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Just wondering, in the USA I can buy the Aquatic Life RO Buddie Four Stage Osmosis System for $59. How much does this cost in your area? At £7 for a 25% water change, you could justify the cost of a RO system.

For me, it is not the quantity that matters, it's the quality of your friend(s).

I tried to buy some used media from my LFS, no go. I have been working on my setup since October, I really didn't want to wait another couple months to cycle the tank naturally. The $16 for ammonia and bacteria was a trivally part of the overall cost. It took 8 days to cycle the tank and fish...

The biggest change I see in the hobby, the arrival of the internet. There is so much info on the web. Start by googling "cycling your aquarium" or "aquarium nitrogen cycle". The "corner bubbler" filter still exist, they just use foam instead of the cotton floss. What I remember from the old...

If you added a colony of nitrite eating bacteria from the bottle, you should not see a spike in nitrites. Those little guys are hungry and are consuming the nitrites as fast as they are being produced. Of course that's speculation on my part. I spiked my tank with ammonia twice (4 ppm) and...

I am currently in my semi-retirement job, I drive a school bus and love it, I have alot fun with my kids. I would love to talk about fish keeping with you but of course, the clique of cool kids in the back of the bus may mock you if they heard us talking. I learn so much from my wife who made...

I am not a breeder so I have a question. If you are selectively breeding a fish to achieve a goal such as a pure Black Angels, what do you do with all the unwanted fish? I hear the word culled being used by some breeders, just flush them down a toilet or feed them to a Oscar? I assume it may...

Or sell $30 such as a Plecostomus "Green Dragon" Longfin from Select Aquatics. Another factor to consider, the cost of shipping if you have to sell your fish online. For myself, the shipping cost for a Green Dragon would be ~$50. Most likely I would buy 3 of them, now this fish cost ~$46/each...

I made this device using 1 1/2" pvc pipe, some flat pieces of pvc (bought at home depot) and some window screen material. I fill the pipe with charcoal and do a slow fill. I tested the chlorine with a pool tester and got 0 reading. I have an calcium build up issue with my hot water tank so...

New setup 75 gallons The wood pieces were collected off a trail behind my house. Fifty plus years ago, they removed the railroad tracks which allow the shrubs to flourish. But the trees slowly came in and block the sun, the shrubs slowly died off over many years. The tank will be a home to...

Thanks The wood is dead shrubs I collected on a trail behind my house. My theory, the trail is an old railroad right away. When they pulled the tracks out 50+ years ago, the shrubs first came in then slowly died as the trees overtook them and block the sun. The shrubs died many years ago. This...

I am in my semi-retirement job, I drive a school bus hence we are in the second group here in New York. When New York opened a mass vaccination center in my metro area, I was online for about 3 hours trying to get an appointment. The vast majority here in the USA will not get vaccinated until...

Yep, I got my 1st vaccination shot today and I discovered some Odessa Barbs at Petco of all places, so I bought the barbs. I hope they color up nicely, only time will tell.

I bought a small bottle FritzZyme from a local store. Using Dr. Tims ammonia, I spike the tank to 4 ppm and it took ~5 days to drop to zero. I spike it again to ~4 ppm, 3-4 days to drop to zero. However I also added 1 1/2 bags of Eco Complete to the tank.

I am 62 and carrying buckets is out of the question. Similiar to you, I ran some water lines but will use the window for a drain.

Some much for the dither fish theory :confused: But wait, you put in some dither snails! I mean if there was a predator nearby, he would eat the snail first ala escargot! Well I am glad Rosie is happy...

Agreed. It reminds me of the Monty Python cheese shop skit. Do these guys actually sell plants or would they prefer to be lumberjacks? Mark

If you are using disposable poly batting, how often to you need to clean the sponge?

Agreed, bodies floating out of Lafayette Cemetery would not be appreciated at Commander's Palace! I going to miss New Orleans, my son lived in the Garden District for 6 years. No job, no money so he had to come home to western NY. He gave me a sign with the famous Tennessee Williams quote...

Do you own your own home? Does it have a basement? Is the planned 125 gallon tank near your other tanks? Long term, I would start looking at the space below the 125 gallon tank for your water changes. With the $1/gallon sale on tanks, you can get a 29 gallon tank for $30 which will fit below...

Yep, this is the preferred way to do it.

Not transferring some of the old media to the new filter was a mistake, it will take a ~month to cycle the new canister filter and you such expect ammonia and nitrites spikes in your tank. For maintenance, get a 5 gallon bucket or buy a python water change system. Using pots and pitchers...

Kerrie, good luck and please let us know how it turns out! Mark

I first heard about Dither fish while researching German Rams, it makes sense. It's a 60 gallon tank, you have plenty of room for more fish. I start stocking my new 75 gallon tank tomorrow, it will be tiger barbs and I will get a rainbow shark. It should be a very active tank :) Now the issue...

Rainbow sharks and tiger barbs are compatible. Is 'Rosie' the only fish in the tank? If so, Rosie may need a dither fish ie: a schooling type fish which occupies the mid-levels. The absence of fish is a sign there are predators nearby, Rosie could be living in fear she about to become dinner...

Sorry for the late reply... It is maddening, my wife also found it quite difficult to read. I have found doing color comparison test with tap water to be quite useful for the low end readings. Since I am cycling the tank, my primary concern is getting zero levels of ammonia and nitrites and it...

To get a carpet of plants, read up on the dry start method where you start the plants before you fill the tank with water. On substrates, understand that plants feed from either the water column or substrates via the roots. For example, Java moss feeds from the water column and will grow on...

I live in western New York, metro population of ~1 million, our water is treated with chlorine. The source is Lake Ontario and an inland lake.

I bought the Fritz at a local fish store, they had it refrigerated. I believe that freezing it will kill the bacteria. They tried to sell me a large bottle ($23) which I thought was silly, you just have to seed your tank and let them multiple. It's going to be a Tiger Barb tank with a smaller...

Why? The issue of cycling a tank is to establish bacteria colonies. I have spike the tank twice with ammonia (~4-5 ppm) and my nitrites levels are very low, ~.25ppm. I am very confident that the tank is cycled at this point. I have alot of wood in the tank which I collected off the trail...

Which is why I said, buy fish on Friday. Major water change today then I will test of Friday. The tank has cleared 4+ ppm of ammonia twice and nitrites are reading ~.25ppm. I very confident that I have established the biofilter. Next time I go to the store, I plan on buying a gallon of...

Using Dr Tim's ammonia, my started level of ammonia was ~4-5ppm (API test kit). I added 1oz of FritzZyme and in few days, the ammonia level was under 1ppm. I repeated this and once again, the ammonia levels went from ~4-5ppm to under 1 ppm. Clearly I have establish the ammonia munching colony of...

Some of the shop light replacement LEDs require that you rewire your fixture ie: remove the ballast. For these bulbs, the pins on one side will provide the power (120v in the USA), the other side is for support. For myself, this is an easy wiring job and I would prefer to get rid of the ballast.

After a 20 year hiatus, I decided to get back into the hobby. The stand and sump filter are custom built and despite my worst effort, it came out pretty nice :) I am currently cycling the tank. The driftwood was dead shrubs collected on a trail behind my house, I am quite pleased on how it...