Thanks Nossie. I've put the book on my wish list. It has great reviews on amazon.

I'm happy to report....ammonia 0, nitrates .25 and nitrates 1

Yesterday I didnt have to do my morning water change...because everything was in a less toxic range!  I did one at dinner time due to rising nitrites.

I see light at the end of the tunnel!  I will never ever do a fish cycle. I've learned my lesson.

On a side bar....the brown algae is growing on one of my plants. Should I clean it? If I do need to clean it...how do I do that?

Thanks Skwishee.
It's a real plant. I guess it's best to give it a gentle scrub in old tank water. I'm only concerned because I'm thinking the algae on the plant will stop it from getting light?    Input anyone?

Well today was the big day! Ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 5!!!!

My tank has cycled! And Bertie lived to tell his tale.

Thanks everyone . Without your guidance I would have lots my patience.

Goldfish don't really like eating brown algae, never seen any doing that. Green algae is a completely different story though
When plants are covered in algae it does to some extent block the light. If your plant has big, sturdy leaves it should be alright with you rubbing the algae off as long as you're careful.

My sailfin pleco ate the brown algae too (and the plants... argh.), I haven't had any since so I can't tell if the bristlenoses are dealing with it or not...

I quite like having algae in the tank Some has started growing on my driftwood, my gravel boulders and in the gravel now, it just looks all the more natural in my eyes
Not to mention Lucky now has an abundance of algae to chow down on and the endless growing elodea, it's like a never ending banquet in there for her  

Skwishee
I've left the back plannel of the tank for the snails. They have left beautiful patterns in the algae. My poor plants are getting covered. I cleaned one yesterday. I guess I'll have to do all of them.

How's your pond plans? Any new updates?

d*mb question:  can you have goldfish and cat fish together?

Cool.  A future addition when a bigger tank comes into my life.

Thanks Nossie. I agree pet shops know nothing.  When I asked for a mystery snail or an applesnail or blue snail...the clerks had no clue
Thats a bit humbling to think someone in th shop has no clue.  Ans that includes all the village id*ots who say it's ok to keep a fish in a tiny bowl.

I need some advice.  My filter is acting weird. Yesterday I thought it was making a weird noise (which turned out to be something else). I turned the filter off and then right back on.....nothing...no sound from the motor. So I took the motor apart and cleaned the gunk off.  Put it back on my tank and primed it.  Motor was going but no water flow. I keep pouring water into the filter and 20 minutes later on the high flow setting it started to go.  But now when I try to put it at the low flow setting - it sputters and sounds like there's not enough water to keep the suction going.

Do I have air trapped in it? Or is there something wrong with the motor?  Any thoughts?  I did go to the website but their trouble shooting is very limited. Help

It could be air, I had a right battle with my filter the other day because of air in the pipes. Turning it on, I'd hear the motor but see nothing coming from the out take pipe XD

I found I had to straighten up my pipes, to get rid of all the air bubbles, prime it and switch it on again. After doing that twice, it suddenly decided to work for me XD

As for Lucky, she has grown a little bit, my house mate commented she was bigger the other day, I think she's definitley a little chunkier Pond plans have come to a hault for the time being. I can't make any decisions until January, as it depends on what myself and my other half do. Only issue with a pond and moving around is that we would be very limited to where we can go (i.e. we'd always need a garden) and houses with gardens aren't cheap in terms of rent. So it is still very much a pipe dream and I may have to find Lucky another home come next year when she's a little bigger. But who knows! A pond may be a possibility still!

I find my filter needs to have water in it to work The instructions say to fill the canister 3/4 full.

I have a HOB fluval...which I couldn't figure out how to manually suck water into it...but I completely took it apart and cleaned it in old fish water.  One word....Yuck.  I haven't cleaned it since I set the tank up. 

Followed the priming directions and it was still a PIA to get going.  Still has no suction at the lowest setting.  I'm going to call the company this week and see what the scoop is.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed it will go away "magically".

Skwisshee,
I hope lucky gets to grow old with you.  I'm surprised no one makes portable ponds.  Something for a patio or such.  We can put a man on the moon....but no portable pond? 

yes, fish can and do change colours. Sometimes the amount & type of light is a factor, sometimes it's diet, and often it is genetics

My first two orandas were in pretty bad shape, Berry had missing pieces on her dorsal fin and that stayed a black healing spot for weeks. Might take a while for Bertie to heal the burns simply

How do you change the flow settings on your filter?

Skwishee
My LFS has a pond set up in the front of the store.  It's like a tube with wood paneling on the outside.  It stands about 3 feet high and 5 feet long.  Nothing fancy. No concrete. If you want I can go and ask what's the scoop on it.