_Eric_

I’ve done 3 or 4 weeks.

I wouldn’t count on deals at aquashella unless you are around close to closing and folks are wanting to sell things rather than pack them. I have seen some good deals at shows but folks still have to cover the costs of the shows and I would guess Aquashella isn’t the cheapest.

Discus can be a challenge for plants but temp doesn’t seem to be a deal breaker in my limited experience. Lots of other things that go with discus like extra soft water and low flow can be a problem. Easy green has been great as always.

Those should all do fine. I have Anubis, crypts, and Amazon sword in my discus tank that I keep at 86.

I have some corkscrew Val in my 29 gal. It doesn't get as tall as the jungle Val and I like the look of the twist. Spreads very fast once it starts going and gets really thick. I have to thin it out from time to time and keep it hemmed in with some rocks.

I got a cheap 3D printed diffuser off Etsy

dr Tim’s will work fine for an ammonia source. Algae is normal for a new setup as you balance things. Some algae eaters like nerite snails or otocinclus can help once filter is cycled but you can reduce lighting some until you get there.

I think Angels would be great - go for it!

I am not sure 6 inches would be enough to cause an issue so I’d keep an eye on it still. May have a bad sensor.

do you have both probes close to each other? They should be as close as you make them. If you do, sounds like you have a faulty temp probe.

I haven’t ever had an issue with my ink birds after a power outage. What type do you have?

I wouldn’t worry about the optimum amount of ammonia. You are doing fine. Once you get zero ammonia / nitrite with an ammonia source of some kind, water change your nitrates down to a decent level and start stocking slowly. Monitor levels to make sure you don’t stock too fast and if you do, just water change to keep levels as low as you can. The bacteria reproduce pretty quickly once they are in there.

If it were me, I’d either do a planted angelfish community tank or do a saulosi cichlid tank. A pearl gourami tank would be an easier route - I really like those fish too.

I don’t think matrix makes a significant difference. I’ve used it but didn’t notice any difference in nitrates. Fast growing plants are the best way to knock down nitrates in my experience- do you have ability to add any?

I like the title. Nitrifying bacteria is a bit of a mystery. We don’t really know what types we have exactly we just observe the outputs. Room temp bacteria in a bottle are spores that are supposed to activate when you put in the tank. Turbostart has to be refrigerated because it is live bacteria but its activity is slowed down by cold temps. If you let it warm up the bacteria will act normally and run out of food / O2 quickly and die. Even at low temps there is an expiration date for when it will run out of nutrients.