bobo

Yeah - I have found that, but it would probably get expensive continually dosing a largish tank if there is some kind of underlying problem.

Yeah - I'll buy the SAEs if I end up with a BBA situation - which I'm worried I will, since this is a no CO2 tank (although low light).

Thanks. I'll definitely look into that list of Dwarf Cichlids. Plus I'll think about Bosemani Rainbows and Kribs. Ah the choices.

Yeah - I'll see if the Tiger Barbs settle down. However, with the way they were acting today I wouldn't trust the 'safe if in a school logic'. Dwarf cichlids are an idea - however my pH tends to fluctuate a little and I think they're a little sensitive to that. Still, they are cool.

I thought discus or angels wouldn't be compatible with Tiger Barbs? Although I do agree that it would be nice to have a 'centre piece' fish. I will certainly contemplate Plecos - I just don't know a lot about them - I'll have to read up on different types.

I'm not going to rush into stocking, I'll fully plant it first, and then slowly increase the bioload. Some ideas include: Bosemani Rainbows Kribs Zebra Loaches Corys - not entirely keen, but might get due to their cleaning capabilities SAEs - if/when I develop algae Any thoughts? Any fish that you think are compatible with the current occupants?

Thanks for all the help guys. I set up the tank today - probably over did it a little bit with the sand/gravel layers - I think I panicked about the idea of Dalton's clouding my water. I obviously have a lot more planting to do. But here is how it looks: In terms of stocking, we decided to go with the barbs, and I'm glad we did - they are awesome to watch. 10 Tiger Barbs (mixed regular and green) 1 Red Tail Shark 3 Bristlenose Cats Again, thanks for the advice!

60cm

I might go 5/2/2 then? So as not to need to go quite as far to hit the daltons. Will that 2cm of sand and 2cm of gravel be enough to keep the Daltons from 'escaping'? Cheers

They look pretty cool - kind of like Tiger Barbs but without the aggression? Are the readily available here?

So, will the 3/2/3cm set up I have work? Or should it be deeper? - I have heaps of Daltons and sand, not so much pebbles. I could easily go 4-5cm of Daltons/2-4cm of sand/3cm of pebbles. Just how deep do I want it? My top layer will be a 3-6mm gravel, which seems quite large, but since I won't be doing many gravel vacs, it allows for the detritus to settle into the substrate?

I'm going to be growing mainly crypts and swords.

So, doing a bit of reading, does this sound like it will work? Layer 1: Daltons - ~3cm - is that enough? Layer 2: Sand ~2cm Layer 3: Gravel/Pebbles ~3cm

Cheers Adrienne. Thanks Sam! A lot of your replies confirmed my thoughts, stocking remaining my only questions. Tiger Barbs: I like the idea of a highly active, entertaining fish, which means I'm trying to stock around them. Firstly, I thought if you kept them in a school (I could go for more than 7) they tended to confine their aggression to the school? What would make good tank mates for tiger barbs? If I moved away from tiger barbs, what would be some other active, entertaining species? I'm not sold on Angelfish - although the other half might be keen (in which case my opinions are a little redundant really). Do they show any interesting behaviours? I thought they sometimes chew on plants? Just looking for stocking ideas really... Cheers!

Heya, I'm setting up a couple of tanks on the weekend, so have a few questions. 1) Would there be any benefit in mixing JBL Florapol with Dalton's Aquatic Mix as my bottom substrate? I have some spare Florapol lying around. This spare Florapol is already mixed with gravel. So, I'd probably start with a thin gravel/Florapol layer, then a decent Dalton's layer, then my top layer of pebbles/gravel. Does this sound good - or should I just leave the Florapol out of it? TANK 1: ~20L 2) The first tank is an office tank I am setting up at home. I then need to be able to move it to work (I'll empty most of it). Will using Dalton's Mix give me a problem when I move it? should I avoid Dalton's in this tank? 3) Flora: Already have one decent sized Amazon Sword (the leaves actually point a little out of the top), surrounded by smaller Amazon Swords. I want it to look decent, but be easy to maintain. Am I right in thinking the Amazon Sword growth will be restricted if I cram them in? I don't want them growing too large in such a small tank. 4) Fauna: 1 Siamese Fighter. I want to keep maintenance and water changes to a minimum - so I thought I should probably leave the fighter as the sole occupant. Or would it be worth getting a 'clean up crew', like a couple of corys or a bristlenose. 5) Jumping Siamese Fighter: Can I get away with having the water level 2-3cm below the top of the tank, or should I look at having a glass pane on top? TANK 2: ~350L, 4'L, 1.5'D, 2'H 6) Stocking this tank. This is going to be heavily planted (with the Florapol/gravel, Dalton's, pebbles layers I mentioned earlier), low light, low maintenance. So, I want the stocking to be light without being too light. I was thinking: 7 Tiger Barbs 3-4 Gouramis - maybe Opaline 5 Zebra Loaches 1 Red Tail Shark 1-2 Bristlenose Pleco 1+ SAE How does that stocking sounds (in context of a low maintenance tank)? Too much? Too Light? Compatible? Do you think I should have some corys in there to help clean up, or will Zebra Loaches do a decent enough job at that (don't really want corys in this tank - unless they would be beneficial)? Any other species I should think about? Especially mid/top dwellers. 7) Are all those fish 'plant friendly'? Thank you for taking the time to read! Your responses are greatly appreciated

Found some Going to be a big mission changing the Oscar tank to a planted tank this weekend

It didn't have a brand name. It is what my local Palmer's uses for their pond plants, just titled aquatic mix. Reading the back they said to cover with pebbles, and that it was low in fertilisers in order to avoid algae.

I went to Palmer's and they had another aquatic mix, not Daltons. Would this be suitable - i.e. are all the mixes fairly similar?

For sure. If I got a substrate inappropriate for corys, I wouldn't put them in that tank. I don't think I articulated myself clearly - the corys were never a primary concern - I wanted a substance that would be good for the plants and for use with Dalton's. and corys would be a bonus. Cheers

Cool. Think I'll go the shadow gravel + Dalton's route then. Cheers for your replies guys

So why would you go for the pebble? The corys aren't my primary concern. My main concern is what works well with Dalton's and fish waste - although if it makes keeping corys possible, that's cool. Cheers

Good to know. This is .8mm-1.4mm - would it be too sharp? If it is, I could use a 3-6mm gravel such as: Would that work well on top of Dalton's? Alternatively, I could use sand, but I'm worried it is an inappropriate choice if I won't be vacuuming very often - thoughts? Thanks!

Heya, I'm a little confused regarding substrates, having read some conflicting information. I'm planning on having a low light, low maintenance tank. So, I thought sand would be inappropriate as I won't be doing many vacuums. I thought a larger material would be more appropriate, allowing the fish waste to slip down and in among the root. Something like: Which is 6mm in size. Will this be alright on top of the Dalton's? Should I have an intermediary layer? Will it be ok for corys? Thanks for your help!

Thanks for the replies. Is there any difference between using that lamp and similar power hood?

I have a small 20l tank I'm going to be using in my work office. I'm going to plant it heavily, in a low/medium light environment. I was going through trade me and stumbled on this: http://www.trademe.co.nz/Home-living/Pe ... 819068.htm (sorry if it breaks forum rules posting trademe links -if so, I'll remove). Essentially it is an 11W, T5, stand up lamp. Would this be suitable, instead of the standard 'lighting systems', that are out there? Cheers!