Added to my last post is day 3 (mon.) water change.The KH.is now 80.
Another question to add to my last post is.How long is rainwater viable when kept in a 30 gal. bucket with no airation,is it best to leave outside were the temp. is cooler or does it matter?

I started my rain water changes Sat.am.
KH was 170 to start.
day 1=KH.130 (sat.)
day 2=KH.100 (sun.)
I did all changes at a rate of 25%.I will do another change Mon. am. Once the KH. is between 50 & 80 how often should I then do the water changes? I also assume that to avoid the KH. from going ...

OK Mats . It sounds like a good plan to me.I will start first thing in the morning with a 25% water change & go from there.I will keep you informed of my success if all goes well. Thanks.

Thanks : Mats

I will start by doing 10% water changes.How often should I do these changes? As an example should I do the first 2 or 3 changes at 10% then move to 20% then 30% & how often (daily,every other day?)What would you recommend?

I have been looking into different softening methods.But before commiting to one or the other I thouht in the meantime I would try the rain water method. The tank water is : gh=220,kh=170,dh=12.32,ph=8.2.

rain water is:
gh=40,kh=20,dh=2.24,ph=7.2-7.4.

What would be the best method to soften the ...

Thanks Mats.I will head over to tank talk right now.

I have been having a constant problem with brown & blue green algae.In my oto tank they cleaned it up with no problem.But in my other tanks that have either zero or only a few plants the the algae is a big problem. The water is good in all tanks just that it is hard.These tanks also house mostly ...

As I have posted before ,my tap water beeing very hard I have been considering adding a water softening system to my home.Would this be of any benefit to my fish? If so would it also be a good idea to have 2 lines going to my fish room?One with the softened water & one with the harder tap water ...

Bwhiskered I am about 1.5 hrs. north east of Toronto so I do not no if my rainwater is any better.
Shaun thanks for pointing out that great article about the oto's it will definately help.
I am definately considering looking for a RO unit.My concern is enviromentally not to mention the cost of ...

I like the idea of snow or rain as well.The price is right.As for the roof the house was built in July 2006.So if I was to use the water from the roof when the house hits about 1 yr.would this be OK? To be safe what should I test it for? Or am I better off collecting rain the hard way in buckets in ...

Thanks for the great tip.I never thought to use snow & I am surrounded by about three feet of the white stuff.One question is it OK to use rain collected from the downspout of a shingled roof? Or for that matter what about the snow as it melts from the roof?
I am still looking for DI water,any other ...

I am also interested in the idea of using rain water.Is this a good idea? It will not be long & I will have lots of rain water available(free).If so is it okay to use water collected from the downspout of a house with ordinary asphalt shingles?

Thanks racoll for pointing me toward the article on water chemistry.Although a bit hard to follow it took afew times reading it over.It shed a lot of light on the subject for me.I am glad that my oto's will be fine in my water.I will see if I can get demineralized water from my LFS.If I can is there ...

I got rid of all of the limestone today. I also did a 35% water change while vacuuming the gravel.I hope this will start lowering the PH & Hardness.I will test it again in the morning.Because my tap water is PH 7.6,KH 180,GH 260.is there not a less expensive or easier way to soften & lower the PH ...

I have about 25-30 oto cats in a 35 gal.tank. A lot of the females are full of what appears to be eggs.They have been like this for awhile.I think my water perameters for these fish are wrong. Can anyone tell me what they should be and how to go about getting there?

My tap water is as follows ...

I am going to Brazil.The towns we will be at are,Santarem,Boca Da Valeria And Manaus.The rivers we will be on are,Amazon,Tapajos River,Maica Lake,Rio Negro River,Rio Solimos and Lake January.

I am taking a month long trip which includes a week on the Amazon River.Has anyone done this trip? Can anyone give me any ideas on what I might be able to find in the way of fish in their native habitats? Or any other fish related ideas for this trip?

I have a problem with brown algae in my 90 gal. tank.When I set it up after my move is when the problem started.I never had this problem before.The tank has been up and running for 3.5 months and the tank is full of brown algae.The same happened to my 35 gal. and I put 30 oto cats in it and the ...

I purchased over 30 oto cats & 4 panda cory's.I put them in a planted 35 gal. tank,with driftwood & some rock.this tank was loaded with brown algae.One month later it has no algae left,but I am keeping them well fed with wafers,pellets,flake & blanched zuchini.
Many of what I am asuming are females ...

I did not realize hornwort was a cold water plant.It is starting to make a mess,it is so bad it is starting to clog my filters.I am going to get rid of it right away.The oto's are doing fine ,they are all quite plump.My losses are now 5 out of 21.That is over the first 4 days. I wonder if the dying ...

Thanks for the great food ideas for my cory's & oto's.Can anyone advise as to wether to keep the hornwort or not?
Carmencatfish:
I love the photo of your female oto I hope to see that soon in my own tank.

Well I did it.I took everyones advise. I went to a new LFS & purchased 21 otocinclus vestitus.They are about 3/4 to 1 inch in length,they all looked plump & healthy.I also purchased 6 panda cory's to go with them.The cory's are also young (about the same size as the oto's.I put them in my 35 gal ...

Thanks for the good advice on the oto's.I have never heard of using corys to induce the spawning.I think that is what I will try.In order to do this how many corys should be put in with how many oto's? I will take the advice & use the 35 gal. tank.

I read the article on oto cats in Shanes World on the oto's & I would like some opinions on what to do. I have 2 tanks availeable.A 10 gal.& a35gal. The 10 gal is a bare tank with box filter & floating hornwort.The 35 gal. is graveled with lots of low caves,sword plants & floating hornwort.The 35 is ...

I think I like the sound of the petricola.How can I be sure that is what I am getting when I go to my LFS.? The tank I have availeable is a 35 gal. how many would be a good group for this tank?

Thanks for the heads up on my wish list. Right now I have 5 fronts (6in.), 15 Cyps.(4-5in.)all in the same tank with no problem but the future looks like it could be dangerous for the cyps. if you are correct.
As for the idea that you can not have a display tank and a breeding setup at the same ...

I am planning a Tanganyika setup.I already have frontosas,calvus & cyp.lepto's that I might want to start with.I was thinking of maybe adding synodotis(not sure which ones yet) I think it would support more varieties of cats but I would like some interesting or uncommon types .Any suggestions would ...

If I went with syno.petricola what is the smallest tank required ,how many is a good # to start with etc.?

Synodontis nigriventris is one of the fish on my wish list.Are they readily available in aquarium shops?

Thanks Mats. I keep forgeting about all the great articles in Shanes World. That is were I am going next.

Huk