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Okay so the only other thing I've thought of so far is I am getting that white biofilm slimy stuff on my driftwood. I know that's totally normal and will go away in a couple of weeks so I'm not really messing with it. Could that possibly cause a bit of ammonia in the tank?

I am using the API kit. I cross checked against some strips and there is definitely traces of ammonia showing up. I checked it against the water out of the filtered tap and that water shows up yellow (0 ammonia). So I can see from the color variations that there is no ammonia from my water...

I'm not overly concerned about it. I'm sure it will correct itself in time. I can't get fish for another month or so and I have established filter media to help when I am ready to add fish. So it's all good and a fun learning experience. I just don't seem to have that much rotting plant...

It's sand from CaribSea. Not the marine kind, just plain sand. So it should be inert. It may, but I have a filter on my tap that removes chlorine, lead, etc. I just used a test strip to be sure and no chlorine is showing up in the results, as expected. Any other thoughts? I am stumped (no...

I'm sorry if this is a dumb question, but I have a newly planted new tank with no fish in it. I set it up on Saturday and have been doing daily 50% water changes. I'm dosing with Easy Green for the epiphyte plants and Aquarium Co-oo root tabs for the stem plants. Out of curiosity today I...

Another vote for aquarium co-op. He sells a few different sizes and also carries the quietest air pump and never clog air stones. I've been using these products and highly recommend.

The only one I've found is this one from Aquarium Co-op. You literally cannot tell the thing is on from a sound perspective. https://www.aquariumcoop.com/collections/air-pumps/products/usb-nano-air-pump

These were our first fish and I'll call them gateway fish. My daughter's class at school has a fish and she was so interested in it (just a regular betta - not glo) that we got her a surprise tank for her birthday. I originally planned to get her a betta but when we saw the glo tanks with the...

Is anyone using Seachem Excel in place of Co2 and how does it work for you? I have started my first planted tank with amazon swords, java fern, scarlett temple, and some anubias nana. So it's a fairly low light, low-tech set up. I have a Twinstar S600 at 50% for 6 hours a day. I have the...

1 - I would do it all at the same time. It will go pretty quick 2 - sand should be inert and not have any effect on things like pH. Just make sure you are getting sand and not marine sand (which would alter your water parameters) 3 - you can grow plants in sand with root tabs, or use plants...

It looks great!

One thing I just noticed is your filter doesn't have a sponge over the intake tube. It's possible that maybe his fins are getting stuck on or sucked a bit on the intake tube when he passes it. Fluval sells a pre-intake filter (cylindrical sponge thing) that you can add to alleviate any issues...

You're doing as good a job as you can with the tank you have. If you do have the ability to get a 5 gallon please do. Good job with the water changes and stable temperature. As noted above, nitrite and ammonia should be zero, not low. So keep those at 0 (will be easier with a larger tank).

This would happen to my tap water from time to time (before I kept fish). I wound up getting a filter off Amazon and installed it on my washroom sink. It removes chlorine, lead, etc. I still use a water conditioner to be on the safe side but I'd rather use the filtered water vs. the icky...

In my daughter's tank I have 5 glofish tetras. They are schooling fish and although they sometimes have a go at each other to establish a new pecking order from time to time, they are peaceful and seem happy. I have not had any problems with 5 of them in the tank. It is a 20 gallon and I have...

My husband and I's favorite episode was when Bear grabbed a live fish out of a stream, bit into it and said "That's the freshest fish I've ever tasted!". We've never laughed so hard. Every time we bite into a piece of fish now we quote Bear. This was many years ago and I can't remember what...

Awww thanks - that's so kind! Yes, hopefully by then the plants will have filled in and I should have my new babies in there.

I've been watching for the cryptocorne flamingo to come back in stock. They seem pretty rare but I do love the coloring. Although I'm not sure I like the reddish / pinkish tint from the background plants. So I may stick to all green and get some crypts that are in stock. I'm noodling on it...

It has been so fun having my daughter involved. My husband is very supportive, but not hands-on involved (unless it's picking up heavy water buckets then he is literally hands on, lol). She is really learning and retaining a lot about cycling tanks, bacteria, how different fish need different...

Yep, I was kind of going for a crown type of effect with all the java ferns mid-tank. It's really hard to tel what the actual shape is going to be since a lot of the plants arrived much smaller than I expected (I'm looking at you, 3" tall amazon swords!). Honestly, the scarlett temples aren't...

After looking at the photos and staring at the tank WAY too much I definitely think I need more midground plants. I might go for more anubias like barteri or something to fill in the midground a bit. I think I am going to leave the foreground open since I plan to get corys and want them to...

They are attached loosely to the stones - not in the substrate. The only things in the substrate are the amazon swords and the scarlett temples.

The day I've been waiting for.... PLANTING DAY! YAY! Most of my plants came in this past week and I've been soaking them in a bucket until the weekend rolled around and I had a few uninterrupted hours to work on it. Here are the photos below throughout the process. The stand is still not...

Since you have sand what about corydoras catfish? 5 of the smaller ones (pygmy?) might be okay in a 15 gallon with your current stock.

Your nitrate should be 20 or below (general consensus although some would argue 40 is fine), and nitrite must be 0 as well. Do you have a way to test for ammonia? Your pH is also a bit high. To get the nitrate and nitrite levels down you'll need to do a large water change (50% or more). Be...

Thanks, eatyourpeas! My lovely assistant (daughter) and I will be putting the plants in shortly. We've got the sand in the tank and some of the spiderwood. The plants have been soaking in a bucket of water and we are about to get to it. I'm so excited! I've got a thread going in the...

I didn't see anything pinned on this, but is there a 'best practices' post somewhere about initial maintenance of a (fishless) newly planted tank? I am setting up a 20 gallon planted tank this weekend and have seen conflicting information about water changes (how many / how often), lighting...