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  1. Ben Rhau

    question on water hardness and leaching

    Did you do a negative control with no substrate?
  2. Ben Rhau

    different borelli "color" morphs

    Borellii aren’t commonly imported (at least not in the States) so wild caught is a nice find.
  3. Ben Rhau

    Pair of A. Hongsloi or Borelii in 35 gal community tank?

    It is very difficult for pH to crash even with distilled water, and in fact I’ve never seen it.
  4. Ben Rhau

    D39

    Where did you get them?
  5. Ben Rhau

    question on water hardness and leaching

    That sounds like a good plan. For relative changes over time, temp is relevant if the temp of your cup is changing. So it may help to record that as well.
  6. Ben Rhau

    question on water hardness and leaching

    Probably the bigger issue is to adjust your measurement for temperature, unless your room/cup is the same temp as the tank.
  7. Ben Rhau

    question on water hardness and leaching

    You could always replace the evaporated water with distilled and/or cover the container
  8. Ben Rhau

    question on water hardness and leaching

    Is the substrate directly from the tank, or new from the bag?
  9. Ben Rhau

    apistogramma agassizii tank mates

    I would agree with that. I also found that red root floaters do not tolerate any current (and really thrive in the absence of current). In my experience, the nutrient level in the water also affects the type of growth. When fertilizers are added, I see a lot of small, new growth. In nutrient...
  10. Ben Rhau

    Need a little help understanding this...

    It would say far greater than 99% are macs. Viejita would never be offered for general sale, they would all be spoken for.
  11. Ben Rhau

    My Apistogramma borellii

    If it's any consolation, I've had both a EC/TDS meter and a Hanna combo EC/TDS/pH meter, and I ended up getting rid of the combo meter. EC/TDS alone is fast and robust. pH measurements take longer than I expected to stabilize, and maintenance of the probe is a bit of a pain. I think the meter...
  12. Ben Rhau

    Can I make blackwater using my tap water?

    I don't think there's enough of a difference between the source water and your tank water to see a big change in pH. My guess is that the leaves and wood add some buffering capacity. I've posted about this several times. I don't think it's possible. Great, maybe the pH itself doesn't matter so...
  13. Ben Rhau

    Can I make blackwater using my tap water?

    At that rate, It would take 10 - 15 water changes to replace 90% of your water. Since there is such small difference between your tank water and the peat water, I think you can either do larger water changes, or daily 20% changes for 8 or 9 days straight (or until you see a difference). I...
  14. Ben Rhau

    Can I make blackwater using my tap water?

    How big are the water changes, and how often?
  15. Ben Rhau

    Can I make blackwater using my tap water?

    I kept my RO water at room temp, and given the needs of my fish and the size of the water changes, it never changed the tank temp by more than 2 or 3 degrees.
  16. Ben Rhau

    Stocking a 75 gallon

    Depending on the species, some will not breed in hard water. However, if the water conditions are such that they're not breeding, that's not ideal for maintaining health. If you put males and females together in healthy conditions, you can't stop them from breeding. If you want to avoid that...
  17. Ben Rhau

    Can I make blackwater using my tap water?

    A <column design> is the most effective, because the fraction collected at the bottom doesn't mix with the source water, so it's not equilibrating. That obviously takes some time and effort, so what Mike suggests (forcing water through the peat) is another good solution. In my experience, it...
  18. Ben Rhau

    Newbie questions

    Yes, these are the ones I've used. The reason I suggest boiling is that the leaves persist and don't stain the water much. I'd like to get things moving a little faster by breaking them down a little first.
  19. Ben Rhau

    Can I make blackwater using my tap water?

    The Sera pellets are not a bad option, because you can put them in a bag. Likely expensive, though, for what it is. With loose sphagnum, I'm not sure how people deal with it for large tanks. I made a small peat cannon (basically like a giant coffee pourover using an inverted gallon jug) but I...
  20. Ben Rhau

    Newbie questions

    Yes, and in my experience they take a very long time to break down. Maybe boil them first.
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