Jungle Fan

Looking good! My 75 gal tank is a Marineland as well, but the stand that came with it was junk and crooked so I had to replace it. I did a no hassle dark start in my tank and it's been running for well over a year now. I love my Phoenix moss which I placed closer to the surface then the Christmas moss because it is less susceptible to get infested by algae in my experience. Spounds like you thought everything through which is always key to success. Will be looking forward to see your updates.

I agree @Patrick_G it's a bit much for a Nano because even on my 75 gal I can't run them even anywhere near half power for too long. These Kessils in combination with CO2 grow plants like crazy, and I'm constantly pruning and giving away plants as is. The other part is that they use up the All-In-One real quick, and you need to keep supplying your plants with all they need, or algae will exploit all there is if the plants growth is limited by a needed fertilizer. That said I love the Kessils, love the ease of programming with the controller, the different options of light, love the shimmer, the convenience of adjustment with the goosenecks, love that I don't have to worry about the plants. Once you've got your fertilization schedule and CO2 worked out these things work flawlessly. PS: Nice score for $30! Was that with gooseneck?

Never been an issue, I have had plants next to heaters for several decades and it 's never been a problem. Currently in my 75 gallon tank the heater is located in a clump of Ozelot, and Red Flame Sword plants that are growing like crazy and have to be trimmed back every few weeks.

A friend who doesn't have a cat as I do has Pothos as a hanger back in his tank but it is just the bare root held by rubber twist ties also known as gear ties which can be bent any which way you need them, no substrate required. As a matter of fact he first removes all substrate residue from the Pothos, Peace lilies, or Flamigo flowers he uses.

From the pictures it looks like it is likely Echinodorus "Rubin", but it could also be Echinodorus "Indian Red", or "Grosser Baer" all of which are hybrids that originated in Germany. The root tabs about ever three weeks, at least an inch away from the plant, and never directly underneath it are a great way to supply iron and potassium. Easy Iron and liquid potassium can also be added but you'll have to be careful with those because too much iron in the water column can trigger the holes in the leaves as well. Nice looking sword plant!

How long has your tank been set up? And what is the size? Do you have plants in it already, or are you running a dark start? Are you using substrate that has added fertilizer in it? With a dark start without plants I was letting it run for a total of 4 weeks without light, plants, or livestock; just filtration, substrate, hardscape, and heater, Prime added at the beginning, nothing else. No water change, no turning the lights on for checking. no re-arranging, nothing. After four weeks I drained the water for a 100% water change, planted, and turned the lights on. 50% water change every week now, ferts added after one week, invertebrates after two weeks, and fish after another week. Never an issue with ammonia cycle, or its products for over a year now and running.

My top of the mountain music when I take photos of the Rockies in all their red scrub oak and golden aspen splendor.

For all the Star Wars fans - the Symphony strikes back!

If you are planning on breeding Rummynose Tetras I recommend reading an article in the January/February 2021 Amazonas Magazine listed under "Notes from the Field," it is an article by Hans-Georg Evers titled "Rummynose Tetras - in a different Way." It describes how the process of getting them to spawn is much more about adding the right foods than water parameters and timing. It also describes the use of two catappa leaves fastened together by a stick so they float because in the wild Rummynose Tetras spawn at night, hiding their eggs on top of floating leaves to protect them from predators. It is very informative and parallels what a hobbyist can do to what takes place at huge fish farms in Asia.

UV sterilizer will take care of that problem temporarily unless you are planning on running it full time from now on. Reduction in either photoperiod duration, or intensity, or reduction in nutrients in the water, or reduction in livestock level will help you solve that problem permanently without having to run the UV and having to keep buying new bulbs for it.

Where there is superglue, there is a way! If you are applying the new plant to an already immersed piece of rock, or wood I always dry it off a bit with a paper towel and then apply the glue and add the plant which I also first patted dry with a piece of paper towel, followed by a quick squirt of water from a spray bottle to help the glue set faster. It might be frustrating at first but once you get the hang of it there really is no easier aquarium plant planting than this.

For dry hardscape it's best to use some small bits of filter wool soaked with superglue in between the hardscape pieces that are to be fused, the resulting bond is much stronger than as if it were done with just superglue. The trick is to apply it so the white color doesn't show once the superglue hardens. Of course you can always apply some moss to the bond and cover it up that way.

This legislation is very concerning, even for us here in the U.S.

I've noticed that sometimes too much added iron can cause a problem with BBA around the leaves of plants, especially Anubias.

Without the aquarium fish trade in wild caught fish the fishermen like those in Project Piaba in Brazil will work on palm oil plantations, which means more rainforest going bye-bye. Another thing those legislators don't realize is that at least in the Rio Negro region many of the Cardinal Tetras that go into the trade would otherwise not survive the drought season when the flooded areas where they spawned dry out. They should do some research by reading a children's book: Amazon Adventure: How Tiny Fish Are Saving The World"s Largest Rainforest by Sy Montgomery and Keith Ellenbogen.

Legislation like this makes no sense, without aquarists species like the White Cloud Mountain Minnow would now be extinct because their natural habitat was destroyed.

This is the actual newsletter page: https://us19.campaign-archive.com/?u=b821af357ffaac0ba435b3fec&id=ac10ba1cfc&e=9383f542ed Sure hope this doesn't become a trend!

Not sure but I hope this doesn't violate forum rules however since it might directly impact some of our Canadian forum members I thought I might post the link Amazonas magazine had sent out in its newsletter: https://www.reef2rainforest.com/2021/08/25/winnipeg-considers-banning-many-aquarium-fish-and-many-other-pets-too/

Never tried it myself other than in a pond I used to have in my backyard of a house before this one. It decomposes over about 3 - 4 months and while decomposing releases hydrogen peroxide and tannin which inhibit algae, it works best with lots of aeration. Always keep it in filter media bags unless you enjoy fishing for debris. I was a bit underwhelmed by its performance in the pond, and achieved better results by adding lots of plants and enlarging the pond with a planted bog section that essentially worked like a sump. However I've heard several people claim they used it in their tanks with success by adding about a handful of it in a filter media bag either to their canister, or HOB and replacing it every three months. As a disclaimer I have to mention I never saw their tanks either in person, or in images. Hope this helps.

@Mmiller2001Good for you! I'm at 4 years now and down to 2 check ups per year!

@Turtle most orchids are safe for cats, unless they've been sprayed with pesticides. All the usual plants I've seen placed on the rim of tanks with their roots in the water like pothos, peace lilies, and flamingo flower are poisonous to cats. Here is a link my wife and I use regularly to determine if something could harm our feline salad afficionado: https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/cats-plant-list

The cat burglar strikes again! Caught in the act and documented - busted!😄 @Daniel I'm so glad mine is not interested in hopping on the aquarium lid, then again Bubu is now close to 14 years old. On a different note, how do you like the Kessils? Are you running them on the Spectral Controller X, or via the dongle?

@Dark River Aquatics when I ran my dark start for my current tank, even though I had pre-soaked all the wood for anywhere from 3 - 4 months, I noticed I was still getting some biofilm after about the second to third week, even on a piece of wood that I have now owned, and had in tanks for close to thirty years. I subscribe the biofilm to the abundance of newly established bacteria, and the addition of starter bacteria from day one. However, I waited with adding shrimp and snails not just until planting, and lights on, after four weeks, but I gave it another two weeks for the plants to be better established. After two more weeks I added all the fish. From lights on water values were all within normal parameters but I'm careful, and at $6 a pop for the 48 cardinal and rummynose tetras, 6 Rams, and 8 otos with lots of extra incentive to be so.

@Dark River Aquatics first thing I stock after I get the plants in usually are the invertebrates like Nerites and shrimp because any nitrite fluctuations won't harm them because their blood isn't hemoglobin based. They help get the cycle along further as well.

Cardinals, Bolivian rams, otocinclus, rummynose tetras, Nerites, shrimp, and boat loads of plants!😎