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varanidguy

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Everything posted by varanidguy

  1. varanidguy
    Yes, by today's standards, given the progression of LED technology, depth and spread are much better metrics when deciding on what lights to use than volume. The watts per gallon metric is an old school method, when T8, T5, and T5HO were the standards.
  2. varanidguy
    The pH really shouldn't be an issue, it sounds like your plants were simply having the "Oh you changed my parameters!" melt before adapting. The vast majority of fish we keep are also extremely adaptable. For instance, I keep wild caught two-spot catfish that come from peat swamps, in a pH of 8.2 and dKH of over 5, and they're doing perfectly well. Naturally they probably don't experience anything over 6, and even that could be high for their natural environment. Insofar as plants, they are also surprisingly adaptable at times, especially the ones you list. For example, I grow blyxa japonica like it's nobody's business, when on paper it likes low KH with a neutral to acidic pH. I'd say give it time, rather than chasing parameters, let things settle in for a couple of months and see how it goes.
  3. varanidguy
    From the looks of it yes, I'd say it looks like a potassium deficiency, possibly manganese in the picture but I'd put more of a bank on potassium. Another option would be to at some potassium sulfate salt to your water column, providing all other parameters are at acceptable levels. If everything else could use a boost, then yeah the all in one solution would be best.
  4. varanidguy
    I'll feed it all but prefer pellets. More nutrition per bite and it goes farther in feeding the animals.
  5. varanidguy
    All of the Fluval 3.0 lights, except the Nano of course, are actually a bit undersized. Going with the 24" would work for you.
  6. varanidguy
    Yeah, if it's the betta you're talking about, I wouldn't worry about lowering the pH. Typically it's something you really only have to worry about when caring for certain shrimp species or particularly sensitive wild caught fish.
  7. varanidguy
    Chances are you don't need to. Chasing parameters can often times be a lot more detrimental than just keeping things stable, which is what fish most prefer. However, if you're dead set on it, in your case I'd mix distilled or RO water with your tap water.
  8. varanidguy
    Let the tap water sit in a glass for a day or two to completely off gas then retest. Usually, the pH is going to be lower fresh from the tap than it is if you let it release whatever co2 and other gasses it could be holding. My tap's pH is 7.0 fresh from the tap, but 8.2 when it's allowed to off gas with a dKH of over 5.
  9. varanidguy
    I'm a big fan of aquasoils. Dirting a tank will give you awesome results with the plants, however it can be quite messy when you inevitably need to uproot plants. It can be minimalized if you do it slowly and carefully, but it's inevitable. You can use just about any substrate you want if you're willing to change how you do things. Root tabs, letting mulm naturally compost, using some type of soil, etc. You have a lot of options that can all work.
  10. varanidguy
    Just be sure to get high quality, tank raised discus. They are actually quite hardy if you get fish from the right source, even able to breed in alkaline water. Tank maintenance is top priority with discus as well as keeping them really toasty. They do not like a dirty tank.
  11. varanidguy
    I feed mostly NLS and Omega One insofar as dry, prepared foods. Like you, ingredients are priority (so long as the fish accept the food). All of my fish go wild for NLS. My archers give me a wet tee shirt lol XTreme is on the list of foods to try since people swear by it so much. Even saw a video from a trade show where a vendor was claiming they had fish spawning eating XTreme. I take that with a grain of salt but if it's true, it's a good testament to quality I suppose.
  12. varanidguy
    I've always had a better time with FedEx, without exception. Even when a lizard delivery got delayed on the eve of a holiday, FedEx stepped up and paid for another service to ensure it was delivered that night rather than delayed, with no additional cost to me or the seller. USPS is like HAAAAAAAAA your animal died sucks to be you!
  13. varanidguy
    At this point, I'd be willing to try 90% or larger water changes. At least once, then retest the tank water, to see what effect it has on the ammonia levels. Edit: Also I'd be adding Prime/Safe/Fritz/other dechlorinator that also detoxifies ammonia and nitrite for the sake of the fish.
  14. varanidguy
    Have you tested your tap to see if it has ammonia in it?
  15. varanidguy
    You'd want to feed everything Community Plus, except the pleco would get Soilent Green.
  16. varanidguy
    How big is the tank? If it's bigger than 10g, and you can get your hands on it, echinodorus xinguensis is stunning when it fills in.
  17. varanidguy
    I quarantine fish and utilize Ich-X (thank you Cory) as part of my medication routine. I use Seachem Safe for dechlorination and have never had a problem.
  18. varanidguy
    Anything special you do to take care of the bulb or do you simply treat it as a typical root feeder?
  19. varanidguy
    Do you guys typically leave the bulb and let the plants grow to their heart's content or do you harvest the plants and save/store the bulb?
  20. varanidguy
    To be honest, driftwood is so mild that I'd be surprised if it could be used as a proper buffer. You already have experience with quality aquarium soil, so in your shoes I'd use that personally. Unless that tank will have heavy sifters that would make a big mess of it. And if your KH is consistently 0-1 degree from the tap, it shouldn't negatively affect the aquasoil.
  21. varanidguy
    If you remineralize using only GH, then it will have no affect on your pH. It is necessary to remineralize your water with GH, especially for plants. Do you know what the TDS of your tap water is? If you do indeed have zero KH, a very effective way of having a reliable soft water tank is to use an active substrate such as Amazonia, Controsoil, et al. They will keep your water buffered to a pH of typically anywhere between 6.0-6.8 depending on the product. Those substrates aren't cheap, but the right ones work very well. If you're interested in knowing more about them, I can chat about them further. Another option is adding peat granules to your filter, and as stated above, almond leaves and driftwood will help lower the pH. I typically like to avoid commercial buffers unless I'm working with 0 TDS water as raising the TDS of water that isn't at 0 to start could be detrimental.
  22. varanidguy
    lol That's the truth with a lot of things. With aquariums for me, it depends on what my goals are. In my 40 breeder, I like growing some more difficult or rare (albeit not to the extreme) plants, where even if co2 isn't wholly needed, it gives you that edge for success. Whereas in my 75, I want it to be very little maintenance, so it's more simplified.
  23. varanidguy
    Yep, the larger varieties of rainbows would be good in that water as well. Archers, if you're spendy. Lots of options. Are you looking for a peaceful community with an amalgamation? Oddballs? Small things to breed? Planted, if so, how dense?
  24. varanidguy
    It's not so bad, you just can't be afraid of a mess. The only time I'd really advise strongly against it is if you're the type that likes to uproot and move plants around, like I do...then it becomes a real hassle.
  25. varanidguy
    Definitely could be. I can tell you that I have cacatuoides with pygmy cories without issues. No expensive snacks lol Also, I am using some Biohome Ultimate as well. Great stuff! But I dose/want nitrates in the tank it's on, so can't speak to the full cycle capabilities/claims. But you can definitely tell it's extremely high quality media.
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