Plants and other live things...

[FishNthings]

Ive had my 30gal set up for about 8 or 9 months now, had one heck of a time getting it established, then when i finally did, i did a partial change a few weeks later and it clouded up all over again and i have yet to get it to clear again....i use "start right" when i add water, and i have an aquaclear forgot the number but i know i bought the size that was for the next tank size up, think it was for "up to 55gal". I've noticed in the intake tube of the filter over the span of a week or two there is always a ridiculous build up of this dark brown looking algae, but nowere else in the tank, anyways, any info on how i can clear the tank up would be greatly appreciated, as i have a 10gal set up the SAME way right next to the 30 and its crystal clear, so i dont know what i'm doing wrong w/ the 30. My main question in this post is my set up is rather boring, i have 2 fake plants and one of those rock caves in the middle, and a shipwreck w/ the little life boat that fills w/ air and rises up when too much air gets trapped under it....i was considering getting some live plants but wasnt sure if there are any drawbacks, will it make my water even cloudier? They sell them in bulb form, do i just stick them in my gravel and expect them to grow? Is there care or feeding a plant?? Are there certain plants that might hurt or make the fish sick(irredescent and silvertip sharks)(one blue lobster) Finally, if i get live plants should i get ride of the fake ones or does that not matter? Thanks for any info, i searched and couldnt find too many of my specific questions or problems.

P.S-i keep reading in other posts "at my LFS"....WHAT IS THIS!? lol does it mean local fish store by any chance? Thanks again for any info.

[Blueiz]

LFS does mean local fish store, you go it right :) (don't feel bad, I had to ask the same ?)

As far as your water goes have you done any tests for ammonia and nitrite. It sounds to me as if your tank is still cycling, or soemthing has thrown it back into cycling, and you have an ongoing bacterail bloom, this can last anywhere from a couple of days to several weeks. As far as the dark colored stuff that is most likely brown algae. Have you addeded new fish recently ? How often do you fed your fish? You didn't mention the stocking levels of your tank, or what kind of fish you have. That would be helpful in helpig us determine what may be going on. Do you dechlorinate/ dechloramine your water before putting it into the tank, do you do regular weekly maintenance on yout tanks, how oftne do you chnage your filter material.....

About the plants, you can add real ones and leave your fake ones in, as far as the bulbs are concerned, just follow the package instructions. You will probably want to start with low light, low maintenance easy to care for plants until you find your green thumb.

Happy Fishkeeping!!

[FishNthings]

Thanks for the info about the plants, i will look for something like that. As for the water issue, i have 2 irridescents and 2 silvertips and as of 2 nights ago, i now have a blue lobster. I do bi-weekly partial water changes, and use a crystal called "start right" to de-chlorinate my tap water. I clean the sponge out of the aquaclear during the partail water changes i do, i read about swishing it around in the changed water so that my bacteria doesnt die from the chlorine in the tap water...just started doing that about a monht ago. The fish have all been in there other than the lobster since i established the 30gal, about 6 months ago. I cut feeding down from morning and night to just morning. Thats what the fish guy at the LFS said to do to clear up the bacterial bloom. Thanks again for the info.