65 Gallon Low Tech Journal [56K] 10 Week Update with Pics

[raulfd4]

Originally Posted by hedge_fund

Great looking tank.

by the way, this doesn't look like java moss to me.

What would you guess that it is?

[hedge_fund]

Originally Posted by raulfd4

What would you guess that it is?

It looks a little bit like my Christmas Moss but it's hard to tell from the pic. It definitely does not look like Java Moss.

Christmas:
http://www.aquamoss.net/Christmas-Mo...stmas-Moss.htm

Java:
http://www.aquamoss.net/Java-Moss/Java-Moss.htm

[raulfd4]

Bahhh...so I come home today and three Neon Tetras are dead.

Check the parameters - everything is still good. Zeroes across the board. Otos look fine.

But, there are a number of Neons with little white spots. Quick google search tells me it's ICH.

Turned up the heat and did a water change.

Even though it's bad for the plants (supposedly), I added some salt. Not the full dose recommended on most sites for ICH, maybe about 2 tbsp per 5 gallons.

Going to see how the plants (and fish) do with this. Might add some more salt tomorrow.

Not sure if my 200 watt heater can handle keeping the tank at such a high temperature. Might get another one to supplement on my way home tomorrow.

Sigh... just when things were getting good. Always something. I'm glad it's not my water's fault, though. I guess this is why they say you should always quarantine.

[raulfd4]

48 hours and two extra heaters later, I finally have the tank running at 86 degrees. Plenty of aeration. Still running the same concentration of salt. Need to do a water change tomorrow, but parameters are still steady.

All white spots are nearly gone. No more dead Neons; from what I can count, I'm at around 23. They are swimming and eating strong. Ottos are very active, as well. Moved the Betta down into the sump. He seems MUCH happier down there, but it's sad no one gets to see him .

From what I have read, this means that the parasite has now moved into the next phase of its life. All of the spores are now down in the substrate, waiting to procreate and explode into the water column by the thousands. So, it's important to have the salt in the water column to keep the new spores from being able to reattach to the fish and find a new host.

My temp is barely at 86 according to my run-of-the mill thermometer. All 3 heaters are at max heat (2x 150 watt, 1x 100 watt). One in the sump and two in the display. My apartment stays around 70 degrees, so maybe it's a tall order to ask for a 20 degree difference? Keeping a blanket on it at night, but I can't keep it on there while the lights are on...

I know that anything under 86 basically makes the stuff stronger, so I'm trying hard to keep the temps up. If anyone actually reads this drivel, any tips on how to space or organize the heaters are appreciated.

Oh! I added a bunch of shrimp and some MTS courtesy of shloken38. The ones I can find are looking good! A lot of them colored up a bit already. Hoping they start breeding once the tank is back to its usual temp and no salt.

Now - what all of us on this forum are concerned about...the plants . So far so good. The only thing noticeable is the Vals look diferent. It's almost like you can see the cell structure better? They still feel strong to the touch, and the flowers are still doing well, but they don't look like they used to. Not sure if it's good or bad. Just because there is salt and the high temps, I am assuming bad. I'll try to post some pics tomorrow, but the camera phone probably won't do it justice.

The Anubias are still looking kind of stagnant. Some new growth, but very slow (as expected), and the tips and sides of probably half the leaves are cracked or a little "burnt" looking? Again, try to post some pics tomorrow.

Noticed a bunch of growth in a few of the Java fern. The rest are still slow and steady.

Anacharis are steady and starting to really get long

The Crpyts, to my surprise, are the stars of the show. Lots of new growth, and even a decent little runner .

The moss is still very slow growing. Makes me appreciate it more, I guess.

Wisteria and Diandra seem to have maybe slowed down a bit? Maybe not. They look good, though.

I was lucky enough to find a guy on craigslist who buys tons of used aquarium stuff from people and stockpiles it in his huge garage. I picked up a heater and ten gallon aquarium from him for 10 bucks. I wish I had a bigger place just so I could take advantage of all the deals I could get from him.

I've considered taking all the fish out and keeping them in the 10, but they really do seem happy. And the thought of cramping them all in a 10 while the tank cycles out the ich doesn't seem worth it.

Either way - got myself a QT tank

[raulfd4]

So, lost about a neon or two for the past few nights. I think the heat was just too high for them. Still no spots on any of the fish, so I decided to take some action.

I picked up a bottle of Kordon't Ich Attack. (It's all "organic" and is safe for shrimps and snails). I figured that the case of ich was so mild, I didn't mind doing like half doses of this stuff for the next week or two in order to keep the temperatures at a more respectable 80-81. The temperature definitely got up to 86+ for about 24 hours, so I'm hoping that was able to keep the spores from respawning, and now the Ich Attack will help to keep them from re-attaching to the fish.

Did a big water change in the main tank and set up my quarantine tank using some of the biomax from the sump. I am hoping there is enough BB on the media and that the plants haven't been absorbing all of the ammonia, etc. I added some of the anacharis to the QT and six more Otos.

Here's Lulu watching the drip acclimation.



Here's a FTS. Amazingly, with all the temperature change and added salt, the plants and fish seem to be doing well.







Ordered some Frogbit on aquabid. Put it in both the display and the sump.



Sump still has a skin of protein on it... not sure why. I've cleaned the filter media in tank water twice now.



The swordplant has been doing awesome. I can't even get it all in one picture. This is just the top 2/3.









Here's the happy Betta.





The survivors







The crypts look so good! Nice and leathery...



New growth on the crypt.



Diandra and Wisteria good as usual.



Otos being active as usual.



Shrimps!





New growth on the Vals.



Some Hornwort that came with the shrimp down in the sump.



Cool bottom-up shot.



Little snail and some pooey Anubias.



Some new growth on the Anubias, though.



Java Fern doing really well.

[Saxtonhill]

Very very nice and the plants are so lush and green!

[tomfromstlouis]

Tank is really looking good. Sorry to hear about the ich episode though.

Can you explain why you put the betta in the sump? The way Lulu and I both see it, he was the feature fish above. He is one handsome dude.

[raulfd4]

Originally Posted by Saxtonhill

Very very nice and the plants are so lush and green!

Thank you!

Originally Posted by tomfromstlouis

Tank is really looking good. Sorry to hear about the ich episode though.

Can you explain why you put the betta in the sump? The way Lulu and I both see it, he was the feature fish above. He is one handsome dude.

I put the betta down in the sump because the flow seemed too much for him up in the display. I was reluctant to do it, but when I found him in the overflow one day, I decided that was enough!

He really does seem happy down there. I often admire the tank with the doors open, so Lulu still gets to say hi every day.

Plants are still doing okay - I took out the Diandra because it wasn't really growing and kept on uprooting itself and floating all over the place.

I might post some pics tonight, but I think I will wait until next week.

[dthb4438]

Your tank looks really good and you spent tons of time getting everything together. Nice job! Maybe you can come over and help me with my new lights. I just ordered some new systems.

Very nice set-up!!

[ETK]

Looks great!

It looks like your Anubias might be planted a little deep. I think the rhizome will rot if it is buried. Most people attach them to rocks or driftwood.

[dthb4438]

Originally Posted by ETK

Looks great!

It looks like your Anubias might be planted a little deep. I think the rhizome will rot if it is buried. Most people attach them to rocks or driftwood.

Yes that's true! Tie them with thread to wood or rocks.

[raulfd4]

Originally Posted by ETK

Looks great!

It looks like your Anubias might be planted a little deep. I think the rhizome will rot if it is buried. Most people attach them to rocks or driftwood.

Originally Posted by dthb4438

Yes that's true! Tie them with thread to wood or rocks.

I tried my best to keep the rhizome above the substrate. The Anubias are actually tied to little rocks, but I buried the rocks under the sand. I had read that this is a viable way to plant Anubias and other rhizome plants. There has been some new growth on the Anubias, so I was hoping they were making a turn for the better.

I like the way they are planted now, but if they continue to look lackluster, I will expose the rocks they are tied to and see if things improve.

Thanks for the advice.

[raulfd4]

Not too much news. Slow, steady growth. No alge ::knocks on wood:: Took out the Diandra - only the tops of the plants were growing and the bottoms were starting to break up and float away. Started dosing 1/2 the prescribed amount of Flourish Comprehensive. Should I add some more root tabs after a month?

Fish are doing well. Shrimp are doing awesome. The QT tank is cycled, so I am going to let it run for one more week on just the fish food, and then maybe get some more fish next weekend. We'll see.

Frogbit:





Runners keep on running:





Scrimp toast:





Still loving the crypts the most:



Wisteria:



Moss with sword in background:



Meanwhile... in the sump:





Thanks for looking!

[Saxtonhill]

Looks good! Your crypts look very happy. And I'm interested in the shrimp as well

(I just got a few crypts and fingers are crossed...read the crypt thread...so far so good...)

[Jeff B]

I like that wood. The big piece is close to what I wanted to put in my 65 like I drew in my original layout plans but I could not find a piece like that locally and didn't want to pay huge shipping for the large box it would have required. Some of your plants were ones I also considered early on so I am interested in seeing how your tank develops. I was originally going to wrap moss on the wood as well. Most of your plants are faster growing types than mine so your tank should grow in faster.