Diving In

[Rach-D]

Just started out in this hobby and will document my progress on my planted tank, mistakes have been made and in all likelihood others will be made along the way. As it stands today the tank has been leak checked, planted up and is two weeks into a fishless cycle which is coming on nicely. Most of the plants are putting out new growth (although some look to have been grown emersed and are dying back a bit, hopefully they'll recover)


Techy info:
Tank - Fluval Roma 200 (might've bit off more than I can chew for a first aquarium)
Light - Fluval 6500K 46W LED (have the 26W LED light that came with the aquarium as a backup if needed)
Filter - Fluval 207 canister filter (very quiet piece of kit)
Air - Fluval 202 air pump (another very quiet piece of kit)

Plants - various but mainly from one of two FLS here in Aberdeen:
Alternathera Cardinalis
Echinodorus bieheri
Eleocharis Pusilla
Hydrocotyle Leucocephala
Limnophila Sessiliflora
Micranthemum (Monte-carlo)
Taxiphyllum Barbieri
Vallisneria

Substrate - Tropica Aquasoil and small pea gravel

No Co2 set up - we have very soft water here and the PH, after dechlorination is sitting at 6.5(ish), don't think that should be going any lower.

I'll also be setting up a small quarantine tank to place livestock prior to putting them into the main aquarium. Eventually planning on stocking with 2 pearl gourami as centre piece fish, 8 dwarf neon rainbow fish (I reckon they'll look nice shoaling in the open spaces of the tank) and for the bottom some dwarf oto catfish and shrimp to clean up the mess.

 

[megwattscreative]

Good luck! Looks good so far. I feel you on the big starter tank, but I think it is easier to reach stable water quality in a larger tank. Also gives you room to grow!
The emersed plants will melt a bit, but they will also bounce back. Just takes a while in a low tech set up, but worth the wait 🙂

One thing to note - otocinclus are very sensitive and quite difficult to keep. I know they're recommended as a clean up crew, but shrimp and snails will do a better job and are much hardier. If I'm understanding right, this is your first tank? In this case I'd probably avoid otos to begin with, just as they're a bit finicky. They're lovely fish - @dw1305 kept them with great success, so he's a good person to ask. I'm not an expert, but hope this helps!

 

[Rach-D]

One thing to note - otocinclus are very sensitive and quite difficult to keep. I know they're recommended as a clean up crew, but shrimp and snails will do a better job and are much hardier. If I'm understanding right, this is your first tank? In this case I'd probably avoid otos to begin with, just as they're a bit finicky. They're lovely fish - @dw1305 kept them with great success, so he's a good person to ask. I'm not an expert, but hope this helps!

Yes this is my first tank, thanks for the heads-up on the otocinclus, they are lovely wee fish but what's best for them comes first so I'll look at shrimp and snails for the clean-up crew🙂

 

[megwattscreative]

Worth noting with the soft water that the snails may struggle a bit, they need calcium for their shells. Chuck in some cuttle fish bone occasionally (like you get for birds in pet stores) and they'll be grand 🙂

 

[Onoma1]

I like the piece of wood on the left hand side it looks particularly dramatic. Miles better than my first attempt to scape!

 

[bazz]

Hi,
Your tank is looking really good and the only advice I would offer is to do plenty of water changes for the first month or so (your tap water seems to be ideal, so an easy task), if you are not doing so already. I may well be wrong, but looking at the photo it appears to me that the water could quite possibly be saturated with nutrients including ammonia, probably from the Aquasoil. I would also look at introducing some Ramshorn Snails (they seem to cope with soft water better than most) a.s.a.p.
As always though, it is your tank to with as you please.

 

[Rach-D]

I like the piece of wood on the left hand side it looks particularly dramatic. Miles better than my first attempt to scape!

Thanks, my LFS had some pieces and I liked the shape of this piece although it was a bit of a pain to lug back to the car and I got some funny looks 😀. I had initially intended for it to be oriented differently right up to the point of putting it in the tank and I realised it looked better the way it is now.

Worth noting with the soft water that the snails may struggle a bit, they need calcium for their shells. Chuck in some cuttle fish bone occasionally (like you get for birds in pet stores) and they'll be grand 🙂

Cuttlefish bone purchased today in readiness for adding snails.

Hi,
Your tank is looking really good and the only advice I would offer is to do plenty of water changes for the first month or so (your tap water seems to be ideal, so an easy task), if you are not doing so already. I may well be wrong, but looking at the photo it appears to me that the water could quite possibly be saturated with nutrients including ammonia, probably from the Aquasoil. I would also look at introducing some Ramshorn Snails (they seem to cope with soft water better than most) a.s.a.p.
As always though, it is your tank to with as you please.

Yes, the water was a bit cloudy when the photo was taken. I'd been planting earlier and I've noticed the aquasoil clouds the water quite readily when disturbed. I'm currently half way through my cycle (Ammonia is trace, nitrite is now around 0.5ppm and nitrates are 20ppm), when the nitrite is at 0ppm I'll add 1ppm of ammonia and check ammonia and nitrite after 12 and 24 hours to ensure the bacteria reduce to zero. Thanks for the advice (there are some nice ramshorn snails around). Should I wait until the cycle is finished before introducing ramshorn snails?

 

[shangman]

Thanks, my LFS had some pieces and I liked the shape of this piece although it was a bit of a pain to lug back to the car and I got some funny looks 😀. I had initially intended for it to be oriented differently right up to the point of putting it in the tank and I realised it looked better the way it is now.


Cuttlefish bone purchased today in readiness for adding snails.


Yes, the water was a bit cloudy when the photo was taken. I'd been planting earlier and I've noticed the aquasoil clouds the water quite readily when disturbed. I'm currently half way through my cycle (Ammonia is trace, nitrite is now around 0.5ppm and nitrates are 20ppm), when the nitrite is at 0ppm I'll add 1ppm of ammonia and check ammonia and nitrite after 12 and 24 hours to ensure the bacteria reduce to zero. Thanks for the advice (there are some nice ramshorn snails around). Should I wait until the cycle is finished before introducing ramshorn snails?

There’s no need at all to ‘cycle’ a tank using extra added ammonia - <you already have everything in the tank that it needs for it to mature and stabilise.> Don’t focus too much on the chemical readings on tests, focus on 6 weeks of plant growth (and a few weekly water changes) before adding any creatures. The cycling method is quite old fashioned now and out of date, and newbies often manage to creatures with it not realising the potency of these chemicals.

Water changes are also essential, they will not disturb your cycle/tank maturation as the bacteria aren’t in the water but on the surfaces of plants/hardscape/soil and filter - they just make the water cleaner and more ready for creatures a little further down the line.

Definitely never add creatures of any kind after putting ammonia in your tank, even snails will suffer.

 

[bazz]

Ammonia is trace, nitrite is now around 0.5ppm and nitrates are 20ppm

Should I wait until the cycle is finished before introducing ramshorn snails?

If that Nitrite level is on it's way down, and with a large water change or two you are good to go. I would slowly acclimate them though, over a period of three to four hours.
I know I keep waffling on about WCs, but they really are quite important at this early stage, with the Tropica substrate and decaying plant matter as the plants transition. You can relax back down to 20% per fortnight (or whatever) over the next month or so.

when the nitrite is at 0ppm I'll add 1ppm of ammonia and check ammonia and nitrite after 12 and 24 hours to ensure the bacteria reduce to zero.

I personally wouldn't bother, just wait for around another four weeks, ensure there is healthy plant growth and then slowly start adding fish. Healthy plant growth is a far better indicator of tank health than testing for chemicals. There are also a few other biological processes other than the Nitrogen cycle that we welcome in our tanks.
Again, this is only my take on life.

 

[Onoma1]

I agree completely with @bazand @shangman .

I found water changes really help with stopping or significantly reducing the growth of algae and enhancing plant growth.

 

[Cazza]

Looks good!

 

[Rach-D]

There’s no need at all to ‘cycle’ a tank using extra added ammonia - <you already have everything in the tank that it needs for it to mature and stabilise.> Don’t focus too much on the chemical readings on tests, focus on 6 weeks of plant growth (and a few weekly water changes) before adding any creatures. The cycling method is quite old fashioned now and out of date, and newbies often manage to creatures with it not realising the potency of these chemicals.

Water changes are also essential, they will not disturb your cycle/tank maturation as the bacteria aren’t in the water but on the surfaces of plants/hardscape/soil and filter - they just make the water cleaner and more ready for creatures a little further down the line.

Definitely never add creatures of any kind after putting ammonia in your tank, even snails will suffer.

If that Nitrite level is on it's way down, and with a large water change or two you are good to go. I would slowly acclimate them though, over a period of three to four hours.
I know I keep waffling on about WCs, but they really are quite important at this early stage, with the Tropica substrate and decaying plant matter as the plants transition. You can relax back down to 20% per fortnight (or whatever) over the next month or so.

I personally wouldn't bother, just wait for around another four weeks, ensure there is healthy plant growth and then slowly start adding fish. Healthy plant growth is a far better indicator of tank health than testing for chemicals. There are also a few other biological processes other than the Nitrogen cycle that we welcome in our tanks.
Again, this is only my take on life.

Thank you both for the advice. I'll do a big water change tonight 🙂

 

[Fishfur]

Most of the plants are putting out new growth (although some look to have been grown emersed and are dying back a bit, hopefully they'll recover

Plants - various but mainly from one of two FLS here in Aberdeen:
Alternathera Cardinalis
Echinodorus bieheri
Eleocharis Pusilla
Hydrocotyle Leucocephala
Limnophila Sessiliflora
Micranthemum (Monte-carlo)
Taxiphyllum Barbieri
Vallisneria

) and for the bottom some dwarf oto catfish and shrimp to clean up the mess.

Tank looks great - nice hunk ‘o driftwood!

Just so you know, with only a handful of exceptions, all the plants we grow in tanks are grown emersed by the nurseries or tissue culturists & some hobbyists as well.

The exceptions are a very few species that simply don’t grow emersed (Vallisneria is one example) or those purchased from someone that is growing them submersed (typically another hobbyist).

Most of the plants we grow are what botanists call emergent plants.

They originate from areas where there is seasonal flooding. The plants had to adapt to survive periodic flooding, by producing leaves that are capable of functioning underwater.

Most greatly prefer to grow emersed but in tanks we encourage them to stay submersed. But any stem that hits the surface will start producing emersed leaves as soon as it has contact with air.

Just as an example, if you grow Micranthemum tweedii Monte Carlo floating, it will send some growth into the air quickly & may flower - pretty little blue flowers rather like forget-me-nots.

This is because air has carbon (as carbon dioxide) in abundance while water has next to none.

Carbon is a critical component for all plants. So in air, plants grow much faster & are more robust.

But once underwater, leaves that grew in air can’t take in dissolved gasses like CO2 so the plant must discard them, to be replaced with leaves that can.

So with almost all plants there is going to be a period of time where the old leaves die off & new ones are growing but aren’t big or abundant enough to look good.

Some species adapt much more quickly than others & a few are extremely slow - Anubias for example. Some have wildly different looking submersed leaf forms that can make them look like a completely different plant - Hygrophila difformis is a good example of that.

As for snails, with a pH of 6.5 they’re going to have a lot of trouble because an acidic pH will dissolve their shells. It reacts with the calcium carbonate of their shells, causing erosion that in a worst case scenario can eat right through to the flesh, though more commonly you get a lot of pitting.

Acidic erosion doesn’t appear to be a painful process for them as shell is not innervated, but the shell becomes thinner & weaker & can look dreadful.

They really do need at least a minimal level of GH ( general hardness) for healthy shell plus calcium & traces of iodine from their food too. One of the best things to feed most species is kelp, closely followed by spirulina.

There are shrimp that won’t be bothered by acidic pH because their shells are not just calcium carbonate - they have a lot of chitin too, like insects do. But shrimp do best in a mature tank & seem to fare poorly in tanks with less than 6 months worth of stable operation.