Recent content by jtino

Thank you! I'll definitely look into some of those plants. i think ill be getting Limniphilla sessiflora and Cardamine lyrata to start off. do you recommend replacing any plants i already have or just leave as is and just add? If i dont want to get your suggested plants right away, would i...

I dont have any water softener, but i could get some today as i will be going to the fish store. do i need that if my water source is 7.6 - 7.8 PH?

Is it possible that my bathroom faucet, which is where i get my water from to put in the tank, is a different PH level than my kitchen sink, which was in the picture i provided you? i just tested the PH from my actual water source (bathroom faucet) and the PH level looks to be at 7.6, which is...

Thanks for all the feedback @AdoraBelle Dearheart very helpful! I dont mind doing water changes when needed, especially now that i know it could be the PH level in causing these fish stress. now i just need to find out what is causing these ammonia spikes every couple days. i dont think a...

they all look very dull in color and they aren't really swimming around. but after a day or 2 they look better, but then i have to change the water again because of the spikes. at first i thought i was changing the water too frequently, but the rule of thumb is do water changes when you see...

below is a pic of high range PH and regular PH. the test tubes on the left of each bottle are from my tap water. the test tubes on the right are from my tank. looking at the high range PH differences is this an issue? PH level seems to be 8.8 from tap and the PH level in the tank right now seems...

my water temp is at 76 degrees and when i add water its about the same temp. maybe 1 or 2 degrees off. i do turn on the hot and cold water from the faucet. yes i add the Prime after i take water and before i put new water in

also would you all hold off in getting more tetras for now? i dont know if that would help or would just make everything worse

thats what i thought, but after every water change they just dont look so good. i'll stop using stability and I'll rinse out the filter tomorrow then. thank you

if i did a partial water change yesterday, would it be okay to rinse the filter today or tomorrow?

thank you for the compliment. ive been using an API test kit. i check each tests at the 5 minute mark. i do use seachem root tabs for the amazon swords and the vallis. if it will make that big of a difference I'll look into some of those plants. but no issues not cleaning the filter for 2 months?

thanks for the feedback! and yes i thought the color of these fish would be great, but honestly the color just isn't there yet. i said 12 tetras because i may get a red tail shark down the road but not sure on that yet. if not, i would get more tetras for sure. I'm not sure what my hardness is...

I have had 65 gallon planted tank with 5 Red line sharks and 7 Serpae tetras for at least 2 months now. At first i thought i did a fishless cycle successfully, but now im not so sure. It seems like every couple days i get an ammonia spike and sometimes a nitrite spike. At first i thought it was...