DrTim's Aquarium Podcast

May Q & A

Dr Tim answers your questions! 

Time stamps:

2:02 my cycle is stalled with Ammonia reading of 2ppm going on for 2 weeks.

6:20 Things to think of when moving.

11:57 Would you recommend leaving out all mechanical filtration while cycling with this bacteria? That way the only thing they can get stuck to is the substrate, rock, and biological filter media?

14:01 Just came out of my 3 day blackout. I’m dosing waste away now. The Dino’s are gone for now. But my alk is sky high and my corals are stressed. I don’t want to do a water change because it will spark the Dinos again. What should I do here?

18:45 I set my tank yesterday and followed everything you say but my ammonia reads between 0.50 and 1.0 is this okay or should I start over?

22:05 I’ve been using NP active pearl & waste away liquid form for half a year But now I am interested in Waste away gel. Do I need to remove NP Active pearl while introducing waste away?

25:20 I noticed that the protein skimmer has been overflowing with clear water in the collection cup right after I introduced waste away. As I don’t see cloudy water - how long should I remain turning off the protein skimmer?

29:00 I am on day 16 and nitrates are still high, and climbing, I'm getting ready to do a partial water change.  Is it possible my bottle was dead? On your website that shows a chart where it shows constantly adding ammonium, but in the video Dr. Tim said never to add unless both Ammonium and Nitrite are low.  Should I still be adding ammonium or not?

34:00 New BiOrb and One and Only... should I remove or turn off this air pump or remove the sponge? I just don't want all the helpful bacteria to end up in the cartridge that's going to be replaced at some point. 

35:45 First Defense, Eco-Balance and Waste Away gels - can these products be used in the same tank? Once my aquarium is established, it seems the process should be - water change (using AquaCleanse), Then add First Defense, wait 7 days and add  Eco-Balance, just replace the gels when needed, is this correct?

39:40 Would it be advisable to use Dr.Tim's One and Only on an established system to help fight off diatoms? 

42:02 Which of the Eco Balance products-freshwater or saltwater- would be best suited for a brackish water system?

44:00 ASF lights- how much do they run, and would they be anemone grade?

48:59 I’ve used secondhand Marco rock. It’s leaching out some phosphate into the water. My Hanna checker is reading 0.248ppm. I would normally just use PhosphateRX to knock these back down to 0.03ppm. But I don’t have any filters on the system yet and I don’t know is PhosphateRX will affect the one&only?

Microbiology 101

This episode is all about the basics of microbiology. Dr Tim talks about what various microorganisms and what you can expect of them in your tank's ecosystem.

 

Got questions? Contact us through social media or by sending an email to info@drtimsaquatics.com

 

Thank you so much for being a listener!

April Q & A

Our Q & A Podcast for April answers the following questions:

Timestamps:
Intro
1:35 #1 Can I use Waste-Away Gels if I don't have a skimmer on my 45g tank?
4:00 #2 My Eco-Balance arrived in a slushy state. Will it still work? 
5:34 #3 Cycling problems with a 20g using ammonium chloride and stability.
8:08  #4 Cycling a tank using live rock and bacteria.
11:37 #5 Waste-Away gel usage in an all-in-one 20 gallon. 
14:09 #6 Help! I overdosed First Defense by 10x the recommended dose!
15:36 #7 Why shouldn't I use a UV sterilizer?
22:06 #8 Re-Fresh and Waste-Away for Green Hair Algae (GHA) treatment.
25:51 #9 Is Re-Fresh safe to use with shrimp and snails?
27:54 #10 Not adding enough ammonium chloride when fishless cycling. 
29:58 #11 Can the Phos-eliminator +  be put in during the tank cycling process?
31:39 #12 What parts of the filter to leave in when cycling with a canister filter.

March Q&A

Our March Q&A episode answered 13 of your questions from dino treatment, to One and Only storage, and of course lots of cycling questions.

 

As always, we love hearing from you and are happy to answer your questions. Send them to us on social media or via email at info@drtimsaquatics.com

February Q & A

In this episode Dr Tim and Hilary answer your questions!

If you have a question you would like for us to answer, please send us a message on social media or send an email to info@drtimsaquatics.com

 

Thanks for listening & happy fish keeping!

Acclimation

In this episode Dr Tim and Hilary talk about the right and wrong ways to acclimate fish and corals, and the science behind it.

More Questions!

Dr Tim and Hilary dig back into the mail bag for more listener questions!

Ammonia

In this episode, Dr Tim and Hilary talk about ammonia. We start off slowly, giving you the basics before going more in-depth as the episode progresses.

December Q&A

Dr Tim and Hilary answer your questions about cycling, vodka dosing, ammonia levels in a new tank, where to find our products in the US and abroad as well as talk about some fun upcoming content you can expect in 2022! 

DrTim‘s Media Products - What they are and How to use Most Effectively

Dr Tim and Hilary discuss the range of DrTim's Aquatics media products - what they are, how and when to use them and how to get the most from each media - HINT: prepare your water to remove particulate organics that can clog the media!  For more tips and hints start listening now!