# Starting my first real build!!!



## swbernstel (Jul 10, 2012)

Today, I started on my first real build. I plan on doing light to medium planting at first (to get the hang of it), and maybe beef it up later. Fishies will mostly be community, starting on with school of guppies, tetras, or platys (several weeks from now).

So far, Day 1 hasn't gone as well as planned. 

Mistake no. 1: Don't buy LOWE'S "All Purpose" sand for aquariums. Simply put, although it is insanely cheap, it is very dirty. I learned this a bit too late.



I have the pump running with some old filters to help get rid of the silty stuff. Tomorrow, I'll drain what's there and fill 'er up again with fresh H2O, probably twice through out the day. I hope to be able to put everything back in there by Sunday afternoon.

My first concern at this time is lighting. I just purchased 2-24" hood fixtures with 18"-T8 full spectrum bulbs. I plan to run them from 6am-8am and then 6pm-12am, a total of 8 hours/day, primarily when I'm home. Will these provide enough light for some initial planting or do I need to go ahead and return them? And if so, what is the cheapest route to follow? Money is not an expandable item for me, hence, the cheap @$$ sand. *r2

Thanks in advance.

~Sam


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## dalfed (Apr 8, 2012)

Just getting into plants myself but I believe it is only beneficial to plants to have at least 8 straight hours of light to allow photosynthesis to occur. Their are very knowlegeable plant people who can chime in on this for you. Welcome to the forum great site to learn from.


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## jshiloh13 (Dec 12, 2010)

i think it the rule of thumb on lighting in planted aquariums, is you need 2 watts per gallon of water in your tank. so if you have a 55 gal tank, you need 110 watt rating on your light fixture. but i'm no expert, i've just been getting ready to set up my own planted tank.


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

I hope you rinsed the sand. Don't give up on it.

Even rinsed, you will have 2-3 days of cloudiness from any playground sand. Once it settles, and after a few water changes, it looks great and works wonderfully. I rinsed through a big bag yesterday and used it in a couple of tanks, and they are clearing well already. A little hazy, but they'll be fine by Monday.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

If you let that tank set with no filter running that cloudiness from the sand will settle down in a couple of days.

my .02


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## swbernstel (Jul 10, 2012)

Thanks all. This is the tank as of this morning (approx. 10 hours of filtering).



I plan to change out all the water at least one more time, if not twice today. I'm more worried about getting the cloudiness out of there instead of letting it settle to the bottom. Also, headed out to return the hood lights to Petsmart and pick up a larger fixture from LOWES. Now to do more research on that. Any links talking about general rules of thumb for certain light sizes and tank depths are much appreciated. I'm gonna go start a thread over there now and hopefully get a response by the time I get done with this first water change.

Thanks again,

~Sam


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

I remove all cartridges and put pillow batting in the filter to remove particles. It's disposable, and I keep the cartridges in the tank so as not to kill off bacteria (too much).

It'll come out with water changes. Beaslbob is once again giving things in half measures - it will settle with no filter - that's true. But it will rise again with any decent level of filtration, as soon as the filter goes back on. Bob doesn't believe in using filters, so that's not an issue for him, but for 99.9998786% of aquarists out there, there's an info gap on his suggestion.

It looks to me like you really under-rinsed. I put two cups of sand in a bucket, rinse and pour off with the garden hose a few times, dump the cleaned sand into a second bucket, and continue on. A large bag of playground sand took about 20 minutes yesterday (if you try to rinse it all at once, it takes hours - small units of sand are very efficient). The same volume of substrate I spent 3 bucks and 20 minutes on would have cost $40 in a pet store, so that's fair. 

Sand does disappear with time - it's so easy to pick up on water changes, etc. I have a multi-tank set-up, and I go through a bag and a half of sand per year. I've learned the filter floss, vacuuming to clear the water and rinsing in tiny batches tricks the hard way...


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## swbernstel (Jul 10, 2012)

I very much appreciate quick access to your years of experience.  Do I need to worry about bacteria in the filter media if I have yet to put any fish in there?


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## FishFlow (Sep 13, 2011)

There is a great thread on the planted tank . net site (sticky under lights) Picking the light essentially determines type of tank you'll keep. Just depends on your level of commitment. (insanity?) Something like that.

Sand, definitely under rinsed. I spend 1/2 hour with 10-20lbs of sand. In a 5gal bucket, hose on full blast, working the sand with the tip of the hose ike a baker meads his bread. The lighter sand becomes suspended, and since water is cascading over the top of the bucket, it is washing away all the light stuff. After 1/2 hour of doing this, the sand that is left, settles down immediately after disturbing it.


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## whitetiger61 (Aug 2, 2011)

sand is definitely under rinsed...i rinse my sand in small portionsalso..but i use a pasta strainer..with panty hose covering the strainer..and yes i do get strange looks when i go to the dollar store to buy panty hose but it works really great for cleaning sand..Like has been said..the stuff will go to the botton without a filter but once you start it back up it will just cloud up again..so i really dont see any rhyme or reason to that method..thats just plain stupid IMO but hey to each their own..keep your filter running and change out some water..I dont think you have to worry about bacteria as its a new tank and you dont have any yet, but i would put filter floss in the filter chamber instead of your filters to save the filters..good luck and keep us posted.

Rick


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

beaslbob said:


> If you let that tank set with no filter running that cloudiness from the sand will settle down in a couple of days.
> 
> my .02


Seems a little long to me. Use filters the right way and it is less than no filters.


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## swbernstel (Jul 10, 2012)

Ok. I tried to take everyone's advice. The first thing I did was turn off the filter.......then I completely drained the tank. I filled it up again from the hose outside and stirred it up to get everything stirred up so I could try to siphon it all out. It wasn't pretty.....and it won't upload that particular picture for some reason. It was almost impressive how filthy it was. 

Anyhoo, got it all drained the second time for the day, and then, in the words of Smee, "lightning just struck my brain." I took the opportunity to take all the gravel out in the back yard and siphon through it little by little, using the "Baker and Overflow" method. 


(All the gravel moved to one side before removing, didn't realize how much I actually had in there)


(gravel siphoned and started putting water back in)

Alas, the grand payoff for a full day's work, a trip to Petsmart to return the hood lights, and a stop by Home Depot for my new ones, I present the current state of my work (which I'm actually a little proud of)



The 2-bulb T8 4' shop fixture and bulbs cost less than one of the 2 hood fixtures I had previously, and it's also rated for damp locations *w3 Specs are 2750 lumens (per bulb), 82 CRI, 6500K



little blue and white LED bubble fixture for night time. From what I understand, LEDs aren't really that great for plants, so will these create an issue with algae growth if I left them on all the time?



I got the driftwood for $5 a piece. Do they ever stay completely sunk on their own, or do they always live up to their name? If so, I probably need to more permanently secure them, especially if I end up with some active fish.


My fiance and I both like Greek mythology and we bought it, and the other stuff, before planning on doing an all natural tank.

If we decide to mix in some semi-aggressive fish, the more skiddish ones will have a solid hiding place. 

I've put the conditioner in and hope it will get to the crystal clear point in the next week or so. I want to start putting in some plants so, but have yet to hear back from the plant people on my other thread. My reading and some people at Petsmart have concurred that you can't really go wrong with java moss or fern. It doesn't require a lot of extra attention and is very loose on the light requirements. I'd also like to do some hornwort (for future fry) and tall vals (wall across the back in front of the bubble curtain and LEDs). I don't know how complicated ferts can get (i'd hope it would be a weekly thing with the water change or daily with the food). I don't want to get into CO2 yet.

Thanks again for the help and suggestions today. I look forward to your input and feedback. And if anybody knows anyone in the S Carolina area looking to get rid of some of the plants I'm looking for, let me know.

~Sam


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

Nice "retro-rinse"!
It is coming together. 
I love java moss, and have it everywhere. The only downside is its tendency to break up a little and then clog the power filter intakes - watch for that. 
If you have decent lighting, do weekly 25-40% water changes and have well chosen fish, I see no reason for ferts. Others will disagree. Vallisneria is an easy to grow plant, hornwort either loves you or hates you (no middle ground) and java moss will grow anywhere. 
There are many common aquarium plants that will make you tear your hair out to grow, but you have sensibly gravitated to the easy ones. They look great, grow well and are easy to keep.

I've never used led lights like that. I was given some but I didn't like the effect. I don't know if they would add algae, but they won't bother the fish. With the moonlight, total darkness is uncommon in nature.

You'll see some different philosophies for your next stage with the people who responded so far. I'm a low-light, low-tech fish first guy - I plant every tank and believe my tanks are beautiful, but I use low light plants exclusively, and play a lot with currents and fish behavior. Jrman, Fishflow and whitetiger have lusciously planted tanks - absolute things of beauty where the plant growth comes first. So they'll bring that perspective. Beaslbob constantly argues for unfiltered tanks with simple to grow plants, easy fish, mud bottoms, no water changes and no technology - a very idiosyncratic "swamp tank" approach not many people are into. 

It's a discussion forum, and with discussion, you'll find your own angles.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Looks much better. I never liked just letting things settle either and I think you made a better choice. It's still there after it settles, so what does that do other than prolong an eventual mess? You'll find some substrates require rinse after rinse and even then.... I use safe-t-sorb quite a bit and that stuff is near impossible to rinse clean.


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## swbernstel (Jul 10, 2012)

Thanks again for the feedback. I have read up on beaslbob's methods and although they seem unorthodox, I can't help but be intrigued and want to eventually try a 5g or 10g setup with his methods. My only concern is the possible smell. 

So, next step. I know I need to test the levels before anything, but how long should I wait before adding and plants or animals? and which should go first? My logic is telling me either fish first, or do them simultaneously (I expect opposition on that ) Reason being, I don't see the plant's lasting too long without a source of fertilizer (my fertilizer of choice at the moment being fish poop *r2). After this experience, I've gotten really good at changing water (in case the levels spike). I have a heater I plan to add as soon as I get some suction cups to hold it in place. It's currently sitting at about 77F (I keep my house at about 70~72F and have no idea what's keeping the water this warm). I've read that for tanks this size, two smaller heaters are better than one big one, but I figure with the amount of water movement I've got, that shouldn't be an issue.

Thanks again,

~Sam


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## swbernstel (Jul 10, 2012)

Quick update for the day. Went and got some hornwort today and started building my "Fry Wreath" at the top of my Greek columns.



Also got some slate and brass screws and my driftwood is now permanently sunk (brass corrodes very slowly in mild water and I believe any heavy metal release through dezincification would be taken care of by the conditioner during water changes). 

Ammonia was too high to start with the :fish5: today, which should probably wait anyhow. 

Thanks for viewing,

~Sam


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## jbrown5217 (Nov 9, 2011)

Tank is looking good, also you should be fine with those LEDs for night time


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## swbernstel (Jul 10, 2012)

Today's Update: I got some dwarf onions to start my wall across the back. Since the picture, I have adjusted them so the bulb is just visible above the gravel. I didn't know to snip the really long roots until after I had all of them in there. Is it a big enough issue to require going back and snipping them?





Thanks for viewing

~Sam


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Up to you on the roots. If they went in easy they may be okay. What usually happens is the roots get damaged and will then rot. I wouldn't worry about it personally.


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## swbernstel (Jul 10, 2012)

Thanks. I just really don't want bulb rot to set in. I read that they absolutely reek if they rot. 

So, I check my ammonia levels again yesterday, and my test kit read .25~.5ppm again. When I took it to Petsmart the other day, the got a reading of 1ppm. I use liquid, where as the used a multi-test strip. Unfortunately, I almost become color blind when doing my tests. *r2 I'm really hoping to get some fish either later this week or over the weekend. Would it be advisable to go ahead and do a water change to get the ammonia down, or just let the plants take care of it? Or, is the ammonia spike typical of a fishless cycling tank, at which point I should just let it do it's thing?

Lastly, when I get my first group of fish, what is an acceptable number of fish for the first group, given the size of my tank? I've read when you have an established tank, you don't want to add more than about 3 at a time, depending on the size of the fish. I was hoping to get a small group of oto cats (4~6 or whatever there preferable school size is) and a small school of guppies, platys, or tetras, depending on what's on sale (again, 4~6or whatever there preferable school size is).

Thanks again for viewing!

~Sam
*gunship


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## swbernstel (Jul 10, 2012)

Woke up this morning and the tank looked a whole lot clearer. 



Testing the ammonia last night and this morning both yielded approx. .25~.5ppm. I talked to someone at a LFS and they said false ammonia readings on an early tank are common. pH was about7~7.2, nitrates and nitrites both 0. He claims it would be safe to go ahead and get a few fish, but go cheap and tough, like some of the hardier tetras, and somewhere around 5~10 fish to start with in a tank that size. Does this all sound legit? I really want some :fish5::fish10:. My plants are lonely. *r2

My last concern is what you do for feeding when you go an a week long vacation, but I'll start a separate thread for that.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

I would wait a week then add a single fish. and wait another week with no food added. Then add some more fish and start feeding 1-2 flakes per day.

Don't trust the false ammonia readings. Let them drop down to unmeasureable.

for a week long vacation. do nothing. the fish and plants will survive just fine.

Bob


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## swbernstel (Jul 10, 2012)

So, I tested some tap water at my school from the fountain. Scored b/n 1.0~2.0 ppm on ammonia. haha. I hope I just got my hands on a bad test kit.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

With that size tank you could add a few fish and be okay. Your ammonia will go up though. Plants will help as long as you keep the number of fish low. Get too many and they won't be able to use up the ammonia fast enough.


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## swbernstel (Jul 10, 2012)

So, turns out, my kit was reading improperly. It said i had ammonia in my tap water. *r2 I took it to the LFS (not Petsmart) and compared to their Sera and Red Sea (I think) test kits, mine was reading high. So I got 11 (only paid for 10  ) little Serpae Tetras and got two more BIG bunches of hornwort to finish out my nest. The little guys are so animated. I've never had a school of fish like that before. And our cats enjoy watching them too. 



This is the updated tank. Water is starting to clear up again. I've upgraded my light since this pic to the 4 bulb fixture, which gives me 128 watts of lighting. It's not the best yet, but I'm gradually moving up.



My only concern right now is about the Hornwort. 



The stuff at the bottom in the shadows isn't as bright green as the stuff at the top. Should I worry about rearranging it so where nothing is in shadow at the bottom? I really love the way it looks right now, but don't want anything to die. Also, even some of the stuff on the top is curled in a bit on the ends, looking like little green pine cones. I'm gonna post a separate thread in the plant section later today if I don't get anything back here.

Thanks,

Sam


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## zero (Mar 27, 2012)

your tanks not cycled if your gettting 0ppm on nitrate. or was you planning to cycle with the tetras?


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## swbernstel (Jul 10, 2012)

I'm cycling with the tetras. They're cheap and supposedly pretty tough. The guys at the LFS said that it would take forever for a tank that size with so few plants to cycle. I'm hoping it will be cycled by the time I get back from vacation on the 12th.


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## zero (Mar 27, 2012)

you need to be doing regular water changes in a cycle or the fish will die! and not being funny but 12 days is quite short for a cycle to be completed. never heard of cycling with plants either, how does that work?

love the roman colum thing btw, looks wicked!


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## swbernstel (Jul 10, 2012)

Thanks on the column. You think the stuff near the bottom will be okay w/out as much direct light? 

The tetras have been in there since last Monday or Tuesday. And I'm not expecting the cycling to be done. Just hoping.  And the guys at the LFS said that you aren't supposed to do water changes while cycling, especially if I have plants and ammonia rocks in the filter to take care of the ammonia. I also have bio-wheels, but i don't think the bacteria is established in them yet.


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## swbernstel (Jul 10, 2012)

Just read some stuff on doing water changes during cycling. I'll be doing one when I get home tonight. So, If I do one Saturday night before I leave and am not able to do another til the following Sunday, am I taking a huge risk in killing them?


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

zero said:


> your tanks not cycled if your gettting 0ppm on nitrate. or was you planning to cycle with the tetras?


FWIW It is possible with planted systems to have an initial nitrAte spike that drops to 0 or low values once the tank has cycled.


That is the plant based silent cycle as opposed to the aerobic bacteria cycle.

In that case 0 nitrates could actually mean the cycle has completed. *old dude

my .02


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## swbernstel (Jul 10, 2012)

I haven't tested the water since the fish were put in because I returned the API p.o.s. and haven't made it back over to get the other test kit.


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## zero (Mar 27, 2012)

I personally wouldn't listen to the people at the fish store. You need to test the water and when the ammonia gets to 1ppm do a water change. So really I can't say if you'll be ok to do a change or not. Also r u talking about carbon in your filter? I'd get rid of it and replace with either a decent sponge or bio media.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

zero said:


> ...
> 
> never heard of cycling with plants either, how does that work?
> 
> ...



Actually very well. *old dude 

Plants consume ammonia directly while the aerobic bacteria build up. so low to no ammonia spikes.

my .02


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

swbernstel said:


> ...
> I also have bio-wheels, but i don't think the bacteria is established in them yet.


FWIW

bio wheels build up algae and therefore can actually provide the same benefits as live plants. Much the same effect as an algae turf scrubber (ats). But it does take time.

my .02


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## swbernstel (Jul 10, 2012)

Tested water night before last with the new Red Sea kit, which is well worth the $50. 

0ppm ammonia
.5ppm nitrite
2ppm nitrate

I don't think it's been nearly long enough for the tank to cycle, and the 0 ammonia is attributed to the high plant/fish ratio and the biowheels. The KH tester would not work for some reason and the range on the pH test kit was 7.6~8.6. Mine didn't even register when I tried it. I got a new heater that won't cook my fish and then I went to go put it in last night, realized why my tank didn't seem as bright and spunky. There was a light film of gunk and algae over almost the entire tank. I'm pretty sure it's due to the lighting, so I cut down the lighting from 1 & 8 hours/day to 1 & 6.5 hours/day. I also added another bubble wall since the one on my LEDs wouldn't put out uniform bubbles. 



Hornwort still has me a little worried with the lighting, but the onions are looking great and growing faster than I thought they would. It just seems they don't propagate very fast.





 

Thanks for looking,

~Sam


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## swbernstel (Jul 10, 2012)

So, got back from vacation today and it was very apparent that the tank went through the nitrite/ate spike. The Hornwort has almost doubled in abundance and the dwarf onions are looking great. Unfortunately, some black hair algae has taken a hold too. There was some brown and black spot algae on the back wall also. 

I took some water to my LFS and they tested it and everything looked great. I explained the condition of my tank and they said it would still be fine to add some fish if I so wished. The Red Serpaes are mid-tank swimmers so I wanted some bottom feeders to clean up the floor. I got three little shrimp and 3 Cory cats. I originally thought they would all be bottom feeders but they have all been super active all around the tank. I have a short video of one of the cats swimming top to bottom playing in the bubbles. 

I attempted to do a good bit of cleaning by hand today and will complete a 15% water change tomorrow after some of the crud settles to the bottom and the filter takes care of some floating trash. I'm also planning on changing the filter media. Carbon/ammonia rocks and particulate filters should be changed approximately monthly, correct?

During my hand cleaning, I noticed some tiny snails in my Hornwort. I know it's inevitable when doing a planted tank. I remember reading or hearing somewhere they there is a certain type of fish that loves to eat these little guys. It's not that I don't like snails, but I've heard and seen these guys clog up filter media really badly. I also have some little floating veggies. They look like mini-lily pads. 

I'll have pics and videos posted either tomorrow or later this week. Lastly, does anyone know how I can get this thread moved? I didn't realize until after I started this thread that there is a forum specifically for build threads like this. 

Thanks for viewing,

~Sam
*gunship


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

looking good.

Pretty soon you'll have to esplaine to viewers there are columns under all those plants.

my .02


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## swbernstel (Jul 10, 2012)

So, this is what I saw when I cam home from Disney World



It doesn't seem too bad in the picture above, but upon closer inspection, the onions and hornwort, along with some of the fake plants, have acquired wigs.*r2









Here, you can also see the algae built up on the right side wall.



I removed a good bit of it by hand and also used a toothbrush to get some more off the onions. What is the best way to get this stuff off? I also have some of the black hair stuff of the hornwort. Are the shrimp good for getting that cleaned up? 

I also did a home DIY upgrade on my light fixture. The reflectors had a matte finish to them, so I lined it with aluminum foil using double sided foam tape. It worked a lot better than I expected. 

Anyhoo, after changing about 16 gallons, scrubbing down all the walls, and doing some trimming and rearranging........



I think it looks a great deal better than what it did before. In the back left, I replaced the fake bamboo with 3 LONG pieces of hornwort. And, even after trimming some other stuff back that didn't look so good, you can still see how much hornwort is left. I also bought my first crypt. Not very big at the moment, but it already has some nice color to it. 



Speaking of plants, I noticed this little guy and a few others like him floating around. They're pretty, but will they cause trouble? And, what is it?



My new cory cats and shrimp are still active as ever.





This is the video I mentioned before of the cory. All of them do this, in the light and dark. My serpaes do it too. 

My Aquarium - My new Cory cat going nuts in the bubble curtain - YouTube

I've also recently noticed a new unintentional addition to my tank, snails. I don't know what kind yet, but I've heard you are always prone to getting them when doing planted tanks. The biggest one I've seen is about the size of a pea. I also saw this last night. I apparently missed a spot or it started growing back already.



In the very center, you can see a little bit of brown algae and a baby snail trail. Somebody told me what eats these guys, but i can't remember. I don't mind them cleaning my tank, I just don't want them clogging up the filter or taking over. All the serpaes do is knock them of the side of the tank and play with them as the sink to the bottom. 

Well, i think I'm done bombarding the thread with pics for now. Thanks for looking and feel free to give any feedback.

~Sam


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## swbernstel (Jul 10, 2012)

I'm posting this as a separate thread elsewhere, but I'm adding it here as part of the journal for my tank.

Hi all,

So, I noticed this on several of my little serpaes. 







I apologize if it's hard to see. The first pic shows it best (just top left of center). I initially thought it may be just their fins growing back. I read that they are fin nippers and when at the LFS, they are usually overstocked, so they get a little more nipping action than usual. After being in my tank for a little while, I noticed their fins starting to regenerate and fill out more. Now, several of them are white around the edges and I'm afraid it may be fin rot. :'( IF so, why did it take so long to set in. I notice them nip at each other from time to time, but nothing ferocious. I checked the water:

0ppm ammonia, nitrate, nitrite
pH was 7.0, or maybe just slightly under that, but nothing drastic. 

When I did the first water change this past weekend, the tank water was approx. 79F~80F and each bucket of water I added I measured 79F (cheap food thermometers work great for that purpose). They don't seem to be acting any differently, and I can't tell if the base of their fins are inflamed since they're already a reddish color. 

I'm probably overreacting, but I really don't want anything bad to happen this early on. Help??? *Conf*

Thanks,

~Sam


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## zero (Mar 27, 2012)

I've noticed Fins turn white as they grow back so just keep an eye on them but they should be fine. I see you have 0 nitrate, so you still need to cycle the tank?


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## swbernstel (Jul 10, 2012)

As far as I can tell, the tank has completely cycled. While I was on vacation, the flora exploded in the tank from the abundance of fertilizer (ates, ites, ammonia). Since i came back, everything is at 0ppm. I think with with my current, plant to fish ratio, the plants easily use up all the bad stuffs before it gets concentrated enough to show up in any testing. I may be wrong, but that's what makes sense to me with my current knowledge.


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## zero (Mar 27, 2012)

How long did you go away for?


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## zero (Mar 27, 2012)

Also what and how many fish do u have? And did u add media from an established filter?


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## swbernstel (Jul 10, 2012)

I was gone for a week. 11 serpaes, 3 corys, 3 amano shrimp. I didn't have any wet established filter media. The first filter media I used had already been slightly used before, but had been dry for several months.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

swbernstel said:


> As far as I can tell, the tank has completely cycled. While I was on vacation, the flora exploded in the tank from the abundance of fertilizer (ates, ites, ammonia). Since i came back, everything is at 0ppm. I think with with my current, plant to fish ratio, the plants easily use up all the bad stuffs before it gets concentrated enough to show up in any testing. I may be wrong, but that's what makes sense to me with my current knowledge.


What was your ammonia source? You are right that the plants will use stuff up, but it may also use it up to the point you don't know if it has cycled or not. Planted cycles aren't typically very short.


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## swbernstel (Jul 10, 2012)

jrman83 said:


> What was your ammonia source? You are right that the plants will use stuff up, but it may also use it up to the point you don't know if it has cycled or not. Planted cycles aren't typically very short.


I guess there wasn't an ammonia source while I was gone. :| 

I knocked out another water change yesterday (approx. 25~30%) I added some Sera Florena 0-0-4 fert and have started dosing with Flourish Excel. I tested everything this morning.

pH: 7.0
KH: 2
Ammonia/ates/ites: 0ppm

I don't know whether the tank has cycled or whether the plants and filter are just doing a really good job at keeping anything from spiking. *Conf*

I took the 3 amano shrimp back. I got a pair of orange (forgot the specific name) and a pair of Red Cherry, plus another female RC. One of the female RC was already berried. I'm really hoping they will be able to spawn at least a few little ones. Since I put them in, the only one I've consistently seen is the orange male.



^.^ I absolutely love this picture. I didn't realize how it turned out 'til I looked at it on the computer. ^.^

I invested in some more dwarf onions to extend my back wall. The pic isn't that great.



I also picked up two new plants, a moss ball and some java moss. I got those for the shrimp, but have yet to see any of them on it.



^^^^I never thought I would call a plant cute. *r2 



I haven't killed my crypt. It has new sprouts. yay!



I trimmed down my hornwort considerably. Also, in the back corner, I took all the really long pieces and cut them in half and put them back in the rock. Now, it's half as tall, but twice as thick. I'm anxious to see how much it will really grow in a week.  



The look the cashier gives you when I 6'-5" guy, by himself, walks up buying black panty hose, is priceless. I used them to create a cover for my filter intake so no baby shrimps (or fry later on) can get sucked up and pureed. 



Alas, after all is said and done, this is what it's current state is...



I couldn't be happier with its progress, just wish there were more fish. But, all in due time. Don't want to cause a bio-overload. I hope I'm doing the right thing by always pairing a purchase of a creature with a plant, trying to balance things out. 

Now, questions:

I'm using Tetra AquaSafe PLUS, which has ingredients to "enhance" the protective slime coat. I remember seeing somewhere that this may not be good for certain types of fishies, but cannot seem to locate that thread at the moment. Can anyone shed any light on this?

As always, Thanks,

~Sam


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## Summer (Oct 3, 2011)

tank is coming along very nicely! congrats on all of your hard work!


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

swbernstel said:


> ...
> 
> 
> I don't know whether the tank has cycled or whether the plants and filter are just doing a really good job at keeping anything from spiking. *Conf*
> ...


IMHO it doesn't make any difference. As long as the spikes are not there actually not much else matters.

I would stay away from any chemicals of any kind. the environment you have will be great for the fish.

Glad to see things are progressing so well.

congratuations. *old dude


still just my 


.02


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## zero (Mar 27, 2012)

Your tanks looking wicked! might get some od those onions for myself! Re the Tetra aquasafe, I personally would get seachem prime when you run out. Its massively long to explainas I'm posting frommy blackberry but when I can get on a computer ill give you my reasons.


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## swbernstel (Jul 10, 2012)

Thank you both for the reply. 

I committed my first screw-up/bad judgement call. I bought fish from PetSmart. I'm copying this from another post to include it as part of my little online journal here.




swbernstel said:


> I got some guppies and am unfortunately having some issues with them. Four have dies already, only one of which I know the cause (trauma from being caught at the store and dropped, plus the stress from moving).
> 
> On this one, it looks as though his stomach is raw and a little bloated.
> 
> ...





holly12 said:


> How long has your tank been set up for?





swbernstel said:


> Several more of them died. Tomorrow will be five weeks, but I took them all back today. Any other history of the tank can be found in the thread in my signature. I'm going to look for a good quality guppy breeder around here.
> 
> Thanks for the reply.







beaslbob said:


> IMHO it doesn't make any difference. As long as the spikes are not there actually not much else matters.
> 
> I would stay away from any chemicals of any kind. the environment you have will be great for the fish.
> 
> ...


Thank you. I'm not using any additional chemicals other than what was in the Aquasafe. I don't consider the carbon dosing using a chemical since it's only making up for the lack of fish producing CO2 or a CO2 system.


Unfortunately, during the whole endeavor, one of my beautiful little cory cats passed away too, which was the tipping point in making me take them back. The little guy was so active and I found him wedged between the wall and a rock. Not exactly sure what did him in though. I have tested my water levels almost every day and I keep getting the same exact thing, pH approx. 7.0+-0.1, amm/ites/ates 0ppm, and 2dKH (can someone explain the units on that please??). I will be performing a thorough cleaning and water change tomorrow. 

I would like to get some more cats to have a whole school of them. I love their little mustaches. Also, I want to get some gouramis to fill out the surface of the tank. Does anyone know if paradise gourami are any more violent than the rest of the gourami family? Also, I've read they like stagnant or slow moving water. Will having a high flow in my aquarium stress them out too much? With the bubble wall along the entire back and then the filter putting out 300gph across the top, you can easily see the cycling flow in the tank.

If the flow is too much for the gourami, what other similar fish could I use to fill out my surface? My fiance really wants something with some color and discus are out of the question at the moment. I have a 300g tank planned for the future I want to use them in. 

Thank you all for your replies and input,

~Sam


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## zero (Mar 27, 2012)

I brought some guppies a little while back and the stupid cow dropped water from the tank onto my face! It tasted a little salty but thought nothing of it but floated the guppies for longer, any who one was acting strange and diet a couple days later and now anotherguppie from a different store has died n a mollie......mined looked like yours, totally fine. I did a bit of researchn found guppies don't really suffer from swim bladder unless they go from shallow water to deep water so I'm intruiged to find what's caused ur die off as it might be the same for me.


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## swbernstel (Jul 10, 2012)

Was there a big difference in water hardness between your tank and the stores tank?


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## zero (Mar 27, 2012)

there shouldnt of been as were under the same water supplier, didnt check tho.


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## swbernstel (Jul 10, 2012)

Hi again guys and gals. Sorry it's been so long since the last update. School has started back and is doing a very good job at keeping me busy. Anyhoo, I'm trying something new and have put everything into a video, ...... kindof. I'm working on a fear of public speaking thing and figured I'd start by just talking in a video (which still makes my heart race). Please watch until the end to get all the info. It originally started as a video to show off a few of my serpaes. I apologize for my longwindedness and rambling in advance.

Indian Chief Serpae + Tank Update 2012-09-08 - YouTube

Thanks,

~Sam


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