Allow myself to introduce....myself

1913 Views 38 Replies 4 Participants Last post by jeffturneraz, May 14, 2014

jeffturneraz

Discussion Starter · May 6, 2014

Hey there guys.

Well, I have had tanks throughout my life, I think up until now, the most impressive thing was about a 30ish gallon reef tank. This was at least 10 years ago so I do not remember exactly, just the memory, I can picture it.

I had no idea what I was doing and I believe I paid someone to come out and clean it.

Fast forward to now. I have a 9 year old son. He really wanted an aquarium in his room, so I got him a 1.5 gallon "kit"...I then was sold an Angel Fish of all things, which I now know would outgrow that tank in a few months, and 2 tiger barbs.

1 short month later PS had a sale so I bought a 10 gallon, this thing looked huge to me at the time. It was a surprise to me as I started asking questions at my local fish store (LFS right?) that the 10 gallon wouldn't do for the angel.

Ha, seriously? I just upgraded him! Oh...and one of the tiger barbs turned into a little bully, he stressed the other tiger barb out so bad he turned pale, so I took the bully back in.

Anyway, 3 months after getting into this for my son, I upgraded to a 20 gallon which is where I am currently. So I got very interested in planted tanks and am just now ready to make the leap to CO2, proper lighting, etc...

I currently have a few different plants here and there but they aren't anything to brag about.

I also have totally different fish now, except for that angel, I still have him and he is like one of my friends basically. He comes to the tank when I walk in, I feed him by hand.

In addition to him, I have 4 rasboras, a cory, approx. 12 ghost shrimp, and then....an Asian?/Chinese? algae eater -->this thing is the worst, I am going to give him back as soon as I have the free time to drive him back to the store.

Here is my set-up about 1.5 months ago but most recent pic I have. Sorry for the long winded intro, thanks for having me.

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clopez1

· #2 · May 6, 2014

Welcome to the forum, I have seen this happen a lot. I had to stop a couple at Petsmart once from buying 3 fancy goldfish for a 10 gallon tank. The whole time the kid who works there was telling them oh a 10 would be perfect for them. Yeah for a week or two. It's a shame really.

jeffturneraz

Discussion Starter · #3 · May 6, 2014

clopez1 said:
Welcome to the forum, I have seen this happen a lot. I had to stop a couple at Petsmart once from buying 3 fancy goldfish for a 10 gallon tank. The whole time the kid who works there was telling them oh a 10 would be perfect for them. Yeah for a week or two. It's a shame really.

I know, looking back, to think someone would sell an angel to someone who has a 1.5 gallon tank is pretty messed up.

Not to mention I didn't know one thing about tiger barbs and having them in schools, etc...so to sell me 2 of those and have me squeeze those in the 1.5 gallon WITH the angel...that is borderline outrageous.

Thanks for the welcome also!

clopez1

· #4 · May 6, 2014

No problem

You'll find this is a great place with friendly and helpful folks. I have learned tons from this forum, feel free to ask any questions, post pictures and have fun here.

jeffturneraz

Discussion Starter · #5 · May 6, 2014

clopez1 said:
No problem You'll find this is a great place with friendly and helpful folks. I have learned tons from this forum, feel free to ask any questions, post pictures and have fun here.

Thank you! I posted a question in lighting a while ago and nobody has responded as of yet.

Maybe you know?

Long story short, I am about to make the switch to better lighting and also CO2 for the first time.

I have the light (24 in. AquaticLife Dual Lamp T5 HO Freshwater Light Fixture) but just waiting on a CO2 tank.

Can I start the light right away?...or should I wait and do the light and CO2 at the same time?

I am wondering if I double my wattage, which is what the new light would do, and I am currently just dosing Excel for carbon, is that okay?

Do I just jump right in? I can't help but wonder if I would be stressing my fish out or asking for algae problems or if there is really no other way than to just jump in and up the light watts.

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lauraleellbp

· #6 · May 6, 2014

Welcome to TPT!

Just about all of us have been there, unfortunately. My own start in the hobby was a goldfish and a 5.5 gal... fortunately for me, i had a next door neighbor who was an avid hobbyist and he quickly got me on a better track.

Just to put in my 2 cents- you may want to stick with a low light/low tech (non CO2) setup for your first fully planted tank. Theres a ton to learn, and starting off a little more slowly with low tech is what i always recommend to people. Its easy enough to increase lighting and add CO2 once youve mastered the basics.

clopez1

· #7 · May 6, 2014

I would wait and start everything at the same time. Algae happens mostly when you change something so best to make one big change and adjust to get to the point where you have balance.

jeffturneraz

Discussion Starter · #8 · May 6, 2014

lauraleellbp said:
Welcome to TPT!

Just about all of us have been there, unfortunately. My own start in the hobby was a goldfish and a 5.5 gal... fortunately for me, i had a next door neighbor who was an avid hobbyist and he quickly got me on a better track.

Just to put in my 2 cents- you may want to stick with a low light/low tech (non CO2) setup for your first fully planted tank. Theres a ton to learn, and starting off a little more slowly with low tech is what i always recommend to people. Its easy enough to increase lighting and add CO2 once youve mastered the basics.

Thank you for the welcome!

Unfortunately the light is already assembled and ready to go, so I can't see waiting much longer. Along with the light, I ordered a regulator that came the same day.

Thew only thing I am waiting on now is a CO2 tank. I just got a Milwaukee, the basic one, you may know which one I am talking about, can't remember model # off top of my head.

Assuming I had mastered the basics, what WOULD you suggest I do at that point? Would you do it at once or could you start with adding the light about 2 weeks before you got CO2 going?

jeffturneraz

Discussion Starter · #9 · May 6, 2014

clopez1 said:
I would wait and start everything at the same time. Algae happens mostly when you change something so best to make one big change and adjust to get to the point where you have balance.

Okay, thanks clopez.

clopez1

· #10 · May 6, 2014

I know what you mean about waiting..I get my co2 tank tomorrow. I then have to test my regulator and if it works connect the reactor I built this weekend and get started on co2.

jeffturneraz

Discussion Starter · #11 · May 6, 2014

clopez1 said:
I know what you mean about waiting..I get my co2 tank tomorrow. I then have to test my regulator and if it works connect the reactor I built this weekend and get started on co2.

I hear you. It was 9 months ago that I bought that 1.5 gallon, so it's been close to 1 year that I have been reading/researching, watching tons and tons of YouTube videos on the subject, and then I finally was able to purchase most of the rest of what I need...everything now but the actual CO2 tank, I have the diffuser, tubing, regulator, just got a fluval 206 canister that I use along with my old HOB.

I am literally one step away from getting started, wondering what to do when that day comes. I'm assuming just jump in head first and learn as I go!

clopez1

· #12 · May 6, 2014

There are tons of threads on co2.. I have bookmarked a few and just read and plan. Get stumped we have plenty of regulator experts that have helped me out on my build and are very kind and patient with those that need help.

lauraleellbp

· #13 · May 7, 2014

full speed ahead it is , then! lol

I wouldnt increase your lighting until after you get your CO2 set up. Increasing the light will immediately increase nutrient demand.

jeffturneraz

Discussion Starter · #14 · May 7, 2014

lauraleellbp said:
full speed ahead it is , then! lol

I wouldnt increase your lighting until after you get your CO2 set up. Increasing the light will immediately increase nutrient demand.

Got it, makes sense.

jeffturneraz

Discussion Starter · #15 · May 9, 2014

Can anyone advise me or point me to a thread about getting rid of unwanted snails?

Not only did I buy a plant from PS that isn't even for tanks (peacock fern) but now I have tiny little snails on the sides of my tank. I scooped out the ones I could but there has to be more.

I don't know anything about them either. One thing I read suggested something that could harm my fish.

I also have ghost shrimp and don't want to kill those obviously either.

Any help would be appreciated.

lauraleellbp

· #16 · May 9, 2014

My own personal method is to stock some Assassin snails. IME they won't completely eradicate the population of other snails (mostly because they tend to stay at substrate level, and other snails like pond and ramshorn spend a lot of time in the upper parts of a tank), but they really do help keep the populations in check.

You most likely have pond or ramshorn snails if they came in on some plants. Totally harmless to plants but can be a nuisance with how quickly they reproduce.

Other common possibilities would be Malaysian Trumpet snails (the snail that I make SURE I have in all my tanks), or if you're quite lucky, a Nerite snail- which is one of the best algae eaters in a tank.

Apple snails are another possibility, but many of these species will eat plants, so usually not welcome in planted tanks.

jeffturneraz

Discussion Starter · #17 · May 9, 2014

lauraleellbp said:
My own personal method is to stock some Assassin snails. IME they won't completely eradicate the population of other snails (mostly because they tend to stay at substrate level, and other snails like pond and ramshorn spend a lot of time in the upper parts of a tank), but they really do help keep the populations in check.

You most likely have pond or ramshorn snails if they came in on some plants. Totally harmless to plants but can be a nuisance with how quickly they reproduce.

Other common possibilities would be Malaysian Trumpet snails (the snail that I make SURE I have in all my tanks), or if you're quite lucky, a Nerite snail- which is one of the best algae eaters in a tank.

Apple snails are another possibility, but many of these species will eat plants, so usually not welcome in planted tanks.

Okay, I just google'd pond and ramshorn and I can't tell which ones I have as they are so tiny.

Stop me if I misunderstood, but you put assassin snails in your tank, and that just keeps the pest snails in check?

I have a 20 gallon, would 1 assassin snail be good? I've been looking into getting a Nerite for algae but I don't want a bunch of snails.

Would a Nerite eat these pest snails?...or do I really need an assasin for that?

lauraleellbp

· #18 · May 9, 2014

Assassin snails are carnivorous and especially favor eating other snails.. hence the name lol So yes, they help keep other snail populations in check by eating them.

I'd get a few Assassins for a 20gal. They don't reproduce all that quickly.

Nerite snails are herbivores and eat primarily algae and aufwachs (biofilm that grows on all the surfaces in a tank).

Some people report the ability to keep Nerites even with Assassins in a tank, but I'm pretty sure some Assassins killed a Zebra nerite of mine, so personally I try not to mix them.

jeffturneraz

Discussion Starter · #19 · May 9, 2014

lauraleellbp said:
Assassin snails are carnivorous and especially favor eating other snails.. hence the name lol So yes, they help keep other snail populations in check by eating them.

I'd get a few Assassins for a 20gal. They don't reproduce all that quickly.

Nerite snails are herbivores and eat primarily algae and aufwachs (biofilm that grows on all the surfaces in a tank).

Some people report the ability to keep Nerites even with Assassins in a tank, but I'm pretty sure some Assassins killed a Zebra nerite of mine, so personally I try not to mix them.

Hmmm, I feel like I got talked into my ghost shrimp. I like them okay, but with a cory, CAE, ghost shrimp...to think of adding snails to the bottom seems like a lot to me. Ultimately I wish I could narrow it down to just my 1 angel and 4 rasboras...not add things.

Is there another method?

Better question would be, will I always have pest snails now? ..or can I put assasins in just long enough for them to clean up? Is that cruel? Idk, I'm willing to do whatever I need to do but I would really prefer to scale back as oppose to add things.

Maybe I'm looking at this the wrong way. I do have pest snails as is so maybe I just need to get assasin snails and deal with the problem.

lauraleellbp

· #20 · May 9, 2014

There's no need to make any decision one way or the other at the moment, especially since your snail is too small to identify anyways.

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