Article Suggestions

[Blueiz]

This thread is for new article suggestions. If you have a suggestion, or would like to write an article, please post here.

Thanks

Blue

[fish_freak]

Fishless Cycleing. Im not takeing this one though I havent done it my tanks are all old school.

[plah831]

Fishless Cycleing.
I'm pretty sure Rbishop's working on this one. Right, Bob? The article that's in FW Newbie is just Part 1.

Wait, here's the outline he e-mailed to me.
Part I - Cycling Basics.
Part II - The Nitrogen Cycle in Depth.
Part III - Established Media Transfer Cycling.
Part IV - Fishless Cycling Details.
Part V - Fishy Cycling Details.
Part VI - Other Options and Methods.
Part VII - Tank Water Chemistry.

...keep in mind, this is from August. He may have changed it since then ;)

[coupedefleur]

ID'ing different freshwater inverts- shrimp, crawdads, etc.

[Rbishop]

It will be up for review this Saturday evening.

[fish_freak]

It will be up for review this Saturday evening.
Awesome Bob! Im glad some one took it on.

[vidiots]

Hello,
I keep running into methods of using the size of the fish as a guide for newbies to use when stocking their tanks. These various methods usually seem to get them into trouble.

I was thinking of a more universal measure of tank stock level. It would be in ppm nitrate buildup per week. This method would only require a test kit, but would show a newbie relatively quickly after they've cycled their tank wether or not they have over done it, and may prevent them from making additional purchases.

An article like this would require more input experience than I have, but I think it can be done. Here are my initial thoughts on such a rule just throwing numbers out for example knowing others might disagree with the values:

<5ppm nitrate per week = light fish load
5-10ppm per week = Medium fish load
10-20ppm per week = Heavy fish load
>20ppm per week = Over stocked.

The problem I can see with a rule like this is that it's measured after the fact, as opposed to before purchase. But this too could be companstated for by labeling species of fish with typical range of ppm nitrate per week per gallon or per 10gallons (since 10 is a nice round number and common tank size for newbies), for an adult of that species.

I'm thinking that possible other uses for this might be to help them determine if they are over or under feeding.

Another complication might be plants and algae consuming nitrate and throwing off the results.

Any thoughts?

[fballguy]

Do we have an article explaining the difference between hermaphroditic and asexual? If not I will write up a short one.

[Blueiz]

Do we have an article explaining the difference between hermaphroditic and asexual? If not I will write up a short one.
Sounds great. Post it in the article section under freshwaer when you are done. It will be moved for review for 7 days as is standard for all articles.

Blue

[fballguy]

Sounds great. Post it in the article section under freshwaer when you are done. It will be moved for review for 7 days as is standard for all articles.

Blue

I'll get on it then. :)

[fballguy]

It's done.

[blue_betta]

what is an article?

[fish_freak]

ar·ti·cle Pronunciation (ärt-kl)
n.

3. A nonfictional literary composition that forms an independent part of a publication, as of a newspaper or magazine.



Look at some of the posts in the article section. They are authored by members here at AC explaining topics of intrest ussually commmen questions in detail so that members can find answers to there questions. Think of it like an online fish magazine with lots of info.

[coupedefleur]

I don't know if this should be an article, or take some other form- Sample combinations and stocking levels for different sizes of community tanks would help a lot of beginners. It's something that a lot of people can contribute to.

I'd suggest combinations that include some of the fish that all beginners seem to want, like neon tetras, as well as good community tank combinations that are less obvious. Maybe tanks sizes ranging from 5 to 29 or 55 gallons?

[jm1212]

I don't know if this should be an article, or take some other form- Sample combinations and stocking levels for different sizes of community tanks would help a lot of beginners. It's something that a lot of people can contribute to.

I'd suggest combinations that include some of the fish that all beginners seem to want, like neon tetras, as well as good community tank combinations that are less obvious. Maybe tanks sizes ranging from 5 to 29 or 55 gallons?that would be a good article for newbies that dont really have enough experience to care for more challenging fish.

[jm1212]

id be happy to write some beginner stockings for some tanks. i would like to write it with someone else for i am not really that knowledgeable when it comes to afrcan cichlids, but i am good with south american fish/ livebearers/ and aisan fish, goldfish, and of course, the occasional invert.

[coupedefleur]

id be happy to write some beginner stockings for some tanks. i would like to write it with someone else for i am not really that knowledgeable when it comes to afrcan cichlids, but i am good with south american fish/ livebearers/ and aisan fish, goldfish, and of course, the occasional invert.

For the community tank, why not start out with a couple simple set-ups with colorful beginner fish, maybe for a 10-gallon and a 29 gallon, and post them in the article section?

I'm sure a couple people will "carp" about them, but it's better to get something rolling-

[NeonJulie]

There's other sites out there that have actually written simple calculation pages, assigning values primarily on the diet/speed/pooping habits of the fish. The drawback to this is you have to count on a person being honest with their inputs. But I feel it was very worthwhile for me, a newbie. I could see how diet and where the fish fed changed the index values, etc.

On the other hand, an article that could post a few A, B, and C choices, with each of their pros and cons would be very neat. Helpful too would be a brief guideline on the best look/decor for the chosen fish. (For instance, I changed my gravel's colors THREE times before I got it right! *lol*)

I've also noticed during my time here so far, everyone seems to have their own definition of Overstocked/Understocked. It's somewhat confusing, I guess because each person more or less seems to have a gut feeling or opinion about it. Some hard formulas/guidelines (although exceptions always exist, additional filtering etc.) would be really helpful, rather than 'you're overstocked!' 'He's hardly overstocked, add some more of this.'

Thank you for your very helpful articles. I've read many on Cycling, and yours answered the best questions. No one usually mentions the light levels/potential for algae, or the baking soda/hardness solution. Thanks!

[jm1212]

On the other hand, an article that could post a few A, B, and C choices, with each of their pros and cons would be very neat. thats what i was thnking about doing.

probably two stockings for a 5 gallon tank, 2 or 3 for a 10 gallon, 3 or 4 for a 20 gallon, and then 3 or 4 for a 29 gallon, and possibly some for a 55 gallon, but when you start getting that big, alot more fish will fit in there, and the list could get long.

[vidiots]

There's other sites out there that have actually written simple calculation pages, assigning values primarily on the diet/speed/pooping habits of the fish. The drawback to this is you have to count on a person being honest with their inputs. But I feel it was very worthwhile for me, a newbie. I could see how diet and where the fish fed changed the index values, etc.

I've also noticed during my time here so far, everyone seems to have their own definition of Overstocked/Understocked. It's somewhat confusing, I guess because each person more or less seems to have a gut feeling or opinion about it. Some hard formulas/guidelines (although exceptions always exist, additional filtering etc.) would be really helpful, rather than 'you're overstocked!' 'He's hardly overstocked, add some more of this.'


The fact that there are infinate combinations of fish, and differing opinions on how much maintenance is too much maintenance is why I was suggesting something move universal such as waste build up rate so that users could rate their own tanks, and compare that to the maintenance level required and the risks of skipping skipping a waterchange.

I don't think such a thing would really help newbies with their initial stocking of their first tank, but then they rarely come here before then. I think it might prevent them from buying additional stock and making a bad situation worse.

[daniel364]

Im not sure if this has been done, but an article on velvet would be helpful to me but it depends weather its helpful to a quantity of people i suppose.

[Aussie_hippie_2]

Jon, I think that would be a good article to write. Even if it's just for newbies to gather inspiration it would be helpful. I'd be willing to help, though I'm sure you know more about basically everything then I do. :rolleyes:

[Malbri]

I think we need a filter artical. Like saying the different kinds(sponge, hob, etc)
I looked and didnt see one, so correct me if we do

[jm1212]

now that ive finished the small tank stocking, how about an article that is devoted to only 55 gallon stock?

i could do a couple of beginner stocks, intermediate stocks, a couple of advanced stocks, and perhaps an expert one (ive got a good one in mind right now), and species tanks.

[jgavlock]

I'd like to hear your expert 55 stock.

[jm1212]

I'd like to hear your expert 55 stock.
you'll have to read the article :D

[necigrad]

Has anyone done anything on dieseses? I'm thinking something with pics for eneric dieseses. As a secondary part species specific dieseses could be added.

[Dangerdoll]

I love this disease with pics idea for an article.

[pik01]

I know J double R has written a good article on Detailed Drip Acclimation (http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=154736) but I've been reading some posts on acclimating fish sent through the mail and KarlTH has said:


Nitrate, even within normally safe levels, is IME associated with what I call "small fish dieoff" - where up to 50% of a shoal of new small fish die within a short time of being added to the tank.

Another cause is acclimation. Bear with me. To explain, a bag of ten ember tetras has probably built up some ammonia in transit. Now, this isn't harmful because the organic processes will have depressed the pH. But then you drip acclimate, which means that you start putting your water - which may have a higher pH - into their water. This turns the ammonia to the toxic un-ionised form and the fish suffer ammonia poisoning.

Drip acclimation is great when you know the parameters in your tank are different from those in the bag. When the difference isn't great, I'd concentrate on getting the fish out of the shipping water and into the tank as fast as possible.

Not saying this did happen, but it's a possibility. Unless you know your water is much harder or much softer than the water the fish come from, then equalise temperatures and get the fish out of the bags. Drip acclimate only when you need to for reasons of osmotic difference. Don't worry about pH either; if the hardness (and generally therefore the TDS) of the water in the bag is close to that of the tank, a fish can swim straight from pH 6.5 to pH 7.5 and not notice. A bigger change might make it feel a bit groggy (especially if it's going from alkaline to acid) for a bit but will probably do less long term harm than ammonia.

I don't know if it's my place to say, but can I at least suggest a sticky on this? Even better, a detailed article that spells out the difference in acclimation techniques, when to use them, why a particular situation should require one method over the other? Something like that? It's still rather murky to me. In the same thread Acclimating after Shipping? (http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=172998) OldMan47 mentioned CO2:


Actually, if you have a bag of fish that has been in shipment for a while, many shippers would recommend a plop and drop approach. It is not at all the same kind of water chemistry that you deal with when you bring fish home an hour after they were bagged. In the case of shipping, there is very little water for each fish in the bag, the fish has been in that small amount of water for at least a day or two and the text message you put in the original posting makes sense in that context. The shipping water is very likely to be seriously degraded by the time you get the fish and if you are not careful the CO2 that is holding down the pH will come out of solution and the water will become quite toxic. You don't want your new fish in the water when that happens.

Idk, maybe all this needs is a localization of all the info? I've seen mentions of flushing, drop and plop...

[msjinkzd]

That is a great suggestion pik, i just saw it now. LOL I will pm some members and see if they would be willing to write it up for us.

[WeedCali]

There needs to be an article explaining what vegetables are safe to feed fish, how much and how often, and what fish can or cannot have a certain type.

[ECooper]

What about a forum for articles about aquarium photography?

[Piranha86]

Can I write an article on an opposing view about hybrids?

[Sploke]

Anyone who would like to submit an article is more than welcome to. Write it up, including appropriate references as necessary and submit it to any staff member for review and publishing.

[Piranha86]

Someone should write an article on tylo snails.