LaurieinIA

I have a planted, 40 gal (cube), with a variety of tetras. Lemon, Columbian blue, VonRio, & embers. I also have snails that are doing a great job keeping things clean, so I’m not worried about a “cleanup crew” per se. Just thinking about something to add some color/activity at the very bottom. Suggestions?

This might be easier to answer via a poll? Not sure how to set that up though... Anyway... I’m a 44 year old woman who set up her first 40 gal in August 2020. Not necessarily due to Covid - my BIL gave me the tank a year prior (he upgraded and has 10-12? tanks, maybe more) and I finally moved to a house where I could set it up. Fast forward to now and I also have a betta tank and a 75 gal African cichlid tank. My other half let me get rid of the couch to make room for that one 😊 He’s tolerant, supportive, and likes to watch them - but the work (and expense) is all mine.

@Cory I’ve always been impressed with how quickly my orders are shipped & delivered. What amazed me is placing an order after 8pm on a Saturday and it still was packaged/ready to ship on Sunday... all on a holiday weekend! I assumed some of you might actually take some time off? Guess I was wrong 😉 thanks for all you and your team do!

Beautiful setup, both inside and out. Over the weekend, I ordered a pogostemon stellatus octopus to add to my first planted tank. I hope mine does half as well as yours!

I’ve no experience with gouramis, nor do I have a female betta. But, I do have Columbian Blue tetras with my VonRios and ember tetras and enjoy the color contrast.

Wow! I placed an order late last evening, not expecting it to be packaged/shipped until Tuesday due to the holiday weekend and it’s already ready to go today. Of course... USPS likely won’t do anything with it at this point, but WOW! Looking forward to my new plants & supplies 😊

At first I thought the photo was “little smokies”... I must need breakfast. Lol The trays in my canister filter need to have an audible and physical “click” as I restack them in order for them to line up correctly. If mine are off, even a smidge, the lid won’t clamp down and seal.

This topic is a little depressing. 😉 After looking at my credit card charges since starting tank #1 back in August 2020, I was already feeling mildy guilty about the $$$ I’ve put into them... more so now that I have 3. Thinking about the increase in the utility bill just makes me feel more guilty. LOL

No, I haven’t, but I do have a Coop pre-filter sponge on the intake, too. I don’t know the ppi of the sponge inside the filter off the top of my head. For both, when they start looking gunked up, I just give them a good “shake & squeeze” in the bucket when I’m doing a water change.

I have this filter setup as well. However, I filled the space to the left (in your photo) of the cartridge with sponge so the water flows thru the coarse sponge first, then the cartridge for polishing. Also, I no longer buy the disposable cartridges. When the ones I had were gross, I cut the media off of the plastic frame and now use that to hold whatever cut-to-fit floss, carbon infused media, or other filter media as needed. I use plain dental floss to “sew” it to the frame so it stays put.

This is my little buddy

I am relatively new to the hobby and I think I have read every thread about the Coop test strips and other testing kits trying to figure out which one to use. I, too, have struggled with the Coop test strips... and every other test I’ve used... due to reading colors - not necessarily because one is more accurate than another. I took a water sample to my LFS recently and had them run their tests along side all 3 of my options... With extra eyes, many that are better at colors than mine, I was able to discern that the result of each test (Fluval liquid, API liquid, Coop test strips, & whatever the store used) were all reasonably close for my purposes. In the end, my conclusion was that finding something that works for my eyes and then just “watching the trends” is more important than finding an absolute value on any of them. Ultimately, I will use the API test as my “standard” as that is the easiest color chart for my eyes. Using the Coop strips, my pH could be anywhere from 6.8 to 8.0 because I can’t tell the difference in any of those colors. However, I like the Coop strips for quick checks of nitrite/nitrate... to me, ANY discernible color on those means it’s time for a water change. Does this mean the tests aren’t accurate? NO! Just that I can’t “see” the results. All that said, since changing to tap water instead of buying/hauling RO water, I did find out that my new community of tetras is running close to 8.0 pH. My LFS runs RO water in the store, so I need to work out a way to bridge that gap so I don’t lose more fish due to shocking them. (Yes, all other parameters are good, so assuming it’s the pH jump) My African cichlid tank is actually a little on the high side, too, as it’s in the high 8s to low 9s. Like many things, I think it’s mostly about finding a balance in something that works for us as individuals and our aquariums.

@tonyjuliano I agree that having my water tested at the store is not a 100% accurate representation of what it is at home. My plan is to run my tests along side theirs so I can see the differences. We will be testing the same exact water. Once I know where I’m at, I feel I can watch the trends accordingly.

I’m having similar trouble with test results. Not long ago, I needed to replace testing supplies and I changed from the Fluval test kit to API one. I did this because I could never confidently read the Fluval results - especially nitrates. I wasn’t too concerned about not 100% accurately reading the pH as my only tank at the time was African cichlids... as long as it got past greenish yellow and seemed consistent - I’d take photos to compare - I accepted it as high enough. Moving forward to today... I still have the Fluval pH test (the others have run out) with a result of 7.0, maybe 7.5, and my API test shows a solid 8.0. This is in a community of tetras, so the difference could/should be a problem. They seem fine overall, but I have lost a few within a couple days of adding them, so I’m wondering more if my pH is really 8.0. I don’t know which test to trust and if the readings are that different on pH, can I trust the other test readings? I’ve talked to my LFS and they don’t have a great opinion of the API tests. They don’t even sell them. Of course, they are willing to test my water (which I will have them do today), but it still doesn’t give me the answers I need at home. I’ve tried tetra test strips in the past and have the new COOP ones as well... I can’t confidently read pH on those either.

I’m having similar trouble with test results. Not long ago, I needed to replace testing supplies and I changed from the Fluval test kit to API one. I did this because I could never confidently read the Fluval results - esp nitrates. I wasn’t too concerned about not reading the pH as my only tank at the time was African cichlids... as long as it got past greenish yellow, I accepted it as high enough. I still have the Fluval pH test (the others have run out) with a result of 7.0, maybe 7.5, and my API test shows a solid 8.0. This is in a community of tetras, so the difference could/should be a problem. They seem fine overall, but I have lost a few within a couple days of adding them, so I’m wondering more if my pH is really 8.0. I don’t know which test to trust and if the readings are that different on pH, can I trust the other test readings? I’ve talked to my LFS and they don’t have a great opinion of the API tests. They don’t even sell them. Of course, they are willing to test my water (which I will have them do later this week), but it still doesn’t give me the answers I need at home. I’ve tried tetra test strips in the past and have the COOP ones as well... I can’t confidently read those either.

@Mary K I’m sorry to hear this didn’t go well for you

@Fish Folk again, beautiful! 😊

EBAs? Whatever they are, they are beautiful!

@Trish I understand what you’re saying. However, right now it’s a decision of 10 embers_obviously_picking on one betta... or 4 Columbians_potentially_picking on 10 embers. I feel this is the better option right now as the embers have more hiding spots away from the Columbians than the betta has from the embers in that tank.

@Trish thanks for the info on the embers. So far, so good, but I’ll keep an eye on them. They weren’t in my original plan for this community, but got moved in because they were suddenly tearing my betta’s fins up... I would catch them in the act.

I added 4 lemon tetras to my planted, tetra community on Monday evening, along with 4 Columbian blue tetras. Of the lemon tetras, I found 2 dead this AM and another just now. All other fish seem fine. 40 gal planted with Val, dwarf sag, a red tiger lily, and some ludwigia ovalis. Parameters just now: ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 5 (all using API liquid tests) temp 74. hard water... GH and KH are both high, pH 7.6 I think... not sure of exact readings because I have a hard time reading test strips stock: 10 ember tetras, 14 VonRio tetras, 4 Columbian blue tetras, and now just 1 lemon tetra. Everything I’ve read indicates they should work in my setup. What did I miss? Or is it just bad luck with this batch?

@Greg the way you explain it makes more sense. I didn’t realize that they were two separate products that can be used individually and/or together to accomplish more than one ultimate goal... depending on the application. Another lesson learned from this forum 😊 I hope you find your solution!

@Wingman12r @SWilson I’ve tried knocking it on the wall, etc... runs for a minute or two and then stops again. I reached out to Candi and we’re working on it. Thanks!

I don’t have an answer to your question, but because I didn’t know what SeaChem Acid Buffer and Alkaline Buffer were, I looked it up. What I found confuses me as to why you’re using it to lower pH? Did I misunderstand? From what I read, it is used to INCREASE pH and the suggested dosing chart is based on using RO water. I’ve attached a screenshot of what I was reading. I’m sure someone who knows a lot more will be way more helpful. Good luck!

@NetBelleAnie were you able to get this resolved? I received my second nano pump yesterday. Hooked it up last evening... small COOP sponge filter with never clog air stone, check valve installed, etc. It was fine when I went to bed didn’t look at it this AM as it was dark. I Came home from work just now and mine quit working, too?