jvision

On 12/1/2018 at 7:26 PM, Sharleend said:

Do you do anything special to prepare shells purchased at the dollar store?

I usually just give them a quick rinse. Some ppl prefer to boil them in case of pathogens

It's true, there are about as many ways to grow plants as there are people on this forum!  I used the expensive plant substrates years ago, but gave them up for regular Playsand and dose dry ferts in the water column - I may add some root tabs under Crypts or Swords, but inert sand works fine for me.  I like decent amount of light (T5HO or LED) and CO2, using the Estimative Index method of fertilizing and have been able to grow almost every plant I've tried.  Without fertilizing, I've had trouble growing some of the more picky/rare plants.

Watch for black marks on the edges of the fins (ammonia burn), and very red gills

How old is your ammonia test kit?  If you're sure you do in fact have ammonia, there is something not quite right.  What substrate do you have, and how deep is it? Could you have stirred something up when pulling the plants out?  Are you over populated with fish (though, that'd also lead to high nitrite - which you don't have).  After a WC, using Prime will give a false positive for ammonia, so maybe the mid-week doses of Prime are tricking your test kit?

I'm looking at reducing my bioload significantly, so there'll be some adult Tanganyikan cichlids, a couple different types of BN Pleco and some Tequila goodieds.  Plants to make up the 20 lot maximum.

You can request more space from an Admin - try sending a PM to Tanker - but, I don't know that there'll be enough space for too many pics. Sharing from an image hosting site has always been the best way I've found

Welcome

I'm back to Tropheus!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/pfzVTecbHU163q3I3

Pretty much everything in this tank is from AA members. I bought the tank from Mike years ago, the stand was built by Ryan and the Tropheus are from Andrew.  This sure has become pretty quiet, but it's legacy lives on!!

Even if you go Pondless, you'll want to fix that leak in the stream.  If you can find the leak, there are patch kits that work decently - I've used the AquaScape brand ones with success.  You may be lucky and not actually have a hole in the liner - most often, the leak is a spot where the liner has fallen and water is tricking out.  Take all your edge rock off, and run the stream to see where it's getting out.

The Aquarium Club of Edmonton (ACE) is pretty active.  We meet monthly, but not in the summer.  The last meeting of the year is at the end of June - check out their website (www.edmontonfish.com) for details.  They also have a forum here (check under Sponsors) and a Facebook page

There's lots of cheap plastic options that won't break down. Pot scrubbers work great

I've used that lots of times. Excellent surface area, but it does break down over time, leaving a sludge at the bottom of your bio chamber in your sump

1. I know a lot of people who bubble CO2 into their tank by day, then add aeration at night without problems, so going some time w/o CO2 appoint be a problem on healthy systems. If you're in Edmonton, OxyPro has an exchange program where you drop off your empty tank and get a full one - takes 10 min and I've done that with 5-20lb bottles.

2. I'm lazy and just run the bottle empty. However, I remember when I had a very simple regulator that is have to monitor a little closer bc it would dump when it approached the end - my tanks may do that now, but I've not seen anything to cause alarm, so I just assume my regulators work better.

3. I have a similar regulator and I just close the other needle valve

Welcome

Microworms are about as easy as it gets. Moisten some quick oats and add your starter. When it gets soupy, start another one.

Windows snipping tool and MS Paint

If the water is down and away from where you need to add the brace, you could just get a piece of glass and silicon it in place.  If you leave the water level down for a week while the silicon cures fully, you should be fine - just leave the clamp on while curing.

I just bought 2 60W LED spotlights for my planted 180. I minutes them about 10" above the surface and coverage is ok - I should probably get another. Brightness looks comparable to the HO LED strip I had on there, which was growing plants well, and for $60 ea seems like a good deal

If you're not looking to create a jungle, you probably don't need any ferts. Just keep the water clean and you'll be great

I've used many a tank from 15-180 gal with a broke bottom trim w/o incident.  The top trim provides some stability against bowing, but I'm not sure the bottom trim provides much integrity

If you're in Edmonton AquaGiant or Neal Wilson

I don't think callamanas host in snails. I'd remove your rabbits. 

5 hours ago, dezemer said:

I would actually like to start a Tanganyikan community similar to jvision though.

If you have a 65+gal tank, shoot me a PM.  Most of my fish are breeding well and I can sell you some

I have a Tanganyikan community with Cyps, Paracyps, Xenotilapia and some Synos

If you do a bit of research on the salt water forums, you'll find your answer. There are devices called Auto Top Off (ATO).