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I'm curious to know at what week algae strikes your tank, on average, and what kind of algae appears?
Also, it would be great if you could describe your initial reaction upon encountering your very first algae outbreak.
Collecting anecdotal evidence for a writing project.
Thanks everyone for...
I've space for a (final) 45 to 60cm nano tank. Thinking of a minimal plant and rocks setup. Are there anything I should take note? Also wondering what sort of biome these creatures come from? Muddy rivers? Will try to mimic their biotope if possible.
Flow is the quintessential double-edged sword: good for plants yet affects how fish move in the water.
And what's bad for plants is good for algae, or rather algae takes advantage of poor plant growth when you have insufficient flow in a tank.
I'd keep the flow and change the fish; swap/trade...
Will the IKEA cabinet hold? Loving the setup but just wondering if it could carry the weight of two tanks. I also use IKEA products as my tank cabinets but due to maximum load capacity, I can only have nano tanks of dimensions no more than 60x30x30cm. And then there's hardscape to consider. Hope...
Study Tank update
7.3 litre/1.8 gallon
30x27x9cm
Aegagropila linnaei
Anubias barteri 'Petite'
Bacopa monnieri 'Compact'
Phyllanthus fluitans
Salvinia auriculata
Taxiphyllum barbieri
Hydrocotyle verticillata
Hydrocotyle tripartita
01 x horned nerite snail
Not sure what other fauna can be kept...
Bottom Tank Update
Grabbed four different house plants (Syngonium, Alocasia, Scindapsus and a palm plant which I don't exactly know what) and affixed them atop woods that mimic roots.
Tried my best to get only their roots in water. I ran out of aquasoil and sand while scaping, and had to...
Main Tank Update
Moved all the plants from the Bottom Tank to the Main Tank. It's very heavily planted at the back there with stem plants. I plan to use Crypt Parva or Dwarf Sag in front of the driftwood area but that can wait. I want the stem plants to keep having new growths first before...
Since the substrate 'ensures very good rooting', you should get some stem plants to absorb more nitrates. Also, there isn't a need to add ammonia to cycle a planted tank. I'd reduce NH3 from the water column via water changes before adding more plants. Your tank is new and still is cycling...
Main Tank Update
Aquasoil, sand and some gravel added.
Root tabs underneath the graveled zone, for the crypts.
So, so tempted to just flood the tank and began planting (those stems are awaiting in the adjacent tank)...
But I made a blood-pact with the Dark Start Method and...
Sigh.
Thanks @noodlesuk; that's the idea: a few nano tanks to help accelerate learning since time is the limiting factor for low tech planted setups. Not a gripe but sometimes I wanna scream at those green shoots: c'mon, guys, grow faster!
Main Tank Update
Took me a while to play around with the...
Maybe I have ADHD. Because I'm bored (there's nothing to do but wait for plants to grow in the Up Tank) and at the same time I'm excited about how the Main Tank will turn out (I'm planning the plants and layout and future possible inhabitants etc.) but I'm also lazy to take the next step of...
No other hobby else lets you play god; a cat/dog/hamster pet owner keeps his/her/their pet(s) alive while we create and maintain complex ecosystem(s) to make our wet pets thrive.
Then there's aesthetics to consider.
Hence, Level 999.
'Nothing any good isn't hard.' - F.S. Fitzgerald
Thank you Casper. Cycling done. Ammonia and nitrites zero ppm. Took less than three weeks (ten days) cos I used sand from the previous scape.
For anyone who's still wondering why I enlisted Casper's help: Dark Start Method
The idea is to prevent ammonia-related plant melts (and subsequent...
Secret aquascaping brew me great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandma handed down centuries ago.
The dark arts of dark starts I was told as a wee child.
So this is the new year; I don't feel any different...
Except the excitement of dumping soil onto rocks and pebbles into a glassed fish-prison. Used about half a 3L bag of Tropica soil (non-powder). Poor man's savings!
Next the sand, recycled from previous scape.
Capped the spaces between...
Slow new year's eve day... But did manage to work on the UP Tank.
Three large grey pebble rock stone whatever (are there scientific names for these too?) and a layer of crushed lava rocks to increase the back height so as to save on the aquasoil (poor man's scape, sobs). Not sure if this is a...
Restarting my four living room tanks just in time for the new year.
Moved this 30x18x12 cm tank to the study.
Wanted to do those mini pond/waterfall setup seen on Youtube but me I got potatoes for hands so very limited DIY-wise. Simply sandwiched the submersible filter between a few rocks...
Rescaped my middle tank.
Top tank is a no filter peace lily setup; houses a clown kili. Bottom tank houses a vampire crab.
40x23x27cm. Houses four Jap rice fish and an Amano shrimp.
Two objectives. Grow Marsilea Hirsuta carpet in sand substrate.
Second, keep these Bucep Kedagang alive.
Research says 80:20 land:water ratio. So thought I’d make the best of my poor decision.
Added lava rocks to augment land area. Took out the large pebble.
Where’s Wally? Propped atop the left above-water roots.
No fish. Hardly any flow with the rocks in the way now. Besides, too little...
Don’t have time for a paludarium-waterfall setup and really wanted to try keeping a nano crab (bucket list).
Pink hue matches purple crab, though I hate the cheapo China-made lights.
Sacrificed an Anthurium for this. Not sure if it’ll work but was hoping to get more above-water room for the...
Chill.
Wait six weeks.
Keep up water changes.
Lower photoperiod due to sunlight.
After six weeks, add Amano shrimps.
Snails too. Otos if you need more crew.
Wait a few days; munching in progress.
Keep up water changes.
Chill.
This hobby is about patience.
As promised earlier: the two other tanks on the other rack adjacent to the main tank, which this thread is about (and which we’ll return to upon the conclusion of this post).
Blurry photo’s on purpose. Nothing to see here, move along haha.
This tank is a paludarium tank so it has the...
Did the math: ~25 shrimps per gallon, per shangman and mort.
Shrimps to fish ratio: depends on how hungry them fishies are, and how deep your pocket is.
I’m being nit picky (apologies) but it’s ‘a hypothesis’; ‘an hour’: due to the silent ‘h’, as how some would pronounce ‘herbs’, hence the article ‘an’ is used.
In a large empty plastic ice cream tub I once, at age five or six, did set aside as a tank for my first pets, a pair bought from the local fish shop: one cute goldfish and the other, a cool terrapin. Naively thought these two shall be good mates; you know what sh*t happened that next morning.
Reportedly, there’s a vaccine, but E=mc^2 works too:
E, estimated vocal response due to unsightliness, resulting in mental exit from desired number of aquariums.
m, missus’ or mum’s or any mutters of complaints, yours included during multiple water changes.
c, number of times others...
I’m not sure really. Don’t have the measurements on hand but it’s smaller than 10 litres for sure. With the hardscape et al. that number’s sure to fall.
Please don’t copy my fishkeeping ethics; I’m trying to keep those plants alive.
I’m still monitoring the nitrates. If they don’t reach so high, I’ll probably won’t do any.
What plants do you plan to grow out the water? I’m still learning which household plant works emersed in a planted aquarium.
Top-rack pico tank: no filter, low tech. Anthurium, Peace Lily and Pothos plants sit atop three pebbles with their roots dangled into the water column.
Fittonia and moss, with some plants stolen from the main tank.
Houses four Clown Kilifish. Adorable little critters, these.
MTS tangent (don’t wanna set new threads..) Shout out to IKEA for the cabinet, rack, lamp and print painting.
This spot is perfect, doesn’t get any direct sunlight which I find may increase chances of algae outbreak.
I’ll outline the three nano tanks on the rack in my next post; didn’t really...
It’s past 6 weeks, the tank is cycled and (over)stocked; I myself acquired MTS during the wait. Someone somewhere should think up a vaccine for this terrible terrible disease.
Updates soon...
(When the lights go kteek!)
Adding lil details (2 of 2)
Don’t exactly know what I’m doing here.
But it was fun filling up those crevices.
And I’m seeing new green growths! That’s most important.
Also, I won’t be doing fish-in cycles no more. You can say I’m a born-again aquarist. The plan is to do WC on alternate...
Adding lil details (1 of 2)
Found grey pumice stones at a local art shop.
I think they’re meant for dioramas but who cares, right? Stones are stones, use them any way you want.
Rinse well before use.
Selection; leftovers may be used in another setup (N+1 tank syndrome symptoms have since...
Of false starts and imperfections.
My Ikea PS cabinet can hold 60kg. Means I had to work within constraints. Means first plans got thrown out the pram. Means soil and sand needed to be rationed. Yes, weighed like how one would with flour when baking a cake.
Then there was the spot of superglue...
Not out of the woods, yet.
Got some pieces of wood to fill the crevices between them rocks.
Flash boiled them for an hour, then the itchy fingers aquascaper disease caught me:
Something like an island with stem plants out the middle?
Nicely tucked in there.
May have to glue some pieces...
Stop tinkering!
I hate this part of scaping: hardscape placement. So many different possibilities! Which to use?! Urgh...
Decided to just get on with this:
I may stock the tank with pygmy cories so the little caves could provide hiding places in between sand-grazing.
Left-side view. Quite...
Rock will never die!
I don’t usually use rocks or stones in my scapes, due to weight and difficulty in finding the ‘right’ ones, but today I bit the bullet and used my gut-feel. Woke up this morning thinking of cliffs, so I kept searching for cliff-like rocks with similar grain at the nearby...
Tank-Rescue Report
Not a lot of plants survived in the previous setup (had a large BBA breakout during lockdown so I switched off the lights for weeks), only two types did: anubias nana petite and java fern.
Added a concoction of snail remover, anti-algae meds and a secret sauce to the mix...
This is why it’s best to let your plants grow in for the first month or two whilst awaiting for the tank to fully cycle before adding bottom feeder fauna.
Zozo’s superglue idea is the best, albeit tedious.
Less tedious is to cull your bottom feeders.
Less less tedious is to lower your plant...
Stocking candidates progress:
100% completed.
Thank you for waiting.
It took a while but here are the results:
1) Betta - single male
https://ivenbetta.com/collections/show-betta
This LFS is a bus ride away from my place and they breed/sell healthy wow-wow bettas. Though at twice (or more...
I’d say get the largest tank you can afford. For a newbie, you gotta deal with water chemistry first and foremost. And a larger volume would help with stability, with less spikes of ammonia and nitrite, should something bad happen later, as all of us former newbies will testify about f**king up...
I was cleaning my two glass inlet and outlet pipes before restarting my recent 10 gallon and this breaking of glass fear was at the back of my mind.
I’m glad you have the situation under control, sure hate a tank suspended mid maintenance.
A reminder for us all to treat all things fragile and...
1) The 10 Gallon Stocking Dilemma
The human heart in conflict with... fish, haha! Sorry Faulkner fans. So, since we’re near the ding-dongs of doom (read: covid19), let’s do some elimination to narrow down potential stocking candidates.
First off, I’m gonna go the species-only way. Meaning no...
Let’s discuss stocking options...
2 zebra otos
6 pygmy cory
6 clown kili
1 horned nerite snail
10 cherry shrimps
or keep a species-only tank?
I saw two kinds of fish that made my fish-mind twerk the other day. First was some beige Japanese rice fish while the another was Tucano tetra.
The...
Nice furry BBA.
Prepare Agent Orange, a.k.a Excel (hydrogen peroxide works too, but me like Excel, smells good!)
Syringe, loaded and ready, sir!
Supersonic bomber, ready for takeoff...
Die BBA, dieeeeeeeee!
Don’t scrub it!
Otos will hate you, put a fish bounty on your head. Such are fish grunges, triggered upon remove of their buffet spread.
Just chill; it’ll go away, soon.
Just grab a six pack and chill.
If it bothers you much, scrap the diatoms off.
Or get some otos to munch on them.
I’m already seeing bits popping up on my newly restarted tank.
A sign of more (other algae) things to come :)
Plants Update, Final!
Okay, I am not going to add more plants: exhausted my budget due to the bucep and Tropica cryptocorynes.
cryptocoryne crispatula at the back, with c.parva foreground right; xmas moss on stone, foreground; bucep (unsure which sp.) midground; floaters, a must :)
I’m...
It's hard to critique without knowing what plants you plan to plant later. But just going on hardscape visuals then my vote is 3: the inward concave area creates an illusion of depth.
Keep us updated of your decision, and also when you start planting etc.
Cheers
Hey, if you’re planning to
have sand in that
bay-like area,
refrain ya.
Cos the black
aqua-soil will topple
bit by bit, like invading
ants they will soon colonise.
As advised by CookieS, use liquid carbon to spot-treat the BBA.
Excel works great, or 10% hydrogen peroxide.
Method: Use a syringe to uptake ‘payload’, bring it underwater as close to BBA. Release. Ahhhhhhhh. Watch them BBA turn colour.
Take some pics with your awesome camera for us here...
No aquasoil for me too.
Just sand.
Then work the plants around them. Sure, you’ll be limited but think about the joy of creativity amidst constraints.
There will be naysayers, you’ll need to allay this. Need constant vacuuming? Then keep less livestock. Can’t plant stem plants? There are lots...
I had to move a month back and in between living, the tank got sidetracked during the second half of 2019–my gf left me too, but she let me have the tank, so all is well—so today I did something I should’ve done months ago: restart my aquarium.
All flora and fauna perish. Sand in the water...
This guy uses Ikea cabinet too, but with supports.
And his tank is a wee bit small for the cabinet, but I figured he got the weight limits etc. just right.
Took me four too. But she left the third year. No biggies, the new one’s better at understanding this hobby; was the first thing she requested for our new place :)
Second this. In sand, makes you insane, with all that vacuuming and what not. I keep mind super thin though to prevent anaerobic conditions which may lead to Cyanobacteria.
Still a good substrate for corydoras and other sand shifters.
So some updates after the rescape.
Spent a few bucks on a few moss on rocks, Java fern tridents on wood, snails and cherry shrimps.
FTS. There was an abrupt end to the ‘skyline’/‘canopy’ on the left most side so I decided to make the ‘uphill’ curve a bit more naturally sloping, much akin to...
Thanks zozo & Matt for the comments.
Well the Dwarf Papyrus/ Cyperus haspan was a rather impulsive project of the distant past. I was trying out various emergent plants for future planted tank use; so far I have success with Pothos and Wandering Jew (grows like wildfire out of the office nano...
Cube would be a challenge, especially if you have to consider rule of thirds etc. from three or four viewing sides.
Rectangle shaped tanks allows you more leeway with the play on depth; also, increased length allows you to play with more ‘white space’, making your scape look deceptively larger...
Good news!
I found a nearby LFS which sells live daphnia :)
This has opened my possibility of adding lifestock which requires live food into my tank.
I’m thinking of Scarlet Badis for a start.
Any other suggestions, mates? They must be small, no bigger than 5cm preferably though.
Tank Update: Day ‘I’ve lost count!’
The Betta went to fish heaven while the plants grew into a crazy jungle/swamp and the tank unfortunately fell into disarray from neglect.
So, a weekend back, the girlfriend decided to take matters into her own hands (literally) and somehow midway through her...
Dimmers help too. But floaters are able to absorb nitrates while your aquatic plants adapt to submerged growth. They also act as increased surface area for beneficial bacteria to multiply.
I use S.Natans and Water Lettuce in my tank. Duck weed helps too but I don’t like them as being too small...
Tank Update: Day 90
Several events happened since the last update:
1) Tank and cabinet had to be relocated due to water pipe leakage behind the wall :(
Current temporary location does not have enough natural light. It is shaded by a wall which is good for keeping algae at bay though.
2) Some...
Reminds me of that one time at the LFS when a family of newbies bought a nano tank with everything you need to set it up, including lifestock. LFS shopkeeper told them they could add the fishes that very night.
Go slow ya, and research lots to prevent future tales of despair.
I would do...
Hi JinTse, if this is your first aquascape project then have no worries about plant or hardscape placement. These take time and practice to learn, and you will develop your own style as according to your preferences the longer you dwell into the hobby.
Let the plants grow in (you have done a...
The trick with ottos is to carefully select them at the LFS. Because of their terrible living conditions in transit, you’ll need to look out for two things: 1) high activity; meaning that they swim fast when you try to net them 2) large belly; meaning that they are better fed than the rest.
The...
Get some floaters to decrease light intensity and plant more fast-growing stem plants like Rotalas or Ludwigias etc. You’ll need about 70% (an estimate) of your tank surface area planted (at the start) to reduce chances of algae outbreak.
I would try to save current plants; uproot them when...
If you go Iwagumi, remember to have some fast-growing stem plants too. Those setups with just foreground plants and a few slow growing plants tend to get algae outbreak due to high lighting and CO2 injection.
I have outgrown Iwagumi due to the fact that fish tend to be a little stessed in such...
Rotala Butterfly has an EI calculator for premixed solutions. Perhaps you want to try and look around. If you know the ppm or concentrations of the NPK of Wondergro then just compare it to a premix product with similar values.
Tank Update: FTS Day 62
Was waiting for the lights to come on, enjoy!
We named the betta ‘Sky’. It’s enjoying patrolling its domain at the front of the tank, where none of its subjects dare to roam these days. Well, except Mario and Luigi cos these two ottos had first dips and they too chill...
Tank Update: Day 62
Finally found the final piece to my terrestrial plant ‘puzzle’! I’ve been looking high and low for these plants at my nearest local plant nursery and today I found them :)
Wandering Jew (Purple textured plant)
Sits pretty nicely sandwiched in the middle I’d say. Brings...
How many fish depends on how stable your plants have become established in the tank. Also, how much frequent water changes you are willing to spend on it. Plant more plants and increase bacteria capacity of the tank before you add the desired number you wish to have. My best advice is to let the...
Plecos in a planted tank? Hmmm, sounds like a salad buffet for them plecs. Perhaps trade them for ottos? The only pleco I’ve kept in a planted tank is starlight pleco, can’t remember the L number though but they stay smaller than bristlenose ones and did not munch on my plants then.
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