Reminds me a lot of my last tank - same lights and everything! Well, I only had one clamp light with a 24w bulb, but pretty much the same thing. Keep the pictures coming!
I added a tube with muffler to my power head. It got rid of the protein film on the top of the water.
Water readings:
pH 7.5
Alkalinity 180 ppm
Hardness 150 ppm
Nitrate 0
Nitrrite 0
I did a 25% water change on Thursday. Lots of tannins still leaching from the wood.
I got some thread algae on one of the water sprites, but not on any other plants. I also have light green fuzz growing on the top half of the driftwood on the right. I changed the light schedule from 5-4-5 siesta mode to a 4-3-4. I hope that takes care of the algae.
Here is the pic of the powerhead muffler. I got it from a coworker, but he doesn't remember where he got it. It is simply a tube with a plastic capsule at the end of it where you can put a piece of cotton, foam, or cloth. Whatever you want to use to muffle the sound.
Ok, so the changing the light pattern kind of helped. The green hair algae is still there, but it has not grown any more hairs. The plants are doing great and so are the animals. I have not added any plants, but I have added the following: 6 Cardinal Tetras and 4 Amano Shrimp. I think I will add a couple of more Amanos. I did some research and 6 are recommended for a 20 gallon tank. I was going to go to my LFS anyway, because I have some pest snails that are poised to explode in population soon. I have two assassin snails, but I don't think only two can handle a tank this size.
No, I am not running CO2. I am using the Walstad Method. I have low light, lots of plants, the decomposition of leftover food, and potting soil sub-substrate gives me all the CO2 I need.
Latest Update: I bought the API Master test kit last weekend. I had been using the test strips, but always questioned the results. I will test the waters every Saturday and post the results. Here is what I measured last Saturday (10/27/12):
Temp - 78F
pH - 7.5
Ammonia - 0ppm
Nitrite - 0ppm
Nitrate - 0ppm
No change in flora or fauna, but the Assassin Snails are taking care of the pond snail population.
I still don't have a great camera (I am working on it), so I am taking pictures with my cellphone. In my latest pic you can count all 8 Cardinal Tetras.
That's awesome. I have a 20-Long that I'm intending to convert to a Walstad tank, and I currently use one of those lamps on my 5.5. How do you find the volume of light? Is it sufficient with just the two lamps?
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