# The CHI(LL)



## kadoxu (16 Aug 2016)

Hi guys,

I'm back after the 1st failed attempt... I'm trying to set up a journal about my failed attempt(s). I didn't know where to create this thread, so admins, feel free to move this somewhere else!

*Previously in my Planted Nano Tank*
Episode 1
http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/plant-beginner-issues.41514/

It's my first ever aquarium.
I didn't have much space so I went for a 19L Fluval Chi tank.
I want to be able to keep some plants alive before adding some cherry shrimp and zebra nerite snails
Poor research on plants lead to a complete failure
Episode 2
http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/planted-aquarium-in-rented-property.42250/page-2#post-454671

Landlord told me I couldn't have an aquarium... the contract doesn't say I can't have one if it doesn't have animals, so I'm going for it until I have to move... or he changes his mind.

*And now - Episode 3*

So, I now have a bit more information about plants... I read a lot of forum threads and a couple of books (including Walstad's Ecology of the Planted Aquarium).


My plant list (I want to narrow it down to 3 or 4, but I'm also taking suggestions):

Moss Balls
Lindernia Rotundifolia ?
Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Green' ?
Japanese Cress (Cardamine lyrata) ?
Mini Java Fern (Microsorum Pteropus Petit)
Eleocharis Acicularis ?
Eleocharis Parvula ?
Eleocharis Sp. Mini ?
Staurogyne repens ?
I'm going to try and keep the same idea I had for the first attempt (check the link above), but with different soil (no more white pebbles all over) and to start using an EI regime from start as well as adding liquid CO2. I also updated the lights with some DIY LED lights (which I'm not too confident about).
If it goes wrong (again), I'll have to try with a different filter and lighting...

The plan here is to keep it simplistic and have a carpet plant covering the ground completely, Moss Balls will be randomly positioned and a couple of bigger plants (Small Java Fern in driftwood is a must) behind a Taiwan Goddess head statue (very zen to keep the mrs. happy!).

I'd also like to have floating plants, but the filter sends it all underwater with the water flow and then sucks it up (I had a duckweed nightmare)...

I'll update this thread with pics and plans so you guys can help me through it!


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## Aqua360 (17 Aug 2016)

look forward to updates  the chi is a nice tank for shrimp!


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## kadoxu (17 Aug 2016)

*STEP 1 - Soil & Decoration*

Tank: Fluval Chi 2 (19L)
Soil: 2-4cm of Tetra Complete Substrate covered with 1-2cm of Tetra Active Substrate.








*STEP 2 - Plant planning*



After a bit of research, I made this spreadsheet to help me choose between the options I had... (I'm accepting revisions on this... hardness columns probably have wrong data... sometimes data available in the web is a bit controversial)

Last attempt initial water tests:

PH - less than 7.5 (didn't have a high end PH test by then)
GH - 16
KH - 12
NH3 - 0.2
NO2 - 0
NO3 - 10
I'm going for a 25-26ºC temp, Low Tech (I'll use liquid CO2), and Low to Medium light tank (hopefully... lol).

Legend:
*1 - Mini Java Fern*
*2 - Unknown... *(choosing between Lindernia Rotundifolia, Cryptocoryne wendtii Green, or Cardamine lyrata)
*3 - Unknown... *(choosing between one of the Eleocharis')
*4 - Staurogyne repens*

Option 1:




Option 2:




Option 3: 





I'm accepting suggestions for other plants I could use. Remember it's a small tank with 25.4 x 25.4 x 36.5 cm (10 x 10 x 14.4 in) and the filter is partially submerged on top of it. http://www.fluvalaquatics.com/ca/product/10505-chi/#.V7SBrun2aHs

*Questions:*

I have a Fluval E 50W heater... it's a bit on the huge size. During winter I need it to be able to cope with indoor temps as low as 10-15º... Would a smaller heater do the job?
I'm letting just a bit of water so the ground settles for at least a few days until I get at least some plants. Should I be doing this with a full tank instead before adding the plants?
Is there a floating plant that would be able to cope with the filter's downwards water flow? (I tried Duckweed... it was a disaster!)

Thank you


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## kadoxu (23 Aug 2016)

*Updates*

So, I'll have to change the plants layout a bit... instead of reducing the plant list I added a few more plants... lol

Here are a few things I have on the way:

Copper Test kit 
Seneye Reef
Dennerle Nano ThermoCompact 50W heater
Plants:
(floater) Water Letuce (from our friend @creg)
(foreground) _Eleocharis parvula_ and _sp. Mini_ (I'm gonna mix them and see which one does better)
(foreground/middleground) _Staurogyne repens_
(middleground) Mini Java Fern
(background) Japanese Cress
(background) _Ludwigia palustris_
(background) _Lindernia rotundifolia_


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## rebel (23 Aug 2016)

Reminds me of Oliver Knott fantasy scapes! Nice.


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## kadoxu (23 Aug 2016)

rebel said:


> Reminds me of Oliver Knott fantasy scapes! Nice.


I had never heard of him before... did a quick search and WOW! I wish I was half that good...


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## kadoxu (25 Aug 2016)

Plants were sent today and arrive tomorrow... so I wanted to test everything before I really need it.

Here is the final result (Sorry about the thermometers, but I'm testing a new heater)








I had the soil soaking for a week. Today I filled the tank up and emptied it again in order to 'simulate' an 80% water change.
I added a bit of liquid carbon and micro-nutrients to the water.

First round of water chemistry tests:

*PH *- 8
*KH *- 6
*GH *- 14
*NO2 *- 0
*NO3 *- 5
*NH3 *- 0.3
*Cu *- <0.25

Tomorrow when the plants arrive I'll empty most of it again and start the EI regime for real!
I'll start with 4-5 hours of light for the first week and hopefully I'll get the Seneye to test my DIY LED lights.


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## kadoxu (27 Aug 2016)

So here's the result.



 

Unfortunately one of the middleground plants I ordered had mould, so I didn't use it. And Japanese Cress and Lindernia Rotundifolia are a bit small at the moment

My concerns now are:

Is there enough light?
Is the filter good enough?
My PH is a bit above 8...


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## rebel (27 Aug 2016)

Don't worry about things too much. I think you've done well.. I would not touch the ph at all... Filter is probably not good enough to have any fish in there though,

For your next tank, you should use aqua soil. It will simply things a little.

Don't dose ei ranges for this tank. You can start with 1/4 EI and take it from there.


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## kadoxu (27 Aug 2016)

rebel said:


> Don't worry about things too much. I think you've done well.. I would not touch the ph at all... Filter is probably not good enough to have any fish in there though,
> 
> For your next tank, you should use aqua soil. It will simply things a little.
> 
> Don't dose ei ranges for this tank. You can start with 1/4 EI and take it from there.



I've done a quick test on the filter flow rate. 
I put a tube on the exit making all the water flow to a container for about 31 seconds (the container wasn't too big) and measured the water volume (0.7L). All the math done the filter flow rate is at least 80 litres per hour (I say at least, because the flow could have been limited by the tube). Being it a 19L tank it cycles all the water at least 4 times an hour... Would it be enough to have some shrimp?

I've started Liquid Carbon and EI regime following the recommended dose after a big water change (around 70%) every day. Micro and Macro on alternate days. Should I dose just a 1/4 of the recomended dose even while doing at least 50% water changes a day?

Thanks


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## Manisha (27 Aug 2016)

Hi Kadoxu,  you've put a lot of planning into this tank - it looks well ☺ I'm sure you'll have better success this time! Good luck!


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## kadoxu (27 Aug 2016)

Manisha said:


> Hi Kadoxu,  you've put a lot of planning into this tank - it looks well ☺ I'm sure you'll have better success this time! Good luck!


I hope so! Thank you!


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## Timon Vogelaar (28 Aug 2016)

Just a smal note here; NH3 excists with a PH of 7 or below. Above 7 it is NH4 wich is more toxic to fish.
That's just some chemistry wich i know the smallest bit about. What i do know is that it is important to cycle lots of water in the beginning. Your advantage could also be your disadvantage. With your tank size you can easily change 80% water but mostly smaller tanks are harder to stabilize.

About lighting; Bright light wil let your plants grow faster and they will need more ferts and CO2. With you using middle bright lights and plants that wil accept it your demand is lower. However in startup with alot of changing water and bacteria build up to do. So you also change ferts with it. I would not risk it to foresee in the demand of your plant so keep dosing enough ferts ect.

Good luck!


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## kadoxu (28 Aug 2016)

Thanks @Timon Vogelaar! I'm doing 50% or more daily water changes, and adding Liquid Carbon & Ferts.


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## dw1305 (29 Aug 2016)

Hi all,





Timon Vogelaar said:


> NH3 excists with a PH of 7 or below. Above 7 it is NH4 wich is more toxic to fish.


Other way round, more toxic ammonia (NH3) above pH7, and less toxic ammonium ion (NH4+) below pH7.



 

cheers Darrel


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## kadoxu (31 Aug 2016)

*Day 7 update*

Today is day 7. So far so good, everything going as expected. I also added just a few Dwarf Water Lettuce to the tank, just to have a few floating plants as a algae prevention measure.

The floating water lettuce is growing like crazy and I can already see some growth on most of the other plants as well.

Some of the _Lindernia rotundifolia _leaves are melting (I think)... I'm hoping it's due to the change to immersed environment. As the plant needs to adapt to be completely underwater.





I didn't have time this morning for more than this quick pic




Sorry about the Seneye's position, but the suction cup doesn't hold it and it kept falling over the plants...

And the Seneye's data for the last 3 days


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## Manisha (31 Aug 2016)

Growth is looking good & your right patience is the key with plants adapting to submersed conditions - your seneye's a fancy piece of kit!


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## kadoxu (1 Sep 2016)

Manisha said:


> Growth is looking good & your right patience is the key with plants adapting to submersed conditions - your seneye's a fancy piece of kit!


Thank you! The extra lights on the cover lid were a DYI project and I really wanted to know how strong they really were, that was the main reason to buy the Seneye.


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## kadoxu (6 Sep 2016)

*DAY 13 Update*

I am now giving 1 more hour of light per day (now on for 6h)

Yesterday I trimmed a just bit of the _Ludwigia palustris. _I wanted to do this from day 1, but I thought it would be better to let it settle in the tank for a bit first, as it would have better access to CO2 while reaching the water surface with a few leaves.
The Mini Java Fern also got a couple of leaves trimmed and I'm looking to start trimming it slowly in order to get smaller leaves.

Dwarf Water Lettuce continues to grow fast as hell... almost like a bodybuilder on steroids... I added 4 or 5 in the first week, and now I'm starting to remove a few.

Japanese water cress also seems to be growing nicely, I'll probably end up removing the bigger pebble on the back an fill the space some more water cress and the Java Fern... well, it's a Java Fern.

Free Ammonia Levels are a bit high, since the PH is usually around 8 and a bit above, but a great amount gets absorbed while the lights are on (thank you water lettuce!).

Now to the problems... A few days ago I had the first victim of stem rot... Lindernia Rotundifolia is giving me an headache again, but this time, I'll just leave it floating in the water to see if it gets some roots going. Staurogyne repens seems to be following on the same path.

Both Eleocharis seem to be slowly dying, one curious thing is that the ones I was able to plant deeper in the substrate seem to be staying bit greener than the rest. Let's wait and see how it goes...

I also had a bit of a problem with the Seneye... it ended up being a software bug they were already aware of, so they made me a part of the Beta testing for the next software version.

I'll add a new pic when I have the chance...


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## kadoxu (8 Sep 2016)

*DAY 15
*
Not much happened since last Tuesday. 

I'm now trying to get some cheap & used CO2 equipment to replace Liquid Carbon and see if the root rot stops.
Also ordered some new lights hopping they do a better job with Eleocharis.

Here are some pics from this morning


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## Aqua360 (8 Sep 2016)

nice progress


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## Manisha (8 Sep 2016)

Looking good ☺ I understood it is better to plant hairgrass in smaller separated sections to allow for more growth - however for me even with doing this ... I couldn't understand why it WAS ALL DEAD! I think it can take a while to get its roots going & then new green visable growth on top... even still - I thought it was messy looking & ugly & removed (no patience) & was surprised at the amount of root growth. Anyway, what I'm saying is there's probably more happening where you can't see & if you can bear I read (think it was Mick.Dk) mentioned you can remove individual dead blades by wiggling carefully free but trying not to pull the whole lot out? (Too little patience myself & too heavy handed ☺☺☺). Hairgrass is painfully slow low tech so good luck with pressurised co2 - I hope it carpets more successfully for you ☺


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## kadoxu (8 Sep 2016)

Manisha said:


> Looking good ☺ I understood it is better to plant hairgrass in smaller separated sections to allow for more growth - however for me even with doing this ... I couldn't understand why it WAS ALL DEAD! I think it can take a while to get its roots going & then new green visable growth on top... even still - I thought it was messy looking & ugly & removed (no patience) & was surprised at the amount of root growth. Anyway, what I'm saying is there's probably more happening where you can't see & if you can bear I read (think it was Mick.Dk) mentioned you can remove individual dead blades by wiggling carefully free but trying not to pull the whole lot out? (Too little patience myself & too heavy handed ☺☺☺). Hairgrass is painfully slow low tech so good luck with pressurised co2 - I hope it carpets more successfully for you ☺


Yeah... I'm not very patient as well...


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## kadoxu (10 Sep 2016)

*DAY 16 - Two Problems to freak out about...*

So... I just finished today's water change and I found two more problems I have to deal with.

I found a small snail on the water lettuce... 
I saw some Rhizoclonium algae...at least that's what I think it is after comparing with the ones on this Algae Guide
I'll be on the lookout for other invaders and I'm hoping that adding CO2 next week (equipment on it's way) will give the plants an advantage against the algae.

I also got new lights today see if I can get Eleocharis parvula and Mini to revive from the ashes.


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## MrHidley (10 Sep 2016)

kadoxu said:


> *DAY 16 - Two Problems to freak out about...*
> 
> So... I just finished today's water change and I found two more problems I have to deal with.
> 
> I found a small snail on the water lettuce...


What kind of snails are they? I welcome ramshorns in my tanks, they're all full of them. Prolific algae eaters!


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## kadoxu (10 Sep 2016)

MrHidley said:


> What kind of snails are they? I welcome ramshorns in my tanks, they're all full of them. Prolific algae eaters!


I don't really know, but it wasn't ramshorn for sure, different kind of shell.


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## Manisha (10 Sep 2016)

Snails usually are very beneficial in a planted tank ... perhaps when you identify the type you can decide risk management!


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## kadoxu (11 Sep 2016)

Manisha said:


> Snails usually are very beneficial in a planted tank ... perhaps when you identify the type you can decide risk management!


I know they are... but I want to pick the ones I want myself! xD I haven't seen any other snails yet... so I'm hopeful.


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## kadoxu (12 Sep 2016)

*DAY 18 - Last week updates*

So on day 16 I freaked out a bit, but haven't seen any snails or more algae evolution since. The only thing I did was slightly overdosing Liquid Carbon in the last 2 days to put the algae in check.

Last week I changed the lights. According to PAR measurements, these new lights should *double light intensity *when compared to my DIY LEDs. Hopefully this (in addition to CO2) will help Eleocharis to revive from the ashes.





It was week 2, so I've been doing:

*50% water changes every other day*
*lights on for about 6 hours* (when it's sunny early in the morning, those rare days, I believe the plants get a bit less than 1 hour of direct sunlight from the window across the room)
*EI regime* 
Macro nutrients 3x a week
Micro & traces 2x a week

*Liquid Carbon* every day.

Water chemistry is changing daily as follows:

*PH* is changing *between 8 and 8.5* (I want to bring it down to 7.5-8 range, hopefully adding CO2 will do it for me. Liquid Carbon affects PH, but not enough)
*Free Ammonia* (the toxic one) *ranges from 0.001 and 0.040* depending on the time of the day (plants are doing a great job).
*Nitrates *are only tested 2x a week, but has been stable and under the danger zone.
These are the readings for last week:



I still have to find a way to keep temperatures stable when doing water changes (I am currently using 4x 2L bottles).

*Yesterday*

Major water change
Major trimming on the background plants
Removed some water lettuce
Removed some dead plants behind the statue
replanted some bits of Eleocharis, removing the dead parts and replanting the green hairs in smaller chunks.
Cleaned the Marimo Balls
Cleaned and changed half of the cotton filter
Cleaned sponge filter lightly
I also learned that having an internal filter, specially like the one I have (filter opening is bellow) is a pain... a lot of the filtered junk goes back into the water when I remove it. I probably have to start rotating it to the side whenever I do water changes or a clean-up.

Yesterday I was way to hungover to bother to take a pic...  I'll try to remember to take one today...


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## kadoxu (12 Sep 2016)

The pic, as promised...


 

What should I use to clean the limescale at water level? I was thinking about JBL Clean A...


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## kadoxu (13 Sep 2016)

Regarding the limescale seen above water level, I bought some citric acid and used it with some warm water and a cloth. Worked like a charm! 

I posted a question about it here
How to remove lime scale/calcium deposit at water level


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## kadoxu (13 Sep 2016)

*Sodastream CO2 kit
*
Yesterday I got all my CO2 equipment:

Sodastream canister
Sodastream adapter
Used CO2 Art regulator with solenoid
Precision bubble counter
Bazooka Atomizer 50mm diffuser
24h Plug timer
Put it all together and today I had it running:

ON 1 hour before lights on
OFF 1 hour before lights off 
1 bubble every 4 seconds
PH dropped to 7.8
Not bad for the first day, according to Tropica's website, with a dKH of 12, the PH should drop to 7.5-7.8 range to get a medium dosage of CO2. The drop checker solution was greenish blue by the end of the cycle. 

This is week no 3, I'm going to start doing just 2 weekly water changes and try to raise light levels to 7-8 hours and keep the EI regime.


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## kadoxu (18 Sep 2016)

*DAY 24 - I smell trouble...*

This week I made a lot of changes... probably shouldn't have done so much in a short period.

Changed lighting
Major plant trimming
Slightly cleaned filter media
Replaced half of the cotton filter media
2 water changes a week 
Added CO2 injection
Increased lighting period to 7 hours
Reduced temperature from 25.5ºC to 24.5ºC

_Staurogyne repens_ seems to have loved it and is growing well, _Lindernia rotundifola_ has some new leaves growing, _Eleocharis _also seems to be finally picking up, _Cardamine lyrata_ is growing fast as usual and the same goes to Dwarf Water Letuce.

Now, I'm having a bit of an issue with the Java Fern and Ludwigia palustris... 


 

 

PH drops to 7.6 when CO2 is on and goes back to 8.3 when it's off.


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## kadoxu (24 Sep 2016)

*DAY 30 - Update*

It's trimming day today. All the plants that haven't died are now picking up. I have a bit of algae in the small gravel, I'm thinking of leaving it as a welcome gift for future shrimp tenants. 

I'm gonna trim _Eleocharis _and _Staurogyne repens_ slighlty and give a really big cut to the Japanese cress.

A pic from yesterday


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## kadoxu (1 Oct 2016)

*Day 37 - Exciting week*

It was a crazy week for this tiny tank... it seems it has an almost complete collection of algae species. I'm dealing with diatoms, green spot algae, hair algae (it's funny that my statue is now growing hair ) and I believe there is also cyanobacteria in the mix...

So what did I do? I left it alone for a bit and started to plan for aquarium no 2!  In the meantime, I got a EHEIM Classic 250 filter, inline heater and CO2 atomizer and put it to work in this tank. Overkill? Maybe...

The second thing I did was... getting a cleanup crew! So yesterday I got 3 Zebra Nerite Snails and 10 Red Cherry Shrimps.

I'm loving these little fellas.

Tomorrow is cleanup and water change day, so everything is a bit dirty today...


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## rebel (1 Oct 2016)

Dude, I love your planning skills. I think you are doing very well! 

That is some filter to run on this tank but lots of flow is good for planted tanks. 

What's the PAR at the foreground substrate with both lights on?


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## rebel (1 Oct 2016)

Btw aesthetically, just remove your largewhite stones and replace with the moss balls. Just thinking out loud.


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## CooKieS (1 Oct 2016)

Cyanobacteria at this stage means you've done something wrong...good luck with that.


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## Manisha (1 Oct 2016)

Lovely nerites & cherries  algae woes, sorry to hear - perhaps reducing the light period & EI dosing may help? Deep clean & extra water changes also (just for fun!) Rebels suggestion of more mossand balls would look good actually & wouldn't show the algae as much... but your current design is Lovely too


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## kadoxu (1 Oct 2016)

rebel said:


> Dude, I love your planning skills. I think you are doing very well!
> 
> That is some filter to run on this tank but lots of flow is good for planted tanks.
> 
> What's the PAR at the foreground substrate with both lights on?


I was a bit afraid about using such a powerful filter on such a small tank, but so far so good. I actually tried to reduce the outflow by closing one of the quick release taps, but whenever I do it, the tap starts leaking a little bit, so it's working at full speed now... lol

I think the measurement at the foreground was a bit on the low side, at around 30 PAR or something like that... I'll try to remember to take a few measurements tomorrow to confirm.



rebel said:


> Btw aesthetically, just remove your largewhite stones and replace with the moss balls. Just thinking out loud.





Manisha said:


> Rebels suggestion of more mossand balls would look good actually & wouldn't show the algae as much...


The idea with the pebbles is to (one day eventually) make a contrast with a green carpet of eleocharis... 



CooKieS said:


> Cyanobacteria at this stage means you've done something wrong...good luck with that.


I think it's cyanobaceria... but I may be completely wrong... lol



Manisha said:


> Lovely nerites & cherries  algae woes, sorry to hear - perhaps reducing the light period & EI dosing may help? Deep clean & extra water changes also (just for fun!)


I'm doing a deep clean & water change tomorrow. I'm hoping that the cherries and the raised water flow will keep them in check...


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## kadoxu (2 Oct 2016)

So, today I made a bit of cleanup and water change and everything is a bit nicer. I didn't even bother removing the big white pebbles, as the cleanup guys are doing their jobs and they are almost clean after just one and a half days. Note that I didn't even touch the stones.




 

 



rebel said:


> What's the PAR at the foreground substrate with both lights on?


I measured it today just to give you a better answer about this. It's around 30 par as I remembered. I get values from 26-34PAR depending on how the sensor is angled.


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## kadoxu (2 Oct 2016)

Yesterday I forgot to say that the guy I got the shrimps from also sent a couple of Cabomba stems with them, which I used to replace a bit of Japanese cress that got uprooted (my bad planting skills)

Also, the _Ludwigia palustris _I replanted is now doing great.


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## rebel (2 Oct 2016)

Very nice. Not feeling the moss ball from an aesthetic POV. Time to get a small glass bowl to keep it in.... 

Your par levels are very good for low tech.


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## kadoxu (2 Oct 2016)

rebel said:


> Very nice. Not feeling the moss ball from an aesthetic POV. Time to get a small glass bowl to keep it in....
> 
> Your par levels are very good for low tech.



The moss balls were used to fill in holes when plants started melting...  They started moving around when the water flow was raised by the new filter so I removed 1 of them... I'll probably move the one you are complaining about as well... when I get the new tank!


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## kadoxu (3 Oct 2016)

Look how clean the pebbles were this morning...


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## Christos Ioannou (3 Oct 2016)

kadoxu said:


> Look how clean the pebbles were this morning...
> 
> View attachment 91607


 is it the nerite snails?


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## kadoxu (3 Oct 2016)

I'm not sure, the Nerites are a bit more nocturnal so I don't really see them that much while they are active and, whenever I see them, they tend to keep on the glass. 

I really think the Red Cherries are the ones to blame here, as I usually see them munching on top of the pebbles!


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## Manisha (3 Oct 2016)

kadoxu said:


> Look how clean the pebbles were this morning...
> 
> View attachment 91607



That moss ball's a bit 'ahem' distracting...


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## kadoxu (3 Oct 2016)

Manisha said:


> That moss ball's a bit 'ahem' distracting...


Oh come on!! 

I promise you guys that I'll relocate it as soon as I start my 2nd tank by the end of the month!


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## kadoxu (5 Oct 2016)

*Day 41 - Ranting*

Plants are thriving , there were a few older leaves with holes on the Ludwigia Palustris, which made me pay more attention to ferts and CO2 levels. See this thread http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/ei-regime-k-and-mg-deficiencies.42985/
It made me realize I really need to tweak my ferts in order to reduce nitrate levels and that the problem in the Ludwigia is probably from low CO2 or from the poor water flow I had before adding the external filter. I raised the CO2 a bit just in case (since flow is definitely not an issue anymore )

I'm still doing between 6-7hours of lighting period... I should probably increase it slightly
My water params don't change much (from what the tests can tell me):

*Temp *- 25.5º
*PH *- 7.2 (CO2 on) - 8 (CO2 off)
*GH *- 21
*KH *- 13
*NO2 *- 0
*NO3 *- 80
*NO4 *- 0

This is day 5 after the cleanup crew was introduced to the environment and I can now really see how well the plants are doing , specially now that the eleocharis is no longer hidden in a cloud of hair algae and the few stems of Lindernia Rotundifolia (which gave me so much trouble before) that survived are now starting to become what I expected from it from my very first attempt of a planted aquarium.

As for my tenants (I like to think I'm a landlord now )... I had 3 deaths so far:

1 of the 3 Nerite Snails was DOA.
1 RCS found dead on day 1.
1 RCS found dead on day 3.
This means I have 2 Nerites and I *should *have 8 RCS... 

Yesterday, my Seneye was recording a slight ammonia raise sooner than normal after lights off, so I turned the CO2 and lights for a couple of hours to keep it from raising too much during the night. It's probably due to the added bioload added with the critters, but it also made me remove the statue decoration to see if I could find dead RCS... I wasn't able to find any dead critters and was able to see 5 of them at the same time (yay!). 
I reduced the gaps of the filter intake with small rubber bands before adding the RCS, so I hope they don't get caught in it, but today I'll open the external filter anyway just to be sure there's nothing living in there.

In the meantime, I'm slowly buying what I need for a 2nd (slightly bigger) tank, because I'm hoping to get my hands on a Biotopia tank by the end of this month when they get more to sell.

To finalize, I have to say... no, I haven't moved the moss ball yet!


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## kadoxu (5 Oct 2016)

Another look at my clean tank


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## Manisha (6 Oct 2016)

...Moss ball's still there.


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## Manisha (6 Oct 2016)

I'm sorry, I COULDN'T HELP MYSELF! Tank looks well & I'm sure the shrimp prefer it over pebbles anyway!


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## kadoxu (6 Oct 2016)

Manisha said:


> I'm sorry, I COULDN'T HELP MYSELF! Tank looks well & I'm sure the shrimp prefer it over pebbles anyway!


I expected nothing less...


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## kadoxu (17 Oct 2016)

*Day 53 - First molt!*

Well, not much has changed since the last update. 

Yesterday was trim and cleanup day and I found what looked like a "ghost" shrimp laying in the tank. I wanted to take a pic, but wasn't fast enough to be able to keep it in sight...  I've had no more deaths since the first 2-3 days, meaning I (should) still have 8 RCS and 2 Zebra Nerite Snails. I say I should, just because I have never ever seen more than 7 at a single time, since I placed them in the tank... 

I think I've been overfeeding these guys, they probably don't even need to be fed, as they probably get a lot of food from decaying leaves and algae. I've been giving them something small almost once a day, and the last time they almost haven't touched it... so now they're going to starvation mode for a couple of days, so I can see the reaction and start testing on how much food I should be providing.

I now have a couple of cappata leaves in the tank and raised the temperature to 27ºC, to give them optimal breeding conditions, in the hopes I don't need to buy more of these guys for my second tank.



 

Oh yes, second tank arrives today!!!


----------



## Manisha (18 Oct 2016)

I'm glad you got your algae woes sorted, a FTS would be good, but I've been really bad with photos so no pressure ☺ My (Amano) shrimp prefer to moult it seems following a WC - usually leaving it in an unsightly place! EVERYTIME I get a shock & then remember it's just a moult... Congratulations on the new tank, happy planting...


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## kadoxu (18 Oct 2016)

Manisha said:


> a FTS would be good


No more FTS until I get rid of that Moss Ball! 
The tank is a bit ugly at the moment, as I made a really big trim, specially on the Java Fern and Japanese Cress, which left the tank a bit "naked"...
This is the last pic I took before the trim (unfortunately the Seneye is ruining it). You can't see much, but you'll get an idea


 



Manisha said:


> My (Amano) shrimp prefer to moult it seems following a WC - usually leaving it in an unsightly place! EVERYTIME I get a shock & then remember it's just a moult...


I thought it was a dead leaf when I first saw it... when I tried to remove it, the ghost appeared! 



Manisha said:


> Congratulations on the new tank, happy planting...


I'll do a journal for the new one soon...


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## kadoxu (29 Oct 2016)

*Day 65 - Updates*

So, I bring great news for you... THE MOSS BALL WAS REMOVED!!! 

Other than that, not much has been happening lately. I kind of messed up a few times leaving the lights on for longer than I wanted and with the CO2 off, so mother nature is punishing me with an outbreak of Green Spot Algae.

I optimised my Macro solution to provide a lot less Nitrates, since the last time I tested my tap water, it was way above 20ppm. And I also changed the micro solution, because my water is too hard, and I was getting iron deficiency symptoms, so I needed to try an Iron source with a different chelator and apparently it worked.

I also replaced the green EHEIM spray bar for a clear PVC tube, just because I don't like the green tube on the background... some lily pipes are on the way to replace the rest of it.

Since shrimp feeders are way to costly, I went on ebay and got a Petri dish for a pound.


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## dw1305 (29 Oct 2016)

Hi all,





kadoxu said:


> I made a really big trim, specially on the Java Fern and Japanese Cress, which left the tank a bit "naked"..


Java Fern grow new leaves fairly slowly, so it will take a while for it to grow back. I just remove the dead leaves from mine. If the plant has out grown its space, I split the rhizome to give me plants of a more suitable size.

cheers Darrel


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## kadoxu (30 Oct 2016)

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,Java Fern grow new leaves fairly slowly, so it will take a while for it to grow back. I just remove the dead leaves from mine. If the plant has out grown its space, I split the rhizome to give me plants of a more suitable size.
> 
> cheers Darrel


Thanks Darrel, I'm aware they take a while to grow, but I'm quite happy that a lot of new leaves are now growing and looking good. They are actually growing faster than I expected.

The ones I cut, were either too big, ugly, or already giving place to new plantlets. Next time, I'll try to split the rhizomes as you suggested.


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## Jack Reilly (31 Oct 2016)

Going to be honest, I miss the Moss ball.


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## kadoxu (31 Oct 2016)

Jack Reilly said:


> Going to be honest, I miss the Moss ball.


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## kadoxu (6 Nov 2016)

*Day 70 - *

I did something really really stupid yesterday... Note to self: don't ever EVER (EVER!) adjust CO2 before leaving home for half a day!

I came home to realise that a huge amount of CO2 was being injected to the tank... both my snails were smart enough to climb out of water into safety, but the shrimp I was able to see, seemed dead!

I ripped everything apart to try to get all the shrimps out into a small cup of water from the tank that I shook like a coke bottle when you want to make a prank on someone...

Did a 90% water change, replanted the whole tank, acclimatised the shrimps and hopped they would make it... 5 seem to have recovered, the rest, including the biggest and most beautiful of them all didn't resist my neglect...


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## Manisha (7 Nov 2016)

Sorry for your losses, at least some survived - think we've all done stupid things & usually when you've made a mistake it only happens the once!


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## rebel (8 Nov 2016)

@kadoxu , you are traversing the steep learning curve like a champion. 

Sorry for your losses.


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## kadoxu (8 Nov 2016)

Thank you @Manisha and @rebel.

I picked up another dozen of Red Cherries yesterday and made an acclimatization for almost 4 hours. I didn't loose any so far. Last time I lost 2 on the first 3 days, hopefully it won't happen this time around.


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## Doubu (8 Nov 2016)

I made that mistake too coincidentally but my Amano shrimps recovered. It was not a pretty sight though, all my Amanos were upside down twitching so I instantly scooped them up, turned on air filter and put them above/close to it and they recovered after a few hours thank god. My drop checker was way yellow...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## kadoxu (8 Nov 2016)

*DAY 73 - The aftermath*

Well, this is the result of me trying to save the RCSs



 

I'm still waiting for a glass inlet pipe to arrive and I've been thinking about getting a white background, just to hide the wires and tubes as much as possible.


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## Jack Reilly (9 Nov 2016)

kadoxu said:


> *DAY 73 - The aftermath*
> 
> Well, this is the result of me trying to save the RCSs
> View attachment 92235
> ...


why are white background?


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## kadoxu (9 Nov 2016)

Jack Reilly said:


> why are white background?


To blend with the wall behind the tank... just to give the illusion there's nothing back there. 
Black was the other option, but it would be too dark for my liking.


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## rebel (9 Nov 2016)

Dude, those plants don't look the best. I think they are deficient in something. Are you dosing properly?


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## rebel (9 Nov 2016)

kadoxu said:


> Thank you @Manisha and @rebel.
> 
> I picked up another dozen of Red Cherries yesterday and made an acclimatization for almost 4 hours. I didn't loose any so far. Last time I lost 2 on the first 3 days, hopefully it won't happen this time around.


When you do acclimatisation, dose the whole tank of prime first. This, in my naive belief, could prevent ammonia toxicity if the fish shop water is acidic, but by chance becomes more basic, hence making ammonium > ammonia... etc.


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## kadoxu (9 Nov 2016)

rebel said:


> Dude, those plants don't look the best. I think they are deficient in something. Are you dosing properly?


I had an outbreak of Green Spot Algae recently and I've been trying to find a better source of Micros. Most plants you can see now were also being shaded by the Japanese Cress, so that and the crappy photo quality is probably why.



rebel said:


> When you do acclimatisation, dose the whole tank of prime first. This, in my naive belief, could prevent ammonia toxicity if the fish shop water is acidic, but by chance becomes more basic, hence making ammonium > ammonia... etc.


Never though of that before. My PH can rise above 8 with CO2 off, so that's something I actually need to pay attention to.


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## kadoxu (26 Nov 2016)

*DAY 91 - Update*

Plants are still slowly recovering from the BBA outbreak. I was worried about having few Phosphates, but before going out and spend money in new ferts I bought a Phosphates test kit. Apparently I had more than enough, same going for Iron...

So I reduced to half EI dosage and skipped a couple of Micro days to see if this is the result of Micro toxicity. Tomorrow is water change day, so I'll only run some more tests tomorrow so see the results of the reduced regime.

I believe most of the plants are showing stunted growth, but I'm waiting until tomorrow to make my conclusions...



 



 

*Note:* I have never touched the white pebbles since the critters were added.


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## kadoxu (6 Feb 2017)

Wow... it's been a while! I've been a bit busy moving home and getting everything ready for the baby boy (coming really soon)...

This tank has been through a lot in the meantime...

The plants were in such a bad state after the move, that I decided to remove almost all of them and use the ones I had in a propagator to replant the tank. I also moved the statue a bit more to the back of the tank.
*Moved all the Moss Balls back into the aquarium!* 
The original filter was removed
The filter's plastic inlet and outlet (spray bar) were replaced by a glass lilly pipe set
New Chihiros A-Series LED lights
Changed fertilizer recipe
Built a perspex lid
Lost some shrimp on the way... 
Still dealing with some algae issues
and more importantly... GOT SOME NEW FISH! 
So here's a couple of tank pics (sorry about the diffuser's position, but I didn't want to wet my hands! )




FTS




I'm still letting the plants grow so they can get some advantage over the algae by getting CO2 from the surface. I want to cut them and plant the cuttings soon.

As I said, I'm fighting some algae, it's been slowly getting better, so I hope that I'm on the righ track now. Most of the affected plant leaves are emersed grown, the plants didn't melt after bein imersed, and I want to believe the newest leaves won't be affected...














My DIY lid was just cut from a 25x25cm perspex sheet. I cut a couple of corners for the filter and CO2 tubings and 36 breathing holes




Now, the new babies... about a month ago, I got a dozen of Black Bar Endlers from Ebay. They were about 1 month old at the time, so they were quite little and still colorless. One of them jumped out of the tank and died just after a week or so (and hence the new lid).

I have to say I'm loving these guys... specially when they get a bit of food that doesn't fit their mouths right away... they bite it and swim around with it... just like a puppy with a bone! 

This week I got all excited when I noticed that at least one of them started to get some colors!

The pics are a bit crappy, but was the best I could do...













And here are 2 ninjas hidding in the shadows (1 Red Cherry & 1 Zebra Nerite)




So... I think that's enough for the next few months!


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## kadoxu (22 Feb 2017)

Well... I got a new fish... but I'm not sure he fits in the tank though...


 

And I finally found a Macro program in my crappy camera... but it still took me 50 pics to get a decent one!  
I'm so lucky (not), I think I got 8 females and 1 male Endlers... still hoping for a small one to develop colour...


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## tim (22 Feb 2017)

Congrats on the baby kadoxu, looks like you will soon have plenty of new fish, not so lucky for you, but lucky male endler


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## Fiske (24 Feb 2017)

Grats on the baby.
You're aware hobbies take a backseat the next couple of years, yeah?


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## kadoxu (24 Feb 2017)

Fiske said:


> Grats on the baby.
> You're aware hobbies take a backseat the next couple of years, yeah?


Thank you!
I'm still in denial...


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## Doubu (24 Feb 2017)

Wow... congrats on the baby!!! =D


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## Million (24 Feb 2017)

kadoxu said:


> Thank you!
> I'm still in denial...


Just setting up my first planted tank since before children (B.C.). My youngest is now 2 1/4... and my wife still doesn't think I have the time!


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## Fiske (24 Feb 2017)

Million said:


> Just setting up my first planted tank since before children (B.C.). My youngest is now 2 1/4... and my wife still doesn't think I have the time!



Luckily my wife is understanding. And my daughter is 14. Hence the time to actually have hobbies. 

Now I only need to find out how to approach the subject of a second tank....


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## papa_c (25 Feb 2017)

Fiske said:


> how to approach the subject of a second tank



flowers are always a good prelude to the question!


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## kadoxu (15 Mar 2017)

Almost 2 months after I got them, my Endlers are starting to breed... and I can now confirm that from the 9 I bought, 8 are females... 

I was able to see 4 fry the other day, but there may be some more hiding in the plants. I'll need to come up with a population control plan soon!

I haven't been able to make the Cherries breed... I definitively have at least one male and a couple females, but it is probably due to the high amount of NO3 in the tank, which I learned recently that can make them infertile.


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## kadoxu (13 Apr 2017)

So... I had to shut down this tank.

I went to buy some cheap Red Cherry Shrimp (in a final attempt to breed them) from a guy selling them on Gumtree. Got about 36 of them for £20, so great deal, but... in the bag there were also about 10 Guppies!!!  The guy just said "I'm sending you some guppies as an offer". I was furious!! How can someone give fish without even asking the person if they want them or even have a suitable place for them?! 

I had big plans for my 2 tanks and they all went down the drain just because of this guy... 

So, I had to move all the endlers to the big tank (and realized I have even more than I thought) and had to remove every single thing from the tank to be able to catch all the fry and the 4 adult Red Cherries I had left in it.

The only substrate I had available was ADA Amazonia Powder, and since it leaks a lot of ammonia for the first few days/weeks I couldn't use it. So all the tank has now is a bit of wood the Mini Java Fern and the head statue. The guppies are now in it and from the only one big enough to have colours it seems to be something like a Blue Japan Lyretail Guppy. This is the most similar picture I could find online:


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## Fiske (13 Apr 2017)

kadoxu said:


> I went to buy some cheap Red Cherry Shrimp (in a final attempt to breed them) from a guy selling them on Gumtree. Got about 36 of them for £20, so great deal, but... in the bag there were also about 10 Guppies!!!  The guy just said "I'm sending you some guppies as an offer". I was furious!! How can someone give fish without even asking the person if they want them or even have a suitable place for them?!



Ridiculous. If you'd want to buy an used aquarium here in DK, at least 50% of the listings is including fish. So you'd have to buy whatever the previous owner found awesome in their 3 week career as an aquarist. So, 3 lyretail mollies, 4 neonfish, 5 guppies, a goldfish and a clown loach.
Send them back?

"Hey, you bought these RCS, I'm adding some piranhas as an offer". Ridiculous.


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## kadoxu (30 Apr 2017)

It has new life a few weeks after the emergency restart... although the vallis I bough online didn't arrive in great condition... let's see how it's going to evolve...


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## kadoxu (19 Jun 2017)

I'm gonna call it round 3 from now on. It's looking kinda good for an emergency setup... sorry for the crappy phone pics.




@markk 's Puffer and Cherries seem to be quite happy in there.



And here is the first berried RCS I've seen in almost 1 year!


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## SuperJam (19 Jun 2017)

Puffy is ridiculously cute, especially when photographed next to a larger shrimp!


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## Doubu (22 Jun 2017)

True fish lover. If that happened to me... I would've tried to give them on my local forums for free.


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## rebel (22 Jun 2017)

Puff daddy is examining those shrimp?


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## kadoxu (22 Jun 2017)

Doubu said:


> I would've tried to give them on my local forums for free.


I did give most of them away after a while, I just kept a few males I liked. I was already keeping Endlers, it's hard enough to keep their numbers in check, and I also had plans to keep puffers in this tank. I just didn't want to recklessly give them away or kill them without a good reason to do so.



rebel said:


> Puff daddy is examining those shrimp?


There are reported cases of pygmy puffers living peacefully with shrimp... I hope to become one as well! 

He has lived with RCS since birth and so far has lived peacefully with them... I hope it stays that way when he becomes big enough to eat them. I believe puffy's parents also live with some RCS in their tank with no major casualties.


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## gregl (22 Jun 2017)

kadoxu said:


> sorry for the crappy phone pics.



I think they are great pics mate, framing and content over resolution. Love me an image where the eggs look like they're about to escape.


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## rebel (24 Jun 2017)

Nice work man. Good to see you progressing along since your start ?last year. 

Call him "puff diddy" if he behaves but otherwise he becomes Puff Daddy.


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## kadoxu (26 Jun 2017)

rebel said:


> Nice work man. Good to see you progressing along since your start ?last year.


Thanks @rebel ! 

I learned a lot in the last a year and a half... specially how to be patient and consistent, and not change things every single week. Light, CO2, and fertz automation helped a lot too.


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## kadoxu (25 Jul 2017)

After 3 week holidays...



I just had a friend come over twice a week to feed Puffy some blackworms and small snails.

I came back to a jungle and the CO2 cannister was empty... had lots of tiny baby shrimp and Puffy was alive and doing great (and still not eating the shrimp). I'll post a post-cleanup picture when I get a chance.


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## kadoxu (8 Aug 2017)

3 months after the emergency restart... I did it again... adjusted CO2 before leaving the house for the day... and came back to dead fish...    RIP Puffy 

Most of the shrimp actually survived... only removed a handful of dead ones after running the air pump for a few hours. Most babies seem to have survived.

Now I moved the Endlers back to this tank... because I don't like it when it's empty(ish).


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## kadoxu (21 Aug 2017)

This is what neglect looks like in the Chi...


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## kadoxu (17 Sep 2017)

After trimming and rearranging a few things.


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## techfool (17 Sep 2017)

kadoxu said:


> So... I had to shut down this tank.
> 
> I went to buy some cheap Red Cherry Shrimp (in a final attempt to breed them) from a guy selling them on Gumtree. Got about 36 of them for £20, so great deal, but... in the bag there were also about 10 Guppies!!!  The guy just said "I'm sending you some guppies as an offer". I was furious!! How can someone give fish without even asking the person if they want them or even have a suitable place for them?!
> 
> View attachment 107338



I guess that's one way to deal with overpopulation.


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## kadoxu (25 Sep 2017)

The new inmate



 

It's amazing how the fins change colors depending on how much they're open


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## kadoxu (27 Oct 2017)

Renamed this journal.

I'm happy to report that the Betta is leaving the shrimp alone. They don't seem bothered by his presence and he leaves them alone.

I've seen him attack a small Malaysian trumpet snail, though.

As for tank updates... I clean the filter and trim plants about once a month, do a 30% water change every week, feed the critters daily... and that's pretty much it... trimming next weekend.


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## kadoxu (30 Dec 2017)

Welcome to the jungle!


 

I think I have a flower coming soon...



 

Currently, I feed the Betta once a day, do a 25% Water Change a week, and clean the filter once a month. Ferts are on an Jebao Doser, and CO2 is very low and I don't even know if the bottle still has gas on it or not... probably ran out this week, I'm not sure yet if I'm going to replace the bottle or remove the CO2 all toghether.

I don't see many shrimp nowadays, not sure if the Betta is eating them, or if the snails are out competing them.


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## kadoxu (16 Feb 2018)

It's been a while...

I've added some assassin snails to this tank, had too many Malaysian trumpet snails for my liking.

Grumpy is happy with his room mates.


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## kadoxu (5 Mar 2018)

Sad update today... Grumpy managed to jump out of the aquarium and died... 

So now I have to look for a new fish to put in there... any ideas?


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## Angus (5 Mar 2018)

kadoxu said:


> Sad update today... Grumpy managed to jump out of the aquarium and died...
> 
> So now I have to look for a new fish to put in there... any ideas?



That sucks man... my condolences, he was a sweet betta.


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## kadoxu (7 Mar 2018)

fozziebear said:


> That sucks man... my condolences, he was a sweet betta.


Thanks! It was an awesome looking fish and also had a great personality.


Now as far as fish I can put in there... I had forgotten how limited choices there are for a 20L tank... 

So my list of possibilities has 4 options at the moment:

5/6 Ember Tetras
Pea puffer
Betta
2 male Guppies

As amazing as Pea Puffers are, having to store live foods or give frozen food everyday, it's a bit too much trouble for me. 
A Betta, as I found out, is not the ideal fish for this setup, as there is a bit too much flow in the tank, I had to let the vallis and the floating plants overgrow in order to constrict the flow enough for the Betta to be comfortable. So this leaves the Ember Tetras or Guppies... I'll probably decide when I get to the LFS.


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## Angus (7 Mar 2018)

Do shrimps and breed them?


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## Patrick Crowley (7 Mar 2018)

Galaxy Rasbora - beautiful fish 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Sandman417 (7 Mar 2018)

Chilli rasbora are a good shout. Very small and colourful. I have them in my nano and they’re doing fine.


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## kadoxu (7 Mar 2018)

fozziebear said:


> Do shrimps and breed them?


This tank still has Red Cherries. But since it's heavily planted, it's kinda hard to see them. They have survived multiple apocalypses in this tank and have kept going until now. I've started about 2 years ago and had CO2 killing all the fish twice, had a pea puffer for a while and this betta as well.



Patrick Crowley said:


> Galaxy Rasbora - beautiful fish





Sandman417 said:


> Chilli rasbora are a good shout. Very small and colourful. I have them in my nano and they’re doing fine.


These are great looking fish, but there's a problem... they both are schooling/shoaling and territorial fish (specially when breeding) so I would need to buy a few of them and either put them in a tank at least twice as big, or greatly overstock the tank to minimise aggression. 
One of my first thoughts was actually the Celestial Danio (aka Galaxy Rasborra), but the territorial thing put me a bit off right away... in the end I tend to keep my aquariums slightly overstocked, so I may give them a go if I feel I'm up for a challenge!


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## kadoxu (14 Mar 2018)

I've decided to go with the puffer option.

The critters I used to feed the last one are pretty much still thriving in there... I've seen worms, water fleas, loads of snails, and if I get a smart puffer, it will get the assassin snails first!


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## kadoxu (24 Mar 2018)

Puffers are in! They were all living together, so I though I'd bring them all with me.


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## TomatoandEgg (25 Mar 2018)

I was going to say I’ve never hd aggression from my cpd’s But they are super shy so I wouldn’t recommend them



kadoxu said:


> It's amazing how the fins change colors depending on how much they're open



I have always liked that characteristic of the colour blue in the animal kingdom. I watched a YouTube video on it and IIRC with only one exception there are no blue pigments in nature,  so on fish like your beta it’s the shape of the surface cells of his skin/scales that disrupts the reflection of all other colours except blue in light as it bounces off the fish. That is why blue colours in animals often change depending on angle and often has a shimmering quality.


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## CooKieS (25 Mar 2018)

Puffers will eat All your shrimps...


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## TomatoandEgg (25 Mar 2018)

CooKieS said:


> Puffers will eat All your shrimps...



i've kept puffers and adult shrimp no problem


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## kadoxu (25 Mar 2018)

CooKieS said:


> Puffers will eat All your shrimps...


I've had a puffer with the shrimp before and didn't have a problem. These also seem not to care about them, and I saw them in the shop with amanos, so I'm hoping to be lucky again.


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## kadoxu (27 Mar 2018)

Can't stop looking at these guys...


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## Aqua360 (27 Mar 2018)

kadoxu said:


> Can't stop looking at these guys...
> View attachment 114342



they are great, always find they inspect everything with their independent moving eyes; in between fighting and annoying one another lol


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## kadoxu (27 Mar 2018)

Aqua360 said:


> they are great, always find they inspect everything with their independent moving eyes; in between fighting and annoying one another lol


Last time I only had 1, so didn't see much of this natural behavior I'm seeing now, which is amazing! Stand-offs, establishing territories, and how everything else is ignored when there's food in the tank!


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## kadoxu (9 Apr 2018)

Quick update:
These little guys completely decimated the snail and water fleas population in this tank... 
It's very interesting to see their behavior fighting for territory, but getting together to investigate whenever there's something new in the tank.
I see them fighting each other very often, but the loser always has a lot of places to hide, so I haven't seen any injuries so far. 

The tank had a bit of a re-scape a couple of weeks ago, so I'll have to take a pic soon.


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## kadoxu (26 Apr 2018)

Facebook reminded me today it's 2 years since I bought this tank... my first aquarium ever... today I have 4 tanks... and almost 500L of water to manage between fresh and saltwater.
Learned a lot since then... also spent a lot of money... 
The first critters I got are still going, the Red Cherries, Zebra Nerites, and the Black Bar Endlers still live (for the shrimp and fish, at least their offspring do, as I've sold and also lost a lot of them ever since).

The only plants that survived the first attempts were the Mini Java Fern, the Duckweed (obviously), and the Water Lettuce.

The first post I ever did was actually on my 30th birthday on the Introduction section, followed by a Plant Help thread where everything started.

Seems like it was ages ago...


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## kadoxu (27 Apr 2018)

And to celebrate... a re-scape!  Didn't want to spend any money, so out with pretty much all the vallis, and moved a few plants from the Edge into this one. Doesn't look too good now, but I think it will look nice when everything grows up. Don't know if I've said this before, but it's low tech now!








A bonus video of the puffers... I think I have 2 males and a female!

Now I hate myself for filming vertically...


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## kadoxu (23 May 2018)

"WE WANT FOOD!"


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## kadoxu (4 Jun 2018)

No CO2 + Sunlight is not great for the plants... the floaters like it, though!


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## kadoxu (30 Jul 2018)

Managing to fight the sun. Also trying Easy Life AlgExit and Blue Exit with good results. The puffers were asleep.


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## kadoxu (6 Oct 2018)

A small update


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## rebel (7 Oct 2018)

That Salvinia looks like it's enjoying the proceedings. Why don't you get a 4 footer for that space and get rid of the smaller tanks? Might be easier to maintain.


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## kadoxu (7 Oct 2018)

rebel said:


> That Salvinia looks like it's enjoying the proceedings. Why don't you get a 4 footer for that space and get rid of the smaller tanks? Might be easier to maintain.


Very true. 

I just need some storage space in here, and wouldn't trust the Ikea furniture for anything bigger than this... 

But on the other side of the room there's a Juwel Rio 240 and a Fluval Roma 200!


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## rebel (7 Oct 2018)

kadoxu said:


> Very true.
> 
> I just need some storage space in here, and wouldn't trust the Ikea furniture for anything bigger than this...
> 
> But on the other side of the room there's a Juwel Rio 240 and a Fluval Roma 200!


Haha got the bug bad!!


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## kadoxu (7 Oct 2018)

rebel said:


> Haha got the bug bad!!


And there are more...


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## Filip Krupa (24 Nov 2018)

How are the RCS and dwarf puffers doing?

I am thinking of getting a few pea puffers for my 2000L to control snails, but worried about my rcs.

Thanks
Fil


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## kadoxu (26 Nov 2018)

Filip Krupa said:


> How are the RCS and dwarf puffers doing?
> 
> I am thinking of getting a few pea puffers for my 2000L to control snails, but worried about my rcs.
> 
> ...


Hi,

They're fine. I don't see small ones, so they're either not breeding, or the puffers are eating the smaller ones, but I've never seen them showing interest in the big ones. But, I wouldn't take that for granted... there are enough stories out there way different than mine.

The only downside to these guys is that they'll only eat frozen or live bloodworms and snails (and the snail population will drop fast, as they will eat them, but also kill them just for the fun of it). So take that into consideration before getting puffers.

If you want to play it safe, assassin snails do a great job as well.


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## kadoxu (20 Dec 2018)

I need to do something about this tank... even my quarantine tank looks better than this!


 

I'm also sharing a few pics of my other tanks... as a Christmas present to all of you! 

Fluval Edge


 

DIY quarantine tank


 

Juwel Rio 240 (self-cleaning bare bottom) - Goldfish tank


 

Fluval Roma 200 (self-cleaning bare bottom) - Flowerhorn Tank


 


 

Do!Aqua 60L (water change free) - Saltwater Tank


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## kadoxu (7 Jan 2019)

The puffers are now for sale:
For Sale - Dwarf Puffers


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## DianeC (22 Jan 2019)

Really enjoyed reading your journey. Interesting to see you have MTS, I believe I am going down with the symptoms, 2 and itching for a third! Is there any cure!


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## DutchMuch (22 Jan 2019)

always wanted to do a "Walstad" type saltwater tank <3

STILL CANT AFFORD IT RIP.


Awesome tanks my dude!


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## kadoxu (23 Jan 2019)

Diane Coley said:


> Really enjoyed reading your journey. Interesting to see you have MTS, I believe I am going down with the symptoms, 2 and itching for a third! Is there any cure!


I already have a new tank... going to try a Betta Sorority now 



DutchMuch said:


> always wanted to do a "Walstad" type saltwater tank <3
> 
> STILL CANT AFFORD IT RIP.


Yeah... my initial budget was about £500... spent £1500 for the whole thing, and most of the equipment was pre-owned! But it's now the easiest tank to maintain in the house.


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## Filip Krupa (25 Jan 2019)

Diane Coley said:


> Is there any cure!



Yes!
I tore down 2 tanks lately.

All you gotta do is get 1 tank thats stupidly big.
My 2000L is keeping me busy enough...

Hope this helps 
Fil


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## DianeC (25 Jan 2019)

Would love one just after I have won the lottery to built the extension to house it in, AND persuaded my husband he really does like aquariums!!


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## kadoxu (1 Apr 2019)

I'm currently selling everything... please check the For Sale thread:
https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/selling-everything.57163/


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