Hey 👋
I'm completely new to all this but have been around various sites/Reddit threads soaking up as much info as I can. I've a few questions but decided to do a journal and ask them that way. Would appreciate any answers/feedback/advice.
Doing this on my phone so please excuse any errors.
I recently bought a used Fluval Flex 57 with the intention of creating a planted aquarium. It was pretty dirty when I collected but cleaned up nicely as you can see.
I then set about looking for hardscape. I didn't really have any specific style in mind although I guess you could maybe call the result a jungle theme. I went over to my lfs and played with some rocks/spiderwood without any idea what I was doing so asked one the staff there who came up with this from the bits I pulled out.
After some play I settled on this as a hardscape
Due to the positions of the filter intakes and the angle at which the tank will be viewed I decided to plant with the background plants along the white screen and the right side of the tank (if that makes sense).
I have used:
Oase Scaperline Black Aquasoil and the Riverbed sand from Maidenhead Aquatics as substrates.
Hygrophilla Siamensis 53b
Rotala Rotundifolia
Rotala Rotundifolia H'ra
Limnophila Sessiflora
Cryptocoryne x willisii
Cryptocoryne wendtii brown
Annubia Barteri Nana
Annubia Nana Bonsai
Erect Moss
Spikey Moss
I decided on a fishless cycle using Aquacare bio boost and Tap Water Conditioner.
Currently coming up to end of week 3 and it's looking like this.
The Rotundifolia H'ra is from a culture pot and can't be seen. I've since added CO2 (Colombo reactor set), JBL CO2 tubing, CO2 art check valve, seachem drop checker and nano glass diffuser from CO2 market place.
Following the George Farmer water change routine (50% everyday first week etc) more or less, couple of times I got distracted did more than 50%) and using API freshwater master test kit and API GH and KH test kit. Recently bought Salifert Nitrate kit as I didn't trust the API. Here are a few screenshots of my results over the last few weeks.
After reading so much info from different sources I became convinced that the tank wasn't cycling due to not adding ammonia. So yesterday I bought Dr Timms and Seachem Stability. I added Dr Timms which took the Ammonia ppm to 4, I then panicked this would kill my plants so performed a 50% water change (tap water conditioner and 3 caps bio boost) which resulted in a drop to around 2ppm and this morning the ppm was 1ppm with Nitrites 1ppm and Nitrates 25ppm.
Questions:
I guess this is evidence that the beneficial bacteria are growing and the tank is cycling?
Would anyone advise switching to the Seachem Stability? Maybe even adding some now? (not sure why 😅). I've just heard it's a better product.
I'm assuming the hair like algae that can be seen is diatoms and there isn't really anything I need to do about it?
As for stocking the problem is I really want it all. I'm torn between a community tank with a Betta (probably wild/alien as they seem to do better with the flow of the flux), Neon Tetra or some other schooling fish (maybe Kubotai Rasbora or White Cloud Mountain Minnows) and some Otocinclus (I'd also like some pygmy corydora's but am conscious of overstocking) or just a species only Pea Puffer tank (perhaps with some Otos).
I'm running the stock pump and filter but have replaced the carbon with a second bag of fluval biomax. The heater is an Aqua One 100w glass heater (overkill perhaps but this house is an old barn type building that is poorly converted and gets very cold in the winter) in the same chamber as the pump. If it will be a community tank was thinking of increasing the filtration capacity with a media tray for chamber 1. Any advice on equipment?
Thanks everyone.
I'm completely new to all this but have been around various sites/Reddit threads soaking up as much info as I can. I've a few questions but decided to do a journal and ask them that way. Would appreciate any answers/feedback/advice.
Doing this on my phone so please excuse any errors.
I recently bought a used Fluval Flex 57 with the intention of creating a planted aquarium. It was pretty dirty when I collected but cleaned up nicely as you can see.
I then set about looking for hardscape. I didn't really have any specific style in mind although I guess you could maybe call the result a jungle theme. I went over to my lfs and played with some rocks/spiderwood without any idea what I was doing so asked one the staff there who came up with this from the bits I pulled out.
After some play I settled on this as a hardscape
Due to the positions of the filter intakes and the angle at which the tank will be viewed I decided to plant with the background plants along the white screen and the right side of the tank (if that makes sense).
I have used:
Oase Scaperline Black Aquasoil and the Riverbed sand from Maidenhead Aquatics as substrates.
Hygrophilla Siamensis 53b
Rotala Rotundifolia
Rotala Rotundifolia H'ra
Limnophila Sessiflora
Cryptocoryne x willisii
Cryptocoryne wendtii brown
Annubia Barteri Nana
Annubia Nana Bonsai
Erect Moss
Spikey Moss
I decided on a fishless cycle using Aquacare bio boost and Tap Water Conditioner.
Currently coming up to end of week 3 and it's looking like this.
The Rotundifolia H'ra is from a culture pot and can't be seen. I've since added CO2 (Colombo reactor set), JBL CO2 tubing, CO2 art check valve, seachem drop checker and nano glass diffuser from CO2 market place.
Following the George Farmer water change routine (50% everyday first week etc) more or less, couple of times I got distracted did more than 50%) and using API freshwater master test kit and API GH and KH test kit. Recently bought Salifert Nitrate kit as I didn't trust the API. Here are a few screenshots of my results over the last few weeks.
After reading so much info from different sources I became convinced that the tank wasn't cycling due to not adding ammonia. So yesterday I bought Dr Timms and Seachem Stability. I added Dr Timms which took the Ammonia ppm to 4, I then panicked this would kill my plants so performed a 50% water change (tap water conditioner and 3 caps bio boost) which resulted in a drop to around 2ppm and this morning the ppm was 1ppm with Nitrites 1ppm and Nitrates 25ppm.
Questions:
I guess this is evidence that the beneficial bacteria are growing and the tank is cycling?
Would anyone advise switching to the Seachem Stability? Maybe even adding some now? (not sure why 😅). I've just heard it's a better product.
I'm assuming the hair like algae that can be seen is diatoms and there isn't really anything I need to do about it?
As for stocking the problem is I really want it all. I'm torn between a community tank with a Betta (probably wild/alien as they seem to do better with the flow of the flux), Neon Tetra or some other schooling fish (maybe Kubotai Rasbora or White Cloud Mountain Minnows) and some Otocinclus (I'd also like some pygmy corydora's but am conscious of overstocking) or just a species only Pea Puffer tank (perhaps with some Otos).
I'm running the stock pump and filter but have replaced the carbon with a second bag of fluval biomax. The heater is an Aqua One 100w glass heater (overkill perhaps but this house is an old barn type building that is poorly converted and gets very cold in the winter) in the same chamber as the pump. If it will be a community tank was thinking of increasing the filtration capacity with a media tray for chamber 1. Any advice on equipment?
Thanks everyone.
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