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I can't seem to leave well enough alone. . .

So I got another oscar, I missed my last guy way too much. . . Which meant that I had to take out the community fish(and give most of them to a lfs) I got a 29 as my community tank. Right now it has 10 neons(thinking about getting another 2) 8 male guppies(all tiny, even after growing up in a 60 they are just under an inch >_> my male sword, my 4 ottos(getting algae wafers) 4 cories(2 albino, 2 unknown species) and my clown pleco. Would I have enough room to add another few cories(give each at least 3, hopefully 4)? And would I be able to add a single centrepiece fish? Like a pearl gourami? Dunno what other small single fish I could use since the local petco never gets rams in anymore, but I'd love to add a bolivian ram to it if they ever did. . .

So far the equipment is a hob and a screw in PC lamp(oi!) the hob has pothos trailing out of it and the tank has ludwigia, a single stem of cabomba(somehow was mixed in with the ludwigia, cause it looks so similar ) a lot of crypt wendtii which has melted on one side, bah. it'll come back. eventually ) a couple of crypt spiralis(maybe retro?) a bit of anubias petite(on wood.) trying to get some water sprite to grow submerged a couple of tiny spotted red swords and am seeing if micro sword of aquatic clover does better in my foreground(had a bit of each, figured why not try both?)

Well, I've a couple more questions too. . . I've got a 65 watt pc fixture that was made for a tank my size, but it came without a bulb, so I need to get one. Is 65/67K really that much better for plants than a 10K is? I can get the 10Ks locally, but would need to order a 65/67K one. I don't mind the way the 10s look, but when I've tried to read which is better I get into all the technical stuff that makes my head spin. All I want is someone to say get THIS one, get THAT one or it doesn't matter, choose whichever you think looks better.

Then there's the co2 thing. I go to a couple of plant forums and I've been told that with 65 watts over the 29 that I absolutely MUST get co2 or it'll be an algae soup in no time. Yet when I ask what co2 to get no one responds. . . I can't afford pressurized. No way in the world. Even the used ones people sell are way out of my price range. I was wondering if diy is better or if a store bought system is? Whenever I have asked no one responds, and searching didn't get me anywhere. . . And if I get a store bought system to make sure everything fit right, could I use my own yeast mix in it, or would it HAVE to have the store bought mix to go in it?

[url=http://dragcave.ath.cx/viewdragon/bNFR][/url]

Hi

What size tank have you got the oscar in?

And on the second tank, the biggest problem as far as stocking in there is the clown plec because of how much waste they produce. But I think that perhaps if you could move the guppies out and take out one pair of the cories and make up a full school of 6 of the other. The problem with the guppies not growing could be the battering their genetics have taken from mass breeding, I know someone that has 0.5 inch platies that are 3 years old : \ same thing could possibly have happened.

I think a pear gourami might be a little bigger than your tank would allow atm but how about a smaller gourami like a honey gourami http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_honey.php

or http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_Colisa_labiosa.php a Thick lip gourami. I really like these and as far as i know they are meant to be much more peaceful than the honey gourami as well.

I have a feeling that your proposed stocking will be fine, but you definitely wouldn't have much space for anything else after that, so you better be happy!

Sorry, lights are also over my head. So to speak.

DIY can be good if you can get it to work right. I've heard some stories of such things screwing up, so be careful. Personally I'm not really good at DIY so it might not be as much an option for someone like me, but you can try it out if you'd like. That said, I don't know anything about DIY CO2...

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

The plec'll only get 4". I know they're waste makers, but is it really that much for such a little guy?

The oscar's in my 60 gallon.

[url=http://dragcave.ath.cx/viewdragon/bNFR][/url]

No, IMO in the grand scheme of the entire tank your P. maccus won't be producing much at all, not more than 10% of the waste. This is different from my Panaque (a 9" Royal Watermelon), which is the largest fish in my tank and I swear produces 95% of the waste, not to mention leaves tiny pieces of wood everywhere. I probably have as much wood chips when I do a gravel siphon as I do fish poo.

Considering the clown is not such a sawdust-maker I don't think it'll be too problematic.

If you want more Cabomba you could always just cut it in half; Cambomba can be rather easily reproduced by cuttings as long as your tank requirements are good.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

I'm taking the plec out. I have a friend with a 55 community who has(apparently?) been looking for one for a while, so she's gonna take him. Even after I told her you never see him

So the tank is going to have 12 neons, 8 male guppies, 1 male sword, 5 ottos, and my cories. I'm going to see if I can find someone to take 2 of them so I can just have a school of one instead of 2 small schools. Would my albinos or my "spotted" ones(looking at planet catfish I THINK they are Corydoras agasizzi) I should probably get 6 altogether, right? Or should I go more?

[url=http://dragcave.ath.cx/viewdragon/bNFR][/url]

6 is an appropriate number of Corys for a school. More is better, provided you've got enough bottom space for them, but in your tank size you should be able to go for 6 and be fine.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.