Tony s

All just different forms of calcium carbonate (limestone). Different names for where they come from.

No softener? And using tap doesn’t kill fish? The low gh could easily be coming from the sulfur. You’re lacking calcium and magnesium in your water. Which fish need a certain amount to stay healthy. If the fish stay healthy you could go back to tap, if the smell doesn’t bother you. Ro if it does. Adjust it the tap with any method. Equilibrium, crushed coral, or oyster shell. adjust the ro water with either alkaline booster or carefully with baking soda. Until you get a feel for it.

Silly question. Does your tap water go through a water softener? You know that strips out the gh, leaving the kh. What are your parameters before the softener? If it’s softened, it just got a whole lot easier

No cons per se. Just slower at reaching their goal. there are other ways to get carbonates into the water. Sulfur is one. Does your well smell like rotten eggs? Looking to see what else. If it’s killing your fish, got to be something else there.

@Boosquash2 that depends on the species of Cory. Sterbais do great at high temperatures. You can keep them with rams and discus (I wouldn’t with discus. Discus are hard enough by themselves). Pandas and others fall apart in high heat

Woah. Okay. The ph and kh look normal for anywhere not near a coast. Mine is normally 12 gh and kh. 8 ph. That would be roughly 240ppm. The weird thing about that water is the lack of magnesium and calcium. You’re picking up carbonates from something else. Honestly, I’d probably use the tap water and add equilibrium back into it. It adds both magnesium and calcium back in. Plus a few other things. id be curious as to what is giving you the carbonates. It’s possible that the other side of the formula gives you something way to high. You’d have to run tests to figure out what it is. For me it’s a very high concentration of iron. When we water grass, anything the water touches turns rust colored. Whatever it is is probably your main issue. then you could go back to back to your tap

Mine also. It’s has cartridges that install next to the ro cartridges. Mine’s made more for drinking water. It adds a trace back in. K5 system from kinetico

It’s a bacterial bloom from the wood. Perfectly normal and harmless. It’s digesting the edible bits on the wood surface. When that’s gone it will disappear. Fish will also eat it. If you can’t stand it, gravel vac it off. But it will come back until it finishes the process. When I put my mopani wood in the growth got to 2 inches thick in spots.

Try maracyn2. If maracyn is not working this time. It usually does a better job with popeye. I’d try kanaplex, but not in a planted tank or with invertebrates. You could try it in a quarantine tank. @Colu It’s hard to see it clearly, but it could also be an injury.

If it’s the mollies and snails combination that you really love. That’s great, just understand it’s going to take a bit more work. I understand completely. We keep what we like. What moves us. Very doable. Just make sure everything’s stable.

I also use the seachem products, they’re not cheap. But they do a good job. Neutral regulator is not for a planted take. Use equilibrium instead. But that doesn’t do much for kh values.

Sorry for your losses I’m very curious as to why you think your water is unsafe for fish. Is it well water or city water. If it’s city water, most likely it is going to be safe for fish. It may carry a bit of ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate. That’s allowed under gov regulations. And will certainly carry chlorine or chloramines to keep the bacteria count down. But the harmful stuff is eliminated. Would be very interested in seeing your parameters coming from your tap. Just for this reason. The more people mess with their water. The harder this hobby gets. And then they quit. And then depending on the parameters, adjusting the fish to meet them. I say this from experience. We’re on well water with incredibly high iron content. I use ro currently. It’s adds a ton of work. I’m currently thinking how to get back to my water. So much easier that way. I have about 300 gallons of aquariums. It takes all week to make enough water for changes. It doesn’t happen enough. Nothing really harmful about baking soda. But you have to be very careful not to overdo it. It acts rapidly and overdoses can cause problems.

Scarlet Badis are very finicky eaters. They are carnivores, but they won’t eat prepared foods. Only live or frozen. If you’re up for that, they’re stunning. Peacock gudgeons are beautiful and would fit in nicely, but can hide (not always). I believe they also stay close to the bottom. I honestly haven’t done either, but listening to livestream of people who have. And love the gudgeon. The badis came up last week. But even Dans gives out that warning. I was trying to keep babies in your tank. Because, you know, babies… but if that’s not a requirement, options are huge.

Good grief, got stuck on the tank size and completely overlooked the tank mates. Was only thinking what goes in a 29 and takes care of its fry. I still might try the laetacara though. I don’t think they get big enough to disappear their tank mates. You could always try some bristlenose or clown plecos. Depending on how you feel about them. They kind of check all the boxes.

Or try something easy to breed but very pretty. Like Sailfin mollies

Okay… Thank you! You may have saved me some issues. I have a new 45g to get a filter for

Dwarf cichlids maybe? For your water maybe kribensis? Neolamprologus multifasciatis?(I so want to try these) Julidochromis? Or if you can soften it a bit. Laeticara araguaiae (I bought one of these for free shipping, I now want a pair), possibly laetacara curviceps (I believe @Guppysnail does these) If you can soften it a bunch I’d try appistogramma Lots of cichlids take care of their fry. At least for a while.

It depends on the strength of the glass. I believe the bottom panel has to be strong enough to support 17 lbs per gallon. So, say 30 gallons, it’d have to support 510 lbs. After that you lose me. I’m not sure how exactly you figure it out from there. Besides trial and error.

Every time they get together it’s a whole lot of fun. My absolute favorite. I did actually lol when John announced it on his livestream. I’m talking my daughter to aquashella just to meet Jason. We’re very excited. And very freaked out. This is so unlike me. I think a lot like Brian Barczyk’s store. I know Jason didn’t like the multi pet thing, but that’s right up my daughter’s alley. Especially the lizards and snakes. She’s 9, they’re one of her favorite animals.

The bigger the tank, the more stable its parameters will be. I think I’d stay with a 5 gallon for them

Well yes, 🤣 but it's more manageable now. You could do it the other way, but water changes may have been 3x a week 😂 I'm guessing the show tanks we see have a continuous drip system or an auto change system to keep the nitrates in a safe range. You're now in the range of something I might do. And I can stuff a tank full sometimes. But, really, it's all about the maintenance

or for a real show stopper, 1 albino threadfin acara

Yeah. I never advise getting rid of the wife. And i did fill up the house. See if she'll settle for a firemouth. or an electric blue acara. Only one cause breeding pairs in a community tank can be nightmares

The thing I worry about is the pygmies. They like lower ph and softer water. So, if you change things at all, maybe aim for a neutral ph. that should satisfy everyone. And, yes, job well done for 4 yr old mollies

Try Seachem alkaline buffer. And maybe acid buffer. Used Together you can target a specific ph. It’s what I use with ro water