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:) good luck!! Keep us updated on your progress!

Thx for the kind words clembo. :) Those are lace rocks. It's actually three pieces that I was able to stack to make a wall. My favorite part is the little cave they created at the bottom. The fish love swimming through there.

I have a 54g corner bow. Like fishyd, I think the depth a corner bowfront provides is the best attribute and should be worked into the scape. When I did mine I tried to set it up so that there was a focal point closer to the front and then a bigger focal point in the back to really give it a...

Ok so I wanted to close the loop on the discussion regarding Prime possibly causing false ammonia readings when using a Salicylate based test kit like API. So I posted on the Seachem discussion board asking for clarification of the Prime FAQ and I finally got a response. According to Seachem's...

Hey Paul, Redirecting the outflow has definitely helped. I haven't added any additional filtration at this point but I might at some point. I also realized I need to give the outflow tube a really good cleaning. I think there is a lot of junk in the tube and I'm sure cleaning it out will help...

If Trates are going up that must mean some of the Trites must have been processed, no? Unfortunately I just think the API test is going to be unreliable at these parameter levels. If there is anything that YouTube video by Dr. Hovanec showed its that at significantly elevated levels hobbyist...

So do you guys ever sleep?? LOL This is great stuff. Just catching up as I have been crazy busy at work. I had no idea the bacteria need the carbonate in order to flourish. I thought the only role the carbonate played was keeping pH stable. Learning a ton here Thren - I may have capacity to...

Have you tested KH? The buffering capacity of your water might be too low which resulted in your pH drop.

The reason your cycle is taking so long is because your pH and temp are both too low. Ideal temperature for the bacteria to grow is between 75-85. As for pH, the ammonia oxidizing bacteria begin to significantly slow down when pH is under 6.5 and pretty much stop at 6.0. Has your pH been that...

That makes a lot of sense! I completely avoided science in college with the exception of psychology. Lol BTW, my kids are the same age as yours. So I totally get the struggle between work, time for kids, and time for a hobby!!! It's not easy!!

Thx for the tip Caliban. I'm going to look into that. I hated chemistry in high school....maybe this time I will pay attention!!! :lol:

New toy!!!! :) :)

Now that is a handy skill for an aquarium hobbyist!! You're like a human colorimeter!!! :lol: Now that is interesting. My ammonia test results appear to match the warmer tone of the API chart. I happen to dose iron as part of a fertilizer regiment and I have a lot of driftwood in my tank. So...

I think it's difficult to tell from that picture. When you posted it did you think it was 0 or .25? How does it compare to the shade/color you have been seeing? When did you last dose Prime? For what it's worth my ammonia test result is pure yellow...no hint of green. But I think everyone...

Ok good! :) So based on your pH of 7.6 and temp of 78, a total ammonia reading of .25 means that there would mean that there is only .0059 of toxic ammonia (NH3) in the tank. The rest is all in the non-toxic form (NH4). As you saw in that thread the level of NH3 where ammonia toxicity starts to...

Thren - will do for sure!! :) AquariumFish - what is the temp of your tank? If you read that other thread that I linked above I think you will see where I'm going! :)

Thx!! :) I am very much looking forward to your nitrite experiment!!

Sorry, full link to my Seachem quote http://www.seachem.com/support/FAQs/Prime.html

Thren - I assume you have seen this on Seachem's website... I have gone back and forth on this as well. This isn't the most detailed of responses. If what they are referring to is just the difference between NH3 and NH4 then saying its a false positive is totally misleading. But I'm not...

Are you using Prime or any other ammonia binding product? If so how I often are you dosing it? Since you used seeded filter media it's possible the tank cycled and you just never saw nitrites. Especially since ammonia is holding steady at .25 and there are no nitrites. I'm wondering if the...

Ok so a bit of an interesting update on the whole nitrite testing issue I raised. So not knowing the nitrite concentration Dr. Hovanec used in that YouTube video was really starting to bug me. So I decided to leave comment on the YouTube site asking for the nitrite concentration he used in his...

Can you provide more info? What type of fish and how many are in the tank? How high has ammonia gone? Have you seen any increase in nitrite or has it always been zero? What is your pH and any other water parameters that you know ? The more info you provide the better! :)

Sorry you're having so much trouble Lea. That nitrite reading is puzzling given that you had zeros for a couple of days. Did you do or add anything to the tank on that third day prior to doing the test? Can you remind me what fish you have? Also what test type are you using (sorry if this is...

This is great stuff!! I wish there was an easy way to test nitrite like this!!

Looks like it could either be a Bleeding Heart or a Bentos Tetra. Hard to tell in that pic.