That information about the willow branches is amazing! I will take note of that. I have no idea what type of filter I have. It came with my plant tank "kit". Are most of them carbon? This learning curve is way more than I expected...The girl at the pet store laughed at me I was so stressed talking to her today.
About the Stability - it is a starter bacteria culture to help get the nitrogen cycle going in new tanks and you add it over time and continue it with water changes to keep the culture healthy. *that is what "they" told me...It is the same company that makes Prime. I also bought some Prime and Clarity to use with the daily water changes. Good point about the 10% water change. Simple math does help...Duh. I will do that tomorrow. I was afraid I would stress them even more if I took more out. I decided not to use the copper sulfate because my plants will die. I have decided to go the "natural" route. I saw on a blog that this guy who has eight tanks running and has successfully kept tanks for 30 years swears that is how he treats all his outbreaks and he has lost very few fish using that method. He said just make sure you buy an air stone and do the temp changes very slowly - 1 to 2 degrees per hour till you reach 86. Hold that for 10 days then slowly lower to normal range again. Treat the water with salt to help the fish heal and Said to do 25% water changes everyday and if you want you can add a diatom filter but you don't have to.
I appreciate so much the info. This hobby has blown up to be amazing and overwhelming at the same time !
About the Stability - it is a starter bacteria culture to help get the nitrogen cycle going in new tanks and you add it over time and continue it with water changes to keep the culture healthy. *that is what "they" told me...It is the same company that makes Prime. I also bought some Prime and Clarity to use with the daily water changes. Good point about the 10% water change. Simple math does help...Duh. I will do that tomorrow. I was afraid I would stress them even more if I took more out. I decided not to use the copper sulfate because my plants will die. I have decided to go the "natural" route. I saw on a blog that this guy who has eight tanks running and has successfully kept tanks for 30 years swears that is how he treats all his outbreaks and he has lost very few fish using that method. He said just make sure you buy an air stone and do the temp changes very slowly - 1 to 2 degrees per hour till you reach 86. Hold that for 10 days then slowly lower to normal range again. Treat the water with salt to help the fish heal and Said to do 25% water changes everyday and if you want you can add a diatom filter but you don't have to.
I appreciate so much the info. This hobby has blown up to be amazing and overwhelming at the same time !
