Recent content by audiophile42

The sand itself is black-ish. I had to remove the sand to get it out, it doesn't look like a substance that is on the sand.

Thanks for the responses. The sandbed is about an inch to and inch and a half. Someone had recomended i get some mts when i started the tank, but i couldn't find anyplace in town that had them. I'll make the rounds again and see if someone can order them for me. I originally thoguht that it...

Hello, For starters, I have a 50gal tank with Africans and Clown loaches. It has been up and running for a little over 5 months, no problems. I've used pool filter sand as a substrate, and a few purchased rocks, but mostly rocks that I had found and cleaned to use for structure and caves. I...

I've got 1 (one) demasoni in my 50gal with other mbuna. From my experience, and what I've heard from others, having a single demasoni won't be much of a problem. Occasionally, mine will harrass my melanochromis johanni for a bit, but it is an African tank. In fact, my demasoni isn't even the...

After my african cichlids had successfully destroyed my 2ND! AQ 70, I decided to replace it with a cannnister. I had two AQ 70s going on my 50gal, one of them is out of commission now, and the other one is still going. I just picked up an XP3, and some polyster fiberfil. I know you're not...

Wow! Great read, lots of good info. I had no idea that the two types of bacteria had different ideal conditions for growth. I'll do another big pwc late tonight or early tomorrow. If I was to get the ph down closer to the ideal for the nitrobacter, should I just throw some crushed coral into a...

Thanks, Originally my ph shot up to like 8.5, but it's been around 7.9-8.0 for the past week or so. Isn't that around the optimum spot for africans? Or do bacteria grow faster at something lower? I've got the temp around 83 right now. You can't see it in the pic, but I've got a 36" weighted...

I just tested the nitrates from the tap again, and I get no reading, so it must be 0 or maybe 1ppm. My tap is municipal, and I tested it initially when I got the test kit, 0 amm nitrite and nitrate. I don't have a kh or gh test kit. No plants in the aquarium. I got some pool filter sand...

Right now, my ph is around 7.9-8.0. My tap is around 7.6, but when I initially filled up the tank it shot up to like 8.5. I'm guessing it was just some minerals from rocks I have in the tank. I know that two weeks is barely anything with fresh cycle tank, but with established bacteria I thought...

Hello all, I've been lurking this forum for about a month, and have learned a TON. I did my research before I started buying stuff, and planned out my cycle and stock. I've got a 50gal, with two Aqua Clear 70/300s. I set it up two weeks ago (2-10). A friend directed me to this site when I...