Solidus1833

Now THAT is awesome! It looks great!

Good Idea. I use my planting tweezers for root tabs but I still end up getting my arm in the tank. Some time's my larger Dojo Loaches will follow the tablet and tear it to shreds digging for it. Crazy fish.

Good Idea. I use my planting tweezers for root tabs but I still end up getting my arm in the tank. Some time's my larger Dojo Loaches will follow the tablet and tear it to shreds digging for it. Crazy fish.

So the DFW area has been going through a heat wave like we do every summer. It was around 99F today and felt well over 100F especially in the sun. My largest aquarium reached 79F today which is not bad. This aquarium sits at around 76.5F-78.5F throughout this time of year. I essentially thought of asking this forum how temperatures fluctuate for your personal setups. Are there any Extreme weather or temperature spikes/dips you plan for? I will leave some data below and look forward to the discussion. For me, I am certain the outside facing wall is adding heat to my large tank. The aquarium below sits along my living room wall and faces West. I keep my home reasonably cool around 73F but in the summers here I can reach 75F during the hottest parts of the day. By morning the temps are back to 76.5F. I know my Fluval 3.0 light puts a good amount of heat to the tank. Without the light the temperatures sit around 75. Contrast this with Winter, and this same setup will sit at 75.5F, although I do put a second heater in the tank starting around Mid-November as a backup. I know it doesn't look it, but this 72g has around 40 fish, they mostly like to hide when the lights start dimming. Except for the Rainbow fish, they are just constant zoomers until the lights are blacked out. Also, my shipment of plants from the Co-op arrived today. They look great, I cant wait to plant them in a few days. (I leave them in pods for a few days to see some root growth.) Some Ammannia Gracilis to mix in with the Pogostemon Stellatus Octopus behind some wood.

That val looks healthy to me, may be a little yellow but nothing to be scared about. I do know val will grow taller with lower light. So maybe lower the maximum lighting by 50% for a few weeks to get the val to chase it. Then when its at a height you like go back to your normal lighting?

Very neat photos! Have you been successful with the fry? Or is this the first batch of eggs?

Hoping so. I've tried Scarlet temple twice in the last three years and each time they just didn't do well. I've also got some dwarf lily bulbs in the middle that are taking a while to grow.

Thank you! I ordered some Ammannia Gracilis. Im thinking of swapping out the Pogostemon Stellatus octopus. I've had the octopus forever and i want to sort of mix some AG in with them to give the left side of the tank behind the wood a 'fuller' look.

I figured I would share my 5 year work in progress. Got some new plants coming in this week from the co-op. The latest additions have been the Young Albino/Gold Dojo Loaches

I don't quarantine my plants either. While some may think the bladder snails 'hitchhikers' are pests, i enjoy them. My clown loach pack love to hunt them.

Hi everyone. I'm so glad this forum went live! I recently got back into the hobby around 2012 when I retired from the Marines. Cory and the Co-Op got me back in to it. I've been a long time fan of his youtube and Dean of course. I like to purchase as much from the Co-op that I can as the closest really good LFS in my area is Dallas North Aquarium and its kind of a hike. Anyway below is my aquarium descriptions. 72G Bowfront with FluvalFx4, Fluval 3.0 light Seachem Fluorite substrate. Stock: 7 Orange Laser Cory, 6 Clown Loach, 3 spotted Dojo loach, 2 Albino dojo loach, 4 Bosmani Ranbowfish, 5 Turquoise Rainbow Fish, Rainbow Shark, 4 Albino Cory, L075 Para Pleco 'Sarbaji", and L191 Dull-eye royal pleco. And of course, Frank, my HUGE Siamese Algae eater. 20G, With Fluval 207, Fluval3.0 nano light, Seachem Fluorite substrate Stock: L270 False Zebra pleco, 5 Cardinal tetra, 2 Rummy nose tetra, 2 panda cory, and my little Siamese algae eater Both tanks are fully planted. I'm currently experimenting with a co2 setup on the 72g however I really dont like how low my pH is getting. I do see improvement in the plants but its not really like they need it. Most of my plants I purchase from the Co-op. The only plants I buy at my LFS are ones that catch my eye at the store. The only plants sofar I've had a problem keeping is Scarlet Temple. I've tried twice to keep them and both times just didn't work out over a very long period. Lately I finally purchased that 'snail catcher'. I inherited bladder snails and I love using them as live food for my Clown loaches. That 'snail catcher' works, and keeps your hands out of the tanks trying to gather them up. I feed mostly Hikari Vibrobites, and the Fluval Tropical 'soldier fly' formula foods. I feed Repashy morning wood and community blend as a treat and either blood worms, brine shrimp, mysis shrimp twice a week. My goto flake is the Sera Vipan Tropical flake. I've been trying out the spirulina flake but the fish really haven't liked it as much. My goto pleco wafer is Extreme Aquatic foods Cat Scrapers. I struggled with a wafer all my pleco's would love until I saw this in Dean's fish room during one of their youtube videos. All of my plecos love it. I cant recommend it more! Anyway, Glad to meet you all. Have a wonderful evening. And a bonus pic of a Dojo resting on a plant!