Loaches Online Forum

I understand your point, Diana, but at the same time, I pay a good amount of money for water that should be kept within safe levels outlined by the EPA. I'm ashamed to say that Pittsburgh has the worst air pollution in the nation. It's possible that the same businesses who pollute our air, also dump...

I just got off the phone with the water company, and she said that due to lack of rain, customers will be experiencing higher than normal levels of hardness. She said it was 852 at one point, but what I don't understand is why they can't filter this out? Rain water should have nothing to do with my ...

Thank you both for the help. Diana, thank you for breaking down the cost for me, that must have been time consuming! My problem is room. I rent a townhouse that doesn't have a basement with a sink. The hookups for the washing machine are in the upstairs bathroom closet, and there is previous water d...

Where are you located, if you don't mind me asking?

Thank you for the link! I have tried to Google underwater pictures of freshwater fish in their natural habitat, but haven't had much luck. If you have any other links, could you please post them?

Thanks for the reply! I haven't spoken with the water company yet, but according to the information from the seller's auction, and what I've read from other sources online, 500ppm is the EPA's maximum contamination level. Here is the graph: http://www.sunstoneherbals.com/images/tdsgraph.gif The loac...

I just tested my tap and aquarium water with my new meter. Tap water = 562, and aquarium = 601. I don't know what to do. Should I call the water company?

Great pictures! I'm surprised you haven't tried spinach before. I've seen your videos with shrimp and chicken. It looks like the shrimp is pre-cooked. Is it? I'd like to try this!

Thanks again for your help. I just ordered a HM Digital TDS3, and I'm looking forward to using it. I'll create a new post (a shorter one) when I get the results.

I do my best to give them a good home. Sorry about my ultra long message last night. It was a bit too much information. Thanks for the advice about test kits. I found several TDS meters. What brands are good, if you don't mind me asking? Do you think it's possible for baby yoyo loaches (I recently b...

Thanks, chefkieth! I love him or her, too! I'm talking about the white marks that look like little scrapes, or pits. It's tough to tell, because this fish doesn't like to be stared at. It's not dirty glass, though. Some of the other fish have similar markings. It's a 120 gallon tank with a wet/dry t...

I have never seen marks like these before. The fish eat well, don't flash/scratch, and otherwise seem very healthy. I've had this particular loach for about 15 years, and I've never seen this before. Please help me figure this out. Thank you! Scroll down for the same picture, zoomed in. http://img.v...

The only problems I had with the 2 "3" series Fluvals I owned were the cheaply designed water shut off valves, and the clear plastic impeller cover breaking. I bought Magnum quick disconnect fittings, but the 4 & 5 series allow you to shut the water flow off. Undergravel filters can have dead spots ...

Here you mentioned the Fluval 405, and in the other post you said 403. The 403 (I think it's 317 gph) is an older design that isn't self priming. I had one for years, and it has a tremendous amount of room for media. You also mentioned an Eheim filter that is one of their lower end models, but didn'...

I agree. Ditch the undergravel filter. I did that on my old 75 gallon years ago, and switched to a Marineland Bio-wheel system. You could get the Magnum 350 Pro system, which has 2 Bio-wheels that are good for 60 gallons, then buy a 3rd Bio-wheel, and use one of your powerheads with a sponge, or qui...