You can see the set up below. I "built" my own light fixture out of two articulating arms and connected them with dowelrods so the two arms move in tandem. The dowel rods are level, the light fixtures are aligned, the desk is level, the tank is level, but the twinstar is not completely level and...

My water is very soft (2 degrees GH and KH out of the tap, and pH is 7.4). I'm working out ways to increase the general and carbonate hardness to safer levels. My tank is brand new (5 days old), so it's still cycling (ADA Tropica substrate), so I'm kind of in "prevention/preparation" phase. I...

Hey everyone! So I have a planted 20 gallon long, and I've been struggling with algae, nutritional imbalances, and frustration haha. This tank has been going since about January. As you can see in the pictures, my s repens leaf tips are curling and turning brown, and my ludwigia super red...

New to the hobby but learning fast. 20 gallon long, 78 degrees, 3ish weeks out of cycling. I’m struggling with hair algae, first came brown algae/diatoms then that got battled off by all my workers plus just time, now I’m dealing with a brown hair algae mess that I can’t battle enough to keep it...

Hello, I have been struggling for several months to get the balance right in my 50 gallon. If someone could help identify my current algae and help with figure out how to rid my tank of it that would be most appreciated. Tank Setup: Compressed Co2 2 x SBReef Sbox 16" Leds running at about 60%...

June-17-17-50-gallon-aquarium-re-aquascaped900px.jpg I recently added Java Moss changed the substrate from gravel to BDBS, replanted Java Fern in a driftwood. Pulled Egeria Densa trimmed and replanted it in new places. I'm trying to get the Fe up to bring out the red in the Flame Sword, but the...

I feel like a frantic mother (I'm a guy..) I've been chasing after some issues here and there in my new 20 gal for the past 5 weeks it's been up. I can't tell if I'm doing something wrong, or it's just not had the time to balance. There's algae, green water, signs of certain deprivations...

Hi, I'm an algae grower (as my title reads) and im finally starting to get some algae in my tank and I think it is rapidly building up. By the looks of it, it looks like green hair algae. I has been starting to cover my dwarf sag and my driftwood and java fern on it. I replanted everything on...

Hey everyone, I've been reading on this forum for a while as a non-member and finally decided to register as one. I've researched and researched but still don't quite understand how all the ferts, co2, and light fit together and how to find a good balance... I'm assuming that that comes with...

Hi all! This is my first shot at a planted tank. I worked in a LFS for a couple of years in high school, and am just getting back into the hobby. I am trying to figure out why my plants have not been growing very vigorously and algae (brown, green hair) has taken over on the older leaves of my...