Hi, I am new to the hobby and have gotten everything for my tank except the lighting and the gravel. My cousin gave me one of his extra canister filter that uses nothing but active carbon to filter. I read on this website that the active carbon will interfere with my biological filtration when I start out. Is this true or not? Do any of you guys use something similar when you started out?

Oh by the way, I am going to use fishless cycling to cycle my water.

The website that I read about the carbon is here:

http://www.fishyou.com/freshwater/carbon.html

Thanks in advance, and I hope to hear from you guys soon.

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Be gentle with me, I’m a beginner in this fish thing ….. :-)

I have two small freshwater tanks in my kids rooms. Had them about 5 mos now. No water problems until about a month ago. The one in my daughters room is still fine, but my son’s tank keeps getting green water.
Tried a couple of algae products, partial water changes, etc. When they didn’t work, did an entire water change, cleaned gravel thoroughly, scrubbed all ornaments, tank, parts, etc. Changed the carbon filter. We’ve done that twice now, and still are getting green water.
Why the heck am I just having the trouble with the one tank?
Is it the fish?
I do have an algae eater in the clear tank. That’s why I got the second tank – he was too aggressive with slower fish. He’s in there with a few tiger barbs and zebra dainos now. All happy and healthy.
In the problem tank there are 2 dwarf gouramis, 3 neon tetras, 2 glowlite tetras and a platy.
We don’t overfeed, & keep the water temp in both tanks around 76.
Add: the water starts to turn green within 3-4 days of change.
Thanks in advance for any help you can offer this novice!
Add #2 : I don’t think it’s the light/sun exposure since both tanks get the same amount of daylight, and we’ve used the tank lights very little because it’s already warm here FL and we don’t want the tanks to warm up too much.
I have no idea how to measure nutrients and nitrates and such but I’ll look into the UV light.

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I just heard about potato peels that can be boiled and the water used as an after shampoo rinse to turn gray hairs into dark gray. I just need some propoer direction on how to apply this method in a step by step manner. if someone can tell how I should apply this method, I would much appreciate this but please also tell me if there is any other natural remedy for gray hair too.
thanks in advance for your kind reply

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Hi,
I recently upgraded my aquarium from a 25 gallon to a 45 gallon. I’ve had it running for over a week & I’ve been doing daily waster tests. My nitrates & nitrites are still high & my fish are stressed. I only have about 10 one inch length fish & 2 dwarf frogs so I know I have lots of room & haven’t over stocked. One of my filters is brand new & the other is only a month old, both with carbon filters. I only feed once a day or once every 2 days with frozen blood worms, flake food & occasioanlly algae wafers. I have algae eating fish & no goldfish. Plus all my gravel is new.
I’ve already done a 25-50% water change & my levels are still high. I asked my local aquarium store & they said to do a water change every day for 1-2 weeks. Water changes stress my fish so I was wondering if anyone knew of any other ways & once I get my nitrates/nitrites levels down how I can keep them down?
Thanks in advance!

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Do they make reverse osmosis units that do not have to be installed into my existing home plumbing system? I am wanting one for my saltwater tank, so I don’t need anything that is permanent. I have never used or dealt with one of these before so I am clueless. Do they make a kind that I can pour the water into it and the unit purifies it and pumps it into a container? As many details as possible would be great. Thanks in advance.

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Also, is it cost effective, energy effective? How does the membrane work? Thanks in advance =D

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I purchased a house with a koi pond. I noticed that the water began to diminish quite quickly and I was having to fill up the pond more and more. As a novice koi owner I began to study the hobby and quickly found that water doesn’t evaporate that much and I had the worst issue on my hands…a pond leak. The pond is approximately 500 gallons and I recently had a pond rebuilder complete an estimate for a rebuild and expansion. I’m still waiting for the estimate and there is no telling when he will get out here to begin working on the job (he was the only one in town I could find). Upon cleaning the pond, we believe the pipes that run from the pump to the waterfall are cracked and that is where the water is leaking from. We fill the pond up at night and when we wake in the morning it has nearly depleted itself. We shut the pump off and the water level holds, but I know I cannot do this until the pond is rebuilt because koi need filtration and aeration. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do with the fish until I can get the pond rebuilt? I have already lost three fish who somehow managed to get into the netting around the pump and I am devastated. I sure don’t want to lose anymore. Can I put them in a tub and buy a make shift pump/filter in the meantime? Thanks in advance for any advice!

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Do you think it would be ok to use an Ant and Roach Fogger if I just shut off the filtration system and covered with a towel? Or maybe duct tape a plastic bag over it and tape it to the counter???? I would hate to harm my froggies. They are water animals………

Has anyone had this problem??? Ants are taking over my house and I just cant take it anymore, but I dont want to hurt my frogs.

What can I do????

Thanks in Advance!!!!
there is nothing for the ants to be "after" it is just ant season here in Louisiana and they are EVERYWHERE
2 Ten gallon tanks, not very easy to move full of water…..

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Hey all. I am usually a keeper of Betta (I do so ever love them). However, I have recently been pretty fascinated with gold fish. I would really like to get some, but I am worried about size constraints. I know common goldfish need about 30 gallons, but I think the best I will be able to keep in my small house is another 20 gallon. Is there any kind in particular that would be alright in a smaller tank with filtration and regular cleanings? I’ve seen fantails kept in relatively small tanks (on the other hand, I’ve also seen Betta kept in tiny plastic containers). If not, is there another sort of more manageable fish that I could accept as a substitute (orange or calico in color) which would do better in a smaller tank? I also have some ghost shrimp I was going to move into the next tank I got, but I am unsure of how well they function in cold water tanks (especially one that had messy gold fish in it), so could you fill me in on that? Thanks in advance :)
Yea… I figured the shrimp wouldn’t be well off. I was kind of thinking Platies too, but I am not only fascinated wth the color, but there movement (slow strides, one of the reasons I like bettas). I will see what else I can pull together. Until then I’ll research te rest of your suggestions.
Well, it isn’t a question if shrimp and Betta getting along, it is more that I wnt to make plenty of room for them all. My "Betta" tank (I’m using quotation marks because it was marketed for goldfish) is only 2 gallons. I don’t think it has enough filtration, and even if it did , Bettas are just so beautiful when kept by themselves (or atleast I find).

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What filters would you recommend for a 20-30gallon tank (or possibly larger) in which I’ll be keeping Bettas?

With the drafts and temperature changes in my rather old house, it’s going to be much better for me to have a large tank with a divided set of ‘cages’ for my males to keep the temperatures more regular and allow for filtration rather than frequent changes.

It’s been a few years since I bought a filter, so I’m wondering if there have been any changes/advancements/new wonder products?

I’m in the UK but am happy to order from overseas if needs be.

Ideally looking for low sound levels and not too much turbulence in the water, so an adjustable filter is ideal.

Thanks in advance!
Edit: I should have explained that I’m looking for specific brands etc – I have three charcoal filters which worked well before, I was just wondering if there was anything else about.

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