geleen

As far as I know you can add the C02 later. You would need to cycle the tank first anyway.. get it cycling now and add the plants when you get them. Once cycled (give or take 5 weeks) you can add the co2 and then the fish or visa versa. J J

The softener unit will have a by-pass valve...Pottasium chloride may not be healthy for the fish do some research j

I second this......very strongly J

I don't think there is such a thing :shock: I have 3 kinds in the drawer for that reason, J

You can do a search here..... there is a pinned article that is a good one. I just resealed a tank with GE silicone 1 for windows and doors. under 5.00 at Rona or Home depot. J

Yeah I think it the one you got from me right?.....looks nicer :thumbs: in your tank. J

Nice! looks 6" + John

If you leave the buds develop in the water, (stem attached to the mother-plant) they will grow leaves and roots.(floating at the top....when the shoots have multiple leaves, they are gently pealed off the stock and can be planted directly in the soil. Each node will have 2 shoots attached to one and other, you may end up with 6-10 plant-lets in very little time. No cross-pollination required. A second shoot may follow rather quickly and if you let it grow above the tank and mist it a lot, the white flowers are nice but not spectacular. BTW the fish are doing well! John

Give blackmumba a pm J

Hey Vince :welcome: J

I have boiled (with many water changes) some wood for 4 hours and the water was still dark coffee.So it depends on the wood and how much tannins you want to get out. To sterilize it, much less is needed. I would let it cool down as wood carries a lot of heat and may raise the temp of the water in the aquarium. J

:welcome: J

One option would be to go with a sand bottom and pot the plants.....it would solve some of your concerns rather easily. I have used 1/3 plain potting soil with sand on top to fill, and swords and stem plants grow quite well. Using plain play sand works very well with low light plants, you could add a root tab for the sword plant. 1 bag of fluorite sand mixed with play sand would only cost around $35-38 Vacuum the gravel or sand weekly this would eliminate any concerns about the sand packing too much......I have had no trouble with up to 4" of sand in some areas. Sand is easy to clean as the crud stay's on top. In a 30 gallon you would be limited as to the kind of sword, as most can grow very large. Anubias do well if they are on driftwood or a rock. J.

Agreed! I have had no problems with them and they seem to help...certainly cheap.....I break them in smaller pieces and insert at least 1" deep. From observation only, there may be better choices and clay balls is my next adventure. John

:welcome: John

:welcome: So what kind of fish do you have? John

bottomdweller_fan may I ask how many gouramis you keep in the tank? Thanks John

Welcome......and have fun! I NEVER buy tooooo much at the auction John

That is a pretty silly thing to fire someone over. Fired because someone shoplifted while he helped a customer. I agree if this is true. Looks like they need to have a course in employee relations! I would sue their $%SSS for wrongful dismissal. This may fly in other parts of the world but this is still Canada. J

Not sure what you are asking..... I usually bleach the whole works then re-populate the media in an other tank for a week or more,or until needed. J

This is unbelievable! Congrats on a fine job. John

Ooooohhhh S#$%T Sorry to hear this, I hope it stops right there. Could be just about anything and without more information like microscopic slides an other symptoms this might be very hard to figger out. Lets hope it is cichlid specific. John

You can do that or get some suction cups made for airline and stick it down. John

Yeah you will be fine just add the old filter and gravel and fish and you are done. Just add NEW fish very slowly over some weeks. John

Me to.... he says salivating. Don't have the what it takes yet. John