What Did You do With Your Tank Today?

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There are still 3 Guppies and the lone Pygmy Cory that snuck into the other fish. Waiting to see if they are all doing well before the Cory goes back into the Spec V with his buddies.

The Serpaes, the 2 new ones which got what looked like a bacterial infection all are still alive too.

Yesterday they were all hanging out together. The shy one which stayed hiding is still a little shy, maybe still getting better.
 
Goldfish

Working to increase my shoal of Goldfish. I'm up to 15 and they're growing steadily. Very hardy and have gold, silver and pink varieties. They need more aeration than tropical tanks and lots of large, weekly water changes, but no heater is needed, because they're not tropical fish. You can keep them in larger aquariums with just a few floating plants like Anacharis, Hornwort and Duckweed. I've added some Anubias nana and nangi for the bottom.

B
 
Did a continuous pwc of probably 100 gallons for the Angel Bow front 46G plus 5G FX-5.

Was trying to flush out the meds initially but found a poop pile stuck behind the cloud of moss, Subwassertang and Riccia. Caught next to a few 2 inches by 2 inches filter pad squares caught next to the cloud of plants and a piece of DW. Under the 2 direction outflow in a dead zone. So the fish in there were not looking better but worse.

Hoping the gradual but very large water change and new med's will yield better results after vac removing the poops. I am pretty sure big poops were from the large Spotted Rapael Catfish. Really never seen poops like that.

Figured I'd let the tank settle down and rearrange things differently tomorrow moving the mossy cloud and DW away from the dead zone where the catfish likes because it's most secluded.
 
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Did lots of good sized water changes on the rest of the tanks except the 72G. Bad weather in the forecast caused me to have to focus on some other things.

Found a couple dried jumpers, a baby pleco and a Endler female behind the table. :( think bad water quality as trying to feed the little babies more. Will be doing more frequent pwc.
 
Changed the CO2 tank on my 20-long. I'm amazed a 24oz tank lasted as long as it did: I set it up last 4th of July, and it had been running at 3BPS since. Only started running out in the last week.

I'm also amazed I didn't maim myself in the process. Handling pressurized gas makes me nervous. :hide:
 
Changed the CO2 tank on my 20-long. I'm amazed a 24oz tank lasted as long as it did: I set it up last 4th of July, and it had been running at 3BPS since. Only started running out in the last week.

I'm also amazed I didn't maim myself in the process. Handling pressurized gas makes me nervous. :hide:

Congrats on surviving it. Now I'm scared of ever having one since you mentioned it ;)

Spent time looking at interesting dwarf shrimp varieties / hybridized wonders.

Thinking of using the 12G Mr. Aqua for a better grade of PRL breeding tank. (When I move the SW inhabitants. ) Just nab all the really nice ones, and see what happens to the quality over a couple generations.

Fed and checked things.
 
Can tell you that at least half the water in a fish tank must be changed at least every two weeks. Nitrogen from fish and plant waste and from fertilizers reduces oxygen in the tank water in just a few days. Water run through a filtration system for several days doesn't hold oxygen as well as fresh water. This is why if you miss a couple of regular water changes, the fish come to the surface to get oxygen, because there's not enough in the water. Large, regular water changes of more than 50 percent twice a month, removes most of the nitrogen and replenishes oxygen. So, it doesn't matter how many fish you have living in the tank, most of the water still needs to be replaced every few days.

B
 
PWC today on all tanks. Thinned out the Malaysian herd a bit. Shrimp survived the move to the nursery but no babies yet. New job is keeping me busy and tired and haven’t had time to read or post much.
 
Did some tank maintenance today.

Tested tanks for pH. It ranged a large amount.

72G 7.
46G yellow so not exactly positive but 6.0 or less. Added some magnesium for the fish wellness and some Replenish to get the number to register on the pH test. The Angels would be fine but the Catfish and the Serpaes low is 6.0 and I would like a little more so I can know at least it is 6.0.

PRL 12G Shrimp was 6.0 or below and added a tiny amount of Replenish for the fish.

Wine Glass vase tank with the Seriyu stones was 7.5

5G Spec V was 7.0

Water out of the tap was 7.0 with out sitting around.

Anyway...
Fish in the 46G seem to be on the mend. Did a 60% pwc and vac. Cleaned the glass and there are a bunch of the plants getting dark algae like diatoms maybe will get a couple snails. also the Water wisteria turned all pale and was starting to brown/melt. Maybe not enough pH? Or it didn't like the meds.

Have a Purigen pouch I am trying out the recharging on and it looks really white. Second or 3rd round of Prime. Just a wee bit nervous. :eek:

Things otherwise seem to be going alright. I just brought home 4 new male Guppies for the Wine Glass. A pearl body yellow, a lyre tail snakeskin (barely pointed ends of the tail but not fan or spade), a Japanese Blue Swordtail Guppy, and a pearly pink rose with a tint of blushed apricot.

Although I wanted a couple additional ones, I was hoping to not overload the sponge filter for the bioload. I will test the tank tomorrow before its pwc.

The 46G had barely 10 Nitrates and 0 Nitrites
The 72G had abit over 40 I'd say 50-60, so treated the with a dose of Prime and will do their pwc tomorrow, and maybe a filter cleanout if I can manage to get the time.

Made 10G of RO water and got all the tanks topped off and have 6G ready to use for the next couple weeks.

Pwc done on the 2 SW nano display tanks.

Water change on the pond.

Had to add water to some SW macroalgae I have in a bucket ouside for the last couple weeks almost all the water evaporated and the Chaeto was still green, so I added more water and we will see if it keeps growing.

Hoping to get to the other lfs to pick up 20G of SW. It takes so long to make RO with my small unit, so I doubt I will make my own until I get the bigger tank, and even then maybe not.

It looks like my Carbon Rilli Shrimp does not have eggs anymore, or there is an additional Shrimp I didn't see before, so I wonder if there are a few babies or if she lost them. Of course hoping I have them in the moss!
 
The sick fish have been better, then worse, then better then worse. Sunday they were much worse. Will be trying a different med.

Did a fast round of water changes on almost all the tanks.

2 SW nanos - added evap & more SW for the 6.6 SW MacroAlgae also.

50% pwc for the 46G sick fish, then medication and Epsom Salt and Replenish.

added water for evap to 72G

12G PRL 1G change

Carbon Rilli Planted vase was 50%

5G Spec was close to 2G

Turtle bowl was almost .75G

and Guppy Vase was about 1.5-2G added water back in from evap

Added water for evap to the rest of the jars and containers.

All before work! Moving really fast to get it done.

Tight schedule this week.

During the rest period I needed yesterday, I searched for a new to me SW tank, and sent a message about one, didn't yet hear anything by tonight... Usually not the best situation when that happens.

Still thinking of a pond option.
Still not determined an answer :rolleyes:

Spare money for the tanks is not as plentiful as expected/planned, and THAT puts a damper on the acquisition options. Had unexpected expenses and less than expected income!!!

A couple weeks ago was ordered 4 bottles of Prime, and happy that they arrived last week in time for so many pwc!!!

2-3 weeks back during a pwc in the 72G I notied the 2 small spots where the BBA likes to grow in the blasting outflow of the FX-5 in the tips of the big DW.

Well I scraped a bunch of it off and got rid of it - NOT!!! Have the biggest, richest beard of algae I have seen for a long time in there, so beautiful flowing like back and forth brushing a velvet blanket DW branch. Seems like it just popped up this past week. Lazy BN Plecos and SAE don't go near it. Kinda afraid to scrape it off again without the aid of some Hydrogen peroxide. Maybe this next weekend.
 
The QT Angel tank seems to just be languishing. Lost one Serpae and one has been visiting the top of the tank a lot.

Did a huge water change again and found that that darn clump of moss on a log just traps all kinds of old food and poop. Removed all the muck & fungus balls of uneaten food.

Tried yet again to angle the output spray into the areas where the stuff gathers and removed all kinds of misc smaller things and the moss log, angled the DW Log and stone so the water current runs through the space instead of stops or traps the debris, food and poo. Which will work until the catfish wiggles around and moves it sideways again.

Need a restock of the other med, headed out to pick it up.

Added the Epsom salt too.

And the big Silver Angel looks on the down side of health.

Moving to the SW. Cleaned the 6.6G SW nano up and there was more what seems to be black cyano. Cleaned it up and the prefilter rinsed out, dusted up the corners of the tank to clean, picked out escaped pieces.

Tank looks pretty good. Did a pwc of around a gallon.

Going to do a lights off for 3 days and lightly feed.

Pwc on the 12G sw nano.

The 2 people I messaged about tanks never responded. The unending search for a new to me tank continues... Maybe soon.

Yesterday did a pwc on the 12G PRL just 1G. Took out some Duckweed as usual. I might be able to squeeze in a little plant trim tonight for the 12G PRL. The SW tanks took up more time than I expected.

The big rainstorm we got last night really added some water to the pond it was over flowing.
 
Lights out did indeed seem to keep the tanks nice and pretty. Just started the lights back on Friday morning - will see how it goes for the SW nanos. As of now the 6.6G is just sparkling clear. The other one wasn't really an issue but did have one suspicious corner.

All the fish except the Silver Angel looked much, much better, one Koi Angel seemed a little stressed still.

Serpaes look perfect, no fin issues or anything. Only lost that one, and 6 remain.

Spotted Raphael Cats seem okay too. They never seemed to have any issues during any of this.

The other med was not enough for the Silver.

Went and picked up a course of Maracyn-2. Feeling bad about him as his eye is peeling. This should take care of it, I am told.

Water was fine but to remove old stuff and the latest rounds of Pimafix, did almost 50% pwc.

Added the meds, so here goes one more time.
~~~~~

Shopped at the lfs for a tank while I was there. They had a pretty nice one but wasn't low iron /high clarity.

Got 7 pea sized Mystery Snails for 50 cents each. SW and RO/DI water while I was there.

Did pwc on PRL, about a 1.5G, then about a 2G and a 1G basically just removing Duckweed and did a trim of so much moss, Subwassertang, and tons of baby Java Ferns, a few stray stems of Mini Butterfly came out too and added it to 2 other tanks to see it will be alright as a floater. I did a medium light removal as I can't have the tank do a mini cycle on me.

2G pwc on the 5G Spec V also removing excess Duckweed as usual.

about a 2G on the Wine Glass

Then a bunch of little cups from the 3G turtle bowl, maybe 2/3G.

Carbon Shrimp vase about a 1/3G.

All that leaves is the 72G for Sun or Mon. Filled 2G of RO in there.
~~~~~Changed tables/stand for the Spec
And moved out my little wooden file cabinet which has all the fish stuff in it. Had to add a different piece of furniture, so the plant vases and growing cups and containers had to move too.

Cleaned all that up and wiped off tanks, lights, glass and tables and swept under everything that I moved too.

Now I just have to move 2 antique little side tables I removed and the file cabinet out of the middle of the living room - and set up a new plant growing area - that's all! Maybe tomorrow eve.

Busy with spring tasks around the house too
 
I dropped in a 50 lb. Botia Loach hotel / Texas Holey rock yesterday. Of course I initially laid it in upside down and had to lift it back out, flip it, then put it back. The rock was covered with dried green algae, and looked awful in contrast with the other ivory white rocks. Never under estimate a Bristlenose pleco's ability to graze away bio gunk. Overnight, the two BNs cleaned the new rock to bone white.
I needed additional hiding spots to acomidate my growing Botia Loach population. It was either stack a lot of smaller rocks or add one enormous rock with ready made caves. Stacking
equates to instability and cracked glass. I'll take a big flat bottom rock everytime.
I removed three smaller rocks to make space for the new big one. I was hoping for an equal water displacement, but I ended up losing 3 gal. In the exchange.
Pictured: front view - left rock / back view.
 

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Looks like the fish will enjoy the space!
~~~~~
Last night was the final medication dosage with the Angels and other fish in the 46G QT.

Fish all look fine from the maladies the medications were used for. The Striped Silver Angel has some damage on the eye but it is still in the socket and can move.

Silver Angel also is thin, maybe treat for parasites for a few days this week. I have been watching him and he seems a noticeably weak. Still moving around okay but wisping in the current. It is an FX-5 blowing through there...

Water is cloudy as there is no Purigen, and very likely the BB is now dead. Have been dosing a cap (for 50G) of Prime every day for this reason since the water began clouding.

I recharged a pouch of Purigen and let it sit for a long time in Prime water - 2x, then plain water too and still feel worried. It doesn't smell like bleach any more and it SHOULD be fine. :[

Might just buy a new one as these fish need all the advantages possible.

Did a near 50% pwc for the med reduction. Plan a series of additional maybe 25% pwc's every few days, starting with another 33-50% tomorrow and maybe a FX-5 canister filter clean out this next week.

If I try to add some BB from the healthy tank to the filter baskets, I will probably use the filter pad I usually use for finer cleaning in the healthy canister, maybe at least enough to help get things headed in the right direction again.

Planning on moving the 6 Serpae Tetras into the 72G.

The 2 Koi Angels are always fighting I think I figure the Silver and the red eye Koi are a pair?

The fish with what looks to maybe be a fungal growth on it's tail still looks the same so will give it a dunk in something this week to help it go away.

Ultimately this tank will not be in the living room. So still needing to decide where the fish will go.
 
No Water Change Tank

Well...

I set up my tank a few seeks ago and it's running great. My Chinese evergreen house plant is taking in all forms of nitrogen from the dissolved fish waste and I'm topping off the water with distilled water, so there's no build up of minerals. It's interesting, the only reason for changing the water is to remove dissolved nitrogen from the fish waste. The plant takes care of this job during the day and the beneficial bacteria takes over at night when the plant rests.

B
 
Well...

I set up my tank a few seeks ago and it's running great. My Chinese evergreen house plant is taking in all forms of nitrogen from the dissolved fish waste and I'm topping off the water with distilled water, so there's no build up of minerals. It's interesting, the only reason for changing the water is to remove dissolved nitrogen from the fish waste. The plant takes care of this job during the day and the beneficial bacteria takes over at night when the plant rests.

B

Sounds nice and cozy for the fish.

~~~
Did the water change in the 46G yesterday.

Adjusted the evap in the SW tanks back to the correct level.

Tonight went to the CAS meeting and as always there is a mini auction.

Things were going for so cheap tonight. Glad I wasn't selling.

There were no SW buyers and I bought all there were. Red Acan 3 head/polyp small frag 2 or $3 really good color, Red Gonipora $3, Turbinaria Frondens $2, Radioactive Green Trumpet /Caulestrea 3 head for $6., and a small Yellow Button Polyp $2.

6 -3 pair of lovely Albino (I think High Fin) Red Swordtails. The breeder always has stunning fish, plants and Cherry shrimp. Hoping they adapt well to my tank. One extra big female.

Did a 20G pwc on the 72G. As often happens, I found a single tiny baby Albino BN pleco. I think it is the first ones to get out of the poppa BN protection or bumped out by the adding of buckets of water. Apparently they are eaten by the other fish as I don't see them after the initial one or 2. Moved it to the Endlers tank but doubt it will survive the hungry momma Endlers. No other place to relocate it to. Many hiding places and ample floating plants.
 
New 75 G Tank

Am starting to put together the next tank in my basement. Am keeping some Comets and some standard Goldfish. They're growing nicely, but they're currently in a 38 G and I want to move some to a larger home.

If you haven't already, check into Chewy.com for your fish food and most other supplies. It's much cheaper than I've found locally. There's free shipping if you buy $50.00 or more and I typically get my order in 2 to 3 days.

B
 
Haven’t been on AA in so long! Hope everyone’s doing well.

I emptied my 23G yesterday and purchased a new hood (Aqueon Deluxe LED?). Also got some new organic soil today and a couple of buckets too. Ready for some grand renovations!
 
Thanks BB.

Welcome back GG. Does sound like much happening over at your house!!!

~~~

Other household projects popped up this weekend and will need to make some additional time for the tanks. Prob. Sunday.

The new Albino Red Swordtails are getting along okay in the tank with the other fish. I got a really good view of the nicest male and snapped a couple pics will try and load one in between tank activities tomorrow.

The Red Acan and the Radioactive Green Tumpets with the Yellow Colonial Polyps look so bright in the center of the tank, hadn't finished scraping the glass of algae but also snapped a pic of the trio too.

Going to post a pic of the 90G fixer upper bowfront tank locally and see if there is any one interested. I am out of time for extra projects for awhile.
 
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