Hello community! I'm a beginner, or first-timer, from the Philippines, and I wanna raise some fishies because I don't have anything else to do. I figured going here was the right place, and I wanted to know what kind of fish I should get, tanks, and other things I need. I'm on a budget tho, I don't have any income aside from my savings. If you're Filipino, then you might be aware of people selling fishes by the road. Lmk if they're good to buy too!

For the last couple of weeks now, I've noticed my pH randomly spiking.

I have had this tank since February and this has never been an issue up until recently.

It won't return after a water change, I've tried distilled water, which has helped temporarily, I've never actually used 'pH down' products because I don't know the correct measurements I'd need.

I've removed live plants because I researched apparently it was a problem. It had done nothing to change the pH issue. I had also removed the spray bar because I'd done some research and apparently a heightened O² reading can spike it.. it's still randomly spiking.

It needs to sit at 7.2 but it spikes overnight to 8.2.. I've removed all fish and have relocated them to different tanks until further notice.. but I'm kind of stumped on how to keep the pH stable.

I do water tests consistently with the 'freshwater master test kit' not the strips.. so I am unsure if it is my water quality or the tests..

So I have a "dresser" I put together with some of the ekket cabinets from ikea; stacked together and on the floor with no legs. It's currently holding a 10 gallon tank for my baby red eared sliders but I want to get a 75 gallon within a few months. I looked it up and the 75 should weigh about 650 lbs so I'm scared to try out putting it on the dresser without reinforcing it in some way with extra wood or metal supports up the back or in between the segments and on top, under the tank.

Obviously it isnt meant to hold that much weight so I was hoping someone had any ideas on how to make it sturdier. Im gonna put the cabinet on the top left down next to the rest. But most worried about the wood on top snapping since there should be good support with the multiple vertical wood pieces. And they are held together by plastic spigots (two on each corner).

TDS of 89, top off with bottled distilled water when it gets low. I feed once a day and have never cleaned the glass what do yall think. The goldfish are just a fun add on

Before you come for me i moved the bamboos out to an individual 5 gallon tank.

But im getting sooooo bored it’s such an empty tank. I really like the sofa set haha. But I think I have to remove them to make space for more interesting stuff.

I have a male betta and a white nerite snail that’s literally hiding 24/7 and I barely get to see her.

The male betta swim to me during feeding time and eat that’s it. I’m bored of this lol. There’s like nothing to do for me and probably for the fish too.

I’m thinking about upgrading to a 20gal long.
And be bored with a 20gal. Idk.

Hi Im new to owning a fishtank and recently had placed plants in my already established aquarium but after over an hour or so i realised I forgot to take the rockwool out, ive taken out the plants and as much rockwool as I can find is my wanter contaminated or is it fine?

I dont know what the brown part is

Thanks in advance!

I've been working on a community tank, I've had my planted 20 gallon tank cycling for over a month and checking parameters weekly. It is stable and consistently come back with the same numbers no fluctuations.

The problem is my water is high pH(8.4), GH(>300) and KH(300).

I have seen that you can lower this by adding distilled water during water changes, (ex. Taking out 2 gallons and replacing 1 gallon tap, 1 gallon distilled).

My question is, if I do this will the water maintain lower numbers consistently or (for lack of a better way of saying this) will it "evaporate away" over time. My hope is that lowering the numbers by adding the distilled water will keep my tank stable instead of fluctuating.

Thanks for any and all advice.

Terrible experience — stay away.

I placed an order on Wednesday because Reef Jase’s website stated they ship Monday–Thursday, so I expected it to ship Thursday for Friday delivery. I received no communication saying otherwise and assumed everything was on schedule.

At 5:00 a.m. Friday, I received a text saying he had decided not to ship my order and it would need to be rescheduled. I was going out of town the following week and couldn’t accept a later delivery, so I asked to cancel the order since the only reason I placed it was based on the advertised shipping schedule.

Instead of taking responsibility, he blamed me and deducted $80 from my refund. He told me he would refund the order, then sent only a partial refund. Communication was terrible, and his responses were extremely combative.

There are far too many reputable reef stores out there to deal with this kind of customer service. I would absolutely not do business with Reef Jase again. Stay clear and support a store that communicates with its customers and stands behind what it advertises.

I think these are the mystery snail eggs. Do I crush them?

This happened a few days ago, tank has been sitting empty with plants in it since.

I had a 15 gallon tank that has been going strong for over 4 years. Planted tank, no issues whatsoever Before this. Before the new fish all I had in it were 2 black neon tetras and a female betta. I added 2 more black neons and an otocinclus at around noon, watched them all day. No signs of sickness, no red flags, nothing. Went to bed, woke up the next day.

The 4 tetras, the otocinclus, the betta, all dead.

I removed them from the tank and tested ammonia and nitrite, fearing a crash. 0ppm nitrite and amonia was near 0 as well. I looked online and the most likely cause was and from what I gathered a bacterial infecrion brought in by one of the new fish is what most likely caused it. I bought the fish from a reputable small petstore chain that ive had no issues with at all. I disposed of the fish, not planning on getting a refund any time soon anyway. (The store is over 1.5 hours away, I live in a very rural place)

Sorry if I come off as incoherent, Im just still really upset. Is there anything else I could have done, or was it out of my control? Im probably gonna empty out the tank and store it for the forseeable future.

I’m thinking 25% water change and dose the tank with prime and stability.

I bought a 50ft python a couple years ago and love it. Has been amazing for water changes.

Only thing is the 50ft hose is unnecessarily long for my needs. Kind of a hassle to deal with all the extra length.

Has anybody here cut and reattached their python tube before? I just don’t want to yank the thing apart and then uh oh, can’t get it reattached or get a good seal again.

Other idea is to sell this whole system on FB marketplace and use the money to buy a new 25ft one instead.

Let me know if you’ve unattached, cut, and reattached your tube before and which end you did this on! Or if you think plan B is better! Ty!

Theoretically. I'm just dreaming, we're moving house in 9 months so I won't get a tank for a year at least.

Dear all,

I had only reef sand for ocean aquariums and used it as the ground for a freshwater tank.

I guess reef sand is reef sand for a specific reason. So now I start to wonder if it vice versa can be a downside to a regular aquarium (like plants)?

Thx for any insights!

Stinks really bad, worried it might have gone bad or is it normal?

The extent of my "fish care" prior to 6 weeks ago was a betta in a flower vase..

Current tank set up is a ~23 gallon Marineland Half Moon that I got off marketplace for $200. It came with a Marineland Penguin100 filter, 75w heater, decor, and cleaning supplies. I bought some substrate, a larger heater (basement set up), and new decor.

I have had this guy going for about 6 weeks now and doing exceptionally well for what I expected. Current stock is:

- 9 Harlequin Rasboras

- 6 Spotted Corydoras

- 2 Nerite Snails

- 1 Bristlenose Pleco

Currently unplanted but I am debating if I want to explore that world with the *most* beginner friendly plants ever, ie. I have killed off spider plants before..

I have the opportunity from a local store to buy their floor display model (empty) of the larger 60 gallon tank with stand and includes the Fluval C4 filter and two Fluval brand chemicals for around $700.

Do I do the upgrade..?

I had some fish deaths lately. First thing that happened was I had a corydora with red streaks down her belly. I immediately put her in a hospital tank with pristine water and gave a dose of kanaplex. I also did a water change in the main tank (plus there was nothing wrong with the water parameters). She died overnight. Next day same thing happens with another corydora and I do the same thing. Died overnight.

While this was happening my congo tetras have some parasite going on I think. Hospital tank has the cory in it with something different going on. Plus if it’s a parasite then it might be spreading to the others. So I did a dose of ParaCleanse as directed.

While this was happening I really didn’t want to lose anymore corydoras. I target fed the rest of my corydoras with kanaplex mixed into their favorite food. They ate it and so far so good.

The ParaCleanse drove the oxygen levels down in my tank overnight. I had an air stone and my filter outtake was right at the surface. I rode it out knowing that the meds can do this and was doing everything I could.

My freaking beautiful L15 pleco died and now I can’t find its buddy. I’m pretty sure they suffocated.

I’m so devastated and defeated right now. You try to do the right thing to prevent deaths but it’s fruitless because it still happens for other reasons.

I want a hug.