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My old tank had gravel, and my current one has sand. I way prefer sand to gravel. I also find it is easier to clean, I follow the "whirlpool" method described by PrimeTimeAquatics youtube channel. I think it's in their "sand vs gravel" video. Basically, you just swirl your house like 2in above...

That sounds like it would be a very cool tank visually!! I would say any of your smaller shrimp species would be fine, cherry shrimp or any of the cool colored smaller ones... They come in blue, tiger, etc.

Hi! Welcome! Your tanks look lovely! I'm sorry your experience has been stressful so far! Hopefully soon it will be better!

I have not looked into this at all, but I'm curious what the difference is between getting "aquarium purpose" lights vs plant grow lights. Both are nowadays LED, and spectrums appear to be the same too, but I just got myself a 150w light for $150, and literally I have to wear sunglasses to...

Loving this conversation. So cool to watch what capable people can accomplish!!! Also, props on letting your kid get involved :) makes me think back to my own childhood, my dad let me help him with all kinds of projects and I am a more competent human being for it :)

That's what I was going to say, except better worded and with more relevant details :) (so really, I'm just waiting space with this comment) Regarding you concern of super long posts: I am someone who friends and coworkers alike love to harangue over my excessively long emails, so no worries...

Yes, but you have to consider the gas part and the liquid part separately. Water is an incompressible fluid, and thus the pressure "caused by" the water will not change, but it will convey the pressure from it's surroundings (aka, hydraulics - pushing down on a piston at one end of a system will...

You are quite talented! Especially that table!

I guess it depends on the size of the tank.... You're sure they're not "eurobraced"? Aka thin strip of glass on the inside rim that is nearly invisible? I'm not seeing anything like that in the pictures though. There are quite a few rimless tank designs, and I think they work up to a certain...

Looking wonderful! Interesting about the driftwood and algae, good to know as I work on setting up the 125gallon... I've had some driftwood sitting outside in an 80gal barrel for the last few months, definitely not what I would call "prime condition" lol. Hubby and I went to go check on how...

There are some gorgeous silver dollars in a 125gal (>500L) display tank at our LFS, and they look kind of cramped in that volume. They have a mix of the red tip and "regular" silver dollars. They need to be in groups of 6+, and looking at them in the 125gal, I'd personally not go that route. I...

Looking good! Plants look nice and vibrant. I know what you mean about light brightness... I have a terrestrial plant light for growing winter vegetables in the basement (yes, real vegetables like lettuce and herbs, not the other kind of... herb), and thankfully it's got a dimmer switch...

if you are concerned about your drinking water quality, you can get an under-sink cartridge style filter. They are more cost-effective than RO, and do not remove all the minerals (which, humans actually need as well). There have been a couple of reports in the medical literature of osteoporosis...

someone called for an article about silent cycles, so I made an attempt here: https://www.fishforums.net/threads/what-is-a-planted-silent-cycle.467698/ please provide feedback and corrections so we can make the article better!

yeah buckets are a huge pain. I think for the sake of you enjoying your hobby you are best off treating the entire volume (or, depending on how risk averse you are maybe a happy medium depending on how much water you change out...?), and using a hose system for water changes.

because your tank is currently at a low stocking level, now is an appropriate time to change out the substrate in parts if you do not have another tank for your fish to live in in the meantime. Many people successfully use sand for plants, but do plan on getting root tabs every 1-6months...

Hi Guys, thanks to everyone's expertise I have learned enough to have been able to write the above! @Essjay if this passes muster, feel free to sticky it! also for everyone: please give feedback on changes! I will edit as advised!

So ya got yourself a fish tank, and now you're wondering how to cycle it. You have a few options: 1) Fishless cycle: Set up your substrate and filter (decorations and plants are optional), buy pure ammonia, add enough to your tank to read 3ppm, wait. Full instructions here...

So ya got yourself a fish tank, and now you're wondering how to cycle it. You have a few options: 1) Fishless cycle: Set up your substrate and filter (decorations and plants are optional), buy pure ammonia, add enough to your tank to read 3ppm, wait. Full instructions here...

Have you used the substrate and fertilizers before in other tanks? I would do a test on each (put some into a 1L container for a week and test the water) to see if they are leeching anything into the water column. Have you tested your tap water? If you have nitrate in your tap water, OR your...

With regard to the carbon, you don't need to run carbon in a tank unless you are trying to remove specific toxins, like medications. It is best to only use carbon when it is needed, instead of always running it in the tank. I recommend switching out the carbon cartridge for a sponge (run them...

Was the impeller rattling with no water in the filter? It will do that and is bad for the impeller. If the impeller is rattling when there is water in the filter, check to make sure it is correctly placed in the slot, some impellers have a case around them that is slightly asymmetrical and you...

That is correct. For some reason if you dose directly into the tank the instructions say to treat the entire tank volume instead of the added volume only. It may be more cost-effective to treat the volume added prior to putting into the tank, but not everyone has the option to have intermediate...

Hmm so going with what the posters above had said, it definitely appears to be a water quality issue that caused the deaths. Changing 75 % of the water at a time is not a problem, since the beneficial bacteria live on surfaces, not in the water. When you changed your tank around, what did you...

PS I really appreciate it when smart people are willing to share their knowledge and explain things in a nice and understandable way :):)

Yeah, what that guy ^ said. I think the power surge caused the mechanical failure thingy he is talking about :D

Wow, that is an impressive looking tank!!

Someone already mentioned this, but I have first-hand experience of an inkbird failing catastrophically after a power surge. I had a similar inkbird (no wifi) controlling a keezer (kegerator made out of a freezer), and after a power surge it switched to "heating" permanently. Fortunately the...

I like what you have going on with the dragon stone. Maybe offset it to the side to go for more of a "rule of thirds" thing, but looks like a nice start!!

I think I would have to disagree somewhat with that. I think whether a planted/silent or a fishless cycle suits you better depends on your personality and level of patience, and what you find intriguing in the fish hobby. For instance: a fishless cycle takes 4-6 weeks to complete, but can be...

That is so cool that you were able to keep your fish alive in the 12l, and then upgrade and evolve as your knowledge increased into getting nice sized tanks. I'm sure your fish are happier and healthier for it! I'd love to see pictures as well!

what you are speaking of is a so-called "walstad-style" tank. from what I understand, those work when the plant volume is >50% of the tank volume, and the tank is tremendously understocked. You would still need a powerhead for water movement to prevent unoxygenated pockets of water from forming...

That's awesome that they will give you store credit for returning the fish! That way you will have some time to do your research on new fish before pulling a trigger on the next type of fish. Sorry that the serpaes didn't work out, they really are beautiful fish, but so it goes sometimes...

oh that was a neat tank!!! very cool!

I have an unknown type of bacopa in my tank that got sold as "bush plant" lol. it is a low tech tank with no bioload to speak of, and it's finally doing fine. I think my water parameters were very different compared to where it was originally grown, since when I first planted it all the leaves...

sounds like you did everything right! it was wonderful that you had substrate, decorations, and fast growing plants available to add to the new tank, and the stability is probably a great product to add beneficial bacteria to the tank as well. Nicely done!

hahah that cat is hilarious :D make sure it doesn't fall in!!

just a note, folks aren't kidding when they say 50% of the tank should be plants. I am attempting a silent cycle at the moment, and come to find my city uses chloramine so I'm inadvertently adding ammonia every time I do a water change, and It's not going so hot. Probably going to be in the...

awesome!! that's so exciting! Put up pictures when you have some!

Oh, I somehow assumed that your daughter was going to one of the schools we were referring to (Ohio State and University of Michigan, a well-known football rivalry in this country), so it would have been really ironic if she somehow managed to get through 4 years at a big-ten (the conference)...