I got tired of supporting BigAls for filter cartridges for my penguins too so I cut off the old media and rubber band nonallergenic quilt batting to the frame with the aid of two notches cut on each side of the frame.
I'm not sure how many of us have kept a tank going as long as he describes.(3 to 5 years.) My first planted tank isn't yet two years old and it hasn't exactly stayed the same.. When I remove a overly large plant or a *stand* of plants, I do end up digging round in the substrate some to clean...
You may not need to but I found the plants in my sister's lower light tank looked better if I gave them a dose of trace w/iron and potassium every couple of weeks. (Heehees.. She kept asking me why my plants had such a nicer color than hers.)
You can get what you need for low light plants in...
I got both of those types here sold as rubber lips too. :) The one with the spots is quite pretty. I've had them for months now and they have kept the same markings. I have two with stripes and just the one with spots.. They do a great job on the side of the aquarium and seem to grow very...
http://www.plantedtank.net/co2reactor.html
Another link to a DIY reactor..
Richer, it might be useful to sticky this thread. There used to be another good article by John Levosoier(spelling) but I can't find it by google. I *think* it was on Aquasource and that's off line it seems at the...
My bristlenose likes to rasp on my broadleaf plants too.. It's annoying but at least he picks the older leaves. I'd probably have to tear the whole 55 gallon tank down to remove him.
I used excel on a ten gallon for a while. It gives you a nice boost for the carbon requirement. Don't overdose it because there are reports of fish death attributed to that.
I wouldn't do a deep gravel vac on a planted tank. Another water change won't hurt of course but unless you are seeing algae problems, I think I'd leave it until the regular weekly change. I don't think the phosphate will hurt the fish and I recall plantbrain( Tom Barr) has reported before...
Tando.. To be honest I think most of us are quite in favor of putting down a suffering fish. You just get that *shock* reaction from not suggesting to kill them *before* you flush em.
Just in my opinion, you would have better luck with the 96 watt than the 55 watts alone. If ya can do either DIY Co2 or Flourish Excel, I think you would do better with *either* the 96 watts or the 110. Flourish Excel would be pricey with the 45 gallon but mayhap not out of line in quantity...
The present light won't grow too much I'm afraid. The 96watt PC would still keep you at the point where you could get by with DIY Co2 until you could go pressurized.
I think I would look at a system where I *could* maybe add more light in the future *after* I got the pressurized going. The...
zin- I use penguins with the biowheels removed on my 55 gal.. I've rubberbanded sponges on the output to keep my CO2 where I want it. (I'd buy canisters next time but didn't know better at the time. :D)
That should be a pretty tank. I can't see any problems myself. :)
My rams have never gone in to spawning mode so I can't tell what they are like then. Some places I have read of difficulties at that time but the tank seems big enough for the others to keep out of the way. I did lose one...
I have blue rams in with my angel fish and they do fine so far even with the angels in spawning mode. I *had* a dwarf guarami in there but he was the meanest fish I own. He thought he was king of the tank even though the angels were three times his size. I removed him to my molly tank where...