Faq – About Spike Aerator
Joseph asks…
Lawn Aeration..?
Spike, or Plug aerators? I bought a spike one but I’m worried I wasted my money….are they really all that bad? Thanks.
What are the advantages of Spike aeration opposed to Plug aeration? Plug aeration puts little wads of dirt throughout your yard, perhaps Spike is better in terms of cosmetic….idk….what are your thoughts?
Another question….I bought several items for my lawn.
A spike aerator, grass seed(The lawn is already planted, it just has some bare spots..), and some Nitrogen-Phosphorous-Potassium fertilizer. I have a question, in what order should I apply these things to my yard?
Staff answers:
Spike aerators are less effective than plug aerators! But still, spike aerators do relieve some compaction issues and transferal of moisture and nutrients to a wider spread depth! The advantage of plug aerators is that they relieve compaction without creating any (due to removing the dirt in which the hole is created), And that is the main advantage since spike aerators creat a hole but displace no dirt therefore compacting soil around the hole created!
Nonetheless, spike aeration is still much better than none at all that is for certain!
Ken asks…
Cycling 5 gallon aquarium?
Well, I was going to cycle my tank with some feeder fish then return them or something but i figured that no fish deserves that and the would probably bring parasites into my new aquarium.
I’m planning to keep a betta in my tank and everyone is telling me they are hardy and to just use the betta for cycling the tank….Not doin that!
Why would I let my first fish get ammonia burns and shorten it’s life? Anyway, so i’m adding pure ammonia, keeping the temp at 85 (speeds up cycling) and then I think I’ll have an aerator or two.
Once the ammonia spike has gone down, could I add the betta or would I wait till later in the cycling prosses or when the cycling has finished completly?
By adding the betta, would it restart the cycling prosses?
Would I do any water changes before or after adding the betta?
Can I treat this like a regular aqauarium and just do weekly water changes?
Thanks!
P.S. Once I add the betta, the temp will be lowered to around 77-79 degrees. Once the whole cycling prosses is finished, I think I’ll add some things like ghost shrimp and 3 ottos or something else that is super small in size…
Staff answers:
Trust me, I am the last person who would want you to endanger a betta, the reason it is okay to put him in now it because he won’t produce enough ammonia to get ammonia burns. The ammonia and nitrite will not get high enough to burn him.
However, I’m certainly not going to tell you not to do a fishless cycle. Of course when posasible it’s always be best choice 
you always want to wait until the cycle is over COMPLETELY. After the ammonia begins to go down, the nitrite spikes. Nitrite is just as toxic to fish. If you cycle with a betta, the ammonia won’t get high enough to hurt him, and in return neither will the nitrite (ammonia gets turned into nitrite by the good bacteria). However when you’re adding pure ammonia, you want to add enough to make the ammonia read 5ppm, which is WAY too much for fish. That will be turned into nitrite, a lot of nitrite, which will be just as toxic as the ammonia.
You can add him after the ammonia and nitrite are both reading 0ppm, but you’ll want to do a 50% water change to make sure the nitrates are 20ppm or less.
Adding the betta won’t restart the cycling process (only changing the filter pad, remember you always want to rinse the filter pad with the water from a water change instead of changing the whole pad so you don’t lose the good bacteria!). Water changes should be done weekly, 25% just like any other aquarium.
5gallons is a little tight. I’d stick with just shrimp (cherry shrimp are really neat)
ottos would be better if you ever upgrade to a 10gallon. A mystery snail would work in the 5gallon instead of the ottos though
Betty asks…
How do I deal with metal spikes from old railway tie edging?
The hubby says to just pound them into the ground. (We have heavy clay here) but I want to alter the shape of the planting beds. I’m afraid the spikes will heave up and and someone could step or fall on one. I’m also concerned that a piece of reinforcement steel, buried only a couple of inches into the ground may damage a piece of rented equipment like a rototiller, or an aerator, or really screw up our mower, should it heave up in the spring. Any ideas on how to pull them up? (We are talking dozens, here) Or should I just grit my teeth and pound them in?
Staff answers:
Can you use a crowbar or somesuch to get them up. I think I would hire a strong youngster to do it for me.
Courtesy of Y!Answers