ELI5: Testing kits and the right balance of chemicals in your tank.

futurezach · 2012-05-25T13:50:30.608508+00:00

I'd like to add to this that a simple hardware store plug-in timer is a great way to manage lighting - before I used timers, I'd occasionally forget to turn off the lights before bed resulting in the tank being lit for 24+ hours.

10-12 hours/day is a good starting point for lighting duration (usually referred to as the "photoperiod" when keeping live plants), but I wouldn't go lower than 8 hours/day if there are plants in the tank.

Also keep in mind that there is nothing written in stone about when these 8-12 hours of light occur - I don't see the point of having the tank lit while I'm at work, so my photoperiod starts at noon and stops at 11PM so I can enjoy the tank while I'm home.

Some people prefer to break it up into two periods of 4-6 hours each, which has not been definitively proven to be either a help or hindrance!

The_Stoic_One · 1 day

The three media baskets that it comes with do have a piece of sponge pad included on the bottom of each. What media do you have in the Marineland? I don't see any reason why you wouldn't be able to use it in this one - as far as I'm concerned, if it'll fit in the basket and isn't too fine to slip through the slots then it'll work!

As far as the flow rate is concerned, I do think it's a little exaggerated. It seemed close to their claim without the spray bar and inlet piping attached. With everything assembled, up and running in the tank it's restricted to some degree, but it still moves a substantial amount of water.

What size is your tank/what Marineland filter were you using previously? In my opinion after using this particular filter (CF-400UV) for a while now, I'd say it's perfectly capable of filtering up to a 55 gallon tank. If I had a larger tank, I'd go for the next size up (CF-500UV).

stealth24 · 1 day

I've never seen one of these before! It's gorgeous!

Though my first thought was of this.

Those plants are fake, right? They actually look very nice as well!

Lcam2000 · 1 day

What plant is in the lattice on the bottom?

The_Stoic_One · 1 day

I have that exact Aquatop that I got from Amazon, using it on a 52 gallon. I love it - just keep in mind it does not include media. I put in ceramic rings and bio-balls.

I was a bit wary of getting something off-brand (can't go wrong with Eheim, Fluval, etc) but since it was sold by Amazon and their return policy is great, I went for it. I'm glad I did since I found it to be a great value.

tiffnk · 1 day

Me too ... especially at those isolated sites, just sitting in the woods on a nice spring or summer day.

tuscaloser · 1 day

Could be. My first impression was that it shouldn't be too detrimental, but take that with a grain of salt ... I'm no signtist (ok yeah, that was a bad one ...).

SheepNutz · 2 days

Strictly speaking, a household water softener replaces Ca and Mg ions in the water with Na ions (some use potassium chloride salt instead of sodium chloride, but same idea).

Typically, the "standard" filter on a home water system removes particulates via filter cartridges. Depending on the filtration media in the cartridge, it can also remove a number of other compounds that contribute to odor (i.e. sulfur), staining (i.e. iron), or fluoride via alumina as technothrasher pointed out.

tuscaloser · 2 days

Likely it's just painted steel, so chemically it shouldn't be a problem. My only concern would be sharp edges - thin rubber weather stripping could be attached around the perimeter quite easily - but it's probably quite dull anyway.

davefromhawaii · 2 days

Congrats! It looks great.

I'm running a stage 1 tune on my '09, and I get ~23mpg around town and ~30mpg on the highway. Might not be in the same efficiency class as the Prius, but getting that kind of fuel economy from a car with this kind of power is pretty awesome!

Is that grill stock on the '12s? I like that the "mustache" piece is color matched to the vehicle!

dieselnut · 4 days

featherthefish was driving a Seattle Towing flatbed.

onefishtwofish1 · 7 days

Came here to suggest the same. I joined TPT a couple months ago.

I've usually kept a stem or two of anacharis in the past but had trouble keeping anything else alive. Thanks to the guidance I received in that community, I now have a thriving fertilized jungle-esque tank with CO2 injection, homemade reactor, high light, etc. I have nothing but praise for TPT.

quazis · 8 days

Not trying to sound condescending here, but personally the last thing I'd want attached to my helmet is multiple spikes poised to pierce my skull if they get impacted in the "right" direction.

But I think with such a shaggy carpeting and an ample amount of glue, the balls would adhere just fine without needing any extra support.

BoomOwnage · 8 days

I'm with you on that one. My only problem is that I have nothing really to do with the wood once it's split - we rarely make bonfires or use the fireplace - so it ends up sitting outside rotting. Makes good soil for the garden, though!

DrJulianBashir · 8 days

Does a Faraday cage block magnetic fields though?

timothy53 · 8 days

Looks like the foreground carpet is glossostigma.

Nomida · 9 days

Hmm, looks like it's possible then!

I don't use carbon in my tanks since I don't have a need for it (I use bio-balls, ceramic rings, etc) but have seen that larger containers of carbon aren't extremely expensive.

bunsnroses · 9 days

Well, she left when I wanted to keep fish in the waterbed...

Nomida · 9 days

We use carbon at work for water treatment systems. The recharging is done by a separate company, but I think I read that they bake it at something like 2500°F? Even if it were possible to do at home... with the price of gas/electricity, it's probably more efficient to just buy new carbon even if it does work.

CobaltSmith · 9 days

Highly advise against overhanging the tank.

If you really need to do something quickly and on the cheap, get 2-3 stacks of cinder blocks (4-6 high, depending on height you want) - check out craigslist; this is the time of year people get rid of stuff sitting around their backyards for cheap.

Place a piece of flat plywood on it that will be large enough to support the entire perimeter of the bottom of the tank.

You can drape a tablecloth or curtain over the wood to hide the blocks and make it look pretty.

DoctaSpaceman · 9 days

johannii - two n's for a double dose of ... neat fish?

Selka · 9 days

You could try /r/whatsthisbug ... it's not a typical aquarium pest as far as my experience goes.

bunsnroses · 9 days

First off, congrats!

Getting your fish a bigger home doesn't necessarily mean selling their old real estate ;) I've upgraded tanks several times over the years, but never actually got rid of or tore down any of the existing tanks!

You could keep it to use as a quarantine tank - so you can pick up some more minnows if you wanted, and can keep them in the smaller tank until you're reasonably sure they are healthy enough to be introduced to "general population."

Nomida · 9 days

I was under the impression that recharging carbon required temperatures in excess of 1000°F. Does baking in the oven really actually accomplish anything?

ColinAllCarz · 9 days

Is that an in-tank diffuser/reactor on the left? How do you like it?

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