Aquariums anyone?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Boanerges(Inactive)
  • Start date Start date
Not that I know of in fresh water. I would recommend cutting down the time the lights are turned on and cutting down on the feeding. Algae is photosynthetic and left over food can break down and give you a high phosphate level. That is like giving candy to that algae. What type of filtration are you using?
 
Heavnlydove said:
The algae in my pond is floating in the water so algae eatting fish wouldn't help much. When I had my 55 I had a good sized pleco.
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In a case like an outside pond you can simply scoop a lot of that out with a net. There are more than likely algaecides available at the pet store for treating ponds with fish. But I would still remove the bulk of it first as dead rotting algae can contaminate the water if there is to much of it.
 
BreathOfGod said:
I'm having algae problems right now also. I've upgraded to a 55 gallon since I last posted about mine. I have an algae eater and it's not helping.:( I've been planning on buying more. I wish the algae eaters would filter the algae from the water rather than only eating it after it lands. Is there any type of fish that filter feeds on the algae?
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Some freshwater enthusiasts use freshwater plants to consume phosphates and this can control algae by competing for it's food source. Also there are products like Phosban: PhosBan 150 gr. by Two Little Fishes - AquaCave
This can be placed in the filter in a nylon footie or a clean white cotton sock.
I do not recommend going that far until you have tried restricting lighting and reducing feedings first.
 
Boanerges said:
Some freshwater enthusiasts use freshwater plants to consume phosphates and this can control algae by competing for it's food source. Also there are products like Phosban: PhosBan 150 gr. by Two Little Fishes - AquaCave
This can be placed in the filter in a nylon footie or a clean white cotton sock.
I do not recommend going that far until you have tried restricting lighting and reducing feedings first.
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My filter actually does use activated carbon in it. I have an external canister filter.

I've been trying to restrict the lighting, but I can't do it too much because of the turtle's need for it. On hot days, I leave the basking light off completely, because the basking area has been warming up enough on its own. I've actually only been turning on the UVA/UVB light about once every other day for limited hours.

I haven't been feeding the fish at all. :o They seemed to be doing fine just eating the turtle leftovers (and their own babies), so I just stopped feeding them. :D

Part of the problem I think I am having is that since I moved, my tank is no longer indoors. it is now in a type of enclosed patio room....so it is protected from all the elements, but not climate controlled.

I'll have to look into what types of plants I might be able to use. It'll have to be something non-toxic to the turtle, that the turtle isn't going to just eat all up in a day. :confused:

I looked up algae just now to see what plants might help, and I discovered there are tons of varieties of algae. I guess first I need to figure out which type is taking over?

Thanks for the help Boanerges......I guess it mostly helped me realize how difficult this problem is really going to be to try and solve. :eek:
 
I would love to have an aquariam. I have a lot of pets...the only fish I've had were a bunch of betta fish. They were cute, but they only live 2 years at the maximum.

Here's all of them and their deaths:

Ito: My first betta, was a present for my mom...he was sweet as pie but got stepped on by my grandmother...poor thing
Kyushii: My second betta, black-and-blue, was kind of depressed when Ito died. He died of natural causes
Pukka: My first female betta...she bit my finger! It didn't hurt. :D Oh, she jumped down the sink drain when my grandmother was cleaning her bowl. >_>;
Bui: Was a fire-engine-red male betta with black-tipped scales...he was a little Chinese dragon without the fire. :D He had lung problems and eventually died. I hope he didn't suffer. :(

My cousin has some...one is black that she named "Rock"...how cliche.

I would get an aquariam, me and my mother were discussing it but I'd have to figure out which fish I would like and where we would put it.

I like turtles...and I would get a snake if I didn't have birds. And snakes get out.
 
BreathOfGod said:
My filter actually does use activated carbon in it. I have an external canister filter.

I've been trying to restrict the lighting, but I can't do it too much because of the turtle's need for it. On hot days, I leave the basking light off completely, because the basking area has been warming up enough on its own. I've actually only been turning on the UVA/UVB light about once every other day for limited hours.

I haven't been feeding the fish at all. :o They seemed to be doing fine just eating the turtle leftovers (and their own babies), so I just stopped feeding them. :D

Part of the problem I think I am having is that since I moved, my tank is no longer indoors. it is now in a type of enclosed patio room....so it is protected from all the elements, but not climate controlled.

I'll have to look into what types of plants I might be able to use. It'll have to be something non-toxic to the turtle, that the turtle isn't going to just eat all up in a day. :confused:

I looked up algae just now to see what plants might help, and I discovered there are tons of varieties of algae. I guess first I need to figure out which type is taking over?

Thanks for the help Boanerges......I guess it mostly helped me realize how difficult this problem is really going to be to try and solve. :eek:
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Canister filters are fine . I run mine a little dirty as you get friendly bacteria built up in them and that helps break down detritus (organic waste). If the water flow starts to be significantly decreased change the filter pads . The nicest freshwater tanks I ever kept had canister filters and under gravel filters. This is another fine way of setting up a friendly bio-system to clean up your water.
It sounds like you may be getting a lot of sunlight to supplement your regular lighting. Adding the phosphate absorbent might help. The trouble with algae is that when it dies it breaks down to more phosphate and new algae can feed on that.
Another thing to consider is PH. PH optimum range: 7.2 to 7.6
PH warning point: below 6.8 (acidic) or above 7.8 (alkaline)
Out of balance PH levels can seriously affect water quality and make algae hard to control.
Check with your local pet stores and see what plants they recommend.
 
Its so fine it goes though the holes, think green water LOL. Ive tried algaecides, even the ones labled safe for pond plants seemed to harm the lillies. For now Im just dealling with it as is till I can aford the UV filter that will kill the algae in the water.
Boanerges said:
In a case like an outside pond you can simply scoop a lot of that out with a net. There are more than likely algaecides available at the pet store for treating ponds with fish. But I would still remove the bulk of it first as dead rotting algae can contaminate the water if there is to much of it.
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BreathOfGod said:
I went to the pet store and bought some cory catfish to try and help with the algae problem...... I also bought a second turtle. :D
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Cories are bottom feeders, they might eat some algae, but they mostly eat fish food the other fish missed. They are my farorite litte cat fish though :)
 
Heavnlydove said:
Cories are bottom feeders, they might eat some algae, but they mostly eat fish food the other fish missed. They are my farorite litte cat fish though :)
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I looked on-line at what fish eat algae, and it said that oto catfish do, so I originally went to buy some oto catfish. The guy at the store insisted that the cories will eat much more algae than the oto's, so I bought the cories instead. I also wanted to buy a couple more algae eaters like the one I already have, but the store was sold out.

The new turtle keeps trying to eat the guppies, unsuccessfully. :p Those guppies have been living with the other turtle for a long time now. I am actually quite curious to see how long they will survive with this new one, or if the turtle will eventually just give up. Time will tell which one is smarter. I'm rooting for the guppies. :p
 
Heavnlydove said:
Cories are bottom feeders, they might eat some algae, but they mostly eat fish food the other fish missed. They are my farorite litte cat fish though :)
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If your critters keep the tank clean of excess food it will definitely help the algae problem. On my saltwater tank I use snails, crabs and worms to keep the sand free of nutrients.
 
I broke down and bought the kids a 10 gallon aquarium. Id like some thing bigger, but thats all we can afford right now. So now we have a handfull of baby fish in the house.
 
I love aquariums. They are so peaceful to watch. I used to have a 75 gallon filled with an assortment of different fish from time to time. One time I had an Oscar, Green Terror, Bala Shark, Gar Pike and a Pleco. Another time I had Angel fish, neon tetra's, glass fish, rainbow sharks, mollies, guppies and others that I can't remember. Many times I would lay on the couch, in the dark, with just the tank lights on and watch the fish lazily swimming back and forth, and listen to the water falling back into the tank after being filtered. It was like listening to a babbling brook. Very relaxing and peaceful. I also had (at the same time) a 30 gallon tank with 2 breeding Jack Dempsey's. They were awesome.

Someday I would like to have a salt water tank. But I too am afraid of getting the mix wrong and killing all the fish. So my plan is once I am settled where I want to live the rest of my life, I will have a professional set one up for me and I will pay for their services in keeping it up.

I can't wait. :D

:fish:
 
I have 2 10gallon freshwater tanks one downstairs and one up in my room jsut because I love looking at them and hearing them. I'm actually trying to fix them up tonight and saw this thread here earlier so I came back.

So the one upstairs is about to look fantastic because the one downstairs needs to be taken apart almost completely. The plants started getting this moss all over them and died.. and the moss spread everywhere. Taking the moss out does no good because it grows back extremely fast. So I threw the plants away and right now I'm moving the fish upstairs. I need some suggestions on how to fix the bottom one. I'm going to take all the gravel out, put it all in different small jars and just rinse them all for a long time, then do the same with filter. What else do I try?
 
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