nabokovfan87

I've never boiled terra cotta before adding it. Not sure if that plays a role here. I would usually just rinse it as much as need be and then add it. Also, welcome to the forums @shokanti!

It's an interesting question and ultimately there are varied mindsets on the topic. One of the big things to keep in mind is that things build up in the water over time. This could be things you cannot test for. It could be as minimal as something that causes algae or fish breeding, but it could also be more serious things that build up over time. This buildup is called Old Tank Syndrome. Because of things like that I would say that you can extend out the time between water changes, but doing them can be important in the long term health of the aquarium and it's inhabitants. Here is a very level headed discussion on the topic that may give you some perspective from one hobbyist. The main section of the conversation happens about halfway through, but it's all related to the topic.

Welcome to the forums! Livebearers is the easy one, but it's hard to say if you want to have *that many* fry. Corydoras are always fun to colony breed. Given your water at that PH (assuming KH keeps it stable around there), then I would do things like cypranidae fish. White clouds, celestial pearl danios, rasboras, barbs, etc. Odessa barbs might be really cool with some of the other fish mentioned. You can also go the route of something like a rock pile and have hillstream species, borneo loaches, etc. Another really easy one might be a pair or trio of plecos.

😂 I love the "bacopa isn't sure" mindset. @Chick-In-Of-TheSeahas a jar used for growing plants and it's done pretty well. It might be an interesting look to apart ideas or just to check out something cool, similar to what you were mentioning with the smaller projects. As for Val, they do have smaller forms, but I do think microsword is a good place and size for the smaller setups. Root tabs might help, same with the bacopa, depending on what your substrate it and those factors of course.

Sort of depends. You can almost always cut it, but it's often left to float, propagate out, then repeat that to get plants. I would plant it and let it adjust to your water first. The main reason for that is just trying to get roots where they need to be and nutrients flowing.

Because of being in a rural area, you could have issues from tap water contamination. Is your tap water showing any signs of nitrate? What is the temperature of the tank?

I dose it once a week.

Hello @Ree and welcome to the forums. Let's take a quick look at everything going on. I'm very sorry for your struggles and hopefully we all can get you going on the right foot and having some success in the hobby. What is your filtration and how is it setup? How did you acclimate the fish? Does ammonia or nitrite testing show any water issues? Temperature of the tank? Some fish in your stocking like cooler temps (72-74) and some like warmer temps (78 degrees). For now, one of the best things you can do is add an air stone.

Caridina typus, also known as the Australian Amano Shrimp basically it's not an amano and not a good algae eater by comparison. They get mixed in with amanos and often mislabelled.

I would've sent some of your wilds. Some are awesome. A good portion of the score is having them be the same size and similar patterning (wild is a bit of a different mix though.)

you should've entered! That's one of the fun things is for contests like that, I think it's open to everyone.

Iearned this from Dan and thought it was a cool little tidbit. The practice of quarantine, as we know it, began during the 14th century in an effort to protect coastal cities from plague epidemics. Ships arriving in Venice from infected ports were required to sit at anchor for 40 days before landing. This practice, called quarantine, was derived from the Italian words quaranta giorni which mean 40 days. I think 14 days minimum is probably a good idea. Best case is something like 30 days I would think. Something like internal worms is usually a good idea to treat for and it takes ~3-4 doses to do so.

Near midnight water change done. Dolphins game is in.... 6 hours so that'll be fun. Dosed the tank and hoping to see all the things keep doing well. I pulled some plant debris and checked in on the substrate. Pulled small spoonfuls of BBA infected flourite dark. We'll see how it goes, but I know it's critical for me to keep up with the water changes and checking on the BBA. The good thing, it's cold enough now that there's less of an issue of bugs flying through the window.

In terms of a gap/flatness it's pretty common. What a lot of people do is stack pieces of paper to measure the gap. Honestly, get the level out, follow the structure and check how level/flat things are. Under load it will shift and move. Under load you have to check it again, then fill the tank a little more and check it again. I've never seen a full acrylic stand before. Is this something you built yourself?

ORD. Beautiful shrimp!

#1 for sure.

Best of luck. I've heard that about TCs, but I've also heard the opposite. Let me know how it goes!

Yeah. It makes me wonder what is going on with the substrate or what is causing the roots to "choke." I've seen it in my own tanks over and over again neither AR and never really found out why apart from things not being "balanced correctly."

Welcome to the forums! What type of tank are you looking for? I would start here: Active / Planted Substrate: Contrasoil is great Sand / Natural: Caribsea supernaturals sand comes in a variety of colors. I like the crystal river / torpedo beach size sand Gravel: There's a ton of options here from pea gravel at the hardware store to a variety of other choices. (natural or colored)

Was gonna post this one! It helped me understand it pretty easily and what to look out for.

This is where you're going to have the structural support. The "beams" so to speak that go in the corners or that are placed in this direction. (front to back) Checking how those spots on the stand are loaded, using a level there would give you an idea of how "true" the stand is and if it's leaning front to back or bowed. "Flat" is a very broad term and there is a cost associated with how flat, flat needs to be. I can pretty much say that the acrylic if stored correctly and all of those things will be more flat by tolerance than something like the hardwood floor would be. You also have some cushion and a little bit of movement on the wood floor, which is likely where you're seeing a little bit of the gaps. Someone mentioned felt or rubber pads on the bottom side of the stand, that's very similar to how you dampen the load on a rimless tank and would work too. Check those spots and go from there. Usually 1/16" of movement is fine, 1/8" is about the point where you might be able to adjust things better and anything larger gaps would seriously be at risk of breaking over time.

Temp: 12-28 C Light: Med-High dKH: 2-10 "Sufficient light (0.5 watts per litre or above) is the most important aspect when cultivating this plant submersed. Adding micro- and macronutrients is beneficial, especially if CO2 is injected. Low nitrate levels, going together with relatively high phosphate readings, provide a reddish, sometimes orange colouration of the shoot tips. Emersed cultivation is possible, given that the plant gets sufficient light." Temp: 4-28C Light: Med-High dKH: 2-14 This Myriophyllum has no special requirements and also grows in medium-hard water and without CO2 addition. However, it unfolds its full splendour with rather strong lighting, complete macro- and micronutrient supply via the water column and CO2 addition. The rapid growth makes frequent pruning necessary, and pruning leads to bushier growth. Propagation is easy by head cuttings and partial cuttings. The Roraima Milfoil tolerates a wide temperature range and is also suitable for cold-water aquaria. Temp: 18-30C Light: High dKH: 0-14 Rotala indica is a rather slow grower, and in the aquarium it has relatively high demands regarding light intensity and nutrient supply. Its almost pillar-like upright shoots are best planted as larger, individual group of stems of different length in the middleground of a tank. Temp: 18-28C Light: Med-High dKH: 0-14 First and foremost, Ludwigia palustris needs lots of light. Even though it may survive under moderate light, it grows spindly and greenish. It responds well to the addition of the macronutrients NO3 and PO4, however, they are not necessarily required. CO2 injection and micronutrient fertilisation are both not necessary either, however, Ludwigia palustris grows considerably more robust, healthy and colourful if they are added.

Heehehe. Yeah, they have some toothiness to them! very very similar to a grey nurse shark (different than the normal nurse shark) Basically.... think of them as the puffers of the shark world. They just need to break through some crunchy things.

What is the one or two plants you're having the most trouble with.... I'll check my database tool and see what it recommends for those specifically and try to dig up some proper parameters for them. Agreed. The only thing I can think is that massive swings causing cell damage in the same way that RR (seltzer dips on plants) works. Repeating that "damage" daily causing the melting. Perhaps? The plant is basically trying all it can to grow and propagate out, the main issue when I have plants melt like that is that they don't ever grow roots and just turn to mush on me.

Agreed. It's hard to know with absolute certainty what the end result would be. It would be something where you do have some advantages to trying it out. The contrasoil is good stuff. I definitely was happy to use it in my tank. Don't be afraid of water changes and maintenance, but yeah... It's a great community and has been very helpful for myself as well. Very awesome to hear the positive thoughts on the forum here and it's something that we all realize that the more people with success, the better the hobby is for it.