lefty o

you nailed it, "larger tanks are more stable". for that reason alone id take a 20 over a 10.

you should never have to replace the media. as other mentioned cleaning the sponge is the only maintenance needed. mine has been running for about 2 years now, and the media looks like new, and i have it running as slow as possible, and yet still be moving.

they will nibble off of just about anything, but seem to do best with being fed. a well fed bn pleco typically wont eat the plants themselves.

i see some guppies in there, it'll be stocked in no time.

yes you can over fertilize.

you've been eating them?????😲

salt, vinegar, peroxide are all preferable to bleach. i have a rule about bleach, it does not go near anything aquarium related. i know others use it, but there are other options that works just about as well at killing off bad things, without the potential downsides. especially for a brand new tank, id wipe it out with vinegar, then rinse with very warm water.

i dont trim. if they melt, well they self trimmed. if they dont melt, then there is no need. end result is pretty much the same.

i dont boil. fill a 5 gallon bucket and stick in the wood with something on top of it to keep it under.

spider wood doesnt tend to be very dense. it will probably sink in a week or two. now i have some thats been in water for a couple of years that doesnt float, but it doesnt take much to make it mobile in water. malaysian driftwood, and mopani are pretty dense and usually sink instantly.

store bought guppies can be tough to keep alive. usually if you can get a store bought guppy past 3 weeks, then you got good ones. hard to tell, but if those red things i see in that tank are shrimp, and you are keeping them alive, its for sure the guppies themselves. sometimes its the fish are weak, sometimes it is the water they were raised in compared to yours. im told many breeders will raise them in mildly brackish water, and the transition to pure fresh water too fast can be hard on them.

id adjust the legs, and shim them if need be. the tank doesnt have to be perfectly level, close is good enough. main thing is the base of the tank sit flat and even on the top of the stand.

whoops... yeah sure. we've all had that moment of denial.😎

rain, rain, and more rain. beats the heck out of snow, snow, and more snow!

they wont hatch, not in fresh water at least.

that is mold, i have no idea the best ay to get rid of it without tossing everything.

looks like a platy, and chinese algae eater.

as long as sneezy, dopey, and doc were okay!

i want to know how you count them??? i have a hard enough time with a couple dozen guppies.

nerite herpes. that is the work of a female nerite snail.