The Planted Tank Forum banner

New here and new low-tech tank

12K views 112 replies 12 participants last post by  rpayer 
#1 ·
Hey Guys....

Been getting alot of info here but this is my first post. I guess (hope) this will be a progressive thread.

I have had a Eclipse 12 for about 14 days. I cycled it for about a week and added my plants.

Seachem Florite

2 Java Fern
1 Anubias Nana
2 Amazon Swords
2 Anacharis
4 Ludwiga

The ludwiga and the swords had some dead leaves so I had to trim them down a bit. The ludwiga pretty much look like twigs now but I can see little baby leaves coming in.

Everything seems to be doing well. I did have 5 Amazon Swords in there but I didn't realize how big they would get and I think they may have not been getting the proper nutrients since they were all bunched together. I removed 3 of them. I will probably start dosing with excel in the next couple days. Oh yea... 2 Emerald Coys in there now. I am picking up a third tomorrow along with a few Rummeynoses...

Sorry for the crappy pics. One would think a $500 phone would have a better camera. I'll put some better ones up soon.


 
See less See more
2
#45 ·
#46 ·
#47 ·
I have a nikon coolpix, i don't have a tripod but I just set up a stoll with a box or something like that and put it on the autotimer. I also play with the "scene"setting, the dusk and dawn ones work quite well too. The light correction on normal settings too. The key to a non-blurry picture really seems to be the setting it up on steady surface (or tripod), no flash and timer. :)
 
#50 ·
i like the rocks... you should try sloping the substrate so it is higher in the back then it is in the front to give the tank more depth. you can do it easily now since the tank is still new. you can also raise the water level a bit if you don't want to hear the splashing too much.
 
#51 · (Edited)
i like the rocks... you should try sloping the substrate so it is higher in the back then it is in the front to give the tank more depth. you can do it easily now since the tank is still new. you can also raise the water level a bit if you don't want to hear the splashing too much.
That is actually a big rock and a piece of driftwood. I know I wish I would have done that in the first place. The substrate is actually level with that rock right behind it so there are some differences in "elevation" in the tank. I think sloping it at this point would mean almost tearing it down. I dont know how I would do it without almost completely draining it and pulling everything out. The main problem is my substrate. It's Flourite so that means it makes a MESS. It was a little low, I topped it off last night.

I think I'm going to reposition that driftwood and tie the fern that isn't doing too good to it.
 
#55 ·
goo dluck with the co2. after you have had it going for 2 weeks - month, you can toss the bio-wheel. it will off-gas your co2. i use a bag filled with ceramic media in place of the wheel. after a week of no bio-wheel the tank will start to take off. how do you have the co2 hooked up?
 
#56 ·
Well I pulled the co2. I basically wanted to see how it worked and left it hooked up for about 24 hours. My fish didn't seem to like it much either. I just ran a line straight into the tank from a 2 liter bottle. Does the biowheel dissipate the naturally occurring co2 in the tank as well?
 
#57 ·
No, when you're not running CO2 (i'm pretty sure this is correct) the biowheel actually helps ADD CO2 to the water because it creates more turbulence on the surface allowing CO2 from the air to more easily dissolve into the water, when you are adding CO2 to a tank, however, the level of CO2 in the tank is HIGHER than in the air, so the added surface turbulence will gas off a lot of the CO2. Elements trying to reach equilibrium and that kind of thing. Same goes for bubble walls/air stones, if you're not adding CO2, they help aerate the water, if you're adding CO2, again, they can gas it off.

I've never used CO2 on a tank, but these are things I learned when I was told to turn off my bubble wall and the response from others who realized I wasn't adding CO2 and that actually it might be a good thing, combined with my Biology/science background, i think i have the concepts pretty right :thumbsup:

of course if i'm wrong, someone feel free to step in and correct me :)
 
#58 ·
From the research that I have done, it seems that the bio-wheel is used for aeration purposes. The whole CO2 exchange form it being in the air happens when you do a water change.

My fish did not seem happy when I first added CO2. Though i figure that it was my own paranioa of killing them. With a do it yourself system you will not get that high of levels that will kill your fish. When I first added, i was only getting 6ppm before adding co2, and only just above 9 when I had the bio-wheel in. I have not checked it since because all my plants were taking off within a month. I wouldn't use a hose connected to the intake, cause in time the CO2 will destroy your impeller. Though if you wanted to buy a new one down the road, you could poke holes in it with a hot pin to help create fine bubbles. But within some time the rubber on the impeller will deteriorate and the tank will get loud.

I use the hagen/nutrafin setup. I do because I like the bottle pretty much. It was sturdy and I did not want to keep drilling holes in 2 liter bottles. Plus the ladder works awesome. It is supposed to dissolve something like 90% of the CO2. I got it beacuse someone on some other site reviewed the Eclipse 12 saying that someone would only need the CO2 if they did not want to drop 70 dollars upgrading the light.

You can pick up the ladder for around 14 smackers if you jsut wanted to use that. The whole system is about 25 or so. I use a homemade brew now, and it does a great job. Perfect for a beginner.

Keep us posted on how its going. And get that CO2 hooked back up! Your fish will be fine. Check out the list of low-light plants.
 
#65 ·
I kept checking it as the Neons kept croaking, and I brought a sample to the LFS this morning so they would give me credit for the fish I brought back. Did a water change this morning as well. I picked up a little school of Rasboras. They seem to be doing just fine. I wanted to keep all my fish from the same region but it doesnt matter too much..
 
#69 ·
Ok so last week I got some zucchini for the Ottos. They loved it...ate every bit. Well I gave them some more last night. Apparently my Cories have developed a taste for zucchini as well! How do I keep the Cories away from the Otto's food???

As far as the tank goes, everything is doing pretty good. My plants are growing, just pretty slow. I guess that's to be expected with stock lighting in an Eclipse though. Last week I realized that I have only been dosing half of the ferts that I have. I have been super busy and I guess I just forgot. I'm dosing all of my ferts again so hopefully that will help some. I'll post some updated pics soon.
 
#70 ·
You could try getting one of those magnetic veggie clips and clipping the zucchini up higher on the sides of the tank for the Otos, plus also have some on the bottom of the tank for the Cories. My cories and my Otos fight for sinking wafers, I just try to spread them around my tank so everyone gets a shot at finding one no one else is feeding on ATM.
 
#71 ·
The way my Cories are I think they would eat it no matter what. They will steal the Rasboras food from the surface sometimes...lol. Maybe I'll drop in some algae wafers and zucchini at the same time. They cant eat it all...i hope. How often should I be feeding the Ottos anyway? There isnt much algae in my tank since I got them...
 
#72 ·
You want their bellies to stay round and full and you want to see them pooping most of the time. They've got fast metabolisms, so they need to eat a lot. I'd say feed them at least every other day, if there's still some zucchini left after the cories are done- otherwise, feed them every day.
 
#73 ·
x2 what LauraLee said....in my experience, chubby, somewhat rotund Otos are happy Otos :)....of course you don't want OBESE otos, but you don't want emaciated Otos either ;)
 
#74 ·
Their little bellies look full so I'm sure they're fine. There isn't a shortage of food that's for sure.

Now I have another question... How can you tell if a Cory is pregnant? I believe I have one female and 3 males and the big female is looking mighty plump...

I've just about given up on the stock lighting in the Eclipse:( All my plants are alive and growing just at a VERY slow rate. I'm thinking about retro'ing the guts out of one of the $20 Home Depot desk lamps everyone is talking about into my hood. I saw where someone did the exact same thing with an Eclipse in the Nano section of the forum.
 
#76 ·
Well I think (if she is prego) they may have already spawned. I just changed my light schedule to 6pm-6am rather than 6 or 7 am to 6 or 7 pm. At night the water temp was dropping a few degrees due to no light and the A\C on colder at night when we go to bed. Now the temp is staying at an even 78 but before it was around 80 during the day and down to like 76 at night. How can i tell if she is pregnant? I'd try to get a pic of her fat belly but she is swimming too much.

What do you think about the light mod?
 
#77 ·
Cories don't get pregnant, they're egg layers. At the point she's laid her eggs (if she is carrying) she'll be noticibly skinnier. They often lay their eggs on the tank walls or on another smooth surface, like a rock or even filter intake.

My tank also fluctuates about 2 degrees from night to day but I personally don't worry about it that much. I just leave the glass canopy open during the day to release heat. 4 degrees was a bit much, however. You don't have a heater on this tank, or is it set at 76? You could set it at 78 to try and split the difference if you want to run your lights during the day for viewing.

I switched to T5HO lighting b/c of heating issues, and I love it. My tank never gets over 78F now, and I used to get into the high 80s during the summer with CF fixtures!
 
#78 ·
Well her belly seems a little swolen. I hope she is ok.

The reason I changed the light cycle is mainly for the temp but also for viewing. My girlfriend and I are at work during the day so we we're having to turn the lights off not long after we got home.

I just did a full water test and my nitrites have gone up to .25 but no ammonia. I am going to do a small water change tonight but I think I have been over feeding. For 4 Corys how many shrimp pellets would you feed and how often?
 
#79 ·
I don't feed more than my Cories and Otos can consume in a few hours (I do give them longer and do make sure that the Otos have opportunity to feed). I don't feed them sinking wafers every day though; maybe every 3 days. I alternate foods a lot, and I also fast my fish at least one day a week.

If you've got readable nitrItes then you definitely should do a water change. If there's any uneaten food lying around the tank you need to be sure to vacuum the substrate really well.
 
#80 ·
I think I have been overfeeding...

I did a water change and vacuumed the substrate. I usually dont vacuum, just suck the water out. I figured with all the bottom feeders I probably didn't need to actually vacuum everytime I did a water change. NitrItes are back down to 0.
 
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