New 6g Pony Tank!!
- Thread starter zeke92
- Start date
zeke92
Active Member
Well the sponge over the filter is covering the whole intake, but it still seems to be too strong..one swam right next to it, and it very slowly got pushed up along the sponge. i quickly got it off and it was fine, but it is JUST strong enough to hold them.
Is there anything i can do to slow the flow slightly without effecting the filtration?
Is there anything i can do to slow the flow slightly without effecting the filtration?
teresaq
Active Member
is that the smallest hob filter you can find? or is that an all in one tank??
I was asking on another forum about a filter for my fry tank, and someone wrote you could slow the flow by drilling wholes in the impeller blades.
dont take my word, I havent tried it yet
T
you might look at something more like this
Azoo Palm Filter
* Perfect for small desktop aquariums
* Makes water crystal clear
This compact and powerful filter lets you stretch the capacity of desktop aquariums up to 5 gallons, delivering chemical, mechanical and biological filtration in a mere 3" x 3-1/2" x 5" high unit. Extremely quiet, filters 16 gph using only 3 watts. Replacement filter pads sold below.
I was asking on another forum about a filter for my fry tank, and someone wrote you could slow the flow by drilling wholes in the impeller blades.
T
you might look at something more like this
Azoo Palm Filter
* Perfect for small desktop aquariums
* Makes water crystal clear
This compact and powerful filter lets you stretch the capacity of desktop aquariums up to 5 gallons, delivering chemical, mechanical and biological filtration in a mere 3" x 3-1/2" x 5" high unit. Extremely quiet, filters 16 gph using only 3 watts. Replacement filter pads sold below.
zeke92
Active Member
I'd get something like that, it would probably be nicer, but it was an all in one tank. The filter fits in one area so the hood can fit on it, anything else wouldn't allow the hood to go on and the hood has the lights =/
besides being too strong it is a pretty cool filter though. instead of making the water run through the filtering part standing straight up, it sits flat down and drops the water on one end, and the water has to go through the entire length of the filter piece before going to the bio wheel and dropping back in.
I'm afraid to drill holes..i've not had good luck with that in the past. Would it be possible to put some sort of material inside the tube to slow it down?
PS: they all seem to be doing well, but the smallest one (now i know she is a girl) is hanging onto the bottom of a plant at the sand, looks alive and healthy and is looking around but hasn't moved from that spot since i added them
besides being too strong it is a pretty cool filter though. instead of making the water run through the filtering part standing straight up, it sits flat down and drops the water on one end, and the water has to go through the entire length of the filter piece before going to the bio wheel and dropping back in.
I'm afraid to drill holes..i've not had good luck with that in the past. Would it be possible to put some sort of material inside the tube to slow it down?
PS: they all seem to be doing well, but the smallest one (now i know she is a girl) is hanging onto the bottom of a plant at the sand, looks alive and healthy and is looking around but hasn't moved from that spot since i added them
teresaq
Active Member
OK, I'm trying to think. humm
wonder if you took a piece of pvc that a little bigger then the pipe, dripped holes in it and slipped it over the pipe so the bottom is pushed down in the sand, and the top is out of the water, that way the water has to go thru all the wholes to get to the filter pipe.
or used plastic grid you get in the craft store, and make a cylinder bigger around then the pipe to slow the water some.
I'm trying here.
T
wonder if you took a piece of pvc that a little bigger then the pipe, dripped holes in it and slipped it over the pipe so the bottom is pushed down in the sand, and the top is out of the water, that way the water has to go thru all the wholes to get to the filter pipe.
I'm trying here.
T
zeke92
Active Member
Thanks for help, i'll talk to my father and see what we can do.
I had an idea after writing my last message, to put a piece of plant in the tube to slow the flow down. it worked great, the flow is slow enough i don't think it could suck a seahorse anymore, but it wasn't flowing enough to let the bio wheel spin and get any water...
So i'm not sure what to do about that.
I need the bio wheel to run for the extra bio filtration, but i also need the filter to not kill my horses.
Would it still flow strong AND be safe if i just got a larger sponge? The sponge on it now isn't really thick, and a bigger one is the only way i can think of to make it safe and still have the bio wheel running. since lowering the flow even slightly stops the bio wheel..
for now i'm letting the wheel just float in the water so the bacteria survives, and leaving the plant piece in the filter temporarily.
I had an idea after writing my last message, to put a piece of plant in the tube to slow the flow down. it worked great, the flow is slow enough i don't think it could suck a seahorse anymore, but it wasn't flowing enough to let the bio wheel spin and get any water...
So i'm not sure what to do about that.
I need the bio wheel to run for the extra bio filtration, but i also need the filter to not kill my horses.
Would it still flow strong AND be safe if i just got a larger sponge? The sponge on it now isn't really thick, and a bigger one is the only way i can think of to make it safe and still have the bio wheel running. since lowering the flow even slightly stops the bio wheel..
for now i'm letting the wheel just float in the water so the bacteria survives, and leaving the plant piece in the filter temporarily.
cleve_seahorse
Member
Last time I'm posting this...lol...black panyhose....3.00 dollars at walmart , rexall or whatever...cut off 6" at the foot , wrap it around your filter intake and tuck the end so it stays put , leaving a 1/8" space at the bottom, ....won't suck up adults and provides you with filtration , and extra media so when you switch out filter pads you won't be concerned .I have 60 dwarfs right now , and am going to cycle another 10g as their getting crowded.
zeke92
Active Member
Don't have any pictures, because things aren't going well as of right now...
The coral, which did great the first day and night, stopped opening up, and last night started to show tissue falling off. Today it is all but dead, the majority of the coral has small pieces of tissue halfway holding on, so i took it out of the tank this morning to avoid all the tissue screwing up the water.
So now, i have no large coral for them to hook onto, just the plants. though they seemed to like the plants either way.
Now i have two new problems.
One, there is a tint of black on most of the horses, it looks like tiny pieces of black algae or something. A little bit of the black hair algae is back aswell.
I'm going to remove as much of the algae as i can, trying not to mess with the tank anymore then i've had to already..
I'm also going to stop feeding as much (i think i might have overfed a bit). I did add calcium and some other things to the tank before i got the horses, and i'm afraid that might have helped the algae grow.
What is this black stuff starting to grow on the horses? Is it the algae? I first noticed it on the tail of one, and i feared it had some sort of tail rot, but it is now hitching and using it's tail normally, and i notice that a few other ponys have black on them.
Second problem..the biggest pony, a light yellow one, seems to be very fat. i thought it was possible pregnant, but from the sides you can sort of see red/darkness, almost like you can see it's organs. Could this be pouch emphysema?? What do i do?
I'm afraid to try and evacuate any air for two reasons. one, it's such a small animal, and i've never done it before. two, if it is pregnant, i don't want to overreacte and possible harm the horse and it's babies even more by false treatment..
So far this morning has been terrible, i have no idea what to do about the black stuff, and i'm terrified to try anything with the fat one
The coral, which did great the first day and night, stopped opening up, and last night started to show tissue falling off. Today it is all but dead, the majority of the coral has small pieces of tissue halfway holding on, so i took it out of the tank this morning to avoid all the tissue screwing up the water.
So now, i have no large coral for them to hook onto, just the plants. though they seemed to like the plants either way.
Now i have two new problems.
One, there is a tint of black on most of the horses, it looks like tiny pieces of black algae or something. A little bit of the black hair algae is back aswell.
I'm going to remove as much of the algae as i can, trying not to mess with the tank anymore then i've had to already..
I'm also going to stop feeding as much (i think i might have overfed a bit). I did add calcium and some other things to the tank before i got the horses, and i'm afraid that might have helped the algae grow.
What is this black stuff starting to grow on the horses? Is it the algae? I first noticed it on the tail of one, and i feared it had some sort of tail rot, but it is now hitching and using it's tail normally, and i notice that a few other ponys have black on them.
Second problem..the biggest pony, a light yellow one, seems to be very fat. i thought it was possible pregnant, but from the sides you can sort of see red/darkness, almost like you can see it's organs. Could this be pouch emphysema?? What do i do?
I'm afraid to try and evacuate any air for two reasons. one, it's such a small animal, and i've never done it before. two, if it is pregnant, i don't want to overreacte and possible harm the horse and it's babies even more by false treatment..
So far this morning has been terrible, i have no idea what to do about the black stuff, and i'm terrified to try anything with the fat one
teresaq
Active Member
are you sure the black isnt thier color. pictures would help.
maybe try keeping the lights off and adding purigen to your filter. have you tested phosphates? are you rinsing the bbs good befor adding them to the tank??
as for the one with a pouch problem
Pictures of it may help also. Is it floating?? does it hitch properly
T
maybe try keeping the lights off and adding purigen to your filter. have you tested phosphates? are you rinsing the bbs good befor adding them to the tank??
as for the one with a pouch problem
T
zeke92
Active Member
Well, the one that seemed to have a pouch problem looks fine now for some reason. Maybe if there was gas, the movement from removing the coral scared it out of him? He is great now. And yes he was hitching fine, thankfully.
The black wasn't there the first day, but it definatly isn't any parasitic type thing, or anything like that. it just looks like black algae growing on the edges of the cirri and stuff. And the black hair algae is coming back slowly, so i figure that is it, right?
They all seem fine, they are eating fine, swimming fine, hitching fine, playing in the water flow, etc, i can't find one bad thing about there behavior.
And rykna, what is FWD? And how do i scrub them with neosporin o.o
The black wasn't there the first day, but it definatly isn't any parasitic type thing, or anything like that. it just looks like black algae growing on the edges of the cirri and stuff. And the black hair algae is coming back slowly, so i figure that is it, right?
They all seem fine, they are eating fine, swimming fine, hitching fine, playing in the water flow, etc, i can't find one bad thing about there behavior.
And rykna, what is FWD? And how do i scrub them with neosporin o.o
teresaq
Active Member
PICTURES,
The color may not have been there the first day, but remember they can change color and were prob stressed the first day.
Can you brush off the black?? if not then its prob thier coloring.
FWD is fresh water dip.
Have you wormed them yet?? Are these Wild caught or Captive bred????
T
The color may not have been there the first day, but remember they can change color and were prob stressed the first day.
Can you brush off the black?? if not then its prob thier coloring.
FWD is fresh water dip.
Have you wormed them yet?? Are these Wild caught or Captive bred????
T
zeke92
Active Member
I did give them a 2 minute dip when i first got them. Should i do it again?
This is the one who had the wierd pouch/stomach. The reddish area is alot smaller now, i'm not sure if it dissapeared and came back, or if it just shrunk yesterday and i didn't notice it. This is the best pic i can get of him. besides the odd stomach, he is doing great
You can also see in the above pics a bit of the black algae that got on the plant, i can't get rid of it. I am planning on cleaning the plants at seperate times and then letting them dry completely, to help reduce the amount in the tank. I also took as much out from the sand aswell.
This is just a normal pic of one of them, you can also see how dirty the algae makes the plants look
In the next pic you can see the yellow one has some black near his back and tail.
In this next one it shows my smallest one, he/she (hard to tell) is very funny sometimes, he likes the powerhead.
The black on the above one is starting to look natural, and also i couldn't get any of it on my finger by gently touching the areas he had it on. Maybe it just looked like algae cause it wasn't 100% colored yesterday, and made the illusion it wasn't natural?
This next pic just shows the cirri on one of the yellows
So, the black on the white one almost looks natural now. But is it possible for a yellow horse to have black in spots?
Also, what is the best way to get rid of this black algae...turning the lights off help, but i'm afraid to leave the lights off the horses for three days to get rid of it. I remember when i had it in my 55g i had to keep the lights off for a week until it was all gone
Edit: No i've not wormed them, they are supposed to be captive bred. Should i look into worming anyway?
This is the one who had the wierd pouch/stomach. The reddish area is alot smaller now, i'm not sure if it dissapeared and came back, or if it just shrunk yesterday and i didn't notice it. This is the best pic i can get of him. besides the odd stomach, he is doing great
You can also see in the above pics a bit of the black algae that got on the plant, i can't get rid of it. I am planning on cleaning the plants at seperate times and then letting them dry completely, to help reduce the amount in the tank. I also took as much out from the sand aswell.
This is just a normal pic of one of them, you can also see how dirty the algae makes the plants look
In the next pic you can see the yellow one has some black near his back and tail.
In this next one it shows my smallest one, he/she (hard to tell) is very funny sometimes, he likes the powerhead.
The black on the above one is starting to look natural, and also i couldn't get any of it on my finger by gently touching the areas he had it on. Maybe it just looked like algae cause it wasn't 100% colored yesterday, and made the illusion it wasn't natural?
This next pic just shows the cirri on one of the yellows
So, the black on the white one almost looks natural now. But is it possible for a yellow horse to have black in spots?
Also, what is the best way to get rid of this black algae...turning the lights off help, but i'm afraid to leave the lights off the horses for three days to get rid of it. I remember when i had it in my 55g i had to keep the lights off for a week until it was all gone
Edit: No i've not wormed them, they are supposed to be captive bred. Should i look into worming anyway?
rykna
Active Member
I glad to hear they're looking better. After looking through your pictures I agree with Teresa. Ponies can change all sorts of colors especially gray and black when stressed. The ponies I had with a lot of cirri were constantly collecting tiny tuffs of algae on their cirri. In the wild this would be a huge bonus for camouflage.
Is everyone breathing easy, typical healthy fish action?
Is everyone breathing easy, typical healthy fish action?
zeke92
Active Member
Yep, everything seems great. Breathing normal, active eyes, eating fine as far as i can tell.
A few were a bit skinnier then i would have liked when i first opened the box, but those seem to be gaining weight aswell.
Glad to know the black stuff won't be a problem, would still like to get rid of it in the tank though, it's the ugliest algae i've ever seen.
A few were a bit skinnier then i would have liked when i first opened the box, but those seem to be gaining weight aswell.
Glad to know the black stuff won't be a problem, would still like to get rid of it in the tank though, it's the ugliest algae i've ever seen.
zeke92
Active Member
Sort of looks like dinoflagellates, but it's all black, not brown. And alot of it is in an area hit by the powerhead's flow. And my ph and everything is fine.
I just don't get why it is growing in there
And i left the seahorses at half light yesterday to see if it would affect the algae...and there is even more then there was a couple days ago!
Seahorses still doing great, except the backs of a couple of the yellows has more black on it. The one with tons of cirri has a few tuffs of algae on it, and it is obvious that the black on the yellow ones isn't just color. Although one of them i thought was white seems to be grey, his seems to be actual coloring.
Not sure what to do here..i'm stuck between a coral and a pistol shrimp
I just don't get why it is growing in there
And i left the seahorses at half light yesterday to see if it would affect the algae...and there is even more then there was a couple days ago!
Seahorses still doing great, except the backs of a couple of the yellows has more black on it. The one with tons of cirri has a few tuffs of algae on it, and it is obvious that the black on the yellow ones isn't just color. Although one of them i thought was white seems to be grey, his seems to be actual coloring.
Not sure what to do here..i'm stuck between a coral and a pistol shrimp
zeke92
Active Member
I did a water change this morning, and took all the sand with the algae on it and cleaned it in fresh water. I completely changed all the plants except the purple one in back so far. Tank looks alot cleaner. I was going to do a freshwater dip to see if the algae would be affected by it, and i looked in the back where they all happened to be hanging out.
I noticed this white worm looking thing, white long and skinny, hanging on to a piece of chaeto. I look closer....it has an odd head.
a baby seahorse
Since the beginning the plan for the tank was to have it completely natural, and raise the fry with the parents.
I only see one so far, but the one i see looks very healthy. It is hitching to the chaeto just fine, moving it's body a little bit, i can't really see it's eyes but it looks active. It's almost pure white.
Man it is cute..
It's head is jerking up every few seconds for about thirty seconds. It just did this while i was typing, it looks like it's mouth opens when it does it..is it eating? I havent fed yet today but there could still be some stuff in there i'm sure from yesterday. It's very healthy looking from what i can tell.
I do have one question on something. Since i am keeping them with there parents instead of a seperate tank, is there anything special i need to do that i may not have read about while rearing them? I can hardly find any info on how to rear in the main tank. i'll keep searching.
EDIT: No pictures yet, maybe tonight. Of course, the second i was about to take the first picture, the camera died
I noticed this white worm looking thing, white long and skinny, hanging on to a piece of chaeto. I look closer....it has an odd head.
a baby seahorse
Since the beginning the plan for the tank was to have it completely natural, and raise the fry with the parents.
I only see one so far, but the one i see looks very healthy. It is hitching to the chaeto just fine, moving it's body a little bit, i can't really see it's eyes but it looks active. It's almost pure white.
Man it is cute..
It's head is jerking up every few seconds for about thirty seconds. It just did this while i was typing, it looks like it's mouth opens when it does it..is it eating? I havent fed yet today but there could still be some stuff in there i'm sure from yesterday. It's very healthy looking from what i can tell.
I do have one question on something. Since i am keeping them with there parents instead of a seperate tank, is there anything special i need to do that i may not have read about while rearing them? I can hardly find any info on how to rear in the main tank. i'll keep searching.
EDIT: No pictures yet, maybe tonight. Of course, the second i was about to take the first picture, the camera died
zeke92
Active Member
Day 2...i found the baby from yesterday, he is still hanging around the chaeto. He has moved around a bit, and it really looks like he is snicking stuff up from the chaeto and the rock near it, though if he was born yesterday he shouldn't have already been eating, right? The yolk should last a couple days from what i read..
He still looks great, pure white, moving, etc. If i look really close i can sorta see his eyes moving.
These are the best pictures i could get of him. He is staying (calling it a he for now) on the chaeto, since it's probably the easiest thing for him to hold on to. He did move onto the purple plant for a few hours last night though.
And this is the best picture i could get of the algae with my dads terrible camera (it can't take close up pictures if it's life depended on it). It's already grown back on the sand over night, and this is the same sand that i scooped out yesterday and cleaned with fresh water. I only scooped out the parts with algae, not the whole thing hehe.
Purigen should get here any day now, i ordered it yesterday morning. Hopefully soon
He still looks great, pure white, moving, etc. If i look really close i can sorta see his eyes moving.
These are the best pictures i could get of him. He is staying (calling it a he for now) on the chaeto, since it's probably the easiest thing for him to hold on to. He did move onto the purple plant for a few hours last night though.
And this is the best picture i could get of the algae with my dads terrible camera (it can't take close up pictures if it's life depended on it). It's already grown back on the sand over night, and this is the same sand that i scooped out yesterday and cleaned with fresh water. I only scooped out the parts with algae, not the whole thing hehe.
Purigen should get here any day now, i ordered it yesterday morning. Hopefully soon