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I'd recommend a test kit to take the guess work out of it. When you have Nitrates and no Nitrites or Ammonia, you should be good.

As above, I also keep my algae bases covered with a combination of algae eaters. In my case I have Otos, true SAEs, and a Rubber Lip Pleco. I can only assume that fishyfanatic didn't have true SAE's, because mine are ferocious algae eaters. (Ferocious to the algae that is, not to other fish)...

I've had good results with Zebra Loaches. I've read that Yo-Yo Loaches are also good. Both of those will stay smaller than the Clown Loach from the research I've done.

You can definitely turn the water off after the siphoning has started, but as TomK2 stated, if the sink isn't much lower than your tank, the suction is poor and you can't do a great gravel clean. When I'm siphoning the water out into my lawn, I can turn the water off and still do a good gravel...

I swap out 20 to 25 gals of water every other week, and I can't imagine having to do that without my Python. I love it! Having lived in the UK several years ago, I think the biggest challenge you'll have with a Python is that most homes I saw have separate taps for the cold and hot water. But...

In my 404 I have polyfil in the bottom basket to catch the fine stuffl that the sponge filters miss. Then I have carbon in the next basket. And finally bio-rings in the top two. For the 2nd question: in my HOB Penguin 330 baskets I sometimes have Peat, but I always have an extra piece of...

I don't believe Otos care for Hair Algae. At least mine don't. I bought some Siamese Algae Eaters to take care of my Hair Algae problem, and I was not disappointed. They devoured it all in no time!

I'm also Zebra Loach fan. A very cool looking fish (IMO) that is entertaining to watch and does a fantastic job of getting rid of snails. And very peaceful as grlunderrainbow says. They like to chase each other around, but I've never seen them bother anything else. I give them two fins up!

A Rubber Lip Pleco, some Otos, and some true SAEs have been a successful combination for me in my 75gal. The Rubber Lip looked kind of ugly when first I got him from the LFS, but I wanted a pleco that would not get too large. Anyways, now that he's in my tank and I can get a good look at him...

I currently have 5 Silver Hatchets in my 75 gal community tank. They are great for filling in the mid-top range. Nice to look at, and usually all together in a school. They've been an excellent fish in my experience. Other than one that died soon after adding them to the tank, they are...

I have two small Zebra Loaches, and they cleaned up a bad infestation in 75 gal tank in a matter of days. I still have some snails in a 6 gal tank, but by being strict about how much food I put in, the population isn't growing, so I haven't bothered putting the Loaches in there to do their thing.

WhiteCloud, I was thinking the same thing about not having to pay for 2 shipments, so I ordered 12, and they threw in a 13th for free. I'm sure I didn't need that many, but I figured the more fish I got, the lower the price per fish. It was also my first fish shipment and I was worried about...

Update: the hair algae (or beard algae, or red algae, or whatever you would like to call it) is gone! Those little SAE's are amazing. I actually think they are a nice looking fish as well. Much more attractive then any picture I've seen would indicate. They also seem to enjoy playing as a...

I just bought some SAE's to clean up my 75 gal tank which had a bad case of hair algae. They've been in the tank less than a week, but I've already noticed a significant improvement. I couldn't find any locally, so I ended up ordering them online from Aquariumfish.net. Shipping was expensive...

From my own personal experience, I'd recommend Zebra Loaches. They stay small, are a fun fish to watch, and they cured my snail infestation in a matter of days. I haven't noticed any aggression towards other fish in the tank. They mostly just wrestle with each other, and sometimes hang out...

Hang in there mikemou. It sounds like it's not going too badly so far. I added a school of 19 Neons to a new (but fully cycled) 75 gal tank, and lost 15 of them in about five days. I was really bummed out about it. After waiting abou a month to make sure the remain 4 were really going to...

If the vinegar bubbled, even a little bit, I have to think that's not a good sign. I would have expected the vinegar to have no reaction at all in order to consider the rocks safe. I'll bet that if vinegar bubbles a little, then muriatic acid would bubble a LOT! If you don't want to do the...

I have Rubber pleco in a 75 gal tank. He did a great job of wiping out a large amount of algae that had started to grow, and keeps the tank algae free all by himself, and he's less than 2 inches! I almost never see him though. :(

I accidentally aquired some snails when adding some plants to a 75 gal tank, even though I thought I'd rinsed them off well. Now I've got a population explosion that I can't control. So I finally got some Zebra Loaches to take care of them. The loaches are still in QT for another 1-2 weeks...

"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one" - Spock, in The Wrath of Kahn. (Or something close to that). I tried the cutting-the-head-off method a week or two ago when I had to put down a Black Molly. The head kept "breathing" (gills moving) for a good 15 minutes after I cut the head...

Hypostomus: "..just use silk plants toward the top so that they do not harm the fish." I've never heard that before. Can you explain what you mean? Thanks.

I currently have 3 Dwarf males in a 75 gal tank. I originally had 2, but then I saw a previous post by Christmasfish recommending an odd number, so I went out and picked up a 3rd. They are a Powder Blue, a Red Flame, and one that was just called a plain Dwarf in my LFS (but he looks...

I like the Betta and two Ottos suggestion. Especially if you have some live plants. I have a 6 gallon Eclipse, and in the past I had two Ottos and 5-6 Neon Tetras in there. The Ottos did a great job of keeping it clean, and they were fun to watch as well. Those fish have since moved into a...

I use one of those Mag-Floats to clean the inside glass of my large tank. It works awesome. For my Fluval 404 I have filter floss in the bottom tray, then carbon in the next tray, and bio rings in the top two trays.

For my 75gal tank I have a Fluval 404 and a Penguin 330. I'm quite happy with that combination. The Fluval cannister is great for its versatility as far as the media combinations you can put together, but also having a HOB like the Penguin makes it very convenient when I want to do a quick...