Kevin F.

@Patrick_G ya it's finally starting to fill in and get taller. I can't wait till it's all at the surface. This has always been my favorite plant. I did a 55 one time with nothing but corkscrew val.

Week 26. Small stocking change this week. Added a albino bristle nose. It is just so tiny and cute. Plants are looking good algae is still around, hopefully the planplants will eventually out compete it and starve it out. The Denison Barbs went crazy the other day and ripped out all the grass that was left. No idea what they were thanking but they would grab ahold of a leaf rip it out of the ground and spit it out. Anyone else ever have theirs do this? The plant on the right has sent out two flower shoots. The stem plants have responded to the higher light and are starting to grow. Water parameters first number is before water change second is after. Nitrate 50/25 Nitrite 0/0 Hardness 300/300 Buffer 80/120 pH 7.2/7.6 Chlorine 0/0 Ammonia 0/0

Week 25. Tank is doing good. The smallest zebra danio that never got any bigger died. Going to wait and see how the week goes before doing any other changes to lighting or dosing. I did see a plant pearling yesterday and was so mesmerized by it I didn't get a video. Hopefully it will do it again and I can document it. The rest of the fish are doing good great the harlequin rasboras have fou d a shadow area near the top of the tank and have started spending time there in the evening just hovering in it together. No water change today test was good. Water Nitrate 25 Nitrite 0 Hardness 300 Buffer 80 pH 7.2 Chlorine 0 Ammonia 0 Praying everyone is having a great new year.

@CalmedByFish Ya him and his buddies are just so durpy. The Crack me up, they'll go non-stop then go to a corner or there cave and set for hours. Or untill they smell food.

Short video of the 125. Sorry about the dryer noise. https://youtu.be/D8naTieQuUI

Week 24. Merry Christmas everyone. Had a great week no algae increase after the light increase. Some of the plants even look better. The emperor 400 threw up after the water change and really clouded up the water. I am having a little problem with this filter, so I may have to replace it in the near future. I'm debating with myself on eather another 110 on a sponge on a power head. One of the danios with a bent spine passed Saturday. He really never grew like the others and the older he got the more his spine kinked up. There is one more in there that has a curved spine but it has grown with the others. Still on the same fertilizer schedule 12 pumps 9f easy green and 12 of easy iron. First dose on water change and second on Wednesday. Water parameters Nitrate 50 / 25 Nitrite 0/0 Hardness 300 / 300 Buffer 80 / 120 pH 7.2/ 7.2 Chlorine 0/0 Ammonia 0/0

Week 23. I added another dose of fertilizer on Thursday this week. If I don't see an increase in algae, I'll turn the lights up another 10%. Fish are fat and happy. Plants are looking good. The corkscrew val and the Pogostemon Stella's have really started to take off. I didn't get to do a water change today. Had a wonderful day at church, kids singing, long lunch and relaxing with friends. The water tested just fine so I thank I might let it go and get back on the Saturday schedule, like I started. Water test. Nitrate 25 Nitrite 0 Hardness 300 Buffer 80 pH 7.2 Chlorine 0 Ammonia 0 Hope everything has a wonderful week and a Merry Christmas!!!!

Week 22. Great week. Everything stayed the same. Plants growing algae retreating and fish look great. Really weird thank is the water parameters are exactly the same as last week. I got a early Christmas present from the wife, a python and J hook. I don't know how I ever lived without the Jhook. I didn't have to worry about it flopping out of the tank while I refilled it. Great product. Water test first number is before water change second one is after. Nitrate 10 / 25 Nitrite 0 /0 Hardness 300 / 300 Buffer 80 / 80 pH 7.2/ 7.2 Chlorine 0 / 0 Ammonia 0 / 0

@MinanoraThe rocks are actually a hollow plastic piece I've had forever. Here's a picture from the side of the tank. Normally I have a small piece of black paper the size for the rock to make it a cave for fish to hide in. I was really hoping the moss would cover it, but the Denison barbs keep picking at it.

Week 21. No big changes this week, well expect o e of the fish has decided to eat a Nana petite. Don't know who or why but they chewed it all the way to the nub. The Pogostemon Stella's has some smaller plants growing up from the bottom. Overall I'm happy with the way everything is going. Love setting here in the evening sipping coffee and watching the tank. Water this week looks good. First number is before water change second one is after. Nitrate 10 / 25 Nitrite 0 / 0 Hardness 300 / 300 Buffer 80 / 80 pH 7.2/ 7.2 Chlorine 0 / 0 Ammonia 0 / 0 Pictures are a little cloudy, they were taken just after water change.

@Beardedbillygoat1975 Yes there are two things I wish I had done from the start. Being a 125 it really needs a good light to get to the bottom. Really wish I had just got the better light from the start. Second is I really should of put down a layer of laterite clay, or something similar under my substrate. The root tabs work great. I thank the first layer would of increased longterm growth. As far as size of tank. No, this tank is setting in my dinning room. Really needed to be a large tank to fit the room. I've kept smaller planted tanks before from 10 to 55 gallon. I've had my best results from 20 gallon tanks. I've just always wanted a large planted tank.

Week 20. Just got gome so no water change today. Fish are doing good, plants are looking better. The pink flamingo got another leaf and so.e of the other plants have really started responding to the better lights. If I'd gotten the fluval 3.0 from the start we'd look completely different at five months. Make sure you get good lighting from the start don't try to be cheap. Now the the algae has calmed down I'm going to try and increase the lights 10% on the first peak. @Torrey thanks for the info. The settings do have quite the learning curve.

Week 19. Week started off sad. One of the two zebra danios with a bent spine passed. All other fish are happy and eating well. Plants are doing good. My wife came home Tuesday with two tissue cultures a pearl weed and some scarlet temple (she just loves that plant). I dialed the lights back last week and the algae is starting to get under control. I put my settings up tell me what y'all thank? Water tested good, first number is before water change second one is after. Nitrate 10/25 Nitrite 0/0 Hardness 300/300 Buffer 80/120 pH 7.2 /7.2

Week 18 of course after been sick it fills like a month has passed. Fish are.doing.great. Plants some good so.e not so much. The java fern and one Anubias Nangi not so much other than the algae the others are do good. Water parameters are from after the Water change Nitrate 25 Nitrite 0 Hardness 300 Buffer 80 pH 7.6 Chlorine 0 Ammonia 0

It's a fake rock cave. It's really awesome it sets flush with the glass I have a peace of black paper over the other side. Gives some of the fish a nice place we to hide. At night I sometimes lift the paper and the Cory's will all be in there sleeping. I hope the moss will cover the hole thing eventually.

Week 17. Not much change this week other than the new light. I'm still trying to get a good schedule down for them. No other updates this week I'm not filling to good caught a cold.

Look what my wife got me for our anniversary. She's really is the best.

It really depends on your tank. Would be a lot easier to give advice on it will full tank stats (size, fish load,light duration, substrate, water parameters). Saying that there is a huge debate over water change schedules some say once a week some say once a month some say what's a water change. I do a weekly 30% water changes on my planted tank. It is over stocked and plants are still trying to fill in. My Nitrates never get over 25 ppm. It is working for me but as the tank changes my water change schedule might have to change with it.

I really like your tank, and the form your using for keeping track.

Week 16. The Cryptocorynes that had lost all there leaves in shipping have all got new growth on them. The biggest grower of the week is the Aponogeton. This thing had taken off like a rocket. Every thing else is going good, except the Java fern. I've had a lot of die off. Water test was again forgotten before the water change, sorry. After water change. Nitrate 25 Nitrite 0 Hardness 300 Buffer 80 pH 7.6 Chlorine 0 Ammonia 0

Yep the hard water does clog it up, but I just scrap it with my finger nails and it opens right back up. Some of the fish really live it, like the hillstream loaches and the corydoras.

Week 15. Finally got the Nitrites back down. Don't know what caused it eather. Couple days after last update it went up to a five. Did a water change and brought it back to zero and it's stayed there ever since. Had a halequin rasbora jump out of the tank during that water change and unfortunately I didn't notice until dinner time. I am loving the new Fluval 3.0. This has got to be the best light I have ever owned. If anyone is shopping for a new light just get one. Spend the extra on one and get it. I'm having a little algae but I suspect it will be under control when I get the light dialed in. Hopefully in November I get the small one for the other side. Water parameters this week are, (first number is before water change second one is after) Nitrate 10 25 Nitrite 0 0 Hardness 300 300 Buffer 80 120 Ph. 7.2 7.6 Chlorine 0 0 Ammonia 0 0

Sorry out of town today. Weekly update will be tomorrow.

Ya I was really hoping it would be a put in and forget like a air stone.

I purchased it from a chain store. The only problem is the black material it's made out of clogs up and I have to take it out and scrap it with my finger nails every couple weeks or it gets dead spots.