tolstoy21

@hemali -- Warning, long reply ahead! But could be informative as I've gone down the same path as you. ------- I am in a similar situation as you are. High nitrates out of my faucet (above 40ppm). I do have an RO unit for making water for caradina shrimp, and have dealt with my nitrate problem so I can offer some first hand advice. Using an R/O unit to target nitrate removal is a long term expense, and not the only option. The R/O unit will strip everything from the water, so if you're going to have to build the water back up for use in your aquarium with buffers and remineralizes. This means staging and mixing the water, and paying for an ongoing supply of products, not to mention the DI resin, R/O membrane and filters for the R/O unit itself. Another solution could be to set up a one or two-stage filter just to remove nitrates (I say two-stage cause its good to have a sediment filter before the nitrate filter). Some companies make plug-and-play under-the-sink nitrate filter kits that look like the RO units and install just as easily. Or you can put together your own if you're even slightly handy. Setting up your own is a process similar to how folks with fishrooms plumb carbon block filters into their water supply to remove chloramines. The only thing to know about setting up your own nitrate filter is that you have to place a rate-limiter, or flow restrictor, in-line with the system to force the water to run slow enough for optimal nitrate removal by the resin (under-the-sink kits normally come with these pre-installed). Most de-nitrate filter manufacturers will usually list the flow rate for optimal nitrate removal for a given cartridge. You can get most of the supplies to do something like this from any water system supplier or from a good LFS that supplies a lot of reefing equipment. The de-nitrate cartridge can easily be ordered online from a number of suppliers. In my experience, a de-nitrate filter will also strip some KH from the water, but can't really say how much (some? all? not 100% sure as I have never tested). The KH in my tap water is pretty low to being with. In my experience, I have also found that high nitrates exhaust the standard mixed DI resin in typical R/O units faster than if you had no nitrates. So, a nitrate filter of any sort before the DI resin filter can extend that filter's life and possibly cut some costs. DI resin is typically more expensive that de-nitrate resin, long term. I like experimenting and tinkering and so I have setup, and used, both of these systems. For my current setup I used a larger nitrate/sediment filter in-line with my drip system that feeds me display tank, and a small breeding rack I'm still in the process of completing. (Pic below). I like tinkering and am good with plumbing, so I plumbed my own up instead of going under-the-sink. So the take away from this somewhat long thread -- 1) R/O unit will be a simple plug-and-play setup, but will be the most costly in outlay and long-term costs given that you'll have to remineralize the water, and you'll burn through a lot of mixed-bed DI resin. 2) Nitrate filter will target nitrates, last longer and be a less expensive solution. The initial expense will be roughly the same as an R/O unit, but could be a more DIY solution in which you acquire the canisters and fittings and build yourself. 3) Plants are cheap and easy. (I cant resist the challenge of tinkering so I went with targeted nitrate filters!) I got my de-nitrate filters from APEC water solutions online. I got my filter housings from Bulk Reef Supply. The fittings and what not I got from Home Depot. Can't remember where I got the flow rate restrictor online, but I can easily find that in my email somewhere if I search. If I didn't completely overwhelm you with this response, please feel free to ask as many questions as you want.

I just installed a line for doing drip auto water changes into a short rack of tanks. Because I'm familiar with the DripWorks stuff for gardening, I ran a line above the tanks and tapped in some drippers. I'm realizing now, this isn't the world's best solution for my application. Where the driplines tap into the mainline isn't the tightest fit and each line occasionally drips at its tap point a teeeeeeny tiny bit. Nothing dramatic, but a drip nonetheless. So, the question . . . for those who've set up similar systems, how do you do it? 1/4 RO tubing and john guest fittings? Something something else? I only have a short run of the drip system above the tanks, so plumbing up an alternative solution wouldn't be that time consuming. Just looking for the advice and experience of other's who've successfully done this.

@PaulThanks for the response. The female is now touring the tank with the fry and she encroaches on the male's territory who tries to eat the fry and summarily gets a beat down. So, the male is now acclimating to my community tank so the female can raise the fry. I have them in a 29 gallon but the female seems to want the entire thing. Next time I'll have a tank ready to move the male to..

The ammonia will definitely, naturally lead to nitrates as you know, and so will decaying matter. I'm definitely not a plant guru. I keep pretty easy to grow plants, but in my understanding, they'll need less ferts when you first plant them as compared to when they are established and thriving, especially when you have an abundance of nitrates already present from the act of cycling. Right now I think you have nitrates being introduced by the cycle plus the addition of fertilizers. If you added ammonia to cycle the tank, plus the seeded media and starter, and you're also reading no ammonia or nitrite at this point, I'd do a water change to get the nitrates lower and then recheck after some a few days to see what rate the nitrates are increasing at. As other's have said, a completed tank cycle will result in high nitrates naturally when it's complete. It's normal to do a large water change at the completion of that process. The ferts are definitely also adding some nitrates as well, but that's their intended purpose.

Yup. Paralysis by analysis. I kept goldfish and turtles when I was a kid in the 70s. I don't think I even knew what a test was then, or 'cycling'. Just had a tank with nothing but a plastic box filter and the fish did well and lived for years in my recollection. My mom used to marvel at how long they lived. In all things these days, we can definitely get too mired down and fixated on all the minutia and gadgets and forget to just keep things simple and enjoy. The nitrates coming out of my tap are about 40ppm. I have well water and I get runoff ferts from a long running golf course behind me. So it's not unusual to have that going on. (I have my well water tested professionally every other year, as I live in a VERY polluted state, and I'm one of a few homes in my town to still have a well. But those tests are for the humans, not the fish). That level of nitrates in your water are fine and nothing to worry about. Nitrates in ground water are not uncommon in agricultural areas, if that's your situation. As for ammonia, my API test kit always appear to read .25 ammonia to me, even on pure RO water. I think others have reported this phenomenon as well. It's nothing to worry over, in my opinion.

Are you overdosing ferts? The plants might not be established enough to utilize what you’re putting in. The plant load looks a little light at this stage of the tank. Just a thought.

Ha! Another hobby of mine is bird watching. When I told one of my birding buddies my wife and I were having our first child, his reaction was, “Awesome, see you in about 18 years!” Thought he was kidding. But nope. That was eight years ago. Pretty much been at home with kids and aquariums since.

The folks at bulk reef supply publish flow dynamics of many of the pumps they review. I have no idea what they are suspending in the water in their videos, some kind of beads, but whatever it is it gives one a good visual of flow patterns. Not sure one can do this kind of experiment with live stock in the tank, but could give you some ideas Here’s a video they did illustrating the flow pattern of a gyre pump around hard scape to show dead spots, flow dynamics, etc.

This is my first time trying to breed fish outside of 'Hey! wow! look! there's another little corydora in the tank!" I started with 2 salt-n-peppers 2 years ago and increased the school to about 2 dozen in that time (well they increased themselves. I didn't really do enough to take credit for). Ok, so as far as intentional breeding projects, these are the ones I've started within the last month -- Apisto super reds. I've had this pair about 1 1/2 weeks and they've already spawned. They've been at each other's throats pretty nasty since then, but I've partitioned the tank with a barrier of driftwood and java fern and they're each keeping to their respective sides. Can't get a good count of how many fry are in there, as they hang back in the shadows and blend in with the substrate. 12? 20? more? Hard to say. Odessa Barbs -- i got ten of these from Select Aquatics about a month ago and have been growing them out. It will be a little while before I can completely sex them all and separate them before breeding. They're just starting to show some colors this past week. Shelies -- Always wanted to raise a colony of these fish since seeing them on Prime Time Aquatics. I got 6, but they are all still quite young and have some growing to do.

5ppm nitrates is pretty low in my book. I wouldn’t think about changing water till you’re closing in on 20ppm. I think some people go even higher before a water change. Unless you mean ‘nitrites’?

@Kelly I find that I get variant readings if I use two different products like the API drop test vs the API or tetra strip tests. After you use one or the other a lot, you get good at interpreting the readings. With the strips I'm just interested in the trend (and the convenience of using them). Is nitrate going up? Is nitrite suddenly registering on the strip? Is my Ph suddenly very different from the last time I tested? I don't trust these to be super accurate, but I do trust they will show me changes over time, when compared to the last reading I took with them. I then use the API liquid tests to get a better, somewhat more accurate reading because I have come to trust these the most, personally. In general I'm ok with any test getting me in the ballpark of what the real measurement of something is. My personal feeling is that being approximately kind of accurate is a good enough measurement for the majority of aquariums. As important as that is understanding sudden changes from a prior reading. The difference between 2 and 10 nitrite and 5 and 20 nitrate seems like a huge difference. However, the reading on one of your test products vs the other seems to be a 4-5x difference. Could these products just use different scales? Don't know. Just a thought. Maybe not? Either way, the important take away from this is you're showing nitrite, so I'd hold off on adding fish until that reading is closer to zero on either test. Any maybe hold off on a water change so your nitrifying bacteria colonies grow and get established so you have them present in enough numbers to process nitrite when fish arrive. Even if your tests are off, your numbers in regards to nitrites should start to trend downward. And if they do, that's a sign the cycle is continuing as it should in the right direction. Nitrates as a result should trend upwards, and when nitrites are close to zero, but nitrates are higher, then water change to get nitrates to a reasonable level and add fish!

Been there. Done that mistake. Now, I always flush my tubes with tank water once, empty them out, then refill them with more tank water before testing. If you're filling them with a plastic pipette, do the same. Clean it out with the water you're going to be testing with. I find the API Ph test to be the most sensitive to residual water from a different source. I will second this observation as well.

Another vote for otos. Can’t comment on if angels will snack on them or not.

Was that the problem or was it something else entirely? If you don’t mind sharing.

Is the flow rate of the return pump higher than the rate at which water is making it into the sump? You have to tune both the water coming into the sump and as well as the the water going out, otherwise that can happen, especially if your sump has separate chambers for filter media, bio media etc. and the chamber for the return is small. Clogged or excessive filter media can also reduce the flow rate from one sump chamber to the next, causing similar problems. With my sump setup on my 125 I have an adjustable gate valve on the water coming into the sump from the overflow and I can adjust the flow rate on the return pump. If they’re not in sync, either the sump can overflow, or you get what you’re experiencing, a pump draining it’s chamber and gurgling (this is more likely than the first scenario). If this is your problem, be careful about adding too much water to the tank to compensate or when you power off the return pump, your sump could overflow and flood your room with the extra water you’ve been adding. if that’s not the issue and you’re not leaking water, then I’m stumped.

This is my first time intentionally breeding fish, and my quarrelsome couple of apistos have successfully had kids. The mother has stopped beating the father half to death, but she still won't let him anywhere near the children. When he comes around to the old cave-stead, she swats the water menacingly with her tail which prompts him to sulk off to his side of the aquarium only to console himself with his comfy, old recliner, favorite glass of bourbon and a healthy binge of his favorite fish-tubers. Oh wait, am I still talking about fish? Anyway, jokes aside, some questions - I'm guessing these have been free swimming a day or so now and possible eating infusoria from the java moss and leaf litter. They're hanging out close to the substrate, under the protection of the mother. At this stage, are they old enough for micro worms and/or baby brine? At what age will they take larger foods? Do first time fathers eat their offspring? At what age should I move the juveniles to a grow out tank so the parents don't perceive them as a threat to future spawns? Any other advice? I'm not looking for the highest yield at this point. Just want to have a semi-successful first go at this. So any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Below is a link to a basic chart of standard PVC flow rates. I'd assume the rate at which you're putting water into the tank probably equals the rate at which its going to come out. The drain rate would be non-pressurized in this scenario. #1 FlexPVC®.com Water Flow Charts Based on Pipe Size (GPM/GPH) ie, How much water can flow through Sch 40 Pvc Pipe Size 1/2" 3/4" 1" 1.5" 2" 2.5" 3" 4" 6" FLEXPVC.COM Water Flow Volume for a given pipe size based on charts, tables, formula, nomograph, & experience.

I believe the diameter of pipe and bulkhead is determined by the flow rate you wish to achieve through it. I use 1/2" on my basement tanks, which is fine to accommodate drip fed water. On my 125 gallon aquarium, I have a 1 1/2" bulk head installed in the sump so I can trigger larger water changes of around 40 gallons at a time (when I need to occasionally do that). Not sure if a smaller bulkhead would suffice in that scenario, but I didn't want to risk reducing the flow rate in a way that would overflow onto my floor. My experience tells me I could maybe go down to 1" for that specific setup. In my other systems that do drip changes, 1/2" works perfectly.

I'm totally curious about this . . . . Are the thumbnails for the topics filled in by AI or some other software automation? Or do you all do that manually? Like I said, totally curious.

No problem. I think the best advice I've seen I've seen in this hobby is to not stress over all the above things. (Of course when i first got into this, I didn't take that advice and did the opposite to no avail). So just keep your parameters in the ballpark for a healthy tank without chasing specific parameters. Figure out what your water is like, and how your tank trends over time, and stock fish that like that your water. Most fish do well in a wide range of stable conditions. This is the simplest thing to do, and the easiest path to success. Of course, on the flip side, some fish prefer and thrive in a higher Ph (alkaline) and others thrive in a lower one (acidic). If, and when, you get into keeping those fish that don't naturally thrive your tap water, then you'll need to start thinking about buffering your water differently to accommodate those species. But that's fun for another day!

Yes do one! If you're even remotely handy, build one. It's an interesting project and anything that alleviates manual labor is awesome in my book. By trade I'm a computer infrastructure automation engineer, so yeah, automate things. As I tell my employees, build robots, don be robots! I've had a semi-automatic WC system on my 125 for a few years and just switched to a drip system. The drip part of it gets me to a 100% automated solution (minus the occasional gravel vac). I also just started down the path to setting up a drip system for a small rack of breeding tanks in my basement so I can't comment on if drip is better than other methods, as I haven't been running that long enough, but anything you can do towards automation is 100% the way to go. Also, drilling tanks is the way to go. It's visually cleaner looking, less bulky than a lot of PVC in the tanks, and you don't have to worry about losing siphon. Drilling glass seems frightening at first, but once you've done it once, you'll be like -- wow that was easy! The one tip I have for glass drilling is make a template for the drill bit out of wood and clamp that to the tank. This both keeps the hole saw from skittering across the glass as you as you try to make that initial cut and also helps create a small reservoir. I did this with a simple wood scrap, and now I just pop it onto any tank I want to drill and the bulkhead hole is in the same place every time. When I drill I also just use a squirt bottle to spritz the work semi-frequently. I see lots of people running hose water over their work, but I never found this to be 100% necessary. You just want to avoid the allowing the bit and the glass to get too hot, and this is usually caused by the dry friction and lack of good heat sink, like a puddle of water. So keep the work wet so theres a nice little puddle around the bit, drill a few moments, take a tiny break, spritz the work again. Rinse, repeat. It will be far less labor than creating PVC siphons. Cutting and gluing and testing a ton of PVC sounds too time consuming.

Over time, the tank will consume KH as it buffers the water. And yes, the color vividness of the API tests can be subjective. I find the difference between 20 & 40 on the nitrate test very hard to discern for my aging eyes. I also find the colors on the high Ph tests difficult to differentiate (7.4 Ph and 8.0 ph look too similar to me). For your purposes, i think as long as you're within a drop or so of certainty of the GH/KH reading you're fine. I'm not sure what's contributing to the GH, could be rocks or other hardscape possibly, but that's such a small bump I'd not worry. Just track it's trend over time so you know what to expect from it as your tank settles in. Same with KH, track its trend a bit until you get a good idea of when, and if, the tank depletes it. 5 KH is a good amount to buffer your aquarium. With normal water changes you shouldn't have problems. You just want to make sure it doesn't go below 1. If you're shooting for specific values in terms of GH/KH/Ph, then you'll have to muck around with adding buffers and minerals to the water, things like crushed coral or Seachem equilibrium or alkaline buffer, but I don't believe that's your objective, and that costs money and time and usually isn't necessary except in very specific circumstances. It's normal for things like driftwood, CO2, fish waste to swing Ph down gradually as that acidifies the water. You just want to avoid it bottoming out or it changing suddenly (which is what KH is supposed to buffer against). I won't claim to be an expert on any of the above, but I've did a bunch of reading on this over the past year or so trying to wrap my mind around GH/KH/Ph, how it changes over time and what changes it, so I hope my advice is good. Usually if I get a new tank setup, I'll test it frequently and keep a mental trend-line things like KH and PH and nitrates so I get a good idea of how things work over time so I know how frequently to water change, etc. Then I test far less often once I'm confident how the environment works and the tank appears healthy.

This is my first time attempting to breed apistogramma cacatuoides. I went to feed the ‘happy’ couple this afternoon and the male was listless and pale, on the bottom of the tank, hiding under a leaf. I assumed he was sick (did a water change last night and now thought oh crud what did I do wrong?) so I fed the tank some baby brine and the male perked up a tad and started eating. When he got near the cave, the female came out and beat the living heck out of him. He fought back, but she really went at him! So, I’m guessing they are soon to enjoy the fruits of parenthood? They were pretty flirty flirty last nightly, nudging each other with their tails while the male flared his fins. Today it’s a divorce lawyers dream. If they’ll have little ones soon, will the aggression cease after the eggs hatch? Or should I relocate the male before she clobbers him to death? I’ve had this happy pair for about a week and the fighting began today. Marriage counseling?

Greg Sage at Select Aquatics does something similar in terms of creating overflow plumbing that requires no tanks drilling. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lNSqpRBvIA In think the King of DIY also has a number of videos on the topic as well. Personally, I drill my tanks and overflow into a medium sized tote with a utility sump that empties the water into a drain pipe on the other side of my basement.

I use coral and aragonite for things like shell dwellers, or fish that 'prefer' something above neutral. I get a Ph of 7.4 - 7.6 by adding some Top Fin coral into the substrate or bubbling it in a small box filter, and something closer 8 with aragonite. The coral gives me a level of confidence I'm not suddenly going to run out of KH and have a unexpected Ph drop. For 'soft-water' fish I'm just using the plain well water (taken from a line that bypasses the water softeners, etc.). This gets me closer to a Ph of 6.8, with a KH around 1. These were the species I was thinking about when I asked the original question concerning is hardness GH or KH. I know the advice is to not 'chase the Ph' and just make sure it's stable. But adding some coral to some tanks is easy enough to maintain without hassle. Again thanks for the answers. Was really just trying to get clarity around the topic. This brief conversation helped!