Scapexghost

What size is the pleco and how long do you plan on quarantining?

I changed the gravel in my 20 last night and this dollar-store toy worked wonders for taking it out. I'm sure similar toy can be found everywhere. You have to get a pink one though. If its blue it won't work. Also old credit cards are phenomenal for removing algae off glass

If you could pick up the 15 you could probably get away with keeping all the fry and being able to get the other fish you want. The pleco, otos/hs loaches' and cories to an extrent won't take away much swim space from the mollies so you could get away with putting most if not all the mollies into the 29 if your willing to do the water changes. I would probably put 15 in the 29, 7 in the 15, and 3 in the 10.

1) clean inside & outside of glass 2) turn off all other lights in the room (take picture at night if possible) 3) keep camera as steady as possible (us tripod if available) If you still can't get a good photo, you may have to upgrade your camera

Im surprised theyre not having one for veterans day, but maybe its unfeasible given the current state of supply

If your not confident that a hob will be enough you could always use two, it'll still be cheaper than a canister filter. In term of ease of maintenance gravel is probably the easiest followed by sand. Both should be straightforward compared to soil.

Mostly lifebearer fry for now

I'm redoing my 5.5 gallon I use for growing out fry. Since the tank would otherwise be empty most of the time, I want to attempt to establish a cherry shrimp colony in the tank to add a little flair. However, I have had very little success with shrimp in the past. What would be a good simple setup in terms of substrate, plants, food, and potentially hardscape? Since I will still be using it as a fry grow out tank, I need to avoid anything that significantly affects water parameters since I need to keep the water parameters as similar as possible to the main tanks. I have hard water (300+ ppm), high ph (7.8-8.4) and a nicrew classic led light.

What kind of snails do you use for this purpose?

I've had a several tanks but i've never tried sand before. I've also never tried corydoras before. I'm redoing my 10 and i figure it's a good time to try both. I'm leaning towards pigmies so i imagine the finer the better. I know there are problems with very fine sands so what is the ideal middle ground?

Plecos will munch on the broad leaf sword plants like amazon swords, but will they do the same with the more narrow-leafed ones?

Most fish spend most of their time swimming horizontally, so there is very little benefit to a vertical/column tank.

What about Odessa barbs?

Pea puffers would do fine but if you are worried about the hardness i'd try a figure 8 puffer.

What kind of light are you using and for what duration? One thing i would try is significantly reduce water changes. Try doing 25% water changes every other week. 20-40 ppm nitrates is what is generally recommended for planted tanks, unless you are keeping really finicky fish

It's common practice to "cap" an active substrate w/ an inert substrate. This has the benefit of minimizing to leeching of nutrients into the water. Even a small layer of active substrate will do a lot for plant growth. I would recommend gravel over sand if your goal is maximizing plant growth.

Keep at it. No matter how much research you do it will always be a struggle at first, but it will work out and it is worth it in the end.

Is water passing through the overflow?

The usb nano air pump aquarium co-op sells is effectively silent. Its tiny but strong enough for your purpose.

For now i would do 25% water changes every other week. If you ever find nitrates climbing above 40 ppm increase the size or frequency of water changes

Im redoing my 20 tall this weekend (changing substrate and hardscape, keeping fish) and would like advise on the final plant. I have a tiger lotus bulb and some crypts from the previous scape i will try to salvage but i want on final plant to fill out the rest of the tank. The plants i current have my eye on are chain sword, dwarf hairgrass, and microsword. I have never kept any of these plants so i am curious which id have the most success with if any. The tank is a 20 tall w/ a nicrew classicLED light hard water, and inert substrate. The stocking is mollies, neon tetras, and a bn pleco. The temp is around 78°.

How many nitrates does your tank produce per week?

I don't gravel vac planted tanks. Fish waste does leach nutrients into the water but no more than active substrates will. So long as you keep up with water changes, there is little to be concerned over. It's free and natural fertilizer.

Will water sprite kick off babies planted or only when floating?

Its funny but also unironically a great answer. I forgot that floaters self propagate.