Recent content by abandonedbrain

An update: over a month in, and the fish are doing great. We're up to a dozen harlequin rasboras, and a pretty pair of dwarf neon rainbows. Thinking about upping the count next weekend to add a pair of dwarf gouramis and a few small fish, maybe some bloodfin or red eyed tetras (daughter's fallen...

So I'm trying to not worry too much about "melting". Ludwigia faded a bit for a couple days, but now it's looking like there's plenty of new growth there. Anubias is starting to wilt and fade, so are the crypts. Star grass looks OK, pennywort is looking stronger. Moss is indifferent.   No CO2...

Will do. I'll try to upload one or two right now.   The one with a closeup, I'm not certain what that is, but I think it's anubias. Size is about 4" long, and I was told it should NOT be planted in the gravel, merely tie it to a rock, or "pinch" it between two rocks (which is what I did). And...

Thanks for the assist, all. I finally received my 48" LED strip (from BuildMyLED, tuned to freshwater planted lighting), and we went to the LFS today to stock. Ended up getting some pennywort, red ludwigia, hygrophila (big bunch planting, not sure exactly which), anubias nana, java moss...

Excellent, didn't know that about the white clouds. I'm aiming temps at 76-77F, is that OK for the other fishies?   And I like the idea of rainbows, as well. I'll look into those. I did have moneywort on the short list, as well as maybe 'hygrophila polysperma" and Mexican Oakleaf.   Thanks, all!

Hey, all.   I've finally received almost everything I've been scrimping and saving for to start off on a good footing with an aquarium. Today, just to molify the kids, I started setting up the substrate and deco after running the tank for about 10 days (just making sure the filter and tank were...

(Sorry, I didn't see a way to edit my own post...)   Got the new tank and stand, and I picked up a T8 40W 6700K bulb to at least start with. LFS tech agreed that it would be OK to start the plants under this, but don't expect much growth. That's fine, I just need to get the tank started on a...

New tank is just a tank, I didn't buy a combo unit. Old light is from an old tank, person I bought it from had it on the bad 75-gallon tank. He didn't keep plants, so it was probably enough to watch fish with. You're right in that I don't think I'll see any growth, but I can't start the tank...

Hiya.   OK, so after some bad starts (poor used tank purchase, flushed that, starting with a new tank), I'm getting a new tank this weekend (if the stand made it in today at the local shop). 75 US gallon glass.   With my bad used purchase (don't ask) I picked up a great AquaClear 500 (now called...

On a side note, I've been wondering about this. I live next to a river, and have wooded areas all around (in Midwest US, oak, maple, choke cherry and poplar for the most part). If I find pieces of interest (either on dry land or near/in the river), are those safe to put into a (new) tank (75...