[Preparation for planting]

@CT_ My java and Christmas moss did fine with alum. I can't remember which other types of mosses I've tested before.

[Link on light requirement site correction]

Thanks for the catch! I fixed the link, but it may take a while for it to update.

[Salts and shrimp?]

It probably depends on how hard your water is, which you can measure by using a GH test kit. If your water is pretty soft (below 4 dGH) like mine, I like to add more minerals by using Wonder Shells or Seachem Equilibrium. Works wonders for my amano shrimp and cherry shrimp by promoting healthy molting of their exoskeletons.

I have only kept balloon mollies (which are smaller than regular mollies) and they didn't eat my amano shrimp, but I'm sure they would eat any baby cherry shrimp if I kept them in the same tank.

[Hoping to breed Lake Inle Danios]

I haven't bred them, but they look super cool! Definitely post some pictures if you ever find some fry.

[New Plants for New tank of African Ciclids]

Yup, that's pretty much how I started - feed Easy Green if nitrates get low and add new root tabs in the substrate every 1-3 months if the plant stops growing new leaves. Not sure how often you need to refresh root tabs for anubias and java fern in an Easy Planter.

[Freshwater calcium, magnesium tests?]

Fluval has a freshwater calcium test kit I was able to source. Can't remember where I bought it from, but I believe I saw the same kit in Petco the other day.

[clarification/questions about pH, GH, KH (in-depth)]

Here's an article on pH, KH, and GH from Aquarium Co-Op that covers water chemistry at a very high level as it relates to the aquarium hobby: https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/ph-gh-kh

I haven't read anything about fish metabolism as related to their pH needs, but I haven't looked into it either. From what I understand, KH corresponds to the total carbonate and bicarbonate ions, and most hobbyists do not have an ability (or need) to measure carbonates separately from bicarbonates. Similarly, GH corresponds to total concentration of ions like calcium and magnesium. I have found freshwater test kits that measure calcium, but not kits for magnesium. 

For guppies and ghost shrimp, probably all you need to focus on is aiming for a pH greater than 7.0 and water hardness of 8 dGH or higher. If you are getting high-end guppies, you can always contact the breeder and just try to match their water. For the purposes of fish keeping, you don't need to go that deep down the water chemistry rabbit hole (unless you really want to, of course).

 

 

[Hardscape selection in store]

Copying @Robert in case he has time to answer. Have a safe drive and enjoy your visit!

[Preparation for planting]

13 hours ago, Ken said:

@Irene did some extensive testing on getting rid of hitchhikers (and not killing the plants in the process), she did at least one video and a blog on the topic. She settled on alum. I've been using her method successfully.

FYI some of my more sensitive plants (e.g., guppy grass and some crypts) did not react kindly to the alum recipe (1 Tbsp alum per gallon soaking for 3 days), so I've done some experiments to limit the amount of time the plants soak in the alum. So far, my limited testing has shown that ramshorn snails, their eggs, and planaria were successfully eliminated after soaking for a mere 4 hours (at the same concentration of 1 Tbsp per gallon). The sensitive plants also survived the alum dip much better with that shortened time period. However, I need to do more testing to make sure that the recipe works for other types of pest snails.

[Fluval 3.0 Pro settings for 40 breeder]

No worries! Check out this thread where many people have posted their Fluval light schedules:

 

[White fuzz on lily bulb?]

It should still grow just fine as long as the bulb doesn't feel mushy to the touch. If it starts rotting, just email customer support and they will quickly ship you out a new one. A certain percentage of bulbs are duds for some reason.

My last bulb sprouted within 1 week. My current bulb hasn't sprouted yet and is very fuzzy as well. I'm going to follow the directions and wait up to 3 weeks and then flip it over if it's still firm and hasn't sprouted yet. Sometimes the bulb won't sprout because it's placed upside-down onto the substrate. 🙃

[Hello from Houston!]

Ooo, you should totally visit the Aquarium Design Group in Houston if you ever get the chance! Beautiful aquascaping gallery that also sells fish, hardscape, etc.

[Whiteish fuzzy stuff on Bamboo shrimp legs and side]

That's so great to hear! Glad it worked out in the end. 🙂

[Pokey Has a New Home]

Awww, thanks for sharing little Pokey's story. Best of luck with his new home and I hope he gets along with his new tank mates.

[Whiteish fuzzy stuff on Bamboo shrimp legs and side]

Can't tell what the disease is, but salt is a pretty good fungus deterrent in my experience. Did you ever see any improvement with your shrimp? 

[Fluval Plant 3.0 LED]

It's probably my favorite light now, but because of the cost, I only use it on my main display tank. Most of my other planted tanks get the good ol' Finnex Stingray. I really like the wireless communication with my phone app and ability to program the time, intensity, colors, etc. Here's a great thread where people have been posting their custom schedules, but you can always use Fluval's automatic schedules and they also seem to work pretty well.

 

[I'm new here, where is the restroom?]

Haha, so true about danios! Welcome back to the hobby and hope you enjoy the community here. 

[tips on loaches]

Most hillstream loaches are fairly similar in care requirements from what I've seen. Cory usually recommend that people get 1 hillstream loach or 3+ hillstream loaches; when you get only 2, they may spar with each other. I currently have 3 reticulated hillstream loaches in my 20-gallon tank and there seems to be plenty of food for them to go around. Once my plants started growing in and providing cover, I rarely see them bicker with each other anymore. Very cool fish that doesn't get too big; hope you enjoy them as much as I have.

[Mbuna Repashy Turbo Loaded!]

Ooo, cool video! I love feeding Repashy as a part of my regular aquarium meal planning. Thanks for sharing. 🙂

[Corydoras eggs!!!!]

Seems pretty normal to me! I tend to only see this constant breeding behavior when I'm heavily feeding the aquarium. Once I back off a little on the food amounts, the breeding stops or isn't as frequent.

[What is this? (Detritus? Algae? Worms? Snail eggs?)]

That's so crazy looking! I've tried searching on Google and can't find anything that looks similar. Are they multiplying or did they eventually go away?

[Betta Channoides Fry Barrel Rolling?]

Wow, that's crazy behavior. I've never seen a fish do that before. Did you ever figure out what was going on and did the fry end up making it?

[Reptiles?]

We have a leopard gecko named Dax who is such a sweetheart. My son wants a snake, but that's not going to happen until he's old enough to fully take care of one. I already have my hands full with aquarium keeping!

[Hello from Colorado!]

@Jennifer V I currently go to About Fish, Aqua Imports, Exotic Aquatics, and Neptune's Tropical Fish. Whichever one has the fish I'm looking for is my favorite. 😜

[Help! Aquarium always has extremely high ammonia!]

1 hour ago, Coronal Mass Ejection Carl said:

Low-ish pH can make ammonia non-toxic as well.

Yes to what Carl just said. Here's a chart I found online that lists the toxicity level of ammonia as pH and temperature (°C) changes. At pH of 6.0, it seems that fish can handle an ungodly amount of ammonia. (Not sure how accurate this chart is, so you can check online for other sources too.)