Monkeypoint

I have substrate coming on Saturday! I have a sponge filter that's been percolating for a couple of months now and some filter floss I'm going to put in there as well. Plants, cholla, almond leaves, some cute little chocolates to leave on their tiny pillows, and essential oils.

I'm having the same issue. Buying some Potassium Flourish now!

Has anyone had issues with RRF overtaking their tank or are they relatively easy to manage (compared to duckweed that has been impossible to get rid of).

Thanks - I'm setting up a 10 gallon!

Just wondering if this will be large enough or would it be better to use a 10g tank?

55 gallon, running since October 2001 BEFORE AFTER This one kicked off as a 10 gallon back in October '22. What a mess! I scrapped the whole thing, replaced it with a 15 gallon rimless and started from scratch (well, not entirely because I had a seasoned filter by then. Mostly). NOW: Featuring some of its inhabitants: This Mystery snail loves hanging on the Baby Sun Rose roots. And now I know how he does it (or she). Bristlenose Pleco detail. Wow! It looks like he (or she) has some sort of protective guard over the eye.

Here are a couple. WOW!!!!! I Am the Shrimp God, said the Amano to the Neo's.

I think every once in a while, I spaced out and got too close to the edge on this one side. Here are a few pictures and a detail shot of what I think is a Nerite egg pod. Less zoomed in you can see the part that's nicked isn't too close to the edge. Nerite egg pod?

I added Wondershell to my 15 gallon for my two Nerite and 1 Mystery snail and my GH went through the roof. I tested for calcium and it tested high. After several water changes (3 or 4) over a period of 3 weeks, GH has gone down significantly but is still high. The calcium level went down as well. So I guess there’s a lot of magnesium in the tap water. But what I don’t understand is why my 55 gallon’s GH is so much lower.

Me too! That’s going to be the one. I want the whole enchilada: tank, stand, CO2, carpet plants.

Well. Now that you mention it, I’ve been thinking of making an upgrade. When I bought the tank nearly 22 years ago, I don’t recall having many options as far as design. It didn’t seem like aesthetics was much of a consideration. Until recently, I had those plastic hoods with the fluorescent lights. Pretty unappealing. I have my eye on a 68 gallon rimless from Buce. What’s your opinion on dimensions? They have 2 68 gallon tanks but one is longer and not as tall. I’ve read that the horizontal space is better for many species but there is much to be said for a smaller footprint, not to mention the cost difference. My Angelfish are basically everywhere, as are the Mollies. I have SAE that stay close to the bottom and then bottom feeders. So is it that critical? I’m also thinking about CO2…. It’s a huge chunk of change so I’ll have to start squirreling away. It would be a good summer project - something to look forward to and also I wouldn’t have to worry about fish sitting in buckets of cooling water while I’m setting everything up.

None that I can see. There’s no leaking or bowing of any kind. It wouldn’t have occurred to me to worry about it but I’d read several posts about aquariums having a limited lifespan so now I’m worried about it bursting at the seams.

I bought my 55 gallon tank in October 2001 and it's been running without pause since then. Should I be concerned about its structural integrity? Do aquariums have a shelf life? I'm having nightmares about the potential for a Great Flood in my living room, not to mention the loss of aquatic life.

That, I can do!

We do, but honestly, I don't trust anything in the DC area enough to drop it into my tank once it's hit the ground.

Mind blown.

Thank you - I am using the almond leaves. I also have tons of plants, driftwood, rocks, and java moss that they're always grazing on. The substrate is from the tank I started back in October that included some of the Ember Tetras. When I reset the tank in mid-January, (I switched from the 10g to the 15g rimless) I used the substrate and about 1/3rd of the water. I kept the filter from the HOB and the sponge filter as well. I added plants but some of them were from the original setup. I'm not sure if that speeds up the cycling process.

That sounds good. 🙏

I am! I will check out the videos. I'm amazed at how much I've learned from the Aquarium Coop video library. Thank you!

By seasoned, I'm assuming you mean fully cycled. Do I need to add substrate or would they be good with just plants? Thanks for the help!

Can you pros out there point me towards tutorials, videos, guides in how to breed Neocaridinas? Any thoughts or advice would be much appreciated. I bought a breeding box and have an empty 10 gallon I could set up. Many thanks in advance!

Cory posted an excellent video about when to do water changes. I'll try to find it, but it finally all started making sense for me. Basically, you keep a close eye on your water parameters. Your tank has to be cycled because you consistently get 0 for both ammonia and nitrites. So, test for nitrates. As others have mentioned: add 10 drops from bottle 1, cap and invert it a few times. Shake bottle 2 hard for 30 seconds, add 10 drops and then shake the tube vigorously for a full minute. Let it develop for 5 minutes. As long as your nitrates stay somewhere below 40, you should be good because the levels aren't high enough to be harmful to fish, although shrimp are more sensitive so you probably want to keep them lower than 40. When your nitrate levels go up to 40 (or 20-30 if you have shrimp), do a 30% water change. If your ratio of plants to livestock remains constant and you're not changing the amount of food you're feeding, you'll figure out how often you need to do water changes. Every tank is different. You may find that you only have to do water changes once a month and that way, you wouldn't be doing more than necessary and depleting the water of minerals.

I love Steve!!! He's flat out told me I was wrong, or blown a raspberry with a "Nah, you don't need any of that!" and I'm always glad I listened to him. There's a reason R.E.M. wrote, "Don't Go Back to Rockville."

$13 for ONE Amano shrimp at Congressional. I nearly choked.

There's Tropical Lagoon in Silver Spring and Congressional Aquarium in Bethesda. I've been going to TL for years. It's a small walk-down dive about a 10-minute drive from my house that's been around since the 60s or 70s, which is what I love about it. It's very laid-back and there are always two small dogs lying about. Sometimes they're friendly, other times they give you the ol' stink-eye. Steve, the owner is great but he's not always there, although during the winter, you'll find his 85-year-old tortoise in the sandbox in the back behind the rows of tanks. It's well stocked for hardscape, substrates, tanks and equipment, somewhat hit or miss lately as far as livestock. Congressional in Bethesda is much bigger. Both are expensive, but so is the DC area. There's hardly anything quite like Tropical Lagoon though. Somehow, it's managed to survive without being updated, upgraded, sanitized, or yuppified. If you're cruising through the DC area, it's just off the Georgia Ave. exit on 495 heading towards DC.