The Planted Tank Forum banner

My 15 gallon jump back into the hobby!

4K views 28 replies 7 participants last post by  ACFishTank 
#1 ·
Well, its been over 5 years since I owned a tank. Unfortunately with changing careers and moving, I had to give away my old 30 gallon tank. In any event, this is my start back into the hobby. I appreciate everyone's guidance as this tank comes together.

Here's a picture of the tank right now. It's still cycling and the water had a bit of a haze still. Plants need some time to fill in and grow before it gets to the right proportions. All critiques are welcome.



Here's the hardware breakdown:

15 Gallon 24" x 12" x 12"
Finnex FugeRay 24" LED light
Eheim 2213 filter
Hydor in-line heater

Plants:

Rotala Indica (back left and right)
Green Wendii Crypts (mid-ground, small right now)
Narrow Leaf Chain Sword (foreground)

Fauna:

(5) Blue Tetras

Substrate:

Fluval Stratum Substrate


Thanks for looking!
Mike
 
See less See more
1
#5 ·
Starting to see some signs of algae on the dwarf chain swords. I'm apprehensive to throw in any otocinclus in the tank for another week to two because its still cycling.

What do most hobbyists do in this situation? The last thing I want is for the algae to take hold... but I'd feel more comfortable giving the tank some more time to cycle.
 
#6 ·
Mike,

The white fuzz is a fungus and will go away. Ottocinclus or Plecostomus should eat it. Alternatively, you could just boil the wood to kill it, but either way it'll disappear in time.

As far as algae goes, I suggest getting more plants in there ASAP and/or reducing your photoperiod. Are you running any type of CO2? You should probably at least DIY CO2 and a reactor to start with.

Welcome back to the hobby :)

Scott
 
#7 ·
Hey Scott,

Thanks for the follow up. I washed the branch again (2nd time) and I'm not noticing it coming back as much. I think I might be in the clear on that one.

The algae is minimal right now and seems to only be on the chain swords. I'm starting to think that it might have been there from the LFS because the other plants, rock, or wood isn't showing signs on algae. As a preventative, I think I'm going to reduce my photo period for the next few days. BTW, I'm also dosing Excel for carbon.

What other plants to you recommend? I'm trying to give to rotala some space to grown right now. Its been in the tank since last weekend and I'm starting to see new growth. I'd love an interesting low growing plant in the front...
 
#8 ·
When starting a new tank I like aggressive growers like Hygrophila polysperma or Heteranthera zosterifolia (stargrass). For low growers, my absolute favorite is Glossostigma elatinoide. Staurogyne repens is excellent as well, but it's a bit more maintenance to keep it low. Hydrocotyle sp 'Japan' is a great midground plant. If you don't have any luck locating a source for plants, send me a PM, I might be able to help you out.
 
#9 ·
Thanks for the advice! I was thinking of glosso for the front, but though it was a bit more demanding than what I have for lighting. I have the Finnex FugeRay, which gives me about 38 PAR, or medium light. Think I should give it a shot?

Hydrocotyle sp 'Japan' is a sweet plant. I'm sure I'll need to order it from somewhere, I haven't seen it locally.
 
#11 ·
Well, checked the water yesterday and all parameters looked good. Did a 25% water change and dosed Flourish ferts.

Started reducing the photo period from 10 hours to 8. Also purchased an otto and six sakura shrimp to help combat the algae. Hopefully that and increasing the Excel dosing from 1.5ml to 2ml will help.

Rotala is starting to look a bit dull. Not sure if its the algae or if its missing nutrients. I'm hesitant to dose more for fear the algae will really take over. Is once a week enough? Crypts and chain sword are doing well otherwise.

Will post updated pictures later.

Mike
 
#14 ·
New Update:

Can't find any of the sakura shrimp. They were small, so I think the blue tetras got a hold of them during the night. :icon_cry: Well, I tried and know to either get bigger shrimp or forget about that all together.

Over the weekend I installed the Tom's surface skimmer. I was having a horrible time with surface film and this did the trick. Its a little big for my liking, but I'm sure once the rotala fills in it won't be too notable.

I'm excited to see some of the hair algae going away. My photo period has been reduced to 7 hours and I upped the Excel dosing to 2mL. I'm also splitting the Flourish ferts twice a week. Half a dose on Monday.. the other half on Thursday. Is 1mL enough? I guess I'm afraid to overdo it.

The chain swords are finally settled in and sending out new shoots. I'm thinking of trimming some of the larger leaves and just leaving the fresh newer growth. Would that cause any issues?

Here's a picture of the tank a week later. All comments and critiques are welcome.

Thanks,
Mike

 
#17 ·
Thanks for the words of encouragement!

Tested the tank yesterday and noted that my Kh is about 17ppm.. pretty low. Would this cause any issues? Recently the rotala is looking a little dull, so I think I think need to increase dosing.

Here's the full results:

pH 6.8
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 10-20 ppm
GH 107 ppm
Kh 17 ppm

For the past few weeks I've been dosing 1mL twice a week of Flourish Comprehensive. I'm thinking of upping that to 1.5mL twice a week instead. Should I also include other ferts?

In the meantime, I've cleared some room in the back right and left corners for another stem plant variety. I'll see if there is anything good at the LFS. Chain swords are sending out runners like crazy. Already have three little guys sprouting up!

Mike
 
#18 ·
Picked up some Limnophila hippuroides yesterday at the lfs. This stuff is awesome looking. I just hope that it grows well in my tank. It needs some time to straighten out and root itself. Fingers crossed.

Also got a couple of Amano shrimp. So far they are going well and none of the fish are messing with them. I think it helps that they're a lot bigger than the Sakuras.

Anyone have input on dosing and low Kh? I noted a couple crypts has yellow leaves. Could be that they are still settling in, but I would have figured this would have presented itself a few weeks ago if that was the case.

I did a water change yesterday and dosed ferts after, so I'll see how things are looking today.
 
#21 ·
I cut a whole zuch lengthwise all the way end to end. Then I de-seed it with the tip of a spoon. I leave the skin on (they'll nibble it too). I cut about 3-4" length of it and store the rest in a Glad container. Use aquarium store-size (haha you know where they came from) rubber bands to attach it to a piece of rigid airline tubing about 24" long so I can move it around where I think it's the easiest for them to get to. I make 2 slits in the zuch where the rubber bands cross it so that they aren't "in the way" when the otos feed. I hope that makes sense. The bands are below flush of the area they eat.

I have left them in the tank for 3 days before, but usually after 2 they're pretty much demolished. It takes one day just to allow it to waterlog and get soft.
 
#22 ·
Update

Current water parameters:

pH: 6.8
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 20 ppm (before today's water change)
Gh: 143 ppm
Kh: 17 ppm

Should I be worried about the low Kh? pH seems to be stable so I'm apprehensive to mess with things too much.

Last weekend I purchased Limnophila aromatica for the back corners of the tank. So far, they seem to be hanging in there, though I noted that the bottom leaves looked a bit translucent. Right now, I'm chalking that up to the fact that they were bundled and without roots when I got them. I pulled one up today and did note that some small roots are started, so I'm just going to let them be for now. Anyone with recommendations is welcomed!

I finally took out that manzanita branch. It kept molding and to be honest, I got tired of cleaning the thing off every other day and disturbing the tank and plants. Today I will be buying some bronze or red wendtii to fill in the middle space.

In unfortunate news, I lost my oto. I just couldn't get it to eat anything, including the zucchini. Thanks M00se for your help!

Anyhow, here's a current picture of the tank. The rotala is starting to fill in nicely and I think in the next month things will start to look a little for lush.



Thanks for looking!
Mike
 
#23 ·
Looks great just the way it is, Mike! That Limnophila aromatica will take off. I have to prune mine back weekly.

Yea ottos are problematic even in a well established tank. They don't transport well and are usually starved by the time the stores get them. Sad.
 
#25 ·
Feel like jumping from the frying pan into the fire eh? LOL....many plecos need roughage in their diet almost constantly, usually in the form of driftwood.. Again, you should hold off on adding any suckerfish to your tank that you can't guarantee is eating by observation. Cory cats would be a good choice if you like them. Plecos will also eat zucchini and cukes, but I would wait personally.

I don't root feed the limnophilas. They seem to do fine with column feeding. I feed swords and anubias with home made Osmocote Plus caps.
 
#27 ·
Yeah, it's unfortunate. They are a bit sensitive to begin with and really don't ship well either. I had a couple in my 30 gallon back a few years ago that did fine. I guess its part luck with them.

I did get a panda garra and going to give that a shot. They are more incline to eat flake and pellet, so it might be a good fit.
 
#28 ·
Update

I added some brazilian pennywort to the center mid ground. I've always liked the look of this plant and was finally able to find some decent cuttings at the LFS.

The rotala indica is finally settling in and growing nicely. It looks like I'll have my first trim this week! I'm excited for it to fill in and hoping to create a downward slope from the back corners towards the center of the tank.

I'm interested to know how other care for the narrow leaf chain swords. Is it normal for the older leaves to brown and need to be trimmed? The new growth is great and new plants are sprouting daily, so I can only assume they are doing well. Maybe I'll post that under the 'plants' section.

Mike
 
#29 ·
Update

Well, the Pennywort hasn't taken off as I though it would. From what I read, this is an easy plant to grow so it left me a little perplexed. Then the other day I found the culprit... the emporer tetras chowing down on the roots coming from under the leaves. I pulled one of the stems the other day and did notice that they are rooting, so maybe they'll survive.

Saturday I added ludwigia to the back center. I have always admired the structure of the plant and it seems to be adapting well considering its only been in the tank for about 24 hours. I'm hoping it holds the red hues under mid lighting.

Finally I added a school of cardinal tetras to the tank. They've colored up well and all are eating already. I can watch them all day. I also added a panda garra to the tank. I can't recommend this fish enough. It has great color, eat algae, and eats any food that gets to the substrate. Today it was cleaning my hand as I pulled a couple leaves out the tank. It's not shy. :icon_bigg

I'm still adjusting the Excel doing. Yesterday I upped the dose to 2.5mL and things seemed to perk up. Maybe its me.. I'll try it for a few days and see how things go.

Here's a picture of the tank right now:



I'm going to let things fill in for the next couple of weeks and see how things go. Any and all comments are welcome!

Mike
 
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