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#21
08-12-2006, 06:45 AM
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A couple things:
- Clown Loaches reach the 5" mark very rapidly (within the first two years), but from there, the growth rate tapers off to a crawl. - Planted tanks can be EZ if you take the time to hunt down certain species. Java fern, Anubias and Cryptocoryns are all species that will do well REGARDLESS of your non-existant care routine - - Snails notwithstanding. - Don't bother with the whole bleach thing. Give everything a quick clean with a stiff brush and warm water. Replace the media if you've got a real slime bucket on your hands and start from there. - Length or volume? Six of one or half a dozen of the other? It's a matter of personal preference when you're talking about clown loaches that you don't plan to keep to full size. Figure out what works best for the space you have. That said, bigger is always better - and I know lots about big. - Jebo brand lights have been known to spontaeneously light aflame. You have been warned. - Dechlorinated tap water is fine if you're planning with the more robust plants. That's all I can think of right now.
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This and that. 
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#22
08-12-2006, 04:57 PM
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Those are the plants I grow already. It's not that the plants don't grow it's that they are outcompeted continually.
The rocks need to be bleached or discarded. The algae base cannot be srubbed off. I'm not exagerrating. PS. I never said I don't plan to keep the loaches until full size -- I'm curious if one setup works better for them, over another setup, for the short term. I would prefer to re-evaluate their setup needs every few years or so, and grow with them incrementally.
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-- Tony My next hobby will be flooding my basement while repeatedly banging my head against a brick wall and tearing up $100 bills. Whee!
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#23
08-12-2006, 07:10 PM
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Tony,
I found back when I was growing plants that that Flourite gravel stuff, underneath about an inch of sand was a miracle. this stuff is a bit pricey if I recall, but really changed things for me. I maily grew that tall val stuff (Looks like fat blades of grass) in straight treated tapwater. I also was using an eheim filter, one of the pro series in a 75 gallon. kept mainly africans, not sure if this makes a difference. Robb
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#24
08-12-2006, 09:16 PM
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Tony, have you changed the bulbs lately? old bulbs( over a year) caused a major green slime out break in my 90g planted a while back so I changed a few and all returned to normal...
Also I keep hornwort floating in the top to help absorb excess nutrients in the water and it out competes the algae. I have lots if you wants some!!!
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