Tanked

Had I known about using prime after a bleach dip, I might not needed to wait for a week of sun and air to kill the smell. Hydrogen peroxide is an alternative to bleach as a disinfectant. Medical grade is the 3% H2o2 that you find in the grocery/pharmacy. Used correctly it is aquarium safe. Peroxide is highly susceptible to light. You could liberally spray your tree in a plastic bag and place in a dark room for a few minutes or hours. Exposure to light will cause the peroxide to break down leaving you with water. The CDC says that on hard surfaces you can spray it on and wait a minute or three and wipe it off. Be sure that your peroxide hasn't expired. If you think you need to sanitize your rocks and gravel, you can boil them. Cover them with tap water and raise to boiling point 5-10 minutes. Most everything will begin dying at 150 degrees. Any cheap mechanical timer will do for the lights, but for about $10. you can buy a digital timer which will allow you to set the exact time you wish the lights to cycle down to the minute. They are usually smaller, come with a single pushbutton override, and most importantly, a battery backup.

I've always done fish in cycle. My opinion is that it gets a bad rap because of too many fish in the uncycled tank. When I plan on buying from a big box store, I make several visits. I watch for dead fish, and how many fish, dead and alive, are in the all of the tanks. Multiple dead fish means they are not being properly cared for.

Yes to both questions. BB is everywhere Vacuuming alone won't reduce it enough to matter. The garbage (detritus) is part of the nitrogen cycle that your plants and the BB rely on. In a non planted tank or an overstocked tank you can get too much of a good thing.

This conversation is never dead. Somebody, myself included always has these issues in one form or another. I would not reduce the EG. Your plants are starving. I would add some root tabs. There is a nutrient deficiency chart above that will help explain some of what you are seeing. Light duration might be an issue causing the algae issues. How long are they on?

Any grocery store/pharmacy should have them. Buy plain salts with no scents flavors or other additives. Epsom salts are not expensive, and should cost about $1.00 a pound.

Your plant will arrive via a sheet of treated paper and you will use a link to print the new plant.

Welcome to the Forum. My notes are unclear, but seem to indicate that light reduction was key for eliminating the Hair Algae. This goes along with regular water changes and spot Hydrogen Peroxide treatments. Use a test tube/bottle/tooth brush to physically remove as much as possible. My greatest infestation was in an island of floating Hornwort closest to the light.

That's a good question. Are you thinking about a real wood burning campfire, or the backyard gas powered fire pit? I'm not a chemist, so my best guess is that while the rocks are inert, campfire residue would wreak havoc on the water chemistry.

Magnesium Sulfate (Epsom Salts) is a source of Magnesium needed by your plants. In my case it is used to prevent the curling of the entire leaf on some of the plants. If you plan on using Epsom Salts, buy plain salts with no scents flavors or other additives.

No matter which test kit you use, nitrates <50 ppm are considered safe but not ideal. Test strips are not intended to be precise. They are intended to be fast and easy guide for everyone to use, for a lot less money. Their biggest draw back is that the ammonia test requires purchasing a different strip. The API tests can be more precise, but are also more prone to operator error. I've always been curious about how they determined that the Master Kit does 800 tests. As to how to get the nitrates closer to to 30ppm, you could test your tap water for nitrates, feed less, and do more but smaller water changes.

When removing calcium, vinegar can be your friend. Take the lid off of the tank, Submerge the lid in vinegar if you can, or place vinegar soaked paper or cloth towels on the deposits until they soften.

BUON NATALE! FELIZ NATAL! FELIZ NAVIDAD! FROHE WEIHNACHTEN! GOD JUL! JOYEAU NOEL! MERIKURISUMASU! VESELE VANOCE! And for anyone I missed, MERRY CHRISTMAS

REMEMBER! This one, short and sweet creeps into my consciousness all year long perhaps because a White Christmas is becoming a rarity around here! 🎄MERRY CHRISTMAS🎄

@Guppysnail already picked my #1 so I'll go with my #2,

Depending on how thick the plywood top is, your present design is probably ok. Thicker plywood will disperse more weight without sagging. Adding a third 2x4 in the middle would work, but I think that @lefty o's suggestion would be easier and faster.

I've seen the Dawn Wall, Free Solo, and some of the Reel Rock pieces, mostly Alex Honnold. I started climbing in my mid-twenties, after meeting a good friend who ran a climbing shop out of the back of his car/home. I have been on a couple of easier Half Dome routes, but a strong sense of self preservation kept me (us) from getting too adventurous.

Check out Valley Uprising Not strictly a climbing movie, the movie covers the early climbing 'scene' in the Yosemite Valley. Depending on how long ago you climbed, you may recognize some of the names.

I wish I was as lucky with aquarium plants as I am with some of the terrestrial plants. This year's gardens were a mixed bag. The quick freeze we had this time last year, killed all of my potted trees, and the water feature outside my window did a little too well. The Horsetail left the stream bank and spread into the Blood Grass/Sedum bed. The birds added a few other tall grasses. The Peppermint blanket, barely visible in the picture is going to make a lot of tea this winter. The surviving 2" piece of Water Primrose that you can't see growing in the stream bed became a 8 sq. ft. blanket. These were both failed experiments to reduce algae in the pond and the aquariums. The Four-O'clocks in the last picture outdid themselves they grew to 3' tall for the first time, and crowded out the Hibiscus. My neighbor decided to cut down his contribution to what I call the green wall in the background. The Hummingbirds won't be happy, but it will be interesting to see what changes take place. Mind you, except for the Horsetail, I'm not complaining. Seeing how nature wants things to be is part of the fun.

Admittedly it has been a long time since I've done a straightforward fish in cycle setup. Zero being the goal, I would begin water changes at 1 ppm. Smaller water changes are easier on you and the fish. https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/how-to-change-aquarium-water-correctly

There is a thin line between paranoid and cautious. There is always surface tension, and you know that you have cleaned everything. I would not be concerned unless the bubbles begin covering the water surface. As the tank matures, they may go away completely.

At this point, because you have no livestock, I would check your parameters again, do a water change, and add a second air stone to break up the surface tension. Oils from your skin, incomplete rinsing, too much conditioner, and yes, the substrate are some of the possible causes. If you turn off the air, do you see an oil slick?

Nerites are usually wild caught. so their age when you buy them is questionable. 1-3 years seems to be the accepted lifespan. Three of my four lasted four years. #4 just completed it's fifth year with me. It is going (and growing) better than ever. It is at least 5 years old, but might also be 6 years or ?

I've never found a piece of wood that I want in my aquariums. But rocks... Just in case I ever need them; when I hike I am watching for interesting rocks. I have: buckets full of BBS, pool sand, volcanic rocks, and various gravels. I have rocks on the window sills, in boxes on shelves, stacked under and on the aquarium stand... Odd maybe, but not 😵ddictive.

This is going to take a lot of pondering. Until I come up with one: I've always had an unreasonable fear of swimming at night. It may have begun after watching the original Piranha. A pair of late night hikers unknowingly jump into a swimming pool full of Piranha. It hasn't stopped me, I know that I'm the biggest fish in the pond, but I still think about that movie.🙄 Watching the new trailer for Night Swim doesn't help.

I buy plants from the LFS. Price is a major concern. My LFS's plant prices have barely budged. I can't say the same for the livestock. The real reason is that those plants are already growing in conditions close to what they will be in when I get them home. 🤞