Ohad

Correct, while the Amano shrimp and the horned nerite ignores the diatom and focuses on the wood. These guys loves diatom. Unlike the shrimp and the snails these have characters and I am in love

First time keeping these guys and I now have a favorite fish by far and a spirit animal. My tank is at the end (hopefully) of the diatom algae time . Plants getting stronger and more colorful. Meanwhile I got my cleaning crew to help my tooth brush . I had shrimp and snails before but man these guys are a cleaning machine. They are as cute as a button and so far ( only week two) no deaths . Playfully like guppies working in a group. Enjoy it so much. For people like me that are worried about keeping these because of their reputation.

Can I ask where you got it?

I have a few in there . They are more brown then red. Crypt flamingo is the one that is super pink. But it's hard to keep I think , never tried

I am learning for sure . And I don't live next to an amazing aquascaping store like people in Europe have . Thank goodness for this forum

P.s I am super duper happy with the quality of aquarium co op plants ! I wish they will have more selection for people that want to take the hobby to the next level

Yes it's there already and growing super fast for an anubias

I like that one I don't have it at LFS but I saw it available from KGTropical that are now working with Tropica! ( only the easy plants )

I have the hydro compacta in the mid ground so far it is shorter than the micro sword but growing fast

I am thinking about getting rid of the micro sword entirely and going for S repens and Downoi in the foreground I like what I have going on on the right side right now with the bacopa and the AR after that; I want to get rid of the octopus and get a better green stem (any suggestions ? ) And H'ra. And on the button, maybe AR mini? What do you think? @knee now that I will have better light, CO2, and good water, the high-tech look is calling me; I don't have any fish yet, so I can still change things up

I know I just order the chihiros WRGBII it in the mail. I thought initially that I could get away with two nano lights . But each of these has only 1000 lumens / 60 litters I have it's only 16 per litter . The chihiros has 3600 lumens / 60 litters it's 60 per litters so even on 70% it should be plenty right ?

My new tank is "so far, so good." Micro sword stopped melting, and new growth started. Everything is converted after two weeks and growing. I checked water parameters today, and I think that I am good on that front, too; after Fluval stratum and CO2, my Ph is 6.5, Kh 2, GH 8 ( a little high but will be suitable for tropical fish and shrimp) I am looking for two more plants to add, as you can see in the picture, one in the front under the rock, no grass-like. I would love to have something that is star-shaped and could be either dark green or red but not light green. On the right side, I am looking for another bush, again ideally not very grass-like and not bright green (in a perfect world, pink or red) I love the quality from AQCP; the rest of the plants are from them, but they are sadly limited on the red front. Any suggestion would be helpful.

For now, I posed it on the other side of the filter. I think that for my filter, it makes a bit more sense as it is pretty intense and sucks the water from the other side. This is also what aqua pro recommended somewhere. And I also filled the water up, so the coming out of the filter does not pushes the surface too much Let's see what happens Thank you!

I wish I had a set with these fancy lily pipes. But I got a HOB. The internet does not give me a straight answer. Right now, the CO2 is on the side of the filter close to it; this is based on a video I saw from "the secret history in your aquarium." But the internet is all over with that. Can CO2 and HoB filters work together, or is it a waste of time? If so, what is the best way?

Yes, the filter is the new Oase, correct. got it because it has a heater inside. I wish I knew they have a white one, haha; so far, I love it. It's a very good one. It has lots of power. I am on the slowest flow it's and it's very strong. I got it at my LFS in NY so it's available in the US for sure

The cutest nerite snail is helping me clean the little bits of brown algae and pieces of melted crypt leaves of the fern (just like the picture), haha

This is a very low-tech system with no timer, but I don't think the amount of CO2 in the tank is massive; it is just a little boost. ( Not an expert at all trying to learn ) My pH is locked at 6.4 mornings and nights. But that is, I think, because of the fluval stratum . I like that it's easy and I hope it will work, but again, I don't have any livestock in the tank yet, so there is no chance of gassing anything. Plants are growing nicely so far, but who knows how much the effect of the CO2, substate with root tabs, and light? I have no idea. As long as things are growing, I am happy If you have a suggestions or recommendations for the perfect CO2 system that is reliable and not huge I am still searching

Thank you for the kind words! This hobby has a couple of stages I learned; many aquascapes only do stage one ( and I get it) The first stage is creative, like sculpting, placing hardscapes, and thinking about plants. The next stage is maintaining, less creativity and more like having a pet plant and fish. Since it's only my second tank and the first one had zero hardscapes but only plants, I now get it. I will never be happy with the first stage, and each time I do it will get better, but then I will want to do another one. So yes, for now, will I switch gears and try to give these plants and future fish all the lo? But another tank will come soon. And will get off Instagram for sure

I love that moss you got going on the wood , what kind of moss if that ?

These are all "easy level" plants. The tank is 60cm, 24 inch length 17 gallons And the co2 kit seams to be perfect for that size. I am trying to see what I can do with those plants if given all the love. I am itchy to scrap it and do a better hard scape. But luckily my wife really like this layout and she is the boss. So I am hoping to learn how to get the best result with the easy plants and with my tap water. I have the bug though so another tank will have to happen soon enough for sure. And then it will be better hard scape, more advanced plants and big CO2 and I will be happy ( or not ) haha

Best thing ever! Just kidding but honestly, I am impressed. As I am starting my CO2 learning experiment. I tried different so-called "beginners " pressurized co2. You know, the ones. All were pretty horrible before giving up on shedding $200 on a better system. I found this kit. I was so impressed. Easy to use, best diffuser among all the ones I tried. ( I know ACO is selling these) Lime green drop checker, happy plants so far. I don't have fish in the tank yet. It is super fresh, so I am letting it stay on that lovely lime green and see what happens. So far, I am super happy, and it's looking like the plants are too

These are all super slow growers so the internet tend to recommend them for beginners. But with slow growers comes the dreadful algae haha. Think about adding a few fast growing stems or floating plants . You can always take these off after the the tank is "plant cycled " But there is no reason these are the best

The reality of plants is that four weeks is nothing. This is when things just start. You have in the background some stem plants that may grow faster. Suppose you are not using CO2 and do not say what light you are using. Green aqua has a video on YouTube about what water they use, but this is for pro-level plants. Your plants with good light, some water changes, and fertilizer will do good. If you are in a hurry, look into CO2, but to start, I would mark three months in the calendar from now and check then. Trim off dead or melted leaves and think about bringing in snails

I can agree with that and me living in New York city in a smaller apartment even than the European ones haha

As for chain stores... Let's hope that aquarium co op will become that huge cross America store and will open flagship stores other then in Seattle The flagship Petco in union sq in Manhattan is not bad as chain stores goes, but they don't carry aquascaping thing if you want a fancy snake or a guinea pig they will have it haha