My 55g Planted Tank Journal

[THUNDER]

My fishies have done that too in both glass and acrylic tanks on all sides. I am guessing that they are just gliding on the surface up and down or trying to get thru, hence they see something in the distance. It may be possible that a glimpse of reflection may occur with the lighting, movement, and shadow, but I am not sure. I guess that we all would have to fill up the tank of both glass and acrylic to stick our head in it to see.

Thunder

[Avalon]

Originally Posted by FreshwaterJeff

Also, I'll get pictures tonight (of the new fish additions, too), but my Rotala looks like it's closing its top leaves like a flower would close its petals...any idea what's going on there?

Your rotallas, along with many other plants, will fold up their leaves when they've had enough light for one day. Use these signs to set your lighting duration. I think you'll find most plants prefer about 10 hours per day.

[FreshwaterJeff]

Aug 2, 2006

Major update on the way - and the news is (almost) all good!

First, here are the results of tonight's parameter tests:

Ammonia 0.3 ppm
Nitrite 0.3 ppm
Nitrate 7.0 ppm (somewhere between 5.0 and 10.0)
pH 7.8-8.0
KH 85
GH 120
Phosphate 0.25-0.50 ppm
Calcium 60 ppm
Iron: Non-Chelated 0.0 ppm; Chelated 0.5 ppm

I'm a little unnerved by the small ammonia/nitrite spikes, though I suppose this could be because I introduced new fish into the tank last night and the bacteria haven't had a chance to catch up. I'll keep an eye on that for sure, as well as the pH (I think I'm going to start using RO water to bring that down some).

Now, on to the good news: my fish seem very happy and healthy, and after much uncertainty on my part, so do my plants! Take a look:

Crypts - Back from the dead (even the little rootlets I pulled off the main clump)




Rotala - New Growth!


And look - the moss/algae on my driftwood is pearling!


Now, on to tonight's activities. After testing my parameters, I moved my powerhead to the middle of my tank to improve circulation, and I was able to get rid of the "backwater" area on the left side of my tank.

Apparently, my pristellas love the new current - they were playing in it for a good 15 minutes.

After moving the powerhead, I did some gravel vacuuming and a small water change, and scrubbed my tank on the inside and brillianized the outside. Then, I fed my fish bloodworms for the first time - and they loved it. I think they're getting a little chubby, though, so they're fasting tomorrow

Here are some more shots, including the requested full tank view:

Full Tank (forgive the water level - this was pre-refilling)


Keyhole Cichlid (he's camera shy)






My playful little Zebras:

[Lonewolfblue]

Originally Posted by FreshwaterJeff

It doesn't feel like dirt - more like fine gravel or very large grains of sand. More like fine gravel, though.

Also, it's black, not gray - the flash did funny things to the color of it.

Yes, it's my only substrate. No, that doesn't limit my stocking options in any way (that I'm aware).

Having Eco does not limit the fish you can have. You can have any fish with it, fish that like to burrow, cory cats, etc. Eco is the absolute best for planted tanks in my opinion.

[FreshwaterJeff]

More pictures:

SAE playing lawnmower on the drift wood - he goes up in a straight line, then moves over and repeats, like he's mowing or vacuuming


More zebra shots:


Mmm...bloodworms...

[Lonewolfblue]

Originally Posted by FreshwaterJeff

July 26, 2006
Day 3

Well, shoot. For one, my crypts look a little worse - but I'm just going to give them time and not mess with them and let them self-correct a bit.

More troubling, it appears the bacteria in my Eco-Complete were dead. Here are my readings from this evening, before I bumped the ammonia back up to 5 ppm:

Ammonia: 3.0 ppm
Nitrite: 0.0 ppm
Nitrate: 0.0 ppm
(I'm assuming the plants ate the ammonia, given the lack of Nitrites...or that they ate the nitrites)
pH: 7.8

The pH was a bit of a surprise - though not once I thought about the ammonia content (ammonia is basic, right?).

Well, looks like I'm in for a full cycle - I need to get some more plants in to help speed that along...and I'm bumping the temp up to 84 degrees.

Actually, the bacteria in the Eco won't be enough to cycle the tank. Also, adding more plants will considerably shorten your cycle, or eliminate it if you have enough plants in the tank. That water sprite is going to get huge, but the good thing, it sucks up the nutrients fast and helps in eliminating th epossibility of algae. You just need a few more fast growers to eliminate the ammonia.

[Lonewolfblue]

Originally Posted by FreshwaterJeff

July 29, 2006
Day 6

Tonight, I'm going to get my tank as ready as possible for fish - big water change, some other assorted maintenance, lots of parameter testing, etc.

Then, perhaps tomorrow, Bio-Spira and fish

Cool....

Should try to find a Red Lotus Sword for one of the corners. It will grow huge, lol. But will look great.

[Lonewolfblue]

Originally Posted by micah2012

How many 20 lbs bags of eco complete did you use in a 55?

I put 8 bags in my 75G. I have 3 inches up front and 4-5 inches in the back.

[Lonewolfblue]

Originally Posted by GIS Guy

With a fish only tank should I worry about the kH any longer or continue to use the liquid calcium?

With any tank you should stay away from anything that messes with the kh unless you are keeping fish that require hard water. Then limestone and crushed coral are great additions. But for the most part, just stick with tap water. My snails are doing fine and I have relatively soft water, both gh and kh are 60.

[FreshwaterJeff]

And, some planning for the future:

When my last bag of Eco-Complete arrives, I'm going to take the opportunity to do some re-arranging. I'm thinking something like:

1. Move the driftwood more towards the center, put a cave (maybe flower pot) to the left of it, and put Jungle Vals behind it.

2. Move the Anubias so it's in front of the driftwood again, and probably leave the crypts about where it is. Leave the Crypt in the front left corner.

3. Move the Hygro to the back right corner, spread it out some, and put the water sprite in the front right corner. Add another cave, possibly another small flower pot.

4. Concentrate the rotala more in the center, possibly with Jungle Vals or something else tall behind it. May move the rocks to the middle and spread the rotala around it - bringing it forward to the mid-ground from the rear in either case. Considering anacharis, cabomba, and some other things like that (suggestions?) for the rear middle.

5. Put the moss balls in the foreground.

Then, I'll look at what open space I have and try and fill it in with some new plants - and maybe give HC a go in the foreground.

Thoughts?