Low Energy ADA 45H

[Jayefc1]

Looks really cool and natural good job with the planting a plant list is a good idea in your journal so you remember what you started out with cause it will probs change
Cheers
Jay

 

[Mike Moran]

Looks really cool and natural good job with the planting a plant list is a good idea in your journal so you remember what you started out with cause it will probs change
Cheers
Jay

Thanks Jay. I’m feeling pretty happy with the progress. And thanks for the tip about the planting list, sorry, I should have thought of that. I’ll make a list and post it shortly.

So I’ve done my first couple of water changes. 50% every other day. So far the waters looking pretty clear and clean. No sign sign of the dreaded algae yet fingers crossed.

I bought some water test strips and have had a few tries to get the hang of them. Chlorine is zero as I treated my Tap water before adding it. My water is very hard but I’m hoping as the tank settles that level will drop as the bacteria in my filter start to work...does that sound right? Nitrite were reading as safe and nitrates read at 40- the chart says this is in between safe and harmful. But am I right in thinking that’s ok at the point in the setting up cycle?

I had a problem with quite a few of my plants coming out of the soil and floating up to the surface. I think I made two mistakes here:
1.not using proper tweezers for planting - solves now though- found a smashing pair of used ADA pincettes on eBay (they arrived this morning) The difference is night and day! I replanted lots this morning before the water change and it’s all stayed put in the soil this time. Phew.

2. Planting some of the plants in clumps instead of dividing them. If I’m honest I still can’t tell what is an individual baby plant and what is a stem of a larger plant. Perhaps I was overly cautious when separating the plants out of their pot. Particularly with the tiny foreground plants on runners this meant every time I let go they’d just float up out of the soil, or worse get tangled on the tweezers and dragged straight back out. Think I’m getting the hang of it now though. Not quite as easy as it looked on YouTube though.
It’s a steep learning curve

 

[Jayefc1]

Planting takes a lot of practise I find it best to have the plant on its side and push the root in and as you push the plant becomes upright if you know what i mean
The water changes are so important do as big as you can and as many as you can especially the first week or 2 helps to minimize the diatomes and clear the substrate of ammonia
Wouldnt worrie about the test strips there so inaccurate and you can just take your water to any LFS and they will test for you
Cheers
Jay

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

My water is very hard but I’m hoping as the tank settles that level will drop as the bacteria in my filter start to work...does that sound right?

The filter micro-organisms don't have much effect on water hardness. Nitrification will utilise some of the carbonate hardness, but not a lot. Before people used to <"change their water"> you sometimes got problems with <"old tank syndrome">, where all the carbonates were used up and pH plummeted.

Just keeping some water, water changes are really important and you can never change too much water.

Nitrite were reading as safe and nitrates read at 40- the chart says this is in between safe and harmful. But am I right in thinking that’s ok at the point in the setting up cycle?

Yes you are fine, despite what you might read on other forums and web pages neither test kits, nor the "cycling" concept, are very useful to us.

You just need to let the plants grow in, and then you have a system (<"plant/microbe biofiltration">) which is much more powerful and resilient than "microbe only" filtration will ever be.

Have a look at the cycling discussion on page 4. of <"Bedside Aquarium">.

cheers Darrel

 

[Mike Moran]

Hi all, The filter micro-organisms don't have much effect on water hardness. Nitrification will utilise some of the carbonate hardness, but not a lot. Before people used to <"change their water"> you sometimes got problems with <"old tank syndrome">, where all the carbonates were used up and pH plummeted.

Just keeping some water, water changes are really important and you can never change too much water. Yes you are fine, despite what you might read on other forums and web pages neither test kits, nor the "cycling" concept, are very useful to us.

You just need to let the plants grow in, and then you have a system (<"plant/microbe biofiltration">) which is much more powerful and resilient than "microbe only" filtration will ever be.

Have a look at the cycling discussion on page 4. of <"Bedside Aquarium">.

cheers Darrel

Thanks Darrel
Much appreciated, I’ve followed your advice and changed the 50% of the water every other day as I know this is important in the first few week. So far so good, don’t seem to have any algae as yet. Fingers crossed!

 

[Mike Moran]

So my tank is through it’s first week and no major problems to report. Ive been diligent with the water changes -50% very other day and the filter (Oase 250 which looks almost as big as the tank!) seems to be doing its job beautifully. The inbuilt heater is keeping the water a steady 24 degrees and some of the plants are already starting to grow nice new leaves.
The tank keeps making me late for work as I can’t take my eyes off it. It’s like a little underwater world you get to peek into whenever you like, not often in life you can be nosey without getting into trouble

My highlight of week one has been a flower on my bucephelandra. So proud!


On the downside my tiny foreground cryptocoryne seem less happy with their new home.


The larger ones in the tanks look pretty healthy but these babies have either disappeared completely (I’m guessing into the bowel of the filter) or look soggy and withered. Is this is the dreaded melt everyone talks about? I’ve read they can come back after a period of recovery so I’m not giving up hope just yet

 

[Hanuman]

Is this is the dreaded melt everyone talks about?

In my opinion yes. Plants are adapting. But I do see some new growth there so those plants should be fine. Try to remove any dead leaves / old rotting leaves.

 

[Siege]

Looking good Mike,

Your temp is at the higher end turn it down to 22 and it’ll be perfect.

As others have said don’t worry about testing just keep up the water changes, the bigger the better!

You’ll be ready for some shrimp soon 🙂

 

[Edvet]

Try rubbing the leaves "clean" before a waterchange, and try do suck away as much dead plant material as you can with the waterchanges.

 

[Mike Moran]

Looking good Mike,

Your temp is at the higher end turn it down to 22 and it’ll be perfect.

As others have said don’t worry about testing just keep up the water changes, the bigger the better!

You’ll be ready for some shrimp soon 🙂

Thank you! And thanks for the tip about the temperature - I’ve turned down the heater to 22 and I’m keeping up with the water changes. I’ve had a few small bits of algae but nothing too scary yet.

 

[Mike Moran]

Try rubbing the leaves "clean" before a waterchange, and try do suck away as much dead plant material as you can with the waterchanges.

Thank you! If I’m honest I thought the marks were in the leaves as they adjusted to life underwater. Didn’t realise it was just muck - embarrassing. I’ve used a small soft paintbrush to clean the leaves and they look much better now.

 

[Mike Moran]

I’m now well in to week three with the tank. I took this picture yesterday just before a water change and a big old clean. As you can see I have some (ok lots,) of algae, brown on the leaves of the cryptocorynes and the glass, and green on the rocks. To combat it, I’ve given everything a good sponge brush and rubbed the leaves with my fingers to remove as much of the algae as possible and done another 50% water change probably a little too late. Uptown be honest I’d been slightly dreading cleaning the biomaster external filter for the first time. Watched a few you tube vids to maximise the chance of messing it up.
Actually it proved to be really simple quick and painless, so I’d been slightly fretting for nothing. I thiroughly cleaned the pre filter and made sure to use aquarium water to rinse the sponges so as not to kill the beneficial bacteria off. I know everyone hates the little tests strips but I’ve been enjoying needing out with them And my water parameters seem to have really settled down this week. No nitrites at all and pH well within acceptable limits so I’m feeling pretty chuffed.

Plant growth however has been a little hit and miss. I’ll start with the good and work down....

GREAT! : Moss.... I know it’s hard to go wrong but I’m really pleased with how it’s setled in...already looks really bushy and content on the branches.

GOOD: Hydrophila Siamensis 53b - rocketing away in the background and looks very happy and healthy so I’m giving myself a thumbs up for that. Steve, the nice chap at Aquarium Gardens helped me choose suitable plants, and said this one will eventually grow out of the water and may have blue flowers. Very happy to see it growing so fast.

NOT SO GREAT (but not dead yet): Bucephelandra - not attached to the wood properly. Rookie mistake, I used moss cotton. Great for moss, but disintegrated long before the plants had attached. They’ve been floating off around the tank in the current from the Lily pipe and I’ve had to chase them and try and find nooks and crannies in the rocks where they’ll stay out. I didn’t use superglue as want the tank as natural as possible, so might invest in some ADA wood tight to hold them in place on the manzanita wood. It looks like really expensive bread bag ties but the colour with be discreet until the plants grab on! Do you reckon I got the placement of them wrong on the branches too? Not really sure if they would grow there in the wild. Maybe should go with more moss. Would love some feedback from anyone

FAIR TO MIDDLING: Rotala Rotundifolia - growing reasonably well. Lots of new bushy (and slightly pink) leaves at the top of the stems . But also lots of crazy roots growing out into the water, and some of the lower parts of the stem have gone black/slimy. Here’s a pic of the gorey detail.😱

To remedy this I’ve pruned out the cruddy bits and replanted the healthy stems to bulk it out. Should I have cut it down low from the start do you think? What’s in now looks much healthier though

EPIC FAIL! Anubius Mini: in just few short weeks I reduced a beautiful plant to something resembling a forgotten
bagged salad dredged from the back of the fridge just in time for bin day. No idea what I did wrong. 🙁At this point all I can do is apologise to Mother Nature and the nice people at Tropica that wasted months growing it for me.

 

[Jayefc1]

First of all the tank looks great mate to say it's only three weeks old and it's still very much in the changing stage not even really settled in yet

As you can see I have some (ok lots,) of algae, brown on the leaves of the cryptocorynes and the glass, and green on the rocks.

I dont think this is alge as such its diatomes and there very normal in a new tank and will stop as the tank matures and evolves almost every new tank goes through it

To combat it, I’ve given everything a good sponge brush and rubbed the leaves with my fingers to remove as much of the algae as possible and done another 50% water change

I'm not sure what your water change regime is but I'd keep doing at least 2 a week till the diatomes settle and a just keep rubbing the leaves of the plants so they dont get a build the rocks and wood just a quick rub with a tooth brush

I thiroughly cleaned the pre filter and made sure to use aquarium water to rinse the sponges so as not to kill the beneficial bacteria off.

The pre filter sponges are just that pre filter they should be washed weekly in tap water to help with the main filter all your good bacteria is in the main canister and this should be clean a lot less often if you take care of the pre filter I actually do mine twice a week just pop it out was sponges in the sink pop it back in

 

[Jayefc1]

Hows the tank looking mike

 

[Mike Moran]

Thanks for all this advice and also the encouragement. Not going to pretend, it’s been a LOT to get my head around very quickly so these tips are really helpful.

The pre filter sponges are just that pre filter they should be washed weekly in tap water to help with the main filter all your good bacteria is in the main canister and this should be clean a lot less often if you take care of the pre filter I actually do mine twice a week just pop it out was sponges in the sink pop it back in

Thanks for the frequency advice...wasn’t really sure how often to maintain. I’m cleaning the pre filter weekly now. Got to say I think the design of the OASE 250 filter is great...so quiet and really seems to keep the water clear with zero debris. I have an EA glassware with a skimmer and it plenty powerful enough to keep the surface looking good. I’ve washed them in the old tank water when I’ve done water changes just to keep as much of the helpful bacteria in the filter while the tank is still young. I’m keeping on top of the water changes to minimise the chance problems and, fingers crossed,so far everything still looking pretty good!

 

[Steve Buce]

As for attaching buce, i use superglue gel or fine fishing line, dont waste money on those ada bread tie thingys

Check out my tank thread, all buces attached with superglue or fishing line, the fishing line way is trickier to do,but it does work, when they have attached to the wood just cut away the f/line
I can send you some, no prob
I also find when attached securely, they grow quicker and stronger(imo)
Steve

 

[Mike Moran]

Hows the tank looking mike

Hi Jay

I think it’s going pretty well thanks! I’m loving every minute of it.....almost stopped watching tv....just stare at the tank now....its so relaxing

My most exciting update is that with everything running smoothly I took the plunge and added 5 Sakura red cherry shrimp. Chose them from Aquatic Design Centre in London after reading that the cherries are the hardiest and easiest to keep. I’d initially planned on an Amon shrimp too but heard they can jump out of the tank and I didn’t want any injuries. And having seen them, I am pretty taken with the cheery colours of the cherries. Here they are: this is Big Shelly hanging out with her friend - she’s the biggest by far and seems to rule the tank. I wouldn’t mess...

I read around loads of posts on here and other sites to try and make sure my water was suitable and my tank had cycled properly. really wanted to make sure they were happy and tank was ready to be a good home. They seem to have settled in very happily, busying themselves with cleaning the manzanita wood and the rocks. I love watching them fly around the tank from leaf to leaf, or taking a nap under a bit of moss....knew something so tiny could have so much character?

I can’t honestly say 5 of them has massively made a difference to the tank cleanliness, but its definitely increased the entertainment factor. I didn’t feed for the first few days and then they’ve had a single tiny pellet of dennerle shrimp king complete. They enjoyed it, but they’re so tiny they could finish it so I ended up hoovering it out when I did the water change 2 days after they went in. I also boiled them a catalpa leaf as I read they like them too, but they just ignored it, much preferring the algae on my branches 🙄

 

[Jayefc1]

The catalpa leaves they graze on very slowly i love shrimp and watch mine for hours to mate they are full of personality them 5 will turn to 50 before you know it and then you will need to feed them. Them pre filter sponges just squeeze them out in tap water all the good stuff is in canister its self no good bacteria on the ore filter sponges your rsc are lovly mike

 

[PARAGUAY]

The shrimp will be doing a good job and as the tank matures ,your doing well, they will make a difference maybe not obvious just yet

 

[alto]

Exciting updates 😎
(especially for me as I’d somehow missed this topic for ages 😕 )

Most sponges are excellent homes for “filter bacteria”, even with weekly rinsing some will keep holding on 🙂
Pretty much anything in the filter flow will end up populated with various microorganisms, most filter companies will supply media designated as biological, mechanical etc and the different shapes makes it easy to decide which is which, some media is designed with maximum surface area (for theoretical bacteria to “attach”), while others are designed the trap debris etc

Similarly, bacteria etc will end up populating various surfaces (rock, wood, plants, soil, gravel etc) within the tank
Some surfaces are less efficient than others, eg, glass marbles (lots of inaccessible volume and little surface area, also “slippery”) vs Eheim Substrat (pro) (the rough crinkly surface means more surface area, significantly smaller internal volume than a larger smoother particle) etc

There are lovely electron micrographs showing all the pores available for microorganisms in various media (though I’ve not looked at this in ages ... perhaps they also have data indicating what’s where these days 😉 )

Obviously in planted tanks biomedia efficiency tends to be less critical than in fish only systems, and washing those “prefilter” sponges in tap or conditioned water is unlikely to make any difference