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Wow, you are a committed fish keeper. And it has paid off, as the tank is stunning. And I can tell you right off the bat I like you. Know why? I can show my wife this post and she will think the time I spend on my planted Rainbow tank is relatively normal in comparison!!!;););)

As mentioned above, most red plants require high light, CO2, and fertilizers. They require a whole new level of care. The plants you have now, swords, java ferns, anubias, anacharis are all good low tech low light plants. In fact, they may not like the high required for most red plants.

A little bored on a Sunday evening, thought I would try to get a few pics of my Bows. Always very tricky as they are pretty much in constant motion. Orange Albino Millennium Rainbow (Glossolepis Pseudoincisus) Boesemani Rainbow (Melanotaenia Boesemani) Goyder River Rainbow (Melanotaenia...

Looking forward to seeing updates and pics. Remember it can take a little while to dial things in, so have patience.

Are you sure nothing else changed? Seems very strange to have any infection take down so many fish so quickly. I could see if it happened over a week or two, but not hours. Did you do anything different recently? Many years ago I cleaned the glass of my tank with a new sponge. Didn't realize it...

What date did you actually start adding the ammonia? I know you were trying other methods then switched to adding ammonia. You might not have really got started with the process until then, and may not be as far into the process as you think. Just a thought.

Quick update on my planted adventure. Added an American Marine Pinpoint PH controller this weekend. I've read lots of pros and cons on ph controllers, and decided it was something that should be worthwhile to me. In my tank, I need to get the ph to 7.2 to provide co2 at about 35 ppm. What I'm...

That is sad. I have quite a few fish over nine years old, well past their normal life span. So I know my days are coming. Funny you can grow quite attached to something you have cared for for so long. And 18+ years is a solid testament to your fish keeping skills. Sorry for your loss.

Ken. What? No video? You should just feed a live stream of the tank right into the forum so we can check in anytime!!;););)

The first thing he has to figure out is why the sky high Nitrates? Over stocked? Over feeding? Rotting plants? Dirty filters? No water changes? To get things back in balance, I think you were on the right track. There is a difference between vacuuming the gravel and "stirring up the substrate"...

IMO you are answering some of your own questions, and you are on your way to high tech. Yes, 96w was way too much light, and even 48W T5HO is quite a bit. And yes, plants that came out of tank with high light, ferts, and co2 generally won't do well without all three. And yes, more plants are...

Is your tank low or high tech? Injecting pressurized co2? Having had both low tech and high tech tanks, there is a big difference. In my experience, the main cause of algae in a low tech tank is too much light, both intensity and duration. I don't think adding more ferts will help, as without...

I wouldn't be scared by 320 watts T5HO over a 125. If you are injecting CO2 and adding ferts, I don't think you will have problem. You may need to raise the lights and/or limit the lighting period to fine tune, but you should be able to dial it in. In comparison, I have 4 T5HO 4' bulbs over my...

Do you know if you both have the same type of Anubias? There are lots of different kinds. Some can get quite large, and some can stay quite small. The other thing is plants can be mysterious. Sometimes the same plant may grow great in one location in a tank, and not do very well in another...

I agree. I recently changed the substrate in my 120G, and had a very small ammonia spike for two days. Nothing to even worry about. However, in this case it sounds like he removed the fish and drained the tank. If it's sitting dry (filters not running), you are starting from scratch.

Looks to me like a little winter showed up and cabin fever is breaking out.;);)

I think you are on the right track. As long as you have a good ammonia source, basically pure ammonia plus water, you should be good. A quick check is to shake the bottle. If it gets foamy, it's no good. If anything, I would raise the level of ammonia a bit. Maybe more like 5 to 6 ppm. I would...

Is the natural stone/gravel going to be pea gravel? And you are going to go planted? If so, I would consider going with another substrate. I kept plants in pea gravel for many years, and just changed mine out. It's not to say you can't grow plants in pea gravel, but it is so much easier to...

My guess is you haven't really started cycling yet. That is a high reading of ammonia, and you would expect to see some Nitrites if you started to cycle. Keep in mind you could get a small reading of Nitrates straight out of your tap. Just be patient you are on the right track, but you've got a...

Since the tank is new, more than likely you have diatoms, or what is commonly referred to as new tank syndrome. Do the brown spots brush away easily? If so, that's what you have. Nothing to be worried about, they will go away in time. As to the Flourish tabs, in my opinion ten tabs way too...