Recent content by BillD

I would agree with removing the water and refilling. If you don't, and let it settle, it can be stirred up again. As a side note, I wouldn't use organic potting soil. You would be better served using mineralized top soil, or, failing that, the cheapest top soil you can find, which will likely...

IS the bottom totally supported with Styro? If it is the patch is more likely to be sucessful. You can't use acrylic as the silicone doesn't stick to it all that well.You could double up the 1/4" by laminating 2 pieces together to give you 1/2". Another option if the tank sits on styro is to...

I very much doubt the brine shrimp are the problem. There is a viral disease that angels seem susceptible to that showed up a number of years ago, that was called (for lack of a better name) angel aids. When it first showed it wipe out massive amounts of angels including those of breeders. It...

You may find the full size LEDs won't fit because of diameter. I use CFLs in 5000K, and they grow plants very well.

There is a potential , particularly if you are using gravel, to create a point load beneath a rock. This can break the bottom. While it may be unlikely to happen, a friend lost 2 tank bottoms to this. After that he placed a piece of styro under each rock. The bottom frame serves to lift the...

I would lose the carbon and replace with some form of bio media, such as plastic pot scrubbers.

There are lots of plants that grow well in plain gravel. Some I have had success with are Vals, Anubias, Java fern, Ecinodorus latifolius ( a type of chain sword), and a variety of Cryptocorynes. I have grown all of these in a 10 gallon.

I can't remember the exact amount but, I believe you want between 80 to 120 ppm. How to calculate that is up to you. You might find answers to that on Cichlid-Forum.com as there are many who keep Africans buffer their water.

So, pH up and pH buffer are not the same thing. A buffer's purpose is to maintain pH, while a pH up type of product is to raise the pH. Without the buffer it won't stay up. The buffer used to maintain a +7 pH is simple baking soda. While it can, and will, raise the pH somewhat, the primary...

I would have filled the tank with water and added enough bleach to make the water feel slippery. The bleach will oxidize organics in the tank making them much easier to remove. I would have let it sit and then scrub well before draining and rinsing. Then I would have washed down with straight...

If there are no fish in the tank, change out all the water. That will lower the amount of toxins or pathogens in the tank. I would do it even if there were fish in the tank, leaving only enough water to cover the fish. If you have a sand substrate, you can't use an under gravel filter.

All those pumps are high volume ones for multiple tanks. Diaphragm pumps are usually the quietest. Blowers and linear piston pumps are both noisier, but not necessarily loud.

Water flea is normally used to refer to daphnia, while the term scud is used for assorted species of Gammarus shrimp. Both can be cultivated. Daphnia can clean a cloudy tank or one with green water in short order as they are filter feeders. They multiply in the process. Gammarus are great for...

You should be less concerned about pH than TDS. I would dump the water you added the buffer to and replace with new tap water.

I never heat livebearer tanks, and temps range from about 65F to 75F.