jvision

Keyholes are nice and docile. You can go with some of the others that really like soft, acidic water like Checkerboard cichlids. RO cut w. tap, and some oak leaves or peat would keep them happy. Or, go with a pair of Convicts!!

:welcome:

I bubble DIY CO2 into the intake of a powerhead. Like Milan mentioned, the powerhead is plugged into the timer with the lights. During the day, there is a fine mist of CO2 being distributed throughout the tank, and during the night, the CO2 just bubbles out w/o being dissolved into the tank.

If you're worried about low O2 levels, just raise the spraybar above the water level, and point it down on an angle. You'll get all the surface agitation you will need If you have a planted tank, just make sure you take care of your plants, and they'll easily saturate the water with O2 to the point that it comes out of solution forming O2 bubbles on the leaves.

Don't sink your 'bamboo' completely in the water. Put it in just far enough that the roots and maybe one more section are in the water. The leaves will rot if submerged for too long. You can let the roots just grow freely in the water, or if you're using an HOB filter, it'll grow nicely in that.

Any of the Dwarf SA would do great. Your idea sounds about perfect - Apistos w. Endlers. You could probably keep 1/2 dozen Endlers w/ a pair or trio of A. cacatuiodes quite easily. Just provide 3 or 4 small caves for the females to nest in.

Sounds like everything's under control, so I'd leave it how you have it. You may want to add plants from the parent tank, as they'll have microbes that the fry can nibble on 'til they're big enough for other foods. Go ahead and crush up that flake food as much as you can. They'll love it if they can eat it!

But a lot closer to mine!! If he gets the lease he's negotiating on, I'll joining him for lunch about every day!! :thumbs:

I know where he was negotiating on a lease, but AFIK, there isn't anything concrete. We'll have to wait and see what he puts on his site!

Add sugar to the 1st level (you can see plastic ridges inside that only come up about 1/4 the container), then add water to the top ridge. Add about 1/4tsp yeast, and a bit of NaCO3 if you want. Done and done!

I may be committing the cardinal fish-keeping sin... I have more tanks empty than I have full!!! :shock:

This is how I set up the filter for the AG 60 gal tanks: An over all shot. You can see the heater, and the terrestrial plants that I have in the 1st section. Partially to help w. N absorption, partially just to get them rooting. A closer look at the 1st section. Water just pours into this section from the main part of the tank. It's filled with filter pads, about 1" thick. I picked up a large sheet of this filter material from DAD's, and use it for mechanical filtration in all my tanks. The 2nd section is about 1/3 - 1/2 filled with lava rocks - just plain lava rocks that are sold for BBQs. I've been using them for many years, and find them a nice substitute for bio-balls. Possibly more surface-area, and a lot cheaper - I bought mine at Crappy Tire. The heater is also in this section. . The 3rd section is the miscelanious section. You can see an ivy that I stuck in here to root. There is also another piece of filter pad - more for biofiltration than anything. I've also doubled-up on the pipe-stands that came with the tanks. I'll likely use them again, so I just decided to add 2 here to keep water from flowing to the tank underneith. This is also the section I have the intake for my XP1. The canister only has the filter pads that came with the filter. I plan on buying another bag of the BBQ lava rocks to top off the 2nd section and to fill up the XP1. To see the rest of the tank, check out the planted tank gallery.

It's all cool. I've got it set up the way the tanks were designed. Working, and looking great!

They'll grow to fill the pot, so a 4" will be great. When using pots, you can go gang-busters on soil ferts. Many people fill the bottom parts with potting soil, then top it off with normal sand/gravel. They'll grow pretty quick. Then when they get nice and big, fiddle around with the photoperiod, and they'll flower lots.

Actually, Milan, you're probably right b/c most of what I know about plants, I learned from Tom Barr. Incidentally, in my African Mbuna tank, I get a bit of BBA on some of the shells, and the fish love to scrape it off! Ironically, when I said that I kept planted tanks and African cichlids at the last ACE meeting, they laughingly said, "Not together, I hope!"

This is the 60 gal planted mbuna tank I set up last weekend. I'll be moving some things around tonight, but it'll basically stay the same. Here it is Mar. 29 '06 The tank is 48" x 19.5" x 13" with 6" set aside as a sump (old AG tanks). The sump has filter pads in the 1st chamber, and lava rock in the 2nd w/ the heater (200W AC). It also has various terrestrial plant clippings (ivy, pothos, etc.) that I placed in there to start rooting before they're planted in the living room. It's filtered with an XP1, just foam. Substrate is Seachem Onxy and arogonite. Decor is a cople of rocks and shells collected on Vcr. Island Plants: Java Fern Java Fern 'windlov' Anubias barteri var. nana Bolbitus fern Amazon sword (E. amizonica) Crypt. balansae (really just 1 sprig that managed to invade) Fish are listed in my sig.

That's why you need to do another big WC after the blackout.

Not really, that I've ever noticed. They're a little pale when you turn the lights back on, but that happens naturally every night. If they're healthy when the lights go out, they'll be fine when they come on again.

The reason LFS stone is more expensive than the landscaping company is that they go to the landscaping company, buy the stone (for the very same price that we can buy it for), then mark it up for their profit.... sometimes the mark-up has to cover the middle-man who does the dirty work.

Oooohhh!! DQed from the photo olympics on his own admonition!! :banned:

This is my planted tank Here's the tank, Mar. 29 '06 55 gal, 120W T6 lighting Pressurised CO2 w. suplimental DIY, both fed through powerheads Filtered by HOB Tetra filter. Fertilise EI: 1/2 tsp KNO3 + 1/4 tsp KH2PO4 & 10mL traces every other day. 50% WC each week. Substrate: Back left & right is Seachem Flourite, held at a 5" depth by plastic lawn/garden edging. Front is ordinary silica sand... tho some of the Flourite has invaded. Plants: Red Tiger Lotus Tiger Val Corkscrew Val Aponogeton undulatus Crypt. wendtii Crypt. balansae 2 unknown Crypt. sp Java Fern Java Fern 'windlov' Anubias barteri var. nana Echinodorus tenellus Echinodorus ozelot Fish - see sig. Angels are no longer as of Sat, Feb. 4.

You might want to try the parents one or two more times before giving up completely. If you keep them conditioned, they'll be spawning every week or two. Sometimes it takes 'em a couple of times to get it.

One surefire way to beat most algae is a 3-day Black out. I mean, make it black in there. Wrap a garbage bag or thick blanket around the tank, and don't let any light in. Here are the steps to take for a black out: 1) trim, clean & fluff plants 2) big WC, like 50%+ 3) dose ferts 4) black out for 3 days 5) repeat 1-3 Then, just keep the CO2 up, and the ferts consistant. You shouldn't have much trouble after that. This method works on just about any algae - even BGA (cyanobacteria).

Those aquarium bulbs are OK for bringing out the fish's colors - though, I prefer something closer to the other end of the visible spectrum (blue instead of red). Like Val, I prefer the Daylights b/c they're a lot more white. Tho, I've been told that to plants, light is light - doesn't matter what color temp it is.

Nelson, if you ever want to cruise down to the southside, let me know. You're welcome to shoot my tanks! :guns: (oops... wrong shooting )