Jeff_F

There have been some discussion on the forums about innovation in the hobby. I came across this yesterday from a company called Aqua Rocks Colorado. They have some very nice products and this one I thought was very unique. It does raise some questions like, if the water flow is directed around the perimeter of the tank how much flow will actually go into the center of the tank and help with nutrient distribution? Given the price, I'm thinking of getting one to try but what does everyone think? Does anyone have one they can comment on? I'm not an expert on co2 by any means so I look forward to your comments. Thanks, Jeff

The water is going through the water softener and then the RO unit. I thought to use the Alkaline buffer to raise up my KH so I wouldn't have a ph crash.

I have pretty bad water so I am on a well with water softener so I have an RO unit and make my own RO water. The tank is a 29 gallon tank and I do a 50% water change once a week. I use 2hr Aquarist APT Sky (4g) and Seachem Alkaline Buffer (1.5g) into the new RO water during the water change. I was using 2hr Aquarist APT Complete 3 fertilizer but switched to Easy Green about a month or so ago. I use one squirt of Easy Green daily. I see much better growth with Easy Green.

no, this java fern is probably about a year old.

I'm having an issue with my Java Fern.....I've attached some pictures. There is an overview picture of my tank and then some closeups of the java fern looking down on it. What is causing all the brown spots? I don't see pinholes so probably not potassium. I looked at the nutrient charts but the leaves are not really turning yellow so I'm not sure what is going on. Any ideas? My water parameters are: temperature - 77.5 Calcium - 40 GH - 7 KH - 3 Nitrate - 30 ph - 6.6 (at 3 hours after turning on co2) Phosphate - 1.81 TDS - 193 Iron - 0.2

I have a woodworking workshop next to our house and it has a sink that does not go through the water softener. I tested the water and here are the key changes: GH - 24 dgh KH - 11 dkh Ca - 120 ppm TDS - 424 ppm It definitely shows my water softener is working! I am going to install a second tank that is 53 gallons compared to my current 29 gallon tank. I was hoping to not make RO water because it just takes a long time and will be very long for water changes on both tanks. Even if I could use the shop's water I then would have the problem of getting it into the house. I have a woodworking workshop next to our house and it has a sink that does not go through the water softener. I tested the water and here are the key changes: GH - 24 dgh KH - 11 dkh Ca - 120 ppm TDS - 424 ppm It definitely shows my water softener is working! I am going to install a second tank that is 53 gallons compared to my current 29 gallon tank. I was hoping to not make RO water because it just takes a long time and will be very long for water changes on both tanks. Even if I could use the shop's water I then would have the problem of getting it into the house.

I visited the Splashy Fish store, a local fish store, earlier this week and one of the topics we discussed was water. He asked if I was using tap water and I said no, I have a well water with a water softener so I've been using RO/DI water and using products like Seachem Equilibrium to remineralize the water. He said I should just use my tap (well) water and adjust it as necessary. So, I tested my water this morning and need help understanding the results. The parameters are: pH: 7.2 Ammonia: 0 Nitrate: 0 Nitrite: 0 GH: 1 KH: 10 TDS: 585 Phosphate: 0 Calcium: <20 Iron: 0 I am not a chemist so I may be wrong but the TDS is probably very high because the water softener is removing the calcium and magnesium and replacing it with sodium ions. The GH is very low because of the water softener yet the KH is high because we normally do have very hard water. I live in an area surrounded my natural limestone caves (Luray caverns, Shenandoah Caverns, Endless Caverns...). So, if I wanted to use this water in my planted tanks what would I do? I need to bring things like GH, calcium and nitrate up and bring TDS (sodium?) and KH down. Since the pH is only 7.2 would I need to bring the KH down since it is actually buffering the pH to that level? In my current 29 gallon tank I have plants along with mollies, platys, guppies and some algae eaters. In the new 53 gallon tanks I'm going to set up I'm going to have plants plus rainbow fish. Also, how to best transition the existing tank without crashing everything?! Thanks!!

Ok, I will provide some pictures and initial comments/reaction to the tank. I probably won't set it up for a few weeks but I may unbox it and fill it to check for leaks sooner than that..

I ordered one and it is being delivered tomorrow.

I recently setup a canister filter and also use pot scrubbers. It is still early so I don't know how effective they will be but the literature says they are an excellent material for aerobic bacteria. I looked at the biohome ultimate material and decided not to use it in my planted tank. The claim is that Biohome ultimate is an excellent bio media to create anaerobic bacteria which will breakdown nitrates in the tank. However, the plants need some level of nitrates as nutrients so why do I want to reduce them with the Biohome bio media? If you don't have plants then it is probably a very good material to use. So.....I'm just going with the pot scrubbers.

Hi @Mmiller2001, My degassed water (water after sitting out for 48 hours) pH is 7.3. My pH in the middle of the night after the co2 has been off for 10 hours or so is 6.75 and my pH at about 2:30 in the afternoon after going on at 9:00 in the morning is 6.1. So, what would you say my co2 ppm is? Slightly more than 30ppm? The drop checker is a light green color and I have good plant growth and the fish look fine. The fish do not show any issues. The water temperature is 76 degrees.

Anyone familiar with Lyphard Aquariums? I am thinking of getting one of their larger rimless tanks. It has gotten good reviews online and is a very reasonable price. It would be nice to get some firsthand feedback.

I've been surfing the Internet looking at tanks for my second setup. I thought I narrowed it down to the Waterbox Clear Mini 30 which is a 31 gallon tank that is 31.4" x 15.7" x 15.7". However, my wife threw a wrench into my planning today when she said can we use some more colorful fish like cichlids? I know cichlids and planted tanks do not go together but I did some more research and it looks like dwarf cichlids can be kept in planted tanks. They do not attack the plants like the larger African cichlids. Has anyone had a planted tank with dwarf cichlids? If so, what types of plants? Also, is a 31 gallon tank big enough for them? They are beautiful fish but I need something compatible with a planted tank.

I am thinking about setting up a second planted tank. My current tank is 30"l x12"w x18"h and I'd like to get something a little longer with more width for hardscape. I would like a rimless tank about 36" long and about 15" or so wide. Price up to the $300 range. What brands would you recommend I look at and which are available in the USA. Is there anything in this price range that is rimless?

I've been doing some reading about CO2 to learn more about how it impacts the planted aquarium. There seems to be two different approaches to determining how much CO2 is in the tank. The George Farmer book says to take Ph readings with and without co2 injection and you should expect a 1 Ph drop at 30 ppm. So if the without (nighttime) Ph is 7.1 then you should see a Ph of 6.1 while injecting CO2. Tom Barr discusses using the Ph/KH chart to measure the CO2 ppm. So If my KH is 3 dkh then my Ph should be about 6.4 - 6.5 for 30 ppm CO2. If I look at my tank with a KH of 3 dkh, my nighttime Ph is 7.1 so if I add CO2 during the day to bring the PH down to 6.1 the ph/kh chart says the CO2 ppm would be in the 70's. I figure all the fish would be dead at that point!! However, my ph does go down to about 6.1 during the day and everything seems fine. So, what am I not understanding?

I've started to see these holes and am wondering if it is a potassium issue? They are not small pin-head size holes so I'm not sure. Is it potassium or is it from the fish chewing on the plant leaves? I fertilize with 3 ml APT 3 Complete at 3 ml daily in a 20 gallon tank. This is the only plant in the tank that has this issue. I know that a Java Fern likes a lot of potassium yet it seems fine.

Two great t-shirts for my birthday!!!

I received an Oase Biomaster Thermo 250 as a birthday gift to replace my HOB filter. I'm trying to decide on how to transition from the HOB to the canister filter. Should I run both filters for awhile or put the filter media from the HOB into a canister tray for awhile? I use Aquarium Coop's filter sponge material in the HOB and on the intake tube. I'd prefer putting the filter material into the canister in order to eliminate the HOB. Does it make any difference? I plan on using Oase's medium sponge in the prefilter and also in the first tray along with some filter floss. I have some pot scrubbers that I'm going to use in the other filter trays.

Watch this video

I use RO water because our well water is very bad. I remineralize with APT Sky and small amount of alkaline buffer. My GH is 6, KH is 3 and PH goes between 7.1 with CO2 off and 6.1 when on. The PH of my RO water is around 5.5. My aquarium has a glass cover over about 3/4 of the top so I do get evaporation. So….should I top off with just raw RO water? It is a 20 gallon tank and I top off with about 2 quarts every couple of days. If not, how do I maintain the ph without affecting other parameters.

I live about an hour and a half from Falls Church. I've seen their website and should probably consider going to at least one of their meetings to see what they are about. They actually may have people living closer to me that I could meet. Thanks

Very beautiful tank! Thank you for your comments. It is good to get a variety of comments/information. It is interesting to watch all the videos and see some people talk about lean dosing and the next one talk about EI dosing and don't even have to test the water. Just do large water changes. Other people do very little water changes. I have a scientific background so I agree that it is best to minimize changes to multiple things at the same time. I'm not sure I'm ready for dry fertilizers and mixing my own yet. I'm still learning about how to keep the plants healthy and grow different types. You mentioned the ppm of potassium in your tank. How do you measure that? I have test kits for nitrates and phosphates but it seems it is very hard to find a potassium test kit. Can you use a saltwater test kit for fresh water?

Hi Rob, Very interesting information. I will do a couple of water changes this weekend to reset the tank. The more I've read and the more youtube videos I've watched I have gotten to the point where I agree that I need to get my nitrates down. I was realizing this even before my original post. I've been looking at planting red plants and the information I've seen is that they like less nitrates as well. You mentioned Dennis Wong and I've been reading and watching videos on his 2Hr Aquarist website for the past few weeks. I mentioned in one of my earlier replies that I'm thinking of switching to his APT 3 complete fertilizer and his APT Sky remineralizer for my RO water instead of Seachem Equilibrium. The APT 3 product has about half the nitrates as does Easy Green. I'll read the references that you provided as well. I live in the Shenandoah Valley in VA, which is a rather rural area, and unfortunately does not have any aquarium clubs in the area. It would be nice to have a club nearby. I've done some hydroponic vegetable gardening so I'm familiar with a small continual level of fertilization rather than single larger dose weekly. That is what moved me in the direction of EI dosing. The APT 3 Complete product requires about 2 ml daily dosing, which I like, and your calculator puts that at right about 20 ppm nitrates. Thanks, Jeff

I measure the ph just before it turns on for the day and then about 4 hours later and I have a 1 ph difference. That should be 30 ppm co2. I also have a drop checker and it is in the green color.