SUSS8 Posted October 2, 2012 Report Share Posted October 2, 2012 Thought I would post this up as I always have questions and thinking this might be a little easier for others to see as well.. Just wondering What sort of products people use or have on shelf Just in case. For example, What do you use as a "cycle", pH up & Down? What you have in the medicine cabinet etc ? Product Name: Use: Something along those lines, Hopefully everyone chips in a little as personal experience helps narrow choices down, now that there are 100's of choices at the LFS. Muss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davo Posted October 2, 2012 Report Share Posted October 2, 2012 cycle nothing.. ph down no need...nature normally moves water to acidic..ie pee, poo... ph up not needed as i normally keep killies. but you can use marble chips. Cheap and can get it by the ton medicine - methylene blue ..i normally buy 1kg of these crystals at a time. for a normal aquarist you only need 2grams to last you a lifetime. used for eggs as it is a fungicide malachite green ...i normally buy 1kg of these at a time. Used as a fungicide and a anti bacterial agent..but you need to be careful because it will kill everything if you put heaps in. formaldehyde - used in conjunction with malachite green. course sea salt - disinfectant and etc... I also DON'T use sodium thiosulphate or water conditioner as you don't need to use it for Sydney water.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wild Nut Posted October 2, 2012 Report Share Posted October 2, 2012 I use Seachem Prime as my water conditioner. It detoxifies everything and is very good value for money. Although I am looking at possibly purchasing Supa Chlor which is an Australian made alternative. Medication wise, I use Big L as my main de-wormer, but am looking at purchasing some Tetra ParasiteGuard as this also contains metronidazole. Using Ichonex by Aquasonic currently to treat a nasty case of velvet and it seems to be performing well. As a long-term buffer, I use CaribSea Florida Crushed Coral. This is their claim, not sure how accurate it is but nothing else I've found seems to work as well. Florida Crushed Coral is the only crushed coral with aragonite, which provides up to 25 times the buffering power of other crushed corals, dolomite or oyster shell. I used to recommend API liquid test kits, but I am now going to be trialling the Ammonia Test Kit by Aquasonic as I have run into issues as to the accuracy of my results with the API brand. Essentially all I use on a regular basis is my Seachem Prime water conditioner and Indian Almond Leaves. Other than that I try to avoid medications, cycling aids and buffers as much as I can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAF Posted October 3, 2012 Report Share Posted October 3, 2012 (edited) This is a really good thread. Hopefully it will take off. I only use IAL and API Stresscoat+ as my water conditioner. Oh and sometimes a pinch of sea salt Edited October 3, 2012 by SAF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yanagi Posted October 3, 2012 Report Share Posted October 3, 2012 Don't know if you can really use my input as I'm not the average hobbyist but here you go anyway lol. Conditioners: Whatever is the most concentrated and on sale. Aqua One and API have even more concentrated conditioner than Prime so I've switched, but no one will try a new brand unless you point it out to them so Prime is still the big seller. IAL. Auburn Aquarium branded Start Right B / aquarium salt as we had it custom manufactured for us and I know it actually has good stuff in it as opposed to other brands. Buffers: Seachem buffer/builder for my reef tank. Red Sea Flora Base (substrate) for the discus. IAL. Driftwood. Coral skeleton/rubble or coral sand for buffering up. Biological Supplements: Nutrafin Cycle every time, used only for setting up new tanks. I don't continue usage. Medicine cabinet of OTC stuff: Waterlife Sterazin Use: Added upon addition of new fish for gill flukes and other parasites and proactive maintenance control of intestinal worms Waterlife Protozin Use: Treatment of velvet and white spot on my more delicate fish ie fry, discus. Also used as a preventative treatment after adding fish who may have received a chill in the bag. Triple Sulpha Use: Very little actually. Won't be replacing it once it runs out. Used for treating bacterial infections from nipped fighter fins that IAL and salt weren't helping. (I use doxy now if i suspect a bacterial infection causing fin rot on my gouramis.) Tetracycline Use: No longer in use. Only used for treatment of fin melt. Aquarium Science White Spot 3 day treatment Use: Take a wild guess Big L Use: Quarterly proactive treatment for intestinal worms. Aqua Master Fluke & Tapeworm Use: Contains praziquantel so this is my 'step up' from Sterazin for treatment of gill/body flukes, also treats worms but I prefer Big L for that. I use this for obvious head shaking, scratching, etc. Sterazin is my preventative. I only ever use this if I forgot to add Sterazin upon addition of new fish. Seachem Cupramine Use: Copper treatment for serious velvet infestations. Used for white spot on marine fish in FOWLR tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afr3178 Posted October 3, 2012 Report Share Posted October 3, 2012 I love the water that comes out of my tap- perfect for the fish I keep, soft and acidic. I have IAL and salt always handy- IAL goes in all my betta tanks and salt for any signs of disease. I don't add any conditioners to my tap water, don't add any buffers, don't add anything. It goes straight into my tank from the tap. I have Big L- which as others have said is a wormer. If I ever need anything else, I'll get it from my LFS or work. I've had no problems with the way I do things, it works well for me :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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