CsMusicDev

That's it. Just tired of hearing about water change-less tanks as if this is some achievement that we should aspire to, or be impressed by.

There's more to an ecosystem than the nitrogen cycle! Even if you ace the masterkit test, waterchanges still help regulate minerals, carbonates, proteins, hormones, and all sorts of other substances we are oblivious to as hobbyists. If I forced you to live in an apartment with the same recirculated air for months on end, you probably wouldn't think I was a wonderful guy.

This pursuit of "no waterchanges" betrays an ignorance of the sheer complexity within an actual ecosystem (or the aquarium, for that matter), and/or tremendous arrogance to think w

Early in my fishkeeping career I kept a Salvini in a 29 with the usual suspects, leading to the typical unfortunate end.

I'm inheriting a larger tank from a downsizing relative, and a pair of Sals (or possible 5-stars) seems like it will fit the bill (unless someone tells me I can responsibly keep a solo Loisellei in there, lol).

I'm actually considering low-key planting the tank with a bunch of Juncus as cover/sight breaks. They can strew it around, I don't care, and I've read it might allow for some ambush predation that mimics my dad and I fishing for bass as a kid. Would be cool to recreate in-tank, since keeping those panfish species is illegal where I live.

Plan would be to establis

Hi r/plantedtank,

I am lucky to be inheriting a well appointed 90 gallon aquarium from a relative, including a CO2 rig. I am not a new aquarist, but I generally suck with plants of all kinds, and select tanks accordingly (hillstream, blackwater, cichlids, etc).

I actually plan to house a pair of CA cichlids in this tank, so I have no grandiose aquascaping plans. But a thicket of Juncus Repens would provide some appreciated cover, is biotope correct and might potentially spark some interesting hunting behaviours I'd be very keen to see.

Lighting will be moderate by design. The research I've done suggests that I'd likely see significant benefit to running the CO2 at 6-12ppm vs packing it aw

I am extremely fortunate to have a long-time aquarist FIL who is downsizing and gifting me a well appointed 90 gallon setup incl. 2 Eheim Pro 4+ 600 filters.

I've always loved new world cichlids. My water (PH 7.6, GH/KH 12-15) is better suited to CA cichlids than SA. Early in my hobby career I was a well-intentioned but inadvertent cichlid-bro and I've mostly unsuccessfully kept a convict, firemouth, JD, and salvini pair (not all at once). Failure was due to tank size and aggression, and I eventually learned the lesson.

So what can I do? I'm not interested in cramping an overly large fish in a four foot tank, but I do enjoy the body shape of larger predatory fish. Not after pure aggression

Pretty much the title. Very fortunate to be inheriting a well-equipped 90 gallon tank (inc. 2x Eheim Pro 4+ 600 filters).

I've always loved CA cichlids, so this might be a chance to responsibly keep one, or a pair. I don't want to to force a fish that is too large into the 4' x 18" footprint, but I am happy to dedicate the tank to one fish. Wet Pet behaviour is not essential. No Oscars or Flowerhorns please.

Thoughts so far:

• Female Carpintis (front runner)
• Female Red Tiger Mota (too large)
• Female yellowjacket cichlid? (also probably too large? I really like the look)
• Maybe a JD, but I dunno, they don't grab me so much.

Any thoughts! Help is appreciated!!

Hey r/cichlid.

I try to stay away from this place. When I was in college I inherited a 29g, tried to push the envelope on keeping new world cichlids and had a bad time. I wasn't trying to keep jags or anything, but it was still too small a footprint to manage aggression properly. Watching a fish get beat to hell sucks, and I eventually dropped the hobby.

Coming back to the hobby several years ago, I went with a hillstream setup as a different, interesting, but essentially peaceful community setup.

My original plan was to convert that into a true blackwater for Cardinal tetras, but I might just be inheriting a 75g rig which all of a sudden puts some options on the table that weren't possib

I have a debate on my hands. I like weird tanks. Usually single- or double-species tanks with similarly limited decor. I enjoy recreating not-necessarily accurate biotopes, but setups that honour a notable aspect of an environment (flow, chemistry, hardscape structure, etc). Some of you might remember my substrate-less hillstream tank as an example.

Further weirdo cred: I don't really like maintaining multiple tanks, and prefer to run one project at a time.

The shiners are aging out, and my original plan was to convert the 22g into a true blackwater setup including some large pieces of salvaged bark and leaf litter. This would be home to a colony of Cardinal tetras.

However it appears th

Pretty much the title. I have an ES 80mm f8 refractor (640mm FL) kit that came with a Twilight Nano mount and tripod. I regreased the altitude bearing and have made some minor modifications which have increased stiffness and stability considerably. For what it is, I am pretty happy with it.

There's an FB marketplace post for a Skywatcher 114 reflector on a wooden EQ-2 mount with motor. I don't have much interest in the scope, and I know that in this combination the mount gets a lot of flak. But would it be a reasonable upgrade to the Nano? Slow motion and tracking is appealing. I'm visual only so it's doesn't have to be AP good.

https://preview.redd.it/8e016ik6sd3d1.jpg?width=720&format=pj

If I understand correctly, older mirror coatings have a lifespan of approx. 10 years, with newer coatings lasting more like 20yrs with proper care. I live in Canada, and a mirror recoating seems cost- and effort-prohibitive for a 6-8” entry level dob.

In light of this, is a used dob even worth the potential savings? In my area basic skywatchers appear to be going for 60-75% MSRP based on condition.