Recent content by mrsmarsig

Here's a couple of pictures. Does anybody know the species? Thanks for the advice so far.

Buenos Aires tetras (a big old fish) tore up my tank in one night!

Does anybody know what species Petsmart sells as "Bacopa plant", and will they eventually grow roots - I've having the hardest time getting them to stay anchored, and they are super fragile. Any suggestions?

Yeah, that was worth the look for a couple of chuckles. And yes, I made one, too, and it was a pain in the neck (mainly because I don't own a saw) but my dwarf puffers like it and it looks pretty natural in the tank.

I've been reading about Tom Barr's estimative index, and if any of you use this or know of this, just a couple of questions: First of all, is adding Seachem equilibrium necessary? It says it helps if using RO water - and does the estimative equilibrium assume you're using RO water? And more...

I spray painted the back of my tank and I really like it. It stays put - doesn't peel off or get wet and it looks really nice. I painted black, but you could probably do blue, too.

Alright...after doing a little reading, I see that Kelvin temp with flourencent bulbs doesn't tell you much except what color they'll look. It doesn't tell you if the lightbulb is giving off the wavelength of light which plants need and how intense the light at that wavelength is. Am I on...

I've got a 5000K lightbulb - how good is this color for my plants?

Just some thoughts... Algae being a living organism...it has to come from somewhere - so taking water from an aquarium with algae in it already would help - and then it can reproduce and you'll have lots of algae in no time. Just taking tap water, it might take along time before any algae...

I've read this a lot...but I'm planning on stocking with dwarf puffers once the tank is cycled and all ready to go. I've read that they love snails... Although this is the first time I've ever had snails, and I'm a little intrigued by them right now. I guess if they overrun my tank and eat my...

I believe they are ramshorn snails. They are planar (so not pond snails), and they have dark spots on them. Also, they do lay eggs on the glass, so I know that what I'm seeing aren't eggs. Its really making my tank look messy. I'll shake the plants and get all the stuff off, then like two...

On the topic of Big Al's...the last couple of times I ordered, they were offerring free shipping if you use bill pay through your bank. Very easy, and you can't beat free shipping!

Sorry for the odd question, but I have quite a few snails, no fish yet, and some plants and I see little "turd" like things all over, especially stuck in in cambomba. Is that from the snails, or is something else going on? Thanks!

I added a betta to a community tank before and he got along just fine with the other fish, the problem I experienced was the current in the tank - bettas don't do well if there is a strong current.

If it helps...when I lived at my parents house, I used softened water in my 29 gal freshwater tank without any noticabe negative effects.