paludarium

exhumed07

Superstar Fish
Apr 30, 2006
1,774
0
36
Illinois
#21
well not sure what is going on. i've checked nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, ph, and phosphate. everything is ok except the nitrates are really high. no algae growing in there at least. but for some reason fish keep dying in there. i've tossed in a guppy here and there as test subjects. they seem to live for about a week but then die. i'm starting to wonder if maybe the disolved oxygen is to low and the fish are slowly suffocating. i'm going to pick up a test kit tomorrow before work to check it once i get home.

also the mold is still growing but seems to be slowing down. I've concentrated hydrogen peroxide down to about a 30-40% concentration and been treating with that. i also rigged up 2 cpu fans for air circulation. also i've been making sure none of the hydrogen peroxide makes it into the water. i'm unsure as to what that could do to fish in that small of amount of water. i do use the concentrate on black beard algea in my 55 though as it's a much larger amount of water. I use one of my moms old insulin needles worth once every couple days so it's not much for 55 gallons of water.
 

Thyra

Superstar Fish
Jun 2, 2010
1,891
0
0
Yelm, WA
#22
I wonder if the expanding foam stuff is safe for the fish or if it has to age like cement /concrete does. There must be some chemical that makes the foam expand. Does it have an odor when you first spray it in?
 

exhumed07

Superstar Fish
Apr 30, 2006
1,774
0
36
Illinois
#23
the expanding foam is what i have read that everyone uses. it does have an odor when first sprayed into the tank. i waited 2 days for it to cure and also waited a day for the silicone to cure as well. it's a possibility that there is an issue with something not being cured in the tank. I didn't have time before work to buy an O2 test kit but plan to tomorrow. i realy want to put my apistos in there but can't till i know it's safe.
 

Thyra

Superstar Fish
Jun 2, 2010
1,891
0
0
Yelm, WA
#24
Could you call the company that makes the expanding foam and see how long it takes to cure completely? I remember my son made a pond with concrete/cement and that takes a long time to actually cure - I don't know what "long" is but I know he lost all his koi.
 

exhumed07

Superstar Fish
Apr 30, 2006
1,774
0
36
Illinois
#25
concrete takes about 2 hours to set and about a month to cure. i've done alot of concrete work over the years lol. just like the NP1 caulk i was going to use instead of silicone takes 2 hours to dry but 21 days to cure. so i went with silicone lol. and the can says tack in 15 min cured in 24-48 hours depending on temp. so i don't belive that it could still be outgassing into the water. I did notice though that the gravel and wood seem to be covered in this clear/greyish slime. never seen that in a tank before. i'm also starting to wonder since the wood i got was from a living tree if the sugars in the wood are messing with something. with it being such a small amount of water i think it may be likely. even if it just happens to be bacteria feeding on the sugars it may be depleating the water of oxygen or they may be producing excess amounts of something toxic. or could just be natural breakdown doing something. think i'll just have to wait for this stuff to clear up before i can put fish in there. for now my apisto seems to be doing just fine in the breeder net by himself. wish i could put him in the main tank of the 55 but the other male of a different species and his females attack him right away, but they ignore his female so she is free to roam the main tank.
 

exhumed07

Superstar Fish
Apr 30, 2006
1,774
0
36
Illinois
#26
starting to wonder if this thing is more trouble then it's worth lol. plants are doing great. fish are surviving in it. but the mold is an issue. I just distilled some hydrogen peroxide down to about a 50% solution. then scrubbed it with a toothbrush. hope it don't come back. this tank is taking up more maintinance then my other 4 tanks combined lol.
 

exhumed07

Superstar Fish
Apr 30, 2006
1,774
0
36
Illinois
#28
well the mold is startign to come back already. must still be plenty of food for it in the wood. i've done about everything i can to try to prevent the mold. keep clean water in there, built fans for air circulation and still it's growing. may have to just say screw it and let it grow. or take it all down which i realy would rather not do.