Recent content by muelleh

I have the white foam filters in both, and also use carbon filters. Normally I never change both carbon filters at the same time, but they were both so dirty that swishing them around in the old tank water did nothing to clean them up (probably due to over-feeding?). In addition, the foam...

30 gal tank - at least 3 years 2 angels 8 tetras 5 corys 2 siamese algae eaters snails Briefly, I apparently over-cleaned my tank prior to going on vacation and threw it into a mini cycle (at least I hope that's all it is...) Despite water changes every 12 hours (between 30-50% each time) for...

30 gal tank - at least 3 years 2 angels 8 tetras 5 corys 2 siamese algae eaters snails Briefly, I apparently over-cleaned my tank prior to going on vacation and threw it into a mini cycle (at least I hope that's all it is...) Despite water changes every 12 hours (between 30-50% each time) for...

Thank you. This is the first time I have gone through this and am so worried about my fish. They all seem to fine (active, not hiding, etc.) but fear this is shortening their lives.

Thanks! He's been in a 1.5 gal for about a year so I am hoping he will be much happier in the 5 gal!

Thank you! I also wait to unplug the filters until the water level gets too low, so I am pretty confident that the media doesn't dry out. I am still having to change the water once a day and the nitrate reading is is below 5 and this concerns me. Should it? Nitrites 0.

I fishless cycling a 5 gal for my betta. Will he be able to go in immediately once it is cycled? Thanks!

I'm so glad!!!

You might want to "google" furunculosis. It is a disease that members of the carp family are susceptible to. I hope that isn't what it is because it is nearly always fatal. I used to have goldfish and lost every one of them, one by one, to this dreadful disease. Most were several years old...

I too have a snail infestation and cull them about every two weeks and transfer them to a contained koi pond. Question: will lots of snails add significantly to the bioload of my tank?

Once a week water changing hasn't been a problem, but this daily business is killing me! I did "google" the life expectancy of nitrifying bacteria and found a wide range of answers so I'll go with RadaR's estimation of about an hour, as that is the most conservative one. I'll put the filter...

OK...now this may be a really stupid question, but I have read that bacteria will die when exposed to air. It takes me about 1/2 hour to change the water (so the filters are exposed to air at least 15 minutes) so I am worried that with daily water changes I am killing off bacteria. Is this a...