lefty o

pretty good odds a fish has been nibbling that. when fish eat plants, it is usually a decent sign they are not getting enough food.

i have no clue.

my first thing would be to check with your chosen airline that you will even be allowed on the plane carrying fish in that evil liquid water.

looks good. the first pics with the power strips on the ground near/under the aquariums would cause me untold amounts of anxiety. much better zip tied to the posts.😎 a little mess near, and inside the stands is par for the course, but the power strips, i couldnt sleep at night.

fact, most manufacturers are not telling you the entire truth about what they are trying to sell you. most things are over hyped, oversold, and not entirely what they would like you to believe. this applies to every facet of life, not just aquariums.

thats worth giving it a shot. part of these tanks is experimenting to find out what works best for our own set ups.

its always been my experience that the wider tanks, 55/75/90/120's etc do best with some sort of filtration on each side of the tank. a powerhead might do the trick to minimize the dead spots.

ive had that once or twice over the years. first time is like oh crud its dead.

i think it would be a poor choice. how i understand how carbon works is, it absorbs things until it has absorbed all it can, and then it does not give back up what it has absorbed. that added to the fact it will continue to break down in size, so you will eventually just end up with a black paste. ever notice all the dust that comes in carbon, well it wasnt always dust. food for thought. if you do go ahead and use it, keep us updated so we know how it does work.

ive tried duckweed a few times, it never lives. 😈

it is likely under dosing, try adding an extra pump once or twice a week for a few weeks, and monitor the changes, then re-evaluate, and adjust again if needed.

thats a big ol' can of worms. pretty much any type of filtration will work. you will have to do some looking, and see what most appeals to you. there are under gravel filters which are old fashioned, but work. sponge filters , ziss moving bed bio filter, these 3 are powered by air. there are hang on back filters which can take many kinds of media, and sponges, and there are canister filters which can also take all kinds of media and sponges etc. i would find what seems to most appeal to you, then figure out how best to use it. i myself am primarily a hang on back person, but any of the choices can work fine.

you can reduce the flow, or shut it off entirely. as long as the filter is still in that active tank, the beneficial bacteria that have colonized it will be fine.

moderate amounts of salt wont harm most plants.

when putting betta's with other fish, it depends entirely on the temperment of the individual betta. some can be placed with other fish no problems, others just wont tolerate other fish.

only consideration would be, the bigger the tub, the more the meds will be required.

when adding fish early on, only add a couple at a time.

the mini silicone trays should work well making useable sized cubes. i use them for freezing BBS, havent tried with repashy yet, but cant see it not working.

if you want to add fish before the tank has "cycled", you will need to add a source of bacteria to the tank. this can come from a filter or hardscape from an established aquarium, or a bottled bacteria like stresszyme7 or fluval cycle. the bacteria is what is in a tank that helps break down waste, and ammonia, and without it it can be difficult to keep fish alive. there's more than 1 way to establish beneficial bacteria in a tank, but without it you will be up against a big struggle. ill add, plants are very helpful towards getting a tank established, so you are at least a step in the right direction.

since it looks like the light is full width, as can be seen by the sides of the tank having the heaviest algae growth, try cutting back another hour on the light, and turn off the blue in the light if you can. a nerite or two would help some.

maybe a loach pecked at it, but i can virtually guarantee no BN pleco did that.

ill bet he pulls through just fine.

for a fishless cycle, you are for the most part along for the ride. unless things go extremely sideways, just monitor water parameters, and wait.........

ghost shrimp are small, and have a low bio load, id start with 10 minimum.

this is a very good point, it is all about the balance of light and nutrients. it is a fine line at times between plant growth, and algae.