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We’re actually working on some of them now. Sadly, with the time it takes to write them to be detailed enough to be helpful, it can appear as if none are being written.
So far we have a good amount up on freshwater, then will come some saltwater (helpful articles, how to, common diseases), and then back to freshwater to to over common species (and then back and forth in this type of method). Stay tuned though, we have a lot coming soon!
That looks just like Brown Diatoms which is common for a ton of reasons. Try reading this article and it should guide you on the fix and resolution on it.
It really boils down to a lot of various publications (and studies) done that contradict each other, only show half of the test, or have very inconclusive results. Many who discredit heat say that it only kills it at a given stage, or increase its lifecycle so fast until it cannot reproduce (or be visible enough to the eye that it still is there).
I’ve personally used the heat only method a good chunk of times, but that is with fish that can handle it (many cannot, therefore you must use medicine to treat) or they have tanks that cannot survive that heat (think planted tanks, for example where heat will kill the plants).
Many people also simply just don’t know what source to trust, since even other professional websites with lots of data and details regarding various infections note that heat cannot cure it and must be mixed in with salt or additional medicine). That’s why we offer all methods here, with heat being a primary method to be recommended due to personal and other people noting that it works.
Either way, use whatever method that you are most comfortable with whether that be heat only, medicine, heat with medicine, or any other variation.
The yellow color is more than likely from something called “tannins”. This is leached out by the driftwood in the tank, and can also leach out from soil if used in the tank as well. It does not mean that the driftwood is toxic at, it’s just a common thing and why the water near boggy areas is always dark black/yellow (due to all of the wood leaching out tannins like this).
A common way that people get rid of this from the start is to do big water changes, and then boil the driftwood for 10-15mins. That makes a vast majority of the tannins release right away compared to slowly over time. If you don’t want to boil it (or it’s too big to boil, not a good shape to) you can always add in a bag of Seachem Purgien to your tank and it will absorb all of the tannins until it needs to be recharged (bleached, and then rinsed with a ton of water).
Maybe people may recommend doing water changes, but this will resolve the current color (it will come back again in a few days).
I’m not too sure that there is a good guide you can read that will help you. Most people try to follow the 2/3 ruling where you have 3/4 of the visual elements on one side, then a gap, and then another 1/4 on the last side.
Other times it really just comes down to what you think is visually pleasing (which is an opinion, so that’s why people find art either good or bad). I just would follow what you think looks good, or if you want to try to become better at it, watch some aquascape competitions and see how they set it up and what they did specifically. A lot of time it’s all about the flow where the fish aren’t there or are there just as a color aspect.
I tend to find a majority of sumps that are on the market already pre-made super expensive. It doesn’t take too much time or effort in order to build one from scratch.
If you have built one from the start, would you mine sharing some photos and steps so others could see how it’s done?
As far as fish are concerned, then yes clown fish tend to be the most forgiving when it comes to water parameters while also being a low cost option in case you do mess up once or twice (hopefully not though with our help)!
I've mostly stuck with name brands when it comes to substrate for saltwater tanks (never really looked too deeply into which one to specifically use), along with making sure to use some live rock in order to provide the beneficial bacteria (although I always keep a lookout at night for any of the brittle worm since they are a pain in the butt for sure).
Saltwater tanks require the most precise lighting based on what you plan to have in your tank. For example, having corals require a specific wavelength of lighting for a certain amount of time to allow for the corals to be able to look their greatest, and to be able to consume the light and use it as energy. In our to create a more natural environment of lighting for your saltwater tanks and the life that you keep inside of it, which one do you use and why?
Looks cool! How much did you say that you spent on the tank and all of the equipment? Do you have a plan once the turtle gets bigger on a new setup?
In total, I probably spent about $370 for everything that you see. I never really thought about pricing everything out since I mostly bought it all on sale from various different stores (including some local only stores for items that most big chains do not carry). I can always do this, but I don't think you can look to buy all of this at once (it took me a good month overall for everything to line up price wise where it made sense for me to do it).
Once the turtle gets bigger, it will honestly probably move into it's final home of a 150/200 gallon tank (and not the tall models but the wider ones). I'll obviously have to redo the basking platform (will end up adding more driftwood to it to make it more stable and taller/wider), and will more than likely add in another turtle just to keep the one company. Ideally, this won't happen for another 3-4 years, at which point this tank will probably become just a standard one (or possibly a saltwater tank).
I think it really depends in your area, since there are some pros and cons to highlight - along with the key aspect that same laws in some areas d prevent anyone from collecting any type of rain water for any usage (so check your local laws to verify if you can do this).
Pros:
1) It's free water that you know won't have chlorine or any hard water deposits.
2) You can store it pretty easily without having to worry too much about needing to add any types of chemicals to balance things out with.
3) It would be the same water that is in your region, specifically in lakes/ponds around you - which is ideal for outside tanks or ponds.
Cons:
1) Acid rain/water - if you live in a heavily polluted area, you water actually is pretty acidic and can be harmful (even to even slowly burn paint off of a car over time).
2) Having a way to collect it without allowing for bugs and algae to form over time.
In that photo I would probably lift the decoration and push the fish out from the front to back. If you still are unable to, try to get a hammer or something hard to break the decoration without damaging the fish directly.
I mostly recommend that unless the fish is exactly half way through (then pushing from the back makes better sense overall).
The is very common on all pieces of driftwood when they are first added into an aquarium. It’s more common on those that have some sap still on the wood since the added sugar creates this appearance (but even thicker).
It’s perfectly healthy and normal, and many fish and invertebrates will actually love this as a food source and keep it in check. After about 2-3 weeks of this appearing it will disappear on its own as the wood has leeched out all of the extra nutrients that allows for this to grow.
If it’s something that you can’t stand to see, I’d just recommend to use a rag and wipe the wood down and then put it back into the water.
For those of you who have either almond leaves, or driftwood in your tanks - do you guys like the way that the color changes from crystal clear to more of a dark yellow tea (tannins)? If you do or don’t, what is your reasoning behind your answer since from just talking with others it appears to be an almost 50-50 split on the choice.
I personally love the color of tannins, plus it makes some fish really become more active since that is what they are used to (such as some tetras and maybe cichlids).
Looks like they changed things up on us, and the sale dates are regional based. I’ve updated the thread to show the two cycles since the second one ends the other starts.
I wouldn’t say that they are a scam specifically, but the surface area they claim would be the same if you crushed a way smaller size of that and then used it. The reason carbon is mostly always crushed is because surface area matters when it pulls chemicals into itself - so this is less effective based on the size and shape of being a cube.
Carbon can make water clear, but there is more to water parameters than just clear water. The parameters could still be all out of wack but the water could be crystal clear, which I believe is a false sense of things when it comes to fish keeping in general (and why some people panic when they add driftwood and the water turns yellow which many thing is a critical problem other than the color itself).
It may sound bad, but I’ve ironically always just purchased them used or tend to use a surface skimmer to get rid of the excess surface foam from any protein that was in the tank. I’ve found them highly useful, but I guess that I haven’t really had a tank that didn’t fully require it (and had the bad assumption that it just was a common piece of equipment that was needed).
I also highly prefer the look to sand. Getting sand (either pool filter sand, black diamond sand, or a various mix of colored sand) always makes other things pop without having to worry about the fish poop or uneaten food getting stuck between the gravel pieces.
Plus using snails, they can effectively turn the sand over to prevent gas bubbles while also eating everything else. The only downside is that if you have a look of fish who poop a ton, then it’s noticeable - but just lets you know faster and easier when it’s time to clean the substrate up and do a water change.
I would say that the number one disease that I tend to see in other fish tanks (the stores, friends, or even those in groups) is Ich. Without a doubt it seems to be the most common, followed up by popeye for some odd reason.
How often do you clean your tanks, and what do you use to clean them?
For my planted tank, I honestly never really clean it minus the ugly hard water mark (which I use vinegar to clean) about every 2-4 weeks.
For my turtle tank, I clean the excess poop and food I find every 4-5 days, and then in that process probably drain about a 3-4 gallons or water and replace it. I figure that the little ecosystem in there should take care of everything else on it’s own.
