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I'm not actually aware of any freshwater keepers that check for phosphates lol - but I may very well be wrong! I am very new to planted tanks. Yes I noticed that the diatoms in my filter pipes just started peeling away in chunks a few weeks ago. I wouldn't be able to tell they were going...

Na, sounds like what you've got there is diatoms. Algae can't use carbon, in fact it's toxic to it which is why people often use it to combat algae problems. Diatoms are totally normal for newly set up tanks and it will eventually disappear on its own. All you can do is: manually clean it off...

I should probably keep my mouth shut as I am totally useless as this stuff - but - different types of algae are caused by different things. Can you either post a picture of the algae or let us know what it looks like/what you think it is?

Yep! They are very peaceful fish.

Well you could put 5 or 6 in with 3 guppies and you would be fully stocked.

What about some dwarf corys (corydoras hastatus)? Have you considered sparkling gouramis instead of a livebearer? They are pretty fish!

Na don't worry about a water change. It' best to just let it run its course IMO!

Yeah hold off and only add ammonia once a day from now on :) Your fish will never produce 6 or 8ppm of ammonia in 24 hours so just dose 2 or 3 ppm :good: I think you may just be overdoing it with the ammonia :P

Start a new thread and ask for stocking advice :)

Yeah the guppies will be fine you can add more TBH. You can fully stock the tank if you want. Just make sure ammo and nitrite are both 0 before adding any fish :)

Sorry to hear about your ram, I hope she pulls through. The new scape is gorgeous :)

Thank you! He's a real character :D

Good luck! I'm very jealous :)

Yup!

You can run it at the same time, but there's no benefit (unless you've got an external heater ;)) and it'll just fill with water making it more of a pain to add your old media later. Be sure to rinse all of your new media well before using it, it may cloud you water otherwise. I would move the...

lol I wanted to suggest that too but couldn't think of the name for the right one! :good:

If there is room yeah just cram it all in lol - even if you have to cut it to fit - it's allll good :good: If you feel it's too tight a squeeze you can cut sections out of your new filter media to fit the old stuff in. Don't worry you'r not going to danage anything it can be wedged in any whicha...

You should set your new tank up adding water and getting the temperature right and then when you are ready to move the fish over just remove the media from your old filter and put it into the new filter. Then add fish and you're done! If you need to remove substrate etc. from your old tank to...

The flow in your tank will help with that. A well directed current in your tank will "sweep" all of the mess into one area, making it easy to clean. I like the fact that it sits on top because then I know that there's isn't some secret nastiness building up between the bits of gravel. I've...

I know dude :crazy: I did at first fintastic but I do't anymore. I got rid of my cardinals for the exact same reason, they were sooo boring. Now I just think of it like this: we spend so much time and energy on our tanks looking after them and making them look nice, we may as well have the...

Yup normal thread is fine. Yeah you can just get maybe a small bit of slate to tie it to, then it'll be hidden behind the wood and you won't be able to see any difference to how it looks now :)

The plastic on the bottom of your tank is probably what creates the "floating base" on your tank. This is a very useful thing meaning that you don't need to put any polystyrene (sp?) under the tank to support the bottom of the tank and prevent cracking. SO I say get a stand that either fits the...

Thanks for the replies everyone :)

lol...mmm that may be the problem :/ :lol: :lol:

I'm not sure on ID-ing the plant for you but I do recommend you go ahead and trim off all of those leaves that look damaged or brown. It'll keep your water cleaner and keep the plant healthy. Just use a pair of sharp scissors and trim the stem as close to the base as you can get. Also, since...

They aren't reliable for sure lol but you should get something whether it's 100% accurate or not is another question.:P I dunno, I think your plan is a good one. We'll not worry too much about the nitrate for now :)

Hmmm, you nitrite eating bacteria should be producing nitrate for you :/ I'm not sure what's going on there and can only advise you to keep an eye on it! I still feel that you could add fish tomorrow if you wanted to, as long as you are diligent with testing and any water changes IF needed. :P...

Aggghh!! Why aren't there any bargains in The 'Lisle!?!?!?!

Yeah just shaking it hard may not work, bang it on the worktop lol! My pleasure :D

Love it! But that first picture is more than a little creepy haha :fun:

Are you using the API test? If so,before you use it you need to drum both nitrate bottles against a hard surface for a good minute or so. Really give them a bash and shake as the active ingredient separates from the liquid.

mmm, yeah it would probably be OK, just be sure to monitor your levels very closely the first couple of days. :)

Hear hear!

Excellent! Good for you :D I would go for maybe another day or two with adding ammonia once a day, as you should be getting some nitrates. But by first appearances it looks like you're ready to go :good:

You should actually always put a betta in last, to try and prevent territorialism :good:

Thanks onidrase :) well said!

My cycle took about 6 weeks :)

Yep, I would just keep dosing ammo to 3ppm once a day until both ammo and nitrite are dropping to 0 in 12 hours. Even when that happens keep adding ammo for a few days, to play it safe. It takes longer for nitrite to drop than it does for ammo so be patient you'll be done in no time :D

There are a few members on here that post it for sale frequently. If you go to the plant classified section, click watch at the top and set it to instant email (or something to that effect) then you won't miss when someone posts some for sale, as it goes quick and is often me getting it lol :hey:

I like the sound of 3 ppm better for some reason so it's the number I always recommend. I feel like it's high enough to allow you to fully stock your tank all at once but low enough not to lengthen the cycle by too much. I've got nothing scientific to base that on it's just a mix of personal...