nabokovfan87

That tank is a thing of beauty.

I usually do two runs of kanaplex. The directions specify that after 3 treatments, if you need to and you don't see stress, to go ahead and proceed with a second round. You can also re-dose the ich-x as well at that time if advised to do so.

It also leads to dirty media.... Each time I clean the filters, any brand and any bags, I end up dumping everything to the media and the ceramics/biological get cleaned first so I can see how clean they are doing for me. I appreciate it, thanks for sharing the insight!

That's awesome. That's the nice thing about the adjustability. 🙂 Congratulations on the sand too. That's awesome. I don't know why, but it's just a fun thing to have in the tank for me. Just reminds me to be a kid I guess. Very cool! Those corydoras look good. They'll do awesome for you! *Cheers* now it's coffee time for me way over here in the west!

Feel better. 😞 Happy to hear about the time and the enjoyment of the tank! The shrimp lolly is an interesting one. They don't want their veggies. 😂

Ironically, this is allegedly exactly what's happened with tiger barbs. The ones in the trade being a lot more feisty towards one another compared to WC or F1 fish. This is something I've heard from people who breed them as well as a few articles on reputable resources.

I'm gonna say yes....

Mine was a yellow dude. Named Logan. Named pretty much the day he went crazy and tore up half the tank of nano fish. Then we found out he was a he. The local breeder was very happy to home him for us!

I would try to do ~2 degrees a week max. Get it to where you want, then try to keep it steady. (easier said than done. Mine definitely got way messed up. 😞

shrimp, no. It's used to treat disease. Snails, I don't know. I can't say.

if you have a light substrate, I'd recommend crushed coral for this case. If you have dark substrate, the alkalinity buffers work well. Just go slow. I keep my KH at around 3-4 degrees. (close to the tap is best) I had to run bucket tests to get a grasp of how much to add per water change.

Cooking, computer things (hardware, building them when opportunity presents), engineering/design, Sharks the hockey team, sharks the animal, miami dolphins, and..... I really enjoy a good hike into nature whenever that is remotely possible.

That's awesome! The tank looks great. Since you're from the saltwater side of things, have you seen the movie Chasing Coral? It's such an inspirational one to setup a coral tank. Welcome to the fun. Looking forward to seeing what you end up making. 🙂

Time for some no planaria! 🙂 There is always those little tasks we want to do, even big projects. I think Zenzo has been waiting to move a room full of tanks for a little while now and it's something where I am definitely anxiously awaiting for that day to see the shift and change for his tanks and what he does with them. I watched a George Farmer video from the day before where he spent a solid 2-3 hours removing algae and using some pretty nice methods to try to handle it. There's always so much to do! Step 1 is definitely to enjoy. Step 2 is to feed the fish. Step infinity is definitely to figure out how to get rid of the BBA. 😂

It just might depend on how jungle-ey the tank is. the bigger the mass, the better the females can hide things. Mine were pretty notorious for using the underside of fern and anubias leaves. they would get really good at hiding just a handful of eggs. I swear every single time I was going to break down the tank to move them or whatever it was predetermined that there would be fry in there and it was a fun surprise. It's something they do in nature and it's a fun little trait to watch. One of my favorite things was seeing them lay on the cracks on the underside of a piece of mopani where no one could see. I knew it was always there, they knew it was safe, and it was all about just letting them do their thing. Some corydoras need to be triggered, others are very good at just going with the flow. "If you build it..." mindset and it's just about having the things in place for them and seeing what happens. Adjust accordingly. I vote green lasers. 🙂 I would follow Rachel O'Leary's setup and just repeat that. It works well and she would sell fry for years. If you have the setup right, I imagine it'll be fine.

Just today.... I woke up and was waiting like a kid on christmas for the tank light to pop on. I get to see it nearly every morning and right when it dings on the fish instantly do their thing. It's like the signals at traffic go off and all of a sudden the tank is alive and kicking. I definitely cherish the tank. It's monumentally better than some of the other things I've had in the past couple of years. I found a box of paperwork this week. In that box, I found my first tank purchase receipt since I've actually been getting back into the hobby. It's one of those things where I wish I could "know" when that was just for the sake of gauging how long it's been... Right next to it was one of my first co-op orders that I was able to make after learning a little bit more about the hobby. (Date on the big box store receipt is Aug 2018) I purposefully try to spend time every week enjoying the tank. It's been something I have done ever since I can remember. Usually right before bed or right before waking. I wish I could sprinkle magic dust to feed the fish some days, but eventually I do get up and feed them all. I have had a limited time in the hobby, always learning, always finding interesting bits of knowledge to digest, and most of all I am finding the depth of meaning behind the glass box. I have a really solid movie recommendation for the movie club whenever it's my turn next that I'll have to tag you on. It speaks to exactly what you're saying and it's such a journey from A to B. I can't say I do it too often, but one of the other big thought experiments for me is where am I at, where do I want to be, and how can I get a bit closer to that. Essentially, it's all about trying to make things better, find the little things, and work on them day to day. When things in life get a bit too hectic, it's really nice to have that place for the repetition, focus, and the meditation space to enjoy it. Extremely kind of you to say! She's such a wonderful fish and has a great personality. I don't mind at all having the tank just for her and whomever she allows! 🙂 I ordered more parts for the background this morning using a partial refund on an item and I'll have to get to work on it. I'm excited for "the big day" when it's a whole new tank and I get to see exactly what works and what doesn't long term.

BBA can definitely become an issue, choke equipment, and cause some issues. Something like hydrogen peroxide treatments are a good way to keep things in check while you try to balance out whatever is going on. If you have any more detailed questions please feel free to ask! This is the guide I used to dose my tank with hydrogen peroxide.

Just do it Filipe style using his mindset: Put stuff in and let it go where it wants to go and it looks good. Adjust accordingly. Patience, take your time, etc. etc. Here's another... such a versatile aquascaper.

All of my corydoras are "colonies" in pretty much all intent. There's an oto and some shrimp, but generally just them. I would think a hillstream species is a fun colony as well. The "king of the rock pile" battles would be ppv entertainment sometimes.

You should be able to use this as well. If you switch to the traditional hoses, I'd recommend clamps if you run into any concerns.

Must be trained in combat by a flowerhorn or something. Definitely a cichlid!

Sounds good! I would say if you ever see it at 5, dose. Then based on whenever it's down to 5 again.... there's your answer on how often to dose. It depends on what low is! The best I can say is that it was explained to me that GH should be near double your KH value. Let's say a good "minimum" KH for most things is 3-4 degrees. This puts most GH ranges in the 6-8 range. That fits in line with a lot of plants too. I am no expert by any means, but from what I can see in reliable databases of information, that works pretty well for a wide range of plants to thrive.

I just made cold brew. Let's do this! 🙂

Totally agreed. Ya'll can laugh at me though it's fiiiiine.

I would say stuff like ferns and anubias and buce should do well for you then! I heard buce like pretty clean water. 🙂