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I've only been looking at fish liking softish water fortunately. Soap takes a good while to rinse so I'd guessed it already, just not how soft! The basic nature of my water is neutral to slightly alkaline but I shall be adding CO2 for plants so that should acidify it a bit. Because of my choice...

Hi again Essjay. Having looked at the water report I found my GH is well below 4. What would you recommend I use to raise it to more useful levels as I'm not planning to limit my fish choices so very much?

Good plan. Thank you :)

That is really useful, thank you! I've been using testing strips so not very accurate. This is brilliant. :thanks:

Hello Andy. I'm new too so no help with your Betta but good luck curing him :)

Oh damn! I have a tank in a 1950s/60s house. I only bought it in October and between this, the electrics and the drains it is turning into a death trap :blink: I don't think I have a water quality report. If I do it'll be clear or it would have been flagged to me I'm sure. Lead piping might be...

I didn't know not to use any hot water and used some in filling the tank to save the heater some work. Since then I tested the hot water tap and found the water has heavy metals in it - initially it looked like it would be lead. It will only be a tiny concentration - no lumps :lol:! I'm hoping...

Looking into it I think the effects on fish are cumulative. My test seems to be inconclusive now too. I'm planning to trust the lead is very diluted, do a large partial water change of about 75% or even as low as I can get it, and carry on with the cycling. Does that sound sensible? With another...

Anyone know if some diluted lead would be harmful (I'm pretty sure it will be) and, if so, what I can do now there is some in the tank (no fish). I'm hoping I don't need to empty and start all over again!

Thank you for the advice and warning. I bought most of the plants quite blind as the shop attendant wasn't attentive! I was going on appearance only, so not very scientific. I'll keep the ammonia levels fairly low, even if it makes the cycling longer, or end up replacing a few plants. I bought...

Any wood in there? Bog wood can leech tannins and make it dark. That's all I know though.

Hello Cydeth. I have Echinodorus parviflorus, Alternanthera rosaefolia mini, Lilaeopsis novea zealandia, Salvinia natans. A Saggitaria and a couple more foreground plants are coming in the post and I don't remember what they are beyond one is a moss-like thing. I've ordered some ammonia so I can...

I might do that. I'm dithering over all the options. However, I have already ordered some plants and I'm not sure they count as 'fast growing'. I wasn't well advised, or advised much at all, at the shop so need more substrate so that the plants can anchor well too. I think I may be tweaking the...

Ah! 3.20 by the time your post came through! ;)

I suspect it'll look a bit amateur for a good while! But I've been wanting to do this for a few years so no hurry now.

Hello! Yes I'm planning plenty of plants and aquascaping alongside some peaceful community fish with a gourami centrepiece. At the moment it is all a bit cloudy so I need to sort that out (I suspect I failed to rinse the driftwood adequately).

Thank you! I've had a read and ordered some books too.

My Superfish Home 85 is similar in that the lights have to be cycled through on a touch pad to decrease intensity but on/off at the plug or by timer switches the whole kit and kaboodle on full; that's 4 levels of white led and 2 of blue all on fully with minimal fade in. A built in timer would...

Hello. I finally made the decision to buy my first aquarium yesterday and am waiting for it all to settle. I'm excited, and a little impatient, but am concentrating on admiring my lovely plants for now! And doing lots of reading, of course. ;)