jvision

If you do get a positive Cl test, but still really low TDS from your RO unit, it's time to change the carbon filter

Any Chlorine test kit will work

I've pinned the EI requirements, and I think there's a link to MCI. Both are in the Planted Tank Forum

Usually twice per year. Next one will be in the fall

Keep an eye on the various local forums because they come up for sale every now and then - getting used ones is a good way to save money. I have the NutraFin and Eheim ones (I have 3 total, as well) and they're all doing what I need them to do. Been using them for about 6 months with no complaints (once I figured out how wide to open the feeder...). NutraFin feeds 2x per day every 12 hrs - there is no time setting. Eheim is programable for up to 4 feedings per day - if you have a grow-out/fry tank, this is the way to go, IMO.

I've kept Java fern in brackish tanks. Not sure if the crabs would rip them up, tho. Most Aubias spp. are also a bit salt-tollerant.

If you plant at least 75% of the tank footprint with fast-growing plants, you can add fish pretty much right away as well.

If you want to keep things low-tech, then you can get away with just about any lighting - what do you have now? A couple T8 or a single T5HO with a reflector would be enough, IMO. There are a few ways of providing nutrients to your plants. Some like putting dirt in the lower layer of their substrate, but I just use normal sand and fertilize the water column - check out Estimative Index (EI) or Method of Controled Imballances (MCI) if you want to grow lots of plants, quickly. If you just want a few plants, adding a bit of ferts each week after a WC is good enough. I'd go with a liquid Carbon like Excel or Metricide 14 (if you don't want to run CO2) - that's the most important nutrient, IME. It'll keep your plants healthy and keep algae at bay. You can get your ferts online or at most hydroponics stores. Get to know a few members on this site by buying plants from them - it'll be the best deal; check out the Livestock Classifieds. If you do want to shop the stores, it's best to get the plants w/in the first few days of their arrival.

Here's an update I found an O2 condenser and saw a definite increase in growth when I turned it on Here's a shot of how the drains are set up on the right. The left tank is mostly filled with 3/4" lava, but has about 3" of hydroton - that stuff is a lot easier in the hands when digging thru! The kale and swiss char really love the system - the put out a new leaf every couple days and get HUGE!! The herbs are really taking off! Basil and dill are doing great, and have even harvested some thyme. The spider plant in the back tub has 3 flower stalks and there are some pepper plants in there that are starting to bloom. Here's the furthest I can get away to get a FTS And here's the DWC system... I'm thinking of running the O2 to the intakes of the pumps that fill the grow tanks. The fish tank has some very big Ps. acei breeding in there... I think I'll bring my Syno. multipunctatus home and see if I can't get some baby cats going here - they're not getting the deed done at work with the mixed mbuna.

Some of the cichlid forums have said copper slag is good; but, I've also heard that it's pretty sharp and will destroy the fish's gills. When I wanted to go black on a 6' 135gal several years ago, I bit the bullet and bought from the LFS. I'm super cheap and DIY a lot of my stuff, so that sand was by far the most expensive part of the tank. Our big box stores here don't carry different colors of sand. AFIK, there's a Target distributor in Calgary that has playsand in all kinds of different colors, but I haven't seen any of it in Edmonton. If you head to the sand blasting suppliers - I've bought from SIL and Manus, both are on the East side - they should have samples and full chemical make-up. You'll want something that isn't sharp and is inert.

:welcome:

Put a piece of zuccini in there when the lights go out. The cichlids will pick on it for a bit, but it'll be all hers all night. I just stick a fork in a piece of raw zuccini and toss it in the tank.

I don't see 2 female BNs in a 20 being a problem at all as long as there's a decent piece of driftwood or rockwork so they can get out of sight if needed. I think the "algae on lips" is more of a "You've got somethign stuck between your teeth" kind of thing.

Where did you get Krylon Fusion from? I stopped by the local Lowes and Rona and neither had it. I usually get it at Rona or Canadian Tire... if not Rona, then perhaps it was Home Depot, but I tend to not go to HD too much b/c their plumbing department sucks.

I use Krylon Fusion. Just go over the PVC with a fine-grain sand paper to rough it up a bit - I found the paint lasts longer when I've done that in the past.

My boys lost all interest when we showed up there at 11 and couldn't get a seat! I bid on a couple items, but didn't buy anything. Had a good chat with a couple members then took the kids to the park. That was the fullest I've seen an ACE auction in as long as I can remember!!

How's the throwing arm, Syno321? With the vile you show for this stuff, I think we may need some ice on hand... maybe paramedics in case of concussions! :rofl:

This trio has been BUSY!! I decided to try to count all of the fry, and I got to 198!!! I may have double counted a few, but I'm also sure I missed a bunch b/c I didn't move any decor.

This will be the first one in a loooong time that I'm only bringing cash!

Did you just get it, or has it been in your tank a while? It looks like the emergent growth for somehting like milfoil or hornwort.

I'm with ckmullin, here. After 6 weeks with fish, as long as there's adequate filtration, the tank is almost certainly cycled. Looks like a faulty test kit to me.

Golds and Blues are the same species, and tend to do better in established systems. Actual water parameters (pH, hardness, etc) aren't as critical as keeping what you have stable - that's why most people recommend just using dechlorinated tap water w/o adjustments for all fish. Pretty much everything will adapt, and only require their ideal parameters when you want to breed them... even then, there aren't a whole lot of fish that can't get the job done in our tap water. Red rams are Bolivian rams, and do tend to be a bit more hardy. But, it's harder to tell the genders apart, IME.

I haven't been a fan of soil in the tank for a long time because, IME, it has to be replaced after a couple years. That being said, if it's a small (less than 50gal) tank and you're going to be changing things every year or two anyway, soil under gravel can really get those root-feeding plants going! Ckmullen seems to be the resident expert on dirted tanks, and his tanks look great, so it's obviously working, whatever he does. When I was researching substrate additives, keeping organics to a bare minimum was important. If they get into the water column, you'll get a spike in nitrogenous products - just nitrate if you're lucky, but there's a very good chance of seeing ammonia spikes. This means that if you're using a soil with high organic content, like earthworm castings, you DO NOT want to uproot your plants much, if at all. My planted tank days are on hold for a bit, but here's what I've learned over a couple decades in trying to make things as simple as possible. Find something that gives your substrate a high Cation Exchange Capacity - that's a fancy phrase which means it can hold fertilizer. Soils and Clays are the most popular options - ADA and Flourite are examples of brand name aquarium soil and clay. They both have very high CEC. A lot of people don't want to spend that kind of money, so we look for other alternatives. Garden soil and kitty litter are both often used by the DIYer to get the same results. If you're not planning on fertilizing regularly, you'll want to add something to the substrate with a decent CEC. Your plants will get a lot of their macronutrients from fish food/waste (you may need to add N-P-K at regular intervals if you notice deficiencies), and the substrate additive will hold the micronutrients that you'll only have to add infrequently. However, if you're planning on a fertilizing regime like Estimative Index (EI) or Method of Controlled Imbalances (MCI), you'll be adding small amounts of fertilizer every day or so. The plants will be getting everything they need from the water column, so you won't need anything extra in the substrate, save for the odd root tab by the heavy root feeders like a large sword or a thick grove of Crypts. EI became my preferred method because I liked to grow plants, and I have trouble keeping anything the same for more than a year or so - I think the longest I kept a tank scaped the same was around 20 months. And I like big tanks - one day a few years ago, I looked at a 90gal in my kitchen saying it looked kinda small where it was... my wife's response was that my 6' 135 looked small in the basement! I gave up on substrate additives a long time ago! Go through my journal to see some of the planted tanks I've had - all without substrate additives. There are tonnes of ways to go about this hobby, and one of the funnest parts, IMO, is trying different methods. Find one that works for you. Have plants, have fun!!

I'm guessing you'll be mossing up the driftwood, so I'm picturing it all green - the arch is pretty cool and that big tree trunk on the right is fantastic, too.

The 6x4hr cycle is supposed to repress algae, but anywhere from 10-14hrs of light is good for pretty much every plant I've grown in the aquarium.