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Complexity Journal: 29g / Low Tech with breeding pair of Pelvicachromis

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#1 · (Edited)
This is just a stub for now. I took a quick picture of my 20L the other day so I thought I'd post it.

I will switch the 20L tank to a 29g tank when I move in a few weeks. For now, the 20L is in horrible condition. No CO2 or ferts. No scape. Just a few plants and lots of GSA.

I have a lot of work I want to do with this tank. It'll be fun to see the transformation from what it is now to what I hope for it to become. :smile:

My 20L tank's very humble beginnings.

 
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#28 ·
Leak:

Having performed an emergency water change to lower the CO2 in the tank, I finish it all up and turn the filters back on. All is well. Right?

Nope.

A couple of hours later, I realize that the water was about 1" lower than I had filled it. Uh oh! :icon_eek:

Yup, a leak. I had not secured the quick disconnect on one of the filters properly which caused it to leak. I couldn't see the leak because it was in the back corner.

No problem. Fixed the cause of the leak, cleaned up the water and fired the filter back up. Worked great!

Umm... problem. The water has caused the cheap stand to start splitting at the bottom. The corner now has a 1/4" gap while the so called "wood" is curdling on the outside at the bottom.

No! :( I had worried about the stand, obviously with good reason. So while I've had the stand for only about 2 months, I need to replace it. It clearly won't last.

So now I'm watching Craigslist.
 
#32 ·
You don't have bad luck to rub off onto anyone. It's all just part of having a planted tank. The initial setup period is often the most difficult. And although the 29g is an upgrade from my original 20Long, switching it from dim lights, no CO2 and no ferts to double the light, EI ferts and injected CO2 is basically the same as starting a whole new tank.

Lessons learned:
  • Put a screen over the python to prevent fish from getting in.
  • When setting a pH controller on a new setup, move the pH downward very slowly, allowing for a normal week of maintenance to pass before attempting to set the lowest possible pH.
  • Follow proper procedures when using equipment so you don't blow your regulator, releasing a ton of bubble counter fluid into the tank.
  • Always double check canisters for leaks within 5 minutes whenever you've messed with them.
  • And going cheap (stand) isn't always the best value for the money. Good deals are great, but always ensure the quality is able to withstand normal use and abuse.

This is the process by which experience is gained. I will do better to not repeat my earlier mistakes. I'll make more mistakes, but, hopefully, with each one, I'll learn better so I can do better.

But, yeah, the rain has been pouring lately on this tank.

Also, good news on the fish. They seem to be doing better tonight. I'll still be watching them closely, but I think the original problem that killed so many has been fixed.
 
#38 ·
Lessons learned:
  • Put a screen over the python to prevent fish from getting in.
  • When setting a pH controller on a new setup, move the pH downward very slowly, allowing for a normal week of maintenance to pass before attempting to set the lowest possible pH.
  • Follow proper procedures when using equipment so you don't blow your regulator, releasing a ton of bubble counter fluid into the tank.
  • Always double check canisters for leaks within 5 minutes whenever you've messed with them.
  • And going cheap (stand) isn't always the best value for the money. Good deals are great, but always ensure the quality is able to withstand normal use and abuse.

This is the process by which experience is gained. I will do better to not repeat my earlier mistakes. I'll make more mistakes, but, hopefully, with each one, I'll learn better so I can do better.
TPT should start a sticky of stuff like this. I'm so sorry all this stuff happened to you but you've got the dedication to pull through.

I just used water in the bubble counter.... is there an advantage to the oil? I can definitely see the disadvantage.:icon_eek:

Your luck will turn around soon!
 
#31 ·
Oh wow, I'm not really sure what to say. I recently spent about a week sulking over the loss of my favorite pleco, but this sort of puts that "crisis" to shame. I'm very sorry for all your losses, that can't be an easy thing.

Regardless, I'm still eagerly awaiting pictures and I fully expect to be dazzled by this tank. Your 75gal remains my inspiration for a larger tank in the future. Think I saw an update on that one, actually...
 
#33 ·
Oh wow, I'm not really sure what to say. I recently spent about a week sulking over the loss of my favorite pleco, but this sort of puts that "crisis" to shame. I'm very sorry for all your losses, that can't be an easy thing.
I'm so sorry about your pleco! You obviously loved him very much. And it's not sulking, but mourning. I think it's healthy to grieve over the losses of our favorite pets.

Regardless, I'm still eagerly awaiting pictures and I fully expect to be dazzled by this tank. Your 75gal remains my inspiration for a larger tank in the future. Think I saw an update on that one, actually...
Thank you! I don't know how dazzling it'll be, but I am looking forward to getting both tanks the way I want them.
 
#37 ·
Thanks, Po0gs! I have a lot of work to do so it's going to take awhile, but that will just make it that much sweeter when I finally do get things in order.

Also, welcome to TPT! :smile:
 
#39 ·
Wow Vicki, I'm so sorry to hear about all of your troubles! And especially the fish losses, it's always hard.

But you are also right that it's a learning experience, we've all made mistakes and learned from them, it's just a part of this hobby unfortunately. I'm glad you see it as a learning experience and are willing to move forward and not give up though, because I bet this tank will be stunning when it's done! :)

I really can't wait to see updated pictures! It sounds like things are finally starting to pull together which is good to hear! :)

Also, let me know if you want any Endler or hybrid females, I'd be more than willing to pass on my guppy female to you as well :)
 
#40 ·
Boy Vicki, I check out for a week or so and come back to your tank's issues. SO SORRY!!!! What a pain. Sometimes life just seems to throw it all at you at once!

On the other hand. Love your driftwood. It's gonna look fantastic! Don't wait until everything is perfect to post a px. What's so neat about these journals is seeing the beginning and the growth. The tanks are never finished.
 
#42 ·
I could use some better luck.

Okay, all the fish are stable now. Not a problem since the CO2 overdose. So what do I have now? I'll give you three guesses.

BBA and Clado! What a lovely combination! My wood is nice and furry now. :hihi:

I'm not going nuts over it just yet. I think this means I have now experienced every single algae that is known to grow in tanks! What a milestone! LOL!

I did the first H2O2 treatment today. I know the CO2 is an issue. After ODing on it, I'm scared to crank it back up. So, of course, BBA jumped in.

The Clado had always been in that tank, but just a small patch about the size of a nickel on one piece of wood. I never thought anything of it. It was kind of pretty, in fact. It seems the extra light, CO2 and ferts have jolted the clado into growing. It's attacking my tank pretty badly. I'm hoping the H2O2 can kill it. We'll see.

I have this tank planted, but I only used left over plants from my 75g. So they're not as pretty. I'm also thinking the lighting may not work out. I never see this tank pearl (even with the raised CO2).

I still have a lot of work to do with this tank. I'm actually finding it harder to do than my 75g. But that's part of the fun of it all. Watching the tanks go through their trials and then seeing them improve. Makes you appreciate things when they're going well!
 
#44 ·
Thanks, chonhzilla! I just realized that I never posted a picture of the tank after I put it together. I need to do that (yes, with BBA and Clado). I tend to put this tank secondary to my 75g so it doesn't get the same amount of attention, but it's coming along okay.

I'll try to get some pictures posted for tomorrow.
 
#46 ·
Oh, are you in for a disappointment! This tank is not a seat edger at all. :hihi:

At least there are some plants in it. Maybe the BBA will be a nice shade of red to give the tank color!
 
#47 ·
Oh, boy! Now the tank is running without CO2. Can we say BBA and Clado party! :hihi:

Ran out of CO2 in my 75g cylinder so I grabbed the cylinder from my 29g to keep the 75g going until I can get them both refilled tomorrow. Of course that means the 29g has no CO2 now. I can't wait to see how much BBA and Clado I'm going to get!
 
#48 ·
Oh Vicki, I'm so sorry to hear about the issues! I am glad you are taking such a positive attitude about the whole thing though...I think we'd all go nuts if we didn't take a positive approach to our tank issues though! Good luck with the eradication! :biggrin:

Can't wait to see the pics either way, been looking forward to seeing how the wood fit into the finished product! :)
 
#49 ·
I'm not as happy with the final outcome of the wood. I had a lot of problems keeping it all together and making it fit the small tank. The bottom driftwood is higher than I wanted because I forgot to take into consideration the substrate height. I figured I'd wait until it all grew in and decide if I wanted to change it or not.

I think I now know why that tank is getting BBA and Clado. I think the pH controller electrode is bad. Remember, this is the one that I let dry out when I moved. I thought it was working, but now that the CO2 isn't being injected into that tank, the pH controller is still registering the same pH reading as before. That's not right.

So I just ordered a new pH controller electrode. Between the new electrode and a freshly refilled CO2 cylinder, I should be able to get the CO2 where I want it. Then it's just a matter of killing out the existing BBA and Clado.

I think I've had planted tanks long enough now to have a good attitude when things go wrong. I've had all kinds of things go wrong, but in the end, it's just part of the whole process and you can recover from it. Even BBA and Clado. Actually, I think learning how to kill out the BBA is making me much calmer now. It's not going to destroy my tank and all of the plants. It's just a pest that's telling me that I don't have the CO2 high enough. It's like a CO2 meter! :icon_lol:
 
#50 ·
Well I don't know much about CO2, but I do know it drops the pH, so I would assume you are right if it isn't registering a change now that there is no CO2.

Sounds like you'll get the tank into good shape in no time, and I'm sure knowing how to kill the BBA now definitely helps with sanity, calmness, and of course, getting the tank looking beautiful quickly! :)
 
#51 ·
I'm updating this with OLD pics, and not the best ones at that. But it's what I have.

I took these pics on Dec 13, 2008 while I was working on the tank.

First, is the tank — soooo sparkling clean as a brand new setup — with the driftwood and substrate. The plants in the picture are just in there to keep them alive. The rocks in the picture are there to keep the driftwood in place while I anchored it down with the substrate.



I got really lucky and discovered these power strips. I got them from Amazon (Tripp Lite Outlet Strips). What I really love about these is the spacing between the outlets. I have a ton of timers and bricks, and they fit perfectly with these.

I'll have to show an updated picture with how I have the wiring. It's all neat and tidy. I like it. :smile:





The cabinet I got is so cheap! I knew it would be, but there aren't many cabinet and canopy sets made for a 29g tank so I took what I could find. It claims to be "wood", but even paper is wood so that's not much of a claim. Scratched it right away.

The cabinet is the Perfecto Sedona pictured here. It's okay to look at, but crappy quality.

Notice how clean that canister hose is! :eek5:

 
#52 ·
Fast forward 3 months to March 4, 2009. Say goodbye to the perfectly clean tank! And say hello to BBA and Clado! :eek:

The wood is completely covered in this. Clado is growing on the substrate. I haven't really done much about it other than pull it off when it gets like this because I am certain my CO2 is off. I think it's the electrode on the pH controller. So I ordered a new one, but it came in all crusty! Emailed the seller and absolutely NO reply. My next step will be to call Milwaukee for a replacement. Meantime, the tank is getting NO CO2 since I had already pulled out the old electrode not knowing the new one was bad.

Maybe I should be more worried about this than I am, but I think getting the CO2 adjusted right will do a lot to clear up the BBA issue. If I can catch them, I could move some of my SAEs from my 75g to feast on the BBA. I'm not sure what I'll do about the Clado. It's a new one for me. I guess I'll have to learn something new now.



Please excuse the awful looking plants. Can you tell this tank was neglected for awhile? :hihi:

Actually, what I took a picture of are my new pygmy cories! I ran across them by accident, and I just had to have them. There are 10 in the tank. Here's one of them. He's looking very seriously at that plant, trying to figure out what the heck happened to it! :icon_lol:



Uh oh, I think he figured out what happened to the plant. *I* neglected it! He had just finished giving the disgusted look stare-down before he lowered his head in shame. Poor thing. He does deserve better.

There's another little cory just to the right of the first one. He seems to be trying to figure out what happened to the tank, too! :hihi:



Oh, well, at least there's one inhabitant that's not complaining. Nothing like lots of algae to make for a fat and happy otto!



Sorry, now FTS this time. My memory card filled up, and I didn't get back to take more pictures. I'll try to get one sometime this week.
 
#53 ·
Actually, what I took a picture of are my new pygmy cories! I ran across them by accident, and I just had to have them. There are 10 in the tank. Here's one of them. He's looking very seriously at that plant, trying to figure out what the heck happened to it! :icon_lol:

He looks in shock like a hurricane victim returning to a devastated neighborhood.

I'm so sorry about the Co2 issues and resulting algae problems. I know your luck will turn around soon!
 
#57 ·
I've conquered BBA before in my 75g so I'm not too worried about that one. It's a matter of getting the CO2 high enough. I'm not trusting my pH controller's electrode right now, and the replacement I bought came in bad. So there's no point in messing with the BBA until I can fix the root cause of the problem — the CO2.

Clado is another story. This is my first time to fight it. I did hit it with some H2O2, and it appeared to kill it. I didn't hit it with much so I'll have to be sure to get it directly next time I try.

What gets me about the Clado is that I put it in the tank! I had a patch of it on a piece of driftwood. It's been there, being very harmless, for over a year. So I didn't worry about it. But now that the tank has higher light, ferts and CO2, the clado decided to make the entire tank its home! Ugh!

There are very few algae out there that I haven't had to conquer yet so being hit with Clado is just ensuring that I experience them all! :hihi:
 
#59 ·
Do a test of H2O2 on the moss. I think it kills moss. I'm not sure about Excel. But best to test it out, as well.

Get that clado out as fast as you can. If it's still in just one spot, be aggressive so it can't spread. Mine is now all over the tank. Wish I had known better.
 
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