Pet Forum / Aquaria / Plants / March 2005

Hi.  I'm wondering whether Petco, PetSmart, etc. carry any decent plant
foods.  Our tank has low light and the plants seem to just kind of hang in
there.  I think they could use some plant food but I don't know if the
typical stuff that might be available is any good.  I'm not ...

What is the general consensus on using a UV sterilizer in planted aquarium ?
I heard that they would tend to oxidize iron, which I assume means convert iron to
a less available form. I found an significant effect in one tank that I maintain.
It has a 9W UV sterilizer plumbed ...

Do anacharis stems have a life expectancy? Once a week I trim the bottom
stems and replant. They grow about 8" a week. Suddenly, half the stems
have stopped growing, the leaves have turned brown and have curled down.
The other half are still growing rampant, seemingly oblivious ...

Can some please give me a link to a decent needle valve or PH control
unit I can buy?  My current CO2 system has the problem of end of tank
dump and it's starting to drive me crazy.  
Thanks for the help.  

I was wondering if I can change my freshwater tank into brackish without too
much trouble?  My 2ft cube is stable now with it's plants and the cycles and
I am just about to purchase a CO2 controller to keep an eye on my ph but now
I want to convert to brackish.  Will it mean ...

just started a tank 40g , 2 weeks old
i've planted 3 days ago
2 echinodorus parviflorus
2 Micranthemum umbrosum

is duckweed illegal everywhere, because it is here. I wanted some
because plants are good for water quality but oscars tend to tear up
plants, so I figured duck weed would be good, but no. They said it might
get into the water system and over run the place

I have a new problem I'm hoping someone can help me with.  I have a
moderately planted 30 gallon tank..  The water is crystal clear and all of
my measurables appear to be in check...
Here's the odd thing..  When I come home, and look into the tank..  At the

I have the Milwaukee Regulator and the SMS122 Controller.
All works exceptionally well. The only problem I have is sourcing
the plastic/nylon washer/o ring that is between the cylinder and the
regulator.

Part 3 of my aquarium saga has things going fairly nicely.  In Part 1 I
brought an old tank back from old tank syndrome (and all its wonders), in
Part 2 I took on my algae garden by planting the heck out of the tank and
adding a DIY CO2 system.  I'm now at Part 3, and have a couple ...

Does anyone use Metal Halide lighting on their tanks. I saved my ballast and
250 watt bulbs from my reef setup that I sold last year, but I want to setup
a freshwater planted community tank ( 120 or 125 gal.). Any advice is
greatly appreciated, thx...John.

Last call - I'm gonna dump what I trim if I don't hear back.  Lemme know
if you want any!

Despite my lack of posts recently I haven't given up on the tests to
see if FloraPride really is softening my water. I could use some help
though. So if you have a bottle of FloraPride and would like to
contribute to my impromptu study then do some tests and post your

Would it be pointless to pump CO2 into the intake of my Whisper 60? It
would be an easy modification and the impeller should do a fine job of
busting the CO2 bubbles up. This is a waterfall(?) type filter in that
it dumps the filtered water back on top of the water. Would the ...

I can't take it any more.  I simply cannot beat or keep up with the
blue-green algae outbreak I've had now for about 5 months.  I've tried
everything.  Blacking out the tank, removing my CO2 system, algicide
treatments - nothing works.  It makes my tanks look like crap, and it's