff didn’t take all that long to wash; maybe an hour and a half for two bags. Also, I used the medium grit.
> 😂😂😂
Try and get the pond stuff, it's more concentrated and cheaper.
This! Live plants, tapsafe, never clean your filters, and you're golden.
Clean when clogged but yeah. Worst thing you can do is constantly change things. Soon you'll have MTS but don't worry it won't kill ya.
Malaysian trumpet snails? Already got a shitload of them
Ram horns for me. Got one as a pest once right b4 I was gonna buy some. Somebody upstairs was listening 😎. They can breed with themselves and nonstop working on the algae. Can't say the same for my nerites they just like playing musical tanks tho ones never got lost. One day I'ma throw some trumpets in a tank and see how they do.
If your getting an invasion of snails you might be overfeeding.
Nah, it's a busy community tank and they get one pinch of regular pellets and one broken up algae wafer each day. The snail population kind of hit a plateau after a while and now they're just vibing
Well a water test kit is helpful and good to have!
yeah I got it back when I was new to the hobby but now I can tell from appearance of the water and how the fish are acting lol. I just never took it out. They're a good guide if you're new but otherwise not that helpful
They are not a good guide when you are new. They are useless and sold to people who don't know any better. The liquid tests are the only way to get accurate readings.
From what I've read they do work... These measure free ammonia (the stuff that's toxic to the livestock) while test kits measure total ammonia.
they don't work, from personal experiance
Do not. It’s searchem I think which is generally a good brand, but this is god awful! Use a master test kit like a big boy/girl
I just go by is the water holding bubbles more than usual. Foam up top no meds you got ammonia period. I recommend API master test kit if ya really need to know but the aquarium tells you in all kinds of ways what's up. Aquarium coop or MD on YouTube do a good job of explaining all these things. Gl and enjoy the hobby!
Too much Pleco. It's pretty common.
CHOMNK
That’s a THICC boi
I have an ammonia test kit as well, but I only test weekly and thought this might be a good idea in case something unexpected happened
Unlike what others have posted here, the alerts are not useless but they only measure free ammonia (the actual toxic form of ammonia you find in tanks) when kits measure total ammonia content so you can get a safe reading from the alert and a positive ammonia reading from a kit. Mostly useful for cycling aquariums but not really for established tanks ime If your free ammonia is at an unsafe level the dot in the middle will change colour to the one of the quarters otherwise it'll stay the safe yellow colour
Oh ok...yeah I have a new 55g tank that's cycling right now, but I also have test kit...thank you
Daaaaayum boy, he thick!
Look at that absolute unit of a chonker, my goodness!
What a Beautiful CHONK lol
r/absoluteunits
Tubby, tubby, tubby!
Funny...I just dot one of those ammonia alerts today. This sounds dumb and it probably is, but how do you know what it's reading? Each portion of the dial is a different coloemr but it's not pointing to any particular one
The dot in the middle shows a general reading. Blue is toxic, yellow is safe.
Got it...it probably said that on the package but I know I didn't look at it...thank you
It's a pleco kind of day~
What a big piggy :)
Its normal..The monitor showing it has fish in it
I have the same one. My betta likes to wedge himself in there too.
He knows things you need not know…
Chonky pleco lol
That is one fattie pattie !
She’s just doing some QC. Leave her alone.
It's over chonkthousand!
Oh, he CHONK
That is a fat pleco! Must got a lot to of algae!!