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Partial Water Changes - Fast & Easy

It is a hobby myth that beneficial bacteria only lives in the filter. Truth be told, BB lives everywhere in the system, especially in the substrate. Also, good filtration is really about how well we filter the water, not how much or how fast we push water through media. Conventional thinking...

Potatoes grow above the planted eye so hilling up soil around the plant promotes more potatoes. Tomatoes can be planted much deeper than the seedling was grown. Hilling up soil around the plant allows for a greater root system.

https://mjvaquatics.com/free-live-fish-food/

In addition to my passion for tropical fish, I've been an avid gardener for many years. I bought a Troybilt 8hp Horse tiller back in 1982. Now gardening can be a chore and with weather, insects, and animals it can be almost daunting. I remember a cartoon I saw many years ago with two rabbits in...

I'd agree that fish can go a week to 10 days just fine without being fed. Any longer and short of a 'fish sitter' to feed every other day or so, I've had great success with auto feeders. Eheim makes a couple of really good ones and once you dial in the frequency and the amount, you can be sure...

I am admittedly jumping into this thread late and have only skimmed the many responses but I'm sure what I'm about to offer has likely already been covered... Generally speaking, there's no such thing as too much clean, fresh water. After all, with rare exception, nature refreshes fresh water...

Yes, many commercial breeders have flow through systems where fresh water is slowly introduced 24/7 while used tank water overflows out! It's great, just not really practical for the home aquarium....so we do the weekly or bi-weekly partial water changes. :)

It always nearly surprises me when the merits of the routine, periodic partial water change is challenged. Nature refreshes fresh water ALL the time. ...24/7...365 days a year....else the creeks, streams, and rivers would just stop flowing! I've stood in awe of the amount of water flowing in...

I have pool filter sand in all my tanks and I have Aquaclear HOB filters and sponge filters. I do 50% weekly water changes with a submersible pump and never touch the sand. BTW, one could use a UGF with sand if landscape fabric is put down first...but I've never done it. The key with sand is to...

'Plop 'n Drop' was developed by fish importers decades ago. Fish in bags for any period of time, water becomes somewhat acidic so ammonia becomes fairly harmless ammonium. If one was to drip acclimate, that ammonium would convert back to ammonia and likely kill the fish. Oh and drip acclimation...

I always use the 'Plop and Drop' method. Ackimate for temperature only then pour through a net into a waste bucket and drop the fish in the tank.

As @Colin_T and @Byron pointed out there is no such thing as 'liquid CO2'. Glutaraldehyde is a chemical used to sterilize heat sensitive medical and dental equipment! - no wonder that it's tough on algae AND FISH! since anything and everything in the water gets into fish through osmosis. I...

I do a weekly water change of 50%, sometimes slightly more. Wednesday is the 20g, 29g, 38g, 40g (basement tanks refilled from the 45g Brute trash can (aerated & heated water) Friday is the 60g (Living room refilled from the tap) Saturday is the 110g (basement tank refilled from the 45g Brute...

Great minds...and crazy people! ... The votes aren't all in. lol

Been there, done that 2018... Northern Outdoor Tropical Tank

Jeez...Look at the article I spoke of!!! ... When the Lights go out

Obviously the first consideration that I believe I made clear in the one article is the health and well being of you and your family...In some extreme cases it may not be possible to save the fish. I remember many years ago after watching the movie "The Day After Tomorrow" about severe climate...

The power went out last night at about 3:00am. I called the power company's hot line and learned that over 2000 were affected and the estimated restoration was 1pm! Fortunately I was prepared (See When the Lights go Out) so I went down to the basement and hooked up the inverter to power the air...

I tried collecting rain water from the roof, but even with a heavy rain, the water had a yellowish tint to it...but then it's an asphalt shingled roof with enough road traffic in the northeast US (acid rain?) to make it pretty much unusable. You almost need to be in the wilderness with a metal...

And so should you...where does your drinking water come from? Deep wells most often provide the purest water...even more so than lakes and reservoirs where many towns and cities get their water.

Not so. wells tap into the aquifer and are not tainted by waste water systems.

"The solution to pollution is dilution!" The aquarium is a septic system with varying degrees of polluted water. The water quality is enhanced by very active biological filtration as well as with fast growing plants that convert waste water into plant tissue, later removed with trimming...

I just want to say that @Colin_T STOLE the saying from me... Never mind that I stole (err borrowed) it from someone else many years ago! I'll confess that I personally know very little first hand about diseases and treatments. I maintain high quality water and am careful about new fish...

Bait 'n scoop.

Auction Woe

As most here know, my friend @Byron has fought the good fight against Cancer for quite some time. With the handwriting on the wall, earlier this week he sadly gave all of his tanks and fish away. As any fishkeeper would know, It was very hard for him to give up the fish and fry he's had and...

You need/want the basket. I'll confess that I'm confused as to why your sponges plug so quickly. I let my AC filters (filled completely with sponges) run forever and a day until the flow is very reduced and I never see the problem you describe.

Please see My Nitrate Fight. API Nitra-Zorb is a resin that will extract nitrate from water and can be recharged and reused many times with ordinary salt water. The downside to using Nitra-Zorb pouches in a filter is that in time, the resin will get coated with detritus and become ineffective. I...

Like YOU, fish could survive 10 days without food...but why not invest in an auto feeder??? I've used a couple of different Eheim feeders with great success. You just need to setup ahead of time to dial-in the frequency and amount.

Breeding fish is an obvious and natural extension of the fishkeeping hobby. It can be fun and fascinating to raise fry to adults. However, conditions must be such that there is quality of life (water chemistry, quality, and good foods). AND THEN there is what to do with the resulting numbers of...

The Beverly Hillbillies

Just for perspective, no longer, but a while back my daughter Abbey had a job at Petsmart and was assigned to Pet Care. Now I've been a fishkeeper for over 50 years and I was impressed by how much knowledge she obtained about fish as well as animals in general. It became second nature for her as...

Although you'll especially find for example on the planted tank forum many that will recommend high(er) nitrates for the planted tank. (as mentioned) Great for plants, not so much for fish and inverts. I believe (as others have mentioned) that lower nitrates of 20ppm (or less) is MUCH better for...

It's held among old fishkeepers that nitrates above 20ppm have long term negative effects on fish and that low/no nitrates is even better. Now having 'said' that, some, especially in the planted tank community feel that nitrates can be beneficial, at least to plants. Now I'm a fishkeeper with...

@Byron, you well know how I feel....wishing you the best and fearing the worst. We go back a fair ways my friend. I'm remembering that time the crazy lady on the other forum raised a ridiculous fuss about the tone of your posts, I defended you, Youngster booted me, and you resigned in protest -...

Byron continues the good fight against his cancer. He's had a tough time recently with the former drug and/or the new drug immunotherapy. He has had very little energy and spends most of his time in bed. I wish the news was better, but it is what it is. He knows we're all thinking of him and...

Not true, it's a myth - there is nothing in sand to generate hydrogen sulfide! Hydrogen sulfide might be created if sand is stirred such that organic waste is stirred down under to decay anaerobically. I have several tanks with 3-4" of play sand or pool filter sand and have never had any signs...

We'll need to agree to disagree as I feel sand is a much better substrate than gravel because uneaten food and waste does not get down under with sand like it so easily does with gravel ... but each to his/her own, :)

Often not considered, but the substrate is a great bio-filter (see The Very Best Aquarium Filter) that 'could' be enhanced with the very slight flow through that the plenum would provide. Bio-medias are often rated (or promoted) based on their surface area....and there is no filter media that...