Newbie First Aquascape

[stevenlau]

Hello, I'm very new to this aquascape hobby and this is my first at day 2



Specs are as follow:
Tank size : 75x38x46cm = 130L = 35 gallons
Lighting : T8 18w Sylvannia Daylight x3 dan Sylvannia Aquastar x1 = total = 72w
Filtration : JBL CristalProfi e900 (Canister Filter)
Flora : Hemianthus callitrichoides ''Cuba'', Cryptocoryne wendtii ''green'', Myriophyllum mezianum, Pogostemon helferi, Bacopa caroliniana, Egeria densa, Mayaca fluviatilis, Rotala rotundifolia
Fauna : ---
Substrate : ADA Aquasoil Amazonia II, ADA Aquasoil Amazonia II (powder), JBL Aquabasis plus dan Sera Floredepot, Pre-treated Driftwood
Additional info : 4 DC fan, temp 27-28C, Pressurized CO2 with 3 seconds per bubble, Lighting on for 6 hours (initial), haven't use any fertilizers yet.

Few parameter water test incl :
pH = 5.9
gH = 3 dgH
kH = 1-2 dkH
Ammonia (NH4 NH3) = 10 mg/l
Nitrite (NO2) = 0.0 mg/l
Phosphate (PO4) = 0.1 mg/l
Iron (Fe) = 0.1 mg/l

My questions are :
1. I got so surprised that my ammonia level is so high. I've tested my source of water and it was 0 but why when I've filled up to my tank and it went so high? Is it related to the bacteria from my filter ( I added JBL Filter Start, bacteria filter at the beginning).

2. I've turned off my CO2 cause from the reading of JBL CO2 Permanent Test has yellow color (means too much CO2 in my water right?) but how come? Where does all the CO2 coming from?

I like all the input you can provide regarding my first scape about the layout, plant choosing etc. Thank you very much in advance.

[PinoyBoy]

1. Might be your substrate that's causing the high amonia.

2. Again might be from your substrate.

Nice driftwood ^^ I had one just like it in my backyard. Exact same shape.
Some how it dissappeared...

[blair]

Your soil will need a few water changes (each one will remove the ammonia). The substrate is the cause, as it is Amazonia II, it will continue to leach for a short while. You can speed this process up by also adding a beneficial enzyme (such as Bacter 100) which worked charms for me. I got down to .25ppm Ammonia and the last stubborn bit would not leave. Bacter 100 did the trick.

Not sure about the CO2 thing... but yes, yellow would indicate a higher concentration.

[steak]

[quote=PinoyBoy;863613]1. Might be your substrate that's causing the high amonia.

2. Again might be from your substrate.

quote]

fer sure.
The temperature of the water also affects the amount of gases (co2 and o2 and others) dissolved in water. But i was taught that higher temp lowered the concentrations of dissolved gases. So, my tank has been around 80-81 farenheit lately, and ive not had any trouble keeping c02 levels up without fertilization. And i have adequate aeration from a wet/dry system. so if ur water's hot...cool it down.

[steak]

27 c works out to 80.6 F...so its warm...but I'd say its "speed-up-growth-warm" and "increase C02 concentration warm." Plants consume O2 at night, or when lights are off, and your co2 concentration will increase at night. and ur lights could prolly be on longer too. Id say 10-12 hours, because tropical plants grow near the equator. someone plz stop me if this bad info.

[stevenlau]

Originally Posted by PinoyBoy

1. Might be your substrate that's causing the high amonia.

2. Again might be from your substrate.

Nice driftwood ^^ I had one just like it in my backyard. Exact same shape.
Some how it dissappeared...

So I guess I've to change the water twice a week for 25-30%? Thanks. I also think that the driftwood is too large in my tank, don't you think so?

[stevenlau]

Originally Posted by steak

27 c works out to 80.6 F...so its warm...but I'd say its "speed-up-growth-warm" and "increase C02 concentration warm." Plants consume O2 at night, or when lights are off, and your co2 concentration will increase at night. and ur lights could prolly be on longer too. Id say 10-12 hours, because tropical plants grow near the equator. someone plz stop me if this bad info.

But I'm afraid of alga blooming, just spotted now white thread alga already

[AzFishKid]

I also think that the driftwood is too large in my tank, don't you think so?

Yeah i agree, it does seem too big for the size of your aquarium. Personally i'd try to get some branching driftwood, i think it would look a lot better in your tank. A buy by the name of badcopnofishtank sells some really great, affordable pieces in the Swap-n-Shop section of the forum. You can check out his thread here.

The ammonia spike is PROBABLY caused by the Amazonia II. I had issues with ammonia when i first set up my 85g with Amazonia II, so just do the water changes like people have suggested and you should be good to go.

Good job by the way - looking really nice!

[stevenlau]

Originally Posted by AzFishKid

Yeah i agree, it does seem too big for the size of your aquarium. Personally i'd try to get some branching driftwood, i think it would look a lot better in your tank. A buy by the name of badcopnofishtank sells some really great, affordable pieces in the Swap-n-Shop section of the forum. You can check out his thread here.

The ammonia spike is PROBABLY caused by the Amazonia II. I had issues with ammonia when i first set up my 85g with Amazonia II, so just do the water changes like people have suggested and you should be good to go.

Good job by the way - looking really nice!

Thank you and I've replaced that wood with something smaller and branched a little (the photo will be uploaded soon) but in my 4th day of setup, the egeria densa, some of hc, and pogostemon helferi are melting. Don't know what the cause, I think I have problem with my too low pH, kH and gH ground water. The water contain too much CO2 (the indicator keeps showing yellow color) from the 1st day but I only inject a 3 seconds per bubble CO2. I have stop the co2 by now and instead I aerate the tank with O2. See if the pH will rise and co2 will turn to green color in the indicator.

What I dont believe is egeria turning dead (usually a sturdy plant). Please help folks...Thank you.

[moogoo]

regarding CO2... you have ONE bubble every THREE seconds (OR) THREE bubbles every ONE second? you have no fauna in your tank so having a high concentration of CO2 does not matter. The plants will use what they want and the high CO2 will discourage certain types of algae as well. I would also check to make sure your CO2 indicator is correct. I'm not familiar with the JBL permanent CO2 checker, but if it's another fancy name for a drop checker, then you need to make sure you're using a 4dkh standard solution and NOT tank water as most instructions will tell you to do.

The ammonia is caused by the substrate and consistent water changes and filtration will get rid of it in time. Again, since you have no fauna, there's nothing to be worried about.

[stevenlau]

I have 1 bubble every 3 seconds and now I've turn it off.

And yes, from the manual, it's written by using aquarium water of 1.5ml and added 2-4 of its reagent solution. But where can get a 4dkH water to be added to my JBL's reagent?

Since I don't have fauna yet, I'm not worried too much either but the floras keep dying meaning I will never be able to add faunas and my aquascape will not success...

Say moogoo, do you think that if I change 75% of my tank water to distilled water, will it help?

Thank you very much