desol Posted March 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2014 A buddy of mine had them and he said how he was trying to get rid of them and it was impossible and they were everywhere, clogging up his filter, etc. It left a bad impression in my mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayWho Posted March 21, 2014 Report Share Posted March 21, 2014 (edited) Could always get some clown loaches. They'll eat them. I'll gladly take them off your hands if you want to retain the pure tanganyikan setup after you're done with them. Edited March 21, 2014 by JayWho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted March 21, 2014 Report Share Posted March 21, 2014 If there is a snail overload that is a HUGE tell the tank is being overfed OR the tank is out of balance and there is too much algae for food. I always tell people especially for planted tanks (yes yours is not a planted tank) that snails help complete that whole 'circle of life' thing as we're trying to create an environment for fish (and plants) to live/thrive in a glass box in a living room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deano85 Posted March 21, 2014 Report Share Posted March 21, 2014 I'd suggest next time around just get a couple feeder goldfish and do that way. Why not just do a fishless cycle, no need to harm any fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desol Posted March 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2014 (edited) Could always get some clown loaches. They'll eat them. I'll gladly take them off your hands if you want to retain the pure tanganyikan setup after you're done with them. I don't want anything in my tank that is impossible to get rid of once it's there...(or not from the lake). I hear CK tho, in that i'm sure they contribute to the biotope, in most cases. Edited March 21, 2014 by desol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted March 21, 2014 Report Share Posted March 21, 2014 I'd suggest next time around just get a couple feeder goldfish and do that way. Why not just do a fishless cycle, no need to harm any fish. Goldfish are not far off from cockroaches that survive radiation in that they can take a cycle very well and they get the process moving along better than fishless or using something like dead shrimp. Just imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desol Posted March 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2014 If there is a snail overload that is a HUGE tell the tank is being overfed OR the tank is out of balance and there is too much algae for food. I always tell people especially for planted tanks (yes yours is not a planted tank) that snails help complete that whole 'circle of life' thing as we're trying to create an environment for fish (and plants) to live/thrive in a glass box in a living room. That could very well be the case... (by the recent condition of his tank) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desol Posted April 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2014 (edited) Well, had my eyes opened again in the last few days about my tank; it's maybe a month and a half old? It seemed it was taking forever to see any reduction in my Nitrites. Every time I would check, it would be really purple in the tube (anywhere from 1-5ppm - hard to tell any difference from about 2-5ppm) so I'd add some prime to break it down, do a water change and wait. It would come down a little but not a lot, even with 40 percent water changes twice a week. I've read countless posts about cycling aquariums over the past few months at many different sites. A few days ago, I was reading a post from a women who said to not use any buffering solution for ph, because it will effect the cycle, making it take a lot longer to complete. She seemed fairly resolved in her statement. So I thought what the hell, I have to do a water change anyway. I did a 30 percent water change and decided not to add any ph up. 3 days later, my tank was completely cycled. Zero ppm's of ammonia and nitrite AND algae started to grow. Miraculous change seemingly overnight. It was drastic, almost hard to believe. Both the Nitrifying bacteria and algae were affected by the high ph (~8.3). It's bizarre that throughout all the posts on cycling aquariums across the vast cloud of the internet, I only found one person saying "DO NOT use PH buffers as it will affect the cycle". :eh: It certainly did. Next I'm wondering if I put the PH back up after a while, will the nitrifying bacteria be ok? I don't like lots of algae and the fish seem a bit better at a higher ph...they act and look a bit different. I like the high ph better, but not if it's going to wreak havoc on my cultures. Edited April 12, 2014 by desol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PistolPete Posted April 13, 2014 Report Share Posted April 13, 2014 Personally the ph tinkering is not worth the hassle in my opinion. Plus cgys water is pretty good for African cichlids. Maybe if you were trying to breed a difficult species. A stable ph is much more beneficial to the fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckmullin Posted April 13, 2014 Report Share Posted April 13, 2014 Don't mess around with the ph UNLESS you are breeding for specific fish which require very specific ph. It just isn't worth it. Save your ph swings, save your $$$ for those chemicals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desol Posted April 13, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2014 Good advice guys....thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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