How to Cycle a New Filter Without Killing Fish
Fishless cycling needs a $4 bottle of ammonia, a liquid test kit and the patience to leave a nitrite plateau completely alone.
All Guides
Every guide on TankMend, newest first. Filter by topic, or search for the part that is giving you trouble.
Choosing an LED Fixture by Tank Depth
Volume tells you nothing about lighting. The distance from rim to substrate decides which fixture will work and which will disappoint you.
Wavemakers: Worth It in a Freshwater Tank
Pulsed flow was invented to imitate wave surge over a reef, and no freshwater habitat a hobby fish comes from has waves.
Are Filter Cartridges a Waste of Money
The replacement interval printed on the carton is a sales schedule, and following it costs you money every month and bacteria every...
Why Watts Per Gallon Stopped Working
One rule, two lamp technologies, and the moment a proxy measurement stopped predicting anything useful about what a plant receives.
Where to Place a Heater for Even Temperature
Same heater, same wattage, same dial setting: move it twenty centimetres and a long tank can lose most of its gradient.
Salt Creep on Electrical Connections
Crystallized sea salt does not sit still on a cable, it climbs, and where it arrives is usually a plug carrying mains...
Low, Medium, and High Light Plants
A species by species table of what each common aquarium plant needs at substrate level, and exactly how each one fails when...
Why Your Filter Flow Dropped and How to Fix It
Run the checks in cost order and most flow problems resolve for nothing, long before you reach the part that needs buying.
O-Rings and Gaskets: Replace or Reseal
The jar of petroleum jelly in half the fish rooms I visit has quietly destroyed more seals than age ever has.
Powerhead Placement to Clear Dead Spots
Aiming a powerhead at the debris pile scatters it for twenty minutes, while aiming it to close the circulation loop clears it...
CO2 Diffusers vs Reactors Compared
Dissolution rates, working pressure, flow penalty and running cost for five ways of getting carbon dioxide into aquarium water.
Kelvin Ratings and How Your Tank Looks
Colour temperature is the setting nobody adjusts and everybody blames, and it costs nothing to get right.
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