How do I set up a hospital tank?Many beginners may not know this, but one of the easiest ways to stop your fish from getting sick is to set up a quarantine tank. This separate aquarium is used to temporarily hold newly purchased fish or ailing animals that need a quiet environment to heal. By putting them in isolation, it allows you to closely observe their health, administer any treatments, and prevent illnesses from spreading. Once they are completely healthy and disease-free, you can safely add them to your main display ...
How do I keep a quarantine tank cycled?The easiest way is to run a spare sponge filter (or extra filter media in a hang-on-back filter) in one of your display aquariums. Whenever you need to quarantine some fish, move that extra sponge filter or filter media to the hospital tank so it will bring over lots of beneficial bacteria to help purify the water. After the quarantine period is complete, put the sponge filter or filter media back in your main tank. For complete instructions on setting up a quarantine tank, read our full arti...
Do I need to quarantine shrimp and snails?Dwarf shrimp can sometimes carry diseases, especially if purchased directly from importers, so if you are bringing in a batch to add to an existing colony, consider putting them in quarantine first to observe their condition. In our experience, snails rarely seem to carry illnesses, so we usually skip the quarantine step and add them directly to our aquariums. For complete instructions on setting up a quarantine tank, read our full article here.
What fish can you put in a 5-gallon aquarium?A 5-gallon fish tank is the ideal size for your office desk or dorm room, but it can be hard to find creatures that are small enough to live in it. Check out this article that covers our 5 favorite fish that are perfect for inhabiting a nano aquarium. Dwarf pea puffer Rosy loaches Green neon tetras White cloud mountain minnows Scarlet badis
How to use an air stone for aquariumsAn air stone is a small, weighted bubbler that produces very small bubbles in the water. This simple accessory helps to gradually diffuse air into the tank, improve oxygenation of water, and minimize the amount of bubbling noise you’ll hear. You can use an air stone by itself or in conjunction with a sponge filter to improve the efficiency of the filtration. The air stone creates a steady stream of tiny bubbles (instead of large, intermittent bubbles) that produces constant lift in the sponge...
Do I need to clean my sponge filter?Yes, a sponge filter helps to clean your aquarium, but it’s essentially like a trash can that collects waste and needs to be emptied out every once in a while. We recommend cleaning your sponge filter once a month or whenever you see a decrease in bubbles (which is caused by the foam getting clogged up with detritus). When taking the sponge filter apart, disconnect the bullseye from the strainer (i.e., take off the whole top part of the filter) so you can easily remove the foam part for clea...
How do I stop bubbles from coming out the side of my sponge filter?There are several reasons why this could be happening, so try checking the following: Did you shorten or remove the lift tube? A shorter lift tube does not have as much suction pulling bubbles up the center column, so some air may escape. Is the air stone crooked inside the sponge filter? To make it hang straighter, you may need to shorten the tubing attaching the air stone to the bullseye. Is the air pressure from the air pump too strong? If a bunch of air is forced into the sponge filter, ...
Do I need an air stone for my sponge filter?An air stone is a small, weighted accessory that diffuses the air from your air pump into smaller bubbles in the water. We recommend adding an air stone to the inside of the sponge filter to lessen the bubbling noise and make the filtration more efficient. The air stone creates a steady stream of tiny bubbles (instead of large, intermittent bubbles) that produces constant lift in the sponge filter – much like a continuously running escalator (versus an elevator that starts and stops all the t...
How to use an air valve for aquariumsAn air valve sounds similar to a check valve, but instead it is used to control the amount of air flow coming from your air pump into the aquarium. Some air pumps come with an adjustable knob that allows you to increase or decrease the air pressure, but if your air pump doesn’t have one and the bubbles are too strong, then this is the perfect tool for you. To install an air valve, cut the airline tubing between the air pump and the air-driven device. Then connect the recently cut ends of the ...
How to use a check valve for aquariumsIf you only get one item from this list, a check valve is an essential must-have. It contains a flapper or stopper that allows air to flow in one direction (into the tank) and stops water from flowing in the other direction (out of the tank). This cheap but important accessory prevents water from siphoning out of your aquarium if the air pump turns off or stops running during a power outage. Water leakage out of the airline tubing usually results in damage to your air pump, as well as floodin...
How to use a aquarium airline T splitter or tee splitterThe tee airline splitter gets its name from its T shape that splits one stream of air into two paths. This functionality is useful if you only have one air pump but wish to run a second air stone or aquarium decoration in the fish tank. Another use case would be diverting air off your main aquarium to a second tank or a quarantine tub. Each pack comes with five T airline connectors, so you could theoretically chain multiple splitters together to create additional air streams. The T splitter ...
How to use an aquarium gang valveA more efficient accessory for splitting one air stream into multiple paths is a gang valve. The model we offer features four outlets and up to two inlets. The two inlets allow you to add one or two air pumps as desired and then split it up four ways. Alternatively, you can connect daisy-chain two gang valves together, giving you eight ways to split your air. Keep in mind that each time you split the air, each outlet has a weaker output and less air going through it. The more outlets you hav...
What aquarium plants are good for betta fish?Looking for a way to take your betta fish tank to the next level? Give live aquarium plants a try. Not only do aquatic plants help purify the water from your fish’s waste, but they also provide a beautiful, natural environment for your betta. In the wild, Betta splendens are commonly found in tropical marshes and rice paddy fields chock-full of thick vegetation. Therefore, aquarium plants serve as excellent enrichment for your betta to explore, obstacles to block line of sight in case he gets...
Can I put real plants in my betta tank?Yes, aquarium plants are a great way to take your betta fish tank to the next level. Not only do aquatic plants help purify the water from your fish’s waste, but they also provide a beautiful, natural environment for your betta. In the wild, Betta splendens are commonly found in tropical marshes and rice paddy fields chock-full of thick vegetation. Therefore, aquarium plants serve as excellent enrichment for your betta to explore, obstacles to block line of sight in case he gets territorial, ...
Do red plants need more iron?Iron primarily helps to create green chlorophyll pigment and not red pigment. However, red plants like scarlet temple or Ammannia gracilis can benefit from extra iron because many of them are also high light plants that consume more nutrients in general. Red-leafed plants contain large amounts of red pigment and smaller amounts of green chlorophyll, and scientists are looking into the purpose of these red pigments and why red plants become more vibrant in bright sunlight. Under intense lighti...
Which plants can I put in the Easy Planter?The Easy Planter is a fake rock decoration with a hole in the center that is perfect for placing a plant with its plastic basket inside it. This protects the plant from being uprooted by fish and allows you to move the plant around when desired. The Easy Planter works best with: Anubias Ferns Cryptocoryne plants Grass-like plants (like dwarf sagittaria and vallisneria) Bulb plants The following plants do not grow as well in the Easy Planter: Mosses Carpeting plants (with tiny leaves and ...
