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mebbid… I'm doing a bit of a rescape next week, and using total pellets from aquarium plants.com in conjunction with Seachem Flourish Comprehensive and Seachem Flourish Potassium. The above scheme is what aquarium plants.com recommended, so I hope they have me on the right track.

Thank you Corsair, Brookster, mebbid & all. I shake the Nitrate bottle #2 silly for 30 sec per API instructions. I could try to do it longer & retest. But I have never seen Nitrite, either? So at this stage it's either return the fish and finish "fish-less", or return the fish and start...

Thank you HeatherW. I'm leaning towards returning the Tetras to the LFS and going fish less. The Tetras were never intended to be permanent & I'm concerned about the prospect of daily water changes. I've heard of "silent cycles" in planted tanks, and thought maybe that's what I've got going...

Hi HeatherW, Thanks for responding…I had originally planned to go Fishless, but the LFS suggested I go fish-in & I ended up with 4 bloodfin tetras. They thought that was enough bioload to cycle my tank & I'd get there faster vs. fishless.

Grumble69…I am having this challenge in determining if my tank has cycled. Set up 7 weeks ago and still getting 0-0-0. I started a thread this morning, "26 g won't cycle?" So I am not sure if I can move forward with my desired fish, or I need to keep waiting to see nitrites & nitrates? I...

I am 49 days in and no cycle. Moderately planted, EcoComplete substrate, medium light, pressurized CO2, C-220 canister & 4 Bloodfin Tetras. Ammonia levels have ranged from 0 to trace amounts, and I've yet to see any nitrites or nitrates. I am about to give up, not sure if I'm close or it's...

Interesting…LFS made the suggestion to go with 4 of them to cycle my tank. I'll eventually stock Sterbai Cories and Otocinclus in this community tank, but don't think either are hardy? Neither are Neon Tetras or Pencilfish, so hence the temporary cycling bloodfins tetras. Wondering if I...

Thank you threnjen:) You've confirmed my suspicion, my expectations are too high;) It's been a tough couple of weeks…I initially set up a paintball CO2 system when I planted, and ended up having issues with my needle valve. So I exchanged it and upgraded to a full sized regulator…but during...

Thanks BBradbury. I am med/high light w/CO2 & planted with Echinodorus barthii, E. bleheri, E. tenellus, Micro Swords, Green Cabomba, Pennywort, Dwarf Sagittaria subulata, Mayaca & Alternanthera reineckii. I thought my cycle would complete pretty quickly wit all of these plants & EcoComplete...

Got my new 26 g up and running 3 weeks ago. Planted it pretty heavily 18 days ago and initially planned on a fishless cycle. LFS talked me into 4 bloodfin tetras (cycling fish only). My tank particulars are under my profile. So…I've been testing daily with the API Master & have done 2...

Thanks Rivercats & beryl:thanks: Day 11 since I added the "cycling fish"...Ammonia seems just below 0.25, no nitrite, and "maybe" a small amount of nitrate? Not real sure though, was subtle, but looked a little different today:confused:

Congrats on the new tank:thumb: I just set up a planted tank a couple of weeks ago and had many of the same questions. Many great folks on AA & lots of great info. How many days has your tank been set up? Many factors impact your actual dissolved CO2 level. The only way to know for sure is...

Thanks all for sharing your knowledge & experience:cool: This 26 gallon is my first foray into the planted world…If this experiment goes well, I'm eyeing a 72 bow front for next winter's planted project. I'm still wondering how I will know I can start adding less hardy fish? With all these...

Hi Rivercats, It's a 26 gallon. My plants are doing ok, growth will pick up later this week when my CO2 is running:dance: I've almost over-researched planted tank cycling to where I've confused myself with all of the various opinions on the topic. If my plants are taking up most of my...

Thanks Berylla & Mebbid… I'm already planted & the 4 bloodfins have been in the tank for a week. I think I had my canister running with substrate & driftwood for 5-7 days prior to that. I hoped with the substrate & all of the plants I'd have enough bacterial growth to get my biofilter started...

Trying to cycle my planted tank (Echinodorus spp., A. reineckii, Micro Sword, Mayaca, Pennywort, Dwarf sag & Cabomba to start with). Have EcoComplete & CO2 (had problem, returned & waiting for new system…dosing Florin Axis in the meantime). My LFS suggested cycling my tank w/bloodfin tetras...

I have a bunch of plants arriving later this week and have the same question. Aquariumplants.com mentions Potassium Permanganate, Bleach or Alum. Aquarium planting tips and care I like the Hydrogen Peroxide idea, I've heard of that before, too. Not sure what I'm going to do, either? Want...

I have well water and a softener, too. The sodium from the softener should be negligible. I ran tests of my raw well water vs. softened tap water and here's what I found: Raw well: pH 7.5, 10 dGH, 13.4 dKH Softened Tap: pH 7.5-8.0, 0-1 dGH, 13.4 dKH Most plants like it a bit on the acidic...

Thanks OS, I need all of the help I can get:???: Think I'm gonna stick to 20 oz paintable cylinders as I can fill them locally at Dick's Sporting Goods. The 2.5 & 5 lb tanks , although longer-lasting, will be a hassle for me to fill. I want to go conservative and shoot for 15-20 ppm. I have...

Thanks OS…BTW your new 'scape is beautiful and your journal thread is full of knowledge and very entertaining as well! Been e-mailing Orlando at GLA, he's been real helpful. Trouble is, for every question he answers, I seem to come up with 2 more:lol: Think I'm gonna stick with an in-tank...

Thanks Brian, I'm going to take your advice and go for the Atomic CO2 Regulator V3 and run it off a 2.5 lb tank with CGA 320 connection. Think I'm gonna stick to in-tank diffusion. Think I'll start a new thread as now I'm wondering about how to best manage a 20-30 ppm level. Seems like many...

Thank you OS, Brian, jbtravis, scottjudd & hawkins. I am being so indecisive, I hate that:? I really like the concept & clean look of the inline diffusers. But that set-up seems more difficult to tear down and clean. I'm having nightmares about leaks & spills. Maybe I am over thinking...

Hi Brian, I've got a 26 bow. I'd like to keep the hardware as invisible as possible…The in-tank diffusers look pretty inconspicuous, but that stiff CO2 tubing looks like a pain to shape & install. The in-line sounds a bit complicated to clean, though? My C-220 will move the water pretty good...

I've finally accepted that I need CO2 to pull off what I have in mind for my tank. So here goes, taking the CO2 plunge :loopy: About to pull the trigger on the Atomic Paintball CO2 Regulator V2 from Greenleaf Aquariums. I need to choose in-line diffusion (canister output) vs. in-tank...

Finished Product If anyone is interested, yoga mat worked great and is totally inconspicuous: $15 at Amazon, and they are 68" x 24" so you may be able to do multiple tanks Amazon.com: Yoga Mat 1/8"x68" Thick High Density 10 Colors Non-Toxic PER Phthalate Free Clean PVC (TM) by Bean Products -...