[Hello from Pennsylvania]

@RickHunter,  Am from Pennsylvania, as well.  Great group of folks in the Forum.  Welcome aboard.    🙂

[FishTube - Who Have You Been Watching]

@Ben_RF,  I do enjoy a wide variety of channels.  Way too many to list.  From the amateur folks with just a few aquariums to the highly polished, larger channels. 

It's beneficial to gather information from a wide source, IMO.

With the 'internet age' here, remember those things with covers and pages inside; they are called books, lol.  📚

It's refreshing for me just to do some reading on the fish hobby or whatever else might be interesting, for a change at times.

[Favorite Plant]

Vallisneria Spiralis - I think a dense background, full of Vallisneria looks really nice, in an aquarium.

[On the 'No Water Change," Tank]

@Frogmouth Catfish, My aquariums kH & gH get depleted over time.  What I use is pure baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) to raise the kH & Wondershell to raise / maintain the gH.  

Note:  Both supplements are potent so care should be used when dosing.  Start with small increments.

The baking soda raises pH very quickly.

There are online kH dosing calculators for an added convenience, for the baking soda, to measure how many degrees of kH of change, per dose, etc.

The Wondershells are great too, but you have to be also careful not to add too much as well, otherwise the gH will get too high, over time.

Everything is a fine balance.

 

 

[On the 'No Water Change," Tank]

1 minute ago, RovingGinger said:

Embarrassingly today was the first I finally sat down and tested it - my expectation was just “very hard” with no nitrates naturally and it was somewhere in the “pink but not very” range. I generally use tetra test strips, maybe I should also try the master test kit. I could use the workout of shaking a bottle for a solid minute. 

@RovingGinger The Tetra strips work very well, IMO.

I do prefer the API liquid kits though, but it's a matter of personal preference.  

Water is truly amazing & I never understood some of it's complexities; only after entering into the aquarium hobby, has it helped my overall understanding.

[On the 'No Water Change," Tank]

@RovingGinger, your 20 ppm nitrate water source is fairly high.  Think the highest I have seen locally, was about 40 ppm nitrate.  Fortunately, our home well water is at a consistent 5 ppm nitrate level.  📊

I know what you mean regarding unnecessarily stressing the fish on excessive water changes.  I really think it's unfair to the fish, personally.  😟

Does your source water nitrate level vary or is it generally the same?

[On the 'No Water Change," Tank]

@Cory's comments on the "no water change" aquarium & seasoned tank time (STT) caught my interest, because it was recently something that I was thinking about as well.

One of my aquariums is leaning in that direction, since it is well established, has a fairly thick substrate and is heavily planted.

Noticed the nitrates have been decreasing with every weekly water test.  Usually, the nitrates always rose slowly, in the past.

Typically change water about every 30 days or so, but am going to experiment and see if the time interval can be stretched further.  

The tank is moderately to heavily stocked and will keep an eye on overall test parameters.  

[Phosphates, and the API test]

1 minute ago, Bill said:

Thanks @DaveSamsell! Yeah, I know it's definitely common and will eventually clear. This tank had a bit more, and it's annoying because it's coating some plants that aren't easy to clean off (val and ludwigia repens which were growing), so I figured I'd see if there was anything I could do to reduce. Silicates are low and all other parameters are good. I've never check phosphate before so when I saw the level I checked my other tanks and then the tap water and they're all the same, around 3, maybe a bit over.

@Bill, Maybe you have some other water you can test, I.E. left over bottled water, etc, just to get a small sample and see if it's the test kit or not.  

3 ppm is high, no doubt.  

I had the same brown coating on plants as well.  Not fun to clean off.

All the best.......

[Phosphates, and the API test]

5 hours ago, Bill said:

I just searched here for phosphate because I just tested with the API kit. I tested because I have some brown algae specifically in a 30 gallon that was setup about a month ago. I got a reading of about 3 ppm and I get about the same reading in all my other tanks, and tap water. Hmm...

@Bill. Just seen your post and a couple of ideas came to mind, that may help.  

Did you ever test for Phosphates before and know a baseline?

Can you obtain water from a different source and test to see if there is any difference?   

Note:  Brown algae was very common in my tanks when some of them were cycling.  Seems like the brown algae was the first to appear and then it was outcompeted for nutrients by the green algae, etc.  

All the best....

 

[Funeral Rituals]

1 hour ago, Daniel said:

I feed them to my cats, sort of a pet recycling program.

@Daniel, was just curious, ever any problems with the cats picking up internal parasites, or other ailments, from the fish?  

Typically, I just bury mine or use them as plant fertilizer.  

Thanks...

[Is this PetSmart advice legit?!]

11 hours ago, FishObsessed said:

Ok...I'm trying to mentally sort out the advice I received from PetSmart today so I thought I'd run it by you guys and see....this worker there seems very experienced, multiple tanks,showed me a picture of her planted tank and it look amazing...bright green,practically fake looking. I asked her what she "fed" her plants and she literally does nothing for them. She said they're just in gravel or sitting there with plant weights. No liquid fert, no root tabs. She may or may not have a good light for them. Is this possible???? 

She also told me when she does a water change (a minimal % of time due to plants and snails) she uses a brita filter (scratching my head) and always puts in a full tank dose of both API Stress Zyme and API Pimafix. Claims there may be diseases in the water that fish can catch. She also only feeds frozen food. And she uses baking soda in her tank water.

I'm so confused after talking to her bc her planted tank that she showed me a pic of looks great and she literally adds nothing to the water for the plants  Should I take her advice since we are near, or share, the same water source or does this sound as off as it did to me? Maybe I just have a lot to learn. 

@FishObsessed, My understanding of the water filter used may contain a carbon block.  I suspect more is being removed from the water than realized.  I don't use carbon based filters, with my water, for my planted aquariums and don't know who does.

When filling my very first aquarium, I used a similar water filter product, and my plants were not doing great at all.  Granted, everyone's source water can be extremely different often times; varying house to house.    ⛲

Folks have their own way of doing things.  What works for you may not work for someone else, given all the potential variables, etc.  😊

[Fish that don't need hides or plants?]

@FishObsessed, I have many Scissortail Rasboras & they really seem to go out of their way to stay in the "open" portions of the aquarium.  

[EPIC FAIL]

@ADMWNDSR83, We have a fairly large vegetable garden & our organic Zucchini was exceptionally well this year.  I like to grow our own plants\ vegetables since no pesticides are used, etc.  🌱🌿🌾🌻🍀🍃

[How many gallons of water can you put in a 10 gallon aquarium?]

@Daniel, I'll be waiting with bated breath for next week's episode, and continuing saga, of CFI (care forum investigates).  😉

[What did you get done today?]

Moved some more mystery snails from my DIY hatchery to their 'grow-out" tank.  

[Green spot algae on gravel]

@Seized, what really helped decrease my GSA was a good number of nerite snails.  

BTW, I use several Nicrew lights as well, in addition to my main lighting.  I mostly use them at night as a dimmable nightlight.  

You asked about the mystery snails.  They are fairly heavy eaters, but I generally don't feed mine a lot of food.  Am always trying to strike a balance in the aquariums for minimal algae while not starving the snails either.  🐌

 

[API liquid test kits]

@Pekitivey, those test strips work well. 

Am partial to the API liquid master test kit though.  Would imagine it's a matter of personal preference and available time, etc.  

I also use other purchased liquid API tests, GH, KH & phosphate.   They come in handy for testing my planted, freshwater aquariums.

 

 

[API liquid test kits]

@Pekitivey, IME, the nitrate test can be tricky, if not used correctly.  I follow the instructions.  The nitrate bottle #2, is especially critical to be mixed properly for an accurate test result. 

Back when I purchased my original API test kit, I even tried various times of mixing and there is a difference in accuracy.  

Went back to the provided factory instructions and it seems to work the best.

Was curious, do you have a lot of aquariums to test?  Maybe there is a better way for you, I.E. test strips, etc.

[What's the worst advice you received as a beginner?]

@ange, Most of my green plants don't need a lot of iron anyway.  I use Aquarium Co-Op's liquid "Easy Iron" in my aquariums, as needed.  

[What is your favorite tank size]

On 9/19/2020 at 6:57 AM, Daniel said:

I can't believe I am saying this, but it has to be a 10 gallon aquarium. Cheap, lightweight, just barely big enough. 

Sure 20 longs, 40 breeders all have their appeal, but in the cost, volume, size triangle you really cannot beat the old trusty 10 gallon aquarium.

@fishnerd illustrates the beauty of a 10 gallon. He has 11 in a bedroom and is running a breeding program out of his 10 gallons tanks.

I agree with @Daniel, my personal favorite is a heavily planted 10 gallon aquarium.  They are inexpensive & versatile.  

[What's the worst advice you received as a beginner?]

@ange, Thankfully, I didn't follow their bad advice with the metal, with my beginner aquarium.  It would have been iron overload, plus whatever other chemicals\elements that would have potentially leached into the water column.  

[What's the worst advice you received as a beginner?]

One of the worst pieces of advice I received was to layer the bottom of the aquarium with rusting metal, for a source of iron.  👹

[What is everyone's favorite hang on back filters?]

51 minutes ago, FishObsessed said:

@DaveSamselli have an Aqueon HOB.... do you know how to add media to it without "cramming" it behind the cartridge? Currently I have the Aqueon quiet flow 30 and am using the regular cartridge in the blue plastic biogrid. I tried adding a media bag yesterday and it's such a tight fit it makes me wonder if the water is even flowing through it.

Anyone have experience with Aqueon? I may post start another topic but I wondered if you had done this @DaveSamsell 

@FishObsessed, With my Aqueon HOB's, I don't use the cartridge & bio-grid system.  It's really a blend of personal preference combined with functionality.  What I use is a pre-filter sponge on the intake, reusable black coarse sponge pads inside also with a small piece of disposable fine poly pad all from @Cory 's Aquarium Co-Op.  Seems to work well for me.  I don't like to cram a lot of media into any HOB, when "hot-rodding" them, since they can potentially flood if backed up and\or cause other issues.    Hope this helps.  😊

[Val is very thin and almost translucent]

10 minutes ago, FrostiesFishes said:

I put root tabs in six months ago 

@FrostiesFishes In my experience, the Val in my tanks really didn't start thriving until I stopped gravel vac'ing near them.  They seemed to love a rich substrate with finer gravel.  Some of my Val looked weak, but suddenly grew new runners, fairly quickly, after leaving an area of the aquarium all for themselves.

[What is everyone's favorite hang on back filters?]

I would have to say AquaClear on top, then Seachem Tidal and then followed by Aqueon HOB's.  I have 'hot-rodded' a number of filters by several manufactures, but these are my personal favorites.