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For this question to make sense, you need to know that I live in Cape Town, that we are having a severe drought and are limited to using 50 liters of water a day (that's about 13 gallons). So wasting water is quite a big deal :) ----------------------------- I like to prepare for a water...

I wondered whether any of you are living (like we do) with water restrictions? And if you have any tips for aquarists? Cape Town dam levels are very low and things are looking pretty dire. We've managed to cut our water usage drastically. I still do a 50% water change on my 20 gallon aquarium...

We're moving soon, and I'm starting to stress about moving my tank. The move is not far, about 40 minute drive. Tank is 20 gallon with ember tetras, black widow tetras, bristlenose pleco, and some khuli loaches. I've been reading lots of forum posts and articles of advice on how to move and I...

What would you say is a safe range of temperature difference between the tank water, and the water change water? I have my water change water in a barrel and heat it with a heater to match the tank temp, but recently I found that something had gone wrong with the heater and the water was about...

I want to buy a LED light setup for my low light planted tank (no CO2 injection so I don't want high light levels) I found a place that makes custom lights that are much cheaper than imported options, but I don't know enough about LED lights to know if this is the correct light for me. My tank...

I've got into the routine of filling a water barrel 48 hours before I do a water change to allow it to degas and get up to temperature before doing the water change (I put a heater in there). Even though the chlorine should bubble off by itself during that time, I still add Prime just in case...

I posted recently about my mystery fish deaths. I'll put the details at the end of the post, but basically, being at my wits end today I asked for advice from the guy at the petshop. He actually seemed rather knowledgeable and asked all the right questions. Long story short, he said I might...

I'm not sure anyone can really help me, this is more of an attempt to figure out what I should do next. Trying to figure out what might be causing my fish deaths and how to proceed from here. The thing is, we've been having regular "load shedding" which means they turn off our power for about...

My aquarium lights are set to go on only at 11am. The room is fairly bright, but the tanks are far from the windows, no direct sunlight. Is there any downside to dosing excel several hours before the lights go on? As I understand it, the plants need light to use it. Will it just be present in...

Just wen you think you know enough to be getting on with... I thought I understood the basics of how the aquarium nitrogen cycle works. Then I read a forum post on here where somebody - I forget who it was now - mentioned Archea. Check out this link...

About a month ago, I replaced the substrate in my 10 gallon Betta tank with sand. I notice now that whenever I do a water change (once a week 50%) there is a sulfur smell as the water comes out the siphon. I know about hydrogen sulfide gas that can develop because of anaerobic bacteria, but...

Being a beginner with very little knowledge of chemistry, I've been reading up on Ph, Kh and Gh. I've tried to compile a list of facts and explanations suitable for people like me. It would be fantastic if some of the more knowledgeable members here could have a look and tell me where I'm...

Today I went to buy some pet supplies, and had a look at the fish even though I knew that I cannot get any more fish. Tank is not fully stocked but near the limit. Of course, then I see the loveliest little bristlenose pleco babies, albinos with long fins. Just beautiful. I didn't get one...

I've got a number of problems with plants in my low light, low tech tank. I suspect I've got an imbalance of light / nutrients, and I'm hoping somebody can point me in the right direction. Specs: 90 litre tank, (23 gallons) I don't add CO2 I do weekly water changes of about 40% Ammonia and...

Have you guys seen this yet? I think it's pretty interesting! Australian Vet Removed a Brain Tumor From a Goldfish Named George

I'm getting confused. I've set up a big container to age my tank water before I add it to the tank. One reason is simply because it makes my bucket driven water change a bit easier - I can split the task over two days, instead of doing all the water carrying on one day (and no, I can't get a...

How important is it for an HOB to fall some distance into the tank to create turbulence / oxygenate the water? I have an Aquaclear 70, and if I fill the tank to about a bit more than an inch from the rim, there's not much of a fall happening from the filter to the water surface. I've not...

In this article, the writer claims that hydrogen peroxide can be more toxic to fish if ph of the tank is high. I can't find any other mention of this, is it true? Public Enemy #1: Black Brush Algae and how to fight it I ask because I had some mysterious fish deaths some time ago, and now I...

I'm thinking of upgrading my 40 litre betta tank to a taller, circular tank, something like a big glass cookie jar. But I've got a Aquaclear 30 that fits on a straight sided tank. Is there some way to make this work? I really can't think of any way.

I've been reading up on TDS and looking at some of the TDS meters one can get. For somebody with two smallish freshwater tanks, is this something that's worth getting? My reason for looking into this is because over here where I am, it's not possible to buy the all in one API testkit. I've got...

I've been reading up on TDS and looking at some of the TDS meters one can get. For somebody with two smallish freshwater tanks, is this something that's worth getting? My reason for looking into this is because over here where I am, it's not possible to buy the all in one API testkit. I've got...

Okay, I know this is a little bit of a hot topic, so I hope I'm not stirring up trouble by asking about it. I see some conflicting advice about water changes. Now - granted - every tank is different, and somebody keeping discus is going to need to have a different water change regimen that...

I'm not asking this for myself, as my tanks are both cycled, but I like helping people here who are struggling with cycling, and I want to make sure my advice is correct. I always thought that dechlorinators like Prime convert ammonia to ammonium. Ammonium is not as toxic to fish, but it still...

Does anybody else use these? Trying to find food that my cories can eat easily. Am I using them wrong? I can only get them to sink if I poke at them for a bit. Then they seem too hard for my cories to get much nourishment out of them. And by the time they've sucked at them for a bit, my...

I just bought a new ballast for my fluorescent light, and when I got home, I saw I'd got the wrong kind. The tube is 10w, and I got a 15w ballast by mistake. I can exchange it, but the place I bought it from is quite a drive away. What will happen if I use this ballast with the 10w tube?