SanityChelle

The simplest way is not picking either of them. The second simplest is assuming that it's always parrot feather.

Not sure what you mean by rocks in the bottom of jars is a myth? It's been working fine for me for years. Herbs, succulents, cacti, emersed plants. Just don't over water them and they grow crazy. When they get too big, just pull them out and repot them. Easy. I guess different people have different experiences.

It's huge! Not sure about the tiny ceramic substrate for two trays, but I like how quiet it is. I'm thinking of adding Purigen to the last basket though.

A little update with the happy family. 10 rustys, 15 yellows, 25 demis, (possibly one red devil hitchhiker), and 5 syno multis to go in this weekend. Sealed the leak as best I could, but as you can see the tank's super scratched, and the corner still dribbles a bit. Just saving to have a replacement tank built at the moment. I've had one rusty holding, but only one baby has made it so far (named Bacon, thanks to NZFK group). Oh, and also got the Nautilus, which was just a little bit of an upgrade from the filter that came with the tank...

Any plant really that will fit. I put stones or gravel in the bottom of mine (I use a lot of empty Moccona jars for my kitchen herbs). A good 5-10cm of that lets the water drain away from the roots, but still lets the plant draw from the condensation when it needs it.

Awesome blog post, and beautiful photos! If you're looking for a day trip in Auckland, head west into the Waitakere Ranges, and go for a walk in one of the forest parks out there. Beautiful waterfalls and dense native bush.

Yes, but maybe your water has been off for months. You need to regularly test your water if you think theres something not right in your tank, it's kinda fishkeeping 101.

I'll be getting my syno petricolas soon, so I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions to ask when they arrive.

Have you had your water parameters tested recently? It's very important to know what's happening to the water of your tank, like the pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels.

Most algae eating fish are too rough on plants and can sometimes break them. And depending on what type of snail, they could be eating them too. A photo would help a lot though... are you sure you can take a picture of them? http://infographics.myaquacalc.com/wp-c ... beled2.jpg This might help though.

Java ferns are pretty dark usually. Much darker than normal plants. They also usually go brown or transparent when they're unhappy. Do you have a photo of them? Maybe they've got a bit covered with green spot algae or something.

Thanks, it needs the top of the water skimmed out about twice a week though, and then a good 30-50% water change once a week. Just the betta and 7 ember tetra in there at the moment. The plants are growing great under the LEDs too.

Whoops, just realised I've got the Leo Q600 instead. Well done me, :digH:

I have it at the moment as my fighter boy's tank, from trademe. Great looking tank, but it does have issues with water flow. I find the side furtherest from the filter exhaust gets protein deposits, and the lid doesn't cover the full tank. I've got the lights on a timer, but you have to touch to turn it on. Just a heads up, I recently took out the cyperus plants either side, as they were impeding the surface flow too much. I've got the water level under the exhaust, with the outflow pointed up and as curved around to the other side as possible, but it still needs frequent water changes to avoid surface build up.

They're pretty hardy things. It might cut down their lifespan a bit though.

How's the WP-10? I was told to buy two WP-25s for my 350L tank, and I've discovered that just one on H3 50% + Nightmode is plenty! It's like a freaking washing machine set any higher than that.

Click-bait topic title much? Haha, also your image doesn't want to load.

Small update in the form of a video. Unfortunately, ageing algae covered silicone + algae eating fish = tiny leaks in the seal. To make myself happier, I bought some LED lights to play with. And as my luck goes, they've already stopped working... But where's what they looked like when they were. http://youtu.be/K5KHv9UNhlU

Wow, how long are they usually in there for?

In slightly cuter news, I apparently have a 6cm tank boss now. The adorable little dork keeps redecorating the biggest cave and shaking at the others, who just seem to ignore him. There's the odd chase, but it's very limited.

Minor setback in the form of a small leak that was discovered tonight. I've got the water level down to about 100L, and am in the process of organising getting someone around to reseal the entire thing (might as well do it right now rather than down the line). Just part of getting an older, second hand tank, I guess. Super frustrating though.

I'm hoping to get the next lot in this weekend, and upgrade the filter, just waiting on some money to be sent to me.

Just got the Rustys in. They're a bit scaredy at the moment, and are hanging out under the java fern in a group. How long until they settle? A few days?

I don't know much about them. Two might be good, as they could be pointed either side of the rocks. So more like a wp-25, or is there other brands that are good? The dimensions are 1220x460x600, so it actually seems quite skinny when you look at it. It's 12mm glass, so it's crazy heavy to move. Not overly positive where I'll get the fish from. The synos and rustys will probably come from HFF as that's the only place I've seen to have them around here. Hoping to get the yellows and demis from breeders etc so it'll be a bit cheaper.

Thanks! Still figuring things like how big of a wavemaker I'll need (WP-40??) and if I've put in enough caves and things.