Aquarium Keepers Facing Plant and Equipment Issues
Aquarium enthusiasts are encountering common problems like algae blooms, substrate issues, pH imbalances, and equipment malfunctions. These challenges require troubleshooting and adjustments to maintain a healthy aquarium environment.
SOURCES (60)
“I currently have a 60L tank, which is stocked with 10 Harlequin Rasbora (7 are newly added juveniles) and 4 Neon tetra. The PH of my tank has always been around 8/7.5. no matter what i do, i cannot get it lower than 7.5. This…”
“I planted the monte carlo maybe 10 days ago for my new tank. Some are taking on this brown/yellow hue. What’s going on?? submitted by /u/FullCountry1971 [link] [comments]”
“US based. I've looked on amazon, petsmart, petco, etc and the API freshwater test kit is out of stock everywhere. Any suitable alternatives? submitted by /u/cowman2011 [link] [comments]”
“Hello all! I’ve been running a fishless cycle for two and a half weeks—ghost feeding, (debatably useful) Seachem Stability, a bunch of plants, and Microbe Lift—and I’m now getting readings as follows: 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, 5ppm nitrates. Should I continue to wait a bit before adding fish? submitted by /u/Necessary-Bunch9797 [link] [comments]”
“, I’m after some advice from you good people please I’ve had my aquarium set up for almost 2 years now It’s 6ft wide - 2ft tall and 1ft deep. running 2 biomaster 850s It’s a low tech system but I’ve manged to Maintain it perfectly up until about 5 months ago me and my partner when through some major trauma and the tank got neglected. Then the BBA infestation set in. I’ve removed all hardscape. Jet washed the rocks. And left the wood out to dry then removed the BBA with a brush. Unfortunately I h”
“I currently have a 10g planted tank that I was planning to upgrade to a 29g setup I recently acquired. The problem is I've been using distilled water purchased from the store and Salty Shrimp remineralizer instead of tap water. It's cheap enough for a smaller tank, but that's a lot for a 29g. I could use my tap water, but the problem is the pH. The distilled water out the jug is actually pH 6.0, which I thought was weird, but it can apparently shift over time and storage 10g tank has”
“Just moved from having a well, what do I need to do in order to make this water safe to use for my aquariums. All heavily/decently planted with rocks and driftwood submitted by /u/Turbulent_Formal9030 [link] [comments]”
“I've had my 10 G tank fully cycled since mid-April. I usually change the water weekly (about 30% changes), and now that it's fully established I can sometimes I can go 2+ weeks without any spikes. I went on vacation for 3.5 weeks, had someone do a water change while I was on face time with them, and everything looked okay. I lost one fish and some shrimps, but after testing, the water seemed okay (higher nitrates but still within normal range, just higher than I like to have them - like”
“Hello, i have a 25 gal tank that i started a week ago, and right off the bat i planted ludwigia, pennywort, anubias, crypts, s. repens, and some red root floaters, which i can guess is relatively heavily planted. I also dosed half a bottle of fritz turbo start and left all the dead plant matter in the tank as well as some shrimp pellets to feed the bacteria. throughout the week as i was testing daily for ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites, the ammonia rose a little to 0.25 and stayed that way no ma”
“Hi guys, I recently got this tank off Facebook marketplace for 25$, it’s 10 gal and and came with a heater, filter, temp gauges, and an aerator (that I’m not using, my filter makes enough racket I see a lot of bubbles being provided). I plan on putting a betta in once it’s done cycling. What I have in the tank so far is Imagitarium aquatic substate (everything was rinsed), imigitarium natural tan sand, a million plants (with more coming lol), two bamboo sticks with moss on it, a coconut hut with”
“First half is a bigger tank. Last half is a smaller tank (I know algae are a bit overwhelming). submitted by /u/ege7agr8hrg [link] [comments]”
“Hi everyone, I really need some advice with my aquarium setup. I originally put a very fine white sand together with aquasoil. I then realized that the sand might become a big problem during future cleaning, so I removed the sand as much as I could and added new aquasoil. However, there is still quite a lot of the fine white sand mixed in with the aquasoil. It keeps floating around in the water and sticking to the glass. When it sticks to the glass and dries, it’s also quite difficult to remove.”
“I was thinking of getting a new light for my 10 gallon aquascape setup. submitted by /u/cr8spypotato [link] [comments]”
“I'm gonna put some plastic plants in, because it's a ciclid and otherwise they are gonna eat the plants. submitted by /u/Kindly-Variety4307 [link] [comments]”
“I literally fed the barbs right before I dropped these in the tank 😂🤦🏼♀️ Don't mind my plant fighting for its life in the background. They keep uprooting everything lol. submitted by /u/SaeInsanity45 [link] [comments]”
“Started a 10g planted(lol) aquarium some days ago, is it too crowded? + rate the whole scape. IMO the plant choice is off, maybe I should swap the olants with java fern but then my other aquarium with java fern doesn’t have soil to support these plants. submitted by /u/Imaginary-Song6658 [link] [comments]”
“It's like it happened overnight I don't know what happened my tanks been around and established for months and it usually sat around a 7.8-8.0 PH . NOW ITS THIS . I NEED A SOLUTION QUICK. is it a fault in the test kit? I got it in February. submitted by /u/Fit_Whereas_4881 [link] [comments]”
“I’ve had my freshwater tank now for almost a year now. While in the beginning everything seemed fine, over time i noticed plants loosing their leaves and becoming yellow. After that they lost their leaves entirely and now i have these awful looking stems that just grow roots all over the place. Can i just cut these plants at the beginning and they will come back or do i have to remove them entirely? Or do i have to do something completely different? submitted by /u/OutrageousFlower99”
“So i'm moving from a 10 gal to a 30gal, and with that upgrade i'll have a professional co2 system, chihiros wrgb pro2 45, aquasoil mixed with gravel, liquid fertilizers In the old aquarium i had the same things but the chihiros a2 301 max which was not rgb so with that being said, i want to switch from pearl weed to utricularia graminifolia. It looks way better as a carpet from what i've seen and I dig it.. Will it be way harder to grow it or no? If yes, i'll stay with the pearl”
“Adding water soon, but how does the landscape look or can be improved on? Its a 10 gal tank from the LED Aquarium Starter Kit. If you recommend diffierent lighting or filter or anything else please please please share. So far I have a water temp, gravel vacuum, muck magnet, and fish net. submitted by /u/AtDawnsEnd502 [link] [comments]”
“What are yall using for your CO2 setup? I have the fluval bio CO2 125L and it’s less than desirable. Sometimes the yeast packets work and sometimes they don’t. Sometimes the CO2 lasts a month sometimes it doesn’t. The ceramic disc/diffuser seems to constantly clog not allowing airflow despite cleaning and replacing. I’d love a ready made system where I can just buy refills that plug in if that even exists. I looked at the fluval cartridges and the reviews were pretty awful. I also can’t even fin”
“It's planted and very well established, the tank has been running for about 5 years. I had a Scarlett badis but we had a power outage and he died :(. The power is back on and I've done a water change, the parameters are still stable. But now I'm left with a tank that's basically empty. Just 2 snails and a single amano shrimp. I keep it around 78 f and I have a low flow hang on the back filter. I'm considering dwarf frogs but I would need to change the gravel and I am lazy. So”
“Extremely low tech. No filter or heater yet. Heater is not needed atm since it's quite warm atm. Filter is on the top of my list and until then we'll see how this goes. Edit: and I need more aquasoil but I've got some filter sand laying around so I might use that. It's a work in progress. submitted by /u/TommyVercetti010 [link] [comments]”
“I just bought a bunch of plants for my aquarium, and I was thinking this time I would try and dilute my water with RODI (I already have a machine), just because I know that a KH that high can be hard for some of the plants I ordered, like rotala H'ra and micro swords. My water also has almost no nitrogen and very little potassium, so I will be dosing with a fertilizer regularly. submitted by /u/Oyster_- [link] [comments]”
pH and High Range pH submitted by /u/Saxobone [link] [comments]
“I have a heavily planted tank on top of the aquarium (120g) and it’s starting to really look like a jungle on top and I love it. I noticed the roots are getting super long as well and I was considering trimming them. But all my plants are in the back of my tank in 3d printed containers. I was thinking before I trimmed them. What if the roots made it all the way down to the substrate and it was in the back? Might be a cool background? I don’t want it taking space away from fish, but just a though”
“50 gallon Oase Biomaster 2 250 AQQA 35 watt C-170 lights Day 3 of cycle and things are looking good! submitted by /u/CarlGleem222 [link] [comments]”
“Setting up a new ten gallon, gonna have it heavily planted, I wanted to do a sort of swampy themed tank with some freaky looking critters. I’m looking into getting a few Asian stone catfish but I’m not sure who would hang out well with them and also look a little freaky. Thanks :) submitted by /u/richisaloser [link] [comments]”
“I’ve had a coldwater tank for years now and I’ve finally decided to go tropical. This is my first setup after years of trying to make plants work in a goldfish tank (they don’t). So far I’ve got three Albino Corey’s, two Gold Honey Gouramis, and a Bristlenose Pleco. I want to add a couple bigger colourful fish and a bunch of small fish to contrast the plants but buying tropical fish is a bit intimidating because they all seem to kill each other. The weirder looking the better. I plan on adding m”
“I’m currently 5 ish weeks into a fishless cycle, currently ammonia is being cycled out within 48 hours, but I have some questions about how ph and kh will affect my cycle, my ph is around 6.4-6.8 ( will retest and update this post) and my kh is 0. For the bacteria to do well should I aim to get my ph and kh up and if so how do I do this? This is my first ever tank! I keep hearing I shouldn’t chase numbers but I also don’t want my cycle to stall! submitted by /u/Willow1301 [link]  ”
“I was away for a few days and when I came back I found this new blue-green root-like structure near the tip of the water. Please give your opinion regarding what is it, and if could pose an issues. I assume some algae but im not sure since I started this hobby 4-5 months ago. Is a 60l Riparium, high light and co2, heavily planted(2nd and 3rd pic, it is messy af rn because I was away). I have a pair of Electric Blue Rams and 7 Pangio loaches. submitted by /u/TPalex [link] [comme”
“10 Gallon Freshwater tank, with fluval stratum substrate, mopani wood, and a large spiderwood centerpiece My water tests perfectly fine, (no fish live here yet, only plants, but My plants are for a betta and some sort of cleanup crew, shrimp probably) The tank has finished cycling finally, and ive been letting it settle because im worried about the cloudiness and the fuzzies on my wood. I dont know if its going to be harmful to fish or not. Is there something I should put in the tank to help cle”
“Tank details: -10gal -Planted (although a lot of melt so there's not a ton of greenery currently) -78 degrees -testing the cycle now with a dose of ammonia but no stocking until it clears 2ppm of ammonia to 0 Nitrites and ammonia in 24grs after dosing -Ph hovers around 7.4 to 7.6 -Alkalinity/kH is up in the air right now simply because I've been dosing with Ammonia, but when I do water changes, they stay normal-ish -Hardness I don't remember unfortunately. I REALLY want a cherry shri”
“I've been in the hobby about 3 months and have a nice 10gal going with micro rasboras and healthy plants, including lots of floating plants. Lately I have noticed this blueish film develop on the surface and I wonder what it could be. Is it protein? Bacteria? Some harmful organic leaching from somewhere ? Sorry for the rough photo, it's all I can do. It's a thin oil like film with filaments in it presumably from breaking the surface / flow from the pump. The fish don't seem to mi”
“My 22 litre with betta and 2x l104 clown plecos has recieved some aquascape additions large peice of mopani and a couple bohwood logs with java ferns along with some amazon frogbit submitted by /u/Distinct-Feature-524 [link] [comments]”
“Hello! I was gifted a half dead Betta a while ago (March?) and thankfully he hung in there while I rapidly educated myself... The 9 gallon tank is now cycled and he's looking ragged but a lot better. The remaining ragged, I believe is from me. My parameters are great, except Ph which has been on the high side from the beginning. I have plants and some mopani wood, my substrate is an awful painted gravel I regret that I rinsed and rinsed forever. One day when I feel he's steady I lay try”
“Amazoniam aquarium. Can you share your thoughts/tips submitted by /u/tulipa1989 [link] [comments]”
“Hi, I'm cycling a 10 gallon tank. I was doing the test where you see if 2ppm ammonia in the tank reaches, 0ppm, also 0ppm nitrite, and 20-40 nitrate in 24 hours to make sure my tank is completely cycled. I added Fritz Fishless Fuel ammonia and tried to put 2ppm in my tank. I put added too much drops and now it's 8.0 ppm ammonia. I didn't know so I tested the ammonia 24 hours later to make sure my tank is completely cycled. I did a 50% water change 1 hour ago and now I'm going to”
“So my HOB keeps making a hole in my substrate. I’m unable to control the flow. Currently doing a fishless cycle btw. Anyone else deal with this? submitted by /u/Competitive_Field298 [link] [comments]”
“You can't go wrong with the Nano Anubias. But I'm not sure about the Monte Carlo I got from the fish store... it was the typical rock wool stuff. But almost no roots whatsoever. I'm still in the process of creating/gluing the Bonsai tree. So don't pay too much attention to it, please. submitted by /u/LegitimateTutor8535 [link] [comments]”
“Took me some investment and shifting to high tech aquarium set up.. I was so happy to see this submitted by /u/GreenCover8596 [link] [comments]”
“Hi, my tanks were redone about a year ago with aqua soil. 2 of the 3 are looking a little... Needy? I'm thinking I could use some root tabs to spruce things up a bit. What brand is best? Are the generic ones on Amazon OK? Like 50 tabs for $20 or so... Thanks! submitted by /u/hmishima [link] [comments]”
“I've been adding botanicals to my black water aquarium and recently added a piece of driftwood that's starting to fill with biofilm. I'm wondering if all the organic breakdown is eating up all the oxygen? I did have a bit of surface agitation and have increased that after this video. I also did a 20% water change with fresh distilled water. Does this look concerning to you guys? submitted by /u/SnigTheAxe [link] [comments]”
“Hi. I currently have a 25 gal tank. I am upgrading to a 29 gal in the new few days. I have 1 bag of Fuval Stratum and would like to do the rest in sand. Anybody have recommendations for safe, reliable sand for my tank? The less hassle the better. submitted by /u/ExcitementWide6054 [link] [comments]”
“Using an Oase Biomaster Thermo filter, got air, water tested fine after a 2 week cycle with "Stability". I know I'm pushing the usual line with 3 Goldies in a 60 rather than a 75, but everything in there is a juvenile so I have time to move some of them if water tests go sideways. (Yes I am aware the decorations are tilting, the tank is on leveling foam and hasn't settled yet). submitted by /u/Giblets999999 [link] [comments]”
“What do you think- is it too much with the branches? The last photo is what it looked like before. In one tank we have shrimp/snails/panda loaches, in the other we have betta/amano/african dwarf frogs/rasbora. Any advice on scapeing or how I could do better in general? Thanks so much! Any comments appreciated :) submitted by /u/Fearless_Switch [link] [comments]”