SwampeastMike
Aquarium Advice Activist
Have the nitrogen cycle working perfectly in my new 160-gallon and am ready to begin introducing more inhabitants to this planned true community tank.
Tap water in my town has a quite regular ph of 7.5 and KH of about 8-9. Current inhabitants are five adult blood red parrots, one adult firemouth, a couple immature cory cats a bunch of fancy guppies and a 12"+ pleco. Save the corys all have grown up (or have been born) in sort of water.
I want to bring the ph and hardness down somewhat (say 7.2 and 5-6) as I insist upon adding a 50+ neon tetras to enjoy their natural schooling behavior. I know these aren't ideal water conditions for neons but I have zero desire to breed them and know they're reasonably tolerant of less-than-ideal water chemistry. All of the planned additional inhabitants to this tank be they plant, bony fish, amphibian, invertebrate, semi-terrestrial or terrestrial (for the planned above-water habitat built atop 1/3 of the tank with its base semi-submerged in the tank) will be extremely or reasonably happy with this general chemistry.
I want to keep the entire tank keeping process as simple as possible as we travel internationally for 2-3 months in most years and I can't stress the house sitter any further beyond the dogs, cat and now a complex fish tank compared to the simple ones before. The planned daphnia tank (I've done it before) will be far and away enough extra. Once daily feeding with some planned predation to keep down the population of the live breeders and perhaps others that just may succeed in breeding in the highly varied (to include substrate and lighting) environment.
Rainwater collection is a complete no-go. (Certainly not due to a lack of rain but just being a complete pain for many specific reasons.) I'm too cheap to buy lots of distilled water or maintain a reverse osmosis system--the funds for months of international travel each year have to come from somewhere
Now, finally, my idea. A very large barrel reasonably close to both the tank and the bar sink. A good amount of natural peat at the bottom and plenty of aeration. Remove a gallon or two of water from the tank each day at feeding time. I'll make this very easy despite the completely fitted cover that avoids "escapees". Dump into the bars sink, replace with water from the barrel and and add tap water from the bar faucet to the barrel.
I've never used the peat moss method to moderately, slowly and naturally soften/acidify somewhat hard/alkaline water before (no need--a LONG story that I won't add) yet recent study tells me it is simple, safe and effective. Is that correct? After writing that I got a flash about reading similar in the highly studious aquarist books from the 1930s that I checked out from the library as a precocious early grade-school student in the very around 1970 when I found a dried-out metal frame 20-gallon tank outfit in grandma's basement that mom made me completely reputty and prove leakproof before allowing it in the house.
Perhaps I should add this to the "How Did You Get Started?" section
Anyhow, I'd love to hear experience (even speculation) regarding this idea.
Tap water in my town has a quite regular ph of 7.5 and KH of about 8-9. Current inhabitants are five adult blood red parrots, one adult firemouth, a couple immature cory cats a bunch of fancy guppies and a 12"+ pleco. Save the corys all have grown up (or have been born) in sort of water.
I want to bring the ph and hardness down somewhat (say 7.2 and 5-6) as I insist upon adding a 50+ neon tetras to enjoy their natural schooling behavior. I know these aren't ideal water conditions for neons but I have zero desire to breed them and know they're reasonably tolerant of less-than-ideal water chemistry. All of the planned additional inhabitants to this tank be they plant, bony fish, amphibian, invertebrate, semi-terrestrial or terrestrial (for the planned above-water habitat built atop 1/3 of the tank with its base semi-submerged in the tank) will be extremely or reasonably happy with this general chemistry.
I want to keep the entire tank keeping process as simple as possible as we travel internationally for 2-3 months in most years and I can't stress the house sitter any further beyond the dogs, cat and now a complex fish tank compared to the simple ones before. The planned daphnia tank (I've done it before) will be far and away enough extra. Once daily feeding with some planned predation to keep down the population of the live breeders and perhaps others that just may succeed in breeding in the highly varied (to include substrate and lighting) environment.
Rainwater collection is a complete no-go. (Certainly not due to a lack of rain but just being a complete pain for many specific reasons.) I'm too cheap to buy lots of distilled water or maintain a reverse osmosis system--the funds for months of international travel each year have to come from somewhere
Now, finally, my idea. A very large barrel reasonably close to both the tank and the bar sink. A good amount of natural peat at the bottom and plenty of aeration. Remove a gallon or two of water from the tank each day at feeding time. I'll make this very easy despite the completely fitted cover that avoids "escapees". Dump into the bars sink, replace with water from the barrel and and add tap water from the bar faucet to the barrel.
I've never used the peat moss method to moderately, slowly and naturally soften/acidify somewhat hard/alkaline water before (no need--a LONG story that I won't add) yet recent study tells me it is simple, safe and effective. Is that correct? After writing that I got a flash about reading similar in the highly studious aquarist books from the 1930s that I checked out from the library as a precocious early grade-school student in the very around 1970 when I found a dried-out metal frame 20-gallon tank outfit in grandma's basement that mom made me completely reputty and prove leakproof before allowing it in the house.
Perhaps I should add this to the "How Did You Get Started?" section
Anyhow, I'd love to hear experience (even speculation) regarding this idea.
