I’ve always had a ton of tanks with cheap budget equipment and never had the results that i have now

Since i finally got a job and had some extra money to play with i bought some proper equipment The whole setup costed me $1000 + I will never in my life buy cheap stuff again

Im indeed not rich 🤣but ill rather save up a bit than opt out for budget stuff

PS: nothing against a budget setup !!! In my opinion you’ll just get better results with high end equipment

Whats yall opinions 🙃

Feeling like my tank needs some change. I’m getting 6 corys, a few reticulated hillstream loaches, and cherry red shrimp at the end of this week. I feel like my tank is missing some UMPH. How would you add to/change it?

I'm a complete beginner and recently bought the Chihiros B Series B45 (1750 lumens) for my 50 cm/42-liter fish tank that I’m planning to set up. My goal is to create a planted tank with the following plants:

• Rotala rotundifolia
• Cryptocoryne wendtii brown
• Ludwigia repens
• Hedyotis salzmannii
• Anubias nana gold
• Anubias barteri var nana
• Cladophora aegagropila
• Bacopa australis
• Marsilea hirsuta
• Lilaeopsis mauritiana

I used this for inspiration, here they suggest using Twinstar 450e (40% intensity). This light has, as far as I understand, 1850 lumens.

These plants are not exactly the same, but I managed to get them where I live (others weren't available) and these are supposed to be relatively easy to grow. I thought the Chihiros B45 would be suitable, especially since their website lists it as fitting my tank size. However, a friend mentioned that a 5W light might be more than enough for my setup, and that 29W light will lead to green algae growth. Did I make a mistake? I was under the impression that luminous flux (brightness) was the more important factor, not just wattage. The light is customizable, so I can reduce the intensity, but I'm unsure what to do.

Should I:
A) reduce the light levels to 40% (or other value?)
B) return it and get something cheaper and more suitable

Complete beginner here. This is my first attempt and came out pretty good I think. I mostly used anubias and java fern. Tank is not fully clear yet because I just completed the tank. Any suggestions will be helpful!

So thought I would give blackwater a go in my latest setup and am pleased with how it turned out! Thought I'd share 😁

Hi all! I'm looking to try to DIY a decoration for my aquarium for the first time, by creating a cave using expanding foam. The hope is to add plants such as Java moss on the top/side of the cave itself, but after watching a few videos, I'm unsure whether the plants will be able to survive on there. Does anyone have any experience with this?

Another issue is that I learned of the idea of putting sand over a layer of dirt after I had put my fish in the aquarium. If I were to need to add some garden soil onto the cave for plants to grow, is it difficult in a live aquarium?

Looking for some suggestions on rearranging my 55gal tank

I have had a 20 gallon tank from a few years back that i used moved house and gave the fish away and some passed and havent really wanted to do it again but have recently gotten more space and want to get back into it and have a few species i want perpendicularly in it i want bristlenose catfish (albino), cherry shrimp, cardinal terta, ember tetra and a betta fish male i will have live plants most likely and will get adequate equipment but was wondering if there was any species i would have to compromise on cause i was gonna include the beta last so that it doesn't get territorial when i add the others so it will go last i just wanted to know if there was any flaws in my plan or fish i shouldn't include or should swap out for others

I currently just set up this 5 gallon tank, I am doing it long ways since it fits so well next to my 20 gallon:

https://preview.redd.it/hjkm1n80kl0e1.jpg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cd823d5e7b88d3fa2e04dbbd5be68624b80ad95d

https://preview.redd.it/4boa7n70kl0e1.jpg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e8702644c28cc556b4eadee5637a3b0ef83affaa

I am going to heavily plant the tank, I was just wondering if I should keep the sponge filter in the back, so the plants hide it, or move it somewhere else like into the middle?

Any other suggestions for the tank are welcome as well! I'm just waiting till I get some clippings from the main tank, so I can transplant them over.

Here is my current 20L scape. I'm pretty happy with my hardscape set up but what else could this bad boy use in terms of plants?

Hello fellow aquarists!

I have a super glue on plants phobia and can not get comfortable with the idea. Idk why but it feels so unnatural. So I've been researching and brainstorming any other visually appealing option. Every crack and crevice in my tank are already occupied lol and all I have left is a lanky branch of drift wood. But I just bought about 10 bucephelandra plants for myself for my birthday! And this rattan vine. My plan is to cut to length, remove the metal wire, boil for an hour or so, and create a spiral on the lanky branch, attached with brown zip ties or fishing line, which I will be able to tuck tons of rhizome plants into. What do you guys think? Is rattan safe? Will it last? Will my buce love or hate it? Will it be pretty? Anyone ever done anything similar? 😊

I’m having issues with which filtration and plants selection because I was hoping to turn this into a heavily planted shrimp tank and I’m torn if I should go with the following set ups:

1. UGF with UNS controsoil, and epiphyte only plants

• better filtration system for shrimps.
• Easier UGF maintenance
• I can easily hide the UGF uplift tube with hardscape and plants.

1. HOB with epiphytes and rooted plants

• easier maintenance
• HOB sticks out like a sore thumb

The last option would be a nano canister, but they’re a bit expensive considering I have to buy Lily pipes as well. Although I would love recos on nano canister filters as well.

What do you guys think?

Right now I’ve been planning for my new upgrade for my tank,

Been thinking of some hardscape ideas and just want opinions. This tank is mostly meant to be an south/East Asian inspired tank with dwarf gourami, cherry barbs and some small bottom dwellers (probably khuli loaches) or galaxy loaches, or maybe even anchor catfish, plus some shrimp as well

I know they like heavily planted tanks, but I also wanted a decent hardscape, probably mixing Malaysian driftwood with either spider/manzanita wood, and some sort of stone and gravel, don’t know what color of stone I want I currently have light sand substrate, plus aqua soil I want to cap off with gravel

Hopefully someone knows what this is. Assuming it’s some kind of algae. Is grows on the bottom substrate of the tank, but not attached to anything. When the wave maker kicks on. A bunvmvh of them start flying around the tank looking like a boba drink. Any advice on what it is and how to get rid of them

I’m looking for a smaller, sleek tank for plants and some shrimp. I want something low maintenance and with a clean look- something that doesn’t have 10 cords coming from it. I’ve been looking at the bio orb but it is kinda pricey. Looking to keep the tank definitely less than $200 (ideally $100). At minimum it needs to have a light and basic filtration.

Decided to rescape my 15 tall to scratch the itch of wanting a new tank (which I do NOT have room for). I absolutely love how it turned out and the wood and the Val really accentuate the height of the tank! I wanted to go for the look of the rivers I paddle in the Adirondacks. Need the pearlweed to grow in and the crypts to bounce back and fill out, but I'm so pleased. All the rocks are from the local river! (And yes they were properly sanitized).

Let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions.