r_e_g

That's so awesome to hear all of this! What an awesome experience for your kiddo. I wish her all the best with her tank!

Thanks for the info! I'm very likely going to use one of the fine CaribSea gravels, either Peace River or Jungle River. I actually have a 40 lb bag of the Sunset Gold sand sitting around but I think it would be too fine for this purpose and end up showing a ton of platy poop! Glad to hear your green neons are doing well! They're such gorgeous fish & I'd love to have them someday!

The active substrate is absolutely sucking up all the kH out of your water. It's what they do. I tested the water in all of my tanks the other day. They all had high GH & kH except for the one that uses Fluval Stratum. Zero kH!! It was alarming how different the test strip looked compared to the others.

Good to know! If I can pop in, what are you using for substrate? I'm setting up a planted platy tank and haven't decided yet, since I want the advantages of aquasoil but don't want the water to be too soft & acidic for the platys.

That's what's going on for me. I bought some emersed grown Bacopa and decided to float it in one of my tanks to grow roots. Pretty fast it decided it quite enjoys growing emersed and is growing at 90 degrees from the surface of the water. It seems quite happy this way.

Your tank is absolutely stunning!! So glad I stumbled upon this thread!

Ha I didn't mention this in my original post but I actually have an empty 40 breeder sitting here as well! However, even though I used it previously and it did just fine, I'm afraid to do so again since it then had a lizard with a high output UV bulb in it going 12 hours/day for a year, which I've heard can weaken the silicone. Said lizard also scratched at the glass a bunch of times & I've heard these can collect algae, even if you can't see them when the tank is dry. A family member is going to tank that tank for a future terrarium & I may very well give them the stand as well. I'm definitely still considering going with one of the Aqueon 40 breeders but the more I think about it, the more I want to spring for a nice 40 gallon rimless tank & stand. It's definitely not the cheapest option but I know I'll love it, and I absolutely love emersed growth & I think it looks a lot better in rimless tanks. Typing this all out last night really helped & I really appreciate the input! Yes alas, the DPG sales of my youth are no more (but 50% off is still great!!!). The July sale is actually the reason why I'm setting up a new tank-I've always wanted a 20 long and finally bought one the last night of the sale, only to discover the silicone job was really bad (there were huge spider web-like bubbles in it!). I was going to exchange it but then I went down the rabbit hole looking at other options, & now I have a momma platy living with my mystery snails & I want to make sure I have plenty of space for future babies in the forthcoming tank.

Oh yeah definitely-there will always be a few bad reviews of everything! The part that alarms me is they seem to be increasing with these specific tanks, & I've read that the manufacturer has said they did have to change materials due to pandemic shortages (from non tempered to tempered glass I've heard). I think it really comes down to risk tolerance & I'm extremely risk adverse. The vast majority of the tanks are fine but I know I'll worry. Good to know the platys will appreciate some height in the aquarium! That's very helpful.

I'm having the darndest time trying to choose my next tank & stand for a heavily planted platy tank (& hopefully cherry barbs as well). I have a spare Imagitarium Brooklyn 40 breeder stand & I LOVE the footprint so I thought I'd finally decided to get another 40 breeder-however, I've read that the quality of Aqueon tanks has gone downhill & that they leak!! I'm terrified of that!! From what I can see, these are my options: 1) Buy another Aqueon 40B, assuming a tiny majority leak. (Definitely the cheapest & easiest option!) But I know some people have concerns about the Brooklyn stands only supporting the corners of tanks, so maybe I'd need to find a new stand, too 😞 2) Find a 40 breeder from a different manufacturer (maybe someone local sells Seapora?) The LFS today had Visio and the silicone was bad so that's out. 3) Splurge on a Landen/UNS 75P (30x17x17) or 90P (36x17x17) & UNS stand. Definitely high quality & beautiful but they're $$$ and heavy. I live on the 2nd floor & will be moving in a couple years most likely, & I worry about moving a big rimless tank!!! I adore these tanks & stands; I'm just worried that this isn't the right time for one. Or maybe moving it wouldn't be that bad! 3) Get a 20 long or 29 gallon (Aqueon or otherwise) & an undetermined stand-I worry the platys are going to outgrow it quickly though! I COULD go with the 22 gallon UNS 90L (36x12x12) which would give me a lot of surface area, just half the volume of the 40 breeder/90P. Water changes are definitely easier on the smaller tanks but I worry about maintaining water quality. The downside of this is I have a spare Fluval Plant 3.0 that's 36 in long, so I'd need to buy a light if I went with one of the 30 in tanks. What would you do? Frankly worrying about leaks is making all of this so stressful. Maybe a rimless 22 long (36x12) is a good compromise between the Aqueon 40B & the high quality rimless 44 gallon tanks, though I don't know if having a tank that's only 12 in deep & 12 in high will limit me in terms of plants/mean I need to trim a ton, which I know I won't do. Any insight is MUCH appreciated! Thanks!

I LOVE your little pots! Too cute!

I had pearl danios (similar temperament to zebras) with albino corys years ago when I was in high school. I lost a couple cories to starvation-the danios were stealing the bottom feeder tablets off the bottom and nibbling them so the corys weren't getting enough to eat. I would never keep danios with corys again. Several years ago, I kept lambchop rasboras and glowlight tetras with panda corys with great success! I'd definitely recommend either of those species. I recently got my first platy, who's living with my mystery snails. She enthusiastically nibbles the sinking Hikari crab cuisine that's for the snails. I was hoping to have corys in the new platy tank I'm setting up, but having seen her appetite, I can't do it. I'd worry too much about them not getting a chance to eat.