The Puffer Forum

Hello all. So it's been quite awhile since my last post. I'm happy to say that my tank has finally stabilized and has remained as such for about 3 months now. Ammonia and nitrites are 0 ppm and nitrates are kept in check with water changes. pH is also up. However..... My WHOLE tank is COVERED with d...

No need for carbon in FW tanks. I much prefer Aquaclear filters. Way more surface area for bacteria to grow on. It's a brackish tank. Unfortunately, it's an all-in-one Eclipse 12 system with the filtration system basically custom made to fit it, so I don't have much choice w/ the filter selection.

Thank you everyone for your input. Sorry for the delay in responding! There were likely some good-guy bacteria lost in the gravel change. The presence of the large majority of the good bugs in the filter is a mature steady-state observation. Start-ups have good stuff scatter all over, but the optimu...

So, I thought I would post a quick update of my tank. Last week, I completely replaced all of the fake, colored gravel with Carib Sea Arag-Alive and some natural rocks I've found along the beaches in Maine. I posted a picture below. I've been keeping up with the water changes and FINALLY started see...

Ouch! A dead fish carcass will do the trick!! I'm hoping that the high ammonia and nitrite levels won't continue for much longer. I'm continually monitoring my fish for signs of stress and he seems to be doing just fine, which is a relief. I think I'm going to undertake the substrate change tomorrow...

Yup, your revised plan sound good on the gravel. It can be worth it to overspend to get what you want, when you will have to look at it for a decade or two. I get real self-indulgent on that point at times myself. To be honest, I am pretty self-indulgent anyway. This is not a dress rehearsal, this ...

I actually bought some and installed them under the gravel in my tank for more of a "mood lighting" at night, etc. They are waterproof, as long as you keep the connectors dry. I got them on ebay. Here's the link: http://cgi.ebay.com/4-LED-Waterproof-Fountain-Aquarium-Moonlight-Lighting_W0Q...

Don't waste your $$$ on anything claiming to be "alive", stored in a bag. Just get regular aragonite sand. The main reason I got this particular type was mainly aesthetics. It was the only black aragonite I could find. In the cycling info, you must not use ammonia removers when using prod...

kezzerone: My apologies for getting distracted on cycling by others' comments and not responding to an earlier post of yours. Layering gravel is somewhat risky. First off, BW tanks do not require much substrate, they are only rarely planted. Shallow substrates are easier and better to maintain. Sec...

Ammonia removers are different from binders/detoxifiers. Some early products, some of which are still for sale, would convert the ammonia into an inert form which was unpalatable to the bacteria that cycle a tank. Amquel doesn't truly remove ammonia in this way, simply binds and detoxifies, leaving...

Ok... Now I'm even more confused. I've already admitted that I made a mistake by putting my puffer in his tank before it was completely cycled. However, this is now a moot point because he's in the tank and I want to keep him healthy and alive.... whatever that takes. So, I've been doing at least 50...

So I have been doing approx. 60-70% water changes almost daily now for the past 5 days now and I'm still showing about 2.0 ppm nitrites and 20 ppm nitrates. Each time I change the water I vacuum the gravel too. I'm starting to get a bit discouraged. It's now been about a month of cycling and I'm sti...

bastallard wrote:IMO 80% water changes daily will slow down the cycling of your tank, but your fish will thank you by not dying.

I'd prefer my fish to stay alive. I've heard that dead fish make lousy pets.

80%?!?!! Wow!! Well, I trust your advice on this. I'll get started right away and in the meantime, I'll order the sand. One question - Will this disrupt the cycling or will there be enough bacteria in the gravel, filter, bio-wheel, etc. to sustain it? Also, is there any use for the bacteria suppleme...

Nitrate of 0 is not perfect. A cycled system will show some nitrate. The "live" sand you mentioned is not live at all. Nothing kept in a bag can sustain life in there. Same with the"bacteria' products you are adding. The only product that has been proven to contain the correct live b...