Recent content by Loulou betta

Oh good to know. Do you know if it just leaches the ammonia initially or will it be ongoing? Haha....your tank looks beautiful too Did you have an issue with ammonia leaching into the water?

Oh wow, your tank looks really beautiful! Yes the aqua soil, vs soil and gravel, or just gravel. Is one method easier to care for/maintain than others?

Thank you, I'm very new to this. How does care and maintenance differ with the aqua soil?

I have a 10 gallon tank that I'm planning on redoing. It was a planted tank (gravel substrate) with a betta. We are going to set it up for chilI rasboras, and I'd like to add plants and a darker substrate to show off their colour. I'm wondering what everybody reccomends using for substrate...

Ok, I just figured out what my numbers mean. Mine are in parts per million. I just used the liquid test kit for GH and KH (the store was out of liquid pH so I just used the test strips for that). My tap water is GH 1.12 and KH 1.12. My tank water with clam shells and cuttle bone is GH 5.6...

Hmmm... I'm not sure, the test strips for GH show 5 colours (0, 25,75, 150, 300)? Then the KH shows 0, 40,80, 120, 180,300). They show GH as 0 and 25=very soft, 75=soft, 150=hard and 300= very hard. They show the KH as 0,40 =low, 80 =moderate, 120,180=ideal and 300=high. Maybe a different system?

Hello, I have a 10 gallon planted tank that is cycled. I am now looking to stock it and was looking for some advice. I'm deciding between 2 options: #1 about 8-10 chilI rasboras and a few crystal red shrimp #2 about 5 guppies and a rabbit snail What I need help with is that my tap water...

Okay, a liquid test kit sounds like a good idea to get an accurate reading. I'll watch and record for a few weeks and then start a new thread asking for recommendations. Thanks for all of your help

Okay, thanks for this. I'll monitor the water parametres more closely for awhile. Seeing as my tap water is soft and low alkalinity, is it possible to create a stable tank with the rocks etc and 25% water changes, or do you think the weekly water changes are going to create too much fluctuation?

It's municipal water and we don't have a filtration system on the tap. The GH is between 75-150 (hard to be accurate with the strips). GH on the strips is showing between 75-150(on the strips) in the tank (after a 25% water change yesterday). Straight from the tap, it tested as softer...

Thanks everybody for your help. My water tests look good, but one thing that is strange is that when I test the water straight from the tap, it is showing alkalinity (KH) at 0, and same when I test the water in the tank. Is this normal?

Okay, that make sense. I'm using the strips so it's hard to be exact, but between 6.8-7.2 Thanks for this.

Okay, I had read that a lower Ph could effect the snail's shell, but if I keep the Ph stable and add a calcium supplement (cuttle bone), they will be okay?

HI everybody, I have a 10 gallon planted tank and I was planning on getting chilI rasboras and cherry shrimp for it. I would also like a nerite or two to help with algae clean up. I was just looking up ideal water parametres for all of them and noticed that the chilis and shrimp do better...

I know; I felt so bad.