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For those at the back of the class

Ok so another progress entry in the Journal.

The Buce is dead. Yep faded away, melted (to slush), it is no more. Members of the forum have, however, come to the rescue and provided helpful of advice on how to care for newly introduced Buce (seee https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/bucephalandra-crisis.56541/#post-550163). I will not, however, be defeated. So another pot has been ordered and after chatting to (the very helpful) Steven at Aquarium Gardens and following advice from forum members I now have A CUNNING PLAN.

Cunning Plan: I will keep 3 pieces of it in the Aquaflora gel until the gel starts to grow mold or they start to look like they have exhausted the nutrients in the gel, two will be then wedged into cracks in the tank and one will be planted up in the substrate following Corvus Oscen's approach ().

Any other bits will be planted using the dry start approach. All of the bits will be spayed with dilute Rhizotonic. Comments or any advice welcome. The Buce arrives tomorrow...

Other tank news. My Nubius Nana Petite is flowering. Added an update photo on the tank.flower.jpg plant.jpg

Any comments, advice on 'THE CUNNING PLAN' or suggestions are welcome.
 
The tank is starting to mature and have that jungle feel that I wanted. I have removed the Limnophila Sessiliflora as it was just too rampant. The Heteranthera Zosterifolia has also been removed. I am still battling Cynaobacteria which appears between the glass and the substrate. I introduced a couple of types of Buce (from Aquarium Gardens) about a month? ago and the ones planted in the substrate are doing well.

I moved the Pygmaea Helvola Dwarf Water Lily to my other tank and the remaining Lily in this tank is pushing up shoots on a regular basis (the Lilly leaves seem to come up, look fine for a couple of weeks then die back - I think this is normal! It keeps a steady 5 or 6 leaves on the surface which is more than enough for the tank.

However, after moving plants around and disturbing the substrate I have now found myself with BBA appearing on an few leaves of one Anubis, on a rock and most annoyingly on the stems of the Lily. The Anubis will be pruned back. I am not too bothered about the rock as it's slowly being covered by Micranthemum monte carlo and it looks like it's out competing the BBA - if this is incorrect please do tell me!

Not sure what to do with the Lilly Stems covered in BBA - do I just cut them off at the base or as soon as the BBA appears or leave it until the Lilly leaf naturally dies back and then replace it. Any advice would be welcome.

A couple of photos are below.

20190319_211615.jpg 20190319_211840.jpg
 
Trimmed back the plants over the weekend and started to dose Easy Life Blue Exit to try to deal with the irritatingly persistent but small bit of BGA in the tank (see the far right hand side). Once again sorry for lousy picture - the green fuzz in the center of the picture is a bit of Christmas moss that arrived with a potted plant- not algae (honest).


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Two weeks in and the Easylife ravished the the crypts, despoiled the staurogyne repens and the fed the BGA (see https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/easy-life-blue-exit-problems.57095/#post-557552 ).

So today I tried a 80% water change, manual removal of the BGA, treatment of rocks with flourish excel, added a Hydor Koralia Nano to improve the flow and put 20 or my Wild Green Neon Tetras on e-bay (if they sell this could reduce the bioload).

Next week I will go for a blackout and am looking into positive filter bacteria products (any advice would be welcome). I know that the quickest option is to use erythromycin, however, I can't justify using an antibiotic for the plants.

Oh - also placed the Hydor Koralia Nano just next to the Chihiros Doctor which distributes the 02 around the tank
 
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I’m stilled 😕 on tank dimensions
60cm x 70 x 45 (I think) from original post, but which is the tank height?

What’s your livestock?

I can’t imagine 20 green neons pushing your bioload into algae country - if that’s even a valid assumption - I’ve seen some very heavy bioload shop tanks with minimal algae (and much less frequent/amount water changes I consider “necessary”)

Skip the erythromycin - it’s still not a guaranteed Blue Green Algae (Cyanobacteria) annihilation and it can be stressful to some plants (imagine more melt)

Adding marine grade activated carbon & Seachem Purigen to filter should remove DOCs, though daily water changes are likely just as effective (depending on your tap water ... though I don’t think peat is common in UK water - sometimes my tap is a lovely shade of amber for weeks)
 
Hi Alto, the tank is 60 cm wide, 70 cm long and 45cm high. I have attached some photos (below).

The current livestock consists of 8 Ottos, 4 Nerite Snails, 38 Green Neon Tetras and one cherry red shrimp. The Green Neon's tend to spend most of their time within the plants only venturing out if and when either when I feed them or they are absolutely positive that no-one is watching them or in the room!

My thought was to remove most of the Tetras to reduce the bio-load and then focus on building up a colony of cherry red shrimp to break down any waste from the fish and add some amano shrimp. I will also try some Purigen in the filter.

If all fails I will follow your advise and strip down the tank.
 

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Hi onoma1. I’d just like to say thanks for posting this and the link to your earlier 60l journal. I’m at the early stage with my first planted tank, also a recycled 60l model, and it’s encouraging to see someone else having been through the same issues and making it out the other side. Your new tank is looking really good!
 
Thanks for the clarification - definitely not too much bioload for that tank UNLESS you’re overfeeding
Fish should look slender with slight rounded belly after each meal, but return to slender shape before next meal
(I’ve seen extraordinarily obese fish 😱 & owners think they’re just perfect 😀)

Funny that was my experience with wild caught green neons as well - from across the room, they were everywhere in the tank, go in for a closeup and No Fish Here 😵
They may be more outgoing if you mix in some other tetra ... I still really like black phantom tetras - they’ll be out crushing and constantly display (for the girls)
 
AlanRR said:
Hi onoma1. I’d just like to say thanks for posting this and the link to your earlier 60l journal. I’m at the early stage with my first planted tank, also a recycled 60l model, and it’s encouraging to see someone else having been through the same issues and making it out the other side. Your new tank is looking really good!
Click to expand...

Thanks - it's good to know that there are others on the forum also working through some of these issues. I still feel that I am at the start of the journey and am definitely still 'at the back of the class'"

Really liked you tank in your Journal "Off we go".
 
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alto said:
Thanks for the clarification - definitely not too much bioload for that tank UNLESS you’re overfeeding
Fish should look slender with slight rounded belly after each meal, but return to slender shape before next meal
(I’ve seen extraordinarily obese fish 😱 & owners think they’re just perfect 😀)

Funny that was my experience with wild caught green neons as well - from across the room, they were everywhere in the tank, go in for a closeup and No Fish Here 😵
They may be more outgoing if you mix in some other tetra ... I still really like black phantom tetras - they’ll be out crushing and constantly display (for the girls)
Click to expand...

I am feeding them every other day - small amounts - just to tempt them out. Trying not to over-feed them! Yes it is exactly like that suddenly they rush for cover and the tank looks empty - phew it's not just me. After posting photos of the tank without fish I was starting to wonder if anyone believed that I had any!

Just tried to buy some Seachem Purigen from Aquarium Gardens, however, they don't have any in stock atm. Will phone and put an order in tomorrow for Purigen and Carbon.
 
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I took the plunge and sold the wild green neon's to a aquascaper from Manchester who is going for an iwagumi style of tank. Everytime someone entered the room the tetras disapeared, which defeated the object of having fish to to look at. The guy that bought them was an experienced aquascaper who understood the fish - he sent me some photo's of the fish in an amazing tank. I am really pleased that they went to a good home, he is delighted with them and the fish look amazing.

So I now have a virtually fishless tank (9 otto's and a one wild green neon). While I should see this as a blank canvas, at the moment this isn't a nice feeling. To quote Douglas Adams I have now reached entered the long dark teatime of the soul. Not happy with the look of the tank and slightly dispirited with my failure with the green neon's. Time to look for further inspiration.
 
Onoma1 said:
slightly dispirited with my failure with the green neon's.
Click to expand...
Don't take it personally ... it may be something in the water parameters or vibration or flow or ...
(it would be awesome - apparently my word of the week - if he posted a photo here)

If you’re unhappy with tank scape, this is an excellent time to remodel 🙂
 
I’ve just rescaped and moved my “under the stairs” tank - it’s now mid-room with lots of natural light

I’d shuffled out all the fish but for the incredibly elusive electric blue rams ... which wouldn’t even come out for food - instead waiting for stuff to circulate into dense plantings at back of tank
Even when there were dither fish in the tank, I seldom saw a ram
(they certainly weren’t catchable until I broke the scape down)

In the new location and with lots of short plants (though there’s sufficient M umbrosum that I could never see them) they’re constantly visible and acting the way I expect rams to behave 😕
 
Onoma1 said:
Time to look for further inspiration.
Click to expand...

In my humble opinion you can wait for inspiration in order to act or you can act in order to find inspiration.

The first is temporary and fleeting, the latter is a process that requires your full attention. One is a feeling the other is a lesson. I feel inspired, I am inspired.

That’s enough Yoda for now :lol:

@Onoma1 Good job on vanquishing the BBA and evicting the BGA. Both great successes. Both are a PITA but good feedback on what’s going on in your tank. Brilliant job.
 
Inspiration has been elusive as has time to work on the aquascape. The reduced bio-load in the tank has, however, minimised the occurrence and spread of of algae to something which is more than manageable with a weekly clean. Three Green Neons survived in this tank and seem now to be much calmer (they hide for most but not all of the time). The mixed carpet seems to be growing well (the picture below is just after it had been trimmed). The surface flow in the tank is, however, a little too strong for the lilly which needs liberating into different kind of tank - perhaps a desk bowl or a small tub outside?

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I have just rescaped. I used a beech root on lava rock and reused the substrate (after adding osmocote). It's a bit dusty atm, however, I am hopeful that this will resolve itself over time. Any advice or comments would be welcome.
 

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