Good Community fish for a 15 Gallon Freshwater

paperdog9

Large Fish
Dec 11, 2009
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so just to add on to using cotton as a filter helper to catch the fine sand (please comment people other then Newman on the cotton thing:) ) I'm taking most of the water out, so would it be the best if I put a towel or something between the stand and tank?
 

fiddlybits

Medium Fish
Jan 15, 2010
51
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BC, Canada
what kind of cotton? the stuff from pill bottles? It probably wouldn't allow the water to flow thru fast enough, and it would overflow out of the filter tank.

I'm going to post a question about using quilt-batting/stuffing for filter media, have a look, I'll explain there.
 

paperdog9

Large Fish
Dec 11, 2009
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SICK!!!!! I just siphoned like a fourth of and inch of dirt of the bottom, when I accidentally tok the siphon out of the water. When restarting it, i got a mouthful of dirt GROSSSSS!!!!!!!! The shrimps decided to molt right when I took them out of the tank. They have to make everything so much harder, cause now I had to make a little cave type thing that only they can get in so they aren't attacked!! :) Everything else is fine!! :)
 

Doomhed

Large Fish
Feb 11, 2003
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Rhode Island
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SICK!!!!! I just siphoned like a fourth of and inch of dirt of the bottom, when I accidentally tok the siphon out of the water. When restarting it, i got a mouthful of dirt GROSSSSS!!!!!!!! The shrimps decided to molt right when I took them out of the tank. They have to make everything so much harder, cause now I had to make a little cave type thing that only they can get in so they aren't attacked!! :) Everything else is fine!! :)
Do you realize you could have just submerged your entire siphon line until it filled with water, held your finger over the end you normally suck on and lift it out of the tank and into the bucket, making it so you never have to put mouth to tube again.

When in doubt, ask the guy that did this as a job...lol
 

Doomhed

Large Fish
Feb 11, 2003
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Rhode Island
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I just found a little box on the back of the bag of sand that said "Warning. This product contains small amounts of crystalline silica" Is this OK for the tank, or do I need to get a different type of sand!
crystalline silica is sand. Also, you can use nearly any filter material, some work better than others. I have used black pantyhose a ton as a filter material. Cheap, stretchy, and actually does a good job.
 

paperdog9

Large Fish
Dec 11, 2009
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Ok, sorry for the delay, but here are some pictures. They are in order from the start to the finish. As you can see in the last picture, I got some micro sword, so hopefully it starts to get runners soon. There is a problem, the ph is high at 8.4, is that from the sand? Should I just wait and see if it clears up, or should I use peat moss in my filter media or something?
 

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paperdog9

Large Fish
Dec 11, 2009
633
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Well, it's only been... two weeks and it looks fine so far. the little tiny stone things in the sand kind of make it hard to see waste, so it probably is only if you get white sand, mine is like a darker tan (Play sand)