What are you doing to your tank today?

It means that you have a strong Nitrosomonas colony. 8ppm is too high though. Anything above 5ppm can be toxic to your bacteria, they won't be as efficient if they're dead.
It is the clay in the BCBs that did it... mostly.
 

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My gourami fry wedged itself (it didn't get sucked up. It put itself there) between the wall and the filter intake while I was at work. Its very hurt. Its back clearly hurts, and its fins are more torn up than when it actually got stuck in the filter. Not sure it will make it. Now its in a breeder box in my 29g that will be treated for camallanous next week because of this fry's parents. It was going to be moved to my new grow out tank with a sponge filter, had its parents not had to be quarantined... My partner just took one look at the beaten up fry, less than one week after I euthanized its mom, and said, "I don't think we're meant to have honey gouramis." Could be looking for new stocking ideas if not everyone survives the camallanous treatment this week....
 
Ah, today...
The daily WC to my 10g nano. I found some rotten plantings under some leaves and removed them. Hopefully this straightens out my nitrite readings.

Then a parameter check to the 27g I did a WC on yesterday.

Then... not really anything "to" an aquarium... but I am scanning my living room seeing where I can add another tank...
I'm pretty sure I can move my flat screen from it's stand to the wall, raise it up a little, and I might have room for another aquarium :) It will be like bookend aquariums on either side of it :) :) :)

Yeah, that is definitely seeming doable.
 
Saying good bye to my 5 year old male swordtail. He was hanging in there on saturday when i did the water change; and this morning he nibble a little bit of food but alas he passed and the snails quickly swarmed him. Not sure how long swordtails live but that was the next to last fish i have that made the car trip cross country. still have a couple of the older cardinals though one of them died recently (different aquarium) do some sort of injury.
 
Saying good bye to my 5 year old male swordtail. He was hanging in there on saturday when i did the water change; and this morning he nibble a little bit of food but alas he passed and the snails quickly swarmed him. Not sure how long swordtails live but that was the next to last fish i have that made the car trip cross country. still have a couple of the older cardinals though one of them died recently (different aquarium) do some sort of injury.
Lifespan : 3 - 5 years :) RIP.
 

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The filter in the 10g ran dry and burned. I thought it had been unplugged and so when the tank evaporated down far enough it made bad noises and died.
Luckily the new 220 came with 2 filters so the 10g gets a filter and I have filled it up and am just letting it run while I decide what to put in it.
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Aquaclear 110 should do the job.
 
Update: my gourami fry is fine. Its fins are a bit torn up, but it's very active in the breeder box. The tetras and catfish have been visiting it to play with it through the netting. It's very sweet. The tetras, of course, might see it as food... but I do think the catfish are trying to play.

Tomorrow is camallanous medication day! Wish my fish luck.
 
Just walked by my tank and caught all 3 of my plecos out in the open, two on the glass (double rainbow). Instantly froze and snuck closer and creeped for a good 30 min. They are all looking full bellied and I actually saw all 3 munching on wafers so I’m a happy girl.
 

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May 24th, 2021
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This is Superman. He looks like a fish but he's actually a pig.
Will someone please tell him that he's not supposed to be overfed? Look at that mouthful.
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I think I am all set.
 

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Wow. Your yellow looks so yellow.
Mine always looks diluted.
 
Wow. Your yellow looks so yellow.
Mine always looks diluted.
Don't go by the photo. Camera flash tweaks it a bit. Mine also looks diluted.
 
So, went to work like normal today. A contractor that is sometimes out here told me he had a 29g and stand i could have for free as he just wanted rid of it. Well, he came out today and brought me something:
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*Pretty sure* I'm going to be trimming some water sprite and that other plant in my 10g nano shortly.
Those things really take over a corner. But my Betta seems to love swimming through it.
All three of my tanks that little bit of Sprite I bought has really taken off.
 
Adding more plants into my tank from Marcus Fish Tank. My hydrocotyle tripartita carpet failed, so I will be trying dwarf sagittaria. Also bought crypt balansae to fill in the back.
 
I just carried my new tank from the UPS truck to my porch :D
I suppose I'll have to get the stand out of my Jeep now.
It wasn't supposed to be here until Monday next week.
 
Going to do a substrate vacuum in the 29g and the betta tank. Everyone is still doing great. I'm drying out the QT tank to kill off any camallanus eggs my male honey gourami dropped in there during his 1 week stay. Once that's all dry, I'll set it back up so I can get my new honeys this weekend. I haven't gotten new fish in a while, so this is pretty exciting.
 

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Water change day...having an issue with the heater, so I have to change that out. I guess after a while, even the best of equipment just gives out!

I'm just glad that I have an extra new one on hand!
 
So, went to work like normal today. A contractor that is sometimes out here told me he had a 29g and stand i could have for free as he just wanted rid of it. Well, he came out today and brought me something:
Looks like a Platy kingdom!
 
Appreciating my betta. Good morning Grover!
 

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Yesterday and today we had someone fixing our kitchen counter. The repair was basically this guy spraying stuff over the old counter. No actual replacement.

I asked about the process, and if I should cover the tanks. Well, the gloss coat aparently gets up in the air, that I should cover up. So I did. I put a blanket over the 40g. A Towel over the Amano's 5g.

Seiryuu, the betta boy I got from Demeter is all confused. He had this "OMG **** happened to my sky" look on his face as his little eyes stared at the blanket.

He started swimming around flaring at everything.

My apartment now smells like paint thinner and galons of nail polish. Poor little Seiryuu is stuck under that blanket until the smell has dissipated enough that I can go out there and remove it.

Yesterday wasn't so bad. No cover was needed, I was able to trim some guppy grass and wisteria.
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The last of my plants arrived today for the 20 High I am building. So now I have some red root floaters... floating.

I'm also going to relocate my new tank into the other room. Four tanks in my living room is a bit much. At least I can look at it as I'm walking by...
 
Haven't been home enough than to barely see shadows of my tanks last couple days. Hoping to do water changes over the weekend.
 
Today I spilled a lot of water while doing a water change. I decided to switch out an extension plug for a new one (the original got wet), which I was going to do anyways, as the original is quite old.

Also, more cucumber slices for the tanks!
 
Against my better judgement...
But the other day when I was at the LFS picking up a stand, I got 3 green/bronze corys. I had a nitrite spike in my nano and need/want something that will scavenge because I'm sure it came from leftover food.

I immediately did not like them in the tank. Everything else is so slow moving (my Betta and my Neons) and I did not like their business nor their size compared to the others. So while they were exploring, which included glass surfing, I netted them out and put them in my 27.

They seemed to be doing well in there, hanging out with both themselves and the Panda Corys, but then last night I noticed the Diatoms moving in on my bright green plants :( And I was pushing the stocking level before adding the new Corys. Now I wish I had some Otocinclus in there, but not with the extra three Corys.
What to do what to do?

My cycling 20, which was also high in trites, has been slowly coming down the last few days. Yesterday barely above 0. So I made a decision.

Out of the 27
green corys1.JPG

And they'll be going into the 20 here shorty
green corys2.JPG

I really wanted Pygmy Corys, but since I can't find Pygmy Corys and Chili Rasboras in the same store, these will do until I get my Chilis. Then I'll see about some Pygmy Corys down the road for my nano.

In the meantime... I'll need a few more Green/Bronze Corys and some Otocinclus for my 27 to stay ahead of the Diatoms :)

ETA, and the trites in the 20 were 0 just now when I tested for them! :)
 
Today I spilled a lot of water while doing a water change. I decided to switch out an extension plug for a new one (the original got wet), which I was going to do anyways, as the original is quite old.

Also, more cucumber slices for the tanks!
Hey Ouse. Since I use primitive buckets for my water changes still, I always create trails of puddles once I go full cleaning mode. I am surprised I never tripped or slipped on these puddles, so don't feel bad about spilling some water here and there. I can definitely relate to you!

My big news today is that I am starting my third tank after all this time! It is a 15 gallon column tank. I purposely went with this tank dimensions due to all the challenges associated with aquascaping such a setup. It will eventually be home to a single Betta (I promise this time!) and some Cherry Shrimp from my other tanks. I will be shopping for some supplies tomorrow as I have a 200 dollar cashback bonus to spend. :)
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The possibilities with scaping this tank are endless!
 

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Hey Ouse. Since I use primitive buckets for my water changes still, I always create trails of puddles once I go full cleaning mode. I am surprised I never tripped or slipped on these puddles, so don't feel bad about spilling some water here and there. I can definitely relate to you!
I placed the bucket of water on my window-sill, however it was placed on top of a Lego brick, which pinged and shook the bucket.
 
I placed the bucket of water on my window-sill, however it was placed on top of a Lego brick, which pinged and shook the bucket.
Ah, the dreaded lego brick. Just don't step on one of those if there are any. Loose legos on the floor. At least it was the bucket and not your foot if you know what I mean.
 
Hey Ouse. Since I use primitive buckets for my water changes still, I always create trails of puddles once I go full cleaning mode. I am surprised I never tripped or slipped on these puddles, so don't feel bad about spilling some water here and there. I can definitely relate to you!

My big news today is that I am starting my third tank after all this time! It is a 15 gallon column tank. I purposely went with this tank dimensions due to all the challenges associated with aquascaping such a setup. It will eventually be home to a single Betta (I promise this time!) and some Cherry Shrimp from my other tanks. I will be shopping for some supplies tomorrow as I have a 200 dollar cashback bonus to spend. :)
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The possibilities with scaping this tank are endless!
We've been looking for houses, and have decided that an all-carpet house will never work for us because I also use buckets for water changes and drip water all the time. It's inevitable.
 
We've been looking for houses, and have decided that an all-carpet house will never work for us because I also use buckets for water changes and drip water all the time. It's inevitable.
Everyone has carpets in the UK.

BTW, I managed to get the two water changes done today. Spilling some water is normal; you should see me when I do waterchanges. ;)
 
Did a 70/80% WC before adding fish. I have been using bottled drinking water thinking it will be good. After WC i did some tests and found out nitrite @ 2 PPM. I thought I have screwed the cycle. Then I did another test to find out expensive drinking water had nitrites! Ran more API tests (PH/ammonia/nitrite and nitrate) and was zapped to find out my tap water is safest for fish not the water I have been paying for.
What a bummer!
Water change day...having an issue with the heater, so I have to change that out. I guess after a while, even the best of equipment just gives out!

I'm just glad that I have an extra new one on hand!
Which one did you have?
 

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I used to splash tank water out of the buckets, but then I told myself not to fill them so full.
Not surprisingly, that seems to work ;)

Now if I could only keep from filling the watering can so full and splashing the fresh water out. And of course there's always a time or two getting the siphon going.
 
Since just learning I have BBA, what am I doing? Well, I feel like throwing the whole thing into a dumpster.

Edit - after I posted this, I realized what my quote says about "hope". I was told a SAE would clean this up for me, and now I do feel hope. I really was going to just throw everything away (not the fish, they'd go into my larger tank) and buy a new 20 gallon tank... only I'd buy a 29 if I did that. Hoping to find a couple true SAEs and that they handle this problem for me.

No one wants BBA!!
 
I did my usual water changes without spilling. I'm not allowed to spill since we have wood floors. However, the more depressing thing is what I discovered last night. I had posted a picture a while ago of some smallish uninvited guest that at first i thought were oto but later realized were pleco. Well they stopped hiding under the pump and i figured they had left but last night i shined a light into the aquarium which i do from time to time to see who is plotting some evil deed and well i discovered a bunch of slightly larger pleco frys roaming in the back. Not sure how many of them made it this far but certainly more than one but less than a thousand. Hum. How to get them to leave... maybe there is a back door somewhere in the rear ?
 
I did my usual water changes without spilling. I'm not allowed to spill since we have wood floors. However, the more depressing thing is what I discovered last night. I had posted a picture a while ago of some smallish uninvited guest that at first i thought were oto but later realized were pleco. Well they stopped hiding under the pump and i figured they had left but last night i shined a light into the aquarium which i do from time to time to see who is plotting some evil deed and well i discovered a bunch of slightly larger pleco frys roaming in the back. Not sure how many of them made it this far but certainly more than one but less than a thousand. Hum. How to get them to leave... maybe there is a back door somewhere in the rear ?
Pleco hitchhikers?
 

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Speaking of zuc, although not quite zuc, my plecos enjoyed their cucumber today. I find they eat through it quicker if I peel the skin off the top of the slice.
 
Speaking of zuc, although not quite zuc, my plecos enjoyed their cucumber today. I find they eat through it quicker if I peel the skin off the top of the slice.
I always peel my veggies before boiling them, as well as remove the seeds (no one wants them), and my tank critters like cucumber as much as zucchini. I also give them the stems of broccoli after I eat the good parts of it, and they eat that, but it's tougher and they don't eat as much as the others. Those are the only 3 things I've given them, but usually it's zuc.
 
I just finished planting that oddball hairgrass strip that was left over. I just tore it apart and did my best to stick it into the Eco-Complete, which was not easy. I'll never use this stuff again as a top layer. But at least the spindly glosso has company now. Maybe something will give me my carpet.

The Panda Corys were quite interested and hung around me the whole time and beyond. I imagine I was stirring up some food.
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Did a 70/80% WC before adding fish. I have been using bottled drinking water thinking it will be good. After WC i did some tests and found out nitrite @ 2 PPM. I thought I have screwed the cycle. Then I did another test to find out expensive drinking water had nitrites! Ran more API tests (PH/ammonia/nitrite and nitrate) and was zapped to find out my tap water is safest for fish not the water I have been paying for.
What a bummer!

Which one did you have?
Hi,

I have Hydor adjustable heaters. Since my tanks are all small, I can get away with the 25 watt. It takes a while to find that spot where the temp is just right, but I think I finally have it. Usually takes almost 2 days to figure out, but I am kind of nuts about it. I want the temp where I want it, so I do a lot of micro adjusting. The one that went bad was about 5 years old, so not bad for a $24.00 heater.

And about bottled water, I have used spring water before because our tap water, well, it sucks. And I can get the spring water at a fairly cheap price, but wouldn't want to use it for very large tanks. That would get expensive quick!
 
Since just learning I have BBA, what am I doing? Well, I feel like throwing the whole thing into a dumpster.

Edit - after I posted this, I realized what my quote says about "hope". I was told a SAE would clean this up for me, and now I do feel hope. I really was going to just throw everything away (not the fish, they'd go into my larger tank) and buy a new 20 gallon tank... only I'd buy a 29 if I did that. Hoping to find a couple true SAEs and that they handle this problem for me.

No one wants BBA!!
Find cause and try to fix it.
 
Hey Ouse. Since I use primitive buckets for my water changes still, I always create trails of puddles once I go full cleaning mode. I am surprised I never tripped or slipped on these puddles, so don't feel bad about spilling some water here and there. I can definitely relate to you!

My big news today is that I am starting my third tank after all this time! It is a 15 gallon column tank. I purposely went with this tank dimensions due to all the challenges associated with aquascaping such a setup. It will eventually be home to a single Betta (I promise this time!) and some Cherry Shrimp from my other tanks. I will be shopping for some supplies tomorrow as I have a 200 dollar cashback bonus to spend. :)
The possibilities with scaping this tank are endless!
Oh that's nice!!! I look forward to seeing what you do. That tank style has my interest for the last year.

6 water changes last night. I hate sand. it clogs my vacuum.

I ended up finally using the

hygger Aquarium Gravel Cleaner I bought in May this year.​


It's pretty nifty , but takes some getting used to as I've always used the hand pump vacuum up to now. The trigger is kind of hard for me - as I game and do comptuer work all day. I'm sort of close to corporeal tunnel syndrome so it aggrivated it a bit. it's not bad, I just don't see being able to use it for all my water changes as they can take 4 hours give or take.

also, my baby betta white marbled koi- her tail fin is very weak developmentally. she uses plants to lounge around on. I think she needs a 20 long for long term health. My last Koi with similiar issue did a 180 once I put her in a 20 long. quality of life dramatically increased. so I have to figure that out. Just something I noticed during water change last night. she's an up/down swimmer, same exact symptom. I may play muscial tanks - move betta harem to 20 long, sparkling gouramis to the 38 gallon
 

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WC in the 27g cube. I can only hope my one Flame Gourami is OK.
They both came over to investigate the siphon like usual, but this time one got too close and his face got sucked in. First thought should have been to plug the outlet with my finger and stop the flow. Should have been. Instead I gave the inlet a small shake and off he went behind the plants.

I just saw them both together, then one disappeared again. I'll give them some time to settle in before I feed and hope he's out by that time. Hopefully his face is OK.

I wonder if it's the same one that came over to investigate me planting the hairgrass yesterday and next thing I notice his tail is in the tweezers and he's moving up and down as I'm trying to get the grass to stay :rolleyes:

I just looked over and the six Otocinclus I put in yesterday were all together on the glass. That's nice. I feel better when I buy shoaling fish in bulk that actually shoal.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I know. It's only been 1-1/2 hours and here I did something to a tank again.
Braced for the merge ;)

I moved my new 20g cube into the other room. It looks much better there rather than crowding it into a room where I already have three tanks going.
I'll still see it a lot, as it's between the couch and the fridge :)

I also put together the pump and all that. I'm glad to see that the pump for Waterbox's 20 has an adjustable flow on it. And I can just get my hand into the sump area. I should be able to adjust the flow if needed rather than using sponges on the intake and outlet like my 10 Cube.

I still need to wipe it down. And there are a couple things I need to pick up at Home Depot. But then I'll have another tank to build. I already have the main stone ordered.
 
Did a water change on the 29g today and added my sponge filter to the betta tank. I'd love to just leave it in there, but I need it cycled for any new fish/future fry. Sorry, Tom! He's been having fun in the bubbles, though, so I don't think he minds.
 
Hi,

I have Hydor adjustable heaters. Since my tanks are all small, I can get away with the 25 watt. It takes a while to find that spot where the temp is just right, but I think I finally have it. Usually takes almost 2 days to figure out, but I am kind of nuts about it. I want the temp where I want it, so I do a lot of micro adjusting. The one that went bad was about 5 years old, so not bad for a $24.00 heater.

And about bottled water, I have used spring water before because our tap water, well, it sucks. And I can get the spring water at a fairly cheap price, but wouldn't want to use it for very large tanks. That would get expensive quick!
I won't use bottled drinking water (avl in my country) because it spiked nitrite in my tank... even if I get it for free. These recent tests worked in my favor though. Will save on water so much now.
 

Random Great Topic!

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