yes its me with more questions

[divy]

ok well lets begin as some of you know from my other posts im trying to make my bettas healthier and more happy

so with my last post i figured to make my two divided tanks divided into 2 each instead of 3 and i figured that i will get some sponge filters (which have been bought) and if i think there too big ill get the hagon ones

now the questions begin i have a single outlet pump so can i buy a 4-Way Air Control Valve to power all 4 small sponge filters? i want them to run really slow so theres not alot of water flow from the bubbles at the top

and can i turn the sponge filters off at night? i would really like to because my tanks are in my room lol

one tank at the moment is 8.6litres i wont divide that until my fry are older so with it being 8.6 litres and with a sponge filter what percent of water changes should i do? i dont want to do 100% because from what ive been told that might be a factor to why my fish get sick

and the other one is divided into 2 each being 4.3litres and with a sponge filter so again same question about water changes??

since i wont be doing 100% water changes and i know some of you dont how do you keep the gravel and glass clean?

if i buy a gravel siphon and a small magnet glass cleaner or one of those glass cleaners that look like a sponge on a stick will that be ok to keep it clean??

and one last question which by now you all are saying ''thank god'' all i add to my water is water conditioner and a few drops of ial extract or blackwater extract, should i add something else when i do waterchanges?

cause ive seen all this stuff like

-cycle

-bio booster

- Ammo-Lock Instantly detoxifies Ammonia

and so on

im thinking of adding bio booster or cycle to every water change is that a bad idea or do i go for one of the other ones or even something else

i know i write up alot of posts but i appreciate every one that has help me with my questions so thank you for all the help

[divy]

:no:

[Bettarazzi]

You can't turn the filters off. Sorry. The filter bacteria will die.

You should be able to get away with 10-20% water changes once a week. In the first 2-3 weeks though do the water changes 2 or 3 times a week to avoid a nitrite or ammonia spike while the tank is cycling. After that once a week is fine. You can treat both the 4 ltr and 8 ltr tanks the same way.

I never gravel vacuum because my tanks with gravel are planted tanks and I usually have laterite or other additives in the substrate and I don't want to disturb it. I haven't notice any negative effects from not cleaning the gravel in my planted tanks.

I only ever use cycle for about the first month. After that I don't bother.

[divy]

thanks for the info bettarazzi you help me out alot!!!

i will do what you said i just hope that my single outlet air pump can run the four sponge filters and it dosnt keep me up at night lol

also i just figured out that i think my heating cord is one of the reasons why my fish die because durring winter the temps fine but now in this weather the temp gets up to 31c during the day

i was home for the last to days so i turned off and on the cord like the timer would do but that still makes the temp jump around too much it goes from 31 to 26 and when its off all day it stays at 23-24 which is too cold yeah?

so i dont know what to do?

will a timer turn on and of every hour? or should i try to use less cord under the tanks? i dont think i will be able to because ive glued the cord in the channels under the tank

[Bettarazzi]

I got some timers from Tandy which allow you to turn it on and off in 15 minute increments. Here's a link but it's not a very good picture because in doesn't show the tiny little switches that you use to turn it on and off.

http://www.tandy.com.au/cgi-bin/tandy.stor...duct/View/M6597

With the weather in Melbourne at the moment I have the timer set to be on for about 45 minutes then off for about 3 hours and it goes through this cycle throughout the day. I have to admit that I haven't monitored the temperature fluctuations. But with this kind of timer you have a lot of flexibility. You can have it on more often at night when it's cooler and less in the afternoon when it's warmer. You just have to figure out how quickly the tank heats and cools at various times of the day. Depending on how much effort you wanted to put in you could be quite precise I reckon.

[divy]

thanks arhh what would i do without you bettarazzi your pretty much the only person that can put up with my questions lol

hopefully when i sort everything out my questions will stop

i will buy that timer and since i have alot of spare time at the moment i should be able to monitor the temp a work out when to set it on on off

you said you dont use a gravel cleaner so how do you get rid of the muck ''poo'' at the bottom of the tank?

[Bettarazzi]

I have lots and lots of plants that use the poo as fertilizer.

I think the reason no one responded to your post is because there was no pictures or mention of poo. My observation is that threads about poo or those that have lots of pics get the most responses. Now that we've mentioned poo a few times a few more people should offer an opinion. :no:

[fish4nic]

Did someone say POO!

I don't usually post much on advice because I don't really have that much experience.........I'm more of a reader than a poster

[divy]

the tread isnt about poo its really about everything waterchanges how to clean the tank and heat it

i emailed a guy in the uk that was selling these heaters called firefly there extreamly small which is good for my small tanks there regulated but you cant adjust the temp and you can use a few on the on power pack

so im waiting for more info from him and if they sound good and if they are cheap enough (which i doubt) ill buy 4 for my tanks because i think that would be a better way to heat my tanks without the big temp changes like now

when i get more info ill let you all know

i just wish i knew all this stuff when i first started lmao it would have saved me alot of money buying heating cords lights and tanks but oh well you live and learn

[garrett]

Those Power Timers with 15 min increments are available in a twin pack @ Coles, for $9.95, just a bit cheaper than Tandy.

You'll get used to the bubbling and the air pump (some are more silent than others) in no time.

One question about your water changes, (you've probably said this in another post somewhere), you put in conditioner, IAL/blackwater all good. How long do you then leave that water before you actually do the change? I've found in the past the even 1 hour is not enough time. Now I tend to add the conditioner and leave it in a bucket for a week with an air stone going, to keep it moving it works really well for me.

Have you considered a snail to keep the tanks clean? I know the tanks are small and it will increase the bio-load, but a small snail maybe?

I'd also really encourage you to consider getting a plant (eg Java moss) just because it's nice to look at, and silently helps regulate water chemistry, increasing the time for big swings in ammonia/nitrite/nitrate in small tanks. So water changes become less of an issue (not less important, but less likely to cause issues)

http://www.bettatalk.com/java_moss.htm

[Bettarazzi]

the tread isnt about poo its really about everything waterchanges how to clean the tank and heat it

I was just kidding with my poo comments. I know the thread isn't about poo. :giggle:

[Canfeleq]

It seemed to work though :giggle:

[divy]

lmao i get it now, i was too tired to realise

[y2jdaze]

lol I haven't been online to answer BF has been hogging the computer.

It's perfectly fine to use a gang valve and run more than one filter off the one air pump, I'm currently running 2 off the one pump with no troubles.

I find that sponge filters are very quiet, it's more the air pump vibrating on whatever the surface is (eg. mine is on a galvanised metal shelf so is a bit louder at times - but it's still pretty quiet) If you put a small piece of felt or something soft underneath the pump itself you should be able to keep it quiet enough and the bubbling can actually be quite soothing IME.

Once the filter is established you can probably get away with just topping up the tanks when they evaporate.... I haven't touched my girly tank in over 9 months except to top it up... only now that the filter is getting a bit blocked up am I going to give it a clean up, just keep an eye on your ammonia and nitrite levels, if they are zero don't worry about changing water, just add some new water when the water evaporates.

[divy]

ok great! i thought because i have to do 2 weekly water changes to the non filtered 2.7 litre tanks i would still have to do a fair amount of water changes with the 4.3litre filtered tanks so im glad to hear i dont

all i have to do now is fix my heating problem and i think im set

i cant wait for my fry to grow so i can put one in the empty tank

p.s the fry are doing well, there is still 21 of them and they are 4.5 weeks old

there is 3 sizes small medium and large and i just figured that the largest ones would colour up first but the medium sized ones are

4-5 of them have just started to get colour and its a red/orange colour on the tail and anal fin and one has a dark body

[chromis]

I would have replied if I knew what to say! I am probably more new to Bettas than you, and thus have less experience.

This is very educational for me to read though.

:)

[Callatya]

Everything has already been answered! oh well, I'll add a few fun things

and can i turn the sponge filters off at night? i would really like to because my tanks are in my room lol

As razzi said, no BUT most of the noise comes from the bubbles bursting on the surface of the water. You need the tobe and the bubbles to get the pull of the water through the filter, but as far as I can tell, the actual bursting bubbles are not necessary. Breaking the water's surface isn't great for gas exchange anyway, and since you have plants in there you need good O2 especially at night. So grab some small squares of bubble wrap and lay it on the surface of the water where the bubbles burst. Use Magic Tape to stick it to the rear glass. It should cut the incessant popping gurgling noise enough for you to sleep and shouldn't interfere with filtration providing the air pump is on high enough and there is enough open water between the wrap and the tube top

one tank at the moment is 8.6litres i wont divide that until my fry are older so with it being 8.6 litres and with a sponge filter what percent of water changes should i do? i dont want to do 100% because from what ive been told that might be a factor to why my fish get sick

At what interval? I'd try 20% weekly and see how you go. If growth rates plateau, step it up.

and the other one is divided into 2 each being 4.3litres and with a sponge filter so again same question about water changes??

As above Tis a nice standard.

since i wont be doing 100% water changes and i know some of you dont how do you keep the gravel and glass clean?if i buy a gravel siphon and a small magnet glass cleaner or one of those glass cleaners that look like a sponge on a stick will that be ok to keep it clean??

Don't bother cleaning the back glass, let it grow scummy and provide some more biofiltration and if you are lucky, a bit of algae to help chew your waste. Front and side can be done with a magnet or just a soft cloth. The filter should pick up the mess.

If you have pea-type gravel, I'd consider a small gravel vac and just vaccing the substrate in sections when you change the water. So this WC you vac half of the right compartment etc etc. Doing it in sections will minimise the disturbance of the gravel bed bacteria and will clear out the solid waste to reduce stress on the filter. You could leave it but that'd mean a full WC every 6 months or so to prevent the surprises that come with OTS

and one last question which by now you all are saying ''thank god'' all i add to my water is water conditioner and a few drops of ial extract or blackwater extract, should i add something else when i do waterchanges? cause ive seen all this stuff like cycle, bio booster, Ammo-Lock Instantly detoxifies Ammonia and so on. im thinking of adding bio booster or cycle to every water change is that a bad idea or do i go for one of the other ones or even something else

This all depends on how you run your tanks. In that size tank, I'd be very tempted to go with something that'll either hobble the cycle or push it through. Ammolock is great, I went through buckets of it with my bowls and jars and I really felt that it improved the comfort level of the fish, but I'd be iffy about using it in filtered tanks. It doesn't remove the ammonia, it just changes it so it doesn't burn, but that change also makes it harder for the biofilter to process and you can end up with a massive nitrite spike from seemingly nowhere. For tanks that get big WCs, certainly, probably not for you. I'd consider Stability. It is like cycle, but seems to have much more kick and would be more useful to have on hand if things were going to take a nose dive. I used it to pull my tank out of a tailspin and it was brilliant. It is expensive though, so be warned, but then again so are the inhabitants!

Keep the airline tubing as short as possible. Chances are your pump is rated for ONE device and might have trouble pushing through a pipe, being divided into 4, going down 4 pipes, and then pushing down through water to the bottom of the tank. You need to reduce the strain on it as much as possible if you want all 4 filters to function. Air wants to take the path of least resistance, you need to make sure it is out the front tube and not through a crack in the motor housing Shorter tubing helps, just pop a small drip loop in and a single backflow thingy, not 4 separate as I think that'd kill it.

You can get away with small 25w heaters in a 6L tank. I don't trust the ones without a thermostat, especially in our unpredictable weather. I use the Sicce ones, they fit nicely but you'd have a squishy time with divided. Have you considered heating mats?