# 29 Gallon Tank of Patience



## ellyabillion

Yeah, so it's a weird name, but I tend to have an impatient nature, and my 3-year-old keeps asking "Where's the fish?!?", so this project will be a lesson in patience for the both of us. 

Here is the first picture of the tank:










Obviously, in my impatience to get started, I forgot to rinse the gravel. No worries, I plan to do a fishless cycle. I do have a couple of plants hanging out in bags. Hopefully they can stay there until the water clears. 

I sucked out most of the water with a shop vac and added new, so it's much clearer. Hopefully it will settle soon. 

Not the best start, but I'm optimistic!!


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## MediaHound

I'll definitely be following along your tank build thread! Thanks for sharing the experience with us so we can follow along with you. Best of success with the tank.. and take lots of pics... and get your 3 year old in them also.


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## ellyabillion

So here's the tank looking a little less cloudy (with DS peering in). I emptied out the water with a gravel vacuum and partly refilled and then emptied the tank a few times. I'm going to allow it to settle more before turning on the filter. I'm also ordering the aqua clear stuff online to help things along. Hopefully it will be ready for plants in the next day or so.

I went ahead and installed the heater, as I want to get the microbial activity started, and things will go faster when the water is warmer than 50 degrees. 

Anyone know where one can get household ammonia? I couldn't find any at Target or the grocery store. I used to use the stuff for cleaning, so I have no idea why it's so hard to find now.


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## choylifutsoccer

Do you have an Ace Hardware of Walmart nearby? They have pure ammonia. 
I still think you should just take out the gravel and give them a good rinse. The water still looks really cloudy. 
Do you use a plate to pour your water onto?


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## ellyabillion

Yeah, I have an Ace nearby. Thanks! 

I wasn't using a plate. I have to hold the bucket with both hands, and I haven't grown a 3rd arm yet, not even after my son was born.


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## paronaram

Elly,

Invest in good filter.
You can start with AquaClear 50.
Make sure you have activated carbon in chemical filtration section.

Let it run for one week, and you will see the result.

Good Luck!


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## ellyabillion

paronaram said:


> Elly,
> 
> Invest in good filter.
> You can start with AquaClear 50.
> Make sure you have activated carbon in chemical filtration section.
> 
> Let it run for one week, and you will see the result.
> 
> Good Luck!


Will that filter take care of fine particulates? I already have a Tetra Whisper 40i (I got the tank, hood/light, filter, and a thermometer from Craigslist), and the polyfloss type material isn't up to filtering out the fine particles that are suspended. I just ordered a flocculant, so hopefully my filter can take care of the bigger particles. I turned my filter off as it seemed to just be stirring things up.

Just looked up the Aqua Clear, and it looks really nice! Since I got my current filter for free, I hate to just trash it or sell it. Maybe I'll keep it for a while and see if I have difficulties with the water chemistry.


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## aspects

if set up properly, your aquaclear HOB can get down almost to the micron level. i always suggest using a poly-fill or quilt batting in addition to the filter sponge. this fine mechanical media will help remove tiny particles from your tank. 
also, you do not need carbon in your filter, at all. dont waste your time or money on it. 

you are probably having circulation issues in yourt tank. because the slide (waterfall portion of your filter) is directly above the intake, it is pushing a lot of the particles away from the intake. 
try putting the filter on one of the sides rather than the back, at least while it cycles. 
also, the addition of a powerhead would help a lot.


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## choylifutsoccer

I think a quick fix would be to use Seachem Purigen. That stuff is ridiculously powerful. But also expensive.


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## paronaram

ellyabillion said:


> Will that filter take care of fine particulates? I already have a Tetra Whisper 40i (I got the tank, hood/light, filter, and a thermometer from Craigslist), and the polyfloss type material isn't up to filtering out the fine particles that are suspended. I just ordered a flocculant, so hopefully my filter can take care of the bigger particles. I turned my filter off as it seemed to just be stirring things up.
> 
> Just looked up the Aqua Clear, and it looks really nice! Since I got my current filter for free, I hate to just trash it or sell it. Maybe I'll keep it for a while and see if I have difficulties with the water chemistry.


There is no such thing as an extra filter or any gear in this hobby


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## paronaram

aspects said:


> if set up properly, your aquaclear HOB can get down almost to the micron level. i always suggest using a poly-fill or quilt batting in addition to the filter sponge. this fine mechanical media will help remove tiny particles from your tank.
> also, you do not need carbon in your filter, at all. dont waste your time or money on it.
> 
> you are probably having circulation issues in yourt tank. because the slide (waterfall portion of your filter) is directly above the intake, it is pushing a lot of the particles away from the intake.
> try putting the filter on one of the sides rather than the back, at least while it cycles.
> also, the addition of a powerhead would help a lot.


I speak from experience. I had similar situation, and I was able to clear with carbon ...


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## ellyabillion

aspects said:


> if set up properly, your aquaclear HOB can get down almost to the micron level. i always suggest using a poly-fill or quilt batting in addition to the filter sponge. this fine mechanical media will help remove tiny particles from your tank.
> also, you do not need carbon in your filter, at all. dont waste your time or money on it.
> 
> That's good to know. The media in the filter came with it.
> 
> you are probably having circulation issues in yourt tank. because the slide (waterfall portion of your filter) is directly above the intake, it is pushing a lot of the particles away from the intake.
> try putting the filter on one of the sides rather than the back, at least while it cycles.
> also, the addition of a powerhead would help a lot. I haven't been running the filter, as I didn't want to stir up the particles any more, but it's running now. It's significantly clearer than it was yesterday.


Any thoughts on when it's safe to put the plants in? I don't want them to die because the water is too turbid, but again, I don't want them to die since they're in bags right now....


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## paronaram

You can put them in right about now 
They will help with cycling ...
Just make sure the temp is set correct.


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## ellyabillion

So here is the latest iteration. The plants on the right are real, the ones on the left are fake (they came with the tank too). DS is excited that there is _something_ in the tank. 

Does anyone know if it's alright to have a clay pot in there? I don't want it to disintegrate. I put the sword plant in the pot as it seemed to need more substrate than just gravel, so I "borrowed" some play sand from my son's sandbox and put it in the pot. (sssh! don't tell him!  ) I rinsed the sand well, and poured boiling water over the sand and the pot too.

Oh, and the plants are, shall we say, less than artistically arranged. I still want to put another bag of (washed!!) gravel in there, but I wanted to get the plants out of their bags and the plastic plants off my kitchen counter.


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## ellyabillion

Snails! So I've found 3 so far, and picked them out. I'm assuming I'll be overrun if I don't keep picking them out.


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## ellyabillion

Still picking snails out. In case anyone is wondering, the most humane way to dispatch of snails is to stick them in the freezer. I asked my aunt, who is a biology professor and researcher, and is an expert on invertebrate neurology. 

I hope to get to the hardware store today to get some NH3 and start cycling.


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## jrodriguez

those dang snails...you can take them out by hand or get some fish that eat the snails.and in the long term, control the population.there are loaches of all species that love snails.clown loaches,kuhli loaches,dojo loaches.
but your tank isnt big enough for the clown loaches by far.
maybe the kuhli loaches...research them if you choose this path
unless you want to do it the humane way


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## ellyabillion

I'm not opposed to dispatching them via fish predation.  I guess I assumed that all loaches would get too big.


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## jrodriguez

yeah they probably do...i didnt note your tank size.and srry if i got you mad in any way


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## ellyabillion

I'm not mad at all! I appreciate all the help I can get. I've had fish/aquaria before (as a kid, and rescuing unwanted goldfish), but this is the first time I'm putting a lot of thought into the whole process.


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## jrodriguez

ohh...ok...thats good.
i think that the best way is to just take them out the way you do it.


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## ellyabillion

So I finally got some durned household ammonia. I can't believe it's so hard to find. I'll add some after DS goes to bed, but I still have to figure out how much to put in, as I only have a 10% solution.

So here are the levels pre-ammonia add. I'll probably measure again tomorrow.

Nitrate: ~10 ppm
Nitrite: 0.5 ppm
Hardness: 150 ppm
Chlorine: 0 ppm
Alkalinity: ~120 ppm
pH: 7.8
Ammonia: 0.5 ppm

So I just added one capful of "janitorial strength" ammonia, and the ammonia level is at 6.0 ppm. It's slightly high to start the cycling process, but hopefully it's okay. I'll add a little less next time. Maybe I didn't let the ammonia mix in long enough?

I'd love to graph all this info, but I'm having a heck of a time figuring out how to make a graph on Open Office. Argh!


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## ellyabillion

Yay! I finally found a great LFS. The first one I went to turned out to be a dud. Not only was it saltwater focused, but the store itself was gross!! The tanks themselves looked fine, but the walls had mold on them, and the carpet showed extensive evidence of spillage. Of course, my 3-year-old declared "I need to go potty!!" shortly after we arrived, so I had to take him through a junk room to the grungy bathroom in the back. Ugh. (Gentlemen, in case you didn't know this, we women rate stores/restaurants/gas stations based on the quality and cleanliness of the restrooms.)

Anyhow, the second shop I went to had an extensive selection of freshwater fish, and a smaller selection of saltwater stuff. They had an impressive assortment of plants, and I got a nice piece of driftwood, which is soaking away as we speak (type). I'll definitely be buying my stock from this store.

After the bambino goes to bed tonight, I'll do a water check and add more ammonia, if needed. I'm assuming that cycling is already underway since I already have measurable nitrite?? I've got live plants, so I'm hoping that will speed things up.

Today's numbers: 

Nitrate: 10 ppm
Nitrite: .05 ppm
pH: 8.4
Ammonia: 4.5 ppm

I'm assuming the increased pH is due to the presence of the basic ammonia. I'm not adding any ammonia today.

Oh, and I figured out how to graph this stuff on Open Office. Don't ask me how to do it, though, because I have no idea....


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## ellyabillion

Here are today's numbers:

Nitrate 10 ppm
Nitrite 2 ppm (up from previous readings)
Ammonia 4.5 ppm (slowly decreasing)
pH 8

In other news, my aquarium light is flaking out on me. The bulb has to be twisted in the socket *just so* and it keeps coming untwisted. Duct tape comes to mind, but I'm not sure that's a good idea. (Don't want it to melt, the fluorescent light still gets a bit warm.)

Driftwood still soaking.


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## ellyabillion

Today's numbers:

Nitrate: 10 ppm
Nitrite: 4 ppm
Ammonia: ~5 ppm

It looks like I'm getting a nitrite spike, which means my tank is cycling, I guess. Ammonia is still high, though. I've only added one capful of ammonia from the hardware store. Should I be adding a capful every day, even though the ammonia level isn't going down yet? One source I've been looking at says to add ammonia every day once you've figured out how much it takes to get it to ~5 ppm, but it's at 5 ppm already from ammonia I added several days ago.


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## ellyabillion

Argh! I'm a bit frustrated right now, as the light keeps turning ever so slightly so as to turn itself off. I may just have to tape it. Also, my Anacharis is turning to mush. Don't know if it's the lack of light or what. My sword plant looks nice, though.


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## ellyabillion

Today's numbers:

Nitrite: 80 ppm
Nitrate: 10 ppm
Ammonia: 0.5

Hoping to add my driftwood this weekend.


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## ellyabillion

Driftwood is in! Tank looks great, and I moved some of the plastic plants around too. I'm hoping it's near the end of the cycle, as ammonia has gone down for the first time and I'm seeing nitrates for the first time. Still trying to decide what to stock. 

Maybe I'll go back to my LFS and write down the species they carry that I'm interested in and figure out which ones and how many I'll get. I also want to get a moss/marimo ball. I saw some at the shop, and I was intrigued. I might buy another plant as well, as my Anacharis turned to mush.

Alright folks, I think I've decided that this will be the fish I get:

6 guppies
5 panda cories
6 neon tetras

Am I heartless and cruel if I want to keep guppies but not the fry?? I wasn't going to do anything special about them, so I assume they'll be eaten, right? I don't want to have to constantly cull offspring.


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## paronaram

Congratulation with successful cycling your tank!

Regarding fish selection.
Guppy and Neon, hmm don't know ... I would not go with that selection. Neon may nip guppy fins. 
Corys are fine in any combination.

Don't put all fishes same time. Start with guppy, they are hardy, then in 3 -4 days add Cory(s).

Guppy fry will be eaten if you leave it in the tank, but if you provide enough shelter (plants, rocks or artificial decor) you will see that some fry will survive.


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## ellyabillion

paronaram said:


> Congratulation with successful cycling your tank!
> 
> Regarding fish selection.
> Guppy and Neon, hmm don't know ... I would not go with that selection. Neon may nip guppy fins.
> Corys are fine in any combination.
> 
> Don't put all fishes same time. Start with guppy, they are hardy, then in 3 -4 days add Cory(s).
> 
> Guppy fry will be eaten if you leave it in the tank, but if you provide enough shelter (plants, rocks or artificial decor) you will see that some fry will survive.


Ooh, thanks for the warning about neons and guppies. I'd rather have guppies, so I guess I'll go read up on "guppy buddies" .


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## ellyabillion

Haven't posted in a few days. Tank still cycling. Ammonia reads 0 when I test, even though I add some every day. Nitrate and nitrite are still high. I left the lid open last night in hopes that the nitrate-eating bacteria might fall in there. (Yeah, I'm a bit weird.)

I've pretty much decided I'm going to stock cories, male guppies (don't want fry!) and rasboras. I did a lot of reading up on those types, and none are nippy or aggressive, and the fish stocking calculator gives it a thumbs up (or at least no warnings in red.)


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## ellyabillion

Sweet!! I think my tank is cycled. Nitrate and ammonia are both at zero. :fish-in-a-bag::goldfish::fish10:

Unfortunately, we have family coming into town tomorrow, AND we're supposed to get a blizzard tonight, so going to the fish store probably won't happen this weekend. It's on my way home from work, but I think it will be a fun outing to bring my 3-year-old along. Plus, adding fish is more of a weekend project. 

Does anyone know if I still need to add a little ammonia to keep things going until I can get some fish in there? I need to do a water change before I put the fish in. Maybe do that a few days in advance to let the chlorine dissipate?


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## Guy

If it's only a few days it's not necessary. Adding just a pinch of fish food occationally will keep the bacteria going indefinately.

If you do a large waterchange with chlorinated water you will certainly thin out the bacteria population. It would be better to put the water in a seperate container and let the chlorine dissipate before you use it on the water change. Running it through GAC will also work and so will AmQuel although AmQuel is the least effective IMO.


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## ellyabillion

We have fish!! :fish-in-a-bag:

I got 6 male guppies and a moss ball. I might get another plant next time I add more fish.

Some of the guppies are swimming around near the top. Apologies on the glare.


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## ellyabillion

Guppies are doing great! My 3-year-old enjoys feeding them (we put the food in a small dish to control portion, and then he pours the right amount from the dish into the aquarium). They usually hang out in a loose grouping, but I've noticed that one (the only lyre tail) is usually off by himself. Is that something to be concerned about?

I measured the ammonia levels with a fancy liquid test kit (3 reagents and 20 mins later!!) the levels are at 0. Depending on how the weekend goes, I may get some panda cories to add to the tank.

My 3rd fish is harlequin rasbora, but I'm considering getting some more male guppies since I like them so much.


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## ellyabillion

I got my panda cories! Those little guys are so adorable!!  Everyone in the tank has discovered that there is yummy **** around the bottom of my Amazon sword plant. The cories found it first, of course, and the guppies just had to be in on the action. lol


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## ladyonyx

The finished product looks great!


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## ellyabillion

Okay, so it's been a few months since I updated. I don't know what the deal with my guppies is, but they keep getting dropsy and dying. According to my research, the main culprit of dropsy is poor water quality, but my tank is actually understocked, and the levels are all near zero right before I do my water change. There have been 2 times when my water quality wasn't perfect; once when I was in the field for 3 weeks straight and didn't get a chance to do a water change in that interval, and when my 3-year-old dumped the can of fish flakes into the tank. I'm down to 2 guppies from my original 6.  For comparison, I've only lost one cory as a result of the "flake incident".

My tank is looking a little bare, since my cories are expert hiders during the day. Today, I hope to get some zebra danios and some more plants. Hopefully those guys aren't as prone to dropsy as guppies seem to be.


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## ellyabillion

Got my danios in there! They are really lively fish. One of my guppies is hanging out with them, and the other apparently is scared out of his fins, as he is hiding under the driftwood. 

I added some Italian Vals and Water Sprite. The cories enjoy hanging out in my planted area, which is what I had hoped. Now all the plants in there are real, and the plastic ones are gone. Now I just have to acquire some fertilizer tabs. My LFS didn't have them. I may have to go to a big box store...


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## ellyabillion

Well, after hiding for about a week, my other guppy came out of hiding. His pal is really happy to see him.  Just added some flourish tabs to the gravel. 

I'm about to be out of town for about 8 days, so I want to do a bigger than normal water change before I go.

I just tested my nitrates for the first time. My "master" test kit doesn't include nitrate for some stupid reason. It's at 10 ppm. I'm assuming that's an okay level since tomorrow is water change day? I've been looking around, and "under 50 ppm" seems to be what the sites say, but that seems high.


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## Brittrugger

Do you treat the water at prior to WC or age it? Also are you on well water or city water? Just wondering if your water source has a contaminate of some kind?


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## ellyabillion

Brittrugger said:


> Do you treat the water at prior to WC or age it? Also are you on well water or city water? Just wondering if your water source has a contaminate of some kind?


Hmm, somehow I missed this question!

I don't treat the water before changing the water, I just age it for 24 h. I'm on city water. I'm an environmental scientist, so I always scrutinize the water quality report when it comes out.  Denver Water is always below the MCL for all contaminants, including atrazine and other pesticides. Of course, fish are much more sensitive to chemicals in water than humans are.

I was actually coming here to report success with my algae problem! I had been wanting to get a SAE, but my LFS didn't have one, so I "settled for" a bushynose pleco. Holy cow, she's eaten all the algae off my amazon sword and my driftwood! I also bought some flourish excel, so that in combination with the algae eater has cleared the algae off my plants! I'm so happy!


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## HUMAN1ESS

ellyabillion said:


> Hmm, somehow I missed this question!
> 
> I don't treat the water before changing the water, I just age it for 24 h. I'm on city water. I'm an environmental scientist, so I always scrutinize the water quality report when it comes out.  Denver Water is always below the MCL for all contaminants, including atrazine and other pesticides. Of course, fish are much more sensitive to chemicals in water than humans are.
> 
> I was actually coming here to report success with my algae problem! I had been wanting to get a SAE, but my LFS didn't have one, so I "settled for" a bushynose pleco. Holy cow, she's eaten all the algae off my amazon sword and my driftwood! I also bought some flourish excel, so that in combination with the algae eater has cleared the algae off my plants! I'm so happy!


I know this thread hasn't been updated in a while. Don't forget to feed the algae eater once in a while. I use algae wafers, and a slice of cucumber about once a week.


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## ellyabillion

That's okay. Life gets busy and I don't update this thread very often. 

I did start to feed my pleco once the prodigious amount of algae was gone. I've got algae wafers, but she really enjoys produce. I give her boiled greens or zucchini, fresh from our organic CSA share. She's the luckiest pleco I know. :fish5:


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## HUMAN1ESS

ellyabillion said:


> That's okay. Life gets busy and I don't update this thread very often.
> 
> I did start to feed my pleco once the prodigious amount of algae was gone. I've got algae wafers, but she really enjoys produce. I give her boiled greens or zucchini, fresh from our organic CSA share. She's the luckiest pleco I know. :fish5:


Yea i just discovered that my Pleco loves cucumbers. He refuses to eat unless no one is watching though!


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## ellyabillion

Well, all is well with my tank. I'm extremely pleased that all the plants in there are real. The fish are thriving. I've got some hard algae on the back wall, but I've just dialed back on feeding my pleco to "make" her eat that stuff. I see her back there every so often, so hopefully it works. 

I've noticed that the tiny snails I've been tolerating (only a handful) seem to have gotten more plentiful. They seem to like my Marimo ball, so I think I'll just pluck them off that thing when I change the water. 

I have noticed a slowing of the plant growth now that it's winter. I do want to get some short grass for the foreground, but maybe I'll wait until it's warmer. Even though I have a heater, and it's in an acceptable range, the water temperature does fluctuate a bit with the seasons.


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## ellyabillion

I can't believe it's been 2 years since I started my aquarium! I think I'm going to finally bite the bullet and change the substrate from gravel to flourite. I think it will be better for the plants. 

I'll try to take pictures to track the progress. Should be interesting.


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## whitetiger61

yeah plants will like you better using that substrate..easier to plant also..

Rick


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## ellyabillion

Finally switched the substrate today! It took a while to find a new base I liked and then assemble it and then wash the sand, etc.

There still is considerable cloudiness. Waiting for it to settle before I put the fish and plants back in there.


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