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Our very first tank - the Fluval Edge 46 litre!

Nope, you're right, the tips will go yellow and die off with liquid CO2. I'd suggest looking into a DIY CO2 system, just some empty bottles, sugar and yeast needed, and some airline.
Sorry Vinkenoog1977, but couldn't possibly spoil the line of the tank and stand (no where to hide the bottle)!!! Our next tank (yes we're addicted) will be a higher tech (all hidden of course) and not just because I adore the look of the glass lily pipes!!! Please don't hate me for this but we wanted this tank to be akin to a piece of sculpture on a plinth!!!
 
Looking great Glenda, I can't stand equipment cluttering the look of my tank either so you're not alone!
 
Looking great Glenda, I can't stand equipment cluttering the look of my tank either so you're not alone!
Phew thank you so much James, I thought I'd pressed the self destruct button with that comment![DOUBLEPOST=1408701694][/DOUBLEPOST]
That looks a work of art and immaculate!
Thank you so much Lindy! It's a steep learning curve!
 
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It's looking great Glenda, very impressive first tank.
Not sure if it was picked up on before but you need to be adding ferts as anubias, rotala etc will not feed off the root tabs.
For a tank this size and ease I'd suggest getting some tropica specialised, it's more expensive but works great and will last long months, so long enough to look at other options if you please.
As it's low tech dose the amount the bottle says but split it up to daily.... Would guess 1 or 2 squirts a day would suffice.
Keep it up :)
I've just bought a large bottle Iain! Thanks for the tip!
 
Most important tip: Throw Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate test kits in the tip....and don't look back.

Cheers,
Clive do you bother with gh testing in the tank once it's set up? I know my tap water hardness is that enough? It's 18 degrees german with a high ph of 8.2. I'm still 50% water changing every other day and (with the help of our uninvited bladder snails) the plants are almost free from the brown algae now - things are looking really close to being ready for fish etc to me!
Warmest wishes
Glenda
 
Clive do you bother with gh testing in the tank once it's set up? I know my tap water hardness is that enough? It's 18 degrees german with a high ph of 8.2.

Hi Glenda,
No, it only necessary to know what the tap value is for academic reasons and for issues such as breeding and so forth. A better number to keep track of is the Total Dissolved Solids (AKA conductivity) which can give you a better idea of how dirty the water is getting.

The GH only tells you what the sum of the Calcium and Magnesium content is. You could have found that out by looking at your municipal water report on-line. No need to pay money for another test kit and definitely no need to keep testing.


things are looking really close to being ready for fish etc to me!
Warmest wishes
You cannot tell by what the tank looks like whether it is ready for fish. I think I mentioned in an earlier post that you would do well to NOT add fish for at least 6 weeks from startup and better to wait 8 weeks.

Cheers,
 
Hi Clive,

Yes I have used our local water board report (which is very detailed) when considering fish that would be suitable. I figured they would have far better testing equipment than I could buy off the shelves! I will look into buying a TDS meter though.

Sorry for the confusion, I meant that the tank looked like it was becoming habitable for fish as before it was such an inhospitable looking place!! We have placed an order with our local aquarium stockist and the fish won't be available until at least 2 weeks from today which will be 6 weeks from starting the cycle but we will heed your advice about waiting until it's 8 weeks. Presumably the cycled tank won't stop being cycled just because we wait a few weeks longer.

Many thanks as aways for your invaluable advice.
 
Hi Glenda

I bought one of these TDS pens from Fleabay although I'm not sure you really need one if you're going to stay on top of your water changes and keep your tank nice and clean. Out of interest what fish have you ordered?
 
Hi Glenda

I bought one of these TDS pens from Fleabay although I'm not sure you really need one if you're going to stay on top of your water changes and keep your tank nice and clean. Out of interest what fish have you ordered?
Hi James,

I will keep the tank clean but I'm hoping that once the plants etc are established that we won't need to do a 50% every other day. Would a 50% once a week work or is it more advisable to do smaller changes and in which case would I need a TDS meter? It does concern me that there will be times, say for instance holidays, when we are away for 2 weeks and water changes plus tank cleaning won't be possible. But as that won't be for quite a while yet (perhaps two years or more before we are able to travel again) so perhaps the tank will be a good heathy environment by then and it won't matter so much?

The fish we have on order are Danio erythromicron as they seem suitable for our water parameters and tank size.
 
Loads of water changes are always beneficial but once the tanks mature water changing 20% a week or 50% every other week as a low tech should be plenty.

Enthromicron are lovely but very shy. You will likely want something to compliment them that is active... Maybe a feature fish/pair...
 
They're gorgeous aren't they?!! Yes this is the site I've used as a reference for suitable candidates! They are very informative (the site not the fish)!!![DOUBLEPOST=1409162336][/DOUBLEPOST]
Loads of water changes are always beneficial but once the tanks mature water changing 20% a week or 50% every other week as a low tech should be plenty.

Enthromicron are lovely but very shy. You will likely want something to compliment them that is active... Maybe a feature fish/pair...
That's a relief thanks Iain, I would hate to let the tank "go to pot" now! I've just applied the first dose of the plant food you recommended (Tropica specialised) and okay I have just done a 50% water change before applying, but I swear the leaves look greener and fresher already!! I do love how clean the tank looks after a large water change. As far as shy fish are concerned, we were hoping for a serene shoal that would just sway around a bit in unison! What would be the comfortable amount of Danio Enthromicron in a 46 litre Fluval Edge with our planting/aquascape etc?
 
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I must admit to being rather keen on the Java Ricefish but my Husband thinks they're too see-through and odd so I'll settle for darty and cool! We have 6 on order to start with and 6 Cherry Shrimp and once they've settled in (and the tank is working properly) then we'll invite a few more - thanks Iain!
 
Just an update 2 years down the line:

This has been a difficult learning curve to say the least! Going from sheer frustration to elation pretty much on a weekly basis.

We left the tank cycle (see above notes) for around 8 weeks before adding 6 Danio erythromicron, sadly only 3 of the original have survived but have been supplemented with 2 of their offspring (they had many more but ate the rest)! They seemed to suffer from a disorder that affected their ability to swim, and within days became pure white and died (a difficult time with many frustrated tears on my part). The remaining 5 have developed a deep rich colouring and are stunning to watch (in the dark and as still as possible as they are ridiculously shy)! Feeding has been a problem as they won't come out until you have left the room. Even the "home raised" pair have reverted to type and stay hidden! I've tried frozen blood worm etc as well as dried food but find that the semi floating Hikari Micro pellets work the best and they do seem to hunt for them in the foliage. The Fluval Edge filter system does prove a problem as it shoots the food directly to the bottom front of the tank. Keeping the water level lower and the taller "grasses" in a loop near the opening allows me to place the food in a holding area for a little longer.

We also introduced 8 red cherry shrimp and 6 Amano shrimp the red cherries now number over 20 and we have 5 of the Amanos to date. At first we did have a problem with some of the red cherries not being able to moult (again many tears as I watched helplessly). Now we use the brilliant Genchem Beta-G and regularly see the ghostly shed "skins" in the moss and "juicy" healthy looking shrimp!

The plants thrived with daily doses of Tropica Premium liquid fert' and I have to admit got completely out of control. I felt overwhelmed as the tank became congested mostly by the Vallisneria, which grew up and across the top of the glass in a huge mass. It prevented light reaching the plants below and we lost a few including the Rotana rotundifolia. I also felt unable to vacuum the gravel successfully (I use a small airline pipe attached to a wire filter pipe cleaner so that I can bend it around the wood) nor clean the glass and major problems with algae resulted. I was worried about not being able to see the shrimp, particularly the babies and frightening the fish. I'm ashamed to say the tank became a very unbalanced, unclean, unhealthy place.

Now determined to bring it around I have read the excellent pruning article on this site and I have set about removing excess plants, particularly the Anubias cogensis which had to go as it grew too large and out of proportion for the tank. This is now enabling a vacuum every other day along with a thorough glass clean (the Marina small magnet is perfect for the difficult Edge) and 40% water change. The shrimp seem to be fine, hoping out of the way and although the fish are terrified they do seem to play/shoal more afterwards (after lights out of course) rather than never being seen.

I struggle with the moss (not shown in these photo's) as the prunings just disappear in the other foliage and to be honest don't like the look of it in our tank, it doesn't seem to work with the other plants. I would like to remove it but worry the shrimp babies would miss it. Any thoughts? I should mention that whilst doing routine maintenance I now keep the filter running until the very end and then clean that quickly.

We started with a foam shrimp guard on the intake filter but found that the uneaten fish food was saturating it. This would result in the impeller just stopping unable to last until the next week's clean! We have changed to a metal mesh and rubber version which has made a huge difference to the filters performance.

To date: Once again I am ashamed of the state of the tank and plants (see this posting http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/ferts-help-a-weekly-dose.41610/) so the photo's attached are from last year before the foliage took over and before the algae grew etc... It was hard looking at these pictures as things have gone so wrong, all down to my mistakes and fears.

However I won't give up and welcome any advice to help get our tank back to full health.
P1010047.jpg
P1010045%201.jpg
RCS%20P1010010.jpg
 
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Just an update 2 years down the line:

This has been a difficult learning curve to say the least! Going from sheer frustration to elation pretty much on a weekly basis.

We left the tank cycle (see above notes) for around 8 weeks before adding 6 Danio erythromicron, sadly only 3 of the original have survived but have been supplemented with 2 of their offspring (they had many more but ate the rest)! They seemed to suffer from a disorder that affected their ability to swim, and within days became pure white and died (a difficult time with many frustrated tears on my part). The remaining 5 have developed a deep rich colouring and are stunning to watch (in the dark and as still as possible as they are ridiculously shy)! Feeding has been a problem as they won't come out until you have left the room. Even the "home raised" pair have reverted to type and stay hidden! I've tried frozen blood worm etc as well as dried food but find that the semi floating Hikari Micro pellets work the best and they do seem to hunt for them in the foliage. The Fluval Edge filter system does prove a problem as it shoots the food directly to the bottom front of the tank. Keeping the water level lower and the taller "grasses" in a loop near the opening allows me to place the food in a holding area for a little longer.

We also introduced 8 red cherry shrimp and 6 Amano shrimp the red cherries now number over 20 and we have 5 of the Amanos to date. At first we did have a problem with some of the red cherries not being able to moult (again many tears as I watched helplessly). Now we use the brilliant Genchem Beta-G and regularly see the ghostly shed "skins" in the moss and "juicy" healthy looking shrimp!

The plants thrived with daily doses of Tropica Premium liquid fert' and I have to admit got completely out of control. I felt overwhelmed as the tank became congested mostly by the Vallisneria, which grew up and across the top of the glass in a huge mass. It prevented light reaching the plants below and we lost a few including the Rotana rotundifolia. I also felt unable to vacuum the gravel successfully (I use a small airline pipe attached to a wire filter pipe cleaner so that I can bend it around the wood) nor clean the glass and major problems with algae resulted. I was worried about not being able to see the shrimp, particularly the babies and frightening the fish. I'm ashamed to say the tank became a very unbalanced, unclean, unhealthy place.

Now determined to bring it around I have read the excellent pruning article on this site and I have set about removing excess plants, particularly the Anubias cogensis which had to go as it grew too large and out of proportion for the tank. This is now enabling a vacuum every other day along with a thorough glass clean (the Marina small magnet is perfect for the difficult Edge) and 40% water change. The shrimp seem to be fine, hoping out of the way and although the fish are terrified they do seem to play/shoal more afterwards (after lights out of course) rather than never being seen.

I struggle with the moss (not shown in these photo's) as the prunings just disappear in the other foliage and to be honest don't like the look of it in our tank, it doesn't seem to work with the other plants. I would like to remove it but worry the shrimp babies would miss it. Any thoughts? I should mention that whilst doing routine maintenance I now keep the filter running until the very end and then clean that quickly.

We started with a foam shrimp guard on the intake filter but found that the uneaten fish food was saturating it. This would result in the impeller just stopping unable to last until the next week's clean! We have changed to a metal mesh and rubber version which has made a huge difference to the filters performance.

To date: Once again I am ashamed of the state of the tank and plants (see this posting http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/ferts-help-a-weekly-dose.41610/) so the photo's attached are from last year before the foliage took over and before the algae grew etc... It was hard looking at these pictures as things have gone so wrong, all down to my mistakes and fears.

However I won't give up and welcome any advice to help get our tank back to full health.
P1010047.jpg
P1010045%201.jpg
RCS%20P1010010.jpg

tank looks awesome, I think you're being a bit harsh on yourself; especially being your first effort into aquascaping.

I'd recommend going purely with red cherry shrimp and forgetting fish in that tank, unless its a male betta perhaps. Though smaller shoaling fish can be done, I've always found the spectacle a little jarring; as smaller fish often appreciate larger set-ups and visibly look uncomfortable in smaller tanks
 
Thank you so much Aqua360 that so kind of you, but this was last year and it really looks awful now that I'm too ashamed to photograph it.

I totally agree re the shrimp, I've never felt comfortable about seeing our fish in here but the shrimp on the other hand look very at home. Although that said I would love a male Betta but with water so hard (317ppm, GH of just above 18 and a high ph of 8.2) I don't think it's possible, is it? The plan is to let the Danio erythromicron that we have, live out their natural lives and then just keep shrimp, that is unless the Danio have more babies!
 
Your tank looks good. Keep your head out of the water and soldier on!
 
I don't think the Edge is really all that unsuitable for fish - with a 43cm x 26cm footprint it's not all that much smaller than an ADA 45P

6 Danio erythromicron
these fish are not the easiest to keep successfully, groups of 20 or so are much more likely to be active & visible (still need to be careful of tankmates) - your water
317ppm, GH of just above 18 and a high ph of 8.2
may also be having some behavioral effects

Endlers or Guppy/Endler hybrids (re smaller body size) do fine in these tanks, even when kept in smaller group; not all Bettas are shrimp hunters & if you choose one with LOTS of (handicap) finnage (eg, super delta elephant ear) most shrimp will be faster & more agile ;)

I felt overwhelmed as the tank became congested mostly by the Vallisneria, which grew up and across the top of the glass in a huge mass
It's not the easiest tank to choose suitable plants for, light is low, CO2 is not easily added (though there are some very nice planted tanks done with liquid carbon solutions such as Seachem Excel), work inside the tank can be challenging ...
Some to consider

Valisneria nana
L palustris
Bacopa 'Compact'
C beckettii 'Petchii"
& other "easy" plants with smaller leafs & more moderate growth


Remove the moss! shrimp will be fine - you can add a C aegagropila for shrimp grazing, or E parvula (it will form a dense mat & baby shrimp will scurry about underneath)

At this stage, I'd likely tear the tank down & restart ie move shrimp & fish to a suitable bin (any food grade plastic) - if you choose carefully you may be able to add the filter & heater as well, so no time pressure on the rescape.
Once all plants are out, you should be able to thoroughly vacuum substrate (or change to a different substrate if you want a change), then replant etc
 
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