i saw in a magazine once an article that said " the psycic friends network filled bankruptcy due to unforeseen financial problems".
"im an idea man...heres one....feed mayonaise to the tuna"
if im correct that fixture is t5 ho bulbs? substrate? in a word yes. t5ho on a 40breeder will definatly need ferts and co2. if you do not want to fert and co2 you should drop to at least t8 lights.
i do think co2 makes it easier. if you can contoll co2 and lighting more accurately, then the only real variable is ferts. if your pretty new to this then you may want to take a look at ei dosing(estimative index)you dont need to be a chemist to use ei.
i usually rinse the crap out of plant substrates. even after heavy rinsing if you dig around alot you will stir up dust, but it does get better. melting of plants at first is pretty common. plants that are in bad shape can come back. trim dead stems and leaves with sharp scissors. if a root...
i cant really offer any other shops and would agree with your descriptions of the others. there is a place called sea horse in north hills but its you wont find anything differant there either. im in north strabane near wet pets and would be interested in hooking up with other members for some...
probably ok with larger community, i have one with a few other s. amer. and a channel cat and 2 bass. but need to be prepared to possibly move as size and even temperment will change. i would not allow him to be the first one in as a territorial dominance can occur. as for plants, any larger...
malawies are african. they are very colorful almost like marine fish. they are very aggressive like oscars and other south american cichlids. they are common at most lfs as well as petco and pet smart. there are other south americans like oscars that dont grow as large also.
cycling could take weeks. there is a ton of info on fishless cycling here. dont rush it or you will just end up with dead fish. you could probably go with african malawies. the are more colorful and max out at 3-4 inches. you made a great first step by seeking advice before stocking the tank...
im in pittsburgh, that same week there was an earthquake in canada near the u.s. border. alot of people around here were on the news saying the felt some shaking. i never noticed but i guess that could be one possibility. i dont know. luckily we caught both pretty early before they lost to much...
i went 17 years without a leak then had two leak in one week. a 55 and a 100. it happens, things dry out, fish adapt, and when its all over it wasnt as bad as you think. eventually my wife will even get over the idea we had to buy 2 new tanks in 3 days. i have to thing that some event caused...
it really does depend on what you want to grow. it also depends on if you use cfl, tube, t5, t8,t12? wattage is probably less important than k #. low light plants will grow with anything over about 3200, ideal would be 5000-6700.