Daniel

Currently I have Discus that are about 6 months old and just beginning to lay eggs. My goal is to have multiple pairs herding babies around at the same time. Previously it was a breeding colony of Leopoldi angelfish, sometimes there were 3 pairs breeding simultaneously. Angelfish and dwarf cichlids and Corydoras 2010 until 2020 And before that it was Discus. It seems like it is always angelfish or Discus with me and because the tank has room I can always keep a school of discus or angelfish which is what they both prefer Discus from 2007 until 2010

Here is a wider angle: I really liked all the plants, but eventually even cool stuff gets boring. For the last few years I have gone with a hardscape only, which I did not think I would like. But, it turns out that is pretty cool also.

The aquarium is 540 gallons. 8 feet by 3 feet by 3 feet. If I were to do it again I would probably go with 10 feet by 4 feet by 2 feet deep. It is difficult and inconvenient to reach to bottom of a 36" deep aquarium.

Strong lighting allows a fast shutter speed which cuts down on the blurring. Also moving the camera along with the direction the fish is swimming can help. But probably the number 1 thing is patience, just keep taking photos until you get one you like.

I had no trouble with Discus and heavy fertilization.

There are so many good tips in this thread, foam cutting pen, tape to line up the air outlets, cutting glass for lids, diy mounts for lights, etc. There is always a clamor for how to design a fishroom and this thread is an excellent resource for that. Thank you @MickS77!

I see it the wild in ditches and ponds here in North Carolina and I have never seen it stuck to the bottom. Its preference is to float. It can grow very fast, but the solution is easy. Just remove some of it. I would float it.

Apistogramma borellii are an excellent choice for a room temperature aquarium. I have kept and bred them in a 65°F - 70°F aquarium and at that temperature I suspect they considered it very warm. I have heard they have been found thriving in the wild in 45°F water. I haven't kept Buenos Aires tetras but you can tell by the name that they come from cooler waters (Buenos Aires being further South) so your temperature range will be perfect for them.

@Lizzie Block had a good post earlier on this: Basically, you upload to Youtube and then link back to that video.

My wife said I could keep new tanks in the ‘Science Room’ except she did let me put the 1930s aquarium in the breakfast nook because I said it needed a South widow. In the past I would have setup a boat load of 10 gallons. This time around it has been 40s and larger.

2 - 10 gallon 5 - 40 gallon 2 - 53 gallon 2 - 75 gallon 1 - 500 gallon 6 - empties This varies quite a bit, on July 1 of this year the only tank I had was the biggest one. Hanging out on this forum caused an explosion of new aquariums.

One of the guidelines is not to discuss other aquarium related companies either positively or negatively. It is hard to imagine that this thread won't end up going one way or the other.

Bettas do fine at 82°F. I’ve kept them at temps like that with no problem.

I have going through a list of aquarium plants native to North Carolina and Eleocharis parvula (dwarf hairgrass) keeps showing as being found in both fresh and brackish water ponds on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

I don't remember where I came with this list so take it with a grain of salt: PAR Least Good Most Anubias angustifolia 40 125 200 Anubias barteri 40 75 125 Anubias nana 40 75 125 Anubis Species 40 100 200 Aponogeton Species High 100 150 200 Bacopa Monnieri 100 175 250 Bacopa Species 100 175 250 Cabomba caroliniana Medium 100 150 200 Cabomba Sp High 100 150 250 Crinum Sp High 100 150 200 Cryptocoryne beckettii 50 125 200 Cryptocoryne wendtii 50 125 200 Cryptocorynes Sp Low 40 50 200 Echinodorus barthii High 150 200 250 Echinodorus bleheri Low - Very High 40 175 250 Echinodorus macrophyllus Average to High 50 150 200 Echinodorus osiris Average to High 50 150 200 Echinodorus Ozelot 50 150 200 Echinodorus palaefolius 100 200 250 Echinodorus quadricostatus 50 150 200 Echinodorus Rose 50 100 150 Echinodorus Rubin 50 150 200 Echinodorus tenellus 100 150 200 Echinodorus uruguayensis 75 175 250 Echinodorus Sp Medium 50 100 150 Hygrophila polysperma 150 200 250 Hygrophila Sp 150 200 250 Lilaeopsis Sp High 100 150 200 Limnophila Sp High 100 150 200 Ludwigia Species High 100 150 200 Microsorum pteropus 40 125 200 Microsorum Sp 40 125 200 Myriophyllum Sp High 100 150 200 Nesaea Sp High 100 150 200 Nymphaea Sp High 100 150 200 Pogostemon Sp High 100 150 200 Rotala Sp High 100 150 200 Sagittaria Sp High 100 150 200 Versicularia dubyana 40 125 200 Versicularia Sp 40 125 200 Vallisneria americana 50 150 200 Vallisneria spiralis 40 150 200 Versicularia Sp 40 150 200 Egeria densa 100 150 250 Egeria Sp 100 150 250

That sounds about right.

Here are two 36 inch Finnex Stingrays at 16 inches:

Roughly I have thought of low PAR being 40 - 50, Medium being 50 - 80, High being 80 and above. But that is just my own personal scale.

I am not sure about high, medium and low but I just measured a 36" Stingray at 11" of water with a Seneye and this is what I got:

Yes, here is the generic schema for a Cryptocoryne:

Nice progression, I think I learn more from pictures that progress over time than just about anything else. How long a time period do the photos represent?

Everyday - AM blackworms/baby brine shrimp Noon - dry food pellets PM blackworms/baby brine shrimp/Daphnia At randoms times I go brain dead and flat out forget to feed the fish. Tiny fry get green water that is refreshed daily by draining out half of the tank water and filling back up with new green water. Probably no water changes

I see that film sometimes, but I don't worry about it. In the biggest tank (the one whose underside is pictured above) without a filter or airstone, I have a pump that moves the water in a big circle (the inlet and outlets are hidden by the driftwood) which gives plenty of flow and a little surface agitation. In smaller tanks without a filter or airstone I keep plenty of plants. And some of those aquariums have plants sticking up and out the top of the water (I don't know this makes much of a difference). Whenever I have measured dissolved oxygen levels in this tank, they are always fine. On top: Through the side: An airstone can be beneficial if you want to add extra fish to an aquarium. But if the aquarium is lightly stocked, the main benefit of the airstone is to circulate water around.

I have big tanks and little tanks with no filters. The only way to know if a no filter tank would work for you is to try it. My hunch is the odds are in your favor. And if it doesn't work, you can always blame me.🙂

I guess my center standpipe isn't a weir. Water does go in from the top but if I knocked it sideways it would drain the entire tank. But maybe it is a weir because I could slice the hose underneath the tank and no water would drain. But any water that goes down under tank (at least through hoses) either has no place to go, or goes to the pond outside.