JohnRosario

Hi Guys I have noticed my planted fresh water tank has been developing a lot of protein strands on the surface of the water. Any ideas on what is causing this?

Oxy pro have steel and aluminum C02 tanks. The aluminum tanks look great and are a little cheaper. I was quoted $140 for an aluminum 10# tank filled. I think Oxypro is the cheapest local supplier. Another reasonable alternative for a tank is eBay.

Hi Guys and Gals A couple of my guppies and angel fish have developed ich. I have a 50gal heavily planted tank. My tank is normally kept at 81F but I have raised the temp to 86F. I’m currently raising Discus, Guppies and Angel fish, I know a really strange mix. I have evacuated all the fish that have shown symptoms to a hospital tank. I’m not too sure if that will make a difference. I have read a few posts regarding the treatment of ich. Most people recommend increasing the temp and adding salt. I have increased the temp in both my main tank and my hospital tank. How much salt and what type should I add? How long do I keep on adding salt for? Will the salt negatively affect my plants? Do I need to change water during the treatment? If so, how much and how often? Is there something more effective then heat and salt? Should I place the fish that I have in my hospital tank back into my main tank? Is it more then likely that my fish in my main tank have ich too? After the ich has past, how much water should I change in my main tank? Thanks in advance for the help. John

My tanks have been set up for a few months now.

I dont use carbon in any of my tanks. I was under the impression that the carbon would remove the ferts I place in the tank.

Hi guys This is the first time in a number of years I have had fish tanks. With the cooler weather, I have not been able to open up the windows to let my place air out. My house is starting to get a fish funk. I'm ok with it but my wife is definately not. All my tanks currently have covers and I do regular weekly water changes. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on how to minimize odors? Would a dehumidifier help? How about an air purifier? I'm open to any suggestions. Thanks John

I'm currently running a DIY Co2 system and I am getting tired of constantly dealing with the yeast. I am looking to purchase the following: Milwaukee SMS122+MA957 / pH Controller + CO2 Regulator from ebay at: http://cgi.ebay.com/Milwaukee-SMS122-MA957...%3A1%7C294%3A50 Does anyone own of these? I have read some review and they all seem to be positive. Or could someone recommend something better? Thanks in advance, John

I have read in a couple of posts, people replace their T5 bulbs every 6-8 months. They stated they did this because there was a decreased in red spectrum light out put. That didnt seem 100% correct with me so I decided to contact the Illuminating Engineering Society of North American and they placed me in contact with a person from the GE Lighting R&D department. GE stated that while lumines do decrease over time (3500 from new to 3220 at there end of their life) The red spectrum lighting does not decease at a greater rate then the other parts of the light spectrum. I wonder where people got their info on replacing T5 Bulbs so frequently?

You should also check out eBay. They have some really good prices on lights.

Thanks a lot for the info

Hello I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations on fertilizers. I am currently using the Tropica Aqua Care Fert. I have a 46 Gallon planted tank. Thanks John

Thanks for all the information. To give some more information on my tank. I used distilled bottled water from Culligan. I purchased a R/O unit but I'm still waiting for it to get in. My GH is 20ppm. I use a couple methods to check the pH. I have a digital pH meter, I do a 3 point calibration every couple days to make sure that I am getting the right readings and I use a color indicator. I'm not using Co2 nor have I previously. I'm hoping to set up a DIY Co2 set up as soon as I get my Co2 difuser from eBay. My tank is planted with 3 large Echinodorus bleheri, Anubas on drift wood, 40% carpet cover with 60% Echinodorus Tenellus and 40% of a plant which looks like a mini fern. I was also a little suprised that my fish did not die with such a serious swing in pH. I would assume with a huge swing like that the fish would look stressed, lose appetite, or look pale. Everyone looks good and is eating well.

My tank is very heavily planted. Does the Seachem Discus Buffer, harden your water? What is the best ratio of Edmonton City water and R/o for optimum discus growth?

My tank has been running for about 6 weeks. I think the tank is cycled Last night I turned off the air stone and I tested the pH this morning, it read about 7. Has anyone else had similar problems?

Hi Guys I'm sorry if this has been asked before. I did look around before posting, but I did not find anything on the issue. I have a 50 Gallon tank stocked with 5 small discus, 4 guppies and 10 small angel fish. The angel fish have dime size bodies and the discus are about the size of a 50 cent piece. The temperature is 83-85F The tank is planted and I use florite as a substrate. For a filter I use a Fluval 304 set at a medium flow rate. The water was originally 80% distilled water and 20% conditioned tap. I feed my fish 3 times a day blood worms and sinking pellets. There is little to no ammonia in the water. I have noticed that my water takes wild swings in pH. I test daily and I have noticed that my pH has changed from 6.4 on Friday night to 8.2 tonight. Friday night my fish's breathing seemed a little labored and it seemed like some of the fish were swimming near the surface of the water so I added an air stone. I understand that O2 and cO2 directly affect pH. Am I on the right track when I assume that the added O2 in the water is causing the pH to become more alkaline? Does the Hardness of water affect pH swings? Does anyone have any recommendations on water conditions to keep happy discus? Thanks in advance for you reply John