I use Oxi-Clean, the original formulation only. You can't use the hottest water you have, but it has no lingering toxicity and degrades anything organic quite well, Rinses free easily.

Don't use on metal, so any metal components should be handled separately.

The English are nuts on greensand in potting mixes for house/greenhouse plants, but I have never used it in pots or tanks myself.

Back in the dark ages, Tubifex developed a nasty reputation. Blackworms seem to not have that. I have used them for multiple generation of my rainbows and have never seen any symptoms of any parasites in them or the other fish to which they have been fed. The rainbows have had then every other day f...

Most check valves are very short-lived with CO2, an extra bottle in the line as a catch bottle is a much better safety net. Compare the earlier cited ref to:

http://www.qsl.net/w2wdx/aquaria/diyco2.html

i like the physical set-up in the second much better.

Acids distort CO2 readings. The easy test is to take tank water and aerate (airstone) it for 20-30 min and take the pH again. The CO2 blows off and no longer depresses the pH. Most organic acids are non-voiatle. The difference in aerated and non-aerated water samples is a more accurate check on CO2 ...

Red Cherries and Red-clawed Marcos. I think that the Snowballs are finally dying out - they have never thrived for me.

In the past I have used AZ Gardens for a source for non-hardy bananas, and those have been good and properly identified plants.

But I have never used them for aquatics, plant or animal. There are too many negative tales floating around.

C'mon Sean, doesn't Sean's "miracle mud" recycle enough for you?

And here I finally have gathered all the equipment to generate some mud of my own before it gets cold...

I doi confess that was the only way/plce that I bred (actually had chance breeding) of bumblebees in any quantity.

Eheim, Eheim, Eheim. When you already know which is best, why ask? A 12 year old Eheim is still pre-adolescent - still on the original impeller because the clumsy owner has not dropped it enough times yet. Yes, Eheims can literally go many moths to years with cleaning - but do you really think that ...