Jump to content
Watch our video on the rules of this forum.

L.W. Wetarm

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    120

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Feedback

    0%

 Content Type 

Posts posted by L.W. Wetarm

    RO water....

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    My tap water comes out super hard  at around 15 or 16 GH & KH. This is fine for my 60 gallon species only Brichardi tank. However, I wanted  more of a planted tank with softer water that fish like Neons and Rummynose Tetras would find more hospitable. For this reason I bought an inexpensive RODI unit to use on a new 29 gallon.  At first, I was mixing half RODI and half tap to provide the necessary minerals but the high silicates in the tap water gave me a dose of diatoms and the resulting “brown algae”.  The half tap half RO provided a GH & KH of closer to 7 and ph 7.8. 
     

    For water changes on that tank, I’m now using straight RODI water wit Seachem Equilibrium and Alkaline & Acid Buffers to get to this same parameter. 

    Is it really worth it, is the question. Well, I ask myself the same question when I’m lugging 5 gallon buckets of RODI water from the hall bathroom  to the living room. I think I have a pump that will fit my Python hose so I can refill from the buckets that I store and treat the RO. Which reminds me...the RO water has to be heated as well; which is my latest challenge.

     

    Is my tank too heavy for my apartment?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Everyone worries about this but in all my years of messing with aquariums, I have never heard of anyone actually having a tank crash through the floor. I would be interested to know if anyone on this forum has first hand knowledge of this happening.

     Mark Twain said, “I am an old man and have had many worries...most of which never happened “.

    • Like 2

    Moneywort Advice

    in Plants, Algae, and Fertilizers

    Posted


     

    image.png.7174e68dabdde5b3da95b80aac3cb68d.png

     

    1 hour ago, Mmiller2001 said:

    I think that's Brazilian Pennywort. 



     

    Whatever denomination it is 😄 , I pulled it up today did some trimming and replanting and I think it should be okay. There was a lot of melt in just  the two days since planting. I’ve already lost a Water Sprite that never recovered so fingers crossed. 

    image.png

    Moneywort Advice

    in Plants, Algae, and Fertilizers

    Posted

    I got my Aquarium Co-Op plant shipment yesterday. I have a question about what would be the best way to plant my new Brazilian Moneywort? It seems to have little root balls all up an down the stem. I just planted them (2 plants) as best I could with the roots on the bottom that came out of the pot. It’s really sort of a mess of stems (runners?) with lots of root balls. 
     

    Should I cut each stem just below the roots and re-plant it or what? 🤷🏼‍♂️

    F8658633-C99B-45DE-BB90-906FCF5AE9F7.jpeg

    CA568E69-B4D2-440A-83CD-7D873E67D7EF.jpeg

    Pogostemon Stellatus Octopus Tips/Tricks

    in Plants, Algae, and Fertilizers

    Posted

    I’m wishing my PSO would slow down a bit. It’s so successful it has almost gone into the pest category. It has completely engulfed the Jungle Val, which had been the dominant plant in the tank...my Java Ferns have never prospered. 
     

    I’ve got rock hard water, Ph around 7.8 or 8.0, Nitrates hover in the 25 to 40 (Salifert test) range, a Current USA light that’s not spec’ed for plants, temperature at 78. I dose either Easy Green or Thrive whenever I think about it...about once every week or two.  I don’t know what I’m doing right but it must be one of those things. 
     

    Good Luck. 🍀 
     

     

    53A04D9D-D36A-4891-9EAC-0C6C1D808894.jpeg

    • Like 5

    The myths and legends of anaerobic bacteria

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    2 hours ago, OnlyGenusCaps said:

    Dave has put together a good site there, and it's one of the best sources for well supported information in a hobby that is so often rife with half-truths, common knowledge, and personal anecdote.

    I take it that you know who is behind Aquariumscience.org website? I like to know who is providing information so I can place some sort of credibility to it. As I research the website, I find a lot of message board chatter of a very negative nature. I don’t know that I buy all that he’s preaching but the information he gave on the fallacy of sintered glass, pumice, or lava as a denitrifying media was eye opening.  

    • Like 1

    The myths and legends of anaerobic bacteria

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    1 hour ago, BenA said:

    Very interesting and informative site. Thanks.

    I have been studying the information on this site for a couple of weeks now and I have to say that it has really adjusted my thinking on filtration and the whole subject of beneficial bacteria and the ammonia oxidation process. It took me a couple of reads to really buy into what he’s preaching but he does back it with science instead of anecdotal evidence.  

    • Like 1

    Is Your Aquarium Too Big?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I purposely built this cabinet to place the tank closer to eye level @ 60”. It’s located in the traffic path from living room to dining room and kitchen where no one sits so I thought that since it’s a decorative planted tank, it would be more easily observed a little higher. 
     

    Not too much of a problem to maintain. I can do most front glass cleaning and maintenance without a stool. When I have to get to the back of the tank, I bring a little foot step stool in from the garage. 

    75B7D169-F741-4DF9-B131-51909AC79112.jpeg

    • Like 4

    What is growing on my plant?

    in Plants, Algae, and Fertilizers

    Posted · Edited by L.W. Wetarm

    3 minutes ago, ScottEsh said:

    And the brown fuzz?

    It’s the leaf dying back. That’s why it’s producing offspring. 
     

    Upon a second look at the pics.... The brown fuzz are the roots of the baby plants. They will either break off or you can cut them off the leaf and attach the to a rock or driftwood just like you had paid $9.99 for it. 

    • Like 2

    Opinions on Under Gravel Filters

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    21 hours ago, Anita said:

    https://aquariumscience.org/ has quite a bit of information on under-gravel filters (UGF), including efficiency ratings of various types of filters. The website author, a chemist, cites articles from peer-reviewed academic/scientific journals. He presents the information in a tiered format—from Aquariums for Dummies to Bill Nye the Science Guy. As a former lab tech, I appreciate the inclusion of scientific papers, although admittedly I do not feel the urge to slog through them myself.  Zzzzzz..... Thankfully, the author has done this for me. 😍

    Be prepared to read some controversial notions. The author unabashedly accepts the labels, "contrarian" and "chip on his shoulder." From his intro page:

     

     Argue-with-fools.jpg

    The first paragraph from the Review of Aquarium Filters page gives you an idea of website's tone:

     

    Have fun! 🤓

    OMG!!🤦🏼‍♂️ I clicked on your link around 8am this morning and ended up spending the whole day reading all of it. I won’t go off topic and talk about all the controversial things he wrote except to say, I’d have to throw away a lot of Biohome and Seachem products if I buy into all of what he’s selling. 🤷🏼‍♂️

    My stand is off balance. Send help!

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    I’m sure the weight of your 6’ tank full of water spread the load around to the entire cabinet frame. However, would everything be level once there was a load on the cabinet? The question I have is; is the cabinet racked or out of square and why.  Try to borrow or buy a square and see where things are off. 
    Are you completely sure the problem isn’t with the floor?  I was in the floor covering business for a long time and have seen it all in bad sub-floors and the laminate flooring can hide many problems below. 

    Brown algae

    in Plants, Algae, and Fertilizers

    Posted

    Seachem PhosGuard to remove silicates and snails to eat them are the best cure that I have had success with. More plants to compete for nutrients helps. Remove as much as you can from the tank. Just brushing it off only moves it to a different place. Remove it from the glass by wiping upwards, bottom to top, with a paper towel, folding over to a clean side with each wipe. Remove any rocks that are high in silicates such as sandstone and shale. 
     

    It comes and goes in my 60 gallon Brichardi species only tank because of the overfeeding that occurs in trying to get a huge colony of fish of all ages, fry to adults. I run PhosGuard continuously in a HOB but my Mystery Snail population has mysteriously diminished. 

    Tv shows

    in Off Topic General

    Posted

    11 hours ago, MAC said:

    We started watching NYPD Blue. Season 1 came out in the early ninety's, and the show is a bit of a time machine. Probably not for everyone, but a main protagonist is a certified NERM. We get a kick out of it when he spouts off about the nitrogen in his tanks or not being able to just put new fish into his balanced ecosystem in-between solving heinous crimes. 

    Back in the olden days We were big NYPD Blue fans. We only got hooked on it in it’s third to last season. So, we started buying the early seasons on DVD to get caught up . 😄 

    About a month or so back we started watching ER from the start on Hulu. I had forgotten  just what a great hospital drama series that was . It makes the contemporary network hospital dramas look lame.

    One interesting aspect of watching the 30 year old TV show is the glaring lack of modern technology and something as ordinary as a cell phone or Google search would change the whole story. We tend to take for granted what the modern  everyday gadgets that we carry around in our pocket or all around us today do until you watch something like ER to notice the absence changes the outcome  of the story.

     

    • Like 1
×
×
  • Create New...