Recent content by fish jihad

I just used safestart for the first time. Tanm was about 90% cycled within 10 days. I took measurements daily. Day2 saw huge jump in nitrites. So huge i did a 20% water change Day5 huge jump in nitrates. Off the scale. Another 20% aater change Day7 nitrites and nitrates dropping to .25 and...

My nerites did the same thing. Over a period of 6 months they have put hundreds of eggs on my driftwood. Over time the eggs settle into the wood and create deep dents in the wood. The wood is juniper, a fairly hard wood. I havnt seen eggs anywhere else in the tank. I agree it looks awful...

You can try those co2 paintball canisters. I think the kits run about 70$. Problem is the canisters only last about a wek ina 30 gallon. In the long run it will cost you more in canisters than any other option. You have eliminated every option im aware of. Ive researched quite a bit too...

Could you post pic from a higher angle? It looks like you have a "river" on the right side. Like i said in my first post, great work. There are typically a few things i can spot to improve a layout. But so far i cant see anything i would change

Trust these guys. Weekly water changes are essential. Your plants probably ran out of nutrients and stopped photosynthesis and that may contribute to algae growth. Get some easy to care for plants ( ie.. no co2 required plants), some dry or liquid ferts ( usually added every other day) and you...

Congrats on finishing. If your like me you will tweak it alot over the coming weeks. I really like the layout and plant selection. Honestly have no critiques. But was wondering what kind of fish you have. My phone isnt picking up the details enough to tell

Threnjen has a point. I watch mine in a dark tank sometimes. Its like thunderdome in there sometimes. Fish chasing and nipping. Luckily for me no damage yet. So dedicate some time to watching them and you will find the culprit.

No advice on that front, im too stunned at that growth with no ferts or co2. But seriously layout looks good. Like someone said just trim that moss a bit.

Ah yes. Lighting. The holy triangle of lights, ferts and carbon

Threnjen - 60ml is alot of glut. At that ratio i would use up a bottle in 2 weeks. If your dosing that high ( over 10 times the bottle recommended dosage) a CO2 setup would have to be cheaper. Im going to try and transition to DIY co2 in a month or so. Brookster - what is Bml?

Im dosing 5ml daily of the excel The dry ferts are dosed as per a guide on this forum. Dont remember the regime off the top of my head. But i do recall the KNO3 gets 1/4 tsp and the rest a 1/8 tsp or less doesed every other day

Brookster is right. Carpeting is difficult or impossible without co2. Since you didnt mention lighting i will assume you need more. We need to know wattage or par value or micromols. Some way to judge your light situation

I have only used excel for my carbon source. After 7 weeks i can report that stem plants grow at around 1/8th per week. Carpeting plants will not carpet. They will show slight vertical growth but have yet to see runners on hair grass or baby dwarf tears. I use 80 watts of t5HO in a 30 gallon and...

Yes you will have to fertilize. There is a ton of info out there on fertilizing. I suggest dry ferts because they ae the most cost effective. One year supply for 20$. Since your new just use the estimative index method (EI) of dosing. Fish waste and food wont provide enough nutrients for plants.

Find a local river or pond and gather up as much smooth rocks as you can carry. Then grab some driftwood too. Dump the blue gravel. Then stare at your pile of rocks and think " how would nature arrange these in a fast moving water environment. As someone mentioned things in a nature are never...