Sandra the fish rookie

I did a water change, and added some crushed coral to my 5 gallon puffer tank. I only water change that tank every 2 weeks. I did a 20% and added some easy green..BUT when I went to lightly pump some in.. it was a full pump.. So today I wanted to check my chemistry, and there they were Nitrate higher than usual. That tank can range around 10 or so.. Never higher than 20.. All other parameters are normal Ammonia 0; Nitrites 0, PH 7.2, KH 4 (YAY), GH 300 and Chlorine 0 Do I need to change out some water?

Where is everyone getting their floating plants? I am having a REALLY hard time finding them. When I do .. they don't do well during shipping.. I see that some of you mix different types.. I have some red root floaters..that I am trying to keep alive post shipping..

@Betsy I am in Wilmington NC. We have 2 LFS that have some freshwater fish but a lot of salt water. Where in NC are you?

@lefty o I have been watching my chemistry on my 5 G. It appears that my PH and KH (although a bit better) is drooping again. I have crushed coral in the filter drawer (less than half a pound). June 4th I did a check and the KH was 4 and today low.. (yellow on the test strip) and on the API test I did yesterday it read 3. I also noted that my Nitrates were low usually reading 10 and it was a very light pink on the strip today. I don't think enough is getting to the actual inside of the tank. I did a water change today (removed dead snail shells he is a pea puffer) and decided to add a little bit to the sand substrate. I will keep check of the parameters. My water is VERY hard (300). I hope I did the right thing. I am seeing that now that my plants in all my tanks are growing, my PH and KH are dropping. The 20G fish population is much larger due to guppy fry. Not sure if between the fish and plants if this is causing my PH and KH to start to drop. It was always steady at 7.4... now its gradually dropping to sometimes 6.8-6.9

@lefty o My KH for the 20G and 40G = 4 (drops per the API test). My 5 G used to NEVER register KH and now has a KH= 3 which is an improvement due to 1/2 pound of Coral that I added May 29th. The GH for all the tanks is 28 (per the API kit) and 300 per the ACO multi test strips. All tanks are planted and have wood. That is my concern, my water is already super hard so I don't know if this will push it too far. I have wonder shells in the 40 and 20 but it does not seem to help much.. The 5 Gallon has just the coral.

Based on my tanks, I will need 4 pounds for the 40G and 2 pounds for the 20G? The mail man is going to HATE ME!! LOL

@lefty o Thanks!! Aesthetics is not a big deal. I have A LOT of plants so I don't want to uproot anything during the process. If its under the gravel, I am guessing I will rely on my chemistry (PH KH parameters) to determine if and when it needs replaced?

Per the advise I received on another post, I need to add some crushed coral to my tanks. I have a 20 G tall and a 40 Gallon breeder. One has pea gravel substrate and the other has smaller gravel substrate (both have eco complete underneath for plants) How do I add coral? I have HOB filters so I am not sure I will have enough space to add anything else in there. If I have to add it to the substrate, how do I do that? do I just add it on top? Mix it in? If I mix it in, I am "guessing" I have to do it when I do a water change so I can clean the mess that the gravel will stir up during the process. Any suggestions/recommendations is appreciated.

@Cory & @lefty o I just had to clean my HOB because it was not clearing floating debris. Prior to that my nitrates were higher (25 ppm). I have 2 Ottos in the 40 gallon and 3 more in the QT tank to add to the 40 G. I am trying to get more otto's but they are not easy to come by. With the TON of guppies in my 20G high would a Siamese algae eater get too large? I currently put 2 pumps of easy green. How much more should I add per week? Do I add crushed coral to the substrate? How much do I add for a 20G high? I just checked my PH again using the API test kit (for fun) see results below.

I am trying my best to get this algae under control. I go in and manually remove or trim off leaves with algae I lowered my lights etc.. I do water changes every 2 weeks and fertilize per the instructions on the ACO Easy green and Iron (to help my red plants). I have a lot of fish in there (guppy babies). I have an air stone in one corner, and a sponge filter on the other corner AND a HOB so I honestly feel flow is not the issue. I check chemistry often (due to load). Once the some of the guppy babies get large enough I will move some to the 40 gallon to continue to grow out. I have the easy carbon as well that I am using. The new growth does not seem to have any algae but I want this stuff to GO AWAY already. Tank age set up Dec 2020. Lights: Hyggar on a Kasa timer (I don't know what the intensity is it goes from bright to low light). Schedule On 9 - 1130 am then On 3-10 pm See pics below. Any advise is welcomed and appreciated.

Usually when I first receive fish, I put them in the QT tank to let them chill out a bit. I feed them watch them for the first week. Then I do a nice water change and start the med trio. Let them sit in it for 7 days and do another water change (per Cory's YT video). Then I observe them 2 more weeks. Letting them recover, feeding high quality foods. If all goes well they are released into the display tank. But I use ALL 3 meds at once. when it was my guppies, I did a full course of paracleanse (because of my LONG history of guppies and worms). I am hoping these guys will only need the trio. BUT.. if someone feels they need something additional (because of their experience) PLEASE let me know 🙂

@Guppysnail I totally feel you! I would buy guppies and all but 1 would die.. over and over again. I took a break from guppies for a while. Then I decided to take a chance on Michael's fish room mutt guppies. LIFE CHANGING. I QTrio each batch (including my super red long fin pleco I got from Mike too) and they are doing GREAT! Even had babies in the QT tank. Your right.. I guess I was thinking.. well Flip does quarantine his fish.. but even still.. better to be safe than sorry. I might just do all 3 meds "just in case".

From other posts I have asked this similar question however, this is a tad bit different. I recently received new fish from Flip Aquatics (6 panda cory and 3 otto's). They are happily hanging out in the QT tank. I have not seen any signs of disease (yet). When I received my guppies, I did the QT trio and a full round of Parcleanse and have continued to do this EXCEPT this time. I have been observing them first and plan to keep them in there 2 weeks at the VERY least. BUT.. Should I medicate them????? I am so afraid for it all to go well add them to my 40G display tank and all heck break loose. My current stocking in the 40G is 2 BN Plecos and 2 Otto's.

@James Black That is why I was a bit freaked when I saw no air and that is was really hot. I was not sure how reliable my infra red temp reader would be "through" a bag. I always was told ALWAYS FLOAT YOUR BAGS FIRST!! So.. I did.. and do. I have done the drip acclimation process and have not had good results ( I followed the instructions to a T). So, I have resorted back to my temp float method and have had success each time. Again, I am a rookie, so I learn a lot here (from all of you) and trial/error. If I were to remove them from that bag and put them in another "bag or container" to float/temp acclimate should I add Prime? My fear is ammonia as well.

@lefty o my other question is, my house temp is "meat locker" temp. We keep our house cool at 68 degrees. I keep all my tanks at 77-78. I will need to find a container that will 1) Fit in a 10 G and 2) Float...

I ordered fish from Flip Aquatics. I ordered 5 Panda corydora (received 1 extra YAY) and 3 otto's (that is all they had left 😞) to add to my 2 existing in the 40 gallon breeder tank. Although I paid for the 1 day shipping, it suddenly got SUPER hot here in North Carolina (over 95 degrees' in May!) I was VERY concerned about my fish. When they arrived, I checked that they were all alive and doing well. I then floated them in the aquarium (as I usually do) put the timer on for 20 Min.. and began to read the information in the package. It said on the info card DO NOT FLOAT THE BAGS!! Well, it was to late, at this point I had 3 minutes left. I usually am a float, then into the QT tank they go. The bags that are used are a self breathing type (which is why they had no air in them). I have never seen these nor ordered online fish where these were used (hence my initial error). They are all doing great. I have had them for 7 days in the QT tank. Per the instructions, I could have KILLED them! Does anyone have experience with these types of fish bags? my QT tank is a 10G so I am limited in space to temp acclimatize fish. Any suggestions or tips would be appreciated so I know what to do the next time I order fish from a retailer that uses these bags.

@Isaac M yes I got the ACO coral! Thank you so much! I will add the crushed coral today. I will test my KH/PH before just to have a baseline. how long does it typically take for he parameters to change? My water is REALLY hard, so do I still need to also have the wonder shell in there as well as the coral? Oh, do I need to rinse the coral before I add it?

@Isaac M do I use a kitchen/food scale to measure my crushed coral? does it need to be in a media bag or just inside the drawer? Should I change water more often? do you think that would help?

@Isaac M thank goodness I keep all the stuff I purchase for my aquariums!! The sand is called Estes Stoney River aquarium sand which is labeled as non toxic and PH neutral. As for the filter media in the drawer I have a bag of Seachem matrix bio media a piece of ACO coarse filter and some filter floss to catch any fine stuff. See picture below. Inside the tank I have an itty bitty AquaTop sponge filter that also has some biomedia inside of it. I also use a wonder shell (1 little one) inside the tank and add a new one when its gone. as for the crushed coral. Would I add it to this filter area next to the biomedia bag so it does not dissolve too fast?

@Isaac M I honestly wish I new. Here is what is different about the 5 gallon verses all my other tanks. Also see picture below 1) sand substrate 2) all rhizome plants only (so they can be removed for cleaning if needed) 3) filter is a sump type which is in a drawer under the main tank (name of tank is Fishtastic 5 gallon) tank holds 5 gallons and drawer holds 1.5 gallons of water. Last water change was 23 May 2021. I really try to be careful about water changes in this tiny tank. I do them once a week. always testing chemistry before and after.

Tap water KH is 7

I am wondering if I am doing something wrong when it comes to testing my KH. I am using the API test kit and the first drop is a really light blue, the second drop goes almost clear to VERY pale yellow. I know its supposed to go from blue to yellow but is it a certain "shade" of yellow? So per that reading I have a KH of 2?? I added a 3rd drop and it became a readable shade of yellow... but that was just to see what would happen I have posted my struggle with keeping the KH in my 5 gallon pea puffer tank to even a reading level. Water changes keep my PH up but not my KH. I have a small wonder shell in there and keep one in at all times. I purchased coral from ACO but not sure if or how to use it. He is doing well, eating swimming enjoying life. Plants are thriving as well. I am afraid to do anything but wondering if I "should" do something. I don't have equilibrium but can easily get some if that is what is recommended. ALL my other tanks are fine KH wise. Here are the parameters for reference purposes: PH 7.0 (FYI rest of my tanks are ALL 7.4) KH 2 (on the ACO strip big fat 0!) GH 14 (or on the ACO strip 300) Ammonia 0 Nitrate: 20 Nitrites: 0 Temp 78.2

As a nurse, I have what I need just in case I need it. I absolutely HATE not having what I need in a situation. I have all of the ACO meds. I also have KanaPlex and stress guard. I often go through the diseases topics just to learn from all the different experiences. Are there any additional meds that any of you keep on hand or recommend that a fish keep have on hand?

I am trying "raw" zuccini" today. Its still sitting untouched in the tank.. LOL. I am going to get some yellow/orange peppers, an english cucumber and frenched green beans. I had regular green beans, but unless I split them, they won't touch them. #DIVAS 🙂

I have a 5 gallon pea puffer tank. Its clear on 2 sides. Sometimes he gets spooked by shadows. I try to be carful. I tried one day to put a sheet of black paper on the back side and he freaked out. Wondering when the lights are off if I should try to put something on the back side of the tank. Would it help with the shadows? He does not do it all the time..but I don't want it to happen at ALL. He is active at night watching TV but sometimes he can get a bit spooked when I walk buy. I ordered some Java Fern to help fill in the back more (it should arrive tomorrow). Recommendations. See a older pic below