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That sounds like snail eggs to me. All of those fish, except the plecos, are egg scatterers, and pleco eggs are largish and yellow/orange.

I found that the venturi didn't create fine enough bubbles, so I'm doing the same as Valerie. You want to make sure the pump will push the CO2 bubbles throughout the tank. If the pump output is right by your filter output, it shouldn't be a problem.

I bought the K2PO4 from an hydroponics store. Had to order KNO3 from Greg Watson. You already have the Seachem I used to use Tropica Master Grow for micronutrients, but DADs (now Nature's Corner) didn't have any in the last time I was there.

BTW, I have the 2 CO2 powerheads on the timer with the lights. The CO2 mist could really drive the pH down overnight when it's not being used by the plants. A great resourse for planted tank info is the Aquatic Plants Digest - you can subscribe at www.actwin.com, or just Google Aquatic Plants Digest Here's the link for the Barr Report

Nah.... Hygrophyla polysperma is a huge nutrient hog - as long as the light and CO2 are there, it will absorb about any amount of NPK you can throw at it! Incidentally, I'm told it is a virus that causes it's veins to show like that... go figure! The general premise behind EI is to make sure you have adequate CO2 and lighting, then 'overdose' your ferts, doing 50% WC each week. For my 55 gal, I have 120w T6 lighting, and 2 CO2 'misters' (1 is a pressurised system pushing about .5 bubbles/sec through a powerhead, the other is a DIY sys through a powerhead at the other end of the tank). For dosing, I dose 1/4tsp KNO3 and 1/4 tsp K2PO4 every other day; and, 20mL Seachem Flourish on the off days. Each Saturday, I do the trimming and cleaning, then do a 50% WC. Plants are growing well, fish are happy, and it looks great. HTH

I saw them - they are nice. They're not as brutal on each other as Beta splendens, but literature still says you really shouldn't keep males together. They're still alive at BAs, so that's good; but..... :boxed:

It's definitely a macro nutrient problem - if it isn't damage by any of your tank critters. You say you're using Seachem's line. If you're dosing enough to feed plants that have supplimental CO2 (15+ppm), you're spending A LOT of money. The recommended dosing is way too conservative IMO/IME. Since I've moved from dosing via testing to Estimative Indexing, I've had much more success. To find out more about EI check out this website. Hope this helps some.

If you need any plants, let me know... I'm doing a trimming today, and have tonnes of Java fern, Hygro. polysperma (sunset & variegated), moneywort, Red Tiger Lotus.... I'll set some aside for you for Monday.

Some very nice Plecos!

It looks like you have some Java fern (windlove) planted in the gravel. It will do better if you tie it to driftwood or rocks - it doesn't seem to do too well when it's rooted in the substrate.

Welders us CO2 in the way that we need it - a pressurized tank w. a regulator, released at very low levels. They have everything you need (tank, reg, needle-valve, tubing) at a fraction of what the LFS will charge.

I think the Hagen system is great - as far as yeast brewers go. Otherwise, head to a welding shop - they're about 3x less than anything you'll find at the LFS, and probably work better.

You could even feed the CO2 into the intake of your HOT filter. The impeller will help dissolve the CO2. Even if there is a bit of surface agitation, you will see your Cabomba perk up some.

Couldn't see any image... I'm using Firefox at work, right now.

Great start!! I wouldn't worry about the splash from your filter. I've got a planted 15 gal w/o CO2. The HOT filter just pours in, and the plants are doing fantastic! Atmospheric CO2 is the only source for the plants right now, so keep the splashes. If/when you add more plants, you could start to try to ballance it out w. fish respiration. But, unless you get high levels of O2 by the end of the day, the fish will be gasping by morning.

I stopped in at Amre (sorry, another Sside store) and picked up a ballast to run 4 x 4' T8s. It's driving my 3 x 4' 40W T6s fine. I have a 54gal, so that's 2.2 wpg. Again, I just dismantled a 4' twin-strip shoplight fixture for the reflector. Hope this helps withs some ideas.

This has happened to me a few times, and I've read of others' experiences many more times. It doesn't seem to affect the fish, but it will feed a bacterial bloom - if the tank stays cloudy, it's bacteria, not your CO2 brew. Like degrassi says, a few largish WCs and all will be fine. If you have a micron/diatom filter, even better.

I've been using a Tetra brand HOT filter on my 55gal. It has an optional heater that fits inside the filter - in the uptake tube. The nice thing is, the whole thing is black! Picked mine up at BAs - had to get the heater online.

If you feel that you must use something to reduce pH, Acid Buffer by Seachem (or Sodium bicarbonate) will do quite nicely without adding any phosphates. It also won't mess with the CO2 chart if you're trying to figure out how much CO2 is dissolved.

:o Don't you know that Discus are supposed to be kept alone - or with small peacefull species like Cardinals or Corys??? I guess, Michael and Piranah Man (see his Titus video) haven't heard about the rules of keeping thier fish!! :guns:

On this tank, I just had to trim a 4' shoplight fixture so it would fit. It has a glass lid on top of the canopy, that flips up, so I had to put a reflector inside. What I've done with a fully enclosed canopy is paint the inside white. Tests show that flat white is the most reflective. HTH.

I've got 3 40W T6 bulbs over my 55 right now. Before I put in a reflector, it wasn't enough light. I think the +-2 wpg rule of thumb is with a reflector. I picked the T6s up at the LFS, but I think I'll go back to the T8s at Home Depot b/c they're cheaper, and do the trick. From what I've heard & read, plants aren't picky about color (that is if you're using comonly available flourescents), just intensity. The color temp is more for our enjoyment. I like to use lights in the 6000K range, but add a 10,000K+ at the front to show off the colors of the fish.

Is this the guy who's now rooming w. the Cardinals? I wasn't sure when you said you wanted to house them w. a piranah; but, with this vid, I see how you mean. Pretty cool to see all those little guys just swimming around w. this 14" monster!!

What I've typically done w. peat is boil it (I think this activates it's pH lowering qualities), then keep it in the tank. I put it into a nylon, then either place it in the filter, or just tie it to a rock in the tank. I've only ever had the titration pH kits, so measuring a color change w. brown water is difficult. The fish (apistos) were happy, which is all that really mattered to me. If someone has experience w. a pH monitor, we could find out what pH peat buffers to. My guess is in the 5s somewhere. The reason I kept the peat in the tank was so that when I did a WC, it would keep the pH from fluctuating too much - it would soon reach equilibrium. My 2 ¢

IME, you can't really 'get rid' of BGA - like Andy said, it's everywhere. However, from what I've learned through the school of hard knocks is that if you let it dry out, it usually kills what algae is alive :guns: (I know, cyanobacteria are a bit of a different story). But, if you keep good housekeeping (or tank-keeping, I guess) practices, you won't really have the problem again.