So i'll be honest. my drunk purchasing of a couple snails, a 10 gallon tank, and a filter is turning out to be much more of a situation than I was prepared for. Regardless I will do what it takes to make these gastropods happy.
i find his personality to be amazing, unlike the fluval videos, where they are constantly trying to peddle their products. he's simply giving sound advice.
I know this video is old, but I'm just getting into fish keeping. You sir, deserve a hell of alot more subs. Thank you for all the info!!! I'm on week three of fishless cycling a 4k gal. DIY pond, and your vids definitely are helping me, as they somewhat transfer over from glass to pond. Keep them coming!
Nate Bena, I also agree. I was very recently given a Betta. I had very basic knowledge of fish, their care, tanks, food.... I just stumbled across these videos and feel I have a better grasp on fish care. I received her in a 1 gallon tank. I switched her to a 10 gallon the first week. She has been in there with a glass stone and river rock bottom and some plastic plants. She has a ghost shrimp as a tank mate. There is a heater and filter. She seems to have adjusted very well for the last 2 1/2 weeks. The water levels are perfect with the exception of the ammonia. It is at .25. It seems to be slowly dropping, though. My problem is that I need to give the stones and plants back. I have removed the plastic plants and added the silk ones I purchased. I have some black sand that has been rinsed well. This is where I have a problem. I don't know if I should do a complete water change and put the sand in then or should I just remove the stones and just dump in the sand and wait for it to settle? Obviously the fish would be in a glass jar (I do not have anything else except a child's sand bucket) while I do this. How long is she safe like that? I do not have access to anything but a water conditioner, to remove chlorine and a little bit of a bacteria supplement (I am hesitant to use the supplement because of stories I've heard) I have so many questions, so I am going to watch his videos. Hopefully, I will learn what I need to do this switch over quickly and safely.
@@aprilkruger533 I cant guve tou a sure fire answer, as I'm still.learning myself. But I can tell you what I did a couple weeks ago. I removed 50% of the water because it was already cycled. I didn't want to wait another 4 weeks. I made my decor changes and added play sand from home depot. After the sand settled, I topped off the tank with fresh water. I used gallons from a supermarket, not treated tap. I let this water run through my established filter system for close to 2 weeks. Btw, this is a 65 gl. tank housing my baby koi till the pond is ready. Through the entire process, my koi were in a 50 gallon tote with an maidstone and a fluval underwater filter. They did just fine. I will say, carp is a hardy fish. Maybe that's why it wasnt ab issue for me. I would do more research for sensitive species. Good luck!! Take care
I know this is an old video, but a little tip for those watching now - those carbon filter cartridges are not necessary and are only there so you spend more money. Take the cartridge, and whatever holder it comes in, out and replace with sponges. You just need more surface area for the beneficial bacteria.
I got a fish tank for my brother and because it was small I assumed it would be easy to manage. Turns out there is more that goes into making for a happy system. I really appreciate this video series (10/10).
I work at PetsMart and I ALWAYS tell my customers to watch this channel for fish keeping. I'm also a fish fanatic myself and have had multiple compliments about my knowledge.
Even though I know these things, the videos have so much entertainment value and uplifting spirit that I love to watch them and even revisit them after a while. I REALLY hope these kinds of vids by Thomas are going to continue to be made!!! *big fat thumb up* As a matter of fact, I remember we (our family) used to watch a show about dogs with a very enthousiatic, positive spirited presenter... I now realized that nobody was really interested in learning told facts about dogs but it was just so much fun and uplifting to watch somebody explain stuff that he loved, so enthousiatically... So please keep it up!! :-)
Well, maybe you do (kind of)! You can shop with us on BigAlsPets.com (US) or BigAlsPets.ca (CDA) if you don't have an actual store nearby! Same great advice, expertise, and selection of amazing items!
Yeah when I got my aquarium I barely knew anything about how to take care of my fish and they all ended up dying☹️ But thanks to Big Als vids I think I can succeed in trying to set up a tank again.
@@BigAlsVOD i did loads of research before i started keeping fish, and your videos were the biggest help. i was always afraid i would kill my fish, but you showed that it wasn't that hard. just takes a bit of dedication.
@@kaylaheisser5938 I'm glad you want to try out the fish keeping hobby again! I'm totes a betta lover, I haven't tried any other fish yet. I'm also afraid to keep other types of fish because I wanna try a neon tetra or guppies kind of tank project but since they are in schools I worry about breeding among the fish. I don't think I'm any where close to ready to take care of fries and baby fish :/ although I think it would be very fun to do the idea I want to do because I'd love to see plenty fish swimming about in a community tank I just don't wanna have to worry and dedicate a lot of time/commitment into fish fry. It would give me anxiety lol. But yeah bettas are solitary fish tho for the most part so I don't have to worry about that thankfully. But anyways... What fish are you looking to care for? Or have you already started a tank up and if so what fish are u using?
Finally someone who can explain those things good. Most videos on youtube I watched was like, do that do that and that and you have it. Here things are diffrent, do that because... DONT do that because... And do that with this and not this because ... Thank you for this video, I go watch more, so I will keep my future fishes healthy and happy.
Thank you for your videos...they are the best on RUclips...truly...editing, funny, informative, concise...thank you for your hard work - it is truly appreciated!
Thanks for your videos. They are very instructional and helped me kickstart my hobby and make sure my fish won't die by my inexperience! The fish are grateful!
1. You are AWESOME. Your vids are great. I am subbed and following....2. The only thing I don't agree with, and I get your are advising on the safe side....is cleaning your filter the same day you do a water change. I've done this for years. I still clean my filters once a month during water changes. What's important is to make sure you get your media into a bucket of tank water while you are cleaning the filters. But it hasn't stripped my beneficial bacteria. I do add bacteria after water changes, but after testing water, many times after the fact, there has been no change in ammonia, nitrites, nitrates. You are spot on with EVERYTHING. Just that one thing.....You know far more than I do, so please know I'm not trying to be critical AT ALL. Just sharing :) Keep up the GREAT work!!!
All of the videos on this channel are fantastic! I've been in the hobby for about 3 years now and even I'm learning some new tips from most of these videos! Keep up the good work!
Not always a good recommendation water changes to reduce ammonia depends on the area that you reside in for example where I live they use ammonia as a disinfectant also to reduce PH . They dont use chlorine. If I was to keep doing water changes I'll keep increasing my ammonia levels.
I havnt changed my bettas water in 3 weeks and I have no test kit. I will make sure to pick one up and I just ordered my vacum. I do have a snail in there and have turkey basted leftover food. My water is crystal clear jsut like when I first got it 3 weeks ago and fish is very happy and busy building a bubble nest. Is this normal to stay looking so clean and could i have dangerous levels? I am a newbie to this when someone left me to fish sit a beta in a bowl so I stole him and bought him a beautiful 5 gallon! LOL
Semi Unrelated Question! I bought a USED tank off someone, noticed afterwards that it has a 1 inch long surface scratch on the OUTSIDE. The scratch is deep enough that when passing my nail over it, it catches my nail. Can that compromise the integrity of the strength of the glass under water pressure? Should I get a new tank?
Hello, I liked your videos a lot, they are quite comprehensive and you've also got a good sense of humour, however I do have some questions: 1. Should we use methylene blue for our aquarium? and what is it actually for? 2. How do we clean the aquarium plants (fake ones). under tap water or what? 3. Is algae harmful for the fish? 4. I have a sponge filter currently installed, where in the filter should I put the biological media?? like in the cartridge housing or what. pls do tell...:)
I check my water twice a week, but I have a Planted tank with snails and shrimp, and they do better when I do less water changes. I only do once monthly 30% water changes. I dont use gravel and my trumpet snails keep the substrate clean inside and keep gases from building up down under
would this also apply to turtles? like, are they as sensitive to the water as fish are? or can I simply just dechlorinate my water and not have to worry about the ammonia/nitrates/bacteria and what not
I press like button first then watch till end because I know it’s informative and sometimes it’s might chance you forgot to press like for your hard work and efforts . Thank you # Big AI’s
When doing water changes, I pour the water onto a clean child's plastic plate that I float atop the water It disperses the impact of the water to stop any sumtrate getting whirled up and the water becoming unnecessarily cloudy. It works fantastic! And is especially helpful if you are using sand as your substrate.
So I have done everything in your videos and my water has been tested and is all good. I'm having a huge issue with evaporation and buildup of crunchy white stuff. Also algee mainly on the light bar where there is no water. Is there any easy way to get rid of this? I have scrubbed many hours and can't get rid of it. Also how do I get the dark algee off the plastic plants and decorations. Tired of them breaking and having to buy more.
My Red Devil just recovered from Columinaris about a month ago. He is doing great and I'm trying to stay on top of my tank to keep him healthy. I've been doing bi-weekly water changes and gravel cleaning. When I change the water over I use prime as my water conditioner and API stress-zyme and Quick Start too. The only problem is that my water is still getting cloudy and I just want to keep it clear and ideal to keep the big guy healthy. Any recommendations? Also, what product combos do you recommend for tank maintenance? Thank you!
the reason you cannot wash your BIOLOGICAL equipment like the biowheel or the filter cartridge itself is because there is established beneficial bacteria growing within them to assist in keeping the tank healthy (he said this) and the chlorine and chloramines in tap water will kill all those good beneficial bacteria. Equipment like the heater, suction cups are ok - NO soaps or cleaners. These items are not gonna bring water back into the tank with untreated water nor are they used for growing your biological beneficial bacteria....so its ok to rinse these items with tap water
Thanks so much for all the videos. Just set up a 5g guppy tank for my 5year old. These videos have become our fish care bible. As a parent I'm working really hard not to kill her fish 😜
I have a whole home filtered soft water system. What can I do to add hardness to the water for my 20gal tank when I do water changes. I do on average 20% water change once per week. My tank has molies, platies and guppies.
We have a brand new 10 gallon tank. We cycled 48 hours. Took the water to the pet store to get it tested & then added 3 red platys yesterday. How often should I be testing the water while we are waiting for the tank to regulate? Should I add a bacterial supplement since it's a new tank?
Sudden Kimpact Yes, the bacterial supplement will help with the initial ammonia spike, in the cycling stage, you should also test the water daily, go to a pet store and buy an api freshwater master test kit.
you didn't cycle it unless you added ammonia to the water. and you didn't cycle it anyway, as it takes 4-8 weeks usually, not 2 days. even if you're lucky enough to still have living fish you put them through a pretty shitty couple of months, its cruel to cycle with live animals in tank.
Look I thought I had done research when I set this up. I bought the tank and knew I needed to "cycle" it. Petco told me to run 24-48 hrs. So I decided to ere on the side of caution and ran it 48. Then I brought the water in to be tested because I wanted to make sure it was safe. And she told me it looked "perfect" and told me to add the 3 platies. Then FB groups yelled at me just like you just did. So I got the API test kit and prime and tested every single day dosing extra prime and doing 30-50% water change daily for the past 2 months until this thing cycled(by the way they did all live). Since then I have acquired 3 more tanks that are all currently fishless cycling. I tried my best to do as much research as possible but it's super hard when the "experts" at the pet store are telling you something completely different. Your comment is rude and unhelpful. I don't plan on fish in cycling again and I had no intentions of setting out to be cruel. I've done my best to do right by these fish. I wasn't one of those people that was itching to get a fish right away. I thought I was doing the right thing.
lol look the people at petco don't give two shits. tanks need to be cycled before fish are bought, but the people at petco know that most fish will probably survive being cycled in-tank, so they don't care if the animals suffer. i appreciate that you were obviously fed a line by the pet store employees, but i do tend to have limited patience for people who don't do the proper, thorough research before they get a pet. my local fish store told me i didn't need to bother cycling either, but i was already thoroughly convinced by everything i'd read about it before that, so i ignored them and did it anyway. saying all that, you've quite obviously learned since and it wasn't a decision made out of laziness or cruelty, i wasn't suggesting that. however, just to check...you are cycling your new tanks now by adding an ammonia source, correct? not just letting the tank water sit? just double checking. and lastly, its worth noting that prime does absolutely nothing, you don't need to bother with it.
I am using pure ammonia and seeding bacteria with media from my cycled tank. The last time I owned a tank was in the 90s and the only resource I had was pet stores and one library book. Things have changed a lot since then so forgive me for messing up this 10 gal 2 months ago.
This might be a little outside the normal boundaries of this channel, but I have a couple of Aquafarm tanks, (3 gal) that I'm currently cycling before adding fish. I have run a larger aquaponic system, but since the Aquafarm is kind of a hybrid of fish tank and aquaponic system, what tips do you have for maintenance on one? Ideally, the grow media is the biofilter and the plants are absorbing the nitrates, but would you still need to do partial water changes and conditioning the water for a "closed system" tank like this? Thanks so much.
Great video :) got a couple questions. I have a lot of decorations in my tank, so unless I take them out I can't get but 60-70% of the gravel vacuumed. so should I take them out? And I also have little stringy algae on my fake plants and don't know how I should go about removing it.
Why not just unplug the whole power board rather than each individual filter and heater? in Australia, we have a power off switch on our wall sockets. :D
When I put water into my tank I put the bucket above the tank and let it trickle in via Air hose with a little valve on it. It drips into the tank over a period of about 2 hours.
Why do test kits still have Nitrite test solution? Surely, ammonia and Nitrate are fundamentally important, but I can't think of any reason or even corrective action specific to Nitrite that wouldn't also be evident in an Ammonia or Nitrate test. What am I missing here? Just a long-time curiosity...
There is a point in time where you will read potentially no nitrate and no ammonia, with nitrite being the only reading. It doesn't happen often and usually only during the initial cycle, but there are instances where you may have no ammonia or nitrate but are losing fish to high amounts of nitrite.
Silently wondering how my fish are still alive
Same bro
So i'll be honest. my drunk purchasing of a couple snails, a 10 gallon tank, and a filter is turning out to be much more of a situation than I was prepared for. Regardless I will do what it takes to make these gastropods happy.
LMAOOO THAT SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING I WOULD DO
anyone else addicted to watching all the big al videos too?
BLB13films yes
Reptile Love how
i find his personality to be amazing, unlike the fluval videos, where they are constantly trying to peddle their products. he's simply giving sound advice.
I’m new to this channel and this is the second day I watched big al.
Me
I know this video is old, but I'm just getting into fish keeping. You sir, deserve a hell of alot more subs. Thank you for all the info!!! I'm on week three of fishless cycling a 4k gal. DIY pond, and your vids definitely are helping me, as they somewhat transfer over from glass to pond. Keep them coming!
Nate Bena, I also agree. I was very recently given a Betta. I had very basic knowledge of fish, their care, tanks, food.... I just stumbled across these videos and feel I have a better grasp on fish care. I received her in a 1 gallon tank. I switched her to a 10 gallon the first week. She has been in there with a glass stone and river rock bottom and some plastic plants. She has a ghost shrimp as a tank mate. There is a heater and filter. She seems to have adjusted very well for the last 2 1/2 weeks. The water levels are perfect with the exception of the ammonia. It is at .25. It seems to be slowly dropping, though. My problem is that I need to give the stones and plants back. I have removed the plastic plants and added the silk ones I purchased. I have some black sand that has been rinsed well. This is where I have a problem. I don't know if I should do a complete water change and put the sand in then or should I just remove the stones and just dump in the sand and wait for it to settle? Obviously the fish would be in a glass jar (I do not have anything else except a child's sand bucket) while I do this. How long is she safe like that? I do not have access to anything but a water conditioner, to remove chlorine and a little bit of a bacteria supplement (I am hesitant to use the supplement because of stories I've heard)
I have so many questions, so I am going to watch his videos. Hopefully, I will learn what I need to do this switch over quickly and safely.
@@aprilkruger533 I cant guve tou a sure fire answer, as I'm still.learning myself. But I can tell you what I did a couple weeks ago. I removed 50% of the water because it was already cycled. I didn't want to wait another 4 weeks. I made my decor changes and added play sand from home depot. After the sand settled, I topped off the tank with fresh water. I used gallons from a supermarket, not treated tap. I let this water run through my established filter system for close to 2 weeks. Btw, this is a 65 gl. tank housing my baby koi till the pond is ready. Through the entire process, my koi were in a 50 gallon tote with an maidstone and a fluval underwater filter. They did just fine. I will say, carp is a hardy fish. Maybe that's why it wasnt ab issue for me. I would do more research for sensitive species. Good luck!! Take care
dayum I never knew fishes require this much work....
I don't even own fish but I'm bingeing all these videos
Hello, Hannah Same😂 But I recently got a job at a pet store and people ask me about fish all the time so I’m trying to study up😂
that's the first step to actually getting addicted to keeping fish.
I eat fish hahahhahah I couldn't work in a aquarium 🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😁
@@MarioHernandez-pt5gh eating fish doesn't mean you can't keep fish, i have 4 tanks, and i go to the local sushi bar all the time.
@@demonpride1975 true but I love watching fish swim around especially tropical colorful fishes nice 🤗🤗
I know this is an old video, but a little tip for those watching now - those carbon filter cartridges are not necessary and are only there so you spend more money. Take the cartridge, and whatever holder it comes in, out and replace with sponges. You just need more surface area for the beneficial bacteria.
Can't wait to start my first saltwater tank here within the month and I learned mostly everything for that aspect from BigAl's channel!
matt porter how did the aquarium go??
I got a fish tank for my brother and because it was small I assumed it would be easy to manage. Turns out there is more that goes into making for a happy system. I really appreciate this video series (10/10).
The animation of fish dying is too funny😂😂😂😂
Sumit Kundu you’re evil :(
YaaaaaaY. Lol
He's so charming!!!
LOL your sick
Lol I scrolled down to comment that :)
I work at PetsMart and I ALWAYS tell my customers to watch this channel for fish keeping. I'm also a fish fanatic myself and have had multiple compliments about my knowledge.
These videos are gold , no bs no jibber jabber just information. Thank you
Even though I know these things, the videos have so much entertainment value and uplifting spirit that I love to watch them and even revisit them after a while.
I REALLY hope these kinds of vids by Thomas are going to continue to be made!!! *big fat thumb up*
As a matter of fact, I remember we (our family) used to watch a show about dogs with a very enthousiatic, positive spirited presenter... I now realized that nobody was really interested in learning told facts about dogs but it was just so much fun and uplifting to watch somebody explain stuff that he loved, so enthousiatically...
So please keep it up!! :-)
This guy is a trip I love him, I wish I had big als near me
Well, maybe you do (kind of)! You can shop with us on BigAlsPets.com (US) or BigAlsPets.ca (CDA) if you don't have an actual store nearby! Same great advice, expertise, and selection of amazing items!
Boy, this video would have saved me a lot of trouble and some fish.
I had to learn all that the hard way :/
+Vinicius ipdv - Sometimes the hard way is the only way to go! You've earned your stripes!
Yeah when I got my aquarium I barely knew anything about how to take care of my fish and they all ended up dying☹️ But thanks to Big Als vids I think I can succeed in trying to set up a tank again.
@@BigAlsVOD i did loads of research before i started keeping fish, and your videos were the biggest help. i was always afraid i would kill my fish, but you showed that it wasn't that hard. just takes a bit of dedication.
@@kaylaheisser5938 I'm glad you want to try out the fish keeping hobby again! I'm totes a betta lover, I haven't tried any other fish yet. I'm also afraid to keep other types of fish because I wanna try a neon tetra or guppies kind of tank project but since they are in schools I worry about breeding among the fish. I don't think I'm any where close to ready to take care of fries and baby fish :/ although I think it would be very fun to do the idea I want to do because I'd love to see plenty fish swimming about in a community tank I just don't wanna have to worry and dedicate a lot of time/commitment into fish fry. It would give me anxiety lol. But yeah bettas are solitary fish tho for the most part so I don't have to worry about that thankfully. But anyways... What fish are you looking to care for? Or have you already started a tank up and if so what fish are u using?
Enjoy your sense of humor. Great video
I don't even have a fish tank but I look forward to every video😅
Hahaha awesome!
Just wanted to say thank you for all your videos. They've been my go-to for learning more about taking care of my aquarium.
Finally someone who can explain those things good. Most videos on youtube I watched was like, do that do that and that and you have it. Here things are diffrent, do that because... DONT do that because... And do that with this and not this because ... Thank you for this video, I go watch more, so I will keep my future fishes healthy and happy.
This guy is good ...best fish video I have seen ........5 fins up .....
..simple , basic and covers just about everything......
i’m a beginner in the freshwater aquarium hobby and i really wanna get into it and you’ve really helped me out get things correct. thank you
I was given yabbies as a gift and today was the first time doing a big clean/change. This was soooo helpful! Thank you!
Thank you for your videos...they are the best on RUclips...truly...editing, funny, informative, concise...thank you for your hard work - it is truly appreciated!
I use all my tank water for my plants! They’re flourishing!
“Harm your fish irreparably... so that they are not alive.” Thank you for that absolute gem of a delivery!
Finally a useful fish video that isn't difficult to understand.
I just got my first fish, a Powder Blue Dwarf Gourami female that I named Shiloh. I love her so much. This video was extremely helpful!
Thanks for your videos. They are very instructional and helped me kickstart my hobby and make sure my fish won't die by my inexperience! The fish are grateful!
Thanks so much! I have an aquarium that's 3 weeks old and it's a bit of a struggle to keep it balanced. this video was very helpful.
1. You are AWESOME. Your vids are great. I am subbed and following....2. The only thing I don't agree with, and I get your are advising on the safe side....is cleaning your filter the same day you do a water change. I've done this for years. I still clean my filters once a month during water changes. What's important is to make sure you get your media into a bucket of tank water while you are cleaning the filters. But it hasn't stripped my beneficial bacteria. I do add bacteria after water changes, but after testing water, many times after the fact, there has been no change in ammonia, nitrites, nitrates. You are spot on with EVERYTHING. Just that one thing.....You know far more than I do, so please know I'm not trying to be critical AT ALL. Just sharing :) Keep up the GREAT work!!!
Best tutorial I’ve seen thanks!
Thank you :)
Great video , no matter how long you have your fish , videos like this gives to a refreshing course Thank You ...
Big Al holds my attention! Good excellent how to and why instructions!
Yess!! I graduated from Basic Aquarium Maintenance 10! with an A+, thanks to professor Thomas who puts all this saltwater confusion to rest.
Thomas is always so cute 😂
We think so too!
His daughter is really cute :)
Kay Skywalker I think so too
My name is thomas..
love your videos.. they've helped me a lot. I want to transform my tropical tank to salt water. you done a video on that? man love
All of the videos on this channel are fantastic! I've been in the hobby for about 3 years now and even I'm learning some new tips from most of these videos! Keep up the good work!
Thanks so much Matt-- really appreciate it! Keep on tankin!
Those bloopers at the end were funny. Almost clicked to next video before I saw them.
Dude you are an awesome presenter! Way to go
Brilliant advice, I have seen a lot of videos on maintenance but this is Far the easiest and best I have seen. Thankyou, great tips and advice. 👍
Thank You So Much Big Al for some Vital & Useful Tips! You Are a Natural Comedian too! 😎
I always use the fish water for my garden
This dude is helpful and very visually appealing. Funny too.
A couple of buckets of water kept in reserve can really help.
Dude your videos are so funny
Makes learning fun! Great bloopers, and I think you missed your calling as a stand up!!!
super helpful video, but i'm having a problem with cloudy water. it's almost never clear. 😖
Not always a good recommendation water changes to reduce ammonia depends on the area that you reside in for example where I live they use ammonia as a disinfectant also to reduce PH . They dont use chlorine. If I was to keep doing water changes I'll keep increasing my ammonia levels.
thank you...lol glad to know some people take the time to take care of these fish too.
I havnt changed my bettas water in 3 weeks and I have no test kit. I will make sure to pick one up and I just ordered my vacum. I do have a snail in there and have turkey basted leftover food. My water is crystal clear jsut like when I first got it 3 weeks ago and fish is very happy and busy building a bubble nest. Is this normal to stay looking so clean and could i have dangerous levels? I am a newbie to this when someone left me to fish sit a beta in a bowl so I stole him and bought him a beautiful 5 gallon! LOL
Great video, thanks for sharing!🥰
ive had a 40 gallon breeder tank and i dont think ive ever done a water change but i do add a couple gallons every few weeks
Thomas is so entertaining
I can't wait for this weekend. I will finally get the python to make it easier.
First video I watched made me wanna watch them all!
I learned by trial and error with my many african clawed frogs may they rip but now I'm almost an expert with them (no h8 plz)
Thanks for the videos I’m really looking into getting a fish tank!!!
Semi Unrelated Question!
I bought a USED tank off someone, noticed afterwards that it has a 1 inch long surface scratch on the OUTSIDE. The scratch is deep enough that when passing my nail over it, it catches my nail. Can that compromise the integrity of the strength of the glass under water pressure? Should I get a new tank?
Hello, I liked your videos a lot, they are quite comprehensive and you've also got a good sense of humour, however I do have some questions:
1. Should we use methylene blue for our aquarium? and what is it actually for?
2. How do we clean the aquarium plants (fake ones). under tap water or what?
3. Is algae harmful for the fish?
4. I have a sponge filter currently installed, where in the filter should I put the biological media?? like in the cartridge housing or what.
pls do tell...:)
This was very helpful thanks
You are most welcome :)
I LOVE THIS CHANNEL!!!😍😍😍😍😍
I check my water twice a week, but I have a Planted tank with snails and shrimp, and they do better when I do less water changes. I only do once monthly 30% water changes. I dont use gravel and my trumpet snails keep the substrate clean inside and keep gases from building up down under
would this also apply to turtles? like, are they as sensitive to the water as fish are? or can I simply just dechlorinate my water and not have to worry about the ammonia/nitrates/bacteria and what not
This was super helpful and I feel better prepared to care for my take now! Thank you!!!
I press like button first then watch till end because I know it’s informative and sometimes it’s might chance you forgot to press like for your hard work and efforts . Thank you # Big AI’s
When doing water changes, I pour the water onto a clean child's plastic plate that I float atop the water It disperses the impact of the water to stop any sumtrate getting whirled up and the water becoming unnecessarily cloudy. It works fantastic! And is especially helpful if you are using sand as your substrate.
Thanks for the video. I've been using my python wrong this whole time! Kind of excited to do my next water change!
hahaha that's pretty funny. Let us know how it turns out!
I enjoyed your video. It was very helpful. Thank you!
What an excellent video! Well done!
I've found that a temperature gun is a great way to test water you're about to add to your aquarium reliably and very quickly! I would recommend it.
I make so many mistake :'( but now I learn! This video is number one, for real....
Tank water is plant food? I never thought of that! Thanks Al!
Such a good video on a subject i dont have a passion for
Good job buddy.
are you related to rip trippers?
So I have done everything in your videos and my water has been tested and is all good. I'm having a huge issue with evaporation and buildup of crunchy white stuff. Also algee mainly on the light bar where there is no water. Is there any easy way to get rid of this? I have scrubbed many hours and can't get rid of it. Also how do I get the dark algee off the plastic plants and decorations. Tired of them breaking and having to buy more.
My Red Devil just recovered from Columinaris about a month ago. He is doing great and I'm trying to stay on top of my tank to keep him healthy. I've been doing bi-weekly water changes and gravel cleaning. When I change the water over I use prime as my water conditioner and API stress-zyme and Quick Start too. The only problem is that my water is still getting cloudy and I just want to keep it clear and ideal to keep the big guy healthy. Any recommendations? Also, what product combos do you recommend for tank maintenance? Thank you!
Just a question, are you able to rinse your heater and stuff with tap water?
the reason you cannot wash your BIOLOGICAL equipment like the biowheel or the filter cartridge itself is because there is established beneficial bacteria growing within them to assist in keeping the tank healthy (he said this) and the chlorine and chloramines in tap water will kill all those good beneficial bacteria. Equipment like the heater, suction cups are ok - NO soaps or cleaners. These items are not gonna bring water back into the tank with untreated water nor are they used for growing your biological beneficial bacteria....so its ok to rinse these items with tap water
Thanks so much for all the videos. Just set up a 5g guppy tank for my 5year old. These videos have become our fish care bible. As a parent I'm working really hard not to kill her fish 😜
The link for the water change pump doesnt work
Great video! Glad I watched this since I'll be getting my fish supplies in 3 days so now I know how to properly do aquarium maintenance. :)
I see vids that say to rinse out the cartridge in tank water. So when do you actually replace with a new cartridge?
I have a whole home filtered soft water system. What can I do to add hardness to the water for my 20gal tank when I do water changes. I do on average 20% water change once per week. My tank has molies, platies and guppies.
Thank you
We have a brand new 10 gallon tank. We cycled 48 hours. Took the water to the pet store to get it tested & then added 3 red platys yesterday. How often should I be testing the water while we are waiting for the tank to regulate? Should I add a bacterial supplement since it's a new tank?
Sudden Kimpact Yes, the bacterial supplement will help with the initial ammonia spike, in the cycling stage, you should also test the water daily, go to a pet store and buy an api freshwater master test kit.
you didn't cycle it unless you added ammonia to the water. and you didn't cycle it anyway, as it takes 4-8 weeks usually, not 2 days. even if you're lucky enough to still have living fish you put them through a pretty shitty couple of months, its cruel to cycle with live animals in tank.
Look I thought I had done research when I set this up. I bought the tank and knew I needed to "cycle" it. Petco told me to run 24-48 hrs. So I decided to ere on the side of caution and ran it 48. Then I brought the water in to be tested because I wanted to make sure it was safe. And she told me it looked "perfect" and told me to add the 3 platies. Then FB groups yelled at me just like you just did. So I got the API test kit and prime and tested every single day dosing extra prime and doing 30-50% water change daily for the past 2 months until this thing cycled(by the way they did all live). Since then I have acquired 3 more tanks that are all currently fishless cycling. I tried my best to do as much research as possible but it's super hard when the "experts" at the pet store are telling you something completely different. Your comment is rude and unhelpful. I don't plan on fish in cycling again and I had no intentions of setting out to be cruel. I've done my best to do right by these fish. I wasn't one of those people that was itching to get a fish right away. I thought I was doing the right thing.
lol look the people at petco don't give two shits. tanks need to be cycled before fish are bought, but the people at petco know that most fish will probably survive being cycled in-tank, so they don't care if the animals suffer. i appreciate that you were obviously fed a line by the pet store employees, but i do tend to have limited patience for people who don't do the proper, thorough research before they get a pet. my local fish store told me i didn't need to bother cycling either, but i was already thoroughly convinced by everything i'd read about it before that, so i ignored them and did it anyway.
saying all that, you've quite obviously learned since and it wasn't a decision made out of laziness or cruelty, i wasn't suggesting that. however, just to check...you are cycling your new tanks now by adding an ammonia source, correct? not just letting the tank water sit? just double checking.
and lastly, its worth noting that prime does absolutely nothing, you don't need to bother with it.
I am using pure ammonia and seeding bacteria with media from my cycled tank. The last time I owned a tank was in the 90s and the only resource I had was pet stores and one library book. Things have changed a lot since then so forgive me for messing up this 10 gal 2 months ago.
This might be a little outside the normal boundaries of this channel, but I have a couple of Aquafarm tanks, (3 gal) that I'm currently cycling before adding fish. I have run a larger aquaponic system, but since the Aquafarm is kind of a hybrid of fish tank and aquaponic system, what tips do you have for maintenance on one?
Ideally, the grow media is the biofilter and the plants are absorbing the nitrates, but would you still need to do partial water changes and conditioning the water for a "closed system" tank like this?
Thanks so much.
Great video :) got a couple questions. I have a lot of decorations in my tank, so unless I take them out I can't get but 60-70% of the gravel vacuumed. so should I take them out? And I also have little stringy algae on my fake plants and don't know how I should go about removing it.
Good info with humor!! Awesome!
Thank you Thomas for all this fish tank info : )
Is this the same for both Freshwater and Saltwater tanks?
Thanks. Had an amonnia 0.5 but now it's 0. But unfortunately both of my pregnant mollies died. But happy to know rest of fish are now safe
Informative & funny! 😀 Great job! 👍
Thank you for this video Im getting guppies next month and they my first fish so this video was great help
Why not just unplug the whole power board rather than each individual filter and heater? in Australia, we have a power off switch on our wall sockets. :D
i have a second heater for my bucket when i do a water change.
A great option if you prep your water for the change ahead of time!
Same...
Great idea, thanks for that.
What temp should my aquarium water be for freshwater tropical fish
When I put water into my tank I put the bucket above the tank and let it trickle in via Air hose with a little valve on it. It drips into the tank over a period of about 2 hours.
Myles Prower good idea but I find it unnecessary. But better safe than sorry though that is for sure
I have sand and I really don't want to stir it up. :)
Myles Prower I didn't think of that! Then for that aspect, that would be perfect. I forgot how messy sand is
I LOVE your videos! Thank you. 🙏🏻❤️🙏🏻
Why do test kits still have Nitrite test solution? Surely, ammonia and Nitrate are fundamentally important, but I can't think of any reason or even corrective action specific to Nitrite that wouldn't also be evident in an Ammonia or Nitrate test. What am I missing here? Just a long-time curiosity...
There is a point in time where you will read potentially no nitrate and no ammonia, with nitrite being the only reading. It doesn't happen often and usually only during the initial cycle, but there are instances where you may have no ammonia or nitrate but are losing fish to high amounts of nitrite.
Big Al's thanks! I figure with Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacters being just about omnipresent, this couldn't be anything but temporary.
You have a great personality!