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Sorry for the glass too blues. At least at my local Home Depot, what they carry on glass is pitiful nowadays, with only very thin glass. You are better off going to a glass place. However, I believe your best option is to make a center brace (cut glass and silicone), and purchase a 2 piece...

I just bought a TopFin glass top for one of my oldish 40b (no center brace). Bought it at PetSmart. Fits perfectly. Even thought it does not require a center brace, I glued a piece of glass as a 'center brace', simply to avoid that occasional falling-of-the-whole-top-thing into the tank, when...

It is not algal, but I believe probably fungal. I have seen that before in newish wood and it is harmless if removed relatively soon. I scrape it off and suck it during water changes. Generally it does not come back more than a couple of times until the wood 'ages'. It is probably harmless even...

I like it too!

Good luck! Very exciting!

I goes around the filter intake, no need of any other prefilters. It is a piece of plastic window screen that has been cut to an appropriate size and folded so that it surrounds the intake. It is held with a rubber band. It allows unrestricted flow to the intake, but it does not suck in pieces...

This may work for you, and can be made out of stuff you probably have around the house. This is what I use in all my filters and works wonderfully. Plastic mesh screen and rubber bands. Examples shown for 3 different kinds of filter intakes (Penguin, Fluval FX6, Aquaclear)

How long has the tank been running? (you stated is relatively new). You may just want to give them plants some time as they were recently transplanted; adding too much stuff can also cause other problems, besides being wasteful. Something to consider.... Good luck!

But swordTAILS!

I am skeptic, but can't claim to know the actual origin of the name. For instance, how come none of the Poecilia or Belonesox have ever been called swordtails? I think it is more about the tails, although it is true that it is not in all species.

They don’t mate per se. Females lay eggs and males fertilize them externally, within a cave defended by him (the male she has chosen).

In my experience, the quality is similar to other popular brands (progressively more cheaply made, but good enough). For smallish aquaria (up to 55gal), I consider them just fine. The price is a bit stiff but I don't know prices of new tanks. I have always bought used tanks. Price is usually...

That is an interesting experiment. I have had flagtails at three different times, always as single fish, mainly due to not having had tanks large enough for more than one. In nature they are schooling fish, who undergo major migrations related to reproductive seasonality. Several genera in the...

Cories.

On second thought, the appropriate term should have been egg capsules (since each capsule is individual, separate from other capsules). But each capsule does contain multiple eggs.

I misspoke with 'masses', even though I knew that; should have just said eggs. Regardless of the presence/absence of snails of any type in the tank, those never looked like nerite eggs. It is all good, I don't know everything.

They do not look at all like nerite egg masses, which are flat, with a more or less circular outline.

I too have only detected bad smells at times I have had cyano outbreaks. Each person does things different, and each tank ‘scircumstance/owner’s practices are somewhat unique. To me, 25-30% weekly water changes is not enough, particularly if coincident with over feeding or overstocked tanks...

Look like almond tree leaves, but is hard to tell.

I wonder when that dad got into the rivers that run through forested areas. Also how long that fad will last in such places. I have been amongst fish tanks for over 60 years and keeping my own for over 50. The fad has not waned any. With me as in the forest rivers it is no fad. Cheers!

The main reason to add leaves should not be lowering pH. Even in soft waters the effect of leaves on pH is usually small to negligible, even with large amounts of leaves. Several people have experimented rather extensively on this. It is the other benefits that are worthwhile pursuing.

I overlooked the fact that there are indeed very few fish. However there are also not many plants. I guess we will find out what other answers might be about the tank and hopefully be able to help the OP.

Nítrate most likely is not zero, and if it is, that is suspicious. If the biological filter is working properly, it would result in nitrate accumulation. Perhaps a faulty test producing erroneous readings? How often and what volume do you change water? What plant fertilizer are you using and how...

I have been using Magnolia grandiflora leaves from my backyard for years now, but I have also used oak leaves for extended periods of time. Yes, what you want is dried out, old (brown) leaves, such as those naturally fallen to the ground. In addition to tannin releasing benefits by the leaves...

As stated, those are the sorae, basically packets of reproductive material on germs. Normal and healthy.

You should install pre filters. Keeps filtering media clean of gunk and fish out. Fish eat stuff that gets hung on the prefilters as well.

Two methods that work (depending on the amounts needed) are a mortar and pestle, or a coffee grinder. Both work well. It is important to achieve the correct size as some small fish are greedy enough to swallow large pieces, only to become bloated or other problems.

I don’t get it. Mounds of sand are a substratum. Bacopa will grow relatively well on sand or gravel. It will even do ok floating but would grow slower than planted. However, this plant is one of the first eaten by plant-eating fish. Good luck.

You are fully stocked. In fact, as it is, you will be overstocked. Don’t get any more fish. Nice tank. Good luck!

The second picture is neon tetra disease. The first I am not sure but the fish looks very skinny.

If he doesn’t get picked by fish, it will repair (in this case recreate) its shell fairly quickly. If your water is somewhat hard, then even faster!

Regarding root tabs. I have never used the Fluval ones, but I do use Seachem root tabs, which I find to be quite good for some plants. I believe the two are similar, but Seachem's have been around in the market forever. No need to add them more than once or twice a year. They are slow release...

For me, Hemiodus. I recently added 4 young ones to swim with the adults (pictured). Catching them in the Q-tank was quite an ordeal. They may be large, but crazy fast and jumpy.

I have the feeling the OP meant a HOBack type of Fluval, such as a Fluval Aquaclear or similar. Not a Fluval canister. If so, the most common reason for leaking is a busted o-ring, which is easy to replace. Regardless, the cartridges used by HOB Topfin filters are useless, as all disposable...