Recent content by TotallyCoral

Haha yeah no problem! And yeah, definitely try tap water. It keeps my pH around neutral. :)

Honestly, in my experience I've learned it's better to have a stable, consistent pH rather than try to mess with it using pH down and other additives. The only time I've messed with it was when I was fishless cycling and used crushed coral to stabilize it. Other than that, I see no reason as...

Cool tank! Sorry to break it to ya, but I know for a fact that those "mondo grasses" will not survive and will rot eventually as they are not fully aquatic plants. Best remove them so they don't foul your water. Not too sure about that fern either... Try some anubias or java fern or maybe even...

Haha, it's all you! You know your space (how the tank would look near and far) better than me so just visualize which tank would look better in your space. That's what I did when deciding between a 36 or 46. Just visualize! Haha. But if you really want those extra inches then go for it!

Nice! I wish I had more table space lol. Anyways, Craigslist is a great place to look if you want a complete set up. Other than that, you can always keep an eye out for petco's dollar per gallon sale for the 29 (which would probably be easier to grab than a 37) or a 29 starter kit. But it's up...

What's so bad about the light fixture besides the plastic? It looks like a nice t5 light to me and unless you want high light then I see no point in switching fixtures. If you don't really like the plastic how about a glass versa top instead?

I take it you probably have a silver angelfish considering the black bars. As for the color changing, it's pretty normal. If your water parameters are fine then there's nothing to worry about. My angelfish changes colors every so often depending on his aggression level and time of day.

The solution to fin rot is clean water (0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, <20ppm nitrates). No meds needed. In time, the fins will heal by themselves. Keep doing water changes and you'll be fine.

Yeah one day is perfect. And a bucket is fine too. Play sand is cool just make sure you rinse it a bit before the actual switching process as it will take some time. Other than that, you should be good to go!

Hello! Haha I know it can be stressful but everything should work out in the end. In my experience the sand (seachem black sand) did not alter my pH, ammonia levels and things like that. I would think that as long as the sand is inert then nothing will happen. What I did was I got a spare...

Agreed. The same goes for anubias. Don't plant the rhizome or else it will rot. Instead, just tie the plant to a rock, driftwood, or decoration. But I would recommend wisteria as it grows really fast (soaking up nitrates in the process) and does just fine in low light. You'll be able to make a...

There are a ton of options! LED's (most expensive), T5 (which I use), T5HO, and T8's are usually the norm. What kind of plants do you wish to grow? For low light (anubias, ferns, swords) LED's, standard T5's, or even stock T8's will do. For high light, specialized LED's and T5HO's work really...

Fast growing plants (stem or floating) such as brazilian pennywort, water sprite and wisteria tend to "soak up" nitrates the fastest rather than more slow growing plants such as anubias and java fern. I personally love wisteria. It's super easy to take care of and it's very easy to propagate and...

Nope I don't think it would cause any problems at all in a planted tank. I read that the beneficial bacteria can only colonize so much. They colonize only as much as they need to break down ammonia and nitrite. But either way, I wouldn't worry about it.

Yep I used to hate that stuff. My bristlenose pleco seemed to take care of it on the driftwood. She loves munching on it! :)