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I can certainly fill the bucket by carrying buckets, which is what I plan to do :) A 70 liter bucket is a little bit too big to fit in my sink :) A hosepipe is just more convenient. Outgassing is not the primary reason for filling the bucket and letting it stand. It's just a side thing. I do it...

For this question to make sense, you need to know that I live in Cape Town, that we are having a severe drought and are limited to using 50 liters of water a day (that's about 13 gallons). So wasting water is quite a big deal :) ----------------------------- I like to prepare for a water...

Good point on checking tap water quality. There have been rumours that the tap water is not safe to drink anymore but as far as I can tell those are unsubstantiated. Still worth keeping an eye on things. I want to install a rainwater barrel, but for household use not for the tank - not sure how...

I wondered whether any of you are living (like we do) with water restrictions? And if you have any tips for aquarists? Cape Town dam levels are very low and things are looking pretty dire. We've managed to cut our water usage drastically. I still do a 50% water change on my 20 gallon aquarium...

I'd definitely never move a tank with the water INSIDE it ! :) I think the people who advised this mean that the water is moved in a separate container. But I also understood that it's not the bacteria that's necessarily the issue, so much as a possible abrupt change in water conditions.

Acclimating to the new water is a good point.

Thanks! I was wondering that about the lid. Would be all around easier if the container is not too full. And good point about the sun. Very hot summer here at the moment!

I would have thought there'd be enough bacteria in the filter media and gravel etc?

We're moving soon, and I'm starting to stress about moving my tank. The move is not far, about 40 minute drive. Tank is 20 gallon with ember tetras, black widow tetras, bristlenose pleco, and some khuli loaches. I've been reading lots of forum posts and articles of advice on how to move and I...

I'm glad you asked this because I'm wondering whether my own technique might be stressing my fish. I have a planted tank (low light) with driftwood and some stones, and a mixture of sand and gravel. I vacuum every bit of gravel I can as thoroughly as I can once a week as part of the water...

Potluck, you might want to try measuring your water with a new nitrate test kit. I'm wondering if the fact that you've not been shaking your reagents properly before, now means that there is too much of whatever you're shaking up in the mixture, and your readings are not accurate as a result.

I can't answer all your questions, but let's see if I can help with some of them. Skipping the plant question :) 2) Apple snails don't usually do much to reduce algae. Mine eat veggies and the algae prospers :) If you have an algae problem, most creature-based solutions don't really work...

Oh, true. Forgot to add - 90 litre tank (23 gallons) and about 50% water change.

What would you say is a safe range of temperature difference between the tank water, and the water change water? I have my water change water in a barrel and heat it with a heater to match the tank temp, but recently I found that something had gone wrong with the heater and the water was about...

That is a very small amount - it might be fine. I really don't know though!

That's true, I haven't checked that. Not sure.

I want to buy a LED light setup for my low light planted tank (no CO2 injection so I don't want high light levels) I found a place that makes custom lights that are much cheaper than imported options, but I don't know enough about LED lights to know if this is the correct light for me. My tank...

Just to finish off this thread - 1) I found the receipt so I can return the bottled bacteria :) 2) I discovered that I've been making a mistake in measuring the temperature of my barrel of aged water, it was actually colder than it should have been by about 5 degrees Celsius. So...maybe that...

Honestly, I'd go with Brennae's advice to tear everything down and rinse, rinse, rinse. While the carbon might help reduce the surfactant, any amount of it in your aquarium will hurt or kill the fish, and might also inhibit the growth of the bacteria (I'm guessing about that last one). I know...

I googled that, and it seems that it might. The results I saw were not aquarium based though so not sure how thorough the removal would be.

Thanks. I'll keep an eye on them. I actually really like them and am impressed with how quickly they reproduce. They do hide, don't they! Sadly I did find the bodies so there are no nice surprises for me hiding between my plants :( My lights are a bit dim. I have a home made LED light that...

Sorry Delapool I see I missed some of your questions: I don't know KH or GH of the water. The fish didn't show any symptoms that I picked up, they just got sort of lethargic for a few days, hiding a bit more, then died. I think I'm going to follow your advice about the ferts - reduce the...

The neighbors I have with fish are pretty much keeping goldfish in bowls :( I'm not dosing all the ferts in one go, I do a bit each morning. I found a schedule somebody suggested and adjusted it for my tank size. I used 90 litres as my volume, my tank is 100 litres but with gravel, driftwood...

ScotJud, you are right about the cory - the reason I have only one is because the others died, and up to now I didn't want to get more before I have an idea what might be wrong. As far as I can see he's not stressed, although I suppose I can't be sure. He doesn't hide at all. If the water...

Thanks. That's exactly what I needed to know.