New Kid on The Block - Aquarium Advice

nonameface · 04-30-2008, 10:17 PM

not to be confused with the terrible 90's "band", I just found this forum yesterday and decided to join and post today.

I've had FW aquariums since I was about 8 (i'm 23 now) and realized after my reading yesterday that I really had no idea what I was doing. I knew basic diseases (ick, fin rot, etc) and I've treated for those every now and then, and I knew about pH, but other then that my knowledge of water quality is next to nothing. I learned all about the ammonia cycle, which I suppose I've always been fortunate with and luckly its one of those things that "fixes itself" after long enough period of time.

I currently have 3 aquariums

29 Gallon lightly planted with rocks
HOB rena filter
Heater
Flourite substrate (which is beautiful if you have 5 hours to wash it)
Stock hood

I want to upgrade to about 2 w/g right now I'm at about .7w/g. Just need the $$ and the OK from the wife. I'm lucky that where the aquarium is light shines into it from the windows (I can actually see the streak of light through the water) even with the blinds closed, and I made sure to plant in the "natural light" areas. The only reason my live plants are even close to alive still, and they have very slow growth.

10 Gallon lightly planted with rocks (my wifes tank)
Cheap Tetra HOB filter
Heater
Epoxy coated aquarium gravel
This tank also has a stock hood, 1.5w/g of light (always wondered why plants did better in this tank, I just figured it out)

5 gallon hexagon tank fake plants
"all-in-one" hood and filter preassembled unit from Petsmart

This was the QT/breeder tank until we decided we didn't like having it empty. It has a lame incandescent bulb so no heater required, that actually keeps the water pretty constant temperature around 78 degrees.

I now know that my tanks need some work, and that work requires money which I don't have to spend on tanks, so I'm in sort of a bind. I've been looking at the nano SW "all-in-one" pod tanks and kind of drooling all over the place and that is a long term goal for me. I'd like to have a small 14gallon or so tank sitting on an end table in the living room, and SW seems like a fun and different challenge that some day when I have the money to put into it I'm going to take on.

So that was a long post just to say Hi!

Jesse

**Zagz** · 04-30-2008, 10:20 PM

Welcome to AA! Very happy to have another FW member with multiple tanks.

neilanh · 04-30-2008, 10:48 PM

Welcome!!!

**lando** · 04-30-2008, 10:53 PM

wo wo wo wo wo...hanngin' tough

Welcome to AquariumAdvice.com!!!

**Purrbox** · 04-30-2008, 11:32 PM

Welcome to AA! Those planted aquariums sound like they need a few more plants!!

nonameface · 05-01-2008, 12:26 AM

Thanks for all the welcoming!

I'd love to do a heavily planted tank, and I think some of the planted tanks I've seen on here are absolutely beautiful!! Right now I need to mainly find a good lfs, the only thing really close is petsmart, and I have two of them. I know they have live plants in little plastic tubes but they are CRAZY expensive and I don't really like them all that much, and I think they're made more for terrariums then aquariums.

I also need to buy a new light source for my aquarium, though I'm having issues with that because 1) they're expensive and 2) I like the look of my tank with the hood (and it keeps my bala shark safely from jumping out) and I don't want to have to take it off. What I'd really love is to find a multiple ballast light with the same dimensions as my "stock" one so I can leave the hood and just replace the light fixture. This is a standard 29 Gallon tank.

What is the expert opinion on DIY co2 from yeast? or should I not worry about it for a long time until I have lots of w/g of lighting?

I also just learned that my current fish may not be the happiest is the world because I apparently have schooling fish without schools

My 29 Gallon currently has:
1 4" bala shark
2 1" Tiger Barbs
1 1" Red-tailed Shark
2 2" Rosy barbs
1 4" pleco (my 10" pleco recently passed and this was his replacement)

My Wifes 10 gallon is WAY over stocked on mollys
4 Adult black mollys (1 male, 3 female)
2 Adult sunburst mollys (both female)
2 Adult silver mollys (both female)
1 3" pleco
about 25 Black molly fry
about 10 sunburst molly toddlers
and 2 silver molly toddlers

I Don't know what to do with all these mollys :-/ at first they kept eating their babies which was fine, I love that they breed, but I don't have room for them and I don't really want a molly farm.

The 5 gallon Hex
1 small angel fish
1 "rubber-lipped" pleco

nonameface · 05-01-2008, 12:33 AM

I guess this isn't really the place to ask questions, maybe I'll just redo them over on the FW boards later so they'll get a little more exposure

Anyways just wanted to say Hi! I'll check back incase anyone does answer them here though

Also I plan to get an ammonia test kit sometime in the very near future because I've learned that is probably the most important thing I can have that I don't.

Thanks for all the welcoming!

Jesse

**Purrbox** · 05-01-2008, 10:35 AM

No worries. I went ahead and split your questions out to the appropriate forums (Planted Aquariums for the plant questions and General Discussion for your stocking questions).

**melosu58** · 05-01-2008, 01:01 PM

Welcome to AA Jesse. Glad you are here.

**roka64** · 05-01-2008, 05:09 PM

Welcome to the site!

04-30-2008, 10:17 PM	#1 (permalink)
nonameface Aquarium Advice Newbie Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Goodyear, Az Posts: 8	New Kid on The Block not to be confused with the terrible 90's "band", I just found this forum yesterday and decided to join and post today. I've had FW aquariums since I was about 8 (i'm 23 now) and realized after my reading yesterday that I really had no idea what I was doing. I knew basic diseases (ick, fin rot, etc) and I've treated for those every now and then, and I knew about pH, but other then that my knowledge of water quality is next to nothing. I learned all about the ammonia cycle, which I suppose I've always been fortunate with and luckly its one of those things that "fixes itself" after long enough period of time. I currently have 3 aquariums 29 Gallon lightly planted with rocks HOB rena filter Heater Flourite substrate (which is beautiful if you have 5 hours to wash it) Stock hood I want to upgrade to about 2 w/g right now I'm at about .7w/g. Just need the $$ and the OK from the wife. I'm lucky that where the aquarium is light shines into it from the windows (I can actually see the streak of light through the water) even with the blinds closed, and I made sure to plant in the "natural light" areas. The only reason my live plants are even close to alive still, and they have very slow growth. 10 Gallon lightly planted with rocks (my wifes tank) Cheap Tetra HOB filter Heater Epoxy coated aquarium gravel This tank also has a stock hood, 1.5w/g of light (always wondered why plants did better in this tank, I just figured it out) 5 gallon hexagon tank fake plants "all-in-one" hood and filter preassembled unit from Petsmart This was the QT/breeder tank until we decided we didn't like having it empty. It has a lame incandescent bulb so no heater required, that actually keeps the water pretty constant temperature around 78 degrees. I now know that my tanks need some work, and that work requires money which I don't have to spend on tanks, so I'm in sort of a bind. I've been looking at the nano SW "all-in-one" pod tanks and kind of drooling all over the place and that is a long term goal for me. I'd like to have a small 14gallon or so tank sitting on an end table in the living room, and SW seems like a fun and different challenge that some day when I have the money to put into it I'm going to take on. So that was a long post just to say Hi! Jesse

04-30-2008, 10:20 PM	#2 (permalink)
Zagz Aquarium Advice Addict Community Admin Join Date: May 2005 Location: Saskatchewan, Canada Posts: 10,355 Images: 92	Welcome to AA! Very happy to have another FW member with multiple tanks. __________________ ------------ Anne My Profile Page My tank & fish photos Have you voted for AA today? Like the advice or comments someone gave you? Show your appreciation with the reputation button!

04-30-2008, 10:48 PM	#3 (permalink)
neilanh MTS Advocate Community Mentor Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 2,500 Images: 15	Welcome!!! __________________ ~Neilan In the DC Metro Area? Check out GWAPA Look, I have a My Info Page! Where's yours? Useful Links: Vote for AA, Nitrogen Cycle, Fishless Cycling, Articles, Acronym List

04-30-2008, 10:53 PM	#4 (permalink)
lando Aquarium Advice Addict Community Moderator Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Savage, MN Posts: 7,608 Images: 46	wo wo wo wo wo...hanngin' tough Welcome to AquariumAdvice.com!!! __________________ Some people are like slinkies...they serve no real purpose yet can still bring a smile to your face when you push them down the stairs! Have a great day! Brian

04-30-2008, 11:32 PM	#5 (permalink)
Purrbox Aquarium Advice Addict Community Moderator Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Iowa USA Posts: 4,445	Welcome to AA! Those planted aquariums sound like they need a few more plants!! __________________ ~Joy 10 Gallon Planted Photo Log - 5.5 Gallon Planted Photo Log - 2.5 Gallon Planted Photo Log - Pico Planted Photo Log

05-01-2008, 12:26 AM	#6 (permalink)
nonameface Aquarium Advice Newbie Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Goodyear, Az Posts: 8	Thanks for all the welcoming! I'd love to do a heavily planted tank, and I think some of the planted tanks I've seen on here are absolutely beautiful!! Right now I need to mainly find a good lfs, the only thing really close is petsmart, and I have two of them. I know they have live plants in little plastic tubes but they are CRAZY expensive and I don't really like them all that much, and I think they're made more for terrariums then aquariums. I also need to buy a new light source for my aquarium, though I'm having issues with that because 1) they're expensive and 2) I like the look of my tank with the hood (and it keeps my bala shark safely from jumping out) and I don't want to have to take it off. What I'd really love is to find a multiple ballast light with the same dimensions as my "stock" one so I can leave the hood and just replace the light fixture. This is a standard 29 Gallon tank. What is the expert opinion on DIY co2 from yeast? or should I not worry about it for a long time until I have lots of w/g of lighting? I also just learned that my current fish may not be the happiest is the world because I apparently have schooling fish without schools My 29 Gallon currently has: 1 4" bala shark 2 1" Tiger Barbs 1 1" Red-tailed Shark 2 2" Rosy barbs 1 4" pleco (my 10" pleco recently passed and this was his replacement) My Wifes 10 gallon is WAY over stocked on mollys 4 Adult black mollys (1 male, 3 female) 2 Adult sunburst mollys (both female) 2 Adult silver mollys (both female) 1 3" pleco about 25 Black molly fry about 10 sunburst molly toddlers and 2 silver molly toddlers I Don't know what to do with all these mollys :-/ at first they kept eating their babies which was fine, I love that they breed, but I don't have room for them and I don't really want a molly farm. The 5 gallon Hex 1 small angel fish 1 "rubber-lipped" pleco

05-01-2008, 12:33 AM	#7 (permalink)
nonameface Aquarium Advice Newbie Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Goodyear, Az Posts: 8	I guess this isn't really the place to ask questions, maybe I'll just redo them over on the FW boards later so they'll get a little more exposure Anyways just wanted to say Hi! I'll check back incase anyone does answer them here though Also I plan to get an ammonia test kit sometime in the very near future because I've learned that is probably the most important thing I can have that I don't. Thanks for all the welcoming! Jesse

05-01-2008, 10:35 AM	#8 (permalink)
Purrbox Aquarium Advice Addict Community Moderator Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Iowa USA Posts: 4,445	No worries. I went ahead and split your questions out to the appropriate forums (Planted Aquariums for the plant questions and General Discussion for your stocking questions). __________________ ~Joy 10 Gallon Planted Photo Log - 5.5 Gallon Planted Photo Log - 2.5 Gallon Planted Photo Log - Pico Planted Photo Log

05-01-2008, 01:01 PM	#9 (permalink)
melosu58 SW 10 yrs and over Community Moderator Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Richmond Va Posts: 11,260 Images: 73	Welcome to AA Jesse. Glad you are here. __________________ View My Tanks Click here to Visit FantasyReef

05-01-2008, 05:09 PM	#10 (permalink)
roka64 Aquarium Advice Addict Community Moderator Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 9,377 Images: 12	Welcome to the site! __________________ Uh-oh, I just overloaded my Bioload! Vote for AA Good reading about: Nitrogen Cycle Fishless Cycling Need more help? Articles Acronym List --Scott

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