Recent content by FishFixation

I tested my tap water, and I DO have 10 ppm nitrates, so I suppose I'm actually at baseline. Maybe I'm not as far along as I'd hoped. (Dang.) My temp is currently at 80, but I think I will increase it a tad. I set it to 80 because I was thinking I might convert to fish-in, but that's no...

Readings this morning: ammonia: 0.5 ppm (was 1.0 ppm last night) nitrite: 0.5 ppm (unchanged) nitrate: 10 ppm (unchanged) pH: 7.2 I like that half the ammonia was gone. I'm still not at the '0 ppm within 12 hours' point, but as I see it, I'm over halfway there. Those little bacteria are...

Thanks for the info on the pH. I'm just concerned that it is so high, and surprised that it isn't lower because of the driftwood. (Makes me wonder- how basic WOULD it be??) Before reading your post, I purchased a bottle of API's pH Down, but even a pretty heavy dose of that has done little to...

I said my test kit is liquid, but it is actually powders instead of drops. I meant that it wasn't test strips (are they really THAT innaccurate?). Last night I had like 0.2 nitrite, but still no ammonia. I'm not sure how that's even possible, but this whole situation is starting to...

Yeah, I'm really tempted to convert this to fish-in because I can't find a source of pure ammonia (where can ANYONE find surfactant-free ammonia??), and I think the goldfish pellets I was using caused a lot of the murkiness that I cleaned out yesterday. I've switched to using betta food in the...

My light bulb came today! For a gut-wrenching moment, it wasn't working, but then I whacked it, and it turned on! I so cannot afford a new hood. Phew. So here it is. The decor is gonna stay the way it is. Although it's a tad crowded for such a small tank, I understand that bettas like it...

So, I was poking around walmart the other day and I peeked inside a box of aquatech filter cartridges because the picture on the box looked mighty similar to the eclipse rite size Z cartridges that I use for my 3-gallon tank. I pulled one out, and it looks pretty much exactly the same to me...

Reasons I'm a liar: Exhibit A: Not only did I drain the tank and rearrange the plants again (back to a setup very similar to the original photo), but I improvised a light source and even took a picture of it for you. Maybe I'll have to try taking another picture at night to reduce that glare...

Reasons for no more pictures at this time: the driftwood has turned my water yellowish (yuck!) I still don't have the light bulb (although it's finally on its way!) The tank doesn't look all that different because the driftwood only fits in that one way I'm sorta lazy. ;) Rest assured, I will...

Well, my light bulb is finally actually in the mail. I'm hoping to get it by the end of the week. In other news, I'm experiencing aquascape ADD. I can't tell you how many times I've rearranged my silk plants, but it's just never quite right. I added a couple more (found 3 for $5 today), but...

has aquascape ADD.

I'm new to this too, but my understanding is that once the food starts rotting, it will produce ammonia, and once the ammonia is present, you'll start growing/feeding those bacterial colonies that you want. Then watch the water levels until the nitrite drops to zero. You're supposed to add...

It's a liquid kit made by marineland which includes only ammonia and nitrite, and which takes forever (like 30 min for both tests). Although I don't really have the money, I'm about ready to go pay for something that's a bit more efficient. :P No, I'm in the US.

Hey everyone - I have a three gallon eclipse aquarium that I'm setting up for a single betta. Right now I'm trying to cycle it. Because I can't find surfactant-free ammonia at any of the stores near me, and because I don't have a trusted source for established media, I've opted to go with the...

Ok, I need some help here. Maybe I'll start a new thread. Because I don't have any established media and because I can't find surfactant-free ammonia anywhere, I'm cycling using the fish food method. Today is day three of adding fish food (six goldfish pellets), and my ammonia levels are...