Recent content by PlantsPlantsandmorePlants

Aqueon QuietFlow 30. I'm more interested in what type of media you used to house your bacteria. You mentioned a sponge, I've also heard of bioballs, carbon filter pads, and others. Would just a normal sponge do it?

I installed and cycled my tank using the included cartridge, but I wanted to use my own media so that I don't need to keep buying filter cartridges, which can also harm my cycle, and so that I can transfer media to my Quarantine tank after sterilizing it between uses. How should I do this? I...

No, just gravel. Didn't have too much more room for more decorations, so I didn't get any rocks.

Threw it in. Having trouble getting it to stay down, I just let it float at the top, and as it gets waterlogged it will hopefully have less resistance to the point that I can get it to stay

Thanks for the help. Do I need to be worried about tannins? I'll put it in right now if I'm able to, that way I can get started on my partial rescape.

Ok. I have tons of fishing line, I assume that clear is best? And will do. I can add it as soon as it sinks, right? Or do I need to wait longer?

Hello all, since I last posted asking for help, my tank has since cycled and I've added fish, things are going great! I bought a piece of spiderwood driftwood, and I'm wondering what I should do to treat it. It says it's already heat treated, so I'm currently soaking it to waterlog it. Should I...

Ok, I've been adding ammonia following a fishless cycle so far. I'm not planning to buy a ton of plants (I got 8 species and will propagate them as needed to help my budget out), so I was using a fishless cycle. I can add more plants from my old tank before I transfer the fish, as there are a...

Ok, in that case, then I should be good, as it did 3ppm in 18 hours and cleared (3.5ppm of ammonia) worth of nitrite in 1 and 3/4 days. That last sentence is kind of confusingly worded, hopefully it got the point across. I'll let it sit for a little bit longer, and then run another test for 24...

Hey everyone, Things have changed a lot since I last posted here. Plants are in the tank -- some are melting, and others have already started growing. I added 3.5 ppm ammonia two days ago. 18 hours later it was down to 0.5ppm, and nitrites were more than 5ppm. Today, nitrites are zero, ammonia...

I ordered 8 plants, in addition to the few I already have, and the 2 from my old tank that I'll transfer. Ammonia tested as zero for the first time, as I went away for a few days and didn't re-dose. Hopefully the tank is almost cycled and the plants will just push it the last bit, but I suspect...

This area where my tank is does get some natural light. I flipped off my lights for now. I might go for a planted cycle, especially since I kind of need to move my fish from the old tank into this one -- the sealant on the old one is starting to come off. Not in anywhere it would leak, but a...

Hello everyone, I'm back with another update, and a request for advice. My ammonia has been dropping, quite rapidly, from about 2ppm to 0.5 ppm the following day 24 hours later, although this has been accompanied by a huge bloom of diatoms (I assume that's what they are, as it's brown algae)...

Ok cool, thanks. I figured that basically the only thing that matters is the tank's ability to process the fish waste, whether it's through bacteria, or plants. Glad to hear that confirmed.

Thanks, I gleaned that from articles online. Is it OK if I do a hybrid cycle? Basically using some number of plants, but following the fishless instructions?