Ken

I use something called plastic canvas. All the craft stores have it. Super cheap and makes a good light light diffuser too.

I've done both. Bending it over and stuffing it into the substrate or setting a rock on it does just fine and is easier. Apparently it develops roots wherever it wants.

I second the EZ Smalll Fish and fry food. I have all smaller fish and they love it, and the price can't beat. They also like the Krill Flake everyone else recommends. I have to feed the Nano Pellets a little at a time over several minutes because it sinks fast enough they don't get enough before it hits the bottom and belongs to the shrimp now.

The dimensions of the CoOp filters are shown on the website. You have to click on the filter and look through the pictures.

I feed them frozen blood worms (lots) for a couple days then 40-50% water change 3-4 degrees cooler than the tank then feed them extra for another couple days. It usually works.

How much flow in an aquarium is enough? Is there any way to quantify it? GPH seems hard to visualize.

Python water changer. Dedicated set of towels, located nearby. 2 each 2-1/2 gallon buckets, one for carrying the end of the python around (my fishroom is also called the livingroom) and one for plant trimmings and whatnot. One of them also takes Cherry Shrimp to the LFS every other week equipped with a shower cap to keep splashing down. CoOp test strips. Infrared thermometer. That's what I use always. There are of course all the fertilizers, foods and meds.

Corys just love a big water change. They're just fine. On the EZ Green double dose... I do that whenever the plants look like they need a little pick-me-up, I am heavily planted. So long as you don't drive the nitrates too high it won't hurt anything.

My last two HOBs are on a 40B and 20L (36" and 30" long). I'd like to be rid of the HOBs all together. I'm thinking of putting the new CoOp powerheads on the sponge filters, if you have one the new powerheads what is your opinion? Will the flow be overwhelming? Both tanks have some plants and hard scape to break up the flow a little. No big flowing finned fish but my Lemon Tetras seem to avoid being in the output of the HOB.

My entire experience with Banana Plants one plant in one tank. It grows at an incredible rate. Too much even. It gets it's own private root tab and has sent little roots down to get to the root tab. Maybe yours would like a nice root tab?

If there is somewhere for the Hillstream Loaches to get out of the way (rocks or something that the goldfish can't get under) I think you will be fine. Goldfish are slow, I'm assuming fancies, Hillstreams are lightning fast.

Your initial plan is spot on. That is way too much for albino Corys.

Get on the YouTube and find Cowboy Kent Rawlins. He is my cast iron guru. Careful it is a long and deep rabbit hole. I'd like to find one of those older griddles because the new ones aren't as thick or smooth. I use grapeseed oil nowadays after a good scrub but I'm not sure how much it matters. I used bacon like Grandma did when I started out with cast iron back in the '80s. I don't think grapeseed oil was a thing in 1891.

Easy Root Tabs are as their name says "Easy", if I were only using a few a month that's the best way. They are also 41-1/2 cents each, I go through enough root tabs that I started using the Osmocote Plus homemade ones about ten months ago. I never saw any ammonia. I still sell a couple hundred shrimp a month (the copper didn't get them). I did make the root tabs in bright orange capsules so I can see if they come unburied (none have).

I have a tank with only "Assorted Endler Males" and Cherry Shrimp. The Endlers are constantly showing off for each other. Nobody ever gets hurt.

I started a 40 and a 10 on the same day a while back. The 40 ran through the steps just like it was supposed to, all cycled out in about 5 weeks. The 10 messed around (ammonia spikes, bacteria blooms or everything just stopped then started over) for at least 6 more weeks. They all get there eventually.

My best advise is to be patient, don't change anything and wait. Test every 3-4 days then you will see improvement. IME the cycle can take from about 7 weeks to about 3. I've not done the ammonia thing, in my mind it's like feeding someone who's hungry sugar instead of meat and potatoes.

The time required to cycle an aquarium is measured in weeks, sometimes lots of weeks. Try just leaving it alone for 2-3 weeks. I don't even test for the first 5-6 weeks, doing so just makes me want interfere. I do throw in a little pinch of food when I'm feeding the other tanks. I use ammonia to clean the kitchen, I can't imagine putting it in water I want to keep something alive in.

I've done it differently with good results. I used CoOp Easy Fry Food and overfed like crazy and changed water in the specimen container 2-3 times a day. Changing water in a specimen container to me meant sucking out about 1/3 of the water out with a turkey baster (from the bottom to get all the uneaten food) and filling it back up by dipping from the same tank. I figured lots of clean water and lots of food would help them survive... it did. Just have to be careful not to suck up those tiny fellers with the baster. I second @CorydorasEthan on being careful about how big they are when you turn them in with everybody else. Anybody big enough to eat them will.

My water runs from 8.0 to 8.4 depending on how I look at the test strip. I sell 150-200 Cherry Shrimp a month, mostly out of my 40 breeder community tank but the other tanks also grow Neocaridina very quickly. I wouldn't worry about it. My opinion on why people have trouble with shrimp is they are worried about overfeeding and starve them.

Welcome, I'm in Pleasant Grove.

When I got my Pygmys they were definitely not eating, they even appeared to be losing weight. Frozen baby brine shrimp turned them around. When I tried live BBS the Kubotia Rasboras they share a tank with ate until they were about to pop and the Pygmys didn't get any.

I consider my membership to be a Thank You note for all the information I have received from all the YouTube videos, blogs on the website and this forum. After the tanks are up and running buying some food and EZ Green ain't going to keep the bills paid and the info flowing.

Did the ammonia ever spike?

I have ran 5 sponge filters on a Tetra 100, if they are rated near the same I would guess you would be okay with at least that many. I did have the Ziss airstones cranked down to make fairly small bubbles.