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They use live sand. Remember, the term 'cycle' merely means that there is sufficient beneficial bacteria to support the livestock. When they use live sand and/or live rock the tank is instantly cycled. They tend to rely on live sand instead of live rock because their tanks are typically themes...

So you're suggesting that a hobbyist with higher levels of chlorine, or chloramine should move to another part of the country or buy bottled water? Does this really make sense to you when it can easily be neutralized with a conditioner? (btw, conditioner is used routinely and successfully by...

RO water should be clear source water forced through a membrane. I've never used RO water, but it should NOT be yellow. I wouldn't use it.

He did say it was SICK ... several times!

The Under Gravel Filter is like any other filter that requires/benefits from some routine cleaning. If not, it can become a plugged up 'nitrate factory'. True as excess detritus can overload a system. However, once decomposition is completed, the resulting sludge is relatively inert material...

Let me begin by pointing out that I have untreated well water, so conditioners are never needed or used... However, I'll just add that the procedure suggested by @itiwhetu represents a significant risk to the stock. As a youngster I remember my mother topping off her 5g metaframe aquarium with...

Wayde and Brett try to hard to be cutups and the tanks are mostly glitzy theme tanks. It would be a much better show if they had more useful hobbyist information so as previously mentioned, I agree that it's a missed opportunity. Then again I'll bet they're somewhat at the mercy of Producers...

Tazawa Tanks is cool. I'm not sure if he still does, but If I'm not mistaken before starting a YouTube Channel he had his own aquarium maintenance business. His clients were businesses and folks with large aquariums and he would come in and do stuff like setups, partial water changes...

I switched to sand years ago and I was sold. I have 3-4" of pool filter or play sand in several tanks that I never disturb. Bacteria and microbes colonize the sand and disruption would reduce their value. Just my $.02, but I'd recommend sand only. :)

It's all about water quality - you can have a heavily stocked tank if you do the work to keep the water quality high. Admittedly, most hobbyists would fail with such a high bio-load, but although it seemed overcrowded in many of those tanks, the fish looked really good and healthy.

https://tankaddict.com/guppy-grass-care/

I really like water sprite, but my first knee jerk reaction to the OP post was/is Guppy Grass.

I'm no expert on betas, but don't have an issue with selective breeding. I breed and grow out swordtails. Why wouldn't I breed the largest, most colorful, and healthiest fish in favor of runts and poor quality fish? I have reds and pineapple swords. But clearly the original [great grand]...

I invite you to FREELY review my blog: that contains articles from 3 hobbyists with about a combined 125 years in the hobby (Myself, Byron, and Greg Sage of Select Aquatics of Erie Co.). Since you're new to the hobby, The Newer Hobbyist Primer is an article that provides links to other articles...

Perhaps a tad off beat... but morbid would be a serial snail killer to use their shells for decoration!!! ;)

You need at least a 20H or better a 29H for a pair of Angels and although I may claim to my wife that size doesn't matter, when it comes to aquariums and larger fish, bigger is better. Imagine these fish in the wild of the Amazon river with miles and miles to swim about... then we put these...

There's a common parroted saying "there's no such thing as too much filtration" which is incorrect the way it's commonly interpreted. However, "There's no such thing as too much fresh, clean water" (you can quote me!). I prefer 50% (or slightly more) weekly and in some of the crowded grow out...

Wow, I'm not sure what warrants the incorrect pot shot and I'm not sure what you're talking about. 'Old school', maybe with 50+ years in the hobby...but admittedly still learning. 'with various containers with various grades of pilfered media in them'. I have several tanks with only air driven...

You're welcome. Just remember that if you use API Nitra-Zorb pouch(es) in a filter, you want to place it last after fine filtering media to prevent detritus from coating the resin pellets. I do not know if the Nitra-Zorb resin can be reclaimed with a 50/50 bleach/water solution followed by a...

As @Slaphppy7 points out you probably want some mechanical filtration but you likely don't need a lot ... and a lot less than some hobbyists are convinced. Consider the many large fishrooms with only air driven sponge filters. Sponge filters are great at biological filtration*, but not so much...

Ah...but good filtration, including bio-filtration is not about how much or how fast we push water through media. In spite of what many hobbyists have been told, a slower flow through bio-media is more effective. Many of the commercial bio-medias 'claim to fame' is their porosity or micro-pores...

The point really is that any and all stationary or 'solid' surfaces will serve as a home to beneficial bacteria. It really comes down to surface area complimented by a slight water flow across or through the media. Charging an arm and a leg for bits of ceramic, plastic, or rock is a cash cow...

The Nicrew single channel timer is advertised to turn the light on and off along with the gradient lighting so I'm confused as to the 'problem'. Perhaps there's a defect?

It sounds like you're speaking of the Nicrew single channel timer and it should work to turn the light on and off as desired - ???

Not at all. Seachem Purigen attracts organic compounds (detritus) from the water column. So although it can aid in water clarity, it does little to adsorb nitrates. Now Seachem advertises that the product removes organics before it breaks down and produces nitrates, but Im skeptical as I never...

Although it's much better now, there was a time I had very high nitrates in my well water. In a nutshell, as I write in the article, "my nitrate fight", I had to find a way to filter the nitrates out of my well water. At first I tried using APIs tap water filter but with my well water the resin...

I'm not sure I can help...I have a 48" Finnex Planted Plus 24/7 running in 24/7 mode on my 60g display tank. I put it on a simple timer so it has power from 7am - midnight. This gives the fish the period of total darkness they need at night. When the power comes on, the light automatically...

Inasmuch as activated carbon adsorbs impurities, it is considered chemical media. However, it is true that it is short lived and may release unwanted contaminants back into the water. It also will remove any ferts used for plants so it's just not practical in any tank with plants. Although the...

A very informative and enlightening documentary of the wild caught fish trade. It highlights and underscores how animal rights activists, with the best of intentions, could negatively impact the lives of thousands of people and potentially harm the eco-system and the environment. Any and ALL...

I'm no expert (and Byron has had far more experience and success with plants)... but as a lower form of plant life, algae may do better than many plants in lower light conditions. I'm also wondering if a modest addition of aquatic ferts might help plants out compete the algae?

I never put much stock in the mid day darkness approach and 11 hours overall may just be too much light. I think I might go dark for 2-3 days and/or cut back to 6 hours of light. In the meantime, for any plants that can be removed, I'd spray with H202 (hydrogen peroxide). Then again, with a new...

It's a good question. An under sized heater has to work much harder (if not stay on all the time) to achieve and maintain a set temperature. On the other hand, a wattage higher than needed, the heater will draw more power, heat faster, but overall will be on less. Where possible, I like the idea...

This opens the question of fasting and Are You Overfeeding Your Fish?. I tend to think that most hobbyists tend to overfeed which leads to less healthy fish and poorer water quality. I'd wax on here, but the article says it all. :)

That's incorrect. The blue swordtail appears merely to be a late maturing male.

One more nail in the feeder block coffin - I don't like them and would never use them. I have from time to time used an Eheim Everyday Feeder with good success. But fish can go without being fed for a week...some would say even two weeks. As mentioned already, I would do good tank maintenance...

It continues to be a hobby MYTH that beneficial bacteria only lives in the filter... You can 'clean' sponges from an established tank in the new tank water and put them back (as if you had otherwise cleaned them in used tank water OR under the tap). The reason you can do this is that bacteria...

An aquarium is 'cycled' when there's enough beneficial biology to handle the bio-load. (see Cycling a New Aquarium, a good read for the many ways to cycle an aquarium). Now some will insist that this takes 6-8 weeks and you must add a bit of pure ammonia every day... But there are better...

Big fish eat little fish - dead or alive!

I'm not a fan of commercial bio-medias that are merely a cash cow for manufacturers that claim that their media is the best. And sadly many hobbyist have come to believe the marketing hype that beneficial biology only lives in bio-media in the filter. The real truth is that beneficial biology...