Recent content by pyealands

I been useing driftwood from beaches for years in freshwater aquariums with no issues , I just wash with hose to get rid of sand , and then depending on the peice soak months in bins to get it to sink before useing . This is the first time I've read that it's bad .... An interesting note...

What are ur water parameters?

I've got ugf,s in most of my tank's now, I love them! still haven't finnished making the one for the last tank .

You can't adjust ur tank water with the api master test kit , it just tests water then u adjust the water if it needs it , in ur situation yes its needed, the ammonia needs to be below 0.25 with fish in the tank . But test ur tap wster to make sure there's no ammonia or nitrite or nitrate in...

This is a vid from aquarium co.op to upgrade ur new hob filter , if u want to of course, But recommend because it will make ur filter work better for biological and mechanical filtration, AND ITS FAR FAR CHEAPER in the long term . https://youtu.be/ipTDkQsT6HQ

Ok cool , thanks for that, I do have a new kit , but I didnt want to open it till I completely drained one of the bottles . But I was worried about its accuracy, nice to know its ok .

I've got a small tank with stuck nitrite too , so following. Just another thought , my nitrite test bottle is just past useby date, 2 months ( my other bottles are fine ) just wonder if ur nitrite bottle is old too ?

Ok newbie 14 months , In New Zealand shrimp are illegal so im totally jealous , 1st suggestion , totally nuke tank, filters ,hoses, substrate, airlines , everything ..replace plants .. 2nd suggestion, semi nuke, catch the shrimp useing traps and put into hospital tank , Take the media...

I'll answer question #1 , fishless cycling , u will need , ur tank , ur filter running 24/7, the filter outlet needs to be disturbing the water surface , this creates oxygen , benificial bacteria (bb) Need oxygen to grow . U will need pebbles, decorations, plants etc , These create a...

I'm a newbie 14 months , so far no dead fish due to sickness, ( yes dead fish due to stupid mistakes .. even froze a whole tank of guppies...long story irrelevant, but not recommended ) But im absolutely certain I wouldnt still have any of my fish now if I didn't have an api freshwater...

Question , let's say power is off for possibley days and ur tanks are in a room with no direct sunlight on the tanks , ur tanks are heavily planted , but no power so no light getting to the plants , do the plants still add even a little bit of oxygen to the water dueing the day ? BTW, Kelly...

@ADsnail, I live in Southern New Zealand, so very cold , the lowest temperature the tropicals got to was 11C , , they had stopped moving , and were not happy, i dont think they would have lasted another few hours . On that specific horrific occasion 20 hs , I had covered their tanks with...

The ph of my tap water is 6.6 , I use crushed seashells in all my tanks and ponds , just mixed in the substrate cause I've got fry at the mo im only using sponge filters in my tanks . and they sit around 7.2 To 7.4 now. ,( im sure u realize u can't add shell or nothing to a sponge filter lol but...

Don't undefeed ever , I dont care what anyone says , fat fish are healthy fish , ive spent decades farming , the quickest way to sick animals , is to undefeed , Ive NEVER had sick fish . Always overfeed , even in winter ponds .. The benificial bacteria builds up to accept the overfeeding . If...

Sorry ive got to go to work , so quick answer, ur tank isn't cycled , 4ppm ammonia is lethal to any fish . If u can't set up a hosptal tank asap, then Water change Pronto., get it down to 0.25 ppm . It needs to be cycled preferable before putting fish in , hopefully someone will come on and...