Recent content by doctorp

I have a 55 gallon planted tank that was setup 6 months ago... when i initially set it up I didn't really think much about how it looked overall and just got everything planted. Now that I look at it and other people's tanks on the web I'd like to make some changes to it but I don't know what...

I'm having a little problem with some of my plants staying plantged down in the substrate. I plant them and put the roots in but frequently the substrate doesn't hold them down well enough and occasionally they just float to the surface randomly. Is this a problem other people have? The...

I'm guessing it must be food or the ph Equalizer that was in the water before the tank went planted. My tap water has 2ppm phosphate. So do I remove the excessive phosphates with one of those phospasorb filter elements? I've got 5 Oto's and one Florida Flag Fish... no SAE's although I may...

I recently planted my 55 gallon tank with a low tech setup. 1.75 WPG of CF lighting, fracted clay substrate and low light plants. One week after planting I have a massive amount of green beard algae. It's growing fast and starting to cover some plants. It rubs off easily by hand and my...

Mine didn't happen to come with legs so I just put it flat on the tank like my last light fixture. I'm going to check the heater to see if it automatically turns off or not. I don't think it does. Perhaps a new heater would help.

I've got a CurrentUSA Dual Satellite Fixture on my tank and noticed today that during the middle of the day cycle my tank water is getting up to 82 degrees and my fish were breathing heavily. Normal tank temp for me is like 76. I've got the fixture on top of the tank with a piece of...

I think there's something wrong with this piece... as soon as I submerged it in my tank a ton of particle came off it very different than any of the other 3 pieces I have. It's going back to the LFS...

No real tannins as a week in the bucket left only minimal color in the water. I was scraping it to make sure it was nice and clean. This seems to be a different type of driftwood than my other pieces which are very, very hard in comparison.

I picked up a small piece of driftwood from my LFS recently and did the normal boil and soak in a bucket. After letting it soak for a week I went back to it and was trying to clean it again with a plastic scraper. There was a large quantity of fibers coming off it which I haven't had with my...

As I prepare to make the plunge to a planted tank I have been checking out various places online to buy from. None of my LFS have very good selections + they're pricey. So which places can you all recommend for buying an assortment for a 55 gal. tank? Some of the ones I've looked at are...

What type of system do you use to distribute the Co2 from your DIY system? Your tank setup looks like it is very similar to what mine will be although mine will have less lighting to start with. Also, in terms of Algae eating fish/shrimp what does everyone think is the best for that?

Yes, I can control each bulb individually so I can run the one dual daylight only if necessary. It is a CF fixture - 36" Dual Satellite by Current USA. I'm not sure about going from a plastic planted tank all the way to a Co2 high light tank. Seems like a big jump for a newbie. Is there a...

I am in the process of moving towards a planted tank in my 55 gallon and currently have a CF light fixture with a 96 watt Dual Daylight (6700k,10000k) bulb and a 96 watt Dual Actinic (420nm/460nm). What effect will that Actinic bulb have on my tank? I heard from one aquarium plant distributor...

I can speak from experience on this as I had a similar situation as you in that I never had tested my Nitrate levels and when I did realized they were off the charts. I too had a Undergravel Filter and that is most likely part of the problem. Since they suck the fish waste down into the gravel...

Depends on what else you're going to put in the tank... You could do a small school of half a dozen and it would look great... as long as you aren't doing many other fish.