Recent content by jamie_lynn

Oh, one more thing -- Caliban7, what is that yellow stick that you have that has the pH reading on it? Pretty cool... I've not seen that before. I've just been using the typical freshwater test kit... I probably don't need anything more than that given that I just have one small tank, but that...

Okay, thank you for the tip Caliban7. I appreciate it. I will leave the coral in. I know the long drive also probably took its toll on the shrimp. In any case, the shrimp seem much better today, and are up to all their old antics. They have finally gone back to swimming around their tank and...

Thank you, TMaier! I'm not concerned about the low pH as such, only about the amount of swinging from high to low that was happening. I think I may not have much choice but to gradually raise the pH level for my tank. The tap water here in St. Louis (post-aeration) registers at about a 7.8...

p.s. -- I can tell that a very light dusting of the sand escaped the filter and entered the tank. I can see some small grains on some of my plants. Should I be at all worried about that? Or is it safe for my freshwater tank?

Okay, here's the update: For the first time in two days, the water in my tank is holding its pH, and has held it for the past 8 hours. In fact, it appears as though the pH is starting to go up on its own, without the assistance of water changes. I'm assuming that this is the result of the...

Okay thanks.

I am wondering if it might help for me to remove the carbon packet from my filter for now? Currently, I have one sponge filter (which is what I used in the bucket that the shrimp came here in), as well as the usual fluval spec filter with a carbon packet and a packet of bio beads. I have now...

They seem to have survived the night. One of them is a little more active, the other two are hiding in their usual spot. Honestly, I think it's amazing they have survived this long with all the fluctuations. They are troopers. pH was super low again when I got up, so I have added more sand and...

This is the stuff I bought: Original Grade Ocean Direct Live Reef Sand - Bulk Reef Supply They only had 40 pound bags of the crushed coral. Should I go back and buy "equilibrium" to see if that works if this doesn't (and the fish survive the night)?

They sold me coral sand. The guy said it is the same stuff and should have the same effect, but it is ground more finely. I'm trying to think about what else I may be doing wrong. I have put the coral sand into a clean nylon, tied it off, and stuck it into my filter. I just finished moving it...

Round 1 of coral didn't work. After raising the ph to 6.4 and trying to see if it would stick, it went straight back down to lowest possible reading again within an hour. I'm doubling the coral and will try again soon.

Thank you! Will do.

Thank you! I just got home with my bag of coral sand and added a tablespoon to the filter. About how long should I wait before testing the water again? Should I continue with small water changes every 15 minutes or so till it stabilizes, or just wait for now to let the coral start working?

Small!!! So probably just a very little? A tablespoon? Mine is a five gallon tank with just 3 resident shrimp.

Ok, thank you, I am going to try this. I'm assuming both would be safe to use in my freshwater tank? The employees at the pet stores kept asking me if it was for my saltwater tank… But they also didn't sound terribly knowledgeable so I'm going with your advice.