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I'm in the middle of a lengthy fishless cycle and was wondering if maybe I'm not doing everything quite right. I am using pure NH4 and dosing to about 3.0 ppm (or trying to at any rate). I started noticing nitrItes about 2 weeks ago and nitrAtes a few days later. I thought I wasn't supposed to...

Yeah, bettas are beautiful but not for me I think. I like the idea of larger tetra schools. How large of a school do you think I can go with if I stick to two tetra species, the corys and a pleco?

So I wanted to jump on the bandwagon and start asking about my potential stocking list for my 29g. This is my first tank so I don't have much personal experience to go on yet. I probably have a little while still because I've only started to get a nitrIte spike in my fishless cycle but it won't...

I'm using the AP liquid reagents test that everyone here has recommended. I'll try more water changes, maybe as close to 100% as I can reasonably get. Is there any way that the ammonia would have seaped into the decor and will still be there even after I change the water? Marconis, what did...

I'm feeling a bit sheepish and at a loss for what to do because I think I may have messed up the cycle on my new 29 gal tank. I overdosed with pure ammonia when I was starting out a few weeks ago so that it spiked to over 8.0 ppm. Since then I have done 2 50% water changes as well as a few ~30%...

Thanks, I definitely plan to acclimate all my future inhabitants. As far as the cycling goes. I'm a little bit stalled because I didn't have a good seed source so it might take awhile for the colony to become established. But it is possible for the bacteria to grow without seed material...

Wow, 75 is cheap for a zebra? Cool. I'm still very new to all this and didn't know I had it so good. Thanks guys for clueing me in on a deal. I'm still not sure I'm going to go with a fish that expensive but it's nice to know my LFS (Skipton Pets in Boston for those of you who are curious) is...

I'm still at the cycling stage with my tank but I've been checking out LFS prices for fish and I was a little taken aback by what they're asking for plecos. Common plecos are about $10 which seems reasonable but I don't have room for a common. The less well-known species all run from $30-$70...

Okay, so if I have high pH, does that mean I'll have to use pH down or some such product? Or will it be okay in the long run?

Okay, after taking much (but not all) of your excellent advice I've got my tank up and running. I decided to go with gravel over sand, mostly because I ultimately decided I wanted that look for this tank. Also because I don't plan for this tank to be planted, though who knows what will happen...

Hi again everyone. So I've been moving more slowly on this tank than I want but life seems to be getting in the way. At this point though I've got the background on and things set up and I'm ready to put in my substrate, decor, equipment, etc. and get my fishless cycle started. I've been...

What has your experience with the fluorite been like in terms of cloudy water? I'm considering using fluorite for my substrate but have heard that it can be a pain as it is hard to rinse. What do you think? ps. the tank looks great!

I am just starting out with a 29 gal setup and although I have no immediate plans to plant anything I opted to get Fluorite from my LFS instead of plain gravel when I got the setup package for my tank. I figured that at some point down the line I will want to go planted and it would be better to...

Thanks for the tip Marconis. I think I'm going to start off with just ammonia and see how things go. While I'm excited about getting to the fish I'm also not in a huge rush. But at least now if I get stuck I'll know what to do. :D But now I have yet another question. Does anyone have any good...

The tank is now here! In my house. I am super excited about it. I was getting ready to set it all up when a somewhat silly question occured to me. How do people attach backgrounds to their tanks? Does it go on the outside or the inside. I have a plastic picture background (I think they're fairly...

Okay, so the tank is being delivered tomorrow (squeel!) but I haven't aquired my test-kit yet. Is it possible to set it up and start cycling while I wait for the test-kit to arrive in the mail? I know I need to be taking levels readings to know what stage the cycle is at but I was hoping I could...

I went to the hardware store yesterday to get some ammonia to get ready for my fishless cycle and was trying to find one that was pure. The only like they had was listed as containing "10% Ammonium Hydroxide". Is that an additive or is that what ammonia is? It said it was "janitorial strength".

All right, I went out today and bit the bullet, so to speak. I purchased a 29 gal tank setup for about $300 from my LFS today including the following items: 29 gal All-Glass Tank (black trim) 30" All-Glass Stand (black pine) 30" All-Glass Hood Penn Plax 15" 200 Watt Thermaflow PC Plus...

I think I've decided on a 29g All-Glass from my LFS. Is that a fairly standard sized tank? I definitely want to get a canister filter for it but when I went to Petco to check out different models they didn't have all the one's I was interested in (big surprise right? :wink: ) Anyway, the...

More questions: I think I might go with a canister filter because I do plan to be in this for the long-haul and will want one eventually. My question is if you get a filter rated for a larger tank than you have will it still be effective? Say I get the Cascade 1000 that Fishyfanatic mentioned...

Unfortunately I haven't been back since. I left right before they began construction on it. I've seen it from the outside but haven't had a chance to tour it yet. I hear it's stunning. I guess it's getting "old" now and hardly is "new" but still I'd love to go sometime soon. As for having a...

Thanks so much for your help already. I'm going to head to my LFS as soon as possible and check out the 30 vs. 55 in person to gauge the sizes and consider what I might realistically have room for. At this point I'm definitely not going to go bellow 30. I've heard about canister filters...

Hi, thanks for the welcomes! I most certainly plan to do a fishless cycle. I know all too much about the nitrogen cycle to do anything else. While I used to live in MD (Takoma Park), I'm now a Boston resident. There's a little LFS down the street from my house but I don't entirely trust...

Hi all, I'm just beginning to think about setting up what will be my first tank that I've ever had at home. I thought maybe I could get some advice from ya'll to differentiate among the millions of products I might buy. These are my thoughts for what I would like the tank to be like and...

Hi everyone, I've been scanning the posts here over the past few days and am truly impressed by the knowledge and helpfulness of all the members here. I'm a newbie to this site but also a new home aquarist as well. In fact I haven't even begun my first tank yet but I'm planning for it...