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Common snails will multiply and multiply and multiply. They will mess with some plants I think, but I couldn't tell you what exactly. I doubt black moors will eat them, but firemouth cichlids, dwarf puffers, and clown loaches think they're quite yummy ;) I've seen a LOT of snail eggs in my...

A tank doesn't look right without some type of substrate. Even the bright colored gravel is better than nothing about making it look natural. Also, most fish can see their reflection on the bottom and some get spooked by it. A tank without substrate and plants is a prison, not a home.

Maybe I'm just reading it wrong, but he said it was good that the pH went down because he needed acidic water for the fish he has..... he never said that 7.2 is acidic. I was delighted when my pH dropped from the 7.8 it is as tapwater down to 7.2.... and then CO2 injection pushed it down a bit...

Has the water ever gone cloudy on you? That's the sign of a bacterial bloom, and that's when nitrite starts showing up. You either just have to wait it out, or if you can, swipe some gravel from an established tank to get it started. I just set up a new tank over the weekend with a few...

I thought 24" bulbs were 20 watts each.... and 18" bulbs were 15 watts each. In theory you could take the cover off to see the ballast and actually read what the wattage is for it.... but I don't think you're gonna find anything above 20 watts in 24" bulbs.

It is awesome the first time you see your plants pearling.... especially if it's a slow growing plant like java fern, and the bottom side of the leaf is absolutely covered in little oxygen bubbles :D It almost makes all the work to get to that point worthwhile :)

EWWW, you would want to ruin that big tank by putting a UGF in it? ;) 75 would have to have a few clown loaches and maybe some kuhlis in there. They're just so cute you can't ignore them.

My danios have never nippped another fish's fins.... but they ARE greedy little pigs that manage to steal most of the food before my other fish can get it. Maybe mine are just too fat to be fast enough to nip fins ;)

Well you've already got one up on me as far as LFS and plants. Around here, most just look at me like I'm insane when I ask for any plants. The only things that I can find with any regularity are amazon swords and java fern. And forget about asking for anything by its scientific name... they...

Well, here's what I have so far. I bought the tank the other night, along with a HOT Magnum filter rated at 250gph..... more than enough. The substrate is a lower layer of flourite, covered with a top layer of Onyx Sand.... both are Seachem products sold as specialty plant substrates. The...

I sure wouldn't pay $1 for a tadpole! They are fascinating to watch them turn from a little swimming dot with a tail into a frog/toad... but I wouldn't want to keep one in an aquarium either :( If your son really wants some, I can look and see if there are any toad tadpoles in my grandparents...

New info for you that I just learned today. I got some plants in the mail yesterday, planted them this morning, and my otos have torn up the Jungle Val. There are little holes all over it where they've been snacking. When I first put it in, I know I watched a bunch of them rush over to it...

What exactly does the D ring gasket on the top look like? Should it be a thick piece of foam rubber, or is it like some car gaskets and very very thin? I have this odd feeling that the one I bought tonight... well.... doesn't have one. right now I'm running it with nothing more than a piece...

Today at lunch, I'm gonna go pick up a 20gal long to setup as a planted guppy tank. I want it to be heavily planted, a little guppy forest... and a blanket of riccia, java moss, dwarf sag, etc for the ground. I was gonna go with a biowheel filter so I could really jump start the cycle by just...

Oh but it's worse. You don't even have to buy one of those pre-packaged deals to get the fancy laser show.... now you can buy lasers seperately! I was looking to see how much Petsmart sells their twin tube lights for and saw this.... "thing" Aquarium Laser System

Well the only thing with plants is... how much light do you have? Plants like lots of light, and really... they like CO2 injection as well. You can keep things like water sprite, java fern, java moss, etc in very low light... but they won't really flourish. Java fern is about the easiest...

Oh, one last step I forgot. Use the back side of a knife, or a closed pair of scissors, or some other object for scraping each of the cuts you made to get rid of any excess hanging pieces of plastic. Most table saw cuts should be very clean, but if you had to use a hacksaw for anything...

I agree with the plant idea. Add a Water Sprite or two if you can. They're easy to grow, look pretty good, and soak up nitrates like you wouldn't believe. They can also help cut down on algae, because the outcompete algae for the nutrients in the water.

I think the timers say "not for use with flourescents" because they're afraid full voltage won't get through... and it'll screw up the ballasts. If you're that worried about it, you can find a timer intended to control other things like sprinklers, etc.... and that should be safe for you...

The light is actually about 1" longer than the tank itself, so it rests up on the tank frame.... not on the glass.

And finally pictures of the finished product: Total cost for the hood was about $50, mostly due to the cost of shipping for that cheap hinge :no: All in all, it tok me about an hour to figure out what I was doing and actually build it. I think it was well worth it to get something between...

And finally, test the handle in the hole/holes. Once you're sure it fits well, you're done. Take the handle off, rip off all the protective plastic, slide the pieces back in the hinges, and put the handle back on. You're ready to put your new hood on top of your tank. Put it on top, put...

And now it's time for the final details. Measure and mark where you want your handles to go so you can drill the holes for it. Clamp a piece of scrap wood on the backside of the plexi to prevent chipping as the drill bit passes through. Drill slowly to prevent cracking.

Slide the hinge piece on both pieces of plexiglass like they'll eventually be. Again.. put it on top and test fit. Keep in mind that during this test fitting, the hinge will slide on SO much easier with the protective plastic still in place.

Once the plexi fits where you want it to, put your light back on top and mark the cut for the hinge. Come out just a bit in front of the light right to make sure you have room to clear it, but don't come out too far or you're gonna cut down on space you have to get your hand in the opening...

At this point you should have a nice clean cutout that's able to clear all your filters and other devices on the back. Of course, if you were just doing a space for a small thing like air hoses or a thermometer, a simple drill or a holesaw would have done the trick. If you use a holesaw on...

At this point, the blade should be under the surface of the table, not in contact with the plexi. Move the plexi so that the blade will come up through the plexi along the cut line you want. Turn on the saw, and use the crank on the front to raise the blade up through the plexi until you've...

Set your rip fence and cut the notches that way. Plexiglass cuts best if you have the blade only about 1/8" above the top of the glass, but you're gonna have to raise it more for these cuts or else you'll take too much out of the bottom of the glass due to the curved nature of the blade...

Next step.... after you test fit it, if you have any of the mentioned hoses, filters, etc in the way... obviously it's not gonna go. Mark where they are and measure how much room you'll need for those cuts. Mark these so you'll know how deep to cut in. For me, it was 2" deep

Well, my first contribution here.... here goes. I bought a cheap "Top Fin" kit from Pet Smart not really knowing any better a while back. It came with a cheap crappy hood and REALLY crappy lights.... 2 18" 15watt flourescents. The top has has a divider down the middle with 2 ~23 1/2" hoods...

I'm in the process of doing mine. I've done a part of the aquarium where I want to plant things in the next few days, but haven't gotten on to the rest yet. So what's the secret for rinsing this stuff. The little bit I put in clouded the water like crazy! It settled in a little over a day...

Hey guys, first post here for me, but I'm not THAT much of a newbie ;) I just wanted to see what you guys think of one of my bettas. The first one I ever got, affectionately named "Catchow" because the cats love to sit and watch him, resides in my 55gal community tank. He's as happy as a lark...