Recent content by fishrancher

Thanks everyone for the insight, opinions and science. Clearly, no one was supportive of the level of salt I was using -- for plants or fish. On the update front, I did a 40% PWC today without adding salt -- and I'm planning to dramatically reduce (and possibly eliminate) the salt levels...

Not a hijack at all. Very interesting. Your ability to grow the same plants in BW at the very least suggests it's not "just the salt." Thanks for the info. I'm of course still hoping to find someone that has long term success with salt and plants in FW. I know, I know, but after a pretty...

I've had the following which diminished and then died over an extended period of time (maybe two years) -- jungle val (died), spiral val (died), rotala indica (required monthly trimming, then died), wendtii green (spread considerable, then wilted, perhaps dead), lutea (okay, but not thriving as...

So I have been running about 1 tablespoon of salt per 5 gallons in my planted 29g tank -- recommended after a bout with ich. I know that the "preventative" use of salt is a bit controversial, but aside from whether it is a good idea/necessary/helpful for my fish, my question here is this: IS...

I'm not crazy about the idea of turning off the filter. And it seems others aren't either from the fact they are focused on reducing the suction or protecting the fish from the intake. Turning off the filter occasionally for short periods of time is probably not a problem, but at some point...

what kind and size filter do you have?

I ordered root tabs today.

Thanks everyone for your help with this!

:lol: I never have but my other hobby is bonsai and I have tried collecting them in the wild before and it is no small task. I'm just going to try to forget about the compaction issue.

yeah. definitely trying the root tabs. is the flourite a soft enough substrate for kuhlii loaches? I think they would burrow around and eliminate any lingering concern about compaction.

It started at about 2" and is now about 1.5". it has definitely settled, but I think my problem is insufficient / inconsistent ferts. I'm going to try root tabs and see if things perk up.

I'm worried about root health. The substrate seems to have settled quite a bit over the past 3 years. I could just "plow it up" but I'd prefer not to put substrate into the water column unnecessarily. Anyway, it seems like a fine sand issue, but because it is a new issue for me I wanted to...

I have a 29g planted that has been set up for 3 years. Over that time, I have actually worked hard not to "disturb the roots" and so basically have not moved/stirred/disturbed my substrate. Now I am reading about substrate compaction being an issue (obviously, I'm new to the forum). I...

I'm running 2 wpg for 8 hours and 4 wpg for 4 hours. I guess even 4 wpg doesn't seem out of the normal range from what I've read -- am I missing something? I increased the light because I basically never had much success on moderate or higher light requiring plants with my old set up (1.6 wpg...

Yikes. So I checked out some customer reviews on the Fluval CO2 system and it looks like it's not a cost effective (or particularly convenient) way to go. Off to look for a CO2 set up.