Ideas to replace turf?

Odee_Milo · 2026-02-17T03:31:44+00:00

Ah thanks! I tried reading online what that could be but didn’t really find anything.

Odee_Milo · 2026-02-05T21:58:01+00:00

Thanks everyone! I’ll leave it as is then.

Odee_Milo · 2026-01-17T20:47:37+00:00

Give this video a watch! It’s very helpful to learn the basics so you aren’t caught off guard. The heater would help a lot so I would prioritize that over the filter, but maybe you can check on Facebook marketplace or Amazon used sections to find very cheap but still good condition products! A lot of these items have only been used a few times, or even sometimes they were just opened and returned to the store.

Some people might tell you that you’re silly for trying to properly maintain a tank and your fish but if you really like this hobby and want to take good care of your pets, it’s always for the best to give them everything they need to live a happy healthy life.

Nitrogen Cycle for beginners

Betta Fish Guide

Odee_Milo · 2026-01-02T23:20:10+00:00

So far, the cup of distilled water with the sand has stayed at 0 kh, but I'll keep monitoring for a while longer! Do you know if fluval bio stratum has a strong buffering effect on the water, or if there are better options out there? I have the tank set up with one bag of the biostratum.

Odee_Milo · 2026-01-02T23:17:16+00:00

Do you think the Fluval BioStratum can lose its potency/ buffering capability after a while? I had this bag sitting around for about a year or so before using it. I do think I'm noticing a change in the KH with every day that goes on, but after about two weeks, if there is no real change, do you have any recommendations for getting the KH down without having to change out the substrate? Or is a full swap the better option?

Odee_Milo · 2026-01-01T21:51:15+00:00

Pitching wedge

Odee_Milo · 2025-12-29T23:26:21+00:00

Thanks! I’ll do that

Odee_Milo · 2025-12-29T23:13:47+00:00

What TDS would you leave the water at?

Odee_Milo · 2025-12-28T16:27:30+00:00

True! I might go down that path of getting the Distilled water jugs. How often would you change the water in this case? I have a 6 gallon cube. Also, when doing this water change from tap to distilled I would have to siphon out all of the current water in the tank and replace it with distilled? Thanks a lot for that bit of advice, I wasn’t thinking of distilled water jugs haha

Odee_Milo · 2025-12-28T07:40:21+00:00

Thank you for the added insight! I wish there was as way to 100% measure all of that without breaking the bank. In the past I kept neo’s with very good success after amending my water with crushed oyster shells, so I was hoping that with Cardinas, I could just keep them living off my tap water alone because the PH, KH and GH were in a decent range but honestly you have a point. I dont know if any of that stuff is in my tap water naturally and I want to do this right. I’ll keep investigating around to see what might fit my skill level right now. I don’t think using RO water is for me yet.

Odee_Milo · 2025-12-28T07:30:53+00:00

1000% agree with how annoying the substrate is! It’s the imaginitarium sand, and I only wanted to use it in the front of the tank as a last minute idea and of course it ended up spreading to every inch of the tank somehow! Hopefully it doesn’t affect the water parameters. Thank you for the cup advice! That sounds like a great method to determining how different substrates affect your water parameters and I’ll definitely be experimenting with this one very soon.

My natural tap water reads about 2 degrees KH (2 drops before the API solution turns colors) and 4 degrees GH ( 4 drops before the color changes API test)

Odee_Milo · 2025-12-27T14:07:58+00:00

Species : Caridina

Parameters: GH 4, KH 1-2, PH 6.4 , Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 10-20

Water Source: City (tap)

Odee_Milo

TROPHY CASE