pipejax

Bought one of these for my tubhttp://www.marinelan...ing-system.aspx adds another 550 lumens to my grow tank. clips on to the edge of the hood i attached to the lid of the tub and can also be installed immersed in water. Bought 2 smaller ones for my oddly shaped corner tank and added 800 lumens which brightens up the dark corners.

I have 7 congos and their scientific name suits them Phenacogrammus Interuptus suits them them very well. Very active fishes in my tank. They seem to behave very well in my tank with other fishes. 5 cherry barbs 8 neon tetras 6 harlequin rasboras 1 betta 2 orange tiger platties 2 siamese algae eaters 3 cherry shrimp They occasionally chase the odd tetra,barb,rasbora but do not act aggressive to the other fishes in the tank. Small tank mates shrimp,frogs,fish may get into trouble if the get in the way at feeding time as the congoes are very quick to the dinner table. And may accidentally grab small tank mates by mistake, They will also steal food from each other and other fishes if it not eaten quickly. I try to distract them at one end of the tank and send other food to the bottom of the other end of the tank before they notice so that the smaller slower eaters get a chance at some food. They do not have a favorite level in the tank that the other fish tend to stay at IE: neon tetra stay near the bottom areas, rasboras school 1/3 from the top of the tank above the plants, So the congoes tend to be party crashers are curious and are always in search of food or displaying with each other. I love them as they are ALWAYS ACTIVE, And this may be a problem for nocturnal, shy or slow eating fish, David

Beware of the condensation, Water drips off the lid and onto the floor. Ok on my basement floor but would destroy laminate or hardwood. Love you're planted tank BD David

It is a cheap led canopy that came with my corner tank. I really think that i will have to replace it as I dont think the quality of the light is very good at all. David

I needed a tank to grow out my plant cuttings etc.

Thanks for the replies . I had been treating my fish more like pets (overfeeding) Then i tested the water and found that my phosphates were alarmingly high. I stopped feeding them twice a day and now give them just enough that some get something for the day. I have been doing this for about 2 weeks and my phosphate tests are optimal. I had bought a rather large mouthed gravel vac that was ridiculously hard to use around the plants. Agitating the water by hand and letting the filter suck up the excess junk in the water works pretty good. All is good. Thanks again David

What methods are people using to remove the debris from the bottom of their planted tanks. I have found it difficult to navigate my vac tube around the plants to clean the gravel. I have resorted to agitating the water in the tank by hand and am thinking of using a long thin tube with a small powerhead attached to blow the junk off the bottom while doing my water changes and allowing the filter to pick up as much as it can when i am doing maintenance. Anyone else do it this way? David Learning along the way

Thanks J The bowfront tanks do not seem to photograph very well and details get lost in the distortion from the curved glass. Things are going very well and all my critters seem to get along well enough. I added 6 cherry shrimp to the tank yesterday 4 of which i fear have been eaten by the bigger fishes. I also added two tiger platties which to my surprise and delight seem to love eating the black hair algae off of my vals(they don't nibble at it like some of the others but tear it off the edges hard enough that the plant moves). Cheers David

A little bit better picture David

Hello from Elmwood in west Edmonton Bought a new tank 2 months ago and love caring for the little community I have created. Had several tanks in my early teens and have always wanted to start up a communal planted tank, thank goodness for the internet as i have lots to learn. 54 gallon bowfront tank Eheim 306 cannister filter with airation tube and valve fit into return elbow Hydor 300 watt inline heater Aquatic life 20 inch 18 watt 4 tube t5 light fixture Black gravel mix substrate(national geo and a more expensive wet gravel from als) 9 watt green killing machine uv sterilizer(only added to the tank on occasion) 6 wisteria plants( very cool looking with all the root like tendrils adding cover) American vals (6 of these and counting as the runners go evrywhere) 2 moss balls one mystery plant four bunches of a mysery plant out of a cup looks like fine grass called flame 2 gold algae eaters 1 diamond tetra(had 5 but four decided that they could not swim upright anymore RIP) 5 cherry barbs 3male 2 female 3 male guppies(they seem to really like each other) 5 harlequin tetras 2 bubble mollies 8 neon teras 1 male betta 1dwarf frog 2 ghost shrimp(had 3 but one failed) national geo tropical fish flakes omega 0ne tubiflex worms tetra blood worms nutrifin aqua plus nutrifin plant gro api co2 booster David