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corys and cover One thing that hasn't been touched on much is the environment... My 40B tank has a number of mid-level swimmers, as well as albino bristlenose (2 females, they avoid each other), 5 panda corys, 2 older corys (can't recall the name--a bit bigger than peppered ones) and 4 peppered...

floating driftwood I find that boiling the wood is also helpful to make it more likely to sink, perhaps because it forces it to absorb water more quickly? JD

thanks to both of you for those very prompt replies... light bulbs are F30T8 36" (2) in one, two-light box with ballast E232Z12-5 (apparently discontinued--hope this won't be a problem but I'll face it when I get to it). There does appear to be a (n imagined?) subtle darkish band around both...

Happily doing well lately with my bogwood-catfish-planted tank hobby, thanks to many helpful bits of information on this site... New issue; Being very low-tech and somewhat afraid of electricity+water, I'd really appreciate others' opinions... I bought a 40breeder tank (brand new) in July...

thank you for that--the level of detail is extremely helpful. I have yet to decide--I do love the softwater fish the best...(figures)! Monique

thanks for that I really like the idea of keeping a small fish pop there and think I'll go with that... jd

thank you, JD

Hi, Silly question here...If you don't have fish in QT do you keep the tank up and running to preserve the cycle, etc? I guess the bacteria would die without food, so...it sounds like a lot of trouble...I otherwise have a 40B cycled tank with fish and plants... thanks, JD

excellent thanks. It's a bit tricky because the pH is high but the hardness is below 2, so soft but alkaline.... but it's reassuring to know that they can acclimate to this. JD

I love the mix of harlequins and a large 'herd' of corys (5 to 7), in that the corys are total busy-bodies that are all over the tank in a funny 'let's check that out over there, guys!' kind of way. It's a nice mix with the more fragile, nervous and dignified-seeming behaviour of the harlequins...

that's very informative, thank you. Monique

thanks for the suggestion, I'll look into that. Monique

The price is indeed quite reasonable. Do you have to have access to a separate water tap for this, as it sounds like it goes for hours? I am in a tiny condo, so only have sink and bathroom taps, for instance.

Hi, I'm a relative newbie, but if you have corys, mine enjoy the eggs laid on leaves as a snack. They don't seem to hunt them, tho, just opportunistic grazing. As for removing eggs by hand, I've found a turkey baster (or syringe without the needle) to work well as it suctions everything in a...

:-? For everyone who's helped with advice for me in the past, just a quick update re Ottawa (canada) tapwater pH according to the city management: raised to 8.4 via caustic soda to reduce lead leaching into the water due to lead pipes. My question is: is 8.4 reasonable for keeping acid-pool...

Well I am sold on the pH pens as a start. Re water changes, I check temp and pH every time I add any water, because of the difficulties I've had making sense of pH readings. Still, it's an important point. Thanks for your support. Oh, and I think I need to focus much more on the water hardness...

(planted) 40B tank has been established for about 3months, I have 5 black neon tetras, 2 corys, and 2 ABN in there. Just received my AquariumPlants.com plants (other than the dwarf sags which had melted all quality was excellent I must say) and popped them in about a week ago and started...

Having struggled for what seems like forever with high pH (all premium brand liquid reagent test kits I had used), I just bought a new wide range pH I had never seen sold here before (went to a different store than usual). Low range pH test, my tapwater reads as way above 8 (off the chart...

a big thank you for this help. I have struggled with this extremely frustrating situation for (it seems) ever and no one could seem to suggest an explanation, let alone a solution except 'leave it alone'. On the other hand no one seems prepared to say I should keep my (acid pool type) fish in...

thanks for all this information! lots to think about. The pH down states clear it is phosphate free. Apparently there is sulfuric acid in there (:() but my fish certainly seem a lot happier than when I was using vinegar, plants or no, given that it is not stable in the tank. I'll try contacting...

I like the suggestion about contacting the water agent. Thanks! Will do. It's a 40 g tank, so I dread to have to start buying water (esp. without a car).

various liquid reagent kits as I hoped it was a misreading... (API and Hagen, wide range, low and high kits, brand new). These readings aren't new--I've had aquaria for years and it's always been an issue. The local fish stores keep tetras in pH of 6, so I know people are having to do something...

no, due to $$. Someone told me it's because the city is using phosphates to increase pH, whereas it is naturally soft and acidy. I know some people add phosphates (yes on purpose), I wonder if this will spare me at least that!

As an FYI, Some experts (e.g., Walsted) recommend using vinegar as an easy way to lower pH in a planted tank--but a caution from my own accidental use with non-planted tank: vinegar breaks down into acetic acid which plants eventually can use as carbon dioxide as it further breaks down...

thanks for that. It appears that the city uses phosphates to increase the pH to lower risk of corrosion of pipes. There is also a relative absence of any mineral, with kh and gh hovering around 2. This means the pH bounces around easily, and is (I think) too high for the soft water fish I like...