Aquarists unite: fish are friends, and food

Siliconemelons · Jul 23, 2020

So the boiling to water-log is merely to get it to sink naturally...
I get boiling it for a bit to kill anything that may be in / on it... but I was like, wtf 3 days straight? lol

I just picked up a big ol branch that fell off some tree in my lawn and thought it would be cool.. but I may just buy whatever they have at petco when I go get the tank...its only a 10g, so not super big

thanks yo

Siliconemelons · Jul 26, 2020

30$ Wal-Mart 10gal kit! Goooo

Pump was whisper quiet...now it has the standard brrrr-hummm

But tomorrow I buy some overpriced weeds and sticks for it.

Still pondering guppies to be with the betta or not...

Aamry · Jul 26, 2020

Xadion said:
30$ Wal-Mart 10gal kit! Goooo

Pump was whisper quiet...now it has the standard brrrr-hummm

But tomorrow I buy some overpriced weeds and sticks for it.

Still pondering guppies to be with the betta or not...

View attachment 288281

Since you don't have anything in the tank yet, and you're looking to put in live plants, I'd drain it and put in a layer of organic potting soil underneath your pea gravel. It will give the roots nutrients, and make your substrate thicker for more bacteria to breakdown sludge.

Not necessarily as thick as this old guys, but I heavily recommend it, since I never use a gravel vacuum.

a c i d.f l y · Jul 27, 2020

Aamry said:
Since you don't have anything in the tank yet, and you're looking to put in live plants, I'd drain it and put in a layer of organic potting soil underneath your pea gravel. It will give the roots nutrients, and make your substrate thicker for more bacteria to breakdown sludge.

Not necessarily as thick as this old guys, but I heavily recommend it, since I never use a gravel vacuum.

If you do this, run the soil through a screen filter. The wood shit in it will start to rot and bubble up underneath. I have 2" of soil under my sand, after about 6 months a giant bubble popped, and soil and dirt shit got everywhere. It took almost 2 years to clean it out.

Buy a roll of screen door repair kit, lay it over a 5 gallon bucket and sift the dirt through it. You can use water to accelerate the process. Slow stream. Dirt should sink to the bottom, but you'll need to drain some off depending on how much soil you use.

Siliconemelons · Jul 27, 2020

Sheesh yeall and your proper ways of doing stuff

Aamry · Jul 27, 2020

Xadion said:
Sheesh yeall and your proper ways of doing stuff

Do it right, do it once. lol. You could have always bought a better substrate, but quality dirt from lowes/home depot is cheaper than ADA Amazonia or other fancy shit.

Siliconemelons · Jul 27, 2020

Lol - I know thanks all.

Ill go buy a little bag o dirt and strain it. And re-do it

Siliconemelons · Jul 29, 2020

Argh.... Water is hazy now... no fish in it...just filer / pump running.

Did is tap water and conditioner ... we do have a water softener - so? Salt?

I can just buy some water from the store.. Spring? Ozinized? Filtered?

Figure fix it when I put the dirt layer in

Aamry · Jul 29, 2020

Xadion said:
Argh.... Water is hazy now... no fish in it...just filer / pump running.

Did is tap water and conditioner ... we do have a water softener - so? Salt?

I can just buy some water from the store.. Spring? Ozinized? Filtered?

Figure fix it when I put the dirt layer in

Does conditioner have a good bacteria in it? Like a quick start? The haziness is usually bacterial bloom, and is typical, and will clear up in a few days.

Gator · Jul 30, 2020

lurkingdirk said:
Anyone have a good online source for plants? I need some new, big plants and there is nothing local.

BucePlant.com - Aquascaping and Aquarium Plants Super Store

Everything Aquascaping! We are the premier shop for all your freshwater aquatic plant needs. Backed by 100% DOA guarantee and a huge selection of aquarium plants. Come check out our anubias, bucephalandra, seiryu stone, dragon stone, manzanita driftwood pieces, and CO2 aquarium accessories.

buceplant.com

Aquarium Co-Op

We focus on Live Aquarium Plants, selling both in our retail store and online. Live Aquatic Plants are essential to a healthy aquarium.

www.aquariumcoop.com

Live Aquarium Plants | H2O PLANTS | EASY, AFFORDABLE, LIVE GUARANTEE

Browse a large variety of Live Aquarium Plants perfect for your Fish Tank. We have plants for everything from Betta Tanks to Goldfish Tanks, Java Moss to Marimo Moss Balls we have a lot of great beginner aquatic plants to choose from. We also have a good selection of aquarium driftwood.

www.h2oplants.com

USA's Largest Online Retailer of Freshwater Shrimp

Flip Aquatics is the largest freshwater shrimp retailer in the USA. Their specialty is in all things nano related; shrimp, fish, snails and plants. With a proven 30 day quarantine process that all animals go through, Flip Aquatics is setting the standard for aquatic retailers.

flipaquatics.com

Online Fish Store: Aquarium Plants & Decorations | Arizona Aquatic Gardens

AZGardens.com is an online fish store that's one of the leading suppliers in the USA of farm-raised tropical fish, aquarium plants, decorations, and more.

azgardens.com

Aquatic Arts - Unique Fish, Inverts & Aquatic Plants by Mail

Aquatic Arts is committed to practicing ethical fish-keeping while keeping prices lower than national chains and carrying species you won't find anywhere else.

aquaticarts.com

I think I've used every one of these sites except aquaticarts. No complaints from any of them. Careful with azgardens though. Their shipping was steep compared to the others.

lurkingdirk · Jul 30, 2020

Gator said:
BucePlant.com - Aquascaping and Aquarium Plants Super Store

Everything Aquascaping! We are the premier shop for all your freshwater aquatic plant needs. Backed by 100% DOA guarantee and a huge selection of aquarium plants. Come check out our anubias, bucephalandra, seiryu stone, dragon stone, manzanita driftwood pieces, and CO2 aquarium accessories.

buceplant.com

Aquarium Co-Op

We focus on Live Aquarium Plants, selling both in our retail store and online. Live Aquatic Plants are essential to a healthy aquarium.

www.aquariumcoop.com

Live Aquarium Plants | H2O PLANTS | EASY, AFFORDABLE, LIVE GUARANTEE

Browse a large variety of Live Aquarium Plants perfect for your Fish Tank. We have plants for everything from Betta Tanks to Goldfish Tanks, Java Moss to Marimo Moss Balls we have a lot of great beginner aquatic plants to choose from. We also have a good selection of aquarium driftwood.

www.h2oplants.com

USA's Largest Online Retailer of Freshwater Shrimp

Flip Aquatics is the largest freshwater shrimp retailer in the USA. Their specialty is in all things nano related; shrimp, fish, snails and plants. With a proven 30 day quarantine process that all animals go through, Flip Aquatics is setting the standard for aquatic retailers.

flipaquatics.com

Online Fish Store: Aquarium Plants & Decorations | Arizona Aquatic Gardens

AZGardens.com is an online fish store that's one of the leading suppliers in the USA of farm-raised tropical fish, aquarium plants, decorations, and more.

azgardens.com

Aquatic Arts - Unique Fish, Inverts & Aquatic Plants by Mail

Aquatic Arts is committed to practicing ethical fish-keeping while keeping prices lower than national chains and carrying species you won't find anywhere else.

aquaticarts.com

I think I've used every one of these sites except aquaticarts. No complaints from any of them. Careful with azgardens though. Their shipping was steep compared to the others.

Thanks! That's mega helpful!

Aamry · Jul 30, 2020

Aquatic Arts is also basically the only live plant provider that sells through Amazon.

Hateyou · Aug 1, 2020

Aazrael said:
This is how we keep the males, 1000mm x 200mm x 200mm tanks, divided in the middle. So kinda like how yoy described besides that ours are on the smaller end.

View attachment 287079

I would really like to have a legit tank like one of these for our betta but have no idea how to start, what kind of plants to look for or how to clean/care for that. Those look awesome.

Moving him up to a 5 gallon tank from a 1 gallon later this week. So far my only plan is some moss balls and maybe driftwood and silk plants until I can take the time to research doing a real plant tank like that.

Siliconemelons · Aug 2, 2020

Bought a 18$ cool looking hunk of wood for the tank from a local owned pet shop.

Floats...

Like... if I just wanted driftwood I could do that myself!!!

Rustled...

What's the best thing to weigh this darn thing down

Aamry · Aug 2, 2020

Xadion said:
Bought a 18$ cool looking hunk of wood for the tank from a local owned pet shop.

Floats...

Like... if I just wanted driftwood I could do that myself!!!

Rustled...

What's the best thing to weigh this darn thing down

Wait a couple weeks, it'll waterlog, or you can use lead. Pet stores use lead strips to keep live plants in the substrate

Siliconemelons · Aug 2, 2020

Lead won't poison my water? I know it's cheap and dense

Should I just plant my plants and toss my betta in and hope it does not get squished when the log decides to stop floating?

Thanks.

Aamry · Aug 2, 2020

Xadion said:
Lead won't poison my water? I know it's cheap and dense

Should I just plant my plants and toss my betta in and hope it does not get squished when the log decides to stop floating?

Thanks.

After doing some research, what I thought was lead might in fact be strips of zinc? or an amalgam. But yeah, the betta won't be crushed by your log, they aren't dumb.

Siliconemelons · Aug 3, 2020

I figured they could move lol I doubt it will just Insta sink like a rock lolol

Aychamo BanBan · Sep 24, 2020

What would a custom aquarium around this size cost? I have a huge wall in my media room that I’d like a large bowfront tank. Like 1000+ gallons. It would need to be on a base with all the equipment underneath.

Sludig · Sep 24, 2020

>10,000$ Especially if saltwater. A custom tank to the size you need alone could run that without any of the equipment or livestock.

A base is I think the wrong word though semantics. 1000g x8.something for salt + sand/rock alone is hitting pretty significant weights to where if it's not on foundation slab you will have issues. Even basic slab I think ideally you need extra work done. Then my fear with huge tanks (I had a 300) is if it ever fails, that's astronomical destruction to you're house.

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