Pet Forum / Aquaria / Freshwater / March 2004

I posted some recent pics over in the binaries group.
LQ means Dial up
HQ means everyone else...
Hope you enjoy...

I was thinking today while wandering around the supermarket with my wife -
what affect on CO2 levels would using a bottle or two of carbonated spring
water at the weekly water change have? Would it cause harmful spikes in the
water chemistry or bother the fish in any other way? ...

Help!
I recently cycled my 55g planted tank w/ a couple of dozen feeder
guppies from the LFS for only $2.  Now, after many netting attempts, I
can't catch the remaining half-dozen females who have been joined by

I bought two new buckets yesterday ready for my first water change this
weekend.  How long should I stand the water before adding it to the tank?
My water comes out after being through a water softener.  I am not 100%
certain how much (if any) chlorine or other greeblies are left in ...

I bought 4 oto for my new 75G tank. I gave them some sink pellet
(algae wafer) but I noticed that they don't eat the pellet at all.
Instead, they spent their time sucking around on glass and plant
leaves. I am not complaining about their behavior, but curious of why

Starting back into the hobby I loved as a kid after a 30+ year absence.
What would forum members recommend for a daily staple fish food for a
small-fish community tank?
Back in the 1960's TetraMin flakes was my fav, but I figure maybe some good

My 75g has *finally* cycled.  The ammonia level has been 0ppm for a while
now, and just today the nitrite level fell from spike levels to 0 ppm.  I
did a ~20% water change a week ago while the nitrites were still high, and
I did another 20% water change today after I measured the ...

Since I posted here last on Saturday I've seen my Amonia levels drop to
zero, the Nitrate levels go off the scale and now (this evening) tested
below 0.3mg/l so I guess the tank has cycled (it's been four weeks) with
just plants and no added ammonia :) PH is stable at 6.8 and temp ...

I have been using a Tronic 100W heater for a few years now and I've
noticed that the scale on the temperature set dial is no longer
accurate.  It used to maintain the temp indicated on the dial, now it
is about 5 degrees too low.  I set it at 80 and I get 75, I set it at

This morning we woke up to find our rainbow shark belly up in the tank.
To say the least my daughter was heartbroken.  It was her favorite fish
and the dog even loved to watch him swim around the tank.  Yesterday he
was not acting like normal and instead of being active, was a bit

I put my medical grade UV over the fresh water tank today to attempt to do a
tank wide bacteria wipeout, I use this method on the hospital tank, anyhow,
my Angel Fish seemed to dislike it, but I figured it was going to do it some
good incase the water was not 100% after another fish ...

Are there any non-industry RO filters for aquariums? A filter like this
would totally eliminate the need for changing water, or am I mistaken?

I have a relatively new 55 gal. tank that has cycled with 0 Ammonia and 0
Nitrites.  I have a good number of smaller fish and lots of plants in the
tank: Tetras, Gouramies, Barbs, Pleco, Swordtails, etc.  I'm keeping the
temp. at 78 and use salt in my water as suggested for fresh ...

Hi All . . . :)
Today my hubby surprised me with two new fish. I've been searching all day
trying to find out what type of cichlid they are. All my hubby can tell me
is they came out of a tank with mixed African Cichlids. Tried calling the

Advice needed on ammonia please.I have a 3 month old tank and finally bought
my own test kit.I have a low ammonia reading 0.1ppg,should I be worried
about this?I'm sure my tank has cylced.The info with the test kit says that
this amount of ammonia is ok for my ph,which is about 8 ...