Im starting this blog for my 180 gallon planted tank to not only have a record of the evolution of the tank but for others as well. When I was first starting my tank there was not really any information from people with bigger tanks, especially on this site so hopefully this will help some of you out and feel free to ask questions. I plan on updating with a picture once a month. 

WEEK…

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       So over the years I've learned how to keep fish, then how to grow plants, and all the tips and tricks and D.I.Y. methods that come with these things, but one thing that I think goes overlooked on this site is aquascaping.

Its such a vast topic, I know, but the thing about it is that for the most part, it can not simply be researched. I know you can find things like "Don't center your focal point", and "tall plants in…

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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…

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Hey guys, so I was gone all weekend and I returned to my rainbows looking like this. One of them is very bad and 3 others have developed darker scales and they seem to get dark blue, then gray, then white. Its not spots tho it seems more like the scales changing color and falling off or something, also they have the classic white poop. I had just done a dirt convert a few weeks back but I did a water change before leaving. There was a freshly dead tetra in the tank although he has been the…

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Hey guys, I want a puffer, and I'm wondering if anyone here has kept one. It 

obviously would have to be a freshwater species, but I also want to know if there is a

certain species which I can get that does well with other fish AND plants. Also I know

that puffers require a diet of snails to keep their…

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    Alright guys, I'm setting up a old 20 gallon (planted) tank, if it was yours what would

you stock it with???

        Hey guys, I originally posted this in the DIY forum but because of all the spam nobody can ever see it so i decided to post it here as well. Anyway I am getting ready to set up a 20 gallon tank (with dirt) that I have just sitting around, and since it has no light with it im going to use some CFL spiral light bulbs because of how cheep and effective they can be. What I want to know is how you guys have done it, show me some pictures, what does your hood…

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Im getting ready to finally convert to dirt. But before I do I want to clear something up. I've been hearing that after about a year the strength of the dirt decreases dramatically.
First off is this true? And if it is what are the veteran dirt users out there doing to avoid this issue, redirting their tanks? Some how "feeding" the dirt? I hoping someone can answer this for me so i can fully convert to dirt soon.
Thanks,
Alex.

So Im thinking about adding some bosemani to my tank in February but Im hesitant because I already have turquoise rainbows in there. I like the look of a tank with a single species of rainbows but at the same time i would also like some bosemani. Also Im afraid that because my current rainbows are of decent size now and there is a clear alpha male in the tank, will that effect the young bosemani's color and size?? Please give me some feed back.
Thanks,
Alex