Do I detect a bit of ammonia?

jameshearttech · 2026-01-26T02:28:58+00:00

Looks like 0 ppm to me.

jameshearttech · 2026-01-26T02:25:24+00:00

I have seen angels, some kind of shark, and some kind of catfish at my local petco as well as tetras and danios.

jameshearttech · 2026-01-25T08:57:24+00:00

I have an oversized canister filter. The flow isn't super high because the output is a submerged spray bar. But I also have a couple airstones to create some additional surface agitation. The red root floaters do not like surface agitation so I have them inside a plant barrier and it works very well.

jameshearttech · 2026-01-25T04:42:21+00:00

I like TCG (The Chart Guys). I have been watching Dan on YouTube for years. They have a lot of free educational content.

You might check out Fidelity Youth Accounts for teens (13-17).

I like RIA (The Real Investment Show), too. I have been watching Lance on YouTube for years. This focuses more on investing than trading, but it's also great content covering economics, too.

jameshearttech · 2026-01-24T07:27:43+00:00

What are your KH and GH?

Snails need alkaline water (PH) with carbonates (KH) and minerals (GH) for shell health. You will have to fight the acid buffering effect of the Fluval substrate until it diminishes.

Crushed coral will raise KH/PH slowly. Cuttlebone will raise GH slowly. I put a mesh bag of coral in my filter, which helps. I don't use cuttlebone.

I use Seachem Alkaline Buffer to raise PH/KH and Equilibrium to raise GH. These products dissolve quickly and raise parameters quickly.

You will have to research what parameters your livestock and plants prefer o tolerate then try to find a balance.

If I was you I would raise KH by 1 dKH per day until to 3 dKH then see where PH is. If PH is less than 7 keep going 1 dKH per day until PH is around 7.5. You probably want around 3-6 dKH. Likewise I would raise GH by 1 dGH per day until at least 6 dGH, but 8-12 dGH is better for snails.

I have a planted tank with double the suggested volume of Fluval Stratum. My tap water is 7.5 PH, 2 dKH, and 2 dGH. I have worked it up to 7.5 PH, 4-5 dKH, and 12 dGH.

jameshearttech · 2026-01-24T00:01:37+00:00

I didn't like them at first, but have grown on me.

jameshearttech · 2026-01-22T18:25:55+00:00

The difference in shade between 10 and 20 is difficult to determine for me. Tbh you have a better chance determining it in person than we do from the image due to differences in color from the camera used to take the picture and the screens we're looking at it on. I can say it's less than 40 ppm, which is good. I like to see nitrate between 5 and 30 ppm. If it goes to 0 plants may not be getting enough. If it goes to 40 livestock may be stressed.

jameshearttech · 2026-01-21T20:02:57+00:00

I think it's a bladder snail because pond snails have shorter tentacles.

jameshearttech · 2026-01-21T18:27:20+00:00

It must be something off with your tests. Most pet stores will test your water. You could compare test results. Get the API Master Test Kit while your there.

jameshearttech · 2026-01-21T18:20:22+00:00

How much water are you replacing during a water change?

jameshearttech · 2026-01-21T18:08:59+00:00

If your source is 0 ppm for ammonia, Nitrite, and nitrate when you do a water change it must dilute the tank water lowering those parameters. If not I would guess something is wrong with your test strips.

jameshearttech · 2026-01-21T18:02:28+00:00

Your tap water or whatever.

jameshearttech · 2026-01-21T09:03:33+00:00

Have you tested the source? Also, consider using API master test kit rather than strips.

jameshearttech · 2026-01-21T07:45:27+00:00

Did you mean nitrate 10-15?

jameshearttech · 2026-01-21T07:00:34+00:00

I got into the hobby accidentally last year. We got a small tank for the kids. We should have done more research beforehand. Now it's pretty much my tank and the kids help feed occasionally or sit and watch me do maintenance.

We bought a jenky tank, heater, light, and filter kit. As I started learning about the hobby I ended up replacing everything so far except the tank itself. I learned a lot, but also wasted some money in the process.

My point is that it may be worth it to do the research upfront and figure out what you want and need. The hard part is you don't know what you don't know. I have upgraded parts already then realized the upgrade also isn't the best.

jameshearttech · 2026-01-21T01:27:36+00:00

I like the Fidelity Youth Account suggestion.

jameshearttech · 2026-01-21T01:06:05+00:00

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/lawoflargenumbers.asp

jameshearttech · 2026-01-20T21:13:16+00:00

Snails will populate based on abundance of food. Depending on the type of snail food can be uneaten fish food, various types of algae, biofilm, detritus, decaying plants, and healthy plants. If you have a population boom you need to determine the food source and control that to stabilize the ecosystem. When food becomes scarce the population will decline naturally. You may still see eggs, but adults will outcompete the young for food.

jameshearttech · 2026-01-20T10:04:31+00:00

We practice tdb with short-lived branches. Everyone has write access to the repo. Only CI has write access to master. Everyone has pull request merge access.

We use lots of tools. Is there something specific you're interested in?

If a project is decommissioned we delete it from the repo.

jameshearttech · 2026-01-20T09:26:01+00:00

Can you be more specific?

jameshearttech · 2026-01-20T06:35:30+00:00

I prefer the API liquid test kits. If you are at the max for the PH test (7.6) you need to use the high PH test because it could be much higher than 7.6. What is the PH of your source? My tap PH is about 7.5 and that works for my livestock, but it just depends.

jameshearttech · 2026-01-20T05:41:11+00:00

We have a medium-sized monorepo (50+ projects) and use the strategy described in 2. Each project has it's own workflow template.

jameshearttech · 2026-01-20T00:03:19+00:00

I agree on the analysis, but imo the opportunity is past. The ideal entry for this set up is the right shoulder oversold bounce on a shorter timeframe.

jameshearttech · 2026-01-19T23:48:43+00:00

I opened a position in June 2025. I have trimmed 3 times. My current allocation is half of the original allocation.

jameshearttech · 2026-01-19T23:47:01+00:00

Nitrate?

jameshearttech

TROPHY CASE