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DavidR

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Everything posted by DavidR

  1. The more digging into this the more I keep reading that at home nitrate reading kits aren't accurate and shouldn't be relied on to maintain a healthy fish tank. I don't even test it, I know I have adequate filtration to perform water changes every other week, I typically do a 30-40% water change weekly anyway.
  2. I'd suggest that you need a bit of patience with the tank. It will take some time for the plants to root and really start to take off. To add to this, fertilizer. Make sure you are following the Easy Green instructions, it shouldn't be a once a week event to add it. Many say root tabs every 3-6 months, maybe on the more frequent side with the sand as your base.
  3. The way Dean has his fishroom setup is a masterpiece. We all aspire to add a bit of his ingenuity. One of the reasons we all love his fishroom tours. I find myself noticing something else each time.
  4. I run matten filters in several of my tanks. I like them quite a bit. I find the maintenance to be a pain, but it doesn't need to be done often at all.
  5. I picked up some rainbows about 3 weeks ago. These fish are still a bit skittish and never eat while I'm around. Has anybody else had fish like this? Could there be something that I'm doing to spook them? I've never had rainbows act like this. They hide every time I approach the tank. Tank is heavily planted with plenty of cover.
  6. Sounds to me like you need either new tanks or larger tanks.
  7. I just finished setting up a sump and learned a lot! I'm certainly no expert, but in general I'd agree with the thoughts shared above. As to a return pump size, the variable flow pumps have really come down in price and certainly worth the cost to have that adjustability rather then buying several pumps till you get the right one. I added a Jebao DCW pump and found it to be much better quality then expected as an example.
  8. I feed daily, sometimes twice when I'm trying to fatten up some fish. I have a ton of shrimp so I feel the need to feed a bit extra to ensure they get some. This is something I've been contemplating lately though, I plan to try once a day and add in a fasting day as this is what Gary Lange does and it seems to work for his rainbows (I keep rainbows mainly).
  9. I wanted to piggyback a bit on this question as it seems related. What is a healthy amount of KH if your PH is around 7.0? What would be the minimum you would want in this scenario?
  10. Thank you Cory. Based on what you were saying I assumed this product would be coming, just a matter of timing.
  11. @Cory mentioned Coop heaters may be coming soon. Anybody with inside information on this? I happen to need several and would prefer to just wait if it won't be that long, otherwise I'll need to get them somewhere else.
  12. Am I the only one that is constantly trying to find the most efficient way to perform water changes? I have decided that a fully automated system like what Cory uses isn't right for me as several tanks I have can't be drilled and are spread across a couple rooms, but a semi-automated version is what I'm working towards. Seems I have been in a constant state of refinement to gain efficiency with some automation being added.
  13. I had a similar situation. My sink wouldn't work, but not all was lost. I got myself a cheap pump from Amazon and threw it in the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket. I drained the water into the tub as I found this to be quicker anyway. I'd fill the bucket with water the temperature I was looking for and pump it to the tanks using this cheap pump. Just make sure you buy one that is large enough to pump the water quickly and for any head height you have. Hope this helps someone, it is the method I used for quite a while.
  14. That seems odd indeed. Hard to tell for sure without pictures what is going on. I'd buy a quality CO2 system with dual stage regulator, it really isn't something to mess around with on the cheap. Could lead to gassing your fish. Running a small amount of CO2 all day isn't the same as running the proper amount during the photosynthesis period for plants. You need to get the amount right during that period and really isn't needed the rest of the time.
  15. I believe the temperature may be the issue.
  16. I'll raise the temp a bit and add another rainbow to see if that helps things. Thanks all.
  17. This manifold: https://www.aquariumcoop.com/collections/air-accessories/products/4-way-metal-gang-valve These airstones: https://flipaquatics.com/products/matten-filter-air-line-kit?variant=49323129476 If I did it again I'd likely use the Ziss never clog air stones. Will likely be installing these eventually.
  18. I don't normally look at kh or gh, but my temp is 72 and ph ranges from 7.1-6.5 as I inject CO2. I closely monitor CO2 to maintain these parameters.
  19. It started about two months ago. I had 4 fish that had been in the aquarium pass, I'm unsure why. They were all rainbow fish, I have otto's and lots of shrimp that didn't seem affected at all. 2 of the rainbows did survive and actually seemed to thrive. I checked parameters and had no ammonia or nirtrite with minimal nitrate present. Fast forward to now, I watched the tank for a couple months and checked the parameters. No ammonia or nitrite appeared. I added 10 small rainbows after it seemed the tank was stable. All but two of them have passed over the week they have been in the tank. No other residents have had any issues. Again, I checked the parameters and noted no ammonia or nitrite and minimal nitrate. This is a 78 gallon heavily planted tank that has been running for over a year. I have a bunch of cherry shrimp and 6 otto's in addition to the fish mentioned above. I'm confused as to what could be going on, any help is appreciated.
  20. I'm running three off of one pump. I'm using an Eheim pump and an air distribution manifold to ensure the air is consistent across all tanks.
  21. Well, I'd like to try something different. I've been messing around with Oase canister filters and found them to be more finicky then I'd like, I've had a couple fail and it's been a less then ideal situation. I feel I will have more control over all aspects of my filter by adding a sump. Plus, it is something new to try out. I've never had a sump on an aquarium before. I'm well aware that I could just try a different brand of canister filter.
  22. I just received a brine shrimp hatchery from the Coop as well. It is my second as I found that I needed a bit over 24 hours for a good hatch and one wasn't cutting it for my fish. All my fish love the brine shrimp! On a side note, I ordered from the Coop as well as a fish related item from Amazon. Even from coming across the country, the Coop package arrived before my Prime package by almost 8 hours. It is literally insane how fast the Coop ships products!!
  23. I'm planning to add a sump to my 78 gallon heavily planted tank. I'm working on mapping out the plumbing as well as pumps I will need. Anyone that has done this, do you have any advice? Anything that would have been nice to know before you started setting up your sump?
  24. Good questions. I keep this tank 71-72. 0 ammonia or Nitrites, this is a well seasoned tank. Nitrates get up to 20 before my weekly water change.
  25. I just got several fish in a few days ago. They are Rhadinocentrous. All are doing well except for one, it is swimming up and down, as in straight up with head on the top. It isn't moving up and down the tank, it is just swimming with it's head up. The rear most fins appear to be slightly damaged, I don't see anything else going on. The fish is clearly not doing well, although it did eat a bit yesterday. Is there anything I can do for this young female?
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