[dukydaf]

At certain points in the hobby we all strugle with some concepts. The community is a great resource to filter the current understanding of the topic.

However, sometimes statements provide conflicting information, knowledge of chemistry/ biology is just assumed by others and little to know argumentation is given on the reasons or methodology.

So, what is a confusing topic to you ???

How canister filters work ?
What are the steps in calculating how high your GH would be if you add x g of CaSO4 ?
Why does a substrate become anaerobic ?
Why do plants melt in my aquarium ?
Why are my plants never red?
What is the role of X in plant growth ?


So, what is your source of confusion ?

 

[thedood]

The most confusing topic I have is how to convince the wife she needs to do my tank maintenance lol :wink2: >

 

[Goomie]

Lol dood.

My most confusing topic as of right now is CO2. Not how it works. How to get started. I know there's probably a thousand threads on it but it's all gibberish to me. I've read probably around 10 threads on it and still find myself going "???".

Someday I'm sure I'll understand it more.

 

[thedood]

@Goomie If I may. Look at my 75g thread, especially the last two posts by me. That is three weeks difference. In my opinion if you focus on tank balance you will have a thriving setup and then you will be able to maximize using co2 without gassing your fish and creating an algae farm. Just my opinion but it has worked for me. That 75g of mine is simply daily glut, o+ root tabs under the root feeders, and water changes every week to two weeks.

 

[Goomie]

@Goomie If I may. Look at my 75g thread, especially the last two posts by me. That is three weeks difference. In my opinion if you focus on tank balance you will have a thriving setup and then you will be able to maximize using co2 without gassing your fish and creating an algae farm. Just my opinion but it has worked for me. That 75g of mine is simply daily glut, o+ root tabs under the root feeders, and water changes every week to two weeks.

I will definitely give it a look! I'm considering CO2 for my 15G as it is well balanced. Plants have shot up in the last week since adding flourish. New growth is coming in red and slowly turning to green. I think CO2 would be a good addition to it.

I also want to add DIY CO2 to my 1 gallon jar. It's got no livestock, only plants, and an abundance of nutrients from my fert dosing (it's hard to measure such a small amount without a dropper).

I change the water in my tanks every weekend since during the week I cannot accommodate it.

 

[DennisSingh]

I want to know and read in full detail if alleopathy is legit inside our aquariums...

 

[Maryland Guppy]

So, what is your source of confusion ?

Literacy is my point of confusion.

Myself and many others here have posted links etc.. to valuable info.
Usually it will answer the question @ hand and no one will actually read it.

 

[Varmint]

Literacy is my point of confusion.

Myself and many others here have posted links etc.. to valuable info.
Usually it will answer the question @ hand and no one will actually read it.

You have to post pictures or else no one will pay attention. The Internet has eroded our attention span. :x

I have CRS confusion. Every thing I read contradicts everything I read. Maybe I need more pictures.

 

[thedood]

You have to post pictures or else no one will pay attention. The Internet has eroded our attention span. :x

I have CRS confusion. Every thing I read contradicts everything I read. Maybe I need more pictures.

LOL are you saying we as a species are devolving back to the days of the see spot run books?

 

[Goomie]

LOL are you saying we as a species are devolving back to the days of the see spot run books?

Yes. LOL.

I actually do better with pictures with a written explanation. Hence why I have tons of pictures when I do projects.

 

[Maryland Guppy]

You have to post pictures or else no one will pay attention

I tried this once by starting a thread named let's see your best algae.
I posted a beautiful soccer ball sized chunk of green hair algae.
Even tufts of BBA that pearl daily in my CO2 injected tank.
The thread fell short on pictures and interest.
Funny how most of us have some form of algae!

Bump:

LOL are you saying we as a species are devolving back to the days of the see spot run books?

No, absolutely not!
There are better books out there.
One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish and Green eggs and Ham! :laugh2:

 

[thedood]

I tried this once by starting a thread named let's see your best algae.
I posted a beautiful soccer ball sized chunk of green hair algae.
Even tufts of BBA that pearl daily in my CO2 injected tank.
The thread fell short on pictures and interest.
Funny how most of us have some form of algae!

Bump:

No, absolutely not!
There are better books out there.
One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish and Green eggs and Ham! :laugh2:

LOL indeed.
if Dr Suess was a planted tank hobbyist:

I do not like bga
I do not like bba
I do not like them here or there
I do not like them anywhere
Not in my tank or on my plants
Algae makes me go on rants

 

[DaveK]

Unfortunately there is a lot of bad information out there. Some is bad because it's obsolete. Some was never correct at all.

You goal is to find out what really works, and what is the right solution for you. The bottom line is that at some point you will need to make a choice and pick one. Generally your safe selecting what most other people are doing. You might not get the absolute best that way, but you'll get something that has a very good chance of working out. It's also you job to gage the credibility of the poster. There are quie a few people on here that are well known on the forum and have established themselves as experts. Obviously you would tend to take their advice over others that don't seem to be quite as expert.

Depending upon what is at stake, you can often try one method and see how it works for you. For example, if you wonder how long you should run your lights. Start with the recommended amount, and then increase it and see if things get better or worse. if they get worse, decrease it until it starts to get worse again. then operate in the middle range someplace. Now you know what is best for your tank.

Whey it comes to equipment, ask what others are using. If you see something that looks to good to be true, it is most likely not to be true.

Most of this hobby is not too difficult to understand. Sure there are people that get involved in all the underlying science, but most of us want to find a method that works, and get back to watching the fish.

Take the learning experience one item at a time. For example work on filtration, and if no problems, don't worry too much about the other stuff until you understand filtration. After awhile you'll be the expert.

Lastly, often there is no one what to do something. There is no "one size fits all". You will find many different ways, and many of them will be valid. You need to pick the one that is right for you.

 

[GrampsGrunge]

I will definitely give it a look! I'm considering CO2 for my 15G as it is well balanced. Plants have shot up in the last week since adding flourish. New growth is coming in red and slowly turning to green. I think CO2 would be a good addition to it.

I also want to add DIY CO2 to my 1 gallon jar. It's got no livestock, only plants, and an abundance of nutrients from my fert dosing (it's hard to measure such a small amount without a dropper).

I change the water in my tanks every weekend since during the week I cannot accommodate it.

You know my 3 of tanks on DIY CO2 years back, I used simple bell jars as CO2 injection with a 1 liter pop bottles cut in half and hot glued to an old aquarium heater holder. They'd have a hole in the side of the jar for the CO2 airline and the jar's open bottom near the outflow of the powerfilter/powerhead.

For the 1 gallon I would make a bell jar out of a little container like a pill vial and just let it fill for about an hour or so and let it naturally be absorbed into the water. Your 1 gallon jar with the airstone, well the airstone is going to dissipate the CO2 you want to stay in the water, it would be best to have little or no filter on that jar and very little in the way of critters in it. Maybe a snail or 3, or couple of shrimp, or a very young fish you can move out when he gets bigger than 3/4".

 

[Goomie]

You know my 3 of tanks on DIY CO2 years back, I used simple bell jars as CO2 injection with a 1 liter pop bottles cut in half and hot glued to an old aquarium heater holder. They'd have a hole in the side of the jar for the CO2 airline and the jar's open bottom near the outflow of the powerfilter/powerhead.

For the 1 gallon I would make a bell jar out of a little container like a pill vial and just let it fill for about an hour or so and let it naturally be absorbed into the water. Your 1 gallon jar with the airstone, well the airstone is going to dissipate the CO2 you want to stay in the water, it would be best to have little or no filter on that jar and very little in the way of critters in it. Maybe a snail or 3, or couple of shrimp, or a very young fish you can move out when he gets bigger than 3/4".

Yes I definitely don't think I'm going to add anything to the jar that breathes. The airstone was my attempt at water circulation and slight surface disturbance so some gas exchanges can happen and there would be at least some CO2 in there. There is no filter though. The airstone can be turned off or even modified into a CO2 diffuser. it would be better than nothing at least.

My main purpose for the airstone was to prevent stagnant water though.

 

[latchdan]

Mine is sumps, i dont need one but they are confusing and i want one on a large tank. Idk but i gotta build one in the future.

 

[Maryland Guppy]

There is no "one size fits all".

Sure there is!

 

[AbbeysDad]

The most confusing topic I have is how to convince the wife she needs to do my tank maintenance lol :wink2: >

Dood you was dreaming.....this is reality! :grin2:

 

[thedood]

Thats exactly what she says.
Thedoodette: "Do your water change? Hah you must be dreaming!"

 

[number1sixerfan]

CO2. Absolutely.

A lot of the general concepts I get, and with premade systems and parts it's not even too daunting. I've had one before and now that I'm back in the hobby I'm really struggling on whether to deal with it or not.

My main hang up is the fact that I've seen so many people, even well experienced people, talk about at some point in time having gassed their fish. Just seems like a risk you can't get around, and I'm going to have expensive discus in the tank. But then you see hundreds of posts where people have been fine with no problems literally for years. I'm so torn lol