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I use an Aquaclear 110 powerhead to pump water from a 55 gallon trash can on wheels into my tanks. It would work just as well the other way around, though I'd put a quickfilter on the intake for in-tank use.

I've been using the Hydro Sponge Pro replacement sponges on my intakes, with half an aquaclear quickfilter insert core to keep fish and snails out of the open bottom hole. (I lost a couple BN that got stuck up inisde the sponges.) That combo also picks up quite a lot more debris and doesn't clog...

Breeding butterfly fish is easy, raising the fry not so much. They are actually FW flying fish, and will jump through any available opening. Not fond of water movement, and prefer floating plants for cover. They'll only eat floating food, typically floating pellets are fine, I found that live...

That's a fairly typical number of eggs/fry for most SA or CA cichlids of any size. Large adult Oscars will produce over 1000 eggs each spawn. One reason I prefer African cichlids in general, lol.

I've had a pair for years, never seen any spawning, though they are clearly a pair.

Good reason to keep a bristlenose in the tank...

I've been using the crystals for years, ever since the relatively local manufacturer stopped making/selling it in bottles. I don't have chloramine in my tap water, and only make a new batch (enough refill the old dropper bottle) when it's empty, typically a few times yearly, and have never had...

I found a wee baby electric catfish at a department store (many years ago) being sold as a pleco. I paid $2.99 for it, and thought I'd see if it would learn to live with African cichlids in a 55 if it grew up around them. Next morning there were 2 dead, 1 dying, and another that was never quite...

You don't need a fishing license to collect inverts.

I've found them in small streams, usually when turning over rocks looking for crayfish.

I have a really old (probably 30 years) knockdown stand for a 55. Quality was fine for holding the tank, just not a pretty piece of furniture or as useful as a cabinet for storing/hiding whatever. Actually better than particleboard stands in that spilled water didn't affect the wood.

You won't find the same foam that swisstropicals sells from a packaging company, I've never seen open-cell packing foam. Aside from the cell structure, which has a huge impact on water flow, I doubt that the cheaper foam would hold us as well or as long in an aquarium. I'm all for saving a buck...

Yes, his name is Bob... :D

Get a pic of the mouth and post it on planetcatfish, someone there could probably ID.

NLS can only enhance whatever color/s are already there. Genetics determines which pigments the fish carry, if there's no red all the color-enhancing food in the world won't make it appear. Only dying or tattooing will do that.

Here's a couple pics of my odd male ruby red, looks exactly like his daddy did before he killed him. Just a bit of orange, mostly yellow, lighting spectrum affects the perception too:

They have a 1 year warranty, I have several that showed condensation that I need to return, along with a handful of stealth heaters that they were bought to replace. Actually still have one of the Stealth Pro's NIB, wonder if it will be worth something one day? LOL.

I tried the spirulina flakes, but prefer the veggie flakes because they actually have more veggie content along with the spirulina. The fish will eat anything remotely resembling (flake or pellet) food regardless of brand or nutritional content, canned green beans are pretty popular too.

Pick up a couple packs of single inline airline valves. Much better than tying knots in your airlines, and easier to regulate too. Manifolds are more trouble than they're worth IMO.

I suspect the main problem is tank size, African cichlids really need much more space than a 20 gallon provides.