YIACrazy

I like the idea of the course sponge from the Co-op. I use it for many "outside of the box" purposes...I don't know why I haven't considered this earlier. I know that currently it's holding some Java Fern "babies" that matured. Technically it would be a challenge to clean the sponge if just left on a prefilter in a heavily stocked tank, but my tank is lightly stocked and the filter is used for flow more than anything...a light siphon would get most debris off without much issue. That said, I'd want a wall, not a round prefilter. Using a pump or filter to keep the moss against the foam would help get the moss started rather easily without the use of super glue. It would get a good foothold into the sponge naturally...or I would think. Worth a try anyway.

So Cory just mentioned in his live stream that plants reduce hardness....well, my one tank I forgot to put CC back in and everything dropped, pH and kH....but not the hardness. It's still way over 300. So I had to add CC back in, which I'm sure added more hardness to the water. I have a java fern that takes up half the tank.... literally. Im not sure exactly what it does take out of the water....but it's a beast. Someone please explain. Cause I'm really just done with the hobby. How can my water be so hard and yet my pH and kH bottom out? Not just be low....totally bottom out. I'm fine with it for my Swordtails/guppies....most other fish in fact....but now I understand why my bettas and shrimp kept dying. There is something very wrong with my water....I don't live in the middle of the country on a bed of limestone. I'm on the east coast...but on municipal water.

Not Chloramine specifically, but test strips/kits pick up both Chlorine and Chloramine. (Unless they are designed to determine the difference) I have test strips for pools that I use on my ponds that once I remove chlorine through a filter. I can test for Chloramine using the those strips. I wouldn't use them in my aquariums or directly in my ponds as they are not necessarily fish safe but I'm setting up my ponds this week and would be happy to double check in a bucket. In general though, test kits detect chorine molecules...bound or not.

So the suggestion is not to run a sponge filter? For the season? I was going to do an outdoor pond with a large sponge filter and a nano usb air pump.

Didn't watch the video either, but since lfs have basically disappeared, we don't have the same resources. (This forum is finally a step in the right direction...however it comes with its own significant flaws) Sure, we get the internet, but that doesn't always help for specific questions. Forums tend to assume you are ignorant or become the "insert here" police instead of helping. I've seen people ask about a sick Betta living in a 3g attacked with comments about needing a 10g. Not one comment mentioning the sickness. He had a healthy cycle...low nitrates...so the illness needed to be addressed first. Experience is the only way to learn without other resources, and this hobby is too expensive for mistakes.

Yes. As for Tap parameters...I'd want to take them again. I can't actually trust that they are consistent. Usually, out of the tap.... And even after the dissolved gases dissipate, the biggest problem is a complete lack of kH. Whatever is wrong with the water uses up all the buffering capacity.... Ultimately leading to the pH crashing. I'm in New Jersey. I'm getting water from New Brunswick, Raritan, and a 3rd plant that is escaping me right now. Of course because of Covid, I'm working off of a 2019 report, but I've been fighting this issue for a while. They use 4.0 chlorine and on occasion they have used chloramine....just not in 2019. As for harmful metals....we are in the 90th percentile. Don't have the numbers in front of me, but it's the lead and copper that are excessive coming from the city plant. I can't drink my tap water....its taste makes me ill. What I don't see on the report is what they add... Or what is causing the buffering that works against other buffering agents. Not because I want to start mixing chemicals, but because I'm frustrated and want to understand. Other people in neighboring areas with different water treatment plants don't have the same water issues.... Although they do pull it out of different parts of the river don't they... Candi told me to buy an RODI unit. I might need to.... Thanks

That happened to me when I first started. The water report yearly so it should have a max/min. If you live in an agricultural area, the comment might be "due to fertilizer run off" or something. Does it say if 40 ppm is acceptable? If it says it's not acceptable, they have to fix it. In my case, it was 5ppm, but my point is that within 2 weeks, it had returned to 0. I don't know if it was because it was spring crop thing. Wait two weeks or so and test again. That's my suggestion. If it really is only two to 4 weeks.... You don't need to spend tons on money. You can also set up a sump or whatever and suck there nitrates out... Don't know how complicated you want to get.

@Cory I have been fighting my water since I started the hobby. 7? Years? Not by trying to keep fish that don't match my water, but by keeping fish at all. My water has always been "wacky". Before I found the Co-op, I tried seachem's line of buffers and they didn't work. Support said that a buffer in my tap was fighting their buffers. CC fixed my problems in general for most fish, (shrimp just die) however due to chemistry I don't understand, to get the slight increase in kH in my water, the gH jumps from 75 to well over 300. I'm not sure exactly how high...it's too high to read. I need the kH...my pH has crashed too many times. Two weeks ago I lost a fish or 2 from every tank that got a water change. (Luckily I was lazy) I happened to be doing an experiment and caught 5g of my tap water. It was perfect for about a week. My theory is that the change in tap water however briefly.... With a larger water change was too much for the fish to adapt to. I'm guessing smaller water changes or leaving water out overnight and test before. However what I really want is to understand. I've just lost too many fish. It's heartbreaking and frustrating. I can't find these fish anywhere now... They are not replaceable. (Although I know Cory knows someone 😉) The fact that a similar cycle of deaths happens every 6-8 months is making sense. Can anyone relate? Anyone with something similar? Or is this just me? (It's usually just me) P.s. I live in this sweet spot (nasty spot) where we buy water from 3 different treatment plants. One is Old City with horrible pipes, the second is rural with fertilizer runoff, the third is awesome, but small. Thanks

Just for confirmation for the millionth time...Med trio for new healthy fish.... Only need to give the first dose of each unless they present with illness correct? Full course is unnecessary if healthy? Thanks

I think he mentioned in a live stream that they were a good source of food for daphnia...or did I imagine that. Anyone know what size tank a nano block would be good for? I'm about to move my daphnia culture outside for the spring so a little perspective would be appreciated. Thanks

The tank just had standard Aquarium gravel with some crushed coral. As for the water, I have been using distilled water reminerilized with shrimp gH+/kH+ for NeoCardinia shrimp. My water kills shrimp. Never understood why, but they do well with this....pH, kH, gH are always in a sweet spot. Those tanks do not have any crushed coral however. The substrate for the tank in question had some from a previous set up. I guess It was about a month into running that I noticed the pH jump. I don't know what kH gH buffers they use in shrimp salt, but from what I understand, CC shouldn't make the pH go higher that 7.4/7.6. it might make the hardness crazy. I do understand the chemistry at the most basic level, but not enough to help me. There are various buffers and salts. CC I want mostly to raise my kH. It's non-existent. My pH exists normally around 6.8. Without CC, the pH will crash in a heartbeat. However the slight increase in pH and kH requires a huge amount of CC..... And while I am not sure, my GH turns my water to rock. It just always seemed out of proportion....like it was fighting against another buffer in my water. When I first started in the hobby, I tried one of those alkaline/acid buffers. I called the company because they didn't work. The representative told me then that their buffer was fighting the buffers in my water.... And I have always called my water wacky. Honestly, the fish don't mind the parameters. The shrimp get RODI with shrimp salt. Maybe it is the Crushed Coral with shrimp salt.... In which case, I need to remove the CC. Otherwise I have nothing else to add to trouble shoot. Thanks.

So I posted about this earlier and I was offered great advice for typical situations, but I have several tanks and this is out of my typical. My pH is usually around 7 ish, but no kH, so I tend to add crushed coral to my substrate. So an extremely high pH is way out of my normal. I never really understood the actual chemistry, but I get where my water parameters should be... Expect now I'm clueless and need real help. I made a daphnia set up. It's got way too much light, aquarium gravel, some guppy grass, some CC and like 6 guppy fry. I think I attached a photo. Yeah, the bottom is kinda gross...I want to save any eggs....but I haven't fed yeast....no detritus worms. pH is off the chart. Ammonia, Nitrate, Nitrite are O. kH was about 40. I tried a 25% water change....(it rains in ponds) and the kH dropped out, pH didn't budge, but honestly, it could be so high that a drop is still higher than measurable. Crushed Coral could never raise pH that high....so what could raise pH that high? Thanks. Yes, one is a tetra strips, one is the Co-op strip.

Topping off is not at all the same as a water b change. If you have 29 gallons of nitrates and 4 gallons evaporates, you have 29 gallons of nitrates in 25 gallons of water. When you top off, it goes back to being 29 gallons in 29 gallons. As for frequency....as with everything else, they are right. If your plants help balance your tank, then you decide the frequency. Sounds like you have a good plant to stock ratio...

Thanks. I tried the new test strips and they said it was very low pH so I was reluctant to believe it....It has CC. (like as low as the strips would read), I tried the tetra test strips and it was as high as it would read. (8.4) the thing is purple.... And yes, I know that purple is usually a nitrate color....I double checked. I didn't make a mistake. So I grabbed the API. "PH Normal" was off the chart dark blue. "pH High" was off the chart purple....so I'm confident that whatever water chemistry thing is going on, the pH is really that high. Ammonia is O, Nitrate is O, Nitrite is O, kH appears to be about 40. I have about 8 guppy fry in there doing fine, but momma died.... Which is why I tested the water. Some guppy grass.... Not much.... Glass covered with algae of course... Heater and lights. I don't touch the bottom... Gravel vacuum and such. I know the guppies are picking off the young daphnia, but the cycle will go around and the guppies will be out of there. Hope to get nerites snails. This is the first time I don't have detritus worms so I'm liking it. They just got a 25 % fresh water rain (distilled water change) and the pH didn't budge. Not good at Math and I'm not sure about what caused the pH spike to begin with. I'm not even sure how high the pH actually is. I can do a 25% change every day, but it's kinda pointless if I don't know what caused it. Only thing in the tank is gravel with some CC in the substrate. Thanks

I'm not great with water parameters. I'm trying to keep daphnia. I've got a little daphnia indoor daphnia tank going and it seems to be doing well. Some floating plants..... No nitrates... Ect. However, the pH ha climbed to crazy. Like off the chart crazy. It might be too high to actually measure. I may have some CC leftover in the substrate, but that would not cause such an increase. I treat it like my tanks. I've never had an issue with pH going high. Nitrates sure.... And yes, I'm confused how there are no nitrates.... Unless a handful of guppy grass is that good at cleaning up after a 10 gallon filled with daphnia. I've been doing daily water changes with distilled water. Gallon per day for two days thus far. pH is still max on the test. Help... But more important, please teach. Thanks.