125 Gallon Journal please comment (56k!) - Updated 11/29/08

[kotoeloncat]

Well well, after I got back from the long hiatus I decided to start the tank again (the infamous tank that needed its own power plant)

Also decided to start this journal to see how thing goes, and hopefully get some feedback from the folks who reads it

First of all equipments :

4 x 96 W PC (2 x 6700s and 2 x 10000s)
Cascade 1200 canister filter
9w Coralive UV sterilizer
300 w heater set at 65 degree
1 small powerhead
ADA Pollen Glass Beetle 50
Pressurized Co2

Substrate : ADA Aquasoil Amazonia

Pic on June 27th, just got all the layout done


Then later that evening went to Abseloutly Fish in Jersey to pay Jim a visit
came back with a buncha plants


Flora on June 27th:
Cabomba Caroliana
Cabomba Palaeformis
Lindernia Rotundifolia
HC
Blyxa Japonica
Rotala Macrandra Narrow Leaf
Nymphaea Pubecens
Salvinina Minima

by the second day, 12 Amano shrimps and 6 Otos plus one vampire shirmp that got exiled from a friend's tank went in. Didnt know about the aquasoil leaching ammonia and stuff, was a blunder on my part, thank god none died as of this post.

Heres a pic of Mr. Vampire (Attya Gabonese), sorry blurry pic


June 1st, a shipment from lowcoaster came
after a few hrs planting I got tired of planting the HC and decided to just sink the remaining patches using lead weights

Some pics of the tank as of July 1st



Looks like I am going through the bacteria bloom,
5 days after setup and I still get cloudy water after 2 water changes

I dont think its GW, the UV is on and its more a white shade than green

eww cloudy


July 2nd after additional of a few more plants


something nuked my HC population in 1 night, my suspect is the excel (double dosed yesterday), what do you think ??
Here are the same patch of HC on the left is july 1st, right is today july 2nd


Flora so far (July 2nd) :
Cabomba Caroliana
Cabomba Palaeformis
Lindernia Rotundifolia
HC
Blyxa Japonica
Rotala Macrandra Narrow Leaf
Rotala Macrandra
Nymphaea Pubecens
Salvinina Minima
Barclaya Longifolia
Cyperus Helferi
Eriocaulon Cinereum
Hottonia Palustris (most leaves melted upon delivery, but looks salvagable)
Ludwigia Glandulosa
Ludwigia Cuba
Nymphaea Micrantha
Tonina Fluviatilis
Heteranthera Zosterfolia

whew, long post, hopefully its not toooo long
will update soon

[mybrotherdarrell]

Looks really nice. I like your layout.

Sorry about your HC - I cannot help you at all. Good luck!

Keep us posted.

[Midnkight]

when you figure out your HC, do tell me, it seem like my HC is doing the exact same thing. looks great the first day or too, then ya. >_< i might have to switch to a diferent carpet plant now.

[jelisoner]

ive read a few post on here that said hc will kind of die down when first planted mine did the same thing i also planted it in clumps like that i just pulled all mine up and planted a ton of single stems ... it will carpet faster that way

[Tex Gal]

Is you Amazonia the regular or is it Amazonia II?

[kotoeloncat]

that is regular Amazonia, I read that amazoina II didnt perform well isnt it ?


well hopefully the HC will rebound, 50% of the whole batch pretty much turned soft in 1 night

[Tex Gal]

That is why I asked. I had a mess with amazonia II.

Sometimes tanks cloud up after dosing traces. Could that be it? Also I have heard that GW can look white first. Whatever it is why not try some clarity? It won't hurt your fish, invertebrates, or plants.

[kotoeloncat]

I try not to use chemicals unless necessary, if its a bacteria bloom, it will go away in a few days
but yes, if it does continue, I might try that clarity I saw some good reviews on it


GW wouldnt get a foothold when I had the UV going since day 1

[Tex Gal]

The weird thing is that a bacterial bloom should also be killed by your UV. That was why I was wondering if it might be trace minerals. Sometimes it's just hard to know what's going on.....

[ColeMan]

Originally Posted by kotoeloncat

that is regular Amazonia, I read that amazoina II didnt perform well isnt it ?

I haven't had any problems with my Amazonia II - it is softer than the original, thus more prone to breaking down with frequent, rough re-scapes. I have heard some people talk about clouding issues, but I've been really impressed with how quickly mine will clear up after I dig around planting - my 90g doesn't take more than 1hr to become clear again...

And the milky white tinge in the water is expected, as I'm sure you know, with the aquasoil products - humic acid leaching into the water. Everything you'd ever want to know about Amazonia II follows below:

Release of "Aqua Soil Amazonia II"
Aqua Soil Amazonia has been used by many planted aquarium hobbyists around the world, as base substrate material for growing aquatic plants. Aqua Soil Amazonia is produced from black soil with rich organic substances, helping the plant growth, and most aquatic plant species can grow in healthy condition with Amazonia. But, in the alkaline base water*, there are rare case reports that organic substance such as humic acid may seep into the water, and cause water coloring or cloudiness.
So this time Aqua Design Amano introduced "Aqua Soil-Amazonia II", a new Amazonia type substrate, produced with different black soil mixture ratio, preventing water coloring or cloudiness. As the base color or plant growing pattern is different from existing lines, we continuously market Aqua Soil Amazonia. Please select according to your needs and preference. But if your base water* is alkaline, we recommend to use Amazonia II.

*Base Water refers to all types of water used for the aquarium, including tap water, groundwater, or aquarium tank water.

Distinctive FEATURE of "Aqua Soil-Amazonia II"
1. Amazonia II has less incident of water coloring or cloudiness.
2. It contains black soil, appropriate for water plants growth, and its natural color matches well with planted aquarium.
3. It lowers pH and KH, and makes ideal water condition for most plants and tropical fish.

Packing of Aqua Soil-Amazonia II
At initial production lot, we delivered "Aqua Soil-Amazonia II" in Aqua Soil-Amazonia bag with notice paper tag. Both packing with“paper tag” or “printed II” were the same contents and both are produced by ADA-Japan. The packing with paper tag was sent to our distributors, in order to distribute new product lines quickly to our customers. Please be assured that both packing are genuine ADA Aqua Soil-Amazonia II.

[kotoeloncat]

ColeMan, actually no, I didnt know that aquasoil leaches humic acid

well well learn something new eevery day

[ColeMan]

Originally Posted by kotoeloncat

that is regular Amazonia, I read that amazoina II didnt perform well isnt it ?


well hopefully the HC will rebound, 50% of the whole batch pretty much turned soft in 1 night

oh well then, yes, it leaks humic acid/ammonia like mad for the first few weeks/months. Usually people do fishless cycles with aquasoil for this very reason; if you notice any sudden deaths, the most likely culprit will be water quality. I read in rick4him's ADA 120p thread that jeff senske at aquarium design group says it's okay to add oto's and amano's at week 4, regardless of water quality (apparently he never tests his water). To me this seems a bit hasty, as the specific properties of aquasoil (including the amount of ammonia/humic acid it will leach) vary greatly from bag to bag, so too will the time it takes for a tank to cycle and become suitable for aquatic (animal) life. Live and learn, oh well. Frequent water changes will help speed up the process. Changing 50% twice a week is standard for the first two months or so, though an increase in frequency/amount won't do any harm, especially if you notice any of your inhabitants showing signs of stress.

[kotoeloncat]

A little update, decided to put biospira in the tank, will check water parameters later in the evening, see if this thing works.

didnt know biospira comes in the non-refrigerated version already

Added some Fissidens I got, wonder how that log will look like once it grows


The HC seems to be dieing back even further, I see some new sprouts here and there but I would say its deteriorating even further
Not worried about the stargrass, those grow like weed and always rebound no matter how ugly it looks right now

The last time I setup this tank, I had no luck at all when it comes to HC and moss, failed misrably at every attempt. Think I will do better this time ?

[cah925]

My Fissiden grows at supersonic speed in my tank with Amazonia. My previous setup used Flourite and the Fissiden grew pretty slow. I guess the changes Amazonia makes to the water helped it progress faster.

Looking forward to future updates.

[clwatkins10]

You'll love that fissidens, it will grow into a beautiful bush