Ripper Hollow

Popularity: 8% [?]

Every aquarium requires maintenance, whether it be saltwater, black water, freshwater, or planted aquariums. Maintenance can include water changes, top offs, cleaning the glass, trimming plants, or even adding fertilizers.

Here’s my weekly maintenance schedule:

Monday: 1/16 tsp Trace, 2 ml Fe, top off.

Tuesday: 1/16 tsp KH2PO4, 1/16 tsp K2SO4, 1/4 tsp KNO3.

Wednesday: 1/16 tsp Trace, 2 ml Fe, top off.

Thursday: 1/16 tsp KH2PO4, 1/16 tsp K2SO4, 1/4 tsp KNO3.

Friday: 1/16 tsp Trace, 2 ml Fe, top off.

Saturday: Clean aquarium glass with magnetic scrubber.

Sunday: 50% water change, prune plants, remove most of the duckweed, 1/16 tsp KH2PO4, 1/16 tsp K2SO4, 1/4 tsp KNO3.

My fertilizer dosing is based on the EI (Estimative Index). You can find more info on it here or here.

Once a month I do a partial cleaning of my cannister filter. The reason I only do a partial cleaning is so I don’t kill all the beneficial bacteria.

That’s about it for my maintenance schedule. You might think it’s a lot of work, but it really isn’t.

Popularity: 27% [?]

I’ve been using the Fluval 205 for a little over a year now, and I love it.  I have it installed on my 26 gallon planted aquarium.  I use the Fluval foam sponges, Fluval Pre-Filter and the Fluval Bio-Max.  This cannister filter is for aquariums up to 200 litres (40 US gallons), and pumps a hearty 180 gph.  It has a total of 3 media baskets, and holds 4 foam sponges.  I also have a pre-filter sponge on the intake to protect my small fish from accidentally getting stuck to the intake.

Maintenance is a snap.  All you have to do is close the suction/discharge valve, unplug the filter, and disconnect the Aqua-Stop Valve.  I only clean my filter once a month, and I don’t clean the whole thing.  I clean 2 sponges, and one media basket, and I always rotate which baskets and sponges I clean.  That way, I’m not destroying all of the beneficial bacteria that lives in the filter media.  After I clean the filter, I reconnect the Aqua-Stop Valve, open the suction/discharge valve, and the filter automatically fills itself with tank water.  Once all the air is out of the filter, I plug it back in and I’m done.  Very simple.

Each filter comes with: Instant-prime system; single-motion lift-lock clamps; clog-proof intake strainer; dual-layer foam screen; and instructional DVD to ease set-up and use.

Fluval has plenty of other filter media available, including carbon, peat, Zeo-Carb, ammonia remover, nitrate remover, and water polishing pads.  For my planted aquarium, I do just fine with the foam sponges, Pre-Filter, and Bio-Max.

I definitely recommend this product.  Lots of flow, great media, and easy maintenance.

Disclosure: I did not get paid to review this product.  However, the image above does link to my Amazon Affiliate account.

Popularity: 70% [?]

When I started my 26 gallon bowfront aquarium a few months back, I started out with 10 neon tetras. I only have 7 left at this point. I’m not sure why I lost 3, but the others are very healthy. I plan on getting at least 4 more in the near future.

From Wikipedia:

Neon tetras are considered easy to keep in a community aquarium that is at least 60 cm (24 inches), with a pH of 6.0–7.8 and KH of 1.0–2.0.  Neons are best kept in a densely planted tank with subdued light and an ideal temperature of 78-80 degrees Fahrenheit to resemble their native Amazon environment.  Neon tetras are omnivores and will accept most flake foods, but should also have some small foods such as brine shrimp, daphnia, freeze-dried bloodworms, tubifex, which can be stuck to the side of your aquarium, and micro pellet food to supplement their diet.

I’ve taken a ton of photos of my aquarium, and while the neons are definitely not camera shy, they move too fast for the current settings on my camera. I need to increase the shutter speed to get a clear shot. It also doesn’t help that I have a broken tripod.

I feed my neons a combination of flake and freeze dried bloodworms once a day. I also give them frozen bloodworms or frozen tubifex once every other week. They seem to enjoy this emmensely.

I also have other tank inhabitants, but I’ll save them for another post.

Popularity: 7% [?]

I have a strange nutrient deficiency (or something) going on with one of my plants. the leaves are curling and turning black. The black parts are fairly rough to the touch. I’m also still having trouble with string hair algae. I change 50% water weekly, and dose dry fertilizers, 1/16 tsp Trace & Fe 3x week and 1/16 tsp KH2PO4, K2SO4, 1/2 tsp KNO3 3x week. I think I’ll try increasing my CO2 injection. I need to find my drop checker. I have no idea where it is, and I really don’t want to order a new one.

Any ideas/suggestions?

Update: Seems that this is normal for this type of anubias.  I might also have a low phosphate level.  I’ve decided to up my KH2PO4 from 1/16 tsp to 1/8 tsp.  I’ll see if that helps.  I need to get a phosphate level test kit.

Popularity: 21% [?]