Frogfish

Marsilea quadrifolia is a low light foreground plant.

Nice looking fish, almost looks like an oscar its so red.

What does the fishes spine look like, I've got a serpae tetra that always points up and struggles to swim straight for a few months now. It's spine has a distinct curve near the tail fin which the others in his group do not.

Thanks for the feedback, really appreciate it. Now there's a problem I need another tank because I cant stand tossing trimmings away haha the tank will be a heck of a mess if it doesn't get a weekly trim. If anyone wants plant cuttings please pm me there's always an abundance of ludwigia and stargrass. Something that I have learned from this experience is that potting mix makes a huge mess when disturbed but is easier to plant in and plants seem to root in more readily then clay or other similar based substrate options. Replanting new trimmings every day or so until they root in is annoying but I like to work my landscape and move new plant species in and swap things around so I prefer not using the potting mix although it is still in the 20 gal that doesn't get played in as much and everything is doing well and the tank with potting mix requires less frequent fertilization. Another thing learned is that shrimp are pretty cool, really glad that ten gallon wasn't forced into early retirement.

Alberta Aquatica is awesome, deals, ideas, support and camaraderie. I'm relatively new to the hobby and have nothing but good things to say about this forum community.

5 weeks later

Make sure to get your hap points for that.

Just go for it and don't stop reading, researching and trying new things. In the end pressurised carbon is the way to go but starting off with liquid should do just fine. From what I have seen it's mostly the soft tissued plants like hemianthus and mircanthemum that melt away with liquid carbon dosing. As far as the night light goes the blue hue does not significantly increase algae growth I have one turned on in a tank 24/7 and everything looks good. In another tank I used a submergible green led light everything but the bulbs are buried so it blends into the substrate, unfortunately this one never gets turned on because the green light caused rapid algae growth. Like I said just go for it and have fun with it, just watch your wallet sometimes trying and doing can be costly. Like killing off about a hundred dollars worth of plants from the lfs before reaching that ah ha I figured it out moment. My favourite newbie plant was actually duckweed because it was pretty much the only thing I didn't kill. Try getting plants grown submerged from other members as the agony of plant dieback, rooting, and slow regrowth will greatly diminish. Pillow or quilt stuffing works great for micro filtration.

Dirted tank uprooted, it was funny when pulling the swords and lotus the entire substrate layer was lifting because they were so rooted in. Lets just say I scrapped dirting the 36, went for a blend of 2-1 eco complete-fluorite black because I like having the option of moving things around without making my tank look like flood water. plants taken from the dirted 20gal 36 gallon bowfront freshly planted, I stocked right away and no deaths after 1 week due to filter seeding. Bahaha I just read my post, 10 gal has not been torn down I'm going to give shrimp a go in it!

Drop checker does the trick just fine it seems reliable and semi permanent like a thermometer. I think the solution has to be changed every once in a while but the drop checker is great it gives you real time readings rather then an ammonia, nitrate etc. test. Since the topic is brought up does drop checker solution need to be changed periodically as per manufacturer recommendations?

Found powerbars with surge protection and timer on sale at Dalhousie Canadian tire $15ea. Same model as the coralife one found at the lfs at $50ea except these ones don't have the day/night option for the timed half of the powerstrip.

I have a 65 gal with the same lighting and the only thing that really gives me trouble is growing carpeting plants and low ground cover plants, bulbs, rosettes and stem plants do just fine. A good tip is love it, learn from it and as long as you enjoy it its not work.

I'm planning on tearing down a 10 gallon fishtank and converting it to a 36 gallon bowfront tank. I'm not rushing the process and slowly investing in equipment. I'm looking for ideas on well... any input you might have So far for equipment I have Tank and stand Rena filstar xp2, crowfoot petland has a few old gen renas in stock, the new API filstar is the same thing but comes with far less goodies such as flow control and a flow bar, mind you these are pretty simple diy projects Fluval aquatic life and plant led Aqueon led needs 1 more light strip add on Hydor theo heater 5lb CO₂ tank and regulator GLA atomic diffuser Drop checker Considering investing in a pH control module Things yet to come Background, im strongly considering painting it either by brush with tremclad rustoleum or dark brown spray paint with a metallic additive Substrate, thinking of soilless media (aka dirt but not really dirt or soil, post to come on why miracle grow mix isn't soil) Substrate cap with eco complete for planted aquariums, looks like good stuff to work with Plants coming out of a dirted 20 gallon, well rooted swords, nymphaea and a few other species. Fish, going to use the stock currently in the 10 gal Tank cycle, the plan is to take the sponges from one of my other filstar filters currently operating The 20 gallon that plants are coming from is dirted and stocked and will remain as so, whats the best method to pull the plants with fish in the tank yet avoid the inevitable mess of pulling rooted plants from a dirted tank. I was thinking of holding the substrate down with my palm and pulling the plants through the space between my fingers. All comments and advice will be greatly appreciated, I may invest the time in making a journal but no promises.

CAS meetings are every second Tuesday of the month except July and August I believe. I am also a new member of both AA and CAS, both are called aquaholics anonymous around the house here haha. Really hope you enjoy the community as much as I have so far as people are quite friendly and helpful. I have a 65 gallon as well and due to the depth of the tank I have encountered some challenges and learning experiences with a heavy focus on plants. Welcome to the club!

They make good live food for cichlids, already got a frown from my wife for putting some fry in the angel tank. Definitely add some live plants especially floating ones as the fry seem to favor the top of the tank.

Reinforce it wood is cheap, while you're at it build extra shelving and a basket for the inside of the door. Wives love organization at least mine does. I hear you about the kid thing though we have a 4 month old here and still have to figure a way to lock up the cabinets and safeguard power cords before she starts crawling about. Baby really likes the fish though, the fishtank tv works better then a soother sometimes.

Jorg is definitely right. Why waste a perfectly good stand all you need is plywood, paint, glue and screws.

Filter media from an established tank is the best way, to create ammonia you could add food. Honestly I don't see an issue with using a feeder fish to cycle they are doomed anyway. I guess in a way the suffering is prolonged.

Welcome to the club, keep an eye out for auctions when considering stoking etc.

Shipment arrived today and it works great, thanks for the reference to this great diffuser bear, my plants instantly doubled pearling with a lower bubble count then with the fluval disc.

I think leaf was referring to ADA aquasoil, never used it myself but I know Pisces in Calgary carries it. From the sounds of the product it seems as if it acts in the same fashion as soilless media such as potting mix but the ''soil'' is baked and compressed so that it does not get everywhere and require a cap as loose peat based products would. I currently have a fluorite only tank and a tank with media capped with polished gravel. Both work well but I prefer the potting mix tank for planting in because it seems like the roots hold better and stems seem to melt less in media. I'm not done experimenting so the next time I set up or redo a tank I will switch out the polished gravel cap for a cap of eco complete over potting mix. Aquasoil is tempting but it can be expensive compared to other methods of setting up substrate. Fluorite made one heck of a cloudy mess but then again I had no idea what I was doing when setting up. After looking at eco complete it seemed to have an appealing colour, texture and smell which is why it's next on the things to try list. Then again I might just go buy a broken bag of zeolite at the local garden centre to try as a media cap and spend the savings on other equipment such as.light, CO₂ or filtration. Btw I still have no idea what I'm doing so,take the note as shared experience more than concrete advice.

Looking good, if for some reason you happen to pop into the city and have time for a short detour on the way home (time to go to starbucks not included or necessary haha). Let me know and I can supply you with cuttings to load up both tanks with plants. Everything is grown submersed so die back should be minimal.

Well this idea just came to mind but may require programming, how about an online submission form vs. a scan and email type and pictures can be either submitted with the form or emailed seperately. For the amount of work this might be it might not be worth it due to the limited number of current participants but the thought is worth sharing.

More plants and maybe try adding sand or fine substrate to help with plant rooting between the bigger gravel. If you don't have fish its not too late to turn it into a shrimp tank, I love shrimp and so do my angelfish, tasty little things.

I think you have done an excellent job, it's really frustrating when scientists can't agree on Latin names for plants. The website is a great reference thank you for taking the time to put it together.