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Martin

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Posts posted by Martin

    One inch of fish per gallon of water?

    in General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by Martin

    Hey all!  I was curious to know how heavily you guys stock your tanks.  I have always been told to follow the rule of "one inch of fish per gallon of tank", however when watching YouTube videos and/or seeing pictures of others' tanks, their tanks always seem overstocked by this standard.  Is this a conservative rule to follow or is it just there for newbies like me?

    I just got my 10 gallon planted tank up and running and, ideally, I was aiming for about 5 shrimp, 2 nerites snails, and 8 neon tetras (or 6 guppies).  My plan was to introduce the animal life in stages and just watch how the tank/parameters do before adding more.  I think that's a pretty reasonable approach, but just wanted to solicit for your thoughts!

    • Like 2

    Dumbest thing you've done with your aquarium....

    in General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by Martin

    I was cycling my new planted tank about a month ago and had purchased a new glass canopy for the top.  The glass had some sticker gum on it so I was going to use a little Goo Gone to clean it off.  We had two different bottles, large and small.  The large one has a sort of spout on it so you can control the flow, the small one is just an open top once you unscrew the cap.  Forgetting this, I grabbed the small one thinking to squeeze a few drops onto the canopy and out came about half the bottle.  It doused all over the canopy and worked its way into the tank that had been cycling for almost 2 weeks.  I was SO MAD.

    Ended up dumping all the water, emptying/washing the tank, replacing the substrate, and replacing the filter cartridge.  Needless to say, I had to start the cycling over too.  >.<  What an idiot.

    • Like 1
    • Sad 2

    My first planted tank (i.e. Help me not shipwreck this thing.)

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Thanks for all the input everyone!  I've purchased a bit of crushed coral and just and a couple questions.  I was planning on placing it downstream from the cartridge in my filter, but because it is a 10 gallon tank, its not a very large space and there are already some bio balls in a mesh bag.  Can I put the coral in the same bag?  I'm assuming it would be fine.  Also, due to space, I was really only able to squeeze in a little over 2 tablespoons of coral.  Is there such thing as a "correct amount" that I need to put in?  I'm really wanting to avoid mixing the coral in with the substrate as I am very fond of the all black substrate look.  I could always just dump a mesh bag of it into the tank itself, but wanted to avoid that as well if possible.

    My first planted tank (i.e. Help me not shipwreck this thing.)

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Thanks James,  I've been reading everyone's advice on similar posts about maintaining a stable water environment being key, but I guess my main question is: Is it okay that "stable" where I live is on such an extreme in terms of water hardness?  At some point, I do want to have fish in the aquarium as well and that's kind of what I'm trying to plan ahead for.  I had difficulties on my previous unplanted aquarium in which the fish seemed to all display the typical symptoms of soft water issues, namely the lethargy, not feeding much, and loss of color.  

    I had tried to up the GH and KH for this reason, but at this time, it seems the levels won't budge even after dosing per the instructions.  I'm kind of confused at this point.  Thanks in advance.

    My first planted tank (i.e. Help me not shipwreck this thing.)

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Hello all!

    I'm diving into my first planted tank (10g) and I THINK I'm on the right track but would love input.   Water parameters are my big concern. 

    1.  Before starting, I tested the water right out of the tap:  pH 7.0, dKH 10, dGH 2.7.  I was surprised as I live in a part of Texas known for its hard water.  I have no water softening devices and my faucets/shower stalls all show the hallmark hard water stains.  I thought I was doing something wrong, so I retested several times over several days and the results were all the same.  I even tested the water from different faucets.  As a last check, I took a sample of the water to my local PetSmart and they confirmed I wasn't crazy/dumb/blind.  Very well, so I started...

    2.  I put down Fluval Stratum substrate and treated the water with Seachem Prime and API Quickstart and allowed the tank to start cycling with some bio balls in the filter for good measure. 

    3.  After a week, I retested at pH 7.0, dKH 4.4, dGH 1.2.  I assume the substrate was acidifying the water, causing the dKH to buffer and drop.  At this time, I boiled some dragon stones and 2 pieces of driftwood and added them to the tank.

    4.  Three days later, I retested at pH 7.2(ish), dKH 2.1, dGH practically zero.  I'm guessing it's the driftwood that cased that drop in dKH, but I don't really know what is eating up GH.

    I'm now at the present time and my plan is:

    1.  Re-mineralize the water with some Seachem Equilibrium and (if needed) Seachem Alkaline Buffer to restore GH and KH respectively until levels are appropriate.  (Actually, what are good target levels for GH/KH for beginner plants like amazon swords, cryptocoryns, and bicopas?)

    2.  Balance any remaining pH issues with some Seachem pH magic potion (lol, don't remember the name).

    3.  Add some plants in about a week assuming the water has balanced out.

    Is my thought process okay?  Also, is it normal to own practically every Seachem product they make?  I think I've handed over a significant chunk of change to them this month.  I promise they are not paying me to mention their products every other line!  Thank you all in advance!

     

    Martin

    Hello from Houston!

    in Introductions & Greetings

    Posted · Edited by Martin

    Thank you for the warm welcome!  I was just browsing though which plants to pick up once I'm done cycling and setting everything up!

    Irene, is that group a convention-like event or a business?  Love your videos by the way!

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