[5/23/17]
someday i'll get a plant list up...
[1/23/17]
[1/17/17]
Last photos of the Riparium.. its reign has ended...
plant list:
Variegated Pothos
Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum "domino")
Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum sp???)
Dwarf Palm Neanthe Bella
Anthurium
Aglaonema (Chinese evergreen)
Arrowhead Plant (Syngonium podophyllum 'Cream Allusion')
[8/2/16]
[3/23/16]
[2/25/16]
Riparium Flora: Variegated Pothos
Aluminum plant (Pilea Cadierei)
Friendship Plant (Pilea involucrata)
Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum "domino")
Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum sp???)
Dwarf Palm Neanthe Bella
Anthurium
Alocosia polly
Marble Queen (pothos)
Aglaonema (Chinese evergreen)
Arrowhead Plant (Syngonium podophyllum 'Cream Allusion')
[8/13/15]
Riparium Flora: Pothos varigated
Aluminum plant (Pilea Cadierei)
Friendship Plant (Pilea involucrata)
Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum "domino")
Dwarf Palm Neanthe Bella
Anthurium
Alocosia polly
Marble Queen (pothos)
Prayer Plant (Maranta leuconeura)
Aglaonema (Chinese evergreen)
Arrowhead Plant (Syngonium podophyllum 'Cream Allusion')
[7/27/15]
Riparium Flora: Pothos varigated
Aluminum plant (Pilea Cadierei)
Friendship Plant (Pilea involucrata)
Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum "domino")
Dwarf Palm Neanthe Bella
Anthurium
Alocosia polly
Marble Queen (pothos)
Prayer Plant (Maranta leuconeura)
Aglaonema (Chinese evergreen)
Red Water Dock (Rumex sanguineus)
Arrowhead Plant (Syngonium podophyllum 'Cream Allusion')
[6/30/15]
Riparium Flora: Pothos varigated
Aluminum plant (Pilea Cadierei)
Friendship Plant (Pilea involucrata)
Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum "domino")
Dwarf Palm Neanthe Bella
Anthurium
Alocosia polly
Marble Queen (pothos)
Prayer Plant (Maranta leuconeura)
Aglaonema (Chinese evergreen)
Red Water Dock (Rumex sanguineus)
Fiber Optic Grass (Scirpus cernuus)
Oplismenus basket Grass (Oplismenus hirtellus 'Variegatus')
[6/2/15]
Riparium Flora: Pothos varigated
Pilea Cadierei (Aluminum plant)
Pilea involucrata (Friendship plant)
Spathiphyllum "domino' (peace lily)
Dwarf Palm Neanthe Bella
Anthurium
Alocosia polly
Setcreasea purpurea (Purple queen)
Marble queen (pothos)
Maranta leuconeura (prayer plant)
Aglaonema (Chinese evergreen)
[5/19/15]
Stock Update
Fauna:
1 Nerite snails (wtf where's the girl?? well at least no new egg everywhere now..)
???# Malaysian trumpet snails (i pulled out 280 a few weeks ago x.x)
6 Otos
8 False jullie cory
11 Cherry barbs 3m:8f
1 Angelfish
1 Madagascar rainbowfish
Submerged Flora:
none
Riparium Flora: Pothos (varigated)
Fittonia albivenis
Aluminum plant
Spathiphyllum "domino'
Dwarf Palm Neanthe Bella
Anthurium
Alocosia polly
Riccia
Purple queen
Marble queen (pothos)
[5/17/15]
new additions to riparium: purple queen and marble queen. Ghostwood removed, put in the old red cedar + pvc hides.
[3/26/15]
[2/23/15]
Stock Update
Fauna: 2 Nerite snails
???# Pond, Ramshorn, and Malaysian trumpet snails
6 Otos
8 False jullie cory
11 Cherry barbs 3m:8f
1 Angelfish
1 Madagascar rainbowfish
Submerged Flora:
Crypt (wenditt?) green
Needle leaf Java fern
Riparium Flora: Pothos
Fittonia albivenis
Tradescantia zebrine
Cyperus Umbrella Sedge
Aluminum plant
Ruellia brittoniana 'Katie'
Spathiphyllum
Spathiphyllum "domino'
Dwarf Palm Neanthe Bella
Syngonium
Anthurium
Alocosia polly
Riccia
[12/13/14]
10/9/14
Finally everything is set up! Official start of the 55g riparium!
Filter: Eheim Professional 3 1200X (can we say overkill?)
Heater: Eheim Jagar 150 watt in diy pvc inline heater
Lights: 48" T5 6500k bulbs x2
Substrate: Black Diamond 'Sand'
Fauna: 2 Nerite snails
???# Pond, Ramshorn, and Malaysian trumpet snails
5 Otos (temporary)
12 Cherry barbs 4m:8f
1 Angelfish
1 Madagascar rainbowfish
Submerged Flora:
Crypt (wenditt?) green
Crypt Parva
Dwarf lily plant
Needle leaf Java fern
Dwarf lilly plant
Riparium Flora: Pothos
Fittonia albivenis
Tradescantia zebrine
Cyperus Umbrella Sedge
Aluminum plant
Ruellia brittoniana 'Katie'
Spathiphyllum
Spathiphyllum "domino'
Dwarf Palm Neanthe Bella
Syngonium
Riccia
Ferts:Seacehm Excel
Seacehm Flourish
Seacehm Iron
Seacehm Pottasium
Seacehm Phosphourus
9/17/14
photos of the prep
9/15/14
No photos yet but completely redoing tank, hope to have it functional again within 2 weeks. Pleco is gone and the aquaponic system has been removed.
4/30/14
INTRO
I've had this 55 gallon set up and running for a while now, the biggest issue with it is the amount of poop (and nitrates) my 9.5 inch Leopard Sailfin Pleco makes requires very frequent water changes. To deal with this I am going to be setting up an Aquapoics system..
What is aquaponics? Its a combination of aquaculture (raising fish for human consumption) and hydroponics (growing plants for human consumption using water rather than soil). Instead of soil/fertilizers, and liquid ferts as used in farms and hydroponics, the nitrogen cycle and broken down organics in the tank will give all the nutrients the plants need. I do not plan on eating my fish, and the veggies I like aren't conducive for the style of system that will be set up, but my family will be eating the produce.. produced by this ^^
THE PLAN!
My original plan changed so the new plan is to do a NFT system (nutrient film transfer) using 4 inch pvc piping and pvc "T"s to put planters full of grow media and a plant in. This method will allow fore more easy of adjustment (easily add/remove plants/"T"s, and increase distance between each as plants get bigger, or shorten if it stays compact).
I will be using the per-existing tank and canister filter, simply re-pluming the output to go into these pvc pipes with plants before re-entering the tank. The pvc grow area will be placed above the tank and most likely utilize simple shelving to hold it up. Since the tank is next to the staircase I will either hang over the stair's rail to "garden", or more like use a step stool to reach the plants.
Since the setup is in the basement and no natural sun will reach it I'll have to add some sun via T5 lights. Will start with 6500k for non blooming/"fruiting" plants, and get "warmer" spectrum bulb if I want non leafy veggies or herbs. The seeds have already been bought, I had my husband pick out what we try (what he'd eat/use). So we're going with Burpee organic: chives(/garlic), cilantro, oregano, spinach (Palco Hybrid), and lettuce (Valerie and Black Seeded Spimpson). Thinking of doing 1 each of the herbs and 2-3 of the leafy greens. I've already gotten 12 planter pots that fit perfectly for the pvc "T"s, got them for free from a nice little nursery nearby, nice people and plant selection there so will be going back to buy other things later (they had emersed form of some aquatic plants I might try in my other tanks.
I still need to decide on a media and buy it, I'm most likely going to go with an expanded clay or natural lava rock. Most nurseries around here aren't starting to sell stuff yet so I'll probably have to grab this item online.
All the finer details have not been set in stone yet but I am hopeful that my husband (going to be a big part of getting this set up and running!) and I hammer that out over the next week or two and start getting more supplies together.
I will update the first post and cram as much as I can in here as it's set up, then do updates via new posts in the thread after.
Photos!
Construction starts [3/7-9 weeked]
Seeds
uncut 4 inch "T"s (x6)
cut 4 inch "T"s (same 6)
Planter in cut "T" (x6)
4 inch cap (x2)
Pre assembling (4 inch diameter drainage piping between "T"s 3.5 inch lengths x7) + hose parts
Glue to bind pvc
Post glueing
Before....when it was just an aquarium: [pre 3/2014]
Most recent full tank photo:12/2/13
Equipment:
"55" gallon Tetra tank (47.5 x 19.75 x 12) (Petco)
Cabinet stand (re-purposed)
Polycarbinate clear lids (HomeDepot)
Surge Suppressor and Light Timer (HomeDepot)
SunSun HW 304b 5-Stage External Canister Filter with 9watt UV steralizer and 525 GPH (amazon)
Marienland Double Bright LED lights 24 inch (x2) (amazon)
Eheim Jagar Aquarium Thermostat Heaster 150 Watt (amazon)
Whisper air pump and black 6 inch air stone from original 10 gallon tank
Small suction-cupped thermometer (re-purposed)
Hardscape/Substrate:
Specrtastone DeepRiver Gravel 25 lb bag (x2) (amazon)
1 medium-large driftwood (ebay)
2 small Malaysian driftwoods
Fauna: 9.5 inch Leopard Sailfin Pleco & 4 inch Madagascar Rainbowfish
Flora: Whatever anacharis the pleco has not eaten yet
See my other tanks
No-techs • 3 Gallon • 10 Gallon
Original post:
Starting up a new "55" gallon tank with my husband. Why is it in quotes? because internal measurements show its actually around 48.. lying s.o.b. manufacturer. Its been up for a little bit but I only just started proper cycling yesterday so I thought I'd keep a journal and add questions as I go. I wanted to try the pure ammonia fish-less way this time since last time I did a fish-in cycle.
Equipment:
"55" gallon Tetra tank (47.5 x 19.75 x 12) (Petco)
Cabinet stand (re-purposed)
Polycarbinate clear lids (HomeDepot)
Surge Suppressor and Light Timer (HomeDepot)
SunSun HW 304b 5-Stage External Canister Filter with 9watt UV steralizer and 525 GPH (amazon)
Marienland Double Bright LED lights 24 inch (x2) (amazon)
Eheim Jagar Aquarium Thermostat Heaster 150 Watt (amazon)
Tiny air-stone (hand-me-down)
Small suction-cupped thermometer (re-purposed)
Hardscape:
Specrtastone DeepRiver Gravel 25 lb bag (x2) (amazon)
1 medium-large driftwood (ebay)
1 medium driftwood (local woods)
1 tiny driftwood (Marimo ball covered)
1 large lava rock
Fauna:
Not until till cycled
Flora:
Anacharis (x8 small) (plantedaquariumscentral)
Hornwort (x2 small) (Petsmart)
Anubias barteri var. nana (x3 medium and small) (plantedaquariumscentral and Petco)
Java Fern (x? a lot medium and small) (Petsmart and plantedaquariumscentral)
Marimo covered driftwood (plantedaquariumscentral)
Photos:
Water Conditioner:
Tetra AquaSafe + (must find some SafeStart)
Starting Water Perimeters:
Temp:77 F
pH:74.7.6
Ammonia:0-0.25
Nitrite:0
Nitrate:10-20 (suspect from old tank media)
Goals:
Fully Cycled!
Add more fast growing low light plants (more anacharis and hornwort probably) and float all plants on surface
Add larger capacity air-stone/pump
Get a black background on back of tank to hide wires/hoses
Minor tweaks to larger wood piece and its surrounding gravel to be shelter for pleco
Remove smaller logs and all the anacharis/java (re-home in smaller tank once fish move)
Move Leopard Sailfin Pleco, Madagascar rainbow-fish, and Powder Blue Dwarf Gourami to "55"
Re-scape smaller tank with java, anubias, moss and maybe some new plants
Put dwarf gourami back in smaller tank
Add more Madagascar rainbow-fish to "55"
Ultimate goal:
Move Leopard Sailfin Pleco to much bigger custom built tank (working out details for it now, "55" is his stepping stone up towards final home)
Do capped soil substrate and a LOT more plants in the "55" once pleco is out
Add some more fish to "55".. maybe Angels
So far all the new equipment is working well. The tiny air stone won't be staying I just have it in there to humor me with adding a little more O2 during the cycling process.
I originally added old filter media and a large lava rock from my cycled smaller tank to the "55" but didn't have enough ammonia in the tank so I suspect all that BB died (whoops).
Got a hold of some pure ammonia yesterday -which is harder to find than you might think- at Ace Hardware store to begin a fish-less cycle.
Note on Plants:
They will not be staying like the first photo shows, its just to keep them spread out and well lit during cycling. The tiny anubias on the right of the large driftwood is whats left of mine from Petco, the roots were devoured by my pleco. That unsightly mess of swiss-cheesed java fern on the far right of the tank is whats left of my Petsmart purchase after my pleco got a hold of it... apparently he likes it more than lettuce =,= Some of teh rhyzomes have enw leaf growth so I am hoping they will bounce back from the beating they took.
The lush anubias with long roots, marimo covered smallest wood, short but healthy anacharis, and short lush java attached to the medium driftwood (which is mostly buried to keep it anchored) came from plantedaquariumcentral. Awesome seller, quick to answer questions, gave me extra anubias (with flower!!) java and a little extra anacharis from listed amounts, and all came in great condition.
Ultimately I will have a lot of fast growing floaters in the "55" so the pleco doesn't have anything to crash into and uproot. The only thing that will end up beign at the bottom (besides gravel obviously) is some peices of driftwood for him to hide in/behind/under.
Cycling log: (10/6-7)
Added about 5.5 ml of ammonia yesterday with pet medicine dropper to bring the levels in the "55" tank to around 3.5-3.75 ppm (using online calculator from fishkeep).
Color range on ammonia test (API test kit) today show between 2-4 ppm,...there's no '"3" on the reference. Not adding any ammonia today.
Will add a broken air-stone and mesh bag full of crushed lava rock currently sitting in cycled smaller tank to "55" once its built up more BB (going to give it a week or so to colonize before move).
The "55" is across the room from my cycled tank and I could swear my pleco has been eying it since the large piece of wood was added as if to say in a whinny 3 year old voice "I wanna go overTTHHEERREE" He's been handing out in the corner of his tank closest to the new one (and farthest from his cave) a lot, but I'm probably just over personifying his actions.
someday i'll get a plant list up...
[1/23/17]
[1/17/17]
Last photos of the Riparium.. its reign has ended...
plant list:
Variegated Pothos
Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum "domino")
Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum sp???)
Dwarf Palm Neanthe Bella
Anthurium
Aglaonema (Chinese evergreen)
Arrowhead Plant (Syngonium podophyllum 'Cream Allusion')
[8/2/16]
[3/23/16]
[2/25/16]
Riparium Flora: Variegated Pothos
Aluminum plant (Pilea Cadierei)
Friendship Plant (Pilea involucrata)
Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum "domino")
Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum sp???)
Dwarf Palm Neanthe Bella
Anthurium
Alocosia polly
Marble Queen (pothos)
Aglaonema (Chinese evergreen)
Arrowhead Plant (Syngonium podophyllum 'Cream Allusion')
[8/13/15]
Riparium Flora: Pothos varigated
Aluminum plant (Pilea Cadierei)
Friendship Plant (Pilea involucrata)
Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum "domino")
Dwarf Palm Neanthe Bella
Anthurium
Alocosia polly
Marble Queen (pothos)
Prayer Plant (Maranta leuconeura)
Aglaonema (Chinese evergreen)
Arrowhead Plant (Syngonium podophyllum 'Cream Allusion')
[7/27/15]
Riparium Flora: Pothos varigated
Aluminum plant (Pilea Cadierei)
Friendship Plant (Pilea involucrata)
Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum "domino")
Dwarf Palm Neanthe Bella
Anthurium
Alocosia polly
Marble Queen (pothos)
Prayer Plant (Maranta leuconeura)
Aglaonema (Chinese evergreen)
Red Water Dock (Rumex sanguineus)
Arrowhead Plant (Syngonium podophyllum 'Cream Allusion')
[6/30/15]
Riparium Flora: Pothos varigated
Aluminum plant (Pilea Cadierei)
Friendship Plant (Pilea involucrata)
Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum "domino")
Dwarf Palm Neanthe Bella
Anthurium
Alocosia polly
Marble Queen (pothos)
Prayer Plant (Maranta leuconeura)
Aglaonema (Chinese evergreen)
Red Water Dock (Rumex sanguineus)
Fiber Optic Grass (Scirpus cernuus)
Oplismenus basket Grass (Oplismenus hirtellus 'Variegatus')
[6/2/15]
Riparium Flora: Pothos varigated
Pilea Cadierei (Aluminum plant)
Pilea involucrata (Friendship plant)
Spathiphyllum "domino' (peace lily)
Dwarf Palm Neanthe Bella
Anthurium
Alocosia polly
Setcreasea purpurea (Purple queen)
Marble queen (pothos)
Maranta leuconeura (prayer plant)
Aglaonema (Chinese evergreen)
[5/19/15]
Stock Update
Fauna:
1 Nerite snails (wtf where's the girl?? well at least no new egg everywhere now..)
???# Malaysian trumpet snails (i pulled out 280 a few weeks ago x.x)
6 Otos
8 False jullie cory
11 Cherry barbs 3m:8f
1 Angelfish
1 Madagascar rainbowfish
Submerged Flora:
none
Riparium Flora: Pothos (varigated)
Fittonia albivenis
Aluminum plant
Spathiphyllum "domino'
Dwarf Palm Neanthe Bella
Anthurium
Alocosia polly
Riccia
Purple queen
Marble queen (pothos)
[5/17/15]
new additions to riparium: purple queen and marble queen. Ghostwood removed, put in the old red cedar + pvc hides.
[3/26/15]
[2/23/15]
Stock Update
Fauna: 2 Nerite snails
???# Pond, Ramshorn, and Malaysian trumpet snails
6 Otos
8 False jullie cory
11 Cherry barbs 3m:8f
1 Angelfish
1 Madagascar rainbowfish
Submerged Flora:
Crypt (wenditt?) green
Needle leaf Java fern
Riparium Flora: Pothos
Fittonia albivenis
Tradescantia zebrine
Cyperus Umbrella Sedge
Aluminum plant
Ruellia brittoniana 'Katie'
Spathiphyllum
Spathiphyllum "domino'
Dwarf Palm Neanthe Bella
Syngonium
Anthurium
Alocosia polly
Riccia
[12/13/14]
10/9/14
Finally everything is set up! Official start of the 55g riparium!
Filter: Eheim Professional 3 1200X (can we say overkill?)
Heater: Eheim Jagar 150 watt in diy pvc inline heater
Lights: 48" T5 6500k bulbs x2
Substrate: Black Diamond 'Sand'
Fauna: 2 Nerite snails
???# Pond, Ramshorn, and Malaysian trumpet snails
5 Otos (temporary)
12 Cherry barbs 4m:8f
1 Angelfish
1 Madagascar rainbowfish
Submerged Flora:
Crypt (wenditt?) green
Crypt Parva
Dwarf lily plant
Needle leaf Java fern
Dwarf lilly plant
Riparium Flora: Pothos
Fittonia albivenis
Tradescantia zebrine
Cyperus Umbrella Sedge
Aluminum plant
Ruellia brittoniana 'Katie'
Spathiphyllum
Spathiphyllum "domino'
Dwarf Palm Neanthe Bella
Syngonium
Riccia
Ferts:Seacehm Excel
Seacehm Flourish
Seacehm Iron
Seacehm Pottasium
Seacehm Phosphourus
9/17/14
photos of the prep
9/15/14
No photos yet but completely redoing tank, hope to have it functional again within 2 weeks. Pleco is gone and the aquaponic system has been removed.
4/30/14
INTRO
I've had this 55 gallon set up and running for a while now, the biggest issue with it is the amount of poop (and nitrates) my 9.5 inch Leopard Sailfin Pleco makes requires very frequent water changes. To deal with this I am going to be setting up an Aquapoics system..
What is aquaponics? Its a combination of aquaculture (raising fish for human consumption) and hydroponics (growing plants for human consumption using water rather than soil). Instead of soil/fertilizers, and liquid ferts as used in farms and hydroponics, the nitrogen cycle and broken down organics in the tank will give all the nutrients the plants need. I do not plan on eating my fish, and the veggies I like aren't conducive for the style of system that will be set up, but my family will be eating the produce.. produced by this ^^
THE PLAN!
My original plan changed so the new plan is to do a NFT system (nutrient film transfer) using 4 inch pvc piping and pvc "T"s to put planters full of grow media and a plant in. This method will allow fore more easy of adjustment (easily add/remove plants/"T"s, and increase distance between each as plants get bigger, or shorten if it stays compact).
I will be using the per-existing tank and canister filter, simply re-pluming the output to go into these pvc pipes with plants before re-entering the tank. The pvc grow area will be placed above the tank and most likely utilize simple shelving to hold it up. Since the tank is next to the staircase I will either hang over the stair's rail to "garden", or more like use a step stool to reach the plants.
Since the setup is in the basement and no natural sun will reach it I'll have to add some sun via T5 lights. Will start with 6500k for non blooming/"fruiting" plants, and get "warmer" spectrum bulb if I want non leafy veggies or herbs. The seeds have already been bought, I had my husband pick out what we try (what he'd eat/use). So we're going with Burpee organic: chives(/garlic), cilantro, oregano, spinach (Palco Hybrid), and lettuce (Valerie and Black Seeded Spimpson). Thinking of doing 1 each of the herbs and 2-3 of the leafy greens. I've already gotten 12 planter pots that fit perfectly for the pvc "T"s, got them for free from a nice little nursery nearby, nice people and plant selection there so will be going back to buy other things later (they had emersed form of some aquatic plants I might try in my other tanks.
I still need to decide on a media and buy it, I'm most likely going to go with an expanded clay or natural lava rock. Most nurseries around here aren't starting to sell stuff yet so I'll probably have to grab this item online.
All the finer details have not been set in stone yet but I am hopeful that my husband (going to be a big part of getting this set up and running!) and I hammer that out over the next week or two and start getting more supplies together.
I will update the first post and cram as much as I can in here as it's set up, then do updates via new posts in the thread after.
Photos!
Construction starts [3/7-9 weeked]
Seeds
uncut 4 inch "T"s (x6)
cut 4 inch "T"s (same 6)
Planter in cut "T" (x6)
4 inch cap (x2)
Pre assembling (4 inch diameter drainage piping between "T"s 3.5 inch lengths x7) + hose parts
Glue to bind pvc
Post glueing
Before....when it was just an aquarium: [pre 3/2014]
Most recent full tank photo:12/2/13
Equipment:
"55" gallon Tetra tank (47.5 x 19.75 x 12) (Petco)
Cabinet stand (re-purposed)
Polycarbinate clear lids (HomeDepot)
Surge Suppressor and Light Timer (HomeDepot)
SunSun HW 304b 5-Stage External Canister Filter with 9watt UV steralizer and 525 GPH (amazon)
Marienland Double Bright LED lights 24 inch (x2) (amazon)
Eheim Jagar Aquarium Thermostat Heaster 150 Watt (amazon)
Whisper air pump and black 6 inch air stone from original 10 gallon tank
Small suction-cupped thermometer (re-purposed)
Hardscape/Substrate:
Specrtastone DeepRiver Gravel 25 lb bag (x2) (amazon)
1 medium-large driftwood (ebay)
2 small Malaysian driftwoods
Fauna: 9.5 inch Leopard Sailfin Pleco & 4 inch Madagascar Rainbowfish
Flora: Whatever anacharis the pleco has not eaten yet
See my other tanks
No-techs • 3 Gallon • 10 Gallon
Original post:
Starting up a new "55" gallon tank with my husband. Why is it in quotes? because internal measurements show its actually around 48.. lying s.o.b. manufacturer. Its been up for a little bit but I only just started proper cycling yesterday so I thought I'd keep a journal and add questions as I go. I wanted to try the pure ammonia fish-less way this time since last time I did a fish-in cycle.
Equipment:
"55" gallon Tetra tank (47.5 x 19.75 x 12) (Petco)
Cabinet stand (re-purposed)
Polycarbinate clear lids (HomeDepot)
Surge Suppressor and Light Timer (HomeDepot)
SunSun HW 304b 5-Stage External Canister Filter with 9watt UV steralizer and 525 GPH (amazon)
Marienland Double Bright LED lights 24 inch (x2) (amazon)
Eheim Jagar Aquarium Thermostat Heaster 150 Watt (amazon)
Tiny air-stone (hand-me-down)
Small suction-cupped thermometer (re-purposed)
Hardscape:
Specrtastone DeepRiver Gravel 25 lb bag (x2) (amazon)
1 medium-large driftwood (ebay)
1 medium driftwood (local woods)
1 tiny driftwood (Marimo ball covered)
1 large lava rock
Fauna:
Not until till cycled
Flora:
Anacharis (x8 small) (plantedaquariumscentral)
Hornwort (x2 small) (Petsmart)
Anubias barteri var. nana (x3 medium and small) (plantedaquariumscentral and Petco)
Java Fern (x? a lot medium and small) (Petsmart and plantedaquariumscentral)
Marimo covered driftwood (plantedaquariumscentral)
Photos:
Water Conditioner:
Tetra AquaSafe + (must find some SafeStart)
Starting Water Perimeters:
Temp:77 F
pH:74.7.6
Ammonia:0-0.25
Nitrite:0
Nitrate:10-20 (suspect from old tank media)
Goals:
Fully Cycled!
Add more fast growing low light plants (more anacharis and hornwort probably) and float all plants on surface
Add larger capacity air-stone/pump
Get a black background on back of tank to hide wires/hoses
Minor tweaks to larger wood piece and its surrounding gravel to be shelter for pleco
Remove smaller logs and all the anacharis/java (re-home in smaller tank once fish move)
Move Leopard Sailfin Pleco, Madagascar rainbow-fish, and Powder Blue Dwarf Gourami to "55"
Re-scape smaller tank with java, anubias, moss and maybe some new plants
Put dwarf gourami back in smaller tank
Add more Madagascar rainbow-fish to "55"
Ultimate goal:
Move Leopard Sailfin Pleco to much bigger custom built tank (working out details for it now, "55" is his stepping stone up towards final home)
Do capped soil substrate and a LOT more plants in the "55" once pleco is out
Add some more fish to "55".. maybe Angels
So far all the new equipment is working well. The tiny air stone won't be staying I just have it in there to humor me with adding a little more O2 during the cycling process.
I originally added old filter media and a large lava rock from my cycled smaller tank to the "55" but didn't have enough ammonia in the tank so I suspect all that BB died (whoops).
Got a hold of some pure ammonia yesterday -which is harder to find than you might think- at Ace Hardware store to begin a fish-less cycle.
Note on Plants:
They will not be staying like the first photo shows, its just to keep them spread out and well lit during cycling. The tiny anubias on the right of the large driftwood is whats left of mine from Petco, the roots were devoured by my pleco. That unsightly mess of swiss-cheesed java fern on the far right of the tank is whats left of my Petsmart purchase after my pleco got a hold of it... apparently he likes it more than lettuce =,= Some of teh rhyzomes have enw leaf growth so I am hoping they will bounce back from the beating they took.
The lush anubias with long roots, marimo covered smallest wood, short but healthy anacharis, and short lush java attached to the medium driftwood (which is mostly buried to keep it anchored) came from plantedaquariumcentral. Awesome seller, quick to answer questions, gave me extra anubias (with flower!!) java and a little extra anacharis from listed amounts, and all came in great condition.
Ultimately I will have a lot of fast growing floaters in the "55" so the pleco doesn't have anything to crash into and uproot. The only thing that will end up beign at the bottom (besides gravel obviously) is some peices of driftwood for him to hide in/behind/under.
Cycling log: (10/6-7)
Added about 5.5 ml of ammonia yesterday with pet medicine dropper to bring the levels in the "55" tank to around 3.5-3.75 ppm (using online calculator from fishkeep).
Color range on ammonia test (API test kit) today show between 2-4 ppm,...there's no '"3" on the reference. Not adding any ammonia today.
Will add a broken air-stone and mesh bag full of crushed lava rock currently sitting in cycled smaller tank to "55" once its built up more BB (going to give it a week or so to colonize before move).
The "55" is across the room from my cycled tank and I could swear my pleco has been eying it since the large piece of wood was added as if to say in a whinny 3 year old voice "I wanna go overTTHHEERREE" He's been handing out in the corner of his tank closest to the new one (and farthest from his cave) a lot, but I'm probably just over personifying his actions.