jvision

Consistency is the key. The reason you see algae w. DIY is b/c it fluctuates all the time. That's why people usually recommend running 2 DIY bottles off-set by a couple weeks - changing one at a time. Plants, b/c of their complexity, don't adapt to changes as fast as algae do. In fact, algae respond very well to changes - change usually triggers another part of thier lifecycle. Once things stabilize - whether in CO2 rich or poor conditions, you'll see plants outcompete algae, every time.

If the shrimp are big and the loaches are small, you may have a chance at eternal bliss. However, if it's the other way around, your loaches will have a nice snack :drool:

Are you running CO2? If so, up it a bit. If not, add some Flourish Excell as per dosing instructions. As for algae crew to clean it up, it's tough to say. Some say younger SAEs/Amano shrimp will take it out, others say nothing will eat it. IME, CO2 wins every time.

A pair of A. cacatuoides can be kept in a 10g. A 15g would be better IME. They love small pots, plants and driftwood. They do great in tap water, but naturally come from softer slightly acidic water. Check out Apistogramma.com for more details on Apistos. (no affiliation with the site at all)

Of course, it was in the US. It wasn't just the site mod taken to task, either. It seemed it was a couple people who made certain comments, their closest friends, then anyone else who tried to comment about what was going on. It seemed so excessive to me!

A species tank can be as small as a 10g for a breeding colony. They seem to do OK in a community tank, as long as there aren't any big (5"+) preds. Sand bottom, snail shells, and they're happy . As far as finding them, I have no idea. I haven't kept them for 10+ years!

I belong to a digest forum, and the very same thing RD mentioned is what happened a few years ago. A certain retailer decided to sue for defamation. I believe the list won the suite - as it's not a topic brought up anymore - but, the legal costs were enormus... into the tens-of-thousands. Thankfully, there was a lot of generosity from people on the list from all around the world; but, it was a huge waste of time and money. I agree with everyone else, that the Vendor Review is an excellent asset to the forum, but all it takes is one person with a vendeta, and we're in a lot of hot water, very fast.

I suggested boiling the peat b/c IME dry peat takes a LONG time to start 'doing it's thing' in an aquarium. Tho, maybe I wasn't clear that is just needs to be boiled to the point that it'll sink on it's own. Peat is great for more than just lowering pH - the high Cation Exchange Capacity is what gives it this properties. It exchanges hard cations (ie. Ca++, Mg++, etc.) for various carbon compounds refered to as tannins. Peat more softens the water than lowers pH... these two effects often happen at the same time, which is why we usually just refer to one or the other (ie. hard water generally has high pH, soft water generally lower pH). The tannins are what color the water, and are reported as being a natural fungicide. There are dwarf SA breeders that use RO w. peat, and drop the pH to the 5s! Some species LOVE this. It's not the pH that makes RO a problem for fish and other wildlife, it's the fact that there are no electrlytes. The tannins from the peat help maintain life-sustaining capabilities of water, even at very low pH.

DAlberta, if the plantlets are growing on off the leaves of your 'sword', it's not a sword plant, but a fern of some sort. Swords are vascular plants. If the plantlets are growing off a flower spike, then you have a true sword. Either way, wait for the roots on the plantlet to grow to about 1" or so, then just pluck it off. It's that simple. Insidentally, I've seen Java Fern sold as Amazon Sword.

If it's a fully planted tank, and you've got some light, adding CO2 and ferts, then I'd say up the CO2. Algae is better at growing when CO2 is fluctuating than plants are, so if your CO2 is dropping (DIY, lowering tank pressure), you'll likely see algae. I think this is why Flourish Excel works well at erradicating most algae forms. It give the plants the extra Carbon they need to outcompete the algae.

My wife is a genius!!! She said, "Why don't you just put one of the tanks you're not going to use on the floor, and just set up one on top of it?" Duuuhhh!!! Then to top it all off she says, "Isn't the basement too cold? Why don't you set it up in the office? You're going to put the fish from your 35 gal in it, anyway, aren't you?" Wait! It gets better! We went out for a movie w. her parents last night, and dad-in-law says, "I'd like to build a stand for you - for all 3 tanks. Why don't you draw up a design, and I'll build it in my shop. We can even finish the outside with a nice cedar, or whatever you want." Am I blessed, or what??!!

I have an all-wood desk that would do the trick, but it's 3" to skinny. I was thinking that if I put a piece of plywood that is wide enough, it would support the tank. There would be a 1.5" overhang on the front & back. If I did this, would I be asking for trouble?

You can just stick the stem plants in the substrate - I usually plant 'em just deep enough so the bottom leaves are burried. This helps 'em stay grounded 'til roots develop. The sword can be planted pretty easily, too. If it just has small roots, stich the plant in the substrate so that it's burried just up to the beginning of the leaves. Maybe not in a part of the tank where there's a lot of action (fish digging, lots of current), as it may become uprooted easily. For Java Fern, just stick the roots under the substrate - leave the rhysome aboveground. It will grow a lot better this way.

That is strange, indeed! What's your source for peat? Tho, it really shouldn't matter, long-term, but if it isn't pure peat, it may have some calcium or other hard elements in it. Over time, these hard elements should be bound up, and your pH should go down. How's the coloration of the water? Peat should stain the water, which would make reading a titration pH kit rather difficult. If it isn't leaching tannins (which are a natural mould inhibitor), then it may be leaching the hard elements that are bound in it.... That's just a guess, tho. But, it does make sense, chemestry-wise. Are you using GAC in your tanks? It will remove the tannins from the water.

Dang-it! I just gave away my cinder blocks!! I got them handed down to me from someone wanting to unload 'em. Now where can I get some?

OK, I can't wait any longer. I really want to set up one of those 60 gal tanks I picked up from Aquagiant a couple months ago. I only want to set 1 of the 3 up, so I don't want it so close to the ground as they have 'em at the store. I'm wondering what would be the quickest, easiest, closest to free way to get the tank off the floor - as close to normal tank-on-stand-height as possible. Thanks for the ideas!

Most parasites need a specific host, and ich, I believe, needs a fish to host the cyst. So, that is probably the premise behind the petshop guy saying crays and snails can't get ich... the free-swimming form, simply won't choose them as a host. Armored cats... I'm not sure if they're totally immune, but they definitely have a lot less surface area for those little pests to attach.

If I remember correctly from my bio days at the U, molting can occur any time the critter outgrows its current skeleton. It's not very regular, even in the wild. Take shore crabs, for instance. You can find their shed skeletons any given week. When they're smaller, they will shed more often.

You can feed it into anything that will help dissolve the CO2, some people use a CO2 'reactor' - you can find many designs online. Some use a glass diffusor - check recent discussions in the planted section of AA. Some, like myself - and what was mentioned to you - feed the bubbles into a powerhead or filter to chop up the bubbles. I have found that bubbling the CO2 into a powerhead to create a mist of CO2 has been the most effective way to grow my plants.

I'm pretty sure you just had one letter missed-typed with the CAPS - just not sure which one.. :P "YOU just follow the instructions???!!!" On just about any Seachem product, I don't really follow the instructions, as I find that their recommended dosage is usually WAY too low. But, in the case of Excel and Prime, I follow them pretty close.

Very nice!! Better not let my wife see these pics! She'll make me sell off all my FW to set up that Salty! :chair:

The easiest way to get rid of BGA (cyanobacteria) is to ad a bit of Seachem's Excel. When dosed as recommended, BGA will be gone in a day or two. If there are other plants in the tank, they'll appreciate it, too! Don't overdose too much, tho... it wiped out my Valisneria when I did that last time - must mean there's something in there that is not good in high doses. Kind of like Maximum Strenght Tylenol - find out how much will kill me, then back it off a little. :boxer:

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Where's the pic? :well:

When using peat, it's pretty impossible to measure pH using the titration tests, so I never really did. But, when trying RO/tap for a bit, I shot for 6.5 for my Apistos. Rams are pretty close to them, so that should be a good target. Incidentally, I gave up on the RO/tap thing... boiled peat was so much easier!