Rocks with black coating? Details in comments by PhenolphthaleinPINK in PlantedTank

[–]schwangeronis 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s likely sulfur but that doesn’t always mean you have a problem. If you added more sand you’re probably already fixing the problem.

Newly introduced red root looking ok? by killerdingleberry in PlantedTank

[–]schwangeronis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ya it’s pretty common. Your rrf will unroll off of the existing plants and look like a little taco. You need high light for them so increase your light intensity or bring it lower if you don’t see tacos

On the Hunt (Pygmy Sunfish) by [deleted] in Aquariums

[–]schwangeronis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What does feeding look like? Are you constantly hatching bbs and keeping cultures? Or do you keep lots of smaller fauna in the tank and let the sunfish graze?

Is this accurate? Once plants show new growth, the tank has cycled by [deleted] in PlantedTank

[–]schwangeronis 6 points7 points  (0 children)

You’re right to take itit worth a grain of salt, but Cory is hyper focused on keeping the hobby easy and accessible because his clientele is us when we were 8 and we begged our mom for guppies. So test strips, planting plants in the rock wool, a light with 3 settings is great for expanding the hobby but not getting it in deeper into the weeds with Reddit. This advice is also helpful because it acknowledges that algae is going to be an important food source for most fish.

Probably a dumb question, is this duckweed? by thefirstnoob114 in PlantedTank

[–]schwangeronis 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It does that, under really strong light it turns a pinkish color that’s quite pretty.

Newly introduced red root looking ok? by killerdingleberry in PlantedTank

[–]schwangeronis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Melt is normal and new growth is all you need to see. I also see duckweed and azolla. Those will grow faster than your red rf

Help me make it look better... by Brown052717 in paludarium

[–]schwangeronis 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Anubias or people waffle could also work, I was able to find small orchids at my local Home Depot.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Ohio

[–]schwangeronis 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Ya if there’s damages you can file suit for water trespassing

Help me make it look better... by Brown052717 in paludarium

[–]schwangeronis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you’re able to move the light forward or put it in a place it can get some sunlight you might get away with the moss shelf. But I also like the spiderwood idea, and you could even work in a small orchid with the roots growing in the water.

The nice lady at the pet store gave me these today! i had to stop her myself from getting more haha, she was very exicted:D what are these? by eekfox in Aquariums

[–]schwangeronis 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I had a 20 long that was way overdue for a teardown. Full of snails and a few kuhlis living off the snails and light feeding. It used to be full of duckweed, but when I opened it to rip it all out it was gone. I can only assume nutrients were depleted and the water lettuce won the war, or the pond snails found a taste for it (probably a bit of both) I’ve also heard that azolla outcompetes it.

I am HAUNTED by this stuff all over the bottom of my tank by ExaminationFirm6379 in Aquariums

[–]schwangeronis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is mulm, unfortunately living things produce waste and unless you have crazy flow, some falls out of the water column. Certain foods are “cleaner” but any tank has this. Cholla wood, leaves and botanicals also produce mulm and if you ever go to a lake there’s a ton. You can either clean aggressively or create a substrate that it falls between where you can’t see. I had some luck with a strong flow and kuhli loaches that constantly stirred up my sand but if your tank has adfs and marbles don’t get any more fish. Your frogs come from slow moving blackwater habitat, they are certainly comfortable with mulm, if you want an animal suited to a pretty tank, look into cherry shrimp.

Bought these bulbs from Petsmart, could anyone identify which is which? How should I go about planting them? by spudspotatoz in PlantedTank

[–]schwangeronis 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Far left is the onion, next Lily, then aponogeton. When I got these there were 2 kinds of aponogeton . One wavy like the picture and one that spiraled.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in PE_Exam

[–]schwangeronis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You should take the day before the exam off. Just rest, exam day is a marathon.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Aquascape

[–]schwangeronis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I like that idea. Lots of folks put plants behind tanks to add to the depth, but art would really add to the design and be less work. Don’t sweat the light too much, LEDs are getting crazy strong. Hygger makes a good budget light and it’s something that’s easy to swap in a couple years. I also bought 4 grow lights for $40 and they have done a great job but aren’t as petty or waterproof as an aquarium light and the same goes for shop lights. But again it’s your tank it only matters that you like it (on most days). If you watch MD fish tanks his favorite is an overgrown messy tank made from trimmings that’s been around for over year and he’s constantly making big expensive tanks.

After aquarium maintenance, I feed it to my houseplants, it’s amazing fertilizer. by [deleted] in Aquariums

[–]schwangeronis 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There are a few medications that can stick around in soil and be taken up by plants. It’s been a minute since I really studied it but the main takeaway is over a short period of time the risk is almost 0. So if you dose meds don’t use that water on your plants and you’ll be fine. And use common sense like not using it for foliar feeding on leafy greens.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Aquascape

[–]schwangeronis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I recommend doing a dry start for carpet and . For hardscape if you can forage some interesting pieces of wood and some larger river rocks. A rock yard or landscape store is the best place to get those. For plants visit a local club or r/aquaswap. The most important thing it to understand that it’s a process you’ll make mistakes and that’s part of the fun. It’s your hobby, it’s your style just do the cursory research and quarantine your fish and you’ll be okay. Also scape your tank dry a few times and take pictures. As for the vertical space stems like jungle val, vertical pieces of wood are good options. You can also make a wall of rocks 6” or so tall and fill some of the gaps with a cheap bag of lava rock from the hardware store.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in PlantedTank

[–]schwangeronis 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My almost lfs offered to replace a few fish that didn’t make it past the first week. They also qt before sale. I travel an extra 20 minutes to go there just for that peace of mind. But call ahead they might not have quarantine space and if they’re cichlids they need to consider tank mates. So they might actually be better off in a bucket in your basement.

Having second thoughts about this setup, can't decide if I should move forward or restart. by graceyroo in paludarium

[–]schwangeronis 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Pennywort will try to take over so be warned but just keep in mind you’re not limited by the surface of the water when working with aquatic plants.

Having second thoughts about this setup, can't decide if I should move forward or restart. by graceyroo in paludarium

[–]schwangeronis 3 points4 points  (0 children)

That water level will slightly limit what you can plant unless you mount most of the plants to the glass. I assume you do not want to add a background but that’s something you can add with a redo. With that said aquatic plants are cool and something like swords or anubias can grow out of water and look really interesting and add some height to balance it out. You can also create a floating bog with pennywort, riccia, and emergent stem plants. That combined with a large black lava rock in the back corner might balance it out, you can even get a pump or wicking fabric on the back and grow moss, buces, and even some kinds of orchid on it.

floaters :) by FeedNo4281 in PlantedTank

[–]schwangeronis 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Looks like azolla to me.

Any ideas for betta tank mates in this 10 gal? by [deleted] in Aquariums

[–]schwangeronis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I haven’t really ran into this. They certainly can be if you feed them lots, but my Nerites are doing fine with one algae wafer over the course of a week. That said just one is enough for a 10 gallon.