The Planted Tank Forum banner

The Adventures of me and my 90g Tank.

5K views 41 replies 6 participants last post by  yobofofas 
#1 ·
Hey all. I'm going to try to update this journal once a week in an attempt to track my tanks history and, hopefully get a little info from all of you.

First, a tiny but about me: I'm returning to fish keeping after a very long hiatus and am thrilled at all the new developments and tech. The hobby seems to have become quite a bit easier since I left. My goal with this tank is a planted Discus/Amazon community.

Here's my specs

90g Truvue Acrylic Tank with left side overflow with 1" drain.
Current Satellite LED (48" standard, not plus)(thinking about getting another).
Floramax Red Substrate.
Obsidian Stone
Driftwood found at river (power sprayed and baked)

Filter:
30g Aqualine Refugium ; 1st chamber, foam filter and bio-balls. 2nd, Organic potting soil capped w laterite and Floramax 2 lucky bamboo and 2 wisteria. 3rd 400g pump bag of charcoal and bag of peat with Tru-Temp 300 watt thermometer.

I filled the tank last week and used Tetra Smart Start to get my Nitro cycle rolling. Yesterday I planted the top tank with 2 Amazon Swords and some Dwarf Hair Grass.

1st water test was today 7/31 and read as follows:

PH 7.4-7.6 (higher than I'd like. Thinking about using PH Down unless someone has a better idea??? I did just add some wood to the refugium also)

Ammonia: 2ppm

Nitrite: 0-.25 ppm

Nitrate: 10ppm (could be closer to 20, colors very similar on test kit.

I'm thinking about stocking the refugium with some helpful inverts like Amano Shrimp or maybe snails to eat dead plant matter. After I see them doing well I plan to start stocking fish in the main tank. Any input is welcome and please, let me know what you guys think of my set up.

Thanks
 

Attachments

See less See more
2
#2 ·
Took the PH down today using some Tetra Correct PH 7.0 and added some Ghost Shrimp (4) to the Refugium and 4 tiger snails to the tank along with a Red Banana plant, 3 cork screws and a moss ball that I'm going to use to try and cover the drift wood. Everything's looking pretty great so far.
 
#3 ·
HELP!!! I've got Foam!

I came home tonight to discover a cloudy tank and foam coming out of the drain to my refugium. I tested the PH and it strangely is back up to 7.6 after I treated the water earlier today with Tetra Correct PH 7.0. What the hell? Water is cloudy also but snails and shrimp seem to be fine. Ammonia seems to be between 1-2 ppm. My only guess is that the Correct PH 7.0 softened the hell out of the water but why would the PH go back up? Is this anything to worry about?
 
#4 ·
Nice tank! Looks clean.

First piece of advice though, don't use products like that to mess with the pH. Why exactly do you want your pH to be lower? Do your planned inhabitants NEED a pH below that? If not, just leave it at 7.6, there's nothing wrong with that, for the most part, unless you plan on keeping some really sensitive things. You'll do more harm than good in trying to mess with your pH.
 
#6 ·
If you want a lower pH, consider switching to Reverse Osmosis water. Although the initial investment can be expensive, it is so worth it. Any other methods (other than using an active substrate) is usually useless.

The pH goes back up because there is something in the tank that is altering the params. Someone else can explain it better....
 
#7 ·
I'm assuming you're using tap water at the moment, yes? If you want to breed discus down the road, I'd suggest you invest in an RODI unit so you have control of more of the parameters, including more control over pH. There's not really a sure-fire consistent way to keep the pH of tap water low, especially when you start factoring in water changes, unless you treat your water beforehand.
 
#8 ·
Thanks for the info. I've got a reverse osmosis system but I, possibly foolishly, thought I could just treat the water from my tap and everything would be hunky dory. Is there a good way to treat the water other than the Tetra Correct PH? Should I empty and refill? Is all hope lost? Am I a failure? UGGGG....
 
#10 · (Edited)
I've got a 90g tank and my RO system is good for 50g every 24 hours. I thought about disconnecting the storage tank and letting it fill a clean garbage can but I just did a PH test on the RO water and the PH is also at least 7.6. I immediately ordered a remineralizer from Amazon. Thanks for the help BTW. Do I need to worry about the foam and if so, whats my next corse of action?
 
#11 ·
With RO water, you're essentially stripping tap water of everything that was added in (chlorine, flourine, etc.). Something is either wrong with your RO unit or with whatever you're measuring pH with. Pure water is neutral, at 7.0. It's typical to get readings below 7 of RO water, which is a little too much to explain right now than I'd like, so I'll skip on that.

What test kit are you using to measure pH?
 
#13 ·
Yes, that's exactly what I said. I guess I'll try to explain it..

RO water typically comes out below 7 (pure water) due to there being no buffering capacity in the water. This is the point of RO water, to strip the tap of all the chemicals put into it, etc. With no buffering capacity, even the slightest amount of an acid or protons (H+) will alter the pH. CO2 in the air and in the water beforehand dissolves into the RO water and "bonds" with hydroxides (OH-) in the water. This causes an excess of protons (H+) in the water. Wonder why people who use CO2 can suffer from pH drops if they use too much? Me too (lol), but I'm assuming it's because larger amounts of CO2 creates larger amounts of "free" H+ in the water column, making the pH drop. When there is an excess of H+ in a solution, you can say that it is acidic, because protons (H+) are what make an acid, since they donors of H+.

If you want to breed discus, you'll need a pH below 7.

Which again brings me to the point of asking what test kit you're using. It's either your RODI unit needs filter replacement or your test kit is faulty.



PS to anyone: My breakdown of acidity of RO water is as best as I could think of off the top of my head. Anyone, feel free to correct my logic if you see a mistake in my explanation.
 
#14 ·
Thanks for the explanation and now I get it. I'm using a basic API Master test kit. The RO unit was installed in July (a Watts Premier RO Unit) so everything is still new. Should I be worried about this? Also, I don't necessarily want to breed Discus, just keep some healthy specimen.
 
#15 ·
That's definitely weird that you're getting 7.6 pH for your RODI water.. My RODI water is anywhere from 6.0-6.5.

If you know the parameters that you need for your intended inhabitants, and a higher ph, and i'm gonna say harder water (like most tap), is okay for that inhabitant, I say go for it. Just make sure you are consistent with your parameters. Fluctuation is the cause to a lot of deaths in this hobby.
 
#16 · (Edited)
Better days indeed!

Today is a much better day. Thanks to all who helped and after a 20g water change things are back to crystal clear with no foam. Lesson learned. No more using PH adjusters.

I did order a remineralizer and, after talking to some one at the company that makes my RO, it sounds like that should do the trick in lowering the PH.

Today I introduced some fish; 8 Rummy Nose tetras, 2 Celebres Rainbow, and a Silver Goby for my refugium.

Everyone is happy and alert. Tetras are schooling, Rainbows following them and the gobi is chasing ghost shrimp around.

I've decided to order the Current USA Satellite Plus to add some more light, although the regular Satellite I already have seems to be doing fine on it's own.

After talking to you guys here and a very knowledgeable employee at my LFS I feel MUCH better. I've taken the proper steps, done my homework, and now it's time to relax and let my tank come together.

Thanks for the help, more updates to come.
 
#17 · (Edited)
Well, I lost one tetra and one rainbow to my overflow (morons apparently) but as of this morning everyone else was fine. I come home tonight to find the goby dead in the bottom of the refugium. He was fine earlier! Eating, swimming, bullying shrimp. What the hell? Shrimp seem to be fine and the solo rainbow is still chasing the school of tetras.

So, time for more testing.

PH 7.4
Ammonia 2.0-3.0 (the green is impossible to read)
Nitrite .25
Nitrate 0

And what does this mean? Basically, the Tetra Smart Start didn't do crap and I'm having an ammonia spike. Which means, Nitrogen Cycle, not over. I'm quickly learning there are no short cuts.

Bummed about that goby.

I'm curious what you guys think. Is it a bad idea to have the charcoal in the sump? Should I let the ammonia spike to kick start the cycle? Is it spiking now?
 
#18 ·
It means your tank isn't cycled yet. I wouldn't add any fish until your ammonia and nitrite readings are 0. Adding carbon to a planted tank is not necessary as it will strip any ferts you add to the tank. The only time I would add carbon is if you need to dose meds and need to remove them from the water.

Those quick cycle liquids are no good if you ask my opinion. I know other people like to use them but I always just allow the cycle to take place. It may take some time but patience is necessary to this hobby and you will make many costly mistakes if you can't be patient.
 
#22 ·
Current Satellite and Satellite plus side by side

I hooked up my Satellite Plus side by side with the regular Satellite and truthfully, I'm not sure I need both. The Plus is definitely brighter and the color settings are really impressive (I've been messing with them all day). The first pic is of the lights side by side on top of the tank. The Second is both strips on and the third is only the plus. What do you guys think? Do I need both?
 

Attachments

#27 ·
I hooked up my Satellite Plus side by side with the regular Satellite and truthfully, I'm not sure I need both. The Plus is definitely brighter and the color settings are really impressive (I've been messing with them all day). The first pic is of the lights side by side on top of the tank. The Second is both strips on and the third is only the plus. What do you guys think? Do I need both?
In all honesty I can't tell a difference in the pics. I ended up buying the LED+ for over my 90 and I'm thinking it's not enough light. But that could also be because I'm used to having 4xT5HO's running. I'm going to let it go for a month or two and see how the plants react to it and determine if I want to add a single T5HO behind the LED fixture or just purchase another LED setup.

The most important thing is how do you like it? Do you prefer the look of both of them or just one of them? Also, determining the types of plants you want to grow with them will also be helpful. I'm also looking at converting my tank over to a Discus tank so I guess we'll be going down this road together haha!
 
#23 ·
Store bought nitrifying bacteria do sometimes work (keyword sometimes), but not when there's already a pretty large bioload to begin with. It's meant for a new tank set up with maybe 1 or 2 small fish like guppies or something as the ammonia source.

As for lighting, I personally think you should be fine with one, but I don't know much about lighting so I'll leave that for other people. Glad things are picking up for you though!
 
#24 ·
To Spray Bar or not to Spray Bar???

I've been looking at some spray bar set ups on You tube and digging on them. That said, I can't find a lot of info on the benefits/drawbacks of the spray bar. If I go with one I would be building it (after building my standpipe I feel like a PVC da Vinci). and would love some input on hole placement etc. The bar would sit at the top of the tank seeing as I'm not using CO2.

The reason I ask is because I feel like my split return is creating a little too much flow in one direction. Maybe it's just a matter of me moving them around and playing with placement but currently I'm kind of blowing some debris around the right corner of the tank (overflow and return on the left).

Any spray bar fans, detractors out there?
 
#25 ·
Well, I pulled the trigger and built a spray bar. And it was super easy! One 3" foot piece of PVC with a cap glued to one end and a male screw cap to the other, some black spray paint and some holes and BOOM! Spray Bar. And my flow couldn't be better. I love how much surface motion I've got and wow, I was blown away at how much crap it blew off the bottom of my tank. WAY better than dual return I had on the left side of my tank by my overflow. That said, I'm not sure how much flow I should have (I plan on introducing Discus later) so I made a Youtube video. I'd love to know what you guys think.
 
#26 · (Edited)
Looks like the cycle has ended!

Also, yesterday I introduced to bushy nose plecos, one albino, and four Nerite Zebra snails (two in the main tank, two in the refugium). I also notice one of my cherry shrimp some how made down into the refugium. Inconceivable but, there he is.

Did a 20% water change today and dosed the tank with Flourish Excel, Acid Buffer and Prime (even though I used RO water it seemed like a good idea). PH looks to be 6.8-7. Ammonia and Nitrate are both 0 (hooray!) and nitrate looks to be between 10 and 20. I'm feeling pretty good here.

Thinking about more tetra's, possibly some dwarf Gourami and some Blue Rams next!
 
#30 ·
I'm Back!

After a 10 day vacation in Minnesota I'm back. My wife did a great job of feeding but still figured out a way to kill to of my Gourami but all else is well. Today I picked up some more plants, some Mondo Grass and a couple more Anubas and I re-aquaspaced adding some more wood and some caves for the two German Blue Rams I picked up. I also picked up four more Rummy Nose Tetra's and was filled with this overwhelming sense of joy when they immediately joined the school. It's little things like this that make me happy these days, is that sad? So now here's my population: 9 Rummy Nose Tetras, 1 Bosemani Rainbow (thinking about getting a few more), 4 green Corys, 2 Blue Dwarf Gourami (I love them!), 2 German Blue Rams, and 2 bristle nose plecos.

I think this is where I'll maintain my bio-load until I pull the trigger on discus. In the meantime I've started dosing the tank with 3 different Seachem chemicals (Excel, Potassium and the comprehensive supplement).

The shrimp in my refugium seem to be doing well enough when I see them and I'm thinking about adding some blues or tigers. I'll get some pics up when I finish scaping tomorrow or monday but for the time being, things are good.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top