Recent content by MontyJ

Nitrites are on the rise, Nitrates are at 5ppm. Ammonia not budging at all yet. pH is still steady at 7.6. If the pH begins to crash, what is the course of action? My tap water tests at 6.8 unconditioned. I can only assume the de-chlorinator caused the tank water to go up to 7.8 initialy, then...

I bought my youngest daughter a 29 gallon tank which is currently fishless cycling. It's nice and all, but I'm an avid gardener and love a challenge. When I saw some of the planted tanks I was hooked on the challenge. I can grow any dirt based plant that's suitable for my zone, but I have never...

Nitrites doubled to 2.0ppm in 24 hours. Tested Nitrates and noticed some color change. Not enough to call it 5.0ppm, but definately not 0ppm.

Looks like its starting to get going. Nitrites quadrupled from 0.25ppm to 1.0ppm in 24 hours. Ammonia still steady at 4ppm. Didn't test anything else.

Just curious, but has anyone tried using pool filter sand?

We thought about guppys but have decided against them. I don't know the difference between a male and female, and frankly, I don't trust the lfs to know the difference either. Just based on past experience with them of course.

Actually, the fishless cycle doesn't bother us at all. We garden a lot and grow everything from seed so we are used to waiting, and waiting...and waiting. I can't find any mature media. We live in the country and don't know any other fishkeepers. Not a big deal though. It will cycle eventually...

First measurable Nitrites appeared this morning. Edited the OP to show the log. Make you a deal...help teach us fishkeeping and I'll teach you everything you ever wanted to know about gardening ;)

I think J.B. (my daughter) learned a lot of her patience from gardening. We grow a huge garden every year and start all of our plants from seed. She understands that seeds don't germinate overnight, and when they do germinate they must spend time in the greenhouse until the weather, and the...

I don't mind the endless zeros. This is actually my youngest daughters tank and the repeated testing gives her lots of practice. She is 10, so the more practice, the better. It will also get her into the habit of checking the water regularly once the fish are in. She will never be without...

OK, I think I have it. I appreciate the help. Our tank is only 29 gallons, somewhat less than 150l.

OK, so popping out the old bag and dropping in the new one would be a bad idea. What do most people do in this case? Doesn't the bag get clogged up? I can see rinsing out the old bag in tank water then placing it in the new bag...I guess I just need to see the whole thing in action. Maybe it...

I still don't think I'm understanding this. Here is the pump/filter I have: http://www.tetra-fish.com/sites/tetrafish/catalog/productdetail.aspx?id=1276&cid=5639 It has something called a bio-bag, which is nothing more than a fluffy bag full of carbon, and a wirey looking plastic square. They...

I have a filter that just hangs on the back of the tank. If I understand correctly, the bacteria needed in the tank live primarily in the filter media. So what happens when I change the filter? I read through the beginners section, but nothing really covers the different types of filters and...

Thank you for the welcome and the advice. Since start up, the level has dropped to about 4ppm (after two days) and has held constant. I'm testing twice a day so I can track exactly when changes occure. I'm monitoring ammonia, nitrites and pH at the moment, as well as when the light is on and off...