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The substrate is the "bed" of a healthy established aquarium. Once it is running, as essjay noted, various species of bacteria beyond the common nitrifiers will colonize especially the substrate, and form the basis of a stable biological system. This is why the substrat is so important. All...

No, it is not true. Loaches are highly social fish, and as I have said establish an hierarchy early on. A female is the alpha fish and she keeps the hierarchy in tow. You need at least five, six is better, to avoid possible issues. The stress things like this cause cannot be seen until it is...

This is difficult to answer because I have no idea how intense this light is. This was for me a huge problem when looking for LED (which I never managed to sort out, another story). Ever since the 1980's I used T8 fluorescent tubes, and the wattage was standard for the length of the tube, so...

As essjay npoted, you will get different pH readings from the high range and normal range liquid test kits. You first need to ascertain which test to use, and that depends entirely on the pH of the source water. You obviously cannot test this with the kits, so you can usually obtain the pH...

I found the warm (4425K) and daylight (6500K) a very good match both for colour rendition and plant response/growth. Having said that, I do not know this particular unit, and LED can be different. But I would think this mix better.

Edit, just saw the 4425K option, that with a 6500K would probably be ideal.

My comments are directed solely at the spectrum. I do not know anything about the light units, intensity, etc. Kelvin is a useful means of assessing spectrum, as is CRI (colour rendering index). K is more common. Plants need light that is high in the red and blue as these two colours drive...

I concur with other members on the numbers of the loach. Generally peaceful, but like all loaches (to some degree) they establish a social structure within the group and there will be some in-fighting though not damaging if the fish are maintained in a group of at least six but preferably more...

UV does not and will not kill most of whatever is in the water because all the water cannot pass through it into a second aquarium. My city water is treated with UV, but it is effective because the water leaves the reservoir, passes through the UV, and then disperses through the water mains...

I would rethink some of this. First off, if you intend having cloudy/hazy water, you do not want CO2 because the plants will not get sufficient light to do well enough to need it. And CO2 is believed to be negative on fish, not surprising. The light has to be very dim, and plants will...

A spawning pair of Corydoras place each egg individually on a surface. Most will get eaten by almost any fish. Neon tetra certainly. The pygmy cory is said to be better at not eating its own eggs. Any egg that does get placed in a more secluded spot by the spawning pair stands a much better...

There are issues with the fish stocking, some of which have already been mentioned but others have now appeared too. First, the light...some of the plants listed need fairly intense lighting. But nano fish do not, and need a good cover of floating plants. And CO2, not a good idea. This does...

So far as I know, from Ian Fuller's posts on Corydoras World, C. julii will be wild caught. And very rare. These are native to streams in NE Brazil, so knowing that is where they come from usually answers the species question. Patterns on most Corydoras can be variable, so the source is an...

I do not know if C. julii (or C. trilineatus, whichever) are more shy than others. I have had around 15 species over the years, and some are certainly out more than others. I wouldn't worry about this. As for more cories, a few more panda are advisable. In my experience, this is a species...

First comment, I would not get the Tetra Pleco Spirulina Wafers. They might be OK if you only had the ancistrus, but I would not want my cories eating these. Ingredients from Tetra: Cereals, Vegetable protein extracts, Derivatives of vegetable origin, Yeasts, Oils and fats, Algae (Ascophyllum...

From your question, I assumed you had plants and were asking how long before fish. Fishless cycle then, so what are ammonia, nitrite and nitrate testing?

Can you post a photo of the entire tank so we can see the extent of the plants?

Perfectly normal. Most if not all of the 148 (to date) valid species currently assigned to the polyphyletic genus Hyphessobrycon behave this way. Males constantly challenge, but rarely does this lead to physical issues though it can. But usually nothing more than a split dorsal fin.

Chemical filtration refers to filtration using substances like carbon, purigen, etc. In a planted tank, these are never advisable because they mess with the nutrients plants need. In non-planted tanks, they may have a use depending upon the source water.

I completely and totally and unreservedly and without hesitation agree with @Essjay here. As I usually do anyway... :friends: Iron is a micronutrient, and it can kill plants, fish and bacteria. I over-used it several years ago in one tank, listening to other members on a plant forum, and...

This I cannot answer. Albino forms of a species are white and so far as I know they remain white. But I've no idea as to the effect of a contrasting substrate may have on such a fish.

Never but never use any additive/substance to deal with an issue unless it is safe and effective. A fish is continually "drinking" by taking in water via osmosis. Substances dissolved in the water that are able to diffuse across the cell membranes will enter into the fish's bloodstream and...

It was a few years ago that I looked at the various brands in one of my better local fish retailers, I selected the type of food I needed and then from the ingredients narrowed it down.

In that case, you should definitely keep the surface disturbance going all night, even more than durinng the day, but certainly not less. In an aquarium with fish being fed, organics continually occur. These settle into the substrate, and in the filter (the brown gunk). Various species of...

I agree with Naughts here. There are serious issues just waiting to happen. We need to know the GH and pH of the source water. And the loaches and Chinese AE are not going to work here.

You have this reversed. During the daylight, with live plants, you do not want excessive surface disturbance because it risks driving off CO2 which the plants need to photosynthesize. During darkness, the CO2 being produced 24/7 will build to provide sufficient for the next day, but you have...

I concur with the posts of @TwoTankAmin but I would suggest the algae issue has nothing to do with the filter. It is light and nutrients. It is true that regular water changes, keeping the filter clean, vacuuming the substrate will all help to avoid what I term problem algae, but in the end...

Never seen this brand. When I looked around and settled on the foods I use I checked what was available locally, and found quality brands so that was as far as I checked into it.

No, they don't, very helpful isn't it. Well, lets assume it is OK, they do have "red/bleu/green" mentioned, so may be fine. That is the mix in good plant light.

My opinion on live/frozen/prepared foods, based upon the advice from breeders and biologists online. The most nutritious food is prepared/dry flake/pellet/tab/. Quality food, no meals, as little cereal binders as possible. The nutritional value of these cannot be matched by live or frozen...

In my opinion, no. Excel is glutaraldehyde, just look that up and tell me you want it in a fish tank. I know, many use Excel, and say there is no issue, but I do not believe in subjecting my fish to disinfectants for no reason. And there is no reason, because yu do not need the so-called...

Black construction paper works well, I had it on all my tanks. Tape it to the outside (obviously). It is not shiny so it does not reflect (better for fish), it brings out the fish and plant and decor colours, and it makes the space seem more spacious.

The blue won't help as I previously suggested. Do you know the spectrum of the white light? The Kelvin number, or the CRI (colour rendering index) will tell us this. You are silent cycling, so presumably you are not adding any artificial ammonia. This can weaken and even kill some plants...

Yes, I should have included the link previously, wasn't thinking. Mike has many very useful articles, and even some from my pen. :drinks: We've known each other for over a decade, initially as moderators on another site which shall be nameless. But we kept in touch after leaving and I readily...

Member @AbbeysDad has researched the issue of food and has a couple articles on his blog. I have problems with this article. For one thing, I have never seen "whole fish meal" on a fish food; I have seen whole fish, whole salmon, whole herring, whole shrimp, and all of these are fine as fish...