FishChannel Forums / Freshwater Forums / General Freshwater

Mega Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover

SantaMonica — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:32:12 GMT

Mega Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover

(Note: This is an updated and simplified version of my threads elsewhere on the web. I'm posting here for those people that don't yet know about the topic.)

If you are tired of algae on your rocks, and if you have to clean your glass more than once a week, then I'm sure you've been told (or you've figured out) that your Nitrate and/or Phosphate are too high. Sure enough, if they are too high, the green stuff starts growing. Phosphate is the important one: If you can detect any phosphate at all with a hobby test kit (like Salifert, etc), then it's high enough to cause algae to grow. So, what can you do?

Build an Algae Scrubber! As of July 2009, thousands of people have built scrubbers for their tanks (and hundreds of them have posted on my other threads), and all have achieved reduced nuisance algae. Many of them have wiped it out completely.

An algae scrubber, also known as a turf algae filter, a turf scrubber, an algae filter, or an algae turf scrubber (ATS) [(c) Walter Adey], basically filters your water clean of nitrate and phosphate so that the green on your rocks and glass goes away. It does this by "moving" the growth of the algae from the tank to a "screen" outside of the tank. The idea is that you create a better growing environment on the screen than occurs in the tank, so that the algae grows on the screen instead. It works great! Here is my display, January 2009, running on just an algae scrubber:

My scrubber (the black thing sitting on the sump) is made out of acrylic, but most people build simple ones like I show below. Here's what you can expect: If you build your algae scrubber properly, your nitrate and phosphate will be incredibly low, sometimes unmeasureable by hobby test kits, within eight weeks. I use Salifert test kits, and the readings I get are "clear" (zero) for both the Nitrate and the Phosphate tests. This is what you want with yours too. If you have been trying to obtain zero reading like this, then an algae scrubber is for you.

My nitrate and phosphate are zero (clear, on Salifert test kits), and the only thing in my sump is water and the scrubber. I removed the carbon, phosban, polyfilter(s), and filtersock; I don't use ozone, vodka, zeo, or anything else. I'm feeding massive amounts too; enough that if I had my previous filtering setup, I'd have to clean the glass twice a day, and everything in the tank would be covered in green or brown algae. And it's not just my tank; over the last year, thousands of people have built their own versions of an algae scrubber, and every one has gotten reduced nitrate and phosphate readings, and many of them have completely wiped out all nuisance algae, right down to the bare rock, sand and glass.

The only thing you need to decide on, is how big your scrubber screen needs to be, and how you will pump water through it. The basic rule is one square inch of screen for each gallon of tank water, if the screen it lit on both sides; the screen size should be twice as big if the screen is lit on just one side. A 10 X 10 inch screen, lit on both sides, = 100 square inches = 100 gal tank; a 7 X 7 inch screen lit both sides = 49 gal tank; a 6 X 6 lit both sides = 36 gal tank. Algae scrubbers get really small as you can see. A 12 gal nano tank needs just 3 X 4 inches if lit both sides, or 3 X 8 inches if lit on one side. This small thing can replace the refugium, phosphate removers, nitrate removers, filtersocks, and waterchanges, IF THE PURPOSE of these devices is to reduce nitrate, phosphate and nuisance algae. If these devices have any other purpose (like growing pods, or removing food), then they can't be replaced.

Here are some examples of DIY algae scrubbers, from a simple nano one with combined light for tank and scrubber:

to larger ones:

Here are some advantages of an algae scrubber:

o Allows you to feed very high amounts without causing nuisance algae growth in the tank.

o Can replace waterchanges IF THE PURPOSE of the waterchange is to reduce nitrate or
phosphate or nuisance algae. Otherwise, it does NOT replace the water changes.

o Increases pH.

o Increases oxygen.

o Will NOT spread algae into the tank. It removes algae FROM the tank.

o There is no odor from the algae (only a slight ocean smell when cleaning it).

o Is very quiet when flowing, similar to a tabletop decorative waterfall. Your pumps are louder.

o Introduces no microbubbles when built properly.

o Removes ammonia, nitrite, and metals too.

o Works in saltwater, freshwater, and ponds.

How to build it:

First, get your screen. Any stiff material that has holes in it, like knitting backing, plastic canvas, rug canvas, gutter guard, etc. Try going to hardware stores, craft stores, garden stores, sewing stores, or just get one of these online:

http://www.craftsetc.com/store/item.aspx?ItemId=43844

Don't use glass or acrylic; algae can't stick to them. And don't use window screen; sometimes it has an algaecide on it. Whatever other material you use, it's best to use two layers of the material (helps algae stick better). Next you need to "rough up" the screen so algae will stick even better. Use a wire brush, 30 grit sandpaper, a very rough file, or (best) a hole-saw without the drill, to "scrape up" the screen so much that it will almost cut you if you rub your hand over it. What you end up with should look more like a cactus that a piece of plastic.

If you have a nano with a filter hatch on TOP of the hood, then it's super easy: Just cut a piece of screen to replace the sponge filter, and put it where the sponge filter went. Leave the hatch open, and set a strong light on it, facing down directly on the screen.

If your nano does not have a filter hatch on top of the hood, or if you have a regular tank, then here are the options for larger versions:

The first and main thing to consider is the flow to the screen. You need about 35 gph (U.S. gallons per hour) (133 lph) for every inch (2.5cm) of width of the screen. Thus, a 2" wide screen would need 70 gph, and so on. Here is a chart:

Screen Width-----Gallons Per Hour (GPH)

1" 35
2" 70
3" 105
4" 140
5" 175
6" 210
7" 245
8" 280
9" 315
10" 350
11" 385
12" 420
13" 455
14" 490
15" 525
16" 560
17" 595
18" 630
19" 665
20" 700

Note that for flow, it does not matter how tall your screen is, just how wide it is. Let's start with an overflow feed: In this case the amount of flow is pre-determined by how much is already overflowing; the maximum flow you'll get to the screen will be what's going through your overflow now. This is easy to figure out by counting how many seconds it takes your overflow to fill a one-gallon jug:

60 seconds = 60 gph
30 seconds = 120 gph
15 seconds = 240 gph
10 seconds = 360 gph
8 seconds = 450 gph
5 seconds = 720 gph

Take this gph number that you end up with, and divide by 35, to get the number of inches wide the screen should be. For example, if your overflow was 240 gph, then divide this by 35 to get 6.8 (or just say 7) inches. So your screen should be 7 inches wide. How tall should it be? Tall enough for it to stick into the water below (this will keep it quiet). But for flow, how tall it is not as important as how wide it is.

Pump feeds: Since with a pump you have control over the flow, start with the size screen you can fit into your space. If the screen will go into your sump, then measure how wide that screen will be. If the screen will go into a bucket, then measure how wide that screen will be. Take the width you get, and multiply by 35 to get the gph you need. For example if you can fit a 10 inch wide screen into your sump or bucket, then multiply 10 by 35 to get 350 gph. Thus your pump needs to deliver 350 gph to the screen.

You can construct your setup using any method you like. The only difficult part is the "waterfall pipe", which must have a slot cut lengthwise into it where the screen goes into it. Don't cut the slot too wide; just start with 1/8" (3mm) for a single layer of screen, or 3/16" (5mm) for two layers of screen, and you can increase it later if you need to, based on the flow you get. I used a Dremel moto-tool with a "cut off wheel":

Some people don't know how to cut a slot, so they drill holes instead. This not a good idea, and is only a very last resort. You need to have a lot of holes to equal the flow of a slot, and most times the holes end up spraying water sideways. Also, holes are almost impossible to clean the insides. So get help if you need to, in order to cut a slot properly.

Now install the pipe onto the screen by tilting the pipe and starting at one side, then lowering the pipe over the rest. You may have to wiggle the screen in some places to get it to fit in:

Lighting: This is the most important aspect of the whole thing. You must, must, have strong lighting. Start with something like this:

http://www.buylighting.com/23-Watt-R40-Compact-Fluorescent-Flood-2700K-p/tcp1r4023.htm

This 23W CFL bulb is the MINIMUM wattage you should have on EACH side of your screen, unless your screen is smaller than 8 X 8 inches. You can get even higher power CFL bulbs, or use multiple bulbs per side, for screens larger than 12 X 12 inches, or for tanks with higher nutrient problems. The higher the power of the lighting on the screen, the more nitrate and phosphate will be pulled out of the tank, and the faster it will happen. You (almost) cannot have too much light. When some folks report back that their algae scrubber is not growing algae or working well, the problem is ALWAYS that they used weak lights, or the lights were more than 4" away. Every single time.

Operation:

Regardless of which version you build, the startup process is the same. Put a timer on the light, 18 hours ON, 6 hours OFF. You will see absolutely nothing grow on the screen for the first two days. But on day 3 you'll start seeing some light brown growth, and by day 5 most of the screen should have a light brown coating. If this level of growth does not happen on your screen, your lighting is not strong enough (you used a weaker bulb), or it's not close enough to the screen (needs to be no more than 4" from the middle of the screen). Increase the bulb power, or move it closer.

When the screen looks something like this:

...then you want to give it a first cleaning. Take the screen to the sink, run tap water on it, and just push the algae off with your fingers (not fingernails):

Wait a week (yes, 7 days) and clean it again. After a while you'll have to press harder to get the tougher algae off, and after a few months you'll probably need to scrape it with something stiff, and it may eventually get so strong that you'll need a razor blade to scrape it off. But for now, be gentle; you always want some algae to remain on the screen when you are done. NEVER clean it off completely. Algae has to remain on the screen to do the filtering. Also, NEVER wait more than 7 days between cleanings.

Don't forget to test your Nitrate and Phosphate before you start your filter, and each day after. I use Salifert:

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_AquariumPage~PageAlias~test_kits_salifert.html

Post your pics of how you build it, the growth day by day, and your nitrate and phosphate readings, so we can all see how you are doing! There is a lot of info that I did not include here (in order to keep this short), and I've been asked every possible question there is. So if you have an unusual situation, or you think you have thought of something "new", then post it

silver dollar fish

befishy74 — Mon, 14 May 2012 07:47:24 GMT

I have a 125 gal freshwater tank. I have 3 adult silver fish and lots of other fish as well. One of my silver dollar fish has been acting really crazy, darting around the tank and last night while I was in another room decided to go nuts and hit the lid on the tank and jumped out and I found him dead on the carpet. Why would he go nuts like that. I do a 25% water change every week and I feed twice a day. I feed tetra tropical crisps most of the time and every other day give tubiflex or tetra herbivore or blood worms or bottom feeder pellets. The silver dollar has been doing this darting around thing at least every other night for 2 weeks now. Thanks for any help.

Responsible Fishkeeping Initiative (RFI)

David Lass — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 11:38:22 GMT

For the past six months or so I have been working, with the support of BowTie (FishChannel.com, Aquarium Fish International, Freshwater and Marine Aquarium, and Pet Product News International), Blue Zoo Radio, and some other industry folks (NexPet, SERA, and Hi-Q), at creating the Responsible Fishkeeping Initiative (RFI) . We in the hobby and the industry have to acknowledge that there are some fish that are really not appropriate for all but a very few dedicated hobbyists.

The RFI is very simple -- red tail cats, pacu piranhas and iridescent sharks (the "Big Three") all get much too large for any ordinary hobbyist to take care of, and they make up 90% of the fish that stores and public aquariums have offered to them as "donations". When the hobbyist with the 2' long red tail cat finds that the local fish store and nearest public aquarium don't want the fish, they often just release the fish into local waters. Not only is this illegal -- and stupid -- but it is only a matter of time before some politican's mother goes to wade in her favorite local lake, and she finds a huge alien-looking fish, dead, washed up on the shore. She calls her son, and her son initiates a bill to make it illegal to keep any fish that is not native to that state. HR6311 is in the Federal legislative process, and if passed this bill would essentially put the aquarium hobby and industry out of business. California already has a law that bans a fair number of aquarium fish. And I bet you didn't know that it is illegal to sell neon tetras in Massaschusetts? Yep. The law says that it is illegal to keep, buy or sell "piranhas and their relatives", and both piranhas and neon tetras are in the same family, Characidae, which makes neons, technically, illegal.

Stores can join the RFI by taking "the pledge" that they will 1) not sell those three fish, and 2) that if a hobbyist has a fish that they can no longer keep, they can bring it into the store, and that the store will try to rehome the fish, and if that is not possible, they will humanely euthanize the fish and dispose of it.

Those of you who are successfully keeping any of the "Big Three" fishes, or any other huge fish in a sufficiently large volume of water -- my hat is off to you. I hope that everyone will support the RFI -- to learn more about it, and to sign up all you have to do is to go to:
www.fishchannel.com/rfi
We have RFI posters for local fish stores, and bumper stickers for hobbyists.
Thanks.
David Lass

Non-native fish in your area

Grouper gulper — Mon, 14 May 2012 10:55:08 GMT

I was at a local park by my house and in a small ditch/pond (i could hop across it if i tried) i found a very large colony of mosqitoe fish and could have sworn that i saw a clown loach. Later, i went to a park in michigan about an hour from the ohio mich boarder and caught some what might be killie fish. These are non-native to my knowledge. Ill try posting picks if i can. Feel free to pipe in and share some stories.

Possible Snail Problem

Finny — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 16:49:31 GMT

Hey everyone,
I have seen small snails in my tank! I don't want to have a problem with them and would like to control them now. I have a 16 gal with 2 pearl gouramis and 1 flower shrimp. I don't want to get copper medication b/c of the shrimp. Is there a fish that I can get that will take care of them? Not a clown loach b/c it gets too big for my tank. I am planning to add 2 more pearls so the smaller the fish, the better! Any other suggestions are welcomed! Thanks!!

90g reef ready convertion

ChristopherFuse — Thu, 03 May 2012 16:49:42 GMT

I bought a 90g reef ready saltwater tank drilled in the corner with drain and return in place. I need a return pump right now. I want to change it to freshwater setup and use the sump as my filter. I'm new to this kind of tank so PLEASE give me your advice.

New pickups!

plecodiscus — Thu, 10 May 2012 19:42:16 GMT

Im bored so i figured id start a thread. I just bought some new fish!
recent losses/moves- blue acara passed away, clown plec got moved to the 10gal, took down the 30gal saltwater for my bros turtle to go in.

today- got 2 yoyo loaches finally, as well as a moonlight gourami and a festivum! very good pickups IMO, all fish ive wanted to try. glad to have some loaches again especially, and always wanted a moonlight gourami. anwho ill get some pics up soon.

Baby shell dweller cichlids

neon46 — Tue, 08 May 2012 07:45:24 GMT

It was so awesome I came home and found out that my Multi shell dweller cichlids had 4 babies.
I was wondering how many babies do they usually have? I imagine it is not very many because they are so small.
I will get pictures soon.

quarantine tank

igarra — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 05:16:38 GMT

I might be able to get my hands on a free 2 gallon tank. Would this work for quarantine tank? Do you need filter system? What about the months where you don't have any new fish? Just keep it running and doing water changes with nothing in the tank? Also can it double as a hospital tank or do you need a separate tank for that purpose?

Chain Pet Stores Using Shared Water Among Tanks

Cichlasoma_hollywoodi — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 08:25:44 GMT

I have a question about the water exchange systems you see in many large chain pet stores. All their fish tanks will share a common water supply which flows freely between different "compartments" - there are either plexiglass partitions with holes drilled in them so it's really just one big tank, or the water is drawn out and filtered in a common filter chamber and then returned to the individual tanks. One of the first things I learned about keeping fish was not to contaminate one tank with the water from another tank - to prevent diseases from spreading. So why would a store have this system where all the fish share the same water? What happens when a shipment comes in and the fish carry some kind of parasite like ich? How do they keep it from spreading to all the fish in stock? Someone must know the answer to this ... maybe someone who works/has worked at one of the big box pet stores.

Dry Starting an Aquarium

lmartin — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 16:56:12 GMT

I am pretty new to the establishing of an aquarium. I have a 10 and a 20-gallon aquarium that I have set up successfully. I will soon be setting up a 75-gallon tank and want to have it pretty heavily planted. I read an article that described using a dry method for establishing low growing foreground plants. I think I know how to do it and am quite willing to wait the weeks needed for the plants to establish and spread. My question is where to set the tank while this process takes place.

I have a greenhouse which in the warmer months I use only to keep cactus. I live in Ohio and I know the greenhouse can get up to 90 degrees and higher in the late spring and summer even with the shade material I put on the top of the greenhouse. I would like to place the 75-gallon tank where it can get natural light yet still be protected from storms etc. The greenhouse would be perfect except I am afraid it would get so warm it would literally cook the plants I will be trying to grow. Again, I would only be trying to establish low-growing (2 to 3" in height) plants for the foreground of the tank. Do you think using the greenouse I described would be a mistake and if so what would be a better alternative. Trust me I will accept any advice you can offer.

fish fry diet

aqua101 — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 06:27:51 GMT

i need some help on want to feed my longear sunfish fry and i do not have long before its too late

New To The Field

schneekoenig — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 15:31:10 GMT

Hello everybody,

I am Oliver and new to this field.
I have a 265 GAL Freshwater Tank under construction
and would like to see what fish you would recommend
that would live in harmony together.

I made the following selection

Angelfish 4-6
rock kribensis 4-6
corydorases 2
Puntius sachsii 4-6

I would also like to know if you recommend rather 2 outside filters of 500 l in capacity or better to have one big one. what lighting is the best to use? I want to focus on natural habitat or something like a ecosystem (as much as possible)
and how about a good but silent pump

Also what plants would you recommend for the selection above.

Generally I want to focus on quality rather than quantity.

Truly appreciate your inputs! Thank you and nice meeting you!

Oliver

Shrimp

stephyykinss — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 09:49:10 GMT

I have 3 otto cats and 1 apple snail.
I was wondering if i could add any shrimp.
Just curious.

Celestial Pearl Danios And Galaxi Rasboras

Sick-Lids — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 17:58:53 GMT

I have been looking at pictures of the Pearl Dani and the Galaxi Rasbos... These 2 fish look very much alike... Are they the same fish and its undecided as to weather its a Dani or Rasbo... Or are they actually 2 different kind of fish that looks very much alike?

HOLY POOP! my 29 gal. is like the movie 'You've Got Mail.'

Sick-Lids — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 18:01:15 GMT

This 29 has been up and running for some time... I had a snail or two here... A snail or two their... Now my aquarium is under attack... Now i have 2 different kinds of snails in my aquarium... Where did they come from and how do I get rid of them????

I haven't put any plants in the tank for months... What Can I do... This is insane!!!

Buying Fish online

AquariumBrandon — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 15:38:21 GMT

Has anyone here ever bought fish online?

What about more sensitive fish like Discus? What are your thoughts on this? Was the experience good? Is there a particular website that you recommend?

I've thought about buying some fish online but I'm kind of scared too....

What about fish supplies?

Let me know your thoughts..

Need help with proper fish break down

Tullstone — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 18:54:12 GMT

Hi all,

Thanks very much for the help. Next week, I need to break down my wonderful planted tank . I am going away for the entire summer and I can't afford to maintenance.

I have about 5 bags of flourite gravel in my 55 gallon that I would really hate to throw away. That stuff cost me a fortune!

Any suggestions on how I would store the tank and the gravel in a way that would not risk bacterial growth and make my gravel unusable? Should I even worry about that?

Thank you all again,

Tullstone

Build or buy?

CMJohn79 — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 21:23:36 GMT

I am looking for recommendations on a new tank. I want to either purchase or build a 200+ gallon aquarium for my dining room. I have done a little research on building an acrylic tank. It is much cheaper to build acrylic than to buy an acrylic. However I am not sure how much work would be involved. I have found a 210 gal glass tank at Petco for about the same price as acrylic materials. Can anyone offer any advice on this?

Responsible Helpful Stingray Distributor?

AquariumBrandon — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 11:55:59 GMT

I'm trying to find a responsible and reputable stingray distributor?

I currently have a 125 gallon aquarium with a sandy/thin gravel base and I'm wanting to find a distributor that will help me find and take the time to identify properly a stingray (such as a Hystrix?) that will stay a reasonable size. I don't want someone that is going to falsly identify it or generalize it as a "teacup stingray".

If the stingray reaches its traditional size I'll upgrade to a 250 gallon or larger if I need too, but I'm seeking to purchase one that is about 3-5 inches as a juvenille.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

fish is back

aqua101 — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 08:34:42 GMT

How many types of fish can breath air and what are they called because im planning on getting one

Matching Fish

ctemt — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 13:28:39 GMT

Hi everyone I need little help. I am helping my son fill his tank. He has a 55 gal and as of now he has 3 albino cats, 2 pair of guppies, and 20 neons. The guppies stay in the plants (artificial) of course the tank looks empty. What can I add to his tank? Thanks for the help.

algae cleaning

igarra — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 05:09:41 GMT

My tank has finally gotten around to adding some green algae to the glass. I am sure this is normal but was wondering how to clean it. I have a scrubby on a stick that I purchased just for algae, but it really seems to do an iffy job at best. Should the scrubby remove all of it? Does it take a ton of elbow grease? Do algae eating fish do a better job? The algae isn't out of control, so it's not a light issue or anything. I just "assumes" a light scrubbing and it would all come off. Just curious about thoughts and experience. Are the magnets useful? Seems like they would offer a lighter touch and therefor be less productive. Thanks for any input

New to the hobby

lmartin — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 16:52:50 GMT

About 2 months ago I was given a 10 gallon tank with all the equipment including some fish. It didn't take long before I got the "bug". I have since set up a 20 gallon tank with 9 Zebra Danios, 9 Neon Tetras and 3 Cory Catfish. I have read every book and magazine I could find on the subject of keeping fish and so far all has gone well. When I set up to 20 gallon tank I added some gravel from the established 10 gallon tank as well as a flat rock from that tank. I also used part of the filter from the 10 gallon tank and added it to the new filter in the 20 gallon tank. In addition, I used some of a product that promised to quicken the establishment of beneficial bacteria.

I added a few plants and let the filter run a few days then added the Danios. Every water test has shown zero ammonia and nitrites and low nitrates. Because of those results I accelerated my adding of fish until I have added all I want in that tank. My question is why didn't I experience the spike in ammonia followed by nitrites etc. that should have occurred in an new tank. It has been 3 weeks and the water is clear, the readings are fine and the fish are healthy. All in all I am very pleased. Was I also lucky? I am going to set up a 75 gallon tank soon and want to do it right. I also found the price of aquarium gravel to be outrageous and used small pea gravel from Home Depot ($2.79 for a 40 pound bad), I washed several times until the water was clear. It seems to work very well. Any suggestions would be very appreciated.

Fishless Cycling

FishChannel Moderator — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 10:26:32 GMT

Hi everyone,

We have a new article on fishless cycling, bookmark it, it's a good article to send beginners to:

http://www.fishchannel.com/fishkidz/beginner-fish/fishless-cycling.aspx

F.M.

Best aquarium setup

Finny — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 14:01:52 GMT

Hello all,

I am in the middle of setting up a 16 gal aquarium and need advice on what to put in it.

I have come up with 2 ideas, let me know which one you think is better:

1. 6 Angelfish, 2 Oto Cats, 1 Betta, 1-2 Mystery Snail(s)

2. 8 Rams, 2 Oto Cats, 1 Betta, 4-8 Cherry Shrimp

Thanks!

Spontaneously decreasing pH

tdeardeuff — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 19:49:00 GMT

I have a 100 gallon tank full of feeder fish (medium and large comet goldfish and minnows). The tank is filtered by a Marineland sump with a prefilter and a carbon pad. The tank has great influxes of fish because its a feeder tank and I get the fish in bulk. The system was running fine, everything was cycling properly, ammonia was at 0 and nitrate was less than 10 (I do a 30% water change every week).
But a few months ago, the water became hazy, not quite cloudy. I did a water change, scrubbed the glass and everything seemed fine. The next week I tested the water quality and the pH was at 7.4. I did a 50% water change with the water coming out of the filtered tap water at a pH of 8.0. Three days later I tested the water quality again in the tank and it came up at 7.4. I did another 50% water change with the same results. (I was adding and decreasing the number of fish in the tank continuously through this process and never noticed it affecting or correlating with the water quality.)
Someone that I thought was knowledgable on the subject said some of the dead minnows were finding their way down to the prefilter and that was causing the decrease in pH. I have never heard of this and I can't figure out the science behind his reasoning but I did find dead minnows on top of the filter the last two times I changed it. (I change the prefilter weekly.)
Does anyone agree with what this guy says (we'll call him John) or do you have a different explanation for the reduction in the pH? I would like to get my tank stable again.
Thanks in advance for any help.

P.S. I am using test strips to measure pH. They aren't expired and I recently bought a new container of a different brand to double check my results.

Tadpoles

Rhianna — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 15:37:41 GMT

Someone gave me a wild Bullfrog Tadpole.... its about three inches long. Can I put this in with my tropical fish tank or no? Also, what does it eat?

Yes I did it.

rae3937 — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 15:21:37 GMT

I finly got as far as geting baby angel fish in to a hatching tank. so far so good. a little movement going on. Hope I can get theam to a real good size this time. any help with this and info ill take thanks.

Rut ROO! Got an Ammonia reading!

AquariumBrandon — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 09:44:07 GMT

I'm cycling with fish. Therefore, I'm doing daily water test and water changes atleast twice a week, if not more.

However, this is the first ammonia reading I have gotten. It was .5 this morning. I just did a water change, with gravel vac. a couple of days ago..

So do I need to suck the gravel again so soon..or would it be acceptable to simply take out 15-20% of the water and replace it?

Or should I just add a little bit of Amiquel?

ALSO: I wanted to add, how bad are the STRIP TEST? Most of you say they are bad..why are they so bad? You would think if they make a product it has to work?

Thanks for your help!

What chemical tests should be done for freshwater?

thefishman84 — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 18:48:04 GMT

Is there any extra for planted tanks as well?

Fish tank help

Mysterioyo — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 17:23:02 GMT

Alright, here it goes. I got a 3 gallon tank 1 and a half months ago. I started off with way to many fish and they all died of new tank syndrome. I started over and got one small red wag swordtail and have been trying to figure out how many fish I can get. The only problem is every time I go to a pet store the people tell me something completely different then other people I have talked to. Some people say I can get a few more little fish, while one guy said I was lucky my swordtail was alive at all! What I really want to know is how many fish can I get for this tank!!

Is my tank overstocked?

AquariumBrandon — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 13:31:51 GMT

I have got my new 125 gallon aquarium set up. I'm so excited ..its really nice.

I'm currently cycling the tank. I do have 12 cory catfish within the aquarium.

Here is the fish I will eventually plan on adding. Do you think it is over capacity..or just right?

Total:

12 Cory Catfish, 6 Discus, 1 Angelfish (yes I know, but I'm going to try the angel, I've heard several success stories), 2 Blue Rams, 3 Silver Dollars, 24 Cardinal Tetras, 24 Glow-lite Tetras...

I think I'm on the right track or atleast close.

Any help or thoughts would be greatly appreciated?

Experiences with amelanistic fish?

princessotfu — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 16:10:07 GMT

So, I think I've mentioned it before, but one of my goldfish is amelanistic. Or at least, that's the closest term I can find because he isn't totally albino - no red eyes like the corydoras catfish I have in the other tank. He has no color, except for some gray patches that make him look like he's a really washed out calico. His skin is also translucent - I can see his organs and I can see the clusters of blood vessels near the base of his tail and I can check the color of his gills without needing to raise the gill cover.

What worries me is that occasionally, for no explainable reason, he'll develop a horrid case of bloody streaks in the tail, and, being colorless, the blood flow turns his body pink as well. There are no injuries, the water is perfect, it doesn't happen just after a water or just before, it's completely random and he's fine again after about 24 hours or so. I've checked everything I can think to see if it's a stress thing related to some difference in the water, but it's so random that I haven't figured it out. The temperature has always been room temp, but fluctuation doesn't seem to cause it.

The only thing I've seen close to it is an Aeromonas infection, as I've seen in the fish stock at work occasionally. But it only lasts a day or less and there's no internal bleeding, just basically skin capillaries breaking, as far as I can tell.

My second thought was maybe the fish equivalent of sunburn, but the window that MIGHT allow sunlight to hit the tank is covered until late in the day until the sun is slanted completely opposite the tank.

Has anyone ever seen this before? I can't help but think it's related to his coloring, but I don't know what specifically is causing it or whether it will eventually turn into a bigger problem than it is right now.

Black Ghost knife with small tetras?

AquariumBrandon — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 18:34:56 GMT

I was reading about the Black Ghost Knife fish because it is from the region of the world that I'm doing for my aquarium.

However, I have read lots of conflicting information over it and the possibility of the Black Ghost eating small tetras...

I was wondering if anyone has any first hand experience or information on this?

Is it possible to over-filtrate?

bjtaylor57 — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:39:17 GMT

I have come into possession of a Fluval 205 canister filter (new) but I only have a 10 gallon tank. Would using this filter over-filter a small tank.

10 gallon
3 Emerald Corries
4 Tiger Barbs (LG)

Do you have Flat Worms in your tank?

FreshWaterAquariumGuy — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 16:37:48 GMT

I had a 10 gallon tank with plant clippings in it. Because like every good fish lover I regularly add more plants where needed, and was tired of paying for plants. After 2 years this tank was a planted tank buy its own right. The tank has no filter and flat worms appeared. Needless to say I didn't want to put my hands in the water. There was hundreds, just like snails and other things. 3 days ago I decided to see if a beta fish could live in this type of water. Sure enough I put him in and watched. He stayed near the glass at first so I tapped the glass and he didn't even twitch. But something caught his eye and he scooted forward abit and swallowed a critter and then another. In two minutes time he was motoring arround hunting. He didn't eat the snails but I had my eyes on the worms that were on the glass and boom beta took him down and that was a mouth full. He loved it so much that he search for them all day. I never seen a beta swim so much. Really cool swimmers. Now I can't see any. I now need to grow some critters for my new beta.

pH adjustment - is it worth it??

AngelFan — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 06:17:44 GMT

Is adjusting for pH a waste of time? I have Angelfish who are supposed to like acidic water. But I live in Dallas with extremely hard water, and have never done a thing to it. I have yet to make one single pH change. I must be over 8.0. They've been thriving for over a year. Of course Angels are now bred locally, and the pH requirements of their original waters really don't apply.

I even had the same case with Discus, supposedly more fragile fish. I had a 55 gallon with them and made water changes straight from the tap. Adjusted for chlorine, etc., but never bothered with pH. They did great. At one time I did add some Discus buffer, and guess what happened? They started to breed!

10g/how many

bettasrcool — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 17:00:59 GMT

I have an old 10g that I am going to help a friend set up and he wants to get small fish like tetras. Would say five neons and five glowlights (10 tetras) be too many? My friend wants to have two types of fish instead of just a school of one fish.

Is extra aeration really needed?

AngelFan — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 07:37:29 GMT

Is aeration really needed? I have a 30 gallon with an AquaClear power filter on the back, and the surface agitation is practically non-existent. However I often see planted show tanks with no aeration either. Fish seem fine either way. Others say aeration is required to of course add oxygen to the water; on occasion I'll see my Angelfish gulping for air on the surface. I'd just as soon not have the pump sound and enjoy the quiet....