chloeclose

I'm gonna guess it's a staghorn algae? I had something like that once. Very thick and coarse, with a sort of slick feeling (rather than slimy?) Mine branched a little more if I remember correctly.

I believe you are correct on that one Werner. Mine was more stringy.... and in a little betta tank with no filtration it would never die.

Oh. My. God. :drool:

Thanks for the link!

Oooo pretty...

I don't get/see where the slimy part is... but slimy=cyano in my book.

ETA: Now that I think about it... I'm sure I had some stuff like that wound in amongst the roots of some java fern I got once from a'bad place'... kinda like a plant that never dies and will take over the world if you let it.

Is the tank filtered? Maybe the current is too much for him?? Just a thought.

Awesome! I remember when my angel pair unexpectedly did this.

Needless to say I learned to make BBS in a heck of a hurry!

Thanks guys, sorry Kyle.

OK thanks!

Um... I have NO idea where AG is anymore... went to where I *thought* they were... but they weren't.

I assumed they had gone outta business...

Guess I'll hafta look it up again.

I am also looking for hinges, in Edmonton though... OR a glass top for a 25g.

Sorry Kyle, didn't mean to hijack your thread.

Lookin' good Kevin! :thumbs: It appears you have the BBA under control, good job!

Yeah I never had any probs with my SAE's and any other fish. I had 3 of them in my 55g community tank (angels, rainbows etc) and they were great. They are at my bro-in-laws in my old 50g and still going strong and STILL doing their 'job'.

He sure is a lucky betta, wish my home looked like that haha. What kind of SA's are you putting in the tank?

I hear ya.

Thanks for asking about the fish, I'm trying to stick with a Rio Negro/Orinoco theme (blackwater) so I'm going with rams (Mikrogeophagus ramirezi), cories (not sure which yet, likely metaes, melinis, adolfo's or sodalis ) and tetras (leaning towards Red Phantoms/ Hyphessobrycon sweglesi, still may go with Cardinals/Paracheirodon axelrodi).

Excited... is an understatement.

I would like to come and have a look at this sometime..... I do things better after seeing an example...

Heh... I would like to move in! :rofl:

Lucky fishies... AWESOME job! Congrats! :beer:

Also Nature's has lots of nice cories...

Beautiful tanks firestorm! :thumbs: Lucky betta...

I can't wait to get my SA 25g up... still working on the hard aquascaping. -ham-

Thanks JORG and corrision jerry, yeah that tank was a LOT of work but soooo worth it.

This was my first tank which I still miss. :cry: Gawd I loved that tank!!

55 gallon

2 x 55w 10,000K CF's

Sera pressurized CO2 system

Aquaclear 70 HOB filter

Natural gravel, laterite layer underneath

PMDD ( I think, been awhile)

Flora:

Alternanthera reineckii 'Pink'

Alternanthera reineckii 'Purple'

anubias barteri var. nana

Anubias barteri var. caladiifolia

Egeria densa

Echinodorus uruguayensis

Hygrophila corymbosa

Hygrophila polysperma 'Angustifolia'

Ludwigia glandulosa

Microsorum pteropus

Rotala wallichii

Sagittaria subulata

Vallisneria americana

Driftwood (2 large pieces mopani)

Fauna:

2 angels

8 dwarf neon rainbows

6 diamond tetras

8 silvertip tetras

8 cherry barbs

3 otos

3 SAE's

1 female bristle nose pleco

6 Black Fin corys

Amano Shrimp

Yes they are! :thumbs: :beer:

I think everyone remembers being a noob and clueless, so it's nice to help out others when we can. I've had LOTS of help from lots of cool people and I try to pay it forward as often as I can.

Thanks for the offer Kevin.

I need to research Schultz's a bit more...

Thanks for the tips.

I've finally made the decision to go with Mohawk Garnet 16-24 (crushed garnet blasting grit, mixed with Fluorite Black Sand.

The Mohawk Garnet looks like this:

So the actual mix will be blacker, good for the plants AND the fish will be happy! :thumbs:

I have a deep sand bed in my tank (2" at the front, 6" at the back) and all I have used is playsand. I started my swords and crypts with a root fertilizer (Jobe's from Walmart) I decided against using any peat or mulm layer because I didn't want the hassle. What I have found is that in time, the plants tended to collect organic material around the roots. From my experience, I wonder if it is really necessary in the long run. (I also use estimative index and pressurized CO2) I am very happy with the plant growth I have had.

So what would I layer with it? Nothing. IMHO. Just add some root tabs or sticks, especially to start out with.

I hear that you can go to a place that sells sandblasting medias and get some different colors. If you wanted to get some smaller round pebbles, see what you can get from Burnco in a 1/2" or smaller rainbow rock or something like that. Just stay away from your limestones and crushed rock.

I don't know how fast a rock or substrate could change your hardness. Obviously if you pH is low (acidic) you will speed up that process, but I think that you can keep it under control with regular water changes. Maybe someone else can comment authoritatively on that.

Hope that helps...

Thanks for the super fast reply!! :thumbs: Yes it helps.

Guess where I am going today? Burnco heh. Think I will bring some vinegar along just in case.

So I have decided to go with play sand as a substrate.

What do you recommend I put with it? Layer of laterite underneath? Profile mixed? What is profile and where can I get it? What does it look like?

Also is there any other kind of cheap, inert sand that is darker? Where would I find it?

Went looking for Schultz's aquatic soil yesterday didn' t find any.

I'm going for a upper region SA biotope-y type tank with rams (if I ever find any) and cories.

I *do * like the CaribSea Supernatural stuff, specifically Amazon and Peace River, looks like nice rounded gravel. Price not *too* bad. I definitely do *not* want anything that hardens my water at all.

Another person on the board had mentioned using a Profile/sand/peat mix for this type of set-up. Any opinions?

Also I'm concerned with layering... in the past I've had issues of bottom layers, mixing in with tops. :tongue:

Thanks!

ah thanks.. Edmonton is a bit out of my way since I am in Calgary... thanks anyways.

Sorry, my bad! You'd think tho, with how many LFS's you guys got down there, that finding the Fluorite wouldn't be such a hassle...

I think Big Al's had some on Saturday. You could call them and find out.

I called and they said they had plenty. I specifically asked the gal if it was the gravel not the sand... reply was yes its the gravel and we have plenty... I drove across the city to find that no... it was the sand. GRRR... I asked one of the guys to check the back and he came back with one bag so it wasnt a completely wasted trip.

Nature's has some, saw it yesterday.

Jackpot! Finding free equipment is always good. :smokey:

One bulb is probably enough to get you started. Once you get everything going and you can always fire up the second one. I'd suggest buying a new bulb since you probably don't know how old the ones in there are.

You don't want to really light up the tank at night, just enough to see what's going on. LED moonlights are perfect. If you're not a DIYer, you could try something like this.

Yes, yes it is. :thumbs: I only wish I'd found it before I posted the original question. Oh well... plants plants plants! -ham-

Yes I am getting excited.

Thanks for the suggestions guys! :beer:

I've kept cories in an all Fluorite tank before and they did well. In fact, I'm planning to do it again.

Lookin' good!!! :thumbs:

OMFG!!! :shock: OK I feel really retarded now...

Went digging around in my storage closet (AKA The. Black. Hole.) and found this: Coralife 24" CF 2 X 65watt fixture

I can *not* believe I forgot I had that!!! I kinda remember way back when *trying* to sell it... guess I never did.

DUH!!

It will fit the not-yet-in-existence 20 long perfectly. :w00t: But this brings up a whole new set of issues.

1) One of the bulbs is burnt out. Which is fine since I don't *really* wanna start my tank out at that kind of intensity... or do I? :shifty: MUAHAHA... er no.... I don't think I do, not until I get my feet wet again. And can afford a good CO2 set-up, ferts, blah blah blah...

2) Would it be okay to run it with one burnt for awhile? Will it harm the fixture? Will it make the tank unbalanced? Should I put the good bulb in the front or the back?

3) I like the idea of a nighttime tank, previously I've had fish that I never saw... it would be kind of nice to do that. Are actinic bulbs good for that? Too much? Too expensive to run in the age of LED's? Is there a better idea?

4)Will a 'nightlight' be bad for the plants or cause weird algae to grow?

Any and all suggestions welcome.