RennjiDK

I don't believe that you accidentally bought a $200, 24" long predator with a 120g specialized tank requirement. Having said that, aside from the the lack of salinity, care and husbandry seems to be about the same as their SW equivalents. There's plenty of guides and videos on moray care. You should brush up on them before it arrives if you can't cancel the transaction. The only real advice I can give you is based off of my limited knowledge of their SW counterparts. Tropic tempatures, with plenty of hiding places. You'll need to feed several times a day with large pieces of raw jumbo shrimp and seafood as a juvenile, and once per week as an adult. USE CORAL TONGS WHICH KEEP YOUR HANDS FREE OF THE TANK. A bite can result in stitches or infection at best, or instant amputation at worst.

Stopped by my lfs and they stocked culture cups today, so I changed my plans based on what they had available. I added some AR Cardinalis and Bacopa to the back, a Rosette Sword, and some Brownie Buce.

So I've got rotala red and ludwigia s. red as stems (I may add some h'ra for contrast but idk). Alternanthera reineckii mini as a small midground (in the right side rockwork pocket). Any epiphyte ideas? They would mainly be lodged between the wood and rock. I was considering nana petite, again for the contrast, but maybe some darker buce? Are there any truly red epiphytes?

I liked scaping my first tank so much, I decided to jump into a second. It's a birthday present for my son. I want to keep the black lava rock in front and do red only stems in the back. Maybe add some red epiphyte plants at the base of the scape and some kind of midground on the side/sides? Probably some redroot floaters as well. What are your thoughts? This will be a low tech and low light betta tank that will receive no nitrate/phosphate outside of food and lean ferts. Tank is 10" square.

BRS has pretty decent systems and low cost cartridges/resin. Don't worry about the gpd, they're all too slow to use on the fly. The 75gpd will give you about 60g depending on a few factors.

Ok, so this is where the coop shines IMO, and I'm surprised no one has chimed in yet. A lot of people would rag on you for the rainbow gravel and decorations, but I see an appropriately sized tank, a heater, and filtration. This is better than what most bettas get from people just starting outside of the aquarium hobby, and you've nailed the big three. So kudos to you. As for the decor, go wild. Your betta isn't going to get trapped. Just make sure there are no sharp edges that it can tear it's fins on. If you're leaving on a short trip, just feed the normal 4-6 pellets. Adding more will not help. 4-5 days isn't life or death, though your betta would really appreciate a cheap auto feeder like the ones on Amazon for $10. Either way, it's up to you. Just a heads up, the anubias (far left) and Java fern (center) aren't supposed to be planted in the substrate. They grow "on" things. Just wedge or glue them onto one of your decorations.

It's impossible to reach a zero source of ammonia in a stocked aquarium. There will always be trace amounts. The goal is to have adequate biofiltration to handle the load and not allow it to rise to dangerous levels.

This isn't science, this is an aquarist with an API test kit attempting chemistry they don't understand. There are multiple threads from actual chemists which you can read on your own, but ill provide a screen here for you dispelling why this is a bad experiment.

There's no debate at all, it does not work. It's been tested by chemists multiple times and has no effect on NH3. The only people who still claim that is does are the companies making the products.

Stability will work, it's just really slow IMO. If you cant source pure form of NH3/NH4, then you will be limited by the time it will take to create it from decomposing organic matter.

Fastest way? Put them all in a tote with a bottle of tetra safestart and dose NH3 to 2ppm. Should only take around 48hrs before you see a 0/0/8 reading if the bottle is good. As far as media is concerned, here is a rough guide of the surface area available by type:

Add a UV filter and if it's a bloom, it will be gone the next day. Other than that, I wouldn't mess with it except making sure you have adequate gas exchange happening.

Which is why I added the qualifier, "which in your case is extremely unlikely", as my response was directed at his specific filter and tank. Having a whisper filter running in addition to a decent hob is going to provide next to nothing other than additional biological filtration, as that's all those filters are good for. There's a reason why they are sold for $6 at Walmart.

Some, if not all of the caribsea live marine substrates are packed in saltwater. It would be idea to rinse it thoroughly before use if you plan to plant in it. As for your question, it depends on which specific substrate, but the nitrifying bacteria are the same (not the only bacteria in the package) and they will most likely survive.

Adding a second filter wont actually increase your filtration capacity unless it was severely limited in the first place, which in your case is extremely unlikely. I would just transfer media from the old one to the new one if you want to use it.

I wouldn't worry about it in the slightest. Nitrifying bacteria colonies can double in size in a matter of hours. Your stocking is negligible in terms of bioload. As long as the tank was already cycled before you made the additions, it's already actively adjusting and processing the new load.

Thanks. I just took big chunks of it with CA glue and stuck it on. That looks much better than mine. I was on the fence about moss from the start, and just wanted something to highlight some of the branches while the scape grows in. It may or may not stay depending on how it grows, or rather, how uncontrollable it becomes.

Tank dark cycled for 2 weeks and then a 100% WC at planting. Everything is up and running. Plants (all tissue culture cups): 1c Christmas Moss, 5c HC Cuba, 4c Brownie Ghost Buce, 3c Kedagang Japan Buce, 1c Crypt Wendtii, 4c Rotola Rotundifolia, 2c Rotala Hra, 1c Rotala Nanjenshan. I mistakenly thought that 5 cups of cuba would have been enough, but I could have used closer to 10. There's a GLA paintball kit injecting CO2 and 2 Kessil A80s providing light. Stocking to come in the near future.

I'm really not sure. I feel like it's missing something now, maybe more rockwork, but I don't have anything else to add.

He it is with that end piece removed. I started questioning it myself and plants are in the mail.

I'm actually debating on adding some more substrate and building up the left back corner. I'd like to end up with something like this, if it gives you a better idea of where I'm trying to head with this scape. (This is a professional ADA scaper, so it might be ambitious for my first attempt, but I'm trying my best)

It's going to be a Buce jungle in there 😁

Now that the scape is water logged, I was able to pull the rockwork back a little. I tried to orient it so that it flowed up and out like the woodscape. What do you guys think? Tank just finished BB bloom today.

Hikari seaweed extreme is 67%. Honestly, any higher than that, you would need to make your own food.

Not in fresh, but that's because it has a very low learning curve to get to a point where nitrification is taking place, and a lot of people are just uninterested in learning past that. It's a big part of the issue surrounding why a lot of the advice in FW is an echo chamber of WCs, NO3, and cycling. It's not until people get serious about planted tanks that they decide to learn more about macros, micros, and the general chemistry of their tanks. Saltwater is a completely different animal.