Quite a lot has happened since my first blog post. I have done more research, acquired my materials and dirted the tank!  (Video/at the bottom)

The Dirt:

I managed to find a "miracle gro organic choice" soil that is .10/.05/.10 on the nitrogen/phosphate/potash. Nice and low where it counts, and no chemical ferts as far as I can tell. Organic ferts most likely poultry so it may leech extra ammonia from what I have discovered. However, I think it is a good dirt. There are no…

I have a Marineland c530 canister filter that is sucking up the small fish, neons, to the intake and killing them.  Any ideas on how to put something over the intake to lessen the intake pressure by increasing the size of the intake?

I have a c530 Marineland canister filter and have been using it for about 6 months, I was thinking of checking it out as to see how dirty it is and replace the carbon and the polishing filter media this week.  Any suggestions on what to use to improve the filter?  I have seen on you tube several additional items.  Anyone out there have and ideas?  Thanks.

I have a 90 gallon aquarium that is having a problem with nitrates.  The other chemistry, ammonia, nitrites, etc are very good.  But my nitrates are sometime higher than I want.  Anyone know what to buy and where to buy it to help me keep those nitrates lower?  I am using a marineland  c530 along with a HOB Tetra filter, a UV and a home made bio filter.  Some suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.

I purchased some ceramic/slate tiles from Lowes and was wondering if they are safe to use in the aquarium. I have several sizes. None of these have ever been used on a floor. They are whole, no broken pieces. Are they safe to use in an aquarium? If one ends up broken is it safe to use?

Are they safe to use whole?

Are they safe to use broken?

Faith 

I have a 90 gallon tank with a bunch of fresh water fish.  They have been kicking off at about one a day lately.  Did a water change Sunday, my chemistry is great, no ammonia, nitrites or nitrates of any amounts dangerous to fish.  Then someone reminded me about salt,  I had forgotten about adding some when I set the tank up 6 months ago.  I have a marineland c530, a HOB tetra, a UV filter and a home made biological filter running off a power head.  The water is crystal clear and the temp is…

My name is Chad and I am recently new to Fishtank TV.

It has been years since I have kept up a fishtank!!!

I am 28 years old now and have never set up a tropical tank.

When I was younger, I had some goldfish, some frogs, etc.

But now I am wanting to set up my first tropical tank!!!



Recently, my niece set up a 20 gallon tall tank that my sister had at their house.



It didn't take too much of me seeing the tank and looking on YouTube and stuff to get me…

Alright so I'm not so sure on whats going on in my tank you may want to take a look at my previous post to get a better idea but my Ph is CONSTANTLY high i can't get it to come down no matter how much I try what chemicals I put in it. I mean this is unhealthily high as well it bordering on tap water Ph... My ammonia seems to be in check since it is a new tank I expect ammonia fluctuation, none of my fish have died yet but I would very much appreciate some feed back. 

When I…

Okay guys so my tank has been cycling for about a week, with some neons and an African Brown Knife and I went to my local fish store and he told me adding some live plants would help the tank get balanced so now I've got a couple of little plants such as water wisteria (only as of now is it small), some java  ferns, some Anubias and some rotala not all of it is small I guess but what I was curious about is how much light I should have the tank is 29 gallons 20" high? What I didn't consider…

I am redoing my dirted tank and applying new dirt and sand. I plan on having giant hairgrass, rotala india, crypts, and moss. Will a two bulb t5 HO light fixture be enough light for this tank?

Also, buying bulbs from zoo med the 65K and a rose bulb as well. Plus might upgrade the filter. Running two HOB aquon filters one 200GPH then a 100 GPH. I am running co2 and dosing first and the florish line.

If you have any other ideas please help if…

Alright so I finally got a 180 gallon tank. It is 6x2x2. My question is what kind of lighting do you guys with bigger tanks (125-220ish) have for plants? Im trying to do this as cheep as I can. Im taking down a 75 and a 55 to make room for the 180, so I have 2, 48inch dual t5s that I can put on there but I doubt that will be enough? Im thinking about running 85watt cfls (about four of them) as well since Ive had good luck with them and with two 48 inch strips the…

This is to be my walstad tank build blog.

My fiancé and I have recently moved and painted and now its time for the aquarium!

I have been doing some digging and have found the "walstad method" which I think has been known in other names for a long time. Anyway, I am intrigued and excited to dirt the tank!

I will be posting pics and perhaps video of the build process, and I have never dirted a tank before so I am open to comments and suggestions. 

I think…

I am having some trouble to get my plants to sway. I have a canister 305 going on full blast and it does about half the tank. I attempted to add a powerhead that does 850GPH..Which is an overkill. I am having trouble getting flow to the other half of my 55.

Have any solutions?

I was possibly thinking about buying a powerhead that is rated for a nono tank maybe 425GPH, or even the Hagen mini filter for flow. If you have any suggestions please…