ckmullin

Very nice. Simple and clean.

Looks like a damn good start!

Hello and welcome to AA. Nice to see another planted tank person...lately we've been far and few. Great to hear about the soil, nothing on the planet beats a soil substrate.

Hot topic. Free discussion is just fine as jvision states...however I disagree with naming of vendors especially with a negative connotation.

Hello and welcome to AA.

Get new I'd suggest.

How old is it? Since it's getting warmer, I'd suggest to grab your garden hose and flush it outside.

hello and welcome to aa

Hello and welcome to aa. Glad to hear things are smooth running.

Pretty good work. Ditch the dyi and get pressurized co2, you'll never regret.

Hello and welcome to AA.

I've got usually at least a dozen species going. Prices better than anywhere else in the city, quality too. I'll give anyone the honest truth without bs trying to sell something that isn't needed and all the advice which is needed.

Hello and welcome to AA.

I've got a heavily planted 75g tank. Minimal stock for fish though and I use a canister filter rated at 70gph it does the job just fine. More often than not too much over kill isn't needed as it's more the persons desire/opinion than what the tank needs.. If you desire more 'flow' grab a hydor pump. To tell if you really NEED a larger filter...how is your ammonia, nitrites? If you filter cannot keep up with your bioload you will always have ammonia and nitrites. That should be your true tell if you need or not. If you have too much organics at the bottom of the tank throw in some MTS to take care of business.

I can see this working however just make sure you take a peek weekly to see how this material traps detritus as jvision also states. Once you understand how it does handle suspended solids...then just 'set it and forget it' as with any filter material. Perhaps even check the cycle as you do the experiment to see the numbers behind the filter material.

What geleen said. if you need muriatic I can give you some. I'm in sw calgary.

go to a local vet and explain what use it is for. some will say no but not all. petsmart's which have a vet I'd suggest first, where i got mine. you'll need to ask for Panacur.

mts

IMO need more varied plant heights. Throw in some sort of rock, some sort of wood to have a more natural landscape/ecosystem. Don't be shy to break the water surface with plant or wood.

It's counter productive to run granular carbon in a planted tank filter. Ditch all that and use filter floss from walmart, $5 a bag will last at least a couple years. If it's a good planted tank then do a 50% water change every two weeks. If you intend to dose ferts then a water change might be needed just a tad more often.

Do an acid test. if it bubbles it's reacting to the carbonate = bad.

But do get into salt as it isn't has hard as people say. I've got a little 6gal nano salt tank which is very very stable almost going on 2 years now. http://albertaaquatica.com/index.php?showtopic=39714

Hello and welcome to AA. Don't forget about the plants in that 55, live plants will promote a stable ecosystem. While this is a good reference for fresh water, for saltwater check out the forum canreef.

water sprite however many many plants can be used like this algae is used in this same way with salt water and the process is called 'nutrient sink'.

You can cycle a tank with only fish food, that should say something right there.