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What a thread! I have 2 large tanks, one with big 'ol cichlids and the other with cardinal tetras & Kribs, along with a ton of plants (CO2, T5's, & all that stuff). I like my boys, but I like to chill with the planted tank too. I have my emotions under control, and hold a good job (if any job is...

Sure it is. A very low KH is indicative of soft water...water lacking in calcium and magnesium. Given the symptoms and the lack of additional information (such as GH), adding the appropriate buffers is one step towards a remedy to the problem. It might not be the solution, but it certainly won't...

At least 6 months, probably longer at 1 bps. I highly recommend pressurized systems; you won't be sorry!

Probably your best high light solution would be T-5's. You will have to purchase all the parts separately (reflectors, ballasts, bulbs, hardware), as I don't think they make 60" complete kits (they do make 48" though). The 60" bulbs are 80w, and they are very potent. I would say 4 on the...

Your KH is a little low. The minimum you should keep it at is 3 degrees. Too low a KH (soft water) results in magnesium/calcium deficiencies, and that results in curling leaves & stunted growth. Seachem's Equilibrium is a great cure. You might shoot for 4-5 dKH. Also, you might find that...

I think that there are 2 causes of algae: aquarist inexperience and misinformation. :) The planted tank community has made considerable improvements/discoveries over the past several years. The rate of solid information is growing at a very rapid rate. When I first got into planted tanks...

There's no reason to mess with tap water other than to remove chlorine/chloramines or to add minerals when your tap water is deficient (below 3 dKH). You might try to get a local water report. They can be found online if your city does that. Otherwise call the water co. and they can send you...

The 50/50 bulb is not the best bulb to use. I would opt for a 6700K instead. The actinic spectrum (the blue part) is used for saltwater applications. Also, you should test for phosphates. A 1.0-2.0ppm range would be optimal, so you might consider adding phosphates if you are deficient. A more...

What kind of algae do you have? If the tap water is 1ppm, you may be running low in the tank. I know this causes me some problems when I don't keep my PO4 dosing up. If the tap is 1ppm PO4 and you have 10ppm nitrates, with 3wpg, I'm thinking you might be running low on something, possibly PO4...

I would suspect your NO3 levels are getting too low. If you have a heavily planted tank with small community fish, your plants will use up the nitrogen faster than your fish can supply it, so you should definitely test your NO3, and consider adding something like KNO3 to supply the additional...

GSA is my indicator of too little PO4, or an imbalance of the N:P ratio, but usually a lack of PO4. Either add PO4, or do a water change since your tap water has plenty of phosphates and dose only nitrates. If you happen to have high phosphates and low nitrates, say a 3:1 ratio, you will get...

Sagitaria subulata is just that. There aren't any nicknames I know of other than "dwarf sag." Echinodorus tenellus is often referred to as "pygmy chain sword" or simply "chain sword." There is a narrow leafed version, but it's kind of rare, and somewhat difficult to distinguish from the...

I went out and picked up 5 more clown loaches. I may get more, but we'll see how these guys do first. However, I did see an awesome midas (citrinelli) at the LFS. Oh man, he stood way out from the rest. He was the biggest in the tank at 3-4", and his coloration was solid red/orange/midas color...

Lot's of questions here. I'd appreciate any advice/suggestions you can give! Here's what I have: 100g, heavily planted w/ rooted plants & some stems, 1 8" GT, 3 3" Green Severums, 1 6" pleco, 1 5" clown loach. They all happily coexist with each other, and don't bother the plants. Here's...

I'll vouche for Seaman. I was using the same lights as his. I even had them sitting on top of the glass until I bought a canopy & dissected the shop lights. No problems at all. I've got 6 PC's now in that same canopy, but if cheap is what you are looking for, you can't beat the shop lights!

I would recommend at least 4-48" normal flourescent bulbs (160 watts total) for a 75g. I had the same on a 100g, and they barely sustained plants, but nothing really grew anywhere near optimally. I have 4x65w compact flourescents on a 75g now, and it does well for a wide variety of plants. Sorry...

I've a 75g Oceanic (48"x18"x21") and a Coralife fixture w/ 4x65w 6500K PC bulbs. Is this enough light to grow plants with pressurized CO2 in this tank? My more demanding plants are: E. Stellata "broadleaf" Eichhornia diversifolia Rotalla macrandra Other plants are medium light plants...

Thanks for the suggestions. Question: do I have to worry about the risk of disease/contamination if using ghost shrimp from the lfs? I never use feeders unless they are spawn from my own tanks (mollies & platies are good for something!). How about earthworms from a fishing/bait shop?

Just wondering what some of you avid CA (new world, not angels, apistos, or discus) cichlid owners feel is a proper diet for either a) maximum growth, b) health (but not so much for growth). Of course, health is always the most important, but do you supplement anything else for growth? I'm...

At the Jags current size, yes, you can keep clowns with them. When they hit maturity, all bets are off. I had a couple jags pair off at about 3", and they had everything in corners. There is a good chance you will have a pair out of the 5 you have. If you keep a lone Jag for the long term, then...