Recent content by Randi

I have some fuzzy white stuff on my driftwood. I am assuming it is some type of fungus. I can take the wood out and wash it, but what is the best way to keep it from coming back?

Hardwood comes from deciduous trees such as oak, tanoak, madrone, myrtle, hickory, elm and maple. Softwood comes from conifers such as fir, pine, cedar, and redwood. One way to tell is to try and scratch it with your fingernail. You shouldn't be able to mark hardwood with just your nail. The...

agree with previous comments I would just add that when a fish description says they prefer a heavily planted tank that usually means that the fish likes to have places to hide. The fish don't care if the plants are real or artificial. Of course I wouldn't discourage you from adding live...

People are not going to like this but... I did the same thing and at the end of my cycle I did as close to a 100% water change as possible followed by a 75% water change the next day and my fish are fine (I've had fish in this tank for about 5 months). Not saying that there aren't risks but...

I have recently changed a tank from gravel to sand. I think sand is much cleaner! It may go a bit cloudy when you move things (this is not harmful to fish), but that is nothing compared to the loads of gunk that hide in gravel no matter how well you vacuume. Food and poo sit on the surface...

Do you have any brown on the glass? Many new tanks have an outbreak of brown algae that will clear up on it's own, but those spots look, IDK, strange. As for water temp, try to get it as close to the tank temp as you can. I just check the tap temp with my hand (make sure you are using a...

I used Nutrafin Cycle and it seemed to work, but you must add it weekly FOREVER. Once I decided I didn't want to keep spending money on the product my tank had a massive nitrite spike that killed many of my fish. I've never used them but angelsplus.com sells filter sponges out of their tanks...

Bettas are little piggies! Give him some peas and skip the bloodworms for a day or two and he should be fine.

Your numbers are perplexing. People often get false reading with the nitrAte test (from not shaking bottle #2 enough) but the nitrIte test should be pretty straightforward. You might want to check the expiration date on your test kit just to be sure.

Fish are pretty good at adapting to different mineral contents in the water and mollies actually prefer hard water. I would just use the hard water. Having said that, you will need to make the switch gradually since your fish is used to a lower mineral content (or just keep doing what you're...

The cloudiness from your substrate should clear up with time and it won't harm your fish. However, it could damage your filter. Put a sponge over your filter intake to keep any large bits from getting into your impeller.

I keep an extra filter sponge in the filter box of each of my tanks. You know, just in case I need one. If you are in Colorado you are welcome to have one.

Whoa - your red tailed shark will get to 5 inches, your angelfish can get to 6 inches each, your black ghost knife will reach 18 inches, and your common plecos can reach over 2 feet!! These fish are not appropriate for a 25 gal tank. You'll need to return them to the LFS.

Your 80L is big enough for a bristlenose pleco (assuming you are not already fully stocked) it would have that cleaned up in no time.

I didn't read your other thread but everything here seems normal. Your ammonia readings are coming from your tap water and nitrites are being produced. You seem to be in the nitrite phase of the cycle. Just keep the level below .25 for your fish and you should be cycled soon.