Recent content by thebluespirit

I had major brown algae when i fiest setup my 12g tank. Ornaments and plants(some of which died as a couldnt clean tge algae off) were affected. I found i was running my lights far far too long. 9-10 hours. Once i dropped it down to 6 and few plants established it heloed a lot. Also had to...

I would agree with the last post. Your water sounds fine and your cleaning practices seem sound. I wouldn't add any more fish until you,'re past this issue. I suspect bacterial issues which won't go away with water changes alone. You'll need to ask your lfs about treatments if you think its...

What species are they? I've only ever raised guppy fry personally but the main things i found were: 1. Keep water quality pristine 2. Clean the net, tank or trap they are in. You'll notice fuzzy bits on the net in particular. I believe thats fungus and you don't want that 3. Feed small amounts...

Cheers folks. A lot of good info and suggestions. I've never heard of subwasser... But sounds interesting. Mosses seem tough to come by around here but i can always use ebay if it comes to it.

The only issue i have with java moss is that its almost impossible to out of your tank once its in and established. It looks fine and its easy to grow but i'm curious about wgat other mosses people might suggest. Actually i have a marimo. I may try that

Hey folks. I'm thinkin of adding some moss to my tank. On a small bit of flat wood most likely. My tank is basic low light and im wondering what types of moss i could try that are low maintenance(java moss is no fir that reason)

Just dont overfeed the fry. Small amounts of food many times a day is the way to go. I only clean my gravel during water changes once a week or twice a week.

I've seen some tanks light setup on youtube using clip on lights from wallmart and compact fluorescent bulbs. Looks great and in terms of light it works really well. The clamps need to to have rubber grips so tbey don't damage the glass and you wont be able to put a lid on the tank but its...

Go with t5s if tge cost is reasonable. The efficiency is much better than than t12 bulbs so you get more light per watt and have more choice in terms of plant selection. T12s and leds tend to have poor light penetration so the amount of light hitting the tank floor is very low and will only...

Ive been experimenting with live plants for about 6 months. Made plenty of rookie mistakes. I have very basic setups. A 12gallong with only 15w light and a 5gallon thats only lit by indirect sunlight. To be honest plants aren't necessarily hard to keep. You just have to choose ones that are...

I you've been fully cycled since feb your ok to switch. Cleaning sand is a little more work than gravel but with a little practice it won't affect cleaning time in any major way. You may want it check it out on youtube. Fine gravel is a little better for most live plants but sand is fine...

No its not a stupid question. You shouldn't have major issues switching substrate as long as your filter has matured. Maybe minir things like. Little extra algae until things settle down but nothing to stop you making tge change

Definitely before. Not worth overstressing and risking any complications

I used ramshorn snails. They breed but i just take a few out aftr a month . You may want to use nerites as hey wont breed in your tank. Siamese or chinese algae eaters will work but im unsure about the compatibility with your little sharks as ive never kept them before

Usually minutes but can be several hours if she stops. Just make sure you got plenty of hiding spots for fry and they'll be fine