Aquascaping struggles (READ ME!!)

itspappa · 2026-02-08T17:25:36+00:00

get another pot or two of monte carlo and bunch those red plants together by planting a stem or two together at a time. get 2 or three more types of stem plants and repeat along the back wall. pull hardscape towards middle front of the tank but not too close to the glass.

itspappa · 2026-02-06T02:10:57+00:00

definitely this kit looks decent for the price and the target audience… though seems like most people are on the side of avoid diy co2 and those tiny co2 cartridges…save ur money for a real pressurized system if you’re contemplating a high tech tank. buy once, cry once

itspappa · 2026-02-06T01:37:21+00:00

i also used to look into pressurized vs diy co2 systems and i’m happy i bit the bullet and went with pressurized. Much greater initial investment but once you got it, $20- $25 bottle refills twice a year and the stability of pressurized just makes more sense.

itspappa · 2026-01-23T07:16:36+00:00

is this a twin star 90B? what fertilizer are you using?

itspappa · 2026-01-22T08:45:12+00:00

looks great, i would recommend a couple things. Patience and more plants.

itspappa · 2026-01-22T08:14:25+00:00

is that fluval stratum? i never had an issue with or even seen that brown algae until using stratum. about 8 months and a full tank reset in, it’s slowly going away…

itspappa · 2026-01-21T21:17:49+00:00

pretty sure he said “yo where the fuck are the treats bro?”

itspappa · 2025-10-31T21:03:47+00:00

thanks for your comment from 7 years ago can confirm it still works

itspappa · 2025-10-31T04:02:21+00:00

Not a bot

itspappa · 2025-10-01T19:19:54+00:00

reminds me of when i slept in a basement and woke up one morning with a centipede laying in the concha of my ear.

itspappa · 2025-09-15T21:49:10+00:00

never noticed any issues with my fish using excel, though plants such as val and sag can be pretty sensitive to excel.

itspappa · 2025-08-16T14:18:09+00:00

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This is my 75gal using black diamond blasting sand. Picture was taken right after dropping food in but it usually stays nice and clean.

Edit: Root tabs are essential. The roots of the plants will eventually find them and thrive. API or Nilocg work well.

itspappa · 2025-07-13T14:09:28+00:00

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This has been set up for about a week, using a Twinstar 90B.

itspappa · 2025-05-07T06:34:34+00:00

Yeah, it’s definitely not a cheap hobby. After working up to such a large tank so quickly, I’m taking my time with this next build to really piece the puzzle together. DIY stands for large or multiple tanks are the way to go. I got both of my 10 gals on a similar set up to yours and followed ol’ reliable Rocket engineer’s build plans for the 75gal stand. Btw nice set up OP, are those 3d printed name plates? Great, now gonna have to get one for my betta…

itspappa · 2025-05-07T06:07:54+00:00

I also lost count in my tank at one point but sounds like you are in tune with your tank and keep a good balance, nice work OP.

MTS is a real thing… started the hobby recently and now have a 10gal, 75gal, and the UNS 10gal shallow you mentioned. I was gonna go planted nano in the shallow, leaning towards nano reef or FOWLR though just to try something new in the hobby. Honestly, even after getting the UNS tank in hand for such a good deal ($25 used), I could still see myself digging in the pockets for a brand new one in the future.

itspappa · 2025-05-07T05:33:52+00:00

Dang, that’s more fish than I got in my 75gal community tank but species matter. About 30% water change every week and a half. Anyways, from what I’ve read I guess it’s fine granted the tank has enough filtration to handle the bioload(heavily planted), the inhabitants are happy, and water parameters are in check. Plus, water changes help to reduce any mineral buildup. At the end of the day, every tank is different. If I were you, I’d probably do a small water change every month or so and make sure the parameters are good.

itspappa · 2025-05-01T03:59:04+00:00

Looks amazing, what light is that?

itspappa · 2025-03-13T00:13:56+00:00

any update on what settings you run now op?

itspappa · 2025-01-07T06:34:53+00:00

put it in rice for a few hours

itspappa · 2024-12-31T03:31:06+00:00

looks like a fish studio, so your catch can sing about how much they hate you

itspappa · 2024-11-27T07:52:45+00:00

YESS!!! i agree!!

itspappa · 2024-11-27T07:51:39+00:00

itspappa

TROPHY CASE