Kronosdelsol

It will depend on how old your neighborhood is due to the age of the pipes. Some people have luck, others don't. Most people say there are too many elements (e.g, phosphate) and they get cyano algae outbreaks. Best thing to do is test the water on its own, then test it with your salt mixed in. Your salt will add some trace as well. If you start to get some break outs, switch to RO water. Don't forget to add in the Prime and try to age your water if you can. I mean mix the salt several days in advance.

I was there yesterday and they are quite young and will color up more in several months. Here is an image of what typical juv's look like. Maybe the parents weren't pure or they have a different strain in them. Hence the reason why they were so dark to begin with.

Are you dosing with Seachem Flourish or Seachem Flourish Excel? Excel is the co2 supplement. It is completely different from the Seachem Flourish. If you are using pressurized co2 then stop dosing Seachem Flourish Excel. You can continue using that product for algae spot treatment (dip the plant into the solution or dose it using a syringe right around the plant under water).

They have 3 copies of it at the Calgary Public Library.

That's good to hear. I never had a problem with my UV on my plants. I also never had ICK or tried the salt method on the planted tank before, so I thought I ask.

Do you think it was the UV or the salt that was affecting your plants?

Here is a picture from the planetrena.com website.

I would buy an all in one solution (that contains the macros and micro elements) and then dose slowly. Just watch your plants and they will tell you what they need based on the color of the leaves. Once you get more comfortable with fertilizing and gain more knowledge, move on to one of the other proven fertilization approaches. It can get mind boggling if you gun ho too fast, and as Jason said, you end up with a lot of test kits that you don't need. Some popular all in ones are: - Seachem flourish (not the excel one) - Tropica plant nutrition - Tetra flora pride

I vote for planted tank with SA #3. Choosing plants like Vallisneria, Anubis, Java Fern and Echinodorus will give you the low maintenance you are looking for while retaining the nice aquascape. If you do the reef tank, you can make most of your live rock. There are lots of people getting out of the hobby and you pick up most of the equipment used. As you said, you have a sump that you can build and modify into a refuge. Don't forget a large container to age and pre-mix your water.

Survival of the fittest. I have a heavily planted tank with angels, sharks, large tetra, loaches and even gold fish. There are lots of guppy fry in there. I find that new born fry like floating plants in thickets. Eventually they start to hang out at the bottom.

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Hi theokie, welcome to our Forum. I have both Flourite and Eco complete in my tanks. They are a slow release substrate and will take many years before they deplete. These two products won't turn into my mud over time. I read somewhere that Flourite (gravel, not sand) will actually recharge itself, but Eco complete won't. Then again, Eco is so much cheaper than Flourite. The two substrates will eventually mix unless you avoid uprooting plants and vacuuming in that area. You can always cover the acrylic with rocks or just build the different layers using rocks in general. I would avoid the acrylic because it doesn't look natural. See here. But then again, this person didn't do it well. I tried ordering from aquariumplants.com before and got no help via phone or email. They are known for bad service. But then again, Blue Ram did have success.

Hey Vince. Very cool and thanks for sharing. The large stem plant on the left is a Pogostemon stellata then a Nymphaea lotus zenkeri (Red Tiger Lotus). I think the larger one on the far right is Rotala rotundifolia. You've probably seen this before but it's a must watch for every Angel fish hobbyist. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBF4CfUCVpY

Make sure you train them really well and write it down some where visible on the tanks so they don't forget. I just got back and my tanks had evaporated so much water that some of the filter's stopped working. On large tanks its fine but it would really suck on your fluval edge.

:welcome: Lindsay. Ask all the questions you need. There are many different methods when it comes to planted tanks. We just have to find the one that suits you.