Scott wrote:
snip

Also i guess I should mention I haven't done any water changes yet, and
going by my water results I don't think thats an issue. When the time
comes to do a water change what is the best way to do this? Do I need
to buy another heater to get the tempature right, or just play with hot
and cold tap and a thermometer?

You're asking these questions as if there will be a definitive and
agreed-upon answer to them all ;~). Many opinions vary, but imo,
generally for municipal water, you can just play with the taps and
dechlorinate in the tank. Gravel vacuum with some type of pipe with
suction (look at how the Python works), and don't vacuum under plants. For
the average person, there isn't any chemical clues as to how often the
water needs to be partially changed. We sometimes go by nitrate levels,
but planted tanks can keep the NO3 level at zero. Typically then, try to
do about 20% water change per week. It is to thin out many things which
you cannot neccesarily measure.



That is a question that I have hassled with since I bought my Python
aquarium cleaning setup. I am still adding water to the fish tanks by
filling a bucket by the tank with the hose and adding the de-chlorinator to
that, then dumping into the tank. So it IS OK to add the chems to the tank
and then fill with the hose from the tap??

---scott


I used to do that with DISCUS and they showed no signs of stress. I
can't think of a better measure. Dechlorinator is a very fast chemical
reaction.

--
__ Elaine T __
__' http://eethomp.com/fish.html '__
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com