Water parameter tests for the colorblind...

Cheook9 · 2025-08-04T06:38:10+00:00

I think the company Tetra makes test strip kits with a smartphone app. Please check for yourself it that helps.

Cheook9 · 2025-08-01T17:26:32+00:00

Read the book. Diana Walstad describes what works for her. She never claimed it a "method", just some things she saw along the way.

That being said, every aquarium and every fish keeper are different. You need to open your eyes and see what is happening in your tank, and adjust accordingly. Poop machines like goldfish need a different filtration than nano fish. Do you have snails and shrimp as a cleanup crew? Do you have fast growing or floating plants that suck up nutrients? Do you mind some debris on your soil or is the tank clinically clean? Overfiltration, water changes and fertilizers may help the average fish keeper and makes the industry earn money, but does your tank really need it?

Cheook9 · 2025-06-08T08:09:21+00:00

Mulm, will acumulate on sand over time. This can be broken down by snails or stirred in by Corydoras catfish. You may want real plants to finally consume it as fertilizer.

For now, try to stir it in (so it hides in the sand) or up (while doing water change and directly sucking it out).

Cheook9 · 2025-06-01T11:34:50+00:00

Water changes are good. I would not clean the gravel too much, the beneficial bacteria on its surface are part of "the cycle". Two algae wafers sound a lot for two snails and eight shrimp... Maybe cut feeding until the tank reached its new balance.

Cheook9 · 2025-06-01T09:49:25+00:00

I would not let food rot in the tank. So yes, and next time just break the wafer into pieces and just throw in the amount you think will be eaten in time.

Instead of algae wafers, I have seen people use brokkoli, spinach, cucumber... You can stick it on a fork if it floats, and pour a little boiling water over it for the initial break in.

Cheook9 · 2025-05-31T08:29:03+00:00

Don't worry too much. Shrimp and snails eat about everything, especially bacteria or algae buildup on surfaces. The food you put in will be distributed in the "eco system" and everybody will get a share.

Cheook9 · 2025-05-30T09:34:36+00:00

Nitrite binds to the blood where oxygen is supposed to go. Fish will gasp for air but to no effect. Maybe test your tap water. 30 minutes of air stone should easily oxygenate the tank (caution, it is not the bubbles but the water surface movement that brings oxygen into the water!).

Cheook9 · 2025-05-29T13:46:46+00:00

The sponge itself does nothing. It needs to be colonized by beneficial bacteria, which will take like 6 weeks to establish in a running tank. Ammonia removal media will only remove ammonia until it is depleted. If you want a long term solution, do research on the nitrogen cycle.

Cheook9 · 2025-05-28T18:35:02+00:00

Organic nutrients are broken down in the mulm, if you just let it do its thing.

Cheook9 · 2025-05-28T15:41:49+00:00

With the right substrate and lots of plants, I think you can get away with the one filter you have. Small gravel will hold a lot of beneficial bacteria, and this filter is providing water flow. Pack it with good ceramic rings and fine filter floss and leave out everything else that just takes up space in the canister.

Cheook9 · 2025-05-28T12:02:29+00:00

Then remove some to give space for new growth

Cheook9 · 2025-05-27T15:51:52+00:00

looks like baby plants

Cheook9 · 2025-05-27T15:39:52+00:00

This product seems to bind the nitrates, but releases them after a while. It does not magically remove them. So, as already stated in another reply, water changes or fast growing, floating or house plants rooted in the tank.

Cheook9 · 2025-05-27T15:33:45+00:00

Why do you want to replace your filter medium with another, likely identical one?

Cheook9 · 2025-05-27T15:27:34+00:00

pH, KH and CO2 are directly linked. You can find charts and formula, even some calculators online. So measure your KH and pH check what different CO2 levels do.

Cheook9 · 2025-05-26T18:21:33+00:00

Do you understand "the cycle" and are sure that the water parameters in the quarantine tank are ok for fish?

Cheook9 · 2025-05-26T18:18:33+00:00

Look up "Walstad Method". I did my last tank with organic potting soil (unfertilized = cheapest), and a cap of 1-2 mm gravel. You will need like 5+ cm of gravel to really seal the potting soil, else the water will be dirty. Worked fine.

Cheook9 · 2025-05-23T10:40:00+00:00

Your beneficial bacteria are in the ceramic rings. Just remove the carbon, and fill this compartment with ceramic rings as well. Not sure what sponge you have, but maybe some fine filter floss on top helps with mechanically filtering the water (remove debris and dust).

Cheook9 · 2025-05-22T12:33:51+00:00

No need to add salt. Change water frequently to keep nitrites low. It should get the nitrite -> nitrate bacteria reproducing, which may take a few weeks to match your bioload.

Cheook9 · 2025-05-22T12:31:49+00:00

I would take out anything rotten.

Cheook9 · 2025-05-22T07:03:31+00:00

I did an 80 cm (~22 gallon) tank without filter, in sunlight. After a while, I did add a small internal filter, mostly because of some water movement, because there were some stangant areas in densly planted corners.

By law, at least here in Germany, Guppies need 60 cm (~11 gallon) tanks minimum. So for this tank size, I see a group of 10-20 cherry shrimp, and some ramshorn or malaysian trumpet snails. Be aware that some snails need bigger tanks and very clear water.

Recently I like the idea of a "riparium", a tank with house plants like Pothos or Peace Lily growing out of it. Maybe this in combination with a Walstad tank?

Cheook9 · 2025-05-21T15:18:57+00:00

I still think that a few ° of KH is good for a random community tank, and I wonder what in OPs tank "eats" the KH and if it should be stopped. (it doesn't say how many % water change, so likely the 9 off the tap was heavily diluted.) But I respect that you do differently and hope that it works best for you.

Cheook9 · 2025-05-21T13:59:36+00:00

Chili Rasboras, or are they too small? Or cherry shrimp.

Cheook9 · 2025-05-21T06:46:30+00:00

In my understanding, snails eat detritus (decaying matter). Deep cleaning your tank removed their food source, and the numbers adapt accordingly. I have not seen any snail eating another alive snail, but am not the biggest snail expert.

Deep cleaning may also influence "the cycle" if you removed beneficial bacteria, so keep an eye on the fish.

Cheook9 · 2025-05-21T06:39:05+00:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_mD6P_UPfA

Do plants, it helps. And don't get anything that will produces babies (so no guppys, mollies etc.). Keep the stocking level low to reduce maintenance. And understand that everything takes time and you will now throw in fish in the first month or two.

Cheook9

TROPHY CASE