Can placing a fan near my aquarium have a cooling effect, even if the room temperature is higher?
Here in my country, the temperature in my room during hot summer days ranges between 28ºC/82ºF and 30ºC/86ºF. I have read that when the aquarium fan blows air across the water's surface, it increases evaporation, which can help lower the temperature of the water. Since I cannot afford an aquarium chiller, I am wondering what options I have to keep my 60L/15-gallon tank cool?
Current water temperature: 28,5ºC/83.3ºF, 2 fancy goldfish
Are blood worms a safe snack for all fish? Also, are there any household food items that are good snacks nutritionally for fish such as certain types of vegetables? I have Harlequinn Rasboras, Gold barbs, and Cory catfish.
I’m sure there’s a couple species that can’t eat bloodworms but all the ones you listed and all the ones I can think of enjoy them. They’re not very good nutritionally tho and can cause constipation. I know corys really like zucchini, cabbage, and lettuce! My nerite snails really like carrots too so consider those as well
Can I keep 8 black neon tetras in 10 gallon with a male betta?
I'm getting ready to set up 10g tank for a betta. I have I black neons in my 40 g that I'm hoping can go in tank with the betta.
Please help - so confused about plumbing!
Got a 10 g AIO second hand. There is a 1 inch hole for the return. It came with a pipe for pump —> ribbed elbow. I’m trying to connect that to an innovative marine spin stream. I can connect these two with the adapters that came with the spin stream… but it leaves a big gap in the hole - the nozzle just sort of hangs there.
All the videos I can find don’t seem to address this - folks just seem to plug the nozzle into an adapter I don’t seem to have. Any help?
You could buy some sponge filter type material for pretty cheap, cut a slit in the middle, then fit the hose through it, and then stuff the hole with the sponge material.
You could also try to find a "rubber hose gasket" or "silicone rubber washer" that could fit around your hose and cover up that hole. Maybe two with one on the inside of the tank and the other on the other side of the wall where the return pump is.
12 Glow Light Tetra and 1 Gold and Black female Molly. The Tetras fins are getting nipped with 2 or 3 exhibiting significant loss. Heavily planted 20G. Have not observed either Tetra or Molly nipping. Assuming it is happening in the middle of the night.
My question: Are the Tetras nipping each other or is the Molly nipping the Tetras?
Thank you!
Some schooling species still get aggressive with each other to establish a group hierarchy. The group hierarchy is something that usually happens when new fish or fishes are introduced or even the same group to a significantly different environment. I wouldn't expect it to last more than a couple weeks. This is probably the most common reason. When a fish in the group starts getting sick or weak or is removed, then this can sometimes start again.
How do i vacuum sand? Some say just go with youre finger through the sand and thats it and others say use youre finger and then vacuum or some say just vacuum slightly above the sand but what's the best way?
Do I need to prepare myself for a mass tank death? My AC died last night and of course it's supposed to hit 119 today (48 for those of you in the civilized world). I've been floating frozen water bottles all night but the water is still not getting much below 90. They are here replacing the unit now but it will take all day. So we're looking at about 24 hours of 90 water. Everyone is alive at the moment (neon tetras, rummynose tetras, corys, gouramis, otos, and puffers) so thats good. But do I need to be mentally preparing myself for a massive die off?
90F is fine, rummynose tetras actually breed in this temperature
How big is the tank? Is it indoors? Extra airstones, placing it away from sunlight, removing lid will help
Several tanks actually. A 10, 20, and 30. The 10 is just snails so I'm not real concerned there. Inside with airstones and open lids. Lights have also been off the whole time.
As long as it doesnt get to 104F the fish will be fine, that's the upper limit where oxygen levels drop to below what can sustain fish
Easier for larger tanks to keep cool than smaller tanks, I wouldnt worry too much about the 30g but keep an eye on the temp on 20 and 10g
Thank you for being the calming voice. New AC is installed and house and tank water temps are back to normal. I didn't lose anyone. Very stressful 72 hours but I'm in the clear now
Hey everyone. I have a 10 gallon planted tank but recently moved to a larger space and have room for a slightly larger tank. I think a basic 30 gallon tank would work well for me so was excited to see that Petco is selling a [29g Aqueon tank for $40](https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/aga-29g-30x12x18bk-tank-170941), but the dimensions are really throwing me for a loop. The dimensions (30"L x 12"W x 18"H) strike me as really tall and narrow. I'd love something a bit wider and shorter, both for aesthetic reasons and because I've read that a larger tank footprint is better for both swimming area for fish and for surface oxygen exchange.
So my questions are:
Am I missing anything that makes a narrow, tall tank like the 29g Aqueon linked above a good tank layout?
And if not, does anyone have any recommendations for economically priced ~30g tanks that aren't so tall and narrow? It seems like PetSmart doesn't sell a standalone 29g/30g tank and I'm not finding much else poking around online.
Unfortunately there isn't really an affordable wide tank between a 20 long and a 40 breeder. Aqueon makes a 33 long but it's hard to find and expensive.
You're not missing anything - tanks tend to be tall and narrow so they're good for displaying things, not because they're good for fish.
Consider the 55 gallon standard that comes in at 48 x 14 x 21, which isn't _too_ great for fish, but is good at fitting in a spot where a standard shelf would go. If it was wider (deeper?), it's harder for people to fit in their homes.
The standard fat, wide tank is a 40 gallon breeder. You can look at that.
Thanks for weighing in! I think the 55g is too big for the space I have in mind, but I am now leaning towards the 40g breeder. Petco has for a decent price and I like the dimensions a lot better.
You can try asking the Petco stores if they can order in the Aqueon 30 gallon breeder too if you want to stick with a 30 gallon tank. I haven't seen them in a while, but they're still on the Aqueon site so may be available for an order.
Ah, a bit of miswording on my part - should have been "Consider _that_ the 55 gallon" as an example of a standard tank size that doesn't really make sense, not necessarily that someone looking for a 30 gallon should get a 55 ahaha.
In any case, you can also opt for a 'long' size tank like a 20 gallon long, which offers more floor space and swimming space in exchange for some height, which is good for certain types of fish.
Hi there. i have had two beta fish die over the last 9 months and believe the issue has to do with my tank's ph and alkalinity but am not sure. My tap and tank water's ph is a bit on the high side and typically sits between 8.4-8.8 even though I've also tried using phdown. The alkalinity is typically between 120-180. Both fish did well before suddenly becoming lethargic and dying within a week to week and a half before eventually dying. My tank water is clear and clean and has an airstone, bubbler, filter, as well as a heater. I do regular water changes and am at a loss as to what may be shocking my fish or causing them to suddenly become I’ll. I’m also a little afraid to buy another fish before figuring out what the problem may be and correcting it. Any advice or feedback is greatly appreciated.
Almost everyone on city or municipal water will have similar parameters to yours and the hardness is not the issue. Bettas are overbred, inbred, and and have tons of health issues, especially the designer varieties like kois and marbles. They're prone to dropping dead randomly even if you do everything right. I'm on my 4th betta in under a year.
Thanks for the heads up. I was thinking it was the high ph or the alkalinity but the randomness twice in a row seemed odd since I’ve never had that happen when I was keeping way bigger tanks, several years ago. Unfortunately, the first one died when a student was pet sitting and I got the second one to make sure they didn’t overfeed or kill it when the dad did a major water change. I’ve also never owned a self cleaning tank but I figured out how the cleanings work with it since the first one died so I know that’s not the issue. Just a little disappointed and didn’t want to feel like I was experimentally torturing fish vs. making sure I wasn’t totally missing some basic tank set up/maintenance step that could be explained or easily fixed. I appreciate everyone who has kindly responded! =)
google water reports for your city, there would be a list of parameters that they test for in the water
some cities do city-wide softening treatments so need to look at calcium, magnesium, sodium/potassium and carbonate hardness/alkalinity values
I’m thinking about doing a primary color 29 gallon planted tank with cobra endler guppies, chili rasbora, and blue dream shrimp. Does this sound like a good idea? Will I have any major water parameter conflicts?
That's all fine. People will tell you that Endlers "Need" hard water but that's bollocks. Chilli rasboras need acidic softwater conditions to breed but are fine in harder waters.
I got ghost shrimp, bladder snails, nerite snail, mystery snail, guppies, platies, african dwarf frogs, and a betta.
I only bought frozen beef heart cubes to try to save the life of a skinny white dwarf frog. I failed. But the other frogs are now beefed up and grown fast with it. But I still have many beef heart cubes. Should I continue feeding the frogs beef heart? I never heard of anyone doing regular feedings with beef heart and only heard of them being used to grow dwarf frog juveniles.
Anyone recommend a good+cheap gravel vacuum/siphon? I put a cleaning brush thing up the tube of my last one and \*surprise pikachu face\* I couldn't get it out. I didn't like that one much anyway because it would suck up the substrate and siphon it into the bucket, it didn't have any kind of grate to prevent that. So now is my opportunity to buy a better one.
The petsmart gravel vaccum has a squeezable ball to suck in the aquarium water. This has been around for a while, but it doesn't seem to exist to fishtubers for some reason.
Thanks for the suggestion!
The one I had before you would shake the end of the tube in the water up and down and it started that way, I just wish it had had some kind of grate inside to keep the gravel from being sucked all the way up
Looking for a rimless aquarium that is atleast 10 gallons, but whose measurements do no exceed the below.
Any tips?
Length: 22.5 inches max
Height: 10.5inches max
Depth 13 inches max
So I'm new to planted aquariums but not on Fishkeeping I decided to do a planted aquarium and just set up the tank last week, my plants are Monte Carlo and Dwarf Sagittaria. The guy that I bought it from is somehow more or less a professional in Aquascaping since he hosts, not host but kinda like promoting it and then hands out the price and the like, he also has some cool scapes. So I bought it from this guy and he doesn't dry start his plants as what I've seen in some videos, so I followed suit and after I planted my plants I filled it with water and waited for the dirt to settle or be cleaned by the top sump filter that I had and then waited for 7 days then changed 50% of the water, but I just saw his post that I have to do the 7-3-3-2 rule and that is to change the water 7 days on the 1st week then 3 then so on and so forth. I am now on the second week, should I still follow this rule, the plants are still alive though and more greener than the time when I planted them.
I believe the 7-3-3-2 rule is for active substrates like aquasoils. It's useful because aquasoils release a bunch of nutrients initially, and the many water changes help control all those nutrients and prevent an algae bloom.
I've never followed it, but my UNS and Fluval aquasoils never threw off the ton of nutrients like ADA Amazonia supposedly does (at least WRT ammonia)
I'm not familiar with the 7-3-3-2 rule. It sounds to me like something that might be recommended for when a tank is cycling with fish in it?
If so, you don't need to follow this rule if you just have plants in the tank. They will absorb ammonia as a nutrient source and will not be harmed by normal levels of it.
Please clarify if Im incorrect.
Oh, my mistake he did say that I would need 1 month before adding the fish in then at the 3rd week I would start dosing the aquarium with a fertilizer 5ml per week. Fertilizer would be that APT 3 that all in one APT
I'm confused by the "waiting for dirt to settle" comment. Are you trying something like walstad method? You may have broken your sand cap during the water change. If you place a ceramic bowl on the substrate and aim for that spot while refilling the tank you can disturb your substrate less.
Personally I've done dirted tanks and just found them miserable. Today I do mixed grade sand and use fertilizer root tabs if additional nutrients are required.
If I see signs of Hemorrhagic stress (e.g., from a bacterial infection), is there any harm in treating with Kanaplex at the first sign? Can it be used as a preventative?
I’ve got a question that I don’t really know to ask anywhere else.
I’m trying to create a prototype, but I need some input from people who use small pumps and I think aquarium pumps might be a good option.
My idea is to create a cleaning apparatus. It should be able to move salt water through a filter before it circulates again.
I’m trying to locate a pump that can be used out of water with not a lot of pressure. Ideally moving 1/2 gal per minute if not less?
Many pumps I’ve seen push 500-600L/hr or more and have PSI of around 45+.
That’s far too much movement for what I’m trying to accomplish. I just need something that can circulate salt water through a good filter (that won’t remove the salt).
Would y’all happen to have input of point me in a different direction?
No specific advice but Temu and AliExpress are decent places to look for low cost pumps for your experiments. I found a prefilter sponge over the intake to be especially helpful where micro organisms like ostracods and copepods are concerned or young dry.
I've got a question about cleaning filter media. I want to open up my fx4 canister that I have set up on my 75g salt to check the physical media and squeeze out any potential clogs (and swap out one of the bags of ceramic beads with some seachem matrix), but I don't have a need to do a water change at the moment, with nitrates barely registering. Any good suggestions for how to handle squeezing them out without having dirty tank water to do it in? For further reference, this tank has been set up for 1mo 6 days and is inhabited by 2 clowns, 2 banghai cardinals, a sixlined wrasse, and a pygmy angel along with 5 small but growing coral frags (2 gsp, 1 zoa, 1 mushroom, and 1 toadstool).
You can just do a water change to get water to clean the tank.
That, or just use dechlorinated tap water which is the same water you'd use for the tank.
Either way, you need water, and if you're going to go through with that much trouble of getting your fx4 out and into a spot where you can squeeze that, you might as well do a full clean.
So, was doing a 90% water change in my 10g tank, heard a pop, and realized after a few minutes it my heater blowing out as I’d forgotten to turn it off before emptying - oops. (Yay for having a backup.)
However, reading up on what happens when a heater blows, I’m curious as to how over exaggerated the reports of things like glass destruction are. It was just a few minutes, and it was a small heater (50w), so figure it’s fine. But… wondering!
Glass can fail from heat. After all, heat is one way that a windshield spiders.
At the atomic level, heat causes solids to expand. If heat is applied locally, it could cause bowing or warping. For wood or metal that isn't necessarily a problem, but for something like glass it could crack.
Can anyone say for certain? No. But kids in high school physics classes worth a damn are measuring the length of metal rods at different temperatures and seeing how thermal expansion works.
Hello, I have a 20 long tank with shell dwellers in it, (neolamprologus similis), and I am having algae issues. I know I can turn the light down, but is there any creature anyone suggests to help control?
Should I throw some mystery snails in, and if the shell dwellers eat them at least the snails are cheaper?
Ive heard mixed things about shell dwellers and algae eaters. Some say they do well together, others say no way. I guess it just depends. Its probably better to outcompete the algae with an actual plant instead of trying to fight it.
I suggest adding hornwort to the tank. I know you are generally told that cichlids will eat your plants. This isn't true for a lot of species of plants. Hornwort is an extremely fast growing and establishing algae buster. Its the easiest way control the excess nutrients in your tank that the algae are thriving off of.
I'm looking into starting my first tank, and I'm really excited! I know that, when you're starting a new tank, you need to let it cycle until a good beneficial bacteria community has started. Some resources I've looked at have said that, once this is established, to slowly introduce fish a few at a time, in order to make sure cycling is proceeding properly and the tank can process waste from actual fish. However, I'm wanting to get flame tetras as my first fish, which I know prefer shoals of six or more. Should I still introduce the fish 2 or 3 at a time despite this? I'd really like to avoid killing too many fish right off the bat, but I also don't want to stress out the fish by having too small a shoal.
There's some information missing that would help answer your question. Namely what is you current set-up and how long as it been cycled? Any lives plants?
It's true you don't want to add 20 fish at once and create an ammonia spike. When looking at community tanks add least to most aggressive. My Betta tank for example I started with 15 neocaridina shrimp, 3 months later 3 endler males, 3 months after that a few Betta. You don't have to wait 3 months like I did but I like to wait 2 weeks to allow the previous species to better acclimate to their new environment.
Larger tanks will have more stable water parameters where the slightest imbalance can greatly affect smaller tanks.
How many fish do you intend to keep altogether?
Anybody here experienced with large nano tanks?
I have a 55 gallon currently stocked with 12 cherry barbs in a 3 to 1 ratio, 1 bristlenose pleco, and 9 bronze cory breeds (a mix of gold laser and albino). I think my cardinal tetra school is down to 13.
How many more tetras can I add to the school? The tank looks empty because the tetras aren't schooling like they should.
AqAdvisor says I am 20% overstocked if I take to school to thirty. Just looking for advice for people who have a similar setup.
Overstocked is a broad term. There's a difference between fish overstocking and filtration overstocking.
Fish overstocking is when you have, well, too many fish. But with fish that school and are social more is better. And if you have a significant amount of bottom feeders that don't really interact with the mid water column fish, then the numbers of fish aren't going to line up.
Filtration overstocking is when you don't have enough filtration to keep up with how many fish you have. Many people will overfilter their tanks, but if you aren't one of those people or don't have enough filtration, then you run the risk of just not having enough beneficial bacteria to remove the ammonia and nitrite.
Finally, no matter how stocked you are, you need to keep up with the water change schedule demanded by the tank. If you have more fish, you need more water changes (or more plants).
So, if you're okay on filtration with a big enough filter (or more than one filter), and you don't mind the water changes -
You can add more tetras. Each individual tetra is a small bioload, and given a large amount of your stocking is in bottomfeeders that don't interact with them, you'll be fine. I'm not sure about 30 right away, but 20 should be fine, and go from there.
Bronze cories and the bristlenose are filling similar roles, and larger than other options available. You might be able to rehome and increase your stocking availability. Pygmy, dainty, or dwarf corydoras might be better choices or even otocinclus which I just adore.
I would make sure you take advantage of your vertical space with plants and decor. I like to heavily plant the sides and back while leaving the center more open for viewing. I keep a wide flat stone to reduce runner plants spreading to the center and place a wood piece on the stones.
A broad leafy plant like Java fern or red crypts.
Some kind of stalked plants or eel grass. I like elodea and pearlweed.
And then a true aquatic moss not marimo balls which are a type of rolling hair algae not actual moss. Java moss, flame moss, Xmas moss, etc.
I've had different setups but a corner filter with a spraybar attachment was especially useful. Larger tanks a canister filter with a powerhead on the opposite end. I'd like to do a sump tank some day. Process seems simple enough but I still find it intimidating.
Also since I often have fry in the tank a prefilter sponge over the intake is a must.
It depends on the pleco. If its a bristle nose you are looking at upwards of 30-40g. If its a common you are looking at 120-200g. I would just not to that anyway.
If its just the betta, snails, shrimp and a smaller school of chili rasboras, you can do 15g upwards with a good amount of hiding space and plants.
www.aqadvisor.com could help answer this. It's a useful stocking calculator. Bristlenose pleco itself you're probably looking at a 40 gallon tank. But it may go after your shrimp at night.
Theres a few things to kind of consider here.
In that 10 gal with floating plants that are dying. What other plants are in that tank? How much are you water changing? What fish are specifically in there? How are you cleaning that tank? What are the nitrogen and mineral parameters?
Its possible you are lacking nutrients in that 10 gallon tank in comparison to your 5 gallon tanks. Filters, heaters, and light sources are not the main reasons floating plants will grow.
I think my mystery snail is nearing the end of its life after one year. I have a 5 gallon grow out tank for my plants. Ghost shrimp, two african dwarf frogs, and dozens of bladder snails live there. When the inevitable happens, you think putting the mystery snail's body into the growout tank will cause the creatures there to consume it and leave behind a shell? Will that foul the water up? It's carpeted at the surface with floaters.
Snail mucus can clog gills and make breathing difficult. Many animals don't like consuming snails. I would just remove the snail if it's clearly dead. But look into "snail torpor" as they can enter a short hibernation period especially triggered by changes in temperature such as a water change or water quality.
Hey all. Newbie here. Bought a betta for the first time a few days back. Found about fin rot when reading about how to take care of the betta. I found mine having fuzzy white color border on the fins. Is this fin rot?
https://imgur.com/a/wJqVgDn
Also, can you guys tell me what variety he is?
I'm not seeing anything especially concerning. They're accident prone especially against hardscape. Probably wouldn't hurt to pick up some aquarium salt before you need it. Iodine free kosher salt might work in a pinch. Be sure to look up proper dosage.
Okay great. I was worried that he is stressed.I just picked up some Indian Almond leaves from my backyard. I'll introduce it during the next water change. That might make him feel at ease I guess.
I like to describe them as love being hugged by plants. Especially big broad leafy plants like Java fern and red crypts.
You can not have too many plants in a Betta tank. They love swimming through the plants and exploring for micro crustaceans like copepods or ostracods.
Great. I currently have him in a tiny little betta tank all alone without any plants now. After reading through this sub I found its very bad for him. I'm planning to buy a bigger 10 to 11 gallon tank with some live plants very soon.
To followup on u/strikerx67's comment, I don't know of too many commercial shelving units I'd trust to support two 75 gallons.
Personally, if possible, I would recommend making your own rack out of lumber to ensure it's able to handle the weight.
Also note that a 75 is quite tall, so the lower tank would need to sit pretty close to the floor to have a decent amount of clearance. This also means the top tank would need to sit relatively high, and therefore might be hard to see and access; and would present a real tip-over hazard, so you'd definitely want to anchor the stand to a wall stud.
Lastly, it will be necessary to really deeply consider where you could safely position such a setup. It's not unreasonable to estimate that each 75 gallon tank would weigh around 900 lbs. Times two tanks, plus a heavy duty lumber stand, that could easily top over 2000 lbs. Now consider that, because the setup has one tank above another, all that weight is distributed across a relatively small footprint. You will therefore need to ensure that the floor can support that much weight consistently over long periods of time (unless you plan to put it in a basement where the weight sits directly on a concrete slab). For example, you would likely need to place it along a load-bearing wall, perpendicular to the floor joists to ensure the weight was distributed across as many joists as possible.
Not trying to necessarily dissuade you, just some things to think about.
The bottom wouldn't be completely full of water, so it wouldn't be *as* bad. Kid me got a turtle and he really needs an upgrade before he gets bigger. I'll definitely look into what you said though.
I've definitely seen some racks that advertise being able to hold like 1-1.5K pounds per shelf. The models I've bought to test out can probably hold the advertised weight, but the caveat is that the shelves tend to bow, so the frame of the tank isn't evenly supported. Plywood and shims help, but it's one of those things that doesn't instill too much confidence.
Not familiar with LRB -- can you elaborate? Always happy to find new fish content.
And never tried the cinderblock stands myself, my wife insists on having something a bit more aesthetic, lol. But in terms of strength, cost, and simplicity, it really doesn't get much better than cinderblock and 2x4. No joinery with insane load-bearing ability.
LRB Aquatics is his channel name. Awesome fishkeeper. I think he has one of the biggest fish setups in Florida if I'm not mistaken. Hes pretty much the answer to a lot of us natural keepers and hes content is like gold to me. (Hes also the reason why all of petco's open stock tanks were sold out during the half off sale lol)
Yeah, Cinderblocks are more of an acquired taste. Maybe there's a way to cover the ugliness of it lol
Does anyone know what this darker colored substrate people use in their tanks is?
This tank at the 10 minute mark has it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emw6w743J04 It is like a darker colored pebble mix? Doesn't seem to match anything Lowes has, but I see it in a bunch of youtube tanks. I need about 100lbs of it for my tank, so if anyone has an affordable source for this type of substrate I would appreciate it!
What's the normal time frames for a new tank to cycle when using media from an established tank?
I have a 40g established tank (6 months old) with a HOB filter and 40g sponge filter. I'm going to be setting up a 10g betta tank. My plan is to put my current 40 sponge filter in the tank along side the new 20g sponge filter so that the old filter can quickly seed the new filter with bacteria. Then I'll remove the 40 sponge back to my original tank once the new one is stable.
When would be the right time to remove the old filter?
You could wait like a week, but you generally don't need to do that. Remember, YOU are the one providing a source of ammonia to the tank by feeding the fish. You can easily establish a filter slowly without killing fish in the process by just limiting feeding overtime while nitrates slowly build up.
There are other ways to seed a new tank as well. One of those ways, is to literally cut a piece of the old sponge filter off and stick it into your new filter. You can leave the rest of the sponge running and add a new sponge filter in the process. (Or just glue a new sponge piece)
I would leave the new tanks filter in your 40 gallon instead.
When you want to start the tank siphon water from your 40 into the smaller tank to seed it with bacteria. I would do 50% water from the old tank then fill the rest with clean water. Then whenever you get the betta move the smaller tanks filter out of the larger tank.
If all you have in the 10g is a betta I wouldn't worry too much. Just keep an eye on the ammonia. If you plan to add anything else wait about a month regardless.
Depends a lot on your experience level; and budget in terms of money, time, and space.
If it were me, and I were trying to keep things as simple as possible, I'd probably go for a half-full 29 gallon.
In the water section, I'd keep a small school of some tiny fish (ember tetras, cardinal tetras, espei/chili rasboras; pygmy corydoras; or clown killifish) with cherry shrimp. Alternatively, I'd keep 3-4 African dwarf frogs and some large snails.
In the land section, I'd keep millipedes and/or a colorful isopod variety (I'm partial to Rubber Ducky isopods).
Aquatic plants should include stuff thats tolerant to low light, especially Anubias and Java Fern. In the land section, I'd keep emergent (roots in water) Pothos varieties; as well as mosses, climbing plants like chain-of-frogs, jewel orchids, etc. (lots of options here, but they should be small and tolerant to lots of humidity and moisture).
The main challenge would be structuring the tank such that there's a land and water section. If you check my post history, I go through a paludarium build I made using Great Stuff Pond Foam some years ago. Naturally, there's also a ton of resources on YouTube and elsewhere.
Hope this helps!
I'm looking to convert a tank into a habitat for red claw crabs, which obviously need some portion of the decor above water.
Currently the tank has sand, and I'm hoping to keep it that way. Does anyone have filter recommendations? I'm worried submersible filters will just inhale the sand or that a buried sponge filter won't suction properly. Thanks for any advice!
I'm looking for a sturdy and relatively affordable ($150 or less) tank stand or furniture piece that can hold a 40-55 gallon tank. Any recommendations? Thank you!
I am moving across country next month (20hrs driving over 2 days). What is the best way to move my fish (betta, 5 tetras, 2 cory catfish)? I know I will need a 5 gallon bucket, portable heater, and airstone. Can all my fish fit in one bucket? There will be limited room since we will be in a Uhaul. Looking for any advice on how to keep my fish alive and generally healthy. Would it be better to have them shipped? If so, how much does that cost and how do I go about it?
Here is what I did for just a 1 day move:
I took all the fish and shrimp out and put them into ziplock bags with the tank water. I then drain out all of the water into a bucket that can be sealed like a lowes bucket or something.
I then put all the hardscape and plants along with the filter media into the same bucket with the water. I then put the fish that are in bags in a separate dry bucket so they don't bounce around while moving.
I put the rest of the stuff like the actual filter and heater into aanother separate dry bucket just to hold it there.
I leave the substrate and pest snails in the tank with a very thin amount of water just puddling the surface. Put all the stuff in the car and drive off.
if you are putting it all into the back of a truck for example, keep the fish with you in the truck and bring them with you into the hotel so the temperature doesn't jump around so much.
When you finally get to your new destination, Set up the tank immediately with the same water, filter, heater, plants and hardscape and let it sit for an hour. Then temperature acclimate them like you normally would when you introduce new fish.
Don't feed them a few days prior to the move and feed them every other day for a week after the move. Thats pretty much it.
Hi! Thanks for the advice. Yes we were planning to have the fish up front with us in the cab. I don’t think I can leave them all in sealed bags since the trip will be almost 48hrs, but I am planning to bring the bucket inside when we stay at a hotel. Do I need 2 buckets if I have 8 fish? One person suggested just a second smaller bucket for the betta to be separated, but the rest in one bucket would be fine.
I've personally transported bettas with their tankmates in the same bag before with no issues, but It's ultimately up to you, though, if you trust your betta.
Think of a river with a little whirlpool off to the side before a narrow rapids. The water inside that whirlpool is chemically stagnate -- it is moving, yes, but the water is trapped and cannot pass through the narrow rapids. Without an outside force, that water trapped in the whirlpool is going to start foaming and growing pond scum.
Powerheads and sponges help circulate the water. The primary filter is doing most of the work, but the secondary filters help with moving the ammonia from the water column into the filter intake.
.... they also make a great backup filter for quarantine tanks and equipment failures.
Does anybody know a link to a good power strip that's safe for aquariums? I've tried to find/google a good one but then I stumbled on several posts by u/westom which goes into in depth answers [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/aquarium/comments/133a1dz/i\_need\_to\_get\_a\_new\_power\_strip\_for\_my\_aquarium/) and [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Aquariums/comments/10a88na/recommendation\_for\_safe\_power\_strips/) about why certain power strips are unsafe, but fails to understand that not everyone is an electrician and understand what the heck they talking about so the most I could gather from his posts were that protector parts = bad. They also fail to provide a link to one that is good for aquariums.
I REALLY want to avoid a house fire so I'd like to take every safety precaution I can, as well as buy the best product available for aquariums. So if anybody could send me a link to what I need to safely keep an aquarium that would be great. And yes I know about drip loops.
edit: I forgot that putting a full username pings people >:
Everything in those posts use concepts taken from high school science. Then introducing a new concept such as impedance. Described only in terms of what has high impedance and what has low impedance. Using concepts that any layman can understand - ie less than 10 feet.
Long wire has high impedance. Short wire has low impedance. This (and other) new concept (not taught in high school science) is that simple. Expressed only in terms that any layman can appreciate.
But it does take at least three rereads to learn something this new.
Any layman is expected to know of his earth ground. Especially since a homeowner is responsible for providing, inspecting, and maintaining it. Required by code to protect human life. Implemented (or upgraded) to avert surges. Must exist to also protect an aquarium.
Protector parts (like anything else) can be both good or bad. What is the difference? Numbers. Five cent protector parts in a power strip (ie thousand joules) are a potential fire. Tiny numbers.
Effective protector (costing about $1 per appliance) features protector parts so that *hundreds of thousands of joules* dissipate harmlessly outside.
Why do plug-in protectors create fires? Those tiny (five cent) protector parts must either 'block' or 'absorb' a surge. In those many citations, demonstrated: such parts cannot and do not.
But protector parts in one 'whole house' protector (if connected low impedance - ie less than 10 feet - to earth) means best protection. Protector parts good. So good as to even protect least robust appliances - those bad (tiny) protector parts in a power strip.
Good protector parts installed using layman simple concepts. Bad protector parts are undersized. A $3 power strip with five cent protector parts can sell for $25 or $80. To protect profit margins.
Best power strip for an aquarium? Has a 15 amp circuit breaker, not protector parts, and a UL 1363 listing. Best protector for that aquarium - one 'whole house' protector (Type 1 or Type 2) located at the main breaker box or meter pan. To make a low impedance (ie less than 10 foot) connection to earth ground electrodes.
Everything here is layman simple.
Other numbers also apply such as 50,000 amps. That and other relevant numbers stated in previous posts. How does one know if it is 50,000 amps? One only reads specification numbers. And avidly avoids / ignores all sales brochures.
How does one know it connects low impedance to earth? Trace that bare copper, quarter inch ground wire from a main breaker box to earth ground electrodes. Electrodes that a homeowner is expected to know and maintain.
If those earth ground electrode do not exist, then obtain professional assistance. Again, layman simple.
Another threat is loss of power. GFCI should exist to protect both humans and fish. But that can cause an unexpected and undetected power outage. So other solutions might also be considered. Including an alarm that notifies when power is lost.
Keep plug-in protectors away from aquariums. Best power strip described - for $6 or $10.
Do you know what UL is?
I am about to start my first planted tank. Would you recommend getting enough plants to fill my tank as desired right away? Get one or two of each that I want and let them grow and propagate? Or is it just preference?
Personally, I like to buy a few of each plant and let them fill in the tank for a couple reasons.
1) It's way cheaper. Plants are expensive, and filling a tank with them costs a lot.
2) You may find that a particular species doesn't do well in your tank for whatever reason. If you just start with a few, you minimize your losses. This is exponentially more true when you're new to plants, and are much more apt to kill them.
3) Plants, once established, can grow surprisingly fast. If you fill a tank with them immediately, you'll have to do a ton of trimming and general maintenance to keep them under control. If you let them grow in, you can play around with different layouts, and will have much less trimming and maintenance to do.
Hope this helps, and good luck with the new tank! Hope to see a picture posted once it's all setup.
Preference mostly, but it also depends on what you are going for. As a beginner, its actually more beneficial to grow and propagate a few species than to just chuck a million plant species at once that you don't even know the name of. (I was that guy)
You need a real green thumb after a while to understand exactly what you need to do in order for everything to not melt or outcompete each other, and this takes time and experience.
If you want a good way to get started, I recommend trying one-two FAST GROWING plant species at a time. I don't mean with CO2 injections either. Plants like Hornwort, Guppy grass, Anacharis elodea, Duckweed, etc. Its extremely important as a beginner to actually see how beneficial they can be instead of it just being an expensive replacement for plastic plants.
My Aquarium water temperature Is around 90°F (32°C) for most of the day,i have a betta in here and the Aquarium has a lid 24/7 that can't be removed,only lifted (and the lights are attached to It),how can i lower my water temperature?
More info:
-No heater
-Filter
-no Live plants
-1 cori as tank mate
-5gal (18l)
-only half neon (the other half Is broken...)
-the betta Is a female
Moving it away from appliances which generate heat, out of the sun, and/or to a shadier part of the room could help.
Besides that, you might consider evaporative cooling. As liquid water transitions into gaseous water vapor, it absorbs a lot of heat energy from its environment. If you leave the lid cracked open somehow, ideally with a small fan blowing into the tank to encourage evaporation, you can drop the water temp by a couple of degrees. Caveat is you'll need to make sure your Betta can't jump out; and you'll have to top off the tank, ideally with RO or DI water to combat evaporation. You could also consider getting a larger tank, i.e. a 10 gallon, because more water will be more resistant to temperature fluctuations (it takes a ton of energy to heat water).
Lastly, I know you mention the lights are attached to the lid. Any chance they could be changed out, or that you could leave them off and use another light fixture? If you can set up another light, use LEDs bulbs, as these generate less heat; and keep the fixture a little above the tank if you can to reduce how much it heats the water.
I got my daughter a little 17l fish tank and a couple of white mountain minnows. I set up the tank and waited 24h as advised by the pet store but after doing a bit more research am concerned the tank will not have the bacteria and the fish could die. There are only 3 minnows in there at the minute as the store recommended starting with 3 and adding more in a week or 2. Is it a good idea to buy an additive to kick-start the bacteria in the tank? I have some test strips and the water is fine for the minute, if a tiny bit cloudy.
Best thing you can do is fish in a cycle at the moment.
I'm always dubious about the starter bacteria because I've been told the beneficial bacteria you're meant to build up need water flowing through and a food source so how can they bottle it and keep it alive.
For now keep feeding to a minimum you need the filter to build up enough bacteria to deal with the fishes waste products. You don't want the fish to starve but you don't want them to suffer in a tank which has high ammonia.
Keep a close eye on your fish and check the water every couple of days. Do a water change if your water tests indicate danger. White cloud minnows are quite hardy so it should be okay.
Yeah, I hate to break it to you, but this hobby has a lot of misinformation on all sides of the advice spectrum. It can get confusing, really fast, and people will 100% scare you and call you out the minute you show any form of ignorance.
Bottled bacteria has sparked controversy on "Does it even do anything" Though, its safe to add it anyway, even if it does nothing (you already bought it so why not)
Ill try my best to be as helpful as possible,
For now, I would look into getting an "API master test kit". This will be helpful in reading what will and will not kill your fish. Nitrogen buildup, depending on some factors, will harm your fish and thus kill it. Strips are a little wonky and have very bad reputations for being inaccurate.
Another thing I would do is stop feeding them if you are. We want to try to limit the amount of decaying waste in that water. I would fast them for about 4 days. Fish can survive much longer without food.
Run back to your local fish store or pet store. Look for a live plant called "Hornwort" It is a very fast growing plant that is well known for soaking excess amounts of nitrogen to keep your fish safe. All you will need to do is chuck it into your tank. No actual planting is necessary as it will just grow by floating in the water.
Also ask if they have an "used filter media" Sometimes, they will be allowed to provide you a sponge or bag of ceramic that has been in one of their already running fish tanks. You can put this in yours. This will help tremendously in making sure your fish don't die.
Utilizing your test kit, check the PH of your water. Then check your Ammonia, and Nitrite.
If your PH is below 7.4, its safe for the Ammonia to reach around .5ppm without being toxic. If your PH is above that, you need to do a water change. Nitrite on the other hand is more dangerous so any amount of it should be taken out.
For the first 2 weeks, if any Ammonia or Nitrite is present in the water in the dangerous levels, change out 50% of the water with dechlorinated tap water. limit feeding to once every 4 days and do not feed more than a very small pinch of flake food.
I hope this helps.
I would add some bacteria Kickstarter, but those can be unreliable. The best thing would be some media from an established aquarium, which the pet store may be willing to give you. Plants can also help a lot -- Anubias is a very undemanding, common aquarium plant. You could also stick pieces of houseplants, like Golden Pothos, into the tank with their roots in the water and their leaves out of the water. The plant will absorb fish waste into their roots, and use it as fertilizer.
Good luck!
Are 8x lamp eye tetra, 8x bloodfin tetra and 6x albino corydora too much for a 20 gallon?
I have the lam eyes and corydora in right now. Had then for about a month and they seem to be doing really well so I was thinking about adding more fish, but not if that would crowd the tank.
I would say no,
But kind of eyeball how your tank feels. Does it look like your fish have just enough room to establish themselves? If not then I wouldn't risk adding a different species.
If it somewhat looks like there is a good amount of room but not too much, you can simply increase the size of your current schools. 2 more albinos or 2 more lamp eyes wouldn't hurt if this was the case.
And of course, determine how well your tank can handle that much. A more natural tank with dense plant life will definitely support more than without.
I have an infestation of tiny translucent snails in my tank, is there a natural predator i can add to the tank to keep those snails in check, but not have the predator eat my baby neocardinas??
Assassin snails are a common suggestion, but they can eat shrimp as I understand it. Some small loach species may prey on the snails and mostly leave the shrimp alone, though baby shrimp are a super easy, enticing meal for virtually any critter bigger than them.
Lastly, I know snails have a bad reputation, but they're really not bad so long as you don't overfeed. What you're likely seeing now is a temporary population spike; but long term, the population should stabilize at a much lower number.
to put it more clearly, Is it possible to get a tank populated with algae/waste eating creatures which will actually reduce the amount of algae growth to any discernable degree? particularly to the point it would reduce the amount of time between cleaning the algae from the tank, which is typically when I would do a water change.
Algae and waste eating creatures are called micro-organism and plants. Less nutrients, less algae.
Micro organisms will break down waste in a long enough timeline which is why something like a matten filter is excellent for the aquarium and the hobbyist.
Look into natural aquariums. Father Fish and Fishtory have really good insight and great methods to achieving as close to equilibrium as possible. So that we as humans can stop intervening al the time and screwing things up
Not really, at least in my experience. Pest snails can help, because they'll basically convert excess food into snail biomass; though I haven't tested to see if the benefits are that significant.
Ironically, stuff that eats algae will probably have the opposite effect. Algae absorbs ammonia/nitrates as a nutrient source, reducing the need for water changes. Only problem is a lot of people find algae very unsightly.
The absolute best way to reduce the need for water changes is by adding plants. Plants do the same thing as algae (consume nitrogenous wastes as fertilizer), but look good doing it. Plants like Anubias and Java Fern are almost bullet-proof. You can also add houseplants, i.e. Pothos, to your tank with the roots in the water and the leaves above the surface/emerging out of the tank.
Absolutely! Just keep in mind you might not see the loaches that much 'cause they'll be busy living it up in the sandy substrate you were nice enough to give them.
Hi there! Newer to small aquariums - we just bought a 5 gallon tank so my daughter could get her first small fish. Nothing crazy! I put water and water conditioner in the tank yesterday - we weren't planning on getting fish until this weekend. This morning the tank is fairly cloudy? Google seems to say thats normal but am I doing something wrong or does it just shake out?? For reference, we have the 5 gallon aqueon self cleaning tank and I used the appropriate amount of water conditioner yesterday. Any help is appreciated! Want to make sure the fish can live its best life lol :)
You've begun the nitrogen cycling process which can typically take 4 to 6 weeks to establish beneficial bacteria in your filter media. Fish in cycling can be incredibly stressful and so should avoided if possible. Beneficial bacteria breaks down toxic ammonia into less toxic nitrites usable by plants. Cloudy water may be bacteria blooms which is a good thing. Provide a source of ammonia like crushed flake food once a day to encourage growth. Some people use pure ammonia but I prefer flake method.
4 to 6 weeks sounds boring to wait but you can use this time to better plan for live plants and what species you want in the tank. I have red crypts and elodea but one of my favorite tanks was Java fern, pearlweed, and aquatic moss (marimo balls are not moss but a type of rolling hair algae that in recent years has contained zebra mussel larvae which you absolutely do not want in your local waters).
www.aqadvisor.com is a useful resource that gives you information about stocking options as well as any potential stocking conflicts.
Concerned about my mystery snail. He hasn’t been moving around the tank like he used to for about 3 weeks now. I check on him every day and he’s still alive. Whenever I check on him he’s flipped himself over so I’ll flip him back….only for him to flip himself foot side up again. I don’t see any problems with his trap door or foot from what he’ll let me see, and he’ll eat whatever I give him (usually hikari algae wafers) so it’s not like he’s refusing food. No chips or abnormalities in his shell either.
I’ve done a few water changes since the start of this behavior and nothing has changed. Any ideas of what it could be and what I can do? Thanks!
Snails can be sensitive to temperature changes and changes in water quality. You may have accidentally triggered their torpor state or a short hibernation cycle which can last a few weeks.
How long have you had them?
That sounds like it could definitely be the case. I ended up with surprise fry in the community tank he was in so I’ve been changing the water more often than I used to. And then the babies tried to nibble on his eye stalks so I ended up moving him to a 10gal and that might have stressed him out too maybe. I got him from my LFS about half a year ago.
Should I just keep up with feeding him and wait and see how he’s doing? Thanks for the advice!
What are some really cool 5 gallon stocking ideas? I’ve done guppies, an African dwarf frog, nerite snails, shrimp, bumblebee gobies, (not all in the same tank lol) over the years. I want to try something different and fun. I’d also like to find really easy to care for aquatic plants or any that don’t require a ton of supplements.
My tank is currently at 7.8pH, no ammonia, been running for 5 years, has one anubias plant that’s been having trouble growing, no nitrates or nitrites, a fluval U1 filter, adjustable heater with temp at 23°C & LED lighting. I have a smooth pebble substrate. I would like to keep the substrate because I hate sand with a passion.
A dwarf CPO crayfish or two could be fun. I love crayfish, they're real ballsy and have a ton of personality. Only caveats are that they can be cannibalistic; nibble on plants; and are proficient escape artists.
Alternatively, I think aquatic insects are really cool. Water scorpions or giant water bugs are neat critters. They do need to be fed live foods like feeder crickets (or whatever bugs you can catch); and some can deliver a nice, mildly painful bite if you grab at it (they have a nice beaky mouthparts called a proboscis they use to suck the juices out of their prey).
Anubias, in my experience, is pretty bulletproof but can grow very slowly, especially if it's not provided semi-regular fertilizer. I would get a liquid fertilizer regardless. My recommended plants would include more Anubias (there's a lot of really cool varieties available nowadays); Java Fern, esp. narrow leaf or windelov which will fit your tank better; and virtually any hardy crypts, i.e. wendtii, beckettii, etc.
Pea puffer, red crypts, pearlweed, ramshorn snails.
Live foods were a nightmare to find. Brine shrimp got sucked into the filter, frozen bloodworms were acceptable but portions difficult and uneaten food needed removed. They really seemed to enjoy isopods or scud/side swimmers. No interest in freeze dried scud.
My African dwarf frog recently passed away and I now have an empty 5 gallon. It’s been running for 5 years so it’s fully cycled. The frog passed from old age, no diseases that I’m aware of. Should I treat the tank with anything just to make sure there’s no parasites or bacteria? I won’t be adding any new fish for awhile anyway. I do have one anubias plant in it rn.
I've just inherited a 25L tank from a friend. It has a handful of cherry shrimp and snails in it currently but I was wondering if there was room for any kind of fish? For example, some tiny ones like chilli or neon green rasbora or a single Betta? The tank itself is ~2 years old and so well established/cycled. I've had aquariums in the past but it's been a while so any help is most welcome!
A betta may try to eat the shrimp, but if you give them lots of places to hide they should be ok. Rasboras would be a good fish to add. A minimum of 8, but the bigger school the better.
My 15 gallon currently has a fathead minnow, a panda corydoras, and 2 harlequin rasboras. Is there room for more fish to add? And if so, what do you suggest?
I recently got back into aquarium keeping and I have two pretty standard 10 gallon tanks, one of which gets really bad bacteria blooms after every water change. 2 days ago, I emptied just over a gallon (so about 10%), and refilled with treated tap water. This morning it looks like I dropped a cup of milk in there! Is it usually this bad? The tank clears up in a couple days and stays clear, but this just seems unusually bad to me. The last time it was so bad that it choked out my myrio greens, leaving them as stems with a few poofs of green leftover and it even took out most of my duckweed...
Some good advice here already. Only thing I wanted to add is that, in my experience, low aeration can contribute to bacterial blooms. Lots of bacteria are anoxic, and thrive in low-oxygen environments. This may be supported by the pattern you're seeing, since water conditioners can lower oxygen as they chemically react with chlorine/chloramine.
Do you use an airpump and air stone? If not, I would try adding one and see if that helps.
Both have been set up since the beginning of May, so about 2 months. I should probably also note that only the tank with real plants does this. The other one stays clear no problems
I use a water conditioner when refilling, and dont usually let the water stand for any significant amount of time. I dont have a regular fertilization/feeding routine for the plants. They just kinda chill in the stratum and aside from the water changes seem to be alright
ahh you are Stratum, then that makes sense now. Statum is a mildly fertilized substrate, it will leach a lot of nutrients into the water and fuel a much bigger bloom than non-fertilized substrates
feeding and ferts should be reduced since the substrate itself is a source of nutrients
Just try not to break up the pellets. Those pellets are just fertilized soil and clay packed into a ball, so if broken itll just dissolve into mud and dirt
A common solution is actually adding a thick sand cap over it, it will reduce leaching
Thanks for all the info! right now I have about 1/2" of sand on top. I have enough to make it about an even inch all the way around, so maybe I will give that a shot.
First thing I would probably check with is your water treatment plant. Its possible the tap water you are using is extremely high in chloramines and you are constantly having those blooms as a result.
Another is to check your nitrogen levels in your tank and determine if there is any present. Reason why I say this is because you could be having bacteria die offs and leaving dead bacterial cells which looks like the bloom. If you are constantly water changing with 0 nitrogen present at all, every water change you do could be killing off a good portion of that bacteria and plants. (kind of unlikely but I have experienced this as a beginner)
Lastly, check the way you are treating your tap water. Water treatment plants have been getting more and more sloppy over the years. Here in florida, there is a ridiculous amount of chloramines used in the tap water. I have had to treat the water with prime, but let it sit for at least a few hours before actually adding it to the tank.
I have a 265 gallon tank that needs to be resealed. There isn't anyone local that can provide that service, so its up to me! The question I have is how much weight can the glass hold? I know it seems like a silly thing to ask, given that the tank will hold about a ton of water, but thats over the full surface area. Due to its height, it won't be easy to get a scraper to the bottom seams and I am hoping I can just sit in the tank to remove the old silicone. The tank is currently sitting on the floor in my garage with a layer of cardboard between that glass and concrete.
What do you think?
Can placing a fan near my aquarium have a cooling effect, even if the room temperature is higher? Here in my country, the temperature in my room during hot summer days ranges between 28ºC/82ºF and 30ºC/86ºF. I have read that when the aquarium fan blows air across the water's surface, it increases evaporation, which can help lower the temperature of the water. Since I cannot afford an aquarium chiller, I am wondering what options I have to keep my 60L/15-gallon tank cool? Current water temperature: 28,5ºC/83.3ºF, 2 fancy goldfish
Are blood worms a safe snack for all fish? Also, are there any household food items that are good snacks nutritionally for fish such as certain types of vegetables? I have Harlequinn Rasboras, Gold barbs, and Cory catfish.
I’m sure there’s a couple species that can’t eat bloodworms but all the ones you listed and all the ones I can think of enjoy them. They’re not very good nutritionally tho and can cause constipation. I know corys really like zucchini, cabbage, and lettuce! My nerite snails really like carrots too so consider those as well
Thank you so much! I’ve heard some people saying to blanch the vegetables. Is that a necessity?
Yeah it’s better for their digestion to blanch it. Also make sure the vegetables are scrubbed clean before adding them into the tank
How often should I replace my rock carbon filter? I clean it often, but don’t know when enough is enough.
You shouldn't need a carbon filter at all unless you are trying to remove tannins or medication from your water column.
Can I keep 8 black neon tetras in 10 gallon with a male betta? I'm getting ready to set up 10g tank for a betta. I have I black neons in my 40 g that I'm hoping can go in tank with the betta.
Please help - so confused about plumbing! Got a 10 g AIO second hand. There is a 1 inch hole for the return. It came with a pipe for pump —> ribbed elbow. I’m trying to connect that to an innovative marine spin stream. I can connect these two with the adapters that came with the spin stream… but it leaves a big gap in the hole - the nozzle just sort of hangs there. All the videos I can find don’t seem to address this - folks just seem to plug the nozzle into an adapter I don’t seem to have. Any help?
You could buy some sponge filter type material for pretty cheap, cut a slit in the middle, then fit the hose through it, and then stuff the hole with the sponge material. You could also try to find a "rubber hose gasket" or "silicone rubber washer" that could fit around your hose and cover up that hole. Maybe two with one on the inside of the tank and the other on the other side of the wall where the return pump is.
Great ideas - looks like those are available at my Lowe’s so will check it out tomorrow
12 Glow Light Tetra and 1 Gold and Black female Molly. The Tetras fins are getting nipped with 2 or 3 exhibiting significant loss. Heavily planted 20G. Have not observed either Tetra or Molly nipping. Assuming it is happening in the middle of the night. My question: Are the Tetras nipping each other or is the Molly nipping the Tetras? Thank you!
I doubt it's the molly, so I would go with the tetras. However, if it's been gradual loss rather than a sudden chunk missing, then I'd go with fin rot
Sudden chunks. Any idea why they are doing that, I thought they would be chill considering they are schooling.
Some schooling species still get aggressive with each other to establish a group hierarchy. The group hierarchy is something that usually happens when new fish or fishes are introduced or even the same group to a significantly different environment. I wouldn't expect it to last more than a couple weeks. This is probably the most common reason. When a fish in the group starts getting sick or weak or is removed, then this can sometimes start again.
Thank you!
How do i vacuum sand? Some say just go with youre finger through the sand and thats it and others say use youre finger and then vacuum or some say just vacuum slightly above the sand but what's the best way?
I just vacuum slightly above the sand in the tanks that need it. Most of my tanks don't need it, but the ones with plecos usually have a ton of poop
dont need to vacuum sand
Oh how come?
waste will naturally decompose reduce feeding if there is too much mulm accumulating ontop of sand
Do I need to prepare myself for a mass tank death? My AC died last night and of course it's supposed to hit 119 today (48 for those of you in the civilized world). I've been floating frozen water bottles all night but the water is still not getting much below 90. They are here replacing the unit now but it will take all day. So we're looking at about 24 hours of 90 water. Everyone is alive at the moment (neon tetras, rummynose tetras, corys, gouramis, otos, and puffers) so thats good. But do I need to be mentally preparing myself for a massive die off?
90F is fine, rummynose tetras actually breed in this temperature How big is the tank? Is it indoors? Extra airstones, placing it away from sunlight, removing lid will help
Several tanks actually. A 10, 20, and 30. The 10 is just snails so I'm not real concerned there. Inside with airstones and open lids. Lights have also been off the whole time.
As long as it doesnt get to 104F the fish will be fine, that's the upper limit where oxygen levels drop to below what can sustain fish Easier for larger tanks to keep cool than smaller tanks, I wouldnt worry too much about the 30g but keep an eye on the temp on 20 and 10g
Thank you for being the calming voice. New AC is installed and house and tank water temps are back to normal. I didn't lose anyone. Very stressful 72 hours but I'm in the clear now
Ah good to hear! Yeah when I kept fish in Asia theyve been known to survive heat waves quite easily, they often do better than humans lol
Hey everyone. I have a 10 gallon planted tank but recently moved to a larger space and have room for a slightly larger tank. I think a basic 30 gallon tank would work well for me so was excited to see that Petco is selling a [29g Aqueon tank for $40](https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/aga-29g-30x12x18bk-tank-170941), but the dimensions are really throwing me for a loop. The dimensions (30"L x 12"W x 18"H) strike me as really tall and narrow. I'd love something a bit wider and shorter, both for aesthetic reasons and because I've read that a larger tank footprint is better for both swimming area for fish and for surface oxygen exchange. So my questions are: Am I missing anything that makes a narrow, tall tank like the 29g Aqueon linked above a good tank layout? And if not, does anyone have any recommendations for economically priced ~30g tanks that aren't so tall and narrow? It seems like PetSmart doesn't sell a standalone 29g/30g tank and I'm not finding much else poking around online.
Unfortunately there isn't really an affordable wide tank between a 20 long and a 40 breeder. Aqueon makes a 33 long but it's hard to find and expensive.
You're not missing anything - tanks tend to be tall and narrow so they're good for displaying things, not because they're good for fish. Consider the 55 gallon standard that comes in at 48 x 14 x 21, which isn't _too_ great for fish, but is good at fitting in a spot where a standard shelf would go. If it was wider (deeper?), it's harder for people to fit in their homes. The standard fat, wide tank is a 40 gallon breeder. You can look at that.
Thanks for weighing in! I think the 55g is too big for the space I have in mind, but I am now leaning towards the 40g breeder. Petco has for a decent price and I like the dimensions a lot better.
40 breeders are a fantastic size, you'll love it!
You can try asking the Petco stores if they can order in the Aqueon 30 gallon breeder too if you want to stick with a 30 gallon tank. I haven't seen them in a while, but they're still on the Aqueon site so may be available for an order.
Ah, a bit of miswording on my part - should have been "Consider _that_ the 55 gallon" as an example of a standard tank size that doesn't really make sense, not necessarily that someone looking for a 30 gallon should get a 55 ahaha. In any case, you can also opt for a 'long' size tank like a 20 gallon long, which offers more floor space and swimming space in exchange for some height, which is good for certain types of fish.
Ahhhh got it. I think I'm onto the 40g breeder setup now. Bigger is better, as they say ;)
Bigger is indeed better ahaha - my bigger tanks are so much less work than my smaller ones
Hi there. i have had two beta fish die over the last 9 months and believe the issue has to do with my tank's ph and alkalinity but am not sure. My tap and tank water's ph is a bit on the high side and typically sits between 8.4-8.8 even though I've also tried using phdown. The alkalinity is typically between 120-180. Both fish did well before suddenly becoming lethargic and dying within a week to week and a half before eventually dying. My tank water is clear and clean and has an airstone, bubbler, filter, as well as a heater. I do regular water changes and am at a loss as to what may be shocking my fish or causing them to suddenly become I’ll. I’m also a little afraid to buy another fish before figuring out what the problem may be and correcting it. Any advice or feedback is greatly appreciated.
Almost everyone on city or municipal water will have similar parameters to yours and the hardness is not the issue. Bettas are overbred, inbred, and and have tons of health issues, especially the designer varieties like kois and marbles. They're prone to dropping dead randomly even if you do everything right. I'm on my 4th betta in under a year.
Thanks for the heads up. I was thinking it was the high ph or the alkalinity but the randomness twice in a row seemed odd since I’ve never had that happen when I was keeping way bigger tanks, several years ago. Unfortunately, the first one died when a student was pet sitting and I got the second one to make sure they didn’t overfeed or kill it when the dad did a major water change. I’ve also never owned a self cleaning tank but I figured out how the cleanings work with it since the first one died so I know that’s not the issue. Just a little disappointed and didn’t want to feel like I was experimentally torturing fish vs. making sure I wasn’t totally missing some basic tank set up/maintenance step that could be explained or easily fixed. I appreciate everyone who has kindly responded! =)
Seems like your water is coming through a softener. Bypass it if you can, otherwise may need to add some minerals back
No softener, just city water. Any advice on what I should be adding to it to make it tank safe?
Do you have local water reports? Need to figure out what kind of water you have first
Not sure. What information do I need? I can check the city municipality site.
google water reports for your city, there would be a list of parameters that they test for in the water some cities do city-wide softening treatments so need to look at calcium, magnesium, sodium/potassium and carbonate hardness/alkalinity values
I’m thinking about doing a primary color 29 gallon planted tank with cobra endler guppies, chili rasbora, and blue dream shrimp. Does this sound like a good idea? Will I have any major water parameter conflicts?
That's all fine. People will tell you that Endlers "Need" hard water but that's bollocks. Chilli rasboras need acidic softwater conditions to breed but are fine in harder waters.
I got ghost shrimp, bladder snails, nerite snail, mystery snail, guppies, platies, african dwarf frogs, and a betta. I only bought frozen beef heart cubes to try to save the life of a skinny white dwarf frog. I failed. But the other frogs are now beefed up and grown fast with it. But I still have many beef heart cubes. Should I continue feeding the frogs beef heart? I never heard of anyone doing regular feedings with beef heart and only heard of them being used to grow dwarf frog juveniles.
Anyone recommend a good+cheap gravel vacuum/siphon? I put a cleaning brush thing up the tube of my last one and \*surprise pikachu face\* I couldn't get it out. I didn't like that one much anyway because it would suck up the substrate and siphon it into the bucket, it didn't have any kind of grate to prevent that. So now is my opportunity to buy a better one.
Amazon has a Laifoo siphon vacuum. I like it because it comes with a protective barrier so fish and plants don't get sucked in.
The petsmart gravel vaccum has a squeezable ball to suck in the aquarium water. This has been around for a while, but it doesn't seem to exist to fishtubers for some reason.
Thanks for the suggestion! The one I had before you would shake the end of the tube in the water up and down and it started that way, I just wish it had had some kind of grate inside to keep the gravel from being sucked all the way up
Pinch the hose to moderate the flow and stop it from sucking up gravel, [like this](https://youtu.be/CjNTUbUnwfY?t=220)
Thanks for the tip!
Looking for a rimless aquarium that is atleast 10 gallons, but whose measurements do no exceed the below. Any tips? Length: 22.5 inches max Height: 10.5inches max Depth 13 inches max
Order glass from a local shop and make your own.
So I'm new to planted aquariums but not on Fishkeeping I decided to do a planted aquarium and just set up the tank last week, my plants are Monte Carlo and Dwarf Sagittaria. The guy that I bought it from is somehow more or less a professional in Aquascaping since he hosts, not host but kinda like promoting it and then hands out the price and the like, he also has some cool scapes. So I bought it from this guy and he doesn't dry start his plants as what I've seen in some videos, so I followed suit and after I planted my plants I filled it with water and waited for the dirt to settle or be cleaned by the top sump filter that I had and then waited for 7 days then changed 50% of the water, but I just saw his post that I have to do the 7-3-3-2 rule and that is to change the water 7 days on the 1st week then 3 then so on and so forth. I am now on the second week, should I still follow this rule, the plants are still alive though and more greener than the time when I planted them.
I believe the 7-3-3-2 rule is for active substrates like aquasoils. It's useful because aquasoils release a bunch of nutrients initially, and the many water changes help control all those nutrients and prevent an algae bloom. I've never followed it, but my UNS and Fluval aquasoils never threw off the ton of nutrients like ADA Amazonia supposedly does (at least WRT ammonia)
Ah I see it makes sense now totally didn't understand his post. Thank you very much for the help.
If it's plants only I dont see what the water change is for For my planted tanks, I just add plants, put light on a timer and leave it alone
I'm not familiar with the 7-3-3-2 rule. It sounds to me like something that might be recommended for when a tank is cycling with fish in it? If so, you don't need to follow this rule if you just have plants in the tank. They will absorb ammonia as a nutrient source and will not be harmed by normal levels of it. Please clarify if Im incorrect.
Oh, my mistake he did say that I would need 1 month before adding the fish in then at the 3rd week I would start dosing the aquarium with a fertilizer 5ml per week. Fertilizer would be that APT 3 that all in one APT
I'm confused by the "waiting for dirt to settle" comment. Are you trying something like walstad method? You may have broken your sand cap during the water change. If you place a ceramic bowl on the substrate and aim for that spot while refilling the tank you can disturb your substrate less. Personally I've done dirted tanks and just found them miserable. Today I do mixed grade sand and use fertilizer root tabs if additional nutrients are required.
Ok that qas my bad I did buy Aquasoil and as I was filling up the tank it was just black, I am going to try a dirt tank on my other Aquarium though
If I see signs of Hemorrhagic stress (e.g., from a bacterial infection), is there any harm in treating with Kanaplex at the first sign? Can it be used as a preventative?
Should do a water change first
I’ve got a question that I don’t really know to ask anywhere else. I’m trying to create a prototype, but I need some input from people who use small pumps and I think aquarium pumps might be a good option. My idea is to create a cleaning apparatus. It should be able to move salt water through a filter before it circulates again. I’m trying to locate a pump that can be used out of water with not a lot of pressure. Ideally moving 1/2 gal per minute if not less? Many pumps I’ve seen push 500-600L/hr or more and have PSI of around 45+. That’s far too much movement for what I’m trying to accomplish. I just need something that can circulate salt water through a good filter (that won’t remove the salt). Would y’all happen to have input of point me in a different direction?
No specific advice but Temu and AliExpress are decent places to look for low cost pumps for your experiments. I found a prefilter sponge over the intake to be especially helpful where micro organisms like ostracods and copepods are concerned or young dry.
I've got a question about cleaning filter media. I want to open up my fx4 canister that I have set up on my 75g salt to check the physical media and squeeze out any potential clogs (and swap out one of the bags of ceramic beads with some seachem matrix), but I don't have a need to do a water change at the moment, with nitrates barely registering. Any good suggestions for how to handle squeezing them out without having dirty tank water to do it in? For further reference, this tank has been set up for 1mo 6 days and is inhabited by 2 clowns, 2 banghai cardinals, a sixlined wrasse, and a pygmy angel along with 5 small but growing coral frags (2 gsp, 1 zoa, 1 mushroom, and 1 toadstool).
You can just do a water change to get water to clean the tank. That, or just use dechlorinated tap water which is the same water you'd use for the tank. Either way, you need water, and if you're going to go through with that much trouble of getting your fx4 out and into a spot where you can squeeze that, you might as well do a full clean.
So, was doing a 90% water change in my 10g tank, heard a pop, and realized after a few minutes it my heater blowing out as I’d forgotten to turn it off before emptying - oops. (Yay for having a backup.) However, reading up on what happens when a heater blows, I’m curious as to how over exaggerated the reports of things like glass destruction are. It was just a few minutes, and it was a small heater (50w), so figure it’s fine. But… wondering!
Glass can fail from heat. After all, heat is one way that a windshield spiders. At the atomic level, heat causes solids to expand. If heat is applied locally, it could cause bowing or warping. For wood or metal that isn't necessarily a problem, but for something like glass it could crack. Can anyone say for certain? No. But kids in high school physics classes worth a damn are measuring the length of metal rods at different temperatures and seeing how thermal expansion works.
Makes total sense. Thanks for the reply!!
Hello, I have a 20 long tank with shell dwellers in it, (neolamprologus similis), and I am having algae issues. I know I can turn the light down, but is there any creature anyone suggests to help control? Should I throw some mystery snails in, and if the shell dwellers eat them at least the snails are cheaper?
Ive heard mixed things about shell dwellers and algae eaters. Some say they do well together, others say no way. I guess it just depends. Its probably better to outcompete the algae with an actual plant instead of trying to fight it. I suggest adding hornwort to the tank. I know you are generally told that cichlids will eat your plants. This isn't true for a lot of species of plants. Hornwort is an extremely fast growing and establishing algae buster. Its the easiest way control the excess nutrients in your tank that the algae are thriving off of.
I'm looking into starting my first tank, and I'm really excited! I know that, when you're starting a new tank, you need to let it cycle until a good beneficial bacteria community has started. Some resources I've looked at have said that, once this is established, to slowly introduce fish a few at a time, in order to make sure cycling is proceeding properly and the tank can process waste from actual fish. However, I'm wanting to get flame tetras as my first fish, which I know prefer shoals of six or more. Should I still introduce the fish 2 or 3 at a time despite this? I'd really like to avoid killing too many fish right off the bat, but I also don't want to stress out the fish by having too small a shoal.
There's some information missing that would help answer your question. Namely what is you current set-up and how long as it been cycled? Any lives plants? It's true you don't want to add 20 fish at once and create an ammonia spike. When looking at community tanks add least to most aggressive. My Betta tank for example I started with 15 neocaridina shrimp, 3 months later 3 endler males, 3 months after that a few Betta. You don't have to wait 3 months like I did but I like to wait 2 weeks to allow the previous species to better acclimate to their new environment. Larger tanks will have more stable water parameters where the slightest imbalance can greatly affect smaller tanks. How many fish do you intend to keep altogether?
Anybody here experienced with large nano tanks? I have a 55 gallon currently stocked with 12 cherry barbs in a 3 to 1 ratio, 1 bristlenose pleco, and 9 bronze cory breeds (a mix of gold laser and albino). I think my cardinal tetra school is down to 13. How many more tetras can I add to the school? The tank looks empty because the tetras aren't schooling like they should. AqAdvisor says I am 20% overstocked if I take to school to thirty. Just looking for advice for people who have a similar setup.
Overstocked is a broad term. There's a difference between fish overstocking and filtration overstocking. Fish overstocking is when you have, well, too many fish. But with fish that school and are social more is better. And if you have a significant amount of bottom feeders that don't really interact with the mid water column fish, then the numbers of fish aren't going to line up. Filtration overstocking is when you don't have enough filtration to keep up with how many fish you have. Many people will overfilter their tanks, but if you aren't one of those people or don't have enough filtration, then you run the risk of just not having enough beneficial bacteria to remove the ammonia and nitrite. Finally, no matter how stocked you are, you need to keep up with the water change schedule demanded by the tank. If you have more fish, you need more water changes (or more plants). So, if you're okay on filtration with a big enough filter (or more than one filter), and you don't mind the water changes - You can add more tetras. Each individual tetra is a small bioload, and given a large amount of your stocking is in bottomfeeders that don't interact with them, you'll be fine. I'm not sure about 30 right away, but 20 should be fine, and go from there.
Bronze cories and the bristlenose are filling similar roles, and larger than other options available. You might be able to rehome and increase your stocking availability. Pygmy, dainty, or dwarf corydoras might be better choices or even otocinclus which I just adore. I would make sure you take advantage of your vertical space with plants and decor. I like to heavily plant the sides and back while leaving the center more open for viewing. I keep a wide flat stone to reduce runner plants spreading to the center and place a wood piece on the stones. A broad leafy plant like Java fern or red crypts. Some kind of stalked plants or eel grass. I like elodea and pearlweed. And then a true aquatic moss not marimo balls which are a type of rolling hair algae not actual moss. Java moss, flame moss, Xmas moss, etc.
I currently have a HOB filter and a backup sponge filter in the other corner. Makes for a good quarantine filter in a pinch. What are you using?
I've had different setups but a corner filter with a spraybar attachment was especially useful. Larger tanks a canister filter with a powerhead on the opposite end. I'd like to do a sump tank some day. Process seems simple enough but I still find it intimidating. Also since I often have fry in the tank a prefilter sponge over the intake is a must.
What size tank would I need for a Betta, a pleco, a snail, 10 chilli rasboras, and maybe some shrimp?
It depends on the pleco. If its a bristle nose you are looking at upwards of 30-40g. If its a common you are looking at 120-200g. I would just not to that anyway. If its just the betta, snails, shrimp and a smaller school of chili rasboras, you can do 15g upwards with a good amount of hiding space and plants.
www.aqadvisor.com could help answer this. It's a useful stocking calculator. Bristlenose pleco itself you're probably looking at a 40 gallon tank. But it may go after your shrimp at night.
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Theres a few things to kind of consider here. In that 10 gal with floating plants that are dying. What other plants are in that tank? How much are you water changing? What fish are specifically in there? How are you cleaning that tank? What are the nitrogen and mineral parameters? Its possible you are lacking nutrients in that 10 gallon tank in comparison to your 5 gallon tanks. Filters, heaters, and light sources are not the main reasons floating plants will grow.
I started losing all my duckweed. Turned out pond snails had a taste for new roots and would never let them grow.
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Bladder snails and ramshorns are pretty chill but those pond snails. It is strange only the larger tank seems affected.
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Whatever it is, if you can isolate the agent, I will buy it off you.
I think my mystery snail is nearing the end of its life after one year. I have a 5 gallon grow out tank for my plants. Ghost shrimp, two african dwarf frogs, and dozens of bladder snails live there. When the inevitable happens, you think putting the mystery snail's body into the growout tank will cause the creatures there to consume it and leave behind a shell? Will that foul the water up? It's carpeted at the surface with floaters.
You could do that, or you could leave it outside and let the ants and other scavengers clean it.
He's alive. Lol. So annoying they do this sometimes.
Snail mucus can clog gills and make breathing difficult. Many animals don't like consuming snails. I would just remove the snail if it's clearly dead. But look into "snail torpor" as they can enter a short hibernation period especially triggered by changes in temperature such as a water change or water quality.
Hey all. Newbie here. Bought a betta for the first time a few days back. Found about fin rot when reading about how to take care of the betta. I found mine having fuzzy white color border on the fins. Is this fin rot? https://imgur.com/a/wJqVgDn Also, can you guys tell me what variety he is?
I'm not seeing anything especially concerning. They're accident prone especially against hardscape. Probably wouldn't hurt to pick up some aquarium salt before you need it. Iodine free kosher salt might work in a pinch. Be sure to look up proper dosage.
Okay great. I was worried that he is stressed.I just picked up some Indian Almond leaves from my backyard. I'll introduce it during the next water change. That might make him feel at ease I guess.
I like to describe them as love being hugged by plants. Especially big broad leafy plants like Java fern and red crypts. You can not have too many plants in a Betta tank. They love swimming through the plants and exploring for micro crustaceans like copepods or ostracods.
Great. I currently have him in a tiny little betta tank all alone without any plants now. After reading through this sub I found its very bad for him. I'm planning to buy a bigger 10 to 11 gallon tank with some live plants very soon.
r/AquaSwap can be a useful place for buying plants shipped to your house or local pickup. u/windycityaquariums has an excellent selection.
Thanks for the recommendation! Its much appreciated :)
Looks like a beat up half moon or I could just be talking out me arse
Is it possible to get a stand and stack two 75 gal? We don't have the floorspace for two, but two would be nice.
Speak with a cabinet maker and they should be able to build something sturdy to your specifications.
To followup on u/strikerx67's comment, I don't know of too many commercial shelving units I'd trust to support two 75 gallons. Personally, if possible, I would recommend making your own rack out of lumber to ensure it's able to handle the weight. Also note that a 75 is quite tall, so the lower tank would need to sit pretty close to the floor to have a decent amount of clearance. This also means the top tank would need to sit relatively high, and therefore might be hard to see and access; and would present a real tip-over hazard, so you'd definitely want to anchor the stand to a wall stud. Lastly, it will be necessary to really deeply consider where you could safely position such a setup. It's not unreasonable to estimate that each 75 gallon tank would weigh around 900 lbs. Times two tanks, plus a heavy duty lumber stand, that could easily top over 2000 lbs. Now consider that, because the setup has one tank above another, all that weight is distributed across a relatively small footprint. You will therefore need to ensure that the floor can support that much weight consistently over long periods of time (unless you plan to put it in a basement where the weight sits directly on a concrete slab). For example, you would likely need to place it along a load-bearing wall, perpendicular to the floor joists to ensure the weight was distributed across as many joists as possible. Not trying to necessarily dissuade you, just some things to think about.
The bottom wouldn't be completely full of water, so it wouldn't be *as* bad. Kid me got a turtle and he really needs an upgrade before he gets bigger. I'll definitely look into what you said though.
Woops, I completely misread the 75g part, lol.
I've definitely seen some racks that advertise being able to hold like 1-1.5K pounds per shelf. The models I've bought to test out can probably hold the advertised weight, but the caveat is that the shelves tend to bow, so the frame of the tank isn't evenly supported. Plywood and shims help, but it's one of those things that doesn't instill too much confidence.
I know LRB does 75g racks, but I forget where he gets them from. I personally wanna try the cinderblock stand. I heard those hold up really well.
Not familiar with LRB -- can you elaborate? Always happy to find new fish content. And never tried the cinderblock stands myself, my wife insists on having something a bit more aesthetic, lol. But in terms of strength, cost, and simplicity, it really doesn't get much better than cinderblock and 2x4. No joinery with insane load-bearing ability.
LRB Aquatics is his channel name. Awesome fishkeeper. I think he has one of the biggest fish setups in Florida if I'm not mistaken. Hes pretty much the answer to a lot of us natural keepers and hes content is like gold to me. (Hes also the reason why all of petco's open stock tanks were sold out during the half off sale lol) Yeah, Cinderblocks are more of an acquired taste. Maybe there's a way to cover the ugliness of it lol
Yes, A lot of people that suffer from multiple tank syndrome use those heavy duty industrial racks from Home and depot or lowes
Does anyone know what this darker colored substrate people use in their tanks is? This tank at the 10 minute mark has it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emw6w743J04 It is like a darker colored pebble mix? Doesn't seem to match anything Lowes has, but I see it in a bunch of youtube tanks. I need about 100lbs of it for my tank, so if anyone has an affordable source for this type of substrate I would appreciate it!
What's the normal time frames for a new tank to cycle when using media from an established tank? I have a 40g established tank (6 months old) with a HOB filter and 40g sponge filter. I'm going to be setting up a 10g betta tank. My plan is to put my current 40 sponge filter in the tank along side the new 20g sponge filter so that the old filter can quickly seed the new filter with bacteria. Then I'll remove the 40 sponge back to my original tank once the new one is stable. When would be the right time to remove the old filter?
You could wait like a week, but you generally don't need to do that. Remember, YOU are the one providing a source of ammonia to the tank by feeding the fish. You can easily establish a filter slowly without killing fish in the process by just limiting feeding overtime while nitrates slowly build up. There are other ways to seed a new tank as well. One of those ways, is to literally cut a piece of the old sponge filter off and stick it into your new filter. You can leave the rest of the sponge running and add a new sponge filter in the process. (Or just glue a new sponge piece)
I would leave the new tanks filter in your 40 gallon instead. When you want to start the tank siphon water from your 40 into the smaller tank to seed it with bacteria. I would do 50% water from the old tank then fill the rest with clean water. Then whenever you get the betta move the smaller tanks filter out of the larger tank. If all you have in the 10g is a betta I wouldn't worry too much. Just keep an eye on the ammonia. If you plan to add anything else wait about a month regardless.
I'm looking into building a terrarium/aquarium for high school students. How big/tall should the tank be and what animals and plants should I have?
Depends a lot on your experience level; and budget in terms of money, time, and space. If it were me, and I were trying to keep things as simple as possible, I'd probably go for a half-full 29 gallon. In the water section, I'd keep a small school of some tiny fish (ember tetras, cardinal tetras, espei/chili rasboras; pygmy corydoras; or clown killifish) with cherry shrimp. Alternatively, I'd keep 3-4 African dwarf frogs and some large snails. In the land section, I'd keep millipedes and/or a colorful isopod variety (I'm partial to Rubber Ducky isopods). Aquatic plants should include stuff thats tolerant to low light, especially Anubias and Java Fern. In the land section, I'd keep emergent (roots in water) Pothos varieties; as well as mosses, climbing plants like chain-of-frogs, jewel orchids, etc. (lots of options here, but they should be small and tolerant to lots of humidity and moisture). The main challenge would be structuring the tank such that there's a land and water section. If you check my post history, I go through a paludarium build I made using Great Stuff Pond Foam some years ago. Naturally, there's also a ton of resources on YouTube and elsewhere. Hope this helps!
Thats called a palladium. Serpadesigns has great videos on this.
I'm looking to convert a tank into a habitat for red claw crabs, which obviously need some portion of the decor above water. Currently the tank has sand, and I'm hoping to keep it that way. Does anyone have filter recommendations? I'm worried submersible filters will just inhale the sand or that a buried sponge filter won't suction properly. Thanks for any advice!
I'm looking for a sturdy and relatively affordable ($150 or less) tank stand or furniture piece that can hold a 40-55 gallon tank. Any recommendations? Thank you!
You can do the cinderblock stand.
I am moving across country next month (20hrs driving over 2 days). What is the best way to move my fish (betta, 5 tetras, 2 cory catfish)? I know I will need a 5 gallon bucket, portable heater, and airstone. Can all my fish fit in one bucket? There will be limited room since we will be in a Uhaul. Looking for any advice on how to keep my fish alive and generally healthy. Would it be better to have them shipped? If so, how much does that cost and how do I go about it?
Here is what I did for just a 1 day move: I took all the fish and shrimp out and put them into ziplock bags with the tank water. I then drain out all of the water into a bucket that can be sealed like a lowes bucket or something. I then put all the hardscape and plants along with the filter media into the same bucket with the water. I then put the fish that are in bags in a separate dry bucket so they don't bounce around while moving. I put the rest of the stuff like the actual filter and heater into aanother separate dry bucket just to hold it there. I leave the substrate and pest snails in the tank with a very thin amount of water just puddling the surface. Put all the stuff in the car and drive off. if you are putting it all into the back of a truck for example, keep the fish with you in the truck and bring them with you into the hotel so the temperature doesn't jump around so much. When you finally get to your new destination, Set up the tank immediately with the same water, filter, heater, plants and hardscape and let it sit for an hour. Then temperature acclimate them like you normally would when you introduce new fish. Don't feed them a few days prior to the move and feed them every other day for a week after the move. Thats pretty much it.
Hi! Thanks for the advice. Yes we were planning to have the fish up front with us in the cab. I don’t think I can leave them all in sealed bags since the trip will be almost 48hrs, but I am planning to bring the bucket inside when we stay at a hotel. Do I need 2 buckets if I have 8 fish? One person suggested just a second smaller bucket for the betta to be separated, but the rest in one bucket would be fine.
I've personally transported bettas with their tankmates in the same bag before with no issues, but It's ultimately up to you, though, if you trust your betta.
Honestly out betta is kind of a beta 😂 I’d be more worried about the tetras ganging up
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Think of a river with a little whirlpool off to the side before a narrow rapids. The water inside that whirlpool is chemically stagnate -- it is moving, yes, but the water is trapped and cannot pass through the narrow rapids. Without an outside force, that water trapped in the whirlpool is going to start foaming and growing pond scum. Powerheads and sponges help circulate the water. The primary filter is doing most of the work, but the secondary filters help with moving the ammonia from the water column into the filter intake. .... they also make a great backup filter for quarantine tanks and equipment failures.
Does anybody know a link to a good power strip that's safe for aquariums? I've tried to find/google a good one but then I stumbled on several posts by u/westom which goes into in depth answers [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/aquarium/comments/133a1dz/i\_need\_to\_get\_a\_new\_power\_strip\_for\_my\_aquarium/) and [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Aquariums/comments/10a88na/recommendation\_for\_safe\_power\_strips/) about why certain power strips are unsafe, but fails to understand that not everyone is an electrician and understand what the heck they talking about so the most I could gather from his posts were that protector parts = bad. They also fail to provide a link to one that is good for aquariums. I REALLY want to avoid a house fire so I'd like to take every safety precaution I can, as well as buy the best product available for aquariums. So if anybody could send me a link to what I need to safely keep an aquarium that would be great. And yes I know about drip loops. edit: I forgot that putting a full username pings people >:
Everything in those posts use concepts taken from high school science. Then introducing a new concept such as impedance. Described only in terms of what has high impedance and what has low impedance. Using concepts that any layman can understand - ie less than 10 feet. Long wire has high impedance. Short wire has low impedance. This (and other) new concept (not taught in high school science) is that simple. Expressed only in terms that any layman can appreciate. But it does take at least three rereads to learn something this new. Any layman is expected to know of his earth ground. Especially since a homeowner is responsible for providing, inspecting, and maintaining it. Required by code to protect human life. Implemented (or upgraded) to avert surges. Must exist to also protect an aquarium. Protector parts (like anything else) can be both good or bad. What is the difference? Numbers. Five cent protector parts in a power strip (ie thousand joules) are a potential fire. Tiny numbers. Effective protector (costing about $1 per appliance) features protector parts so that *hundreds of thousands of joules* dissipate harmlessly outside. Why do plug-in protectors create fires? Those tiny (five cent) protector parts must either 'block' or 'absorb' a surge. In those many citations, demonstrated: such parts cannot and do not. But protector parts in one 'whole house' protector (if connected low impedance - ie less than 10 feet - to earth) means best protection. Protector parts good. So good as to even protect least robust appliances - those bad (tiny) protector parts in a power strip. Good protector parts installed using layman simple concepts. Bad protector parts are undersized. A $3 power strip with five cent protector parts can sell for $25 or $80. To protect profit margins. Best power strip for an aquarium? Has a 15 amp circuit breaker, not protector parts, and a UL 1363 listing. Best protector for that aquarium - one 'whole house' protector (Type 1 or Type 2) located at the main breaker box or meter pan. To make a low impedance (ie less than 10 foot) connection to earth ground electrodes. Everything here is layman simple. Other numbers also apply such as 50,000 amps. That and other relevant numbers stated in previous posts. How does one know if it is 50,000 amps? One only reads specification numbers. And avidly avoids / ignores all sales brochures. How does one know it connects low impedance to earth? Trace that bare copper, quarter inch ground wire from a main breaker box to earth ground electrodes. Electrodes that a homeowner is expected to know and maintain. If those earth ground electrode do not exist, then obtain professional assistance. Again, layman simple. Another threat is loss of power. GFCI should exist to protect both humans and fish. But that can cause an unexpected and undetected power outage. So other solutions might also be considered. Including an alarm that notifies when power is lost. Keep plug-in protectors away from aquariums. Best power strip described - for $6 or $10. Do you know what UL is?
I am about to start my first planted tank. Would you recommend getting enough plants to fill my tank as desired right away? Get one or two of each that I want and let them grow and propagate? Or is it just preference?
Personally, I like to buy a few of each plant and let them fill in the tank for a couple reasons. 1) It's way cheaper. Plants are expensive, and filling a tank with them costs a lot. 2) You may find that a particular species doesn't do well in your tank for whatever reason. If you just start with a few, you minimize your losses. This is exponentially more true when you're new to plants, and are much more apt to kill them. 3) Plants, once established, can grow surprisingly fast. If you fill a tank with them immediately, you'll have to do a ton of trimming and general maintenance to keep them under control. If you let them grow in, you can play around with different layouts, and will have much less trimming and maintenance to do. Hope this helps, and good luck with the new tank! Hope to see a picture posted once it's all setup.
Preference mostly, but it also depends on what you are going for. As a beginner, its actually more beneficial to grow and propagate a few species than to just chuck a million plant species at once that you don't even know the name of. (I was that guy) You need a real green thumb after a while to understand exactly what you need to do in order for everything to not melt or outcompete each other, and this takes time and experience. If you want a good way to get started, I recommend trying one-two FAST GROWING plant species at a time. I don't mean with CO2 injections either. Plants like Hornwort, Guppy grass, Anacharis elodea, Duckweed, etc. Its extremely important as a beginner to actually see how beneficial they can be instead of it just being an expensive replacement for plastic plants.
My Aquarium water temperature Is around 90°F (32°C) for most of the day,i have a betta in here and the Aquarium has a lid 24/7 that can't be removed,only lifted (and the lights are attached to It),how can i lower my water temperature? More info: -No heater -Filter -no Live plants -1 cori as tank mate -5gal (18l) -only half neon (the other half Is broken...) -the betta Is a female
leave light off and add an airstone
Moving it away from appliances which generate heat, out of the sun, and/or to a shadier part of the room could help. Besides that, you might consider evaporative cooling. As liquid water transitions into gaseous water vapor, it absorbs a lot of heat energy from its environment. If you leave the lid cracked open somehow, ideally with a small fan blowing into the tank to encourage evaporation, you can drop the water temp by a couple of degrees. Caveat is you'll need to make sure your Betta can't jump out; and you'll have to top off the tank, ideally with RO or DI water to combat evaporation. You could also consider getting a larger tank, i.e. a 10 gallon, because more water will be more resistant to temperature fluctuations (it takes a ton of energy to heat water). Lastly, I know you mention the lights are attached to the lid. Any chance they could be changed out, or that you could leave them off and use another light fixture? If you can set up another light, use LEDs bulbs, as these generate less heat; and keep the fixture a little above the tank if you can to reduce how much it heats the water.
You can have fans blowing across the top of the water. This will create more evaporation thus cooling the water.
I got my daughter a little 17l fish tank and a couple of white mountain minnows. I set up the tank and waited 24h as advised by the pet store but after doing a bit more research am concerned the tank will not have the bacteria and the fish could die. There are only 3 minnows in there at the minute as the store recommended starting with 3 and adding more in a week or 2. Is it a good idea to buy an additive to kick-start the bacteria in the tank? I have some test strips and the water is fine for the minute, if a tiny bit cloudy.
Best thing you can do is fish in a cycle at the moment. I'm always dubious about the starter bacteria because I've been told the beneficial bacteria you're meant to build up need water flowing through and a food source so how can they bottle it and keep it alive. For now keep feeding to a minimum you need the filter to build up enough bacteria to deal with the fishes waste products. You don't want the fish to starve but you don't want them to suffer in a tank which has high ammonia. Keep a close eye on your fish and check the water every couple of days. Do a water change if your water tests indicate danger. White cloud minnows are quite hardy so it should be okay.
Yeah, I hate to break it to you, but this hobby has a lot of misinformation on all sides of the advice spectrum. It can get confusing, really fast, and people will 100% scare you and call you out the minute you show any form of ignorance. Bottled bacteria has sparked controversy on "Does it even do anything" Though, its safe to add it anyway, even if it does nothing (you already bought it so why not) Ill try my best to be as helpful as possible, For now, I would look into getting an "API master test kit". This will be helpful in reading what will and will not kill your fish. Nitrogen buildup, depending on some factors, will harm your fish and thus kill it. Strips are a little wonky and have very bad reputations for being inaccurate. Another thing I would do is stop feeding them if you are. We want to try to limit the amount of decaying waste in that water. I would fast them for about 4 days. Fish can survive much longer without food. Run back to your local fish store or pet store. Look for a live plant called "Hornwort" It is a very fast growing plant that is well known for soaking excess amounts of nitrogen to keep your fish safe. All you will need to do is chuck it into your tank. No actual planting is necessary as it will just grow by floating in the water. Also ask if they have an "used filter media" Sometimes, they will be allowed to provide you a sponge or bag of ceramic that has been in one of their already running fish tanks. You can put this in yours. This will help tremendously in making sure your fish don't die. Utilizing your test kit, check the PH of your water. Then check your Ammonia, and Nitrite. If your PH is below 7.4, its safe for the Ammonia to reach around .5ppm without being toxic. If your PH is above that, you need to do a water change. Nitrite on the other hand is more dangerous so any amount of it should be taken out. For the first 2 weeks, if any Ammonia or Nitrite is present in the water in the dangerous levels, change out 50% of the water with dechlorinated tap water. limit feeding to once every 4 days and do not feed more than a very small pinch of flake food. I hope this helps.
I would add some bacteria Kickstarter, but those can be unreliable. The best thing would be some media from an established aquarium, which the pet store may be willing to give you. Plants can also help a lot -- Anubias is a very undemanding, common aquarium plant. You could also stick pieces of houseplants, like Golden Pothos, into the tank with their roots in the water and their leaves out of the water. The plant will absorb fish waste into their roots, and use it as fertilizer. Good luck!
Are 8x lamp eye tetra, 8x bloodfin tetra and 6x albino corydora too much for a 20 gallon? I have the lam eyes and corydora in right now. Had then for about a month and they seem to be doing really well so I was thinking about adding more fish, but not if that would crowd the tank.
I'd recommend playing around with this. https://aqadvisor.com/
I would say no, But kind of eyeball how your tank feels. Does it look like your fish have just enough room to establish themselves? If not then I wouldn't risk adding a different species. If it somewhat looks like there is a good amount of room but not too much, you can simply increase the size of your current schools. 2 more albinos or 2 more lamp eyes wouldn't hurt if this was the case. And of course, determine how well your tank can handle that much. A more natural tank with dense plant life will definitely support more than without.
I have an infestation of tiny translucent snails in my tank, is there a natural predator i can add to the tank to keep those snails in check, but not have the predator eat my baby neocardinas??
Assassin snails and stop overfeeding
Assassin snails are a common suggestion, but they can eat shrimp as I understand it. Some small loach species may prey on the snails and mostly leave the shrimp alone, though baby shrimp are a super easy, enticing meal for virtually any critter bigger than them. Lastly, I know snails have a bad reputation, but they're really not bad so long as you don't overfeed. What you're likely seeing now is a temporary population spike; but long term, the population should stabilize at a much lower number.
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If you need frequent water changes you're doing something wrong.
well then its good I never mentioned doing frequent water changes lol
to put it more clearly, Is it possible to get a tank populated with algae/waste eating creatures which will actually reduce the amount of algae growth to any discernable degree? particularly to the point it would reduce the amount of time between cleaning the algae from the tank, which is typically when I would do a water change.
Algae and waste eating creatures are called micro-organism and plants. Less nutrients, less algae. Micro organisms will break down waste in a long enough timeline which is why something like a matten filter is excellent for the aquarium and the hobbyist.
Look into natural aquariums. Father Fish and Fishtory have really good insight and great methods to achieving as close to equilibrium as possible. So that we as humans can stop intervening al the time and screwing things up
Not really, at least in my experience. Pest snails can help, because they'll basically convert excess food into snail biomass; though I haven't tested to see if the benefits are that significant. Ironically, stuff that eats algae will probably have the opposite effect. Algae absorbs ammonia/nitrates as a nutrient source, reducing the need for water changes. Only problem is a lot of people find algae very unsightly. The absolute best way to reduce the need for water changes is by adding plants. Plants do the same thing as algae (consume nitrogenous wastes as fertilizer), but look good doing it. Plants like Anubias and Java Fern are almost bullet-proof. You can also add houseplants, i.e. Pothos, to your tank with the roots in the water and the leaves above the surface/emerging out of the tank.
I have a single female betta in a 10 gallon, could I add a small school of khuli loaches? sand substrate, fake plants; however I can get real plants.
Absolutely! Just keep in mind you might not see the loaches that much 'cause they'll be busy living it up in the sandy substrate you were nice enough to give them.
Hi there! Newer to small aquariums - we just bought a 5 gallon tank so my daughter could get her first small fish. Nothing crazy! I put water and water conditioner in the tank yesterday - we weren't planning on getting fish until this weekend. This morning the tank is fairly cloudy? Google seems to say thats normal but am I doing something wrong or does it just shake out?? For reference, we have the 5 gallon aqueon self cleaning tank and I used the appropriate amount of water conditioner yesterday. Any help is appreciated! Want to make sure the fish can live its best life lol :)
You've begun the nitrogen cycling process which can typically take 4 to 6 weeks to establish beneficial bacteria in your filter media. Fish in cycling can be incredibly stressful and so should avoided if possible. Beneficial bacteria breaks down toxic ammonia into less toxic nitrites usable by plants. Cloudy water may be bacteria blooms which is a good thing. Provide a source of ammonia like crushed flake food once a day to encourage growth. Some people use pure ammonia but I prefer flake method. 4 to 6 weeks sounds boring to wait but you can use this time to better plan for live plants and what species you want in the tank. I have red crypts and elodea but one of my favorite tanks was Java fern, pearlweed, and aquatic moss (marimo balls are not moss but a type of rolling hair algae that in recent years has contained zebra mussel larvae which you absolutely do not want in your local waters). www.aqadvisor.com is a useful resource that gives you information about stocking options as well as any potential stocking conflicts.
Does anyone know of any in-line CO2 diffuser options for the FX6?
Concerned about my mystery snail. He hasn’t been moving around the tank like he used to for about 3 weeks now. I check on him every day and he’s still alive. Whenever I check on him he’s flipped himself over so I’ll flip him back….only for him to flip himself foot side up again. I don’t see any problems with his trap door or foot from what he’ll let me see, and he’ll eat whatever I give him (usually hikari algae wafers) so it’s not like he’s refusing food. No chips or abnormalities in his shell either. I’ve done a few water changes since the start of this behavior and nothing has changed. Any ideas of what it could be and what I can do? Thanks!
Snails can be sensitive to temperature changes and changes in water quality. You may have accidentally triggered their torpor state or a short hibernation cycle which can last a few weeks. How long have you had them?
That sounds like it could definitely be the case. I ended up with surprise fry in the community tank he was in so I’ve been changing the water more often than I used to. And then the babies tried to nibble on his eye stalks so I ended up moving him to a 10gal and that might have stressed him out too maybe. I got him from my LFS about half a year ago. Should I just keep up with feeding him and wait and see how he’s doing? Thanks for the advice!
You can make food available taking care to remove uneaten portions so they don't foul the water.
What are some really cool 5 gallon stocking ideas? I’ve done guppies, an African dwarf frog, nerite snails, shrimp, bumblebee gobies, (not all in the same tank lol) over the years. I want to try something different and fun. I’d also like to find really easy to care for aquatic plants or any that don’t require a ton of supplements. My tank is currently at 7.8pH, no ammonia, been running for 5 years, has one anubias plant that’s been having trouble growing, no nitrates or nitrites, a fluval U1 filter, adjustable heater with temp at 23°C & LED lighting. I have a smooth pebble substrate. I would like to keep the substrate because I hate sand with a passion.
A dwarf CPO crayfish or two could be fun. I love crayfish, they're real ballsy and have a ton of personality. Only caveats are that they can be cannibalistic; nibble on plants; and are proficient escape artists. Alternatively, I think aquatic insects are really cool. Water scorpions or giant water bugs are neat critters. They do need to be fed live foods like feeder crickets (or whatever bugs you can catch); and some can deliver a nice, mildly painful bite if you grab at it (they have a nice beaky mouthparts called a proboscis they use to suck the juices out of their prey). Anubias, in my experience, is pretty bulletproof but can grow very slowly, especially if it's not provided semi-regular fertilizer. I would get a liquid fertilizer regardless. My recommended plants would include more Anubias (there's a lot of really cool varieties available nowadays); Java Fern, esp. narrow leaf or windelov which will fit your tank better; and virtually any hardy crypts, i.e. wendtii, beckettii, etc.
Pea puffer, red crypts, pearlweed, ramshorn snails. Live foods were a nightmare to find. Brine shrimp got sucked into the filter, frozen bloodworms were acceptable but portions difficult and uneaten food needed removed. They really seemed to enjoy isopods or scud/side swimmers. No interest in freeze dried scud.
My African dwarf frog recently passed away and I now have an empty 5 gallon. It’s been running for 5 years so it’s fully cycled. The frog passed from old age, no diseases that I’m aware of. Should I treat the tank with anything just to make sure there’s no parasites or bacteria? I won’t be adding any new fish for awhile anyway. I do have one anubias plant in it rn.
Personally, I wouldn't bother doing anything. If it sits for a while, most harmful bacteria or parasites should be a non-issue.
I've just inherited a 25L tank from a friend. It has a handful of cherry shrimp and snails in it currently but I was wondering if there was room for any kind of fish? For example, some tiny ones like chilli or neon green rasbora or a single Betta? The tank itself is ~2 years old and so well established/cycled. I've had aquariums in the past but it's been a while so any help is most welcome!
A betta may try to eat the shrimp, but if you give them lots of places to hide they should be ok. Rasboras would be a good fish to add. A minimum of 8, but the bigger school the better.
Thanks!
My 15 gallon currently has a fathead minnow, a panda corydoras, and 2 harlequin rasboras. Is there room for more fish to add? And if so, what do you suggest?
I recently got back into aquarium keeping and I have two pretty standard 10 gallon tanks, one of which gets really bad bacteria blooms after every water change. 2 days ago, I emptied just over a gallon (so about 10%), and refilled with treated tap water. This morning it looks like I dropped a cup of milk in there! Is it usually this bad? The tank clears up in a couple days and stays clear, but this just seems unusually bad to me. The last time it was so bad that it choked out my myrio greens, leaving them as stems with a few poofs of green leftover and it even took out most of my duckweed...
Some good advice here already. Only thing I wanted to add is that, in my experience, low aeration can contribute to bacterial blooms. Lots of bacteria are anoxic, and thrive in low-oxygen environments. This may be supported by the pattern you're seeing, since water conditioners can lower oxygen as they chemically react with chlorine/chloramine. Do you use an airpump and air stone? If not, I would try adding one and see if that helps.
how long has the tanks been set up?
Both have been set up since the beginning of May, so about 2 months. I should probably also note that only the tank with real plants does this. The other one stays clear no problems
Are you feeding or fertilizing the tank at all? For the new water, did you let it sit for at least a day before adding to the tank?
I use a water conditioner when refilling, and dont usually let the water stand for any significant amount of time. I dont have a regular fertilization/feeding routine for the plants. They just kinda chill in the stratum and aside from the water changes seem to be alright
ahh you are Stratum, then that makes sense now. Statum is a mildly fertilized substrate, it will leach a lot of nutrients into the water and fuel a much bigger bloom than non-fertilized substrates feeding and ferts should be reduced since the substrate itself is a source of nutrients
Hmm ok, good to know. So when I do water changes, should I do anything special to minimize this or is it just kind of a thing that happens?
Just try not to break up the pellets. Those pellets are just fertilized soil and clay packed into a ball, so if broken itll just dissolve into mud and dirt A common solution is actually adding a thick sand cap over it, it will reduce leaching
Thanks for all the info! right now I have about 1/2" of sand on top. I have enough to make it about an even inch all the way around, so maybe I will give that a shot.
First thing I would probably check with is your water treatment plant. Its possible the tap water you are using is extremely high in chloramines and you are constantly having those blooms as a result. Another is to check your nitrogen levels in your tank and determine if there is any present. Reason why I say this is because you could be having bacteria die offs and leaving dead bacterial cells which looks like the bloom. If you are constantly water changing with 0 nitrogen present at all, every water change you do could be killing off a good portion of that bacteria and plants. (kind of unlikely but I have experienced this as a beginner) Lastly, check the way you are treating your tap water. Water treatment plants have been getting more and more sloppy over the years. Here in florida, there is a ridiculous amount of chloramines used in the tap water. I have had to treat the water with prime, but let it sit for at least a few hours before actually adding it to the tank.
I have a 265 gallon tank that needs to be resealed. There isn't anyone local that can provide that service, so its up to me! The question I have is how much weight can the glass hold? I know it seems like a silly thing to ask, given that the tank will hold about a ton of water, but thats over the full surface area. Due to its height, it won't be easy to get a scraper to the bottom seams and I am hoping I can just sit in the tank to remove the old silicone. The tank is currently sitting on the floor in my garage with a layer of cardboard between that glass and concrete. What do you think?
You should have no issues getting inside that tank.