new to the hobby:p

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johnhartigan said:
Oh thank God haha I was told I had to let it sit, maybe I shouldn't listen to my lfs:/ except there's one Guy there that's pretty knowledgeable he has a tottal of 400 gallons of freshwater tanks in his living room:p
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Some people do actually leave it sit for a while. I read somewhere it has something to do with allowing the gasses release from the tap water. But, it is not commonly practiced and I have had great success not waiting. Sometimes it takes me a bit longer like around 3 -4 minutes before I pour it back in (distracted with kids or something) and I have noticed that there's no bubbles in the bucket anymore.

My Mom told me I had to wait 24 hours before I poured water in the tank. Thank goodness I got online and did my own research LOL! She had fish back in the day so she didn't use water conditioners. ;)
 
Lovin Fish said:
Some people do actually leave it sit for a while. I read somewhere it has something to do with allowing the gasses release from the tap water. But, it is not commonly practiced and I have had great success not waiting. Sometimes it takes me a bit longer like around 3 -4 minutes before I pour it back in (distracted with kids or something) and I have noticed that there's no bubbles in the bucket anymore.

My Mom told me I had to wait 24 hours before I poured water in the tank. Thank goodness I got online and did my own research LOL! She had fish back in the day so she didn't use water conditioners. ;)
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Yeah I was told to wait 24 hours too:p and same here I get distracted and I usually fill up the buckets (2 five gallon buckets then take the water out of the tank lol:p
 
johnhartigan said:
Yeah I was told to wait 24 hours too:p and same here I get distracted and I usually fill up the buckets (2 five gallon buckets then take the water out of the tank lol:p
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Oh okay. I never have done it that way. I guess I just worry about the temp so much I never allow the bucket to sit long enough for the temp to lower. I did used to fill a couple buckets at the same time though after I pulled the water out of the tank, so I could pour one in after the other, no delays.
I had 5 buckets but now 4 of them are full of access aquarium stuff :oops:. So, I use the same bucket...pull the water out of the tank, pour out the bucket, rinse the bucket, fill the bucket, then add the new water to the tank.
 
Lovin Fish said:
Oh okay. I never have done it that way. I guess I just worry about the temp so much I never allow the bucket to sit long enough for the temp to lower. I did used to fill a couple buckets at the same time though after I pulled the water out of the tank, so I could pour one in after the other, no delays.
I had 5 buckets but now 4 of them are full of access aquarium stuff :oops:. So, I use the same bucket...pull the water out of the tank, pour out the bucket, rinse the bucket, fill the bucket, then add the new water to the tank.
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Yeah my house is warm so the temp doesn't drop lol:p I live in Idaho so we keep our house toasty:) what're good ways of doing caves cheap with house hold items:p?
 
johnhartigan said:
Yeah my house is warm so the temp doesn't drop lol:p I live in Idaho so we keep our house toasty:) what're good ways of doing caves cheap with house hold items:p?
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I have read over and over that people like using pvc pipes.
images
They are cheap and easily cut. Some also like using orange clay pots, buring half into the substrate. Others collect rocks and use silicone to glue them together to make caves. One thing I saw I thought was pretty cool was a pvc pipe placed into the substrate filling with just enough substrate to keep it down then they covered it with more substrate leaving a natural looking opening. Pretty cool effect. I am going to do this but use Java Moss to cover it instead.

I would imagine plastic water bottles could work too. Perhaps cut them in half and using fishing line or cotton thread (it will disolve over time) tie some java moss onto it so that it covers one side, then move some substrate out of the way, place it down and secure it using the substrate pushed up around it and some inside it.
I have also seen caves made from old bottles and using silicone to coat the bottles with sand, pebbles, and rocks. That is awesome looking!

Only reason I haven't used caves yet is because I don't have enough plants in the aquarium and don't want to be pulling up the caves to clean the substrate. When I do it I will be sure and plant heavily around it so to hopefully keep the area clean (plants use the waste)

Anyway, do some searching on google about "DIY caves for aquariums" and I bet you'll find tons of inspiration!

Please keep me posted! I'd love to know how your caves turn out ;) Could always record the process via pictures too. That's be fun for all of "viewers" here at AA! :D
 
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Lovin Fish said:
I have read over and over that people like using pvc pipes. They are cheap and easily cut. Some also like using orange clay pots, buring half into the substrate. Others collect rocks and use silicone to glue them together to make caves. One thing I saw I thought was pretty cool was a pvc pipe placed into the substrate filling with just enough substrate to keep it down then they covered it with more substrate leaving a natural looking opening. Pretty cool effect. I am going to do this but use Java Moss to cover it instead.

I would imagine plastic water bottles could work too. Perhaps cut them in half and using fishing line or cotton thread (it will disolve over time) tie some java moss onto it so that it covers one side, then move some substrate out of the way, place it down and secure it using the substrate pushed up around it and some inside it.
I have also seen caves made from old bottles and using silicone to coat the bottles with sand, pebbles, and rocks. That is awesome looking!

Only reason I haven't used caves yet is because I don't have enough plants in the aquarium and don't want to be pulling up the caves to clean the substrate. When I do it I will be sure and plant heavily around it so to hopefully keep the area clean (plants use the waste)

Anyway, do some searching on google about "DIY caves for aquariums" and I bet you'll find tons of inspiration!

Please keep me posted! I'd love to know how your caves turn out ;) Could always record the process via pictures too. That's be fun for all of "viewers" here at AA! :D
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info:D I have a Mason jar in there and my shrimp love it I'm thinking of covering it with substrate:) hopefully it'll all stay on ill post pic
 
Lovin Fish said:
I suggested 65% just for the first few days than back off. That's what I did with my tanks and it was a great success. All my fish were happy and healthy. ;)
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I skipped one yesterday and the water is clear and there happy:) gonna do a 50pwc tonight tho while I'm doing that ima add more supstrate for my homemade cave
 
johnhartigan said:
I skipped one yesterday and the water is clear and there happy:) gonna do a 50pwc tonight tho while I'm doing that ima add more supstrate for my homemade cave
Click to expand...

Fun Fun Fun! Be sure to rinse your substrate first. You can do one of two things. Rinse it in the old tank water by adding it to the bucket then use a net or your hand to get it into the tank. Or, rinse it in tap water using a strainer or something, then add it to your bucket with the new water then treat it with the water conditioner mixing the rocks around.
 
Lovin Fish said:
Fun Fun Fun! Be sure to rinse your substrate first. You can do one of two things. Rinse it in the old tank water by adding it to the bucket then use a net or your hand to get it into the tank. Or, rinse it in tap water using a strainer or something, then add it to your bucket with the new water then treat it with the water conditioner mixing the rocks around.
Click to expand...

Ill probably do it in the old tank water so I can just scoop it out and add the rest I have a couple pounds left
 
Lovin Fish said:
That's what I'd do too. I don't mind the dirty water. Washes right off :)
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It was easy, here's my "cave" lol
 

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