Personal experience and supporting testimony from others on the forum - I use it in quarantine tanks at the first sign of ammonia. The best way to control algae in an immature tank is plants - it's been almost a year, and except a bit of brown algae 3 months in, I've only just started getting green hair algae in my planted community, and even that's just barely hanging on in a corner between some rocks. Not suitable with all fish, but it's a silver bullet where it does work.
Yes, Lansing area. I'll check out Preuss, I've heard of it before. As for the filter and the media (again...<----complete fish no0b), Im not sure exactly whats up with the filtration system. Not sure exactly how "Under gravel filtration" works, but from what I can gather it is basically a place for the bacteria to grow. That being the case I'm not sure how I'd transfer the bottom of a 5 gal tank into a 60 gal aquarium. And I believe "media" refers to the gravel? That being the case my kids helped pick everything out for their fish. So I currently have rainbow colored gravel (I believe its turning my air hose pink). I still want them to be involved and help pick everything out, but if I'm gunna go all out ($) to try to make these fish happy and healthy, I don't really want to have a 60 gal aquarium filled with rainbow gravel smile.gif . So I think I'm going to have to recycle a new tank. Maybe I'd be able to "bury" the rainbow gravel in the new gravel??? I'd assume over time it would surface and look pretty messed up tho. Lastly, is there a certain brand/brands I should look for for the tank/filter/supplies? Also is there a certain "top brand" for chemicals etc?
Media is where the bacteria grow. For an undergravel filter, yes, the bacteria will grow in the gravel. They've fallen into disuse, as they're difficult to clean and maintain, requiring the tank to be almost completely torn down to fix any problems. Unfortunately, I don't have any tanks with them, so there's not much I can do for you as far as mature media. Transfering media from the 5 to the 60, if you use another undergravel, you can just spread the old gravel over the filter plate and then lay new gravel over it, but it'll get mixed in eventually with gravel vacs and regular water changes. It won't make the fish unhappy, but urgh - my aunt has a 75 gallon with that stuff and glow-in-th-dark fake plants and the thing burns your retinas.
If you use a different type of filter (I'd suggest a canister for a 60, though you can use two of the big hanging filters - don't trust the volume hanging filters say they handle), you can put the gravel in a filter bag inside that, or at that point you can get mature media from an established tank like mine.
For the tank, there really isn't a best brand, they're all just big glass boxes. For filters, around here the best ones I can get are Marineland and Fluval canisters. If you go with hanging filters, aquaclear, aquatech, and cascade are all good, and I've seen some interesting Rena hanging filters that have a large media capacity, but I have no experience with those. Biowheels are popular and come recommended, but if Lansing is also serviced by Consumer's Energy, I wouldn't use one. When the power goes out, the biowheel stops turning, potentially drying out your bacteria.
For heaters, there's only one brand sold around here, and that's Topfin, but if you can find a different brand try them - I've had to return more Topfin heaters than I've actually put into use - most of the ones I bought would heat the water to 90 on their lowest setting. Chemicals, there's only one you need for regular use, and that's a water conditioner. Seachem Prime is one of the best recommended, but it isn't sold in the Tri-cities. I use Weco Dechlor. It's a pond product, but dirt cheap and it works. A $4 bottle will treat 2000 gallons of water, which is well over a year's worth of water changes for me. Just need it to remove chlorine and maybe ammonia if you get a positive ammonia reading from your tap. There's some that say they have stress reducing agents, biological additives, and all sorts of other crap - I'd stay away from them. The great thing about Prime and similar products that just do what you need is that it's safe to overdose within reason. When in doubt, you can just add another dose and make sure. I've read that some of the more complex water conditioners become dangerous if you overdose this way.
Incidentally, a friend of mine has rainbow gravel, and her air hose also turned pink. I never thought it could have been related to the gravel.
. So I think I'm going to have to recycle a new tank. Maybe I'd be able to "bury" the rainbow gravel in the new gravel??? I'd assume over time it would surface and look pretty messed up tho. Lastly, is there a certain brand/brands I should look for for the tank/filter/supplies? Also is there a certain "top brand" for chemicals etc?
