jhunholz

Yeah, I did some initial searching and wasn't finding much. A few saltwater forums were suggesting it wouldn't be an issue if you use RODI, but that's also because most saltwater aquarists go that route anyway. I also know this problem isn't unique to my area and our levels aren't that high. I was mainly curious if anyone had any additional information.

So we received a notification from our village today that a higher than recommended level of PFAS were detected in two of the five wells that they draw from. It is below the EPAs level where remediation would be necessary. My question is, do I need to be concerned using this water in my tanks? I’d love to avoid setting up a RODI system, but if we need to we can do it.

We are getting some SAE tomorrow so that should help hopefully.

Thanks everyone!

We had Blackbeard algae when we first started out and it was long and stringy. This stuff just becomes fuzz so that’s why I wasn’t thinking BBA. I guess we’ve had it wrong all along!

We've dealt with all kinds of algae and have gotten pretty good at identifying the types but this one I'm not sure what it is and who eats it. Its primarily in this 29-gallon tank but has sprung up in at least one of our other tanks so far. I'm trying to find out what it is so I can find someone who will eat it. It turns into a "fuzz colony" like you see in the first picture and also spreads to the glass and filter intake. The mollies in the tank could care less about it. We've had green hair algae as well and the mollies love nibbling at that one. I've tried my google-fu but had no luck identifying it yet. Thanks for the help!

This is more of a curiosity that a question, but I'm wondering if anyone has more insight to the hardiness of the different kinds of beneficial bacteria in an aquarium - specifically here I'm talking about the Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter bacteria. My wife and I have been keeping fish/plants for about 2 years now but only seriously (multiple tanks) for the past 11 months. I've noticed that when "something" happens to the beneficial bacteria in our cycled aquariums, it is usually the Nitrobacter bacteria that take the largest hit. We've had once or twice where we forgot to turn on the canister filter for 3-4 hours after a water change and the next day, we'll see a large nitrite spike (no ammonia spike preceding it). We usually end up treating with frequent water changes every 2 days until it clears, and also add additional Fritz 7 bacteria to the tank in between to give the colony a boost. We noticed this again today. Last night, we had a power outage from 11:30pm - 8:30am. We only have a single UPS and my idea was I would run extension cords from the different canister filters to the battery backup and then recharge the battery from our hybrid van with its built-in power inverter. Well, the battery only lasted about 35 minutes and the power inverter didn't have enough juice to recharge the battery AND power the canister filters. We covered the aquariums with blankets to preserve heat (its 15 degrees outside and got down to about 50 degrees in the house overnight). (Yes, I'm UPS and/or generator shopping today while we wait for a very large battery backup unit to arrive that I kickstarted a few months ago). We checked water parameters today and actually most tanks were surprisingly okay. 3 tanks are exhibiting a nitrite spike but zero ammonia again. So, I'm curious now. Is nitrobacter bacteria just more sensitive to the loss of oxygen in the canister filter? Or is it something else in the nitrogen cycle that I'm not thinking of?

Buy some test strips or an API test kit! You should always have something on-hand to test the water parameters with. Otherwise, we're just guessing blindly here. Petsmart, Petco or your local pet store will have the tests you need. Some fish stores even let you bring in a water sample and they will test it for free. If the water parameters look fine after testing, I'm going to lean towards some chemical got into the tank from the old/cracked heater or as others have said maybe a problem with the new heater. Do you have another tank? Even if its empty, I would move your fish over there with some fresh water. Add some dechlorinator, wait 30 minutes and then add quick start or a different bacteria to start a quick cycle. Another trick that can work for a quick cycle is to use Aqua-complete substrate (usually around $20/bag). This comes with a lot of beneficial bacteria in it already. My only caution is that this stuff tanks your PH, so you may need to buffer it up to where you need it!

Our 75 is my favorite because of how amazing the Amazon swords look in it! So much space for them to grow.

We have 2 zebra angels that were about 2 inches tip to tip when we purchased them in February. They are now palm sized. We recently moved them from a 55 gallon to a 75 gallon tank. Today we noticed light amber colored eggs on our Amazon sword (first time they’ve laid). They have been territorial of that Amazon sword for the last week. However we also noticed damage to our Angels sides and have witnessed some very aggressive attacking between the two. They both are still staying together near the eggs, but every once in while they start posturing, fanning out fins and moving toward the other one. Then at one point they went after each other seeming to almost lock mouths. Is this normal mating behavior or do we have a different problem? I didn’t think they were old enough to lay eggs yet as they haven’t been developed enough to easily sex them, so we’re a little in prepared to deal with this. 75 gallon planted aquarium: 2 zebra angels, 8 praecox rainbows, 5 green moss barbs, 8 Venezuelan corycats, 5 nertie snails, 1 magenta mystery snail, and more rams horn snails than I care to admit. thank you for your thoughts and advise.

We have a 40 breeder on a dresser in our bedroom. The best place for the canister filter would be directly to the left or right. It is also possible to set it up on the floor to the left or right but that will require more hosing. Will running it at the same level as the tank cause any issues? It’s an eheim pro 4+ 350. Thanks!