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All but 1 of my tanks run Aquaneat lights. Great light for the price point. The 1 tank that is different runs an ACO light. All depends on your budget, but I’ve enjoyed the Aquaneats. Most of them I’ve had for 4 years at this point with 0 issues. I would also suggest getting a different lid for your tank. Glass lid, or make your own out of greenhouse siding.

I like the nicrew and aquaneat LEDs for the price. The nicrews are adjustable and have timers but the aquaneats are cheaper and brighter. Both are on amazon. I’m not sure about nicer, more expensive lights. I’d imagine the co-op lights are great though:

That is awesome that you’re trying to upgrade your new Bettas tank! Good for you! Some more plant suggestions would be floating plants. Something like dwarf water lettuce, Amazon frog bit, or guppy grass all can grow floating at the top and Bettas tend to love hanging out in their roots. like @FLFishChiksaid I would recommend getting a bottle of Fritz Zyme 7. It’s a bottle of beneficial bacteria that will kickstart your cycle and help it get going faster! For tank mates I would also agree and start with a mystery or nerite snail. Nerites are great little algae eaters and bettas usually don’t bother them. Shrimp can be super fun but depending on the betta, they can pretty easily become an expensive snack😂so be cautious with that. One last tip to keep your betta healthy would be to have a variety of foods🙂 A staple pellet like Xtreme Betta pellets are great along with the addition of some other foods (such as Fluval bug bites, Hikari vibra bites, frozen or freeze dried bloodworms, etc). It looks like you are taking this seriously so kudos to you! Have fun with your new friend!

Hello! Congrats on your new Betta. To answer your questions… 1. Epiphyte plants do not require any substrate and can be glued or tied to rocks and driftwood. Anubias, Java Fern and Buce are all epiphytes. Betta appreciate broad leaf plants like Anubias as they will often use them as resting spots. 2. Yes, your Betta can have tank mates, but you will be very limited by the size of tank. A Nerite or Mystery snail and maybe a couple of larger shrimp (depending on your Betta) will be about all you’ll be able to house in a 5g tank with your Betta 3. cycling a tank is a little more than just adding water from the bowl. If there is gravel you may want to consider adding a scoop of that into the tank as well (put it in a piece of pantyhose and tie it off and place it close to the filter), this will help get some beneficial bacteria going. You might want to invest in a bottled bacteria like Seachem stability, Fritzzyme 7 or Tetra Safestart to help it along. 4. You’re going to need to get some water testing supplies. Either the API master test kit or the ACO test trips (both the Ammonia Strips and the Multi strips). You’ll need to test the water often for Ammonia,Nitrites and Nitrates and do water changes accordingly- especially if you are planning to add your Betta right away. Here is a good place to learn how to cycle your aquarium using several different methods… https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/fish-tank-cycling

Still not fully done with my fish, just started you will love the next batch I have planned. It's a 4 footer when I calculated the volume it was 78 gallons so I think it was sold as 80

Just got these guys from amazon. I'm trying them out for the first time and am really excited about it. For the longest time, I've had terrestrial plants in all of my tanks which have been surviving off of tank water and the lights from my tanks for years. They were surviving but not really growing at all. My floating plants have also been growing kind of slow. Now that I got this grow light, I hope both my pothos and water spangle will start taking over!

A few concrete blocks about 6 not sure of the size of a 60 and a sheet of plywood. If you do put it on the ground make sure to check for any rocks or large twigs. Drive way?

When I tested my 110 it was on our deck just make sure it’s completely flat and solid

Yes setting aquarium on a level spot outside is fine. I personally have used the garage floor. @Baloo

Yo!!! Cool tank! I really love the cave structure ^_^ Aquatic photosynthesis performs best at 5000+ degrees kelvin. Blue light is incredibly important for plant growth and health. Blue light stimulates chlorophyll, which helps healthy leaves and strong roots. Blue light also stimulates auxins (plant hormones), which help healthy growth and recovery. "Researchers at the University of Florida conducted a study where they grew lettuce seedlings under different light conditions, including blue light. They found that the lettuce seedlings grown under blue light had significantly larger and greener leaves compared to those grown under red or white light." (https://www.mars-hydro.com/info/post/the-ultimate-guide-to-spectrum-science-in-led-grow-lights) For most aquatic plants, red light isn't as important (but it truly depends on what you desire). Red light helps plants germinate [produce flowers and fertilize seeds], but it also helps plants produce antioxidants and healthy cellular properties. If you go on Amazon or anywhere else and search for 'grow lights', you'll find these will have mostly blue lights with red lights incorporated throughout. I use a grow light that has a temperature of ~6000 degrees kelvin. This light has both blue and red LEDs. Personally I have seen amazing growth out of all of my plants. I also have moneywort and it has been spreading like crazy; shooting runners out and growing super tall... it has only been in my tank for about a week and I've already had to do two trimmings! So basically, I wouldn't recommend any specific brand or whatnot. I just went on amazon and found the cheapest grow light that would fit my tank. It is a hanging light and I have it hung about 10 inches above my tank. It was about 15 bucks and it is SUPER bright & I am satisfied with it. But... again, I'm cheap. So that is my cheap-but-effective advice for you! I hope it was helpful!

Aquariums are complex ecosystems. Any change you make tends to alter the system, often in undesirable and unimagined ways. Over many, many years of aquarium keeping I've found that the less you mess with things, the better the outcome tends to be. In theory, removing phosphate should lessen algae growth. Less food and building blocks should mean less algae. Weird stuff happens though. I would suspect the longer days we get in springtime might be leading to your algae issue if the tank gets any natural light. Rooms stay brighter longer and that could be causing the algae issues. Around here, in mid-December the room lights need to come on around 4:30 in the afternoon. Now the rooms stay pretty bright until 7:30-ish. That's three hours of extra light each night and the mornings get brighter earlier also. While that light may not be shining directly on the tank, any extra light in a room can cause an increase in algae.

They should do just fine. They’re rated as medium to hard water fish. The other thing I wanted to comment on, a real test for gh and kh would be better than a tds meter. TDS also reads myriad other things in the water and won’t give you an accurate reading for hardness. Better would be the liquid drops from Sera. This is also one of the areas the coop strips are insufficient. Gh or kh in hard water is not accurate from them.

Understood. Long ago when I was in college, I had a young Arowana (I worked at an aquarium store). It is an amazing fish, so graceful yet so deadly. But it is a monster fish and needs a monster tank. On a positive note, you have great spot for the tank and years to plan it. One more suggestion, research DIY plywood tanks for that space. People do build huge tanks which are very strong and affordable. Designing/building a paludarium would be alot of fun! If I make one, I may also skip the land critters. I am nearing retirement and am concern about the time commitment with keeping amphibians. Anyways, good luck and I hope you start a journal on your build.

Hey! I was gifted a Beta fish which has been living in a bowl for the past week 😞 I want to give him a better home so I ordered a 5 gallon tank with lights, a filter, and a heater. I’m using sand as a substrate… Now, I have a few questions. 1. What kind of plants can I have that don’t require soil? 2. Can my male beta fish have any tank mates? 3. The lady at petsmart told me that I can cycle my tank by filling it up with declorinated water and then adding some fishbowl water and wait for 5 days. Is this an okay way to cycle my tank? Also, what test kit should I get? 4. How should I decorate my tank? I heard it’s best to stay away from painted things and instead by real stuff. Are there any woods that are relatively affordable? I was thinking of adding moss in some form too. Im pretty new to fish-keeping and my mom always had us raise fish in a bowl, which I knew wasn’t healthy. Please let me know what I can do to help my fish thrive in a 5 gallon tank!

I've never leak tested any of my smaller aquariums prior to setup, but I have a new 60 breeder that I would like to test (because...Aqueon). Since it's too large to easily put in a bathtub for this, I will probably find a level spot outside. I am assuming I fill it all the way up, right, to check all the seams? If so, it will be too heavy to test up on a sturdy table (to easily siphon it back out with gravity's help), so should I just leave it on the ground and siphon it slowly that way, until empty? I feel silly for asking this, I've just never done this before - and with such a large tank it does not seem obvious or easy. Some YT videos I watched only did this for smaller (max 20g?) tanks. Thanks, fish friends!

Thank you

Why not test it exactly where it will be set up? (Unless you have tanks in the way that will be switched out). This will give you an opportunity to not only leak test, but to level whatever stand you will be permanently putting it on.....without the stress of having to move fish into it right away.

Pseudohemiodon aff. apithanos

Kulhi loaches don't need a large tank. I used to keep them in a 20 long, maybe even the 10 with the guppies

For pond snails and the mini ramshorns, I just squish them against the glass with my finger. For my discus, I just do a quick squish and he gobbles up the whole thing. For little fish, I like to squish them thoroughly so their shell bits are very fine and can be consumed by fish or shrimp. Generally, I only have too many snails if I've been feeding too heavily, so I will squish a bunch in place of feeding for a few meals. This usually happens when I haven't yet established a strong shrimp colony in the tank, Frankly, the snails are helpful to have during that time to eat the excess food. At some point though, I start squishing the snails for the shrimp to shift the population from the former to the latter. I think it's also a good way to know if your calcium levels in the tank are depleting. When they are too low, the snail shells with be very soft, but when they are high, the shells can be very hard, in which case, be extra careful so as not to cut yourself. Never squish a shell from the opening side because that can cut your finger. If I were to try with the larger sized ramshorns, I would personally try a plastic spoon or something to protect my finger, but honestly, I like those little guys and have never tried to squish one.

If your budget can allow it, the co op light truly lives up to the hype. You’ll pretty much have it forever and it’s grown everything I throw in the tank! Adjustable and fits a variety of tanks if you ever wish to upgrade or something. 🙂

Aquaneat light of that size probably $15

That is also a possibility that they choose to let another company rebrand it. There is another company with a new line of canister filter can't remember the name but was looking at them last week - oh yea hygger has a whole set of new canister filters. Question is are the hygger the same as jbl ?

You will never get rid of them completely without major chemical intervention. Just learn to accept your new pets.

I like the sera. But api should be fine. the other thing to think about. For most fish. Hard water is not an issue. Fish are very adaptable. But Some species can’t adapt well to it. Like discus. Apistogramma. And German rams. most places in the US have hard water. Yet we still raise fish just fine.

I would suspect it was just her time to die since none of the other fish in the tank were affected. Death happens in a tank. Often for no apparent reason. YouTuber Aquarium Domain found a dead discus in his tank on a recent video that had died for no apparent reason. It happens.

@macdaddy36 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09N1L4H4B?ref_=cm_sw_r_apan_dp_WWTCN3AYTQ8CPQTCR65F&starsLeft=1 Here's the link

Idk how to do this and I want to breed them pls help

This is interesting. I've been plagued with varius types of algae since I started aquariums several years agao. My tap water is sky high in phosphates so I started using Phosguard to lower the levels several weeks ago and it seems the grow back levels are lower. I'm interested in feedback from other forum members on this.

For Tetra which is well established in the USA, it could be a patent or licensing issues. Tetra may be buying/licensing the filter from another company and could not secure the USA rights. On patents, alot of stuff from China is sold using storefronts on Amazon. It makes no sense to sued them for patent infringement, they will just close up and reopen under a different name. But Tetra could be sued, they have money. There could be an USA patent for the latch mechanism to remove the hoses for example.

Oh my stars what a project. You've got fantastic assistance and a good place to convert to a fish room dispite the challanges. The pothos and tanks against that beautiful color will be so beautifull. I'd love to have a utility sink like that. Mostly dragging tank items out to the hose on the lawn to clean. Props to hubby for the lovely and useful cabinet.

Most plants will do just fine in hard water, as will most fish Including banana plants

Hehe! I was curious so I got out my cloth measuring tape and he is actually a very normal 3/4" and apparently I have no idea how big things are.

I'm in Miami and we have an outdoor Guppy pond (30 gallon). It's got a yrd umbrella for shade. No issues so far, but it's only been about a month.

After losing Sienna, I didn't want to get another Betta for this tank. After going back and forth on trying to decide which feature fish to have join my Golden Minnows and various Corys, I chose to get a Honey Gourami. This is Charlie! He fits right in😊

How exciting! Plus a lot of work! I wish I had a mostly empty room to move my tanks into. I’ve got to move so much stuff out of my Offish before it can become my Offish that I’m still mostly stuck in idle. 😂 You can still install a sump that sits under the utility sink so your sink drains into it. Keep the tanks all on stands and you can still get a decent drain rate with your python or generic equivalent. That’s what we’re going to have to do for the Offish.

I have a small (4 foot) piece of 3/4 inch pvc that I made into a manifold for my air system. It looks a lot like @jwcarlson setup in his side room. At first my pump was way oversized so I installed an extra valve and added a short piece of tubing (the vented air is quieter with tubing added then without tubing added) that I could open to vent off extra pressure. I have since added more tanks (and more air drops) so there isn’t any extra pressure! My advice is to research, plan and build… then don’t be afraid to tear it apart and build it better.

I don’t think they are elegans, but I definitely think that they are in the lineage.

Could also be Corydoras haraldschultzi; i'm not sure of the actual detail to distinguish between them as it sometime comes down to number of spines et all. Also different regions might have different patterns. Having said that the lower body does appear to be closer to elegans. It is not unusual if they are wild caught to be misidentified or labelled.

It is a fair question but usually it is a corporate decision not a technical decision. It isn't free to sell a product in another country so the company has to make decision between cost of expansion vs profits. It can also be they are testing the waters as one say. I presume it is a new product so perhaps they want to see market reaction. There have been companies that refuse to expand to certain regions due to cost and others that remove their product from certain region (eheim left usa approx 6 years ago) because they find it is not cost effective. Remember that certain region also has regulations around certain products or class of products that might induce additional design or process expense so it is not simple as finding dealers in a region even if you choose to let the dealer handle warranty support and restrict contact to email. Also markets are different - for example perhaps fluval is sufficiently inexpensive in usa they can't price their products to be competitive. Not stating this is the case just giving an example.

I doubt the GH is an issue, but not seeing any nitrates seems like your tank might not be cycled. But it could be that your plants are keeping it all down. On another note, I have had absolutely terrible luck with bettas. I've been keeping fish for 25 years and bettas just never seem to last very long for me. I've only ever had 3 or 4, but they just don't seem to do well for me. Meanwhile some kindergarten teacher probably has one in a quart of water that's never been changed for the last six years. 😄

Thanks Tanked. I will keep an eye out on those values as well. I’m not planning to add another fish for now so I’ll be able to just maintain it. I will definitely try the RO water and add that in. I just thought an aquarium water would already have everything I needed and be safe. And I wanted to spoil him. Lol. Sigh but I did the opposite. Thank you for your suggestions. I’ll take all advice you guys will offer 🙏🏻♥️

Loaches like the kuhli, yo-yo, or chain loach.

You should start a new thread, maybe Mr. OnlyGenusCap has some time and can drop by. He has a bunch of vivariums with poison dart frogs. He is the person who got me thinking about building a paludarium with Yellow-bellied toads. Mrs Mad did not approve of this project 🙂 For a waterfall, I have an idea on building a water distribution box with control values from cheap PVC parts. The idea here, pump the water to the top of the paludarium then pipe it to differ areas which can have different elevation. Controlling water is tricky as it will always take the path of least resistance. A water distribution box gives you the control, I want X amount of water to come out in this spot. A paludarium would be alot of fun to build!!! The forum PlantedTank may be helpful. I would still fix the chip with the windshield repair kits, they are cheap and would help on the appearance of the tank. Let us know, I can suggest how I would fix it.

Tank update: not going well at all. At this rate, no AGA this year. It’s obviously early, but hashing out a layout isn’t going well. Recent changes in dosing: Moved GH to about 6 degrees, Ca to 35ppm and lowered Mg to 5ppm. Reduced water changes to 50% while double dosing after water change and then 2 more doses over the week. Micros dosed 3 times a week. Trip wall is going well and only the left side needs to be added. I’m trying to use 2 Dutch streets but I’m not liking it so far. I do have a few plants just in the tank for future use making it look chaotic but some are in place. 5 more plants ordered and all green. Decisions will be made shortly whether to use 3 or 4 reds.

Im going to do it. Re-seal, windshield repair, silicone, glass panes, and a dream. Don't hold your breath for a post of how it goes, because I have to do everything little by little since I work full time and take care of kids. Also don't want to rush it. Plus, I am going to have to move it to my basement for the testing phase and that thing is heavy and BIG!! I might even have to do it on my back deck to avoid the basement stairs.

I'm sorry to hear of your loss. Sympathy from a fellow lover of fish.

I cleaned my Aquaclear-50, it was so clogged with sludge that it was barely trickling water out on full blast.

Some pictures and information on my tanks. (and a jar) Tank #1: Jar This is a garlic jar which I have converted into an ecosphere. It has dirt, pebbles, and stones from my backyard, Anubias, Trident Java Fern, and Dwarf Sage. Its current residents are a few tiny bladder snails. This has been setup without any changes for around 2 years, with no water changes or light except for sunlight and my ceiling light. (I put it in front of the tank to take the picture.) Considering everything, this has done surprisingly well. Tank #2 Bedside 20g High Community Above is my 'main' tank. I recently redid the scape and I don't like how it looks. I want to add some wood and more sand to the left corner, and add more crypts. Previously, the tank was overgrown with dwarf sage, and I gave most of it to my friend but there is still a bit in here, and I want to get rid of the rest so that it doesn't over grow again. Currently, the plants in this tank are Anubias barteri, Anubias sp. arrow head, Java Fern windelov, Amazon sword, dwarf sage, and Tiger Lotus. The fish are 2x Apistogramma panduro, 7x Nannostomus beckfordi, 4x Rasbora het, 3x Rasbora espei, and 2x Honey Gourami. This tank is 1.5 years old. This first rendition of this tank was my first 'aquascape', although I have had planted tanks in the past. Temp 78f, pH 8.0. The Harlequin (het) Rasbora was the first fish that I ever got for this tank. I started off with a group of 5, but over the last year one died from an infection. These are great fish, really hardy. My plan was always to get 8 of these guys, but the LFS had other ideas. When I went back to get 3 more, they were in stock. They were really small fish at the time, just like my hets were when I bought them. But, unlike the hets, they never grew up. Turns out the fish in the tank labeled "Harlequin Rasbora" were actually Trigonostigma espei, The lamp chop rasbora which is closely related to rasbora het. I actually like these guys a bit better than the hets, because they stay smaller and are more colorful in my tank. They also school with the hets, which is why I decided to keep them. The above fish are honey gourami, Trichogaster chuna. I originally was sold them as 'Gold' Honey Gourami, but I have since been told that they actually 'Sunset' Gourami. These guys are also great, really peaceful, lots of good color and personality. The picture above is actually of my old tank. These are some of my newest fish, the Red Pencilfish, Nannostomus Beckfordi. These guys were ordered from dan's fish and ate flake as soon as I put them in the tank. I have not had them very long, but so far they are great, tight schoolers, and they actually sometimes school with the chops/hets. Some of the males are already sparring, and it is really cool to watch. These are my other new fish, Apistogramma Panduro, Blue Panda Cichlid. These are the first cichlid I have ever had and I already love them. I especially love how the female has color a lot different than the male. I have already seen what looks like spawning behavior, which is exciting but very unlikely as my pH is 8.0. Tank #3: Desktop 10g Community Above is my 10 gallon community tank, currently housing 6 Kuhli Loaches, 1 Male guppy, and 2 endler-guppy hybrids, as well as a nerite snail. In terms of plants it has clumps of windelov java fern, a few crypts, and an amazon sword. All of the plants for this tank and the jar except for 1 amazon sword were grown in my other tank. The guppies I have are remnants of a group I previously had. I would like to get something else for this tank, so if anyone has any ideas, let me know!!! Below is the picture of the cave where the Kuhli loaches must be, because I never see more than 1 or 2 at a time. Above is one of my Kuhli Loaches hiding behind a sponge filter, which is no longer in the tank. He thinks I can't see him, but little does he know I'm hiding behind my laptop. The 10 gallon tank is on my desk. Out of all the fish I have had so far, the Kuhli Loaches have been the only one which disappointed me. They're not bad, but when I saw them at my LFS (fish doctor's in Ann Arbor, Michigan), I was really excited because they looked kuhl (get it?), but when I got home and put them in the old scape of my 20, they promptly squiggled away and I hardly ever saw them again until I redid that scape recently. I have been seeing more of them in the new tank though. The hobby for me I have been keeping fish with plants in a glass box with water for at least 6 years, but in the past 2 years I have gotten into it a lot more especially after watching Serpa Design and ACO. I'm asking for a bag of sand and driftwood for Christmas. Other than the fish I have now, in the past I have had Platies, Swordtails, Otocinclus, Plecos, Neon Tetra, Cherry Barbs, Corydoras, and other things I am forgetting. Thanks for reading!