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I haven't used an All Pond filter but I have used many Fluval canister filters and they are excellent. Super reliable, easy to set up and clean, and quiet. This one should be more than enough for a 30gal. I only clean mine every 3 months of so and cleaning is just simply rinsing out the media(foam, biomedia, floss) and putting back together. or you could go with a hang on back Aquaclear filter, they are also very good and even easier to set up and clean. I have had many of them running for years with no problems.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/API-AQUARIUM-Freshwater-Aquarium-453-Gram/dp/B000255NIC/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?content-id=amzn1.sym.be892718-7efb-43bc-84bb-7c3572c2816d%3Aamzn1.sym.be892718-7efb-43bc-84bb-7c3572c2816d&keywords=aquarium+salt&pd_rd_r=25817... This is the brand I use for aquarium salts idk if you wanna order from amazon though
I've kept fish for 20+ years and I've stopped fighting green water with blackouts and water changes. Get a small in tank UV filter and it will be gone in a couple days. It's like magic. I usually let it run for week or so and then pack it away in my fish gear box until I need it again.
Go to your local fishing/sports store and purchase either a cooler or bucket live well.
I recently transport about 10 African cichlids over a 4 hour drive. They were in complete darkness the whole trip but they all survived the trip in great health.
Salty Shrimp Gh/Kh is what you're looking for. Trust me.
All in One, super simple. Look for the one that has both elements as there is also one that is JUST Gh.
SaltyShrimp - Shrimp Mineral GH/KH+ 200G https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06Y581DC4/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_i_ZTZBXY1PCZ2C7PTR3MYS
Looks like Cyanobacteria. It is not an algae but a bacteria that functions with photosynthesis. You can tell for sure if you touch it or remove it and it smells horribly, like a swamp. Do not break off pieces and let it float around your tank. It will grow elsewhere.
There are multiple ways to take care of it. Which would include antibiotics, hydrogen peroxide or an oxidizing agent.
I had a minor outbreak before and I used Ultralife blue green stain remover, it does not affect your tanks cycle. Otherwise you’ll have to research on how to eliminate it and if it keeps coming back, stopping the root cause.
I think what’s hanging off your angel is just a poop casing. Keep your eye on it though for any other signs or distress.
check this out. They come in different power ratings as well but more power means more money. A heater doesn’t run constant either so I would expect it to last quite a while on something like this. Also be sure you have tight fitting lids. This will help keep the heat in. In long outages some people will even throw a blanket over their whole tank. Also for the air pump you can run them like an hour on then an hour off to save some battery. That will be enough to keep oxygen levels up.
A lot of information has always been given, but using ammonium chloride to cycle your tank goes a lot faster than using fish food. You need to wait for fish food to decompose which also pollutes the water.
You can use this method with plants but not with any livestock.
I used Dr. Tim’s ammonium chloride but there are other options.
https://www.amazon.com/DrTims-Aquatics-Ammonium-Chloride-Solution/dp/B006MP4QG6
You can also use pure, non scented ammonia from the cleaning aisle at any store but this stuff is formulated specifically to be tank safe.
The bacteria from the starter cultures/bottles you add need ammonia as a food source. If they don’t get any, they die off and your cycling will fail.
Hey thanks for doing the research and prep to take care of fish. It's not something a lot of people do. I think 5 gallons is difficult for beginner fishkeepers, because the water parameters can change so quickly. My advice would be to go out and get a 29 gallon or so, give yourself some buffer room.
If you're going to stick with the 5 gallon, I would definitely encourage you to get a small filter. There's a variety of types, but the two I would look for are either a sponge filter (cheap as chips, highly effective, but ugly) or a hang on back or HOB filter (still pretty cheap, less unattractive).
The thought process behind cycling a tank is you need a crop of ammonia eating bacteria that poop out nitrite, and then a crop of nitrite eating bacteria that poop out nitrate. The nitrate can be consumed either by floating plants, or changed out with a water change.
My best recommendation is to purchase some of this bacteria live. Here's one product that you can use:
After you do that, you need a source of ammonia to feed the little guys and let them build up their numbers. There's different ways to do this. Some people add fish food that decomposes in the water, other people add a frozen piece of shrimp or something (gross), I like to add clear ammonia as it's easy to dose. Add a little bit every couple days and watch as first you get an ammonia spike, then a nitrite spike, and finally a nitrate spike. Once that's settled in, do a big water change, add your fish.
Zacro LCD Digital Aquarium Thermometer Fish Tank Water Terrarium Temperature https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A0TMS6Y/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_6Z6ZYMHVDVY4GPFXB7JZ?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
the only one you will ever need 😀
The fastest way is to add pure ammonia to the tank and either get starter culture of bacteria (from another tank such as sponge or filter media) or try the bottled stuff.
I used Dr Tim’s Ammonium Chloride over regular ammonia from the cleaning aisle. I took some bio media from my other canister filter and used a bottle of starter culture and the tank cycled in a few weeks. You have to keep adding in a source of ammonia to feed the bacteria if you aren’t going to stock right away when the cycle is complete.
Another product to remove cyano bacteria without using antibiotics or anything that will harm your tank inhabitants or bio filter is Blue Green Slime Stain Remover. Works like the other product by Chemiclean.
Multiple ways. Cyanobacteria is not an algae but well, a bacteria. It can be nuked with hydrogen peroxide and/or antibiotics but these two options will also destroy your tank cycle. There is a product called Ultralife Blue Green Slime Remover. You’ll want to carefully manually remove all you can and it removes mild cases by some form of oxidation. This is safe for your cycle.
For some reading on cyanobacteria:
WADEO Camping Shower, Portable Pressure Shower Outdoor Shower Bag Folding Water Bag,with Foot Pump and Press-Type Shower Nozzle for Travel Hiking Climbing Summer Bathing https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B087WQJYXG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_578915SAC48J249VXRPX?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Sure!Here’s the link to the amazon product.
WADEO Camping Shower, Portable Pressure Shower Outdoor Shower Bag Folding Water Bag,with Foot Pump and Press-Type Shower Nozzle for Travel Hiking Climbing Summer Bathing https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B087WQJYXG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_578915SAC48J249VXRPX?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Ah yes, green water. I've kept fish a very long time and every once in awhile one will go green even when the water parameters are great. I've had identical tanks right next to each other with the same fish, same lights, same filter, and same water changes and one goes green and the other doesn't. It's nearly impossible to water change you way out of green water. I used to try the "black out" technique and it would work for a few weeks then the green cloud would come back. Now i just use a UV sterilizer to get rid of it. Works like magic. I'll put it in the tank for a week or so till the green is gone and then remove until I need it again.
Wow, that's a long time! Yes, this is super suprising! I'm sorry you're having this much trouble -- there are a lot of local variations and some people just have it harder than others. I hope your tank gets set up and flying soon, it's really rewarding when that happens.
If you haven't tried doing water changes, try that! Is there decaying matter in the filter? If you do a water change, use the old tank water to clean out the filter. Not too well (some biofilm left in there is necessary!), but enough to get rid of decaying matter.
By the way I use this stuff It removes chlorine/chloramine, balances pH, and also removes ammonia.
By the way, you mention that things went wrong before. What happened? Could decaying matter from the first attempt be in the filter?
Most (9+/10) of the heaters I've run are usually set a few degrees above what they keep the tank at for some reason so I wouldn't be too worried about that.
For thermometers i usually go to Petsmart or Petco and find 3-5 all reading the same and buy however many i need. I figure if 4 or 5 read the same and 1 or 2 read different the 1 or 2 are more likely to be reading wrong.
I gave up on the hang on the back filters a while back. Just never seemed to like them. Even tried everyone's favorite The Aquaclear. Had the same thing with loss of suction and mine started running hot and raising tank temp.
Ended up going back to the simple cheap airstone driven Sponges. I usually get a year or 2 out a sponge that I squeeze out every week.
I've had trouble with sponges run off powerheads or as a prefilter for hang on back clogging very quickly. Part of why I gave up on hang on back.
I don't know if it works, but I found this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004MNO43U/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_EAjcGbBJG7662
It has good reviews. API also makes a filter media called Nitra Zorb.
Generally if my nitrates get high, I just do a water change... but most of my tanks are planted aquariums, so they're typically low on nitrates.