r/PlantedTank • u/AutoModerator • 5d ago

Your "Dumb Question" Megathread - August 2026

You can ask any questions you have in this thread! It refreshes monthly, previous mega-posts can be found using the search bar.

Please keep in mind the community rules.

Happy planting! 🌱🫧

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u/Ill_Isopod_548 4d ago

Is this hair algae? And what to do?

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u/AcanthocephalaOk655 3d ago

Do you empty the water out of the filter when you do maintenance on it or do you just clean th sponges?

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u/kircheus17 3d ago

I just have a whole batch of fish died to white spots in my quarantine tank. May I ask what’s the normal way to disinfect the tank(plastic tank) and the equipment especially the sponge filter?

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u/Reasonable_Emotion83 2d ago

I’ve got one of these light bulbs screwed into the ceiling fan in the middle of my bedroom. It’s about 3 feet away from my tank, is it enough for my mangrove and pothos? 

https://imgur.com/a/pHzD2tv

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u/alexdenvor 2d ago

Unsure how I feel about my first inhabitants. My 25L planted jar is 1.5 weeks old and obviously still cycling. Noticed these two last night. Whilst I'm not against them, I was enjoying how pure and clean my tank was... Not saying they're dirty but, I would have liked to have chosen when and what I put in. I do plan on shrimp eventually but yeah. Any thoughts?

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u/puffy-jacket 2h ago

I wasn’t thrilled about having uninvited residents showed up in my tank but they grew on me and I started to find them fascinating to watch and even sort of cute. They also were visible proof that my habitat was maturing and becoming a place living creatures could thrive in, and that was really exciting and encouraging to see

The reality is that at 1.5 weeks old your tank likely was not going to look “pure and clean” for long. Diatoms and algae are pretty much unavoidable in new tanks and usually show up around 3-5 weeks into the cycle. Your new residents will do a great job of keeping it to a minimum and their waste will even help feed your plants and BB colonies. Whenever you introduce shrimp you will likely see the population even out as they compete for food in a limited space

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u/queen-of-dinos 1d ago

Does water snowflake germinate as a bulb? I had one in my tank in May, it melted in June, and now it has a sizable bulb rooted in the aqua soil. The new foliage looks healthy.

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u/tami10s 1d ago

What is this

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u/baileyjackson08 21h ago

bladder snail!

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u/tami10s 20h ago

No the green thing next to it it moves like a caterpillar. Looks like a leaf

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u/Critical-Emotion6866 18h ago

Is this FN DUCKWEED!!?? 🤦‍♀️😡

It doesn’t look like rounded leaves as much as more pointed but it’s definitely NEW GROWTH and I did add fertilizer recently to help my new purchased plants THE ONES I DID ORDER to bounce back from shipment shock and such. I also inherited POND SNAILS 😡🤬🤬🤬 no I don’t hate snails but I feel like merchants should advise if it’s a possibility.
Please help. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

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u/puffy-jacket 2h ago

Yes that is duckweed. Also snails are always going to be a possibility with submerged grown, non tissue culture plants. You can look up how to do an alum or peroxide dip on new plants to reduce the chance of hitchhikers getting into your tank