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I think that with running that much light you are going to have a "high tech" tank by default. Because without CO2 and fertilizers you will eventually have fine specimens of many kinds of algae. Been there. Setting up the Milwaukee regulator is really really easy. I promise it is not as...

You guys are too smart! The right side gauge (I'm guessing that is the high one) was at zero. The needle valve wasn't threaded on properly. So no matter how high I turned it up, the system wouldn't hold pressure. I pulled it off with a wrench and put it on correctly, now the right gauge is...

Hi all! Finally jumped into pressurized CO2 so I could turn on more bulbs in my fixture (currently 2x 10000K, 1x 6500, 1x actinic all 54w t5HO) over a 75g tank. The plants are doing well and there is less algae. I have the Milwaukee regulator that several people here bought, but I can't...

Very good to know, thanks guys. You have convinced me to give fancy CO2 a try. I will be happy to run all of the lights, although you are right I will need a better ferts regimen. Right now I have test kits for PO4 which shows the level as 0.2 and NO3 which is at 10ppm. I haven't seen a...

The new tank is up and so far things are going pretty well. It took about a week to start growing more algae though :(. I don't care about wiping the glass etc everyday, but I'm worried that the plants are getting covered with it as well. It looks bad and I don't want the algal growth to...

Pictus cat all the way. He is beautiful but has a talent of eating the most expensive fish in the tank. His record is 8 brand new cardinal tetras in a single night.

They are actually Ludwigia palustris - the narrow leaf Ludwigia. They are my favorite plants in the tank too. They grow like crazy and have such nice color! This light doesn't do them justice

It's finally here!! I am really happy with how it turned out. The only thing I don't like are the actinics that came with the fixture- give everything a real odd blue look. Probably swap them out for white lights in the 14000K-18000K range. Don't think I am ready for 4x 10000Ks in there. Going...

sounds awesome. Totally following this one!

So my current dream tank is about to become a reality :). I am purchasing either a 75 or 90 gal in the next month!! I have never had a canister filter before, so was looking for imput from people with more experience. It seems like the way to go. I have it narrowed down to the Eheim 2217 ($159)...

78 watts of HO is a big upgrade for 40 gals- are you dosing excel or any other ferts? Your swords might benefit from root tabs if there aren't enough nutrients to go with the increased light. They also could be having issues with acclimating but I would expect them to bounce back. I have a...

another +1 for checking...I have been checking my parameters much more often since changing substrates to eco-complete. pH jumped from 6.4 to 8.4 in five days. The Eco came with a sticker on it saying this happens. Figured I was out of the woods because it was normal after adding the stuff...

A few pics of the algae. It doesn't really clump like the BBA did. Very fine, almost transparent. Is this hair algae? Also a recent FTS. It's only been 10 days since the last one, I think the crypts are diggin' the ecocomplete. You wouldn't guess from the pic but there are about 50 fish in...

Thanks for the suggestions, Fort. So far things are going ok- I ended up just removing the anubias since it seemed to be the most severely affected plant. The crypts got a quick dousing in H2O2, fingers crossed they don't melt. I have also stopped dosing everything except Excel, and I watch the...

Hi, Thanks for your help! I'll try to address each question 1. Light on 9 hr/day. The fixture has the capability to run 2 x 39W T5HO, but only one bulb currently because I was afraid of an algae explosion with the limited CO2. 2. As far as filter...it's a whisper 3. I bought it in 1996...

Can't wait to see how your tanks turn out!

I don't think you will be disappointed... I ordered some rotala from Sweet Aquatics, expecting 4-5 stems per bunch, and this is what came today. Some of the bunches have 20 stems! I don't know where I am going to put it. There is seriously enough to carpet 55+ gallons if you plant the stems...

My 38 gal rescape is well underway (pics below, let me know what you think!) For recap, I added a new light (39w t5HO) about a month ago, bought a ton of the Seachem ferts, and changed the substrate last week. I think the gravel in there was breaking down or something because the water was...

sooo I did end up ordering the Aquasoil to put as the bottom layer and some Eco as the top layer. Got to thinking about the Aquasoil and the ammonia leaching. I definitely don't want to risk the fish. Seems like that ammonia could be put to good use, say, if one had a new tank that needed...

Thanks Fort! I am leaning towards the EcoComplete for this tank, and waiting on the AquaSoil. I will be relocating in about a year and will need to move the tank- might be easier to just start over with the Aquasoil (and a bigger tank) then. Plus I don't want to risk the fish- finally have...

Hi all! I have been really happy with my plants for the most part after the lighting upgrade...the chilensis is still dying, but I will replace it soon. Everything else is thriving. So now I am thinking of a substrate upgrade from plain gravel. Added laterite about 5 years ago- so its...

YES!! you knew what was bound to happen....it didn't take long to start growing a lush patch of algae in the corners and on the wall of the tank :(. I took out one of the bulbs and cut down the photoperiod, have dosed Excel twice. So far that is working, the algae is about 75% receded so far...

We'll see how things go from here...swapped out the 20w bulb for a shiny new fixture with 2 * 57watt 8000 K bulbs. :cool: Hopefully the Anubias don't burn. I think the fish are a little shocked by how bright things are in there now- they are all hiding on the bottom and the pictus cat is...

Thanks for all your help, looks like a lighting upgrade is in order. I've been putting it off, hoping that the sunlight would be enough to sustain things. There are Anubias in there, which is why I got the root tabs. It's in the shaded corner. There are also some mutant microswords which are...

Sure, sorry I forgot the parameters earlier! Thanks for your help. 40 gal tank Lighting: 20w 24" aquaglo fluorescent bulb, 18000K, on for 10 hours/day. Also this plant is in an area of the tank that gets about 5 hours of indirect sunlight daily. Most of the tank is shaded and contains...