Recent content by mctypething

I just connect the canister back to the tank and let it drain the tank water to fill back up. Then I top off the tank with dechlorinated water from the tap. Same as any water change. Haven't had any issues so far.

I mean pour out the water that's in there and replace it with clean water.

I clean my canister once a month. I have a Marineland C-360. I replace all of the media except the bio balls and ceramic rings every other month, and just rinse them out really good between months. I also thoroughly rinse out all of the baskets because I've noticed a lot of fish poop hides in...

I would highly recommend getting one type of cory. I had two cories die on me because I tried to put them in the tank with another species of cory. Although some people have had success mixing and matching cories, I'd highly recommend getting all of one species.

I have gravel substrate, but all of the other cories are fine and I've had all of them for almost a year, so I don't think the gravel had anything to do with it. I would like sand, but I'm not about to go through the pain of switching substrates. So unless he happened to hit a rough edge that...

One of my peppered cories's barbells/whiskers/things they use to feel around for food, is currently curled up and not straight like it always has been. He seems to be perfectly fine otherwise. He's swimming around and foraging for food like usual. His other barbell/whisker is completely fine...

I have two pieces of driftwood in my tank. I screwed a piece of slate on to each for 3 months before taking the slate off. Both pieces sank after I removed the slate. But I have read that there's really no rule to the matter, each piece is different. Maybe get a small weight, like is used in...

1) Not an expert here, but I think too much is made of pH. Personally, I don't have a clue what the pH of my water is, and my tank is thriving. Just my $.02. 2) I have three angelfish in my tank. Two of them were introduced at the same time but the third was brought in when the other two had...

Thanks guys. Well, the guy in my neighborhood came by last night and I showed him how much I feed and the overall routine I have. I asked if it would be easier if I separated the food in shot glasses, but he said he was fine. He used to build aquarium stands for a living so he is familiar with...

Thanks for the tips. I'm going to give this guy one more chance and if not I'm going to get an auto feeder. Does anyone have any recommendations on auto feeders? Gosh, going on a trip used to be so easy, now I have fish to worry about :) haha.

I constantly have to battle brown algae, and my tank is about 8 months old. It used to be really really bad, to the point that after a week it would cover the substrate. Now, it's only a few patches here and there, but it still comes. Luckily though, it comes off very easily.

I'm about to take a trip out to California for 9 days. I figured this was too long to go without feeding the fish so I asked someone in my neighborhood if he could come by at least a few times while I'm gone to feed the fish. He was supposed to come last night so I could show him my feeding...

Wow, I'm sorry to hear that. What you described is my biggest fear in owning an aquarium. I can only imagine how stressful that must have been, especially a 180 gal tank. I give you credit for getting over it quickly and staying calm about it. I don't even know what I would do in that situation...

My experience is that different types of cories do not school together. In my 55 gal, I started with two peppered, one albino, and one emerald green. The peppereds always schooled, but the other two seemed lonely. Sadly, the albino died a few months ago and I replaced it with another peppered...

Arm and a leg? It's really not that bad but I'm always up for saving money so I'll look into your suggestions. Seems like it might be a pain to cut the Wal Mart floss in the shape it needs to be to fit in the canister. It's nice to just open the package, rinse it off, and slip it in...