Loaches Online Forum

Hi Nancy, thanks for the well-wishes! I'm in suburban Atlanta. Having hard-ish water made sense - we have that really crappy thick clay soil here. It's to the point where anyone who wants anything to do more than basically survive in their yard has to throw lime down a couple of times a year to drop...

Bookmarked -thanks for the link and the info.

Well - this is weird. At least for me. I came home and when I looked at the log book to see when I'd last tested my tap water, it was 3 months ago. So I figured I'd re-test. These are the little API 5 mL vials and drop-shake-look GH/KH tests and 5 drop PH tests. Results (2/5/13) pH Low - 7.2 pH High...

I read in a few places to be very careful of what bulbs you buy though - Am I correct in remembering to get "full spectrum" and to stay away from plant, daylight or 'soft white' models?

It's fairly hard water right out of the tap. The PH comes out around 7.5. I'll edit this post with the actual GH/KH numbers when I get home, but like I said - it's fairly hard (not as bad as I've seen others post). I've been using driftwood to soften it up before it goes in the tank. But it was enou...

Thanks so much for the information. I think I've got it in my head that I must make that water move in as close to a stream environment as possible. So since a left-to-right water movement isn't possible, would it make sense to design the tank with an island (of sorts) in the center of the tank for ...

By "Penance" - I mean that I was the idiot that walked into a fish store with a snail problem and allowed them to sell me a clown loach. (Incidentally this is almost the same way how I ended up with what looks like a common pleco, too). I've learned the error of my ways and I am trying to fix it - I...