good luck with mushrooms?

[sillygoose]

For those of you who have great luck with mushrooms, what do you do? Are there any suggestions you can pass on to someone whose luck is pretty variable? Some of my mushrooms are great, some are weak. I have even had some that look perennially pathetic that used to be healthy. They don't die - they just look bad. Sometimes the same species will be fine in one part of the tank and awful in another part. So what do you do?

 

[Akimbo]

Try moving them around the tank into different amounts of flow and lighting. Some like strong lighting and okay flow some like strong flow and low lighting some like inbetween. just move them around until you find a place that works for it then let it be happy.

 

[puffermantis]

That may do it, but I have mushrooms at all levels in the tank and they are growing like weeds. I don't have any in strong current though. I used to keep my sg @ 1.023-I noticed that when water had evaporated and I needed to top off that the shrooms were bigger and more colorful. When I measured the sg, it was @ 1.024-1.025 sg that they looked the best-so now I keep my sg @ 1.024. Also, nothing in my tank looked healthy until I started using ro/di water. Nothing fancy, just a countertop unit I bought on the "bay" for $80. including 5 extra filter cartriges.

 

[Akimbo]

Also if you dont wanna buy an RO/DI Watermart sells the water for $0.40/gal expensive if you doing a 20% change on a 200g but really is cost effective because its good drinking water too.

 

[sillygoose]

Thanks for the input guys.

SW Aquatics has RODI for 25 cents/gal. That's what I use.

I have been playing with flow trying to get good turnover without blowing things away. Maybe I need to adjust that more. Also, I tend to keep my sg around 1.023. It bumps up to almost 1.025 by the end of the week, then we do a bigger topoff. (The rainstorm method...) Maybe we should do two smaller ones throughout the week.

 

[scubabum1983]

i broke down and got a rodi unit from southwest and id never go back to not having one, I have a 44gal trashcan on rollers. i never have to lift those jugs into my jeep and spill stuff everywhere and never have to worry about running out.

 

[ZOAKEEPER]

"The Filter Guys" are one of the many sponsors here on R/C who I have dealt with in the past. Although my units aren't from them I have bought all my replacement parts from them for a very good price. Good to deal with. I'm a strong believer in having your own R/O unit.

 

[cerreta]

feed them. they will take bigger foods believe it or not. The trick is trying to keep the fish from eating it.

I have had very good luck with Phytoplan and Zoaplan from TLFs


The hardest for me to keep are ricordias.