New World 90gal Low Tech- a Pictoral Journey!! 56k 8/9 Cleaup Begins

[Torpedobarb]

Lmao..

[Karackle]

Hey LauraLee, I've been a bit scarce recently, but I was hoping to see an nice update on this tank, how is it looking? I'd love to see some updates! (though i have been remiss with my updates too so I can't really judge too harshly! )

[CL]

Wait a minute- how did I get unsubscribed from this? Bump for updates!!

[lauraleellbp]

Wow I can't believe it's been so long since I updated this! Welll- this is the real reason I only keep low tech tanks; I tend to get busy with other projects and so I prefer projects that are super low-maintenance. My tank has been utterly and completely neglected for months now.

In that time, one of my cats perfected the art of jumping up to the top of the tank (he's a true acrobat!!!!) and pulling up the plants to eat them. As a result, all my Hydrocoytle is pretty much gone (it had grown up to trail the surface) and much of the Bacopa with it (since it got all tangled up in the Hydrocoytle). So... the plants are looking pretty pathetic. Haven't ever removed the plecos, either, so the swords are all looking very ratty as well. Fish are all doing great, though.

I'm finishing up a big landscaping project out in the front yard, and actually plan on moving this tank from my office into my living room, so that's another reason I'm not doing anything with it ATM. I think I'll replace the Bacopa with some Val nana after I move it.

Moving it is going to be a huge project. My current plan is to drain it down to an inch of water and see if my hubby and I can get the tank stand up on those furniture rollers, and roll it out into the living room. We've got all tile, so hopefully it will work.

If not.... well.... I just hope the tank doesn't crack!!!!

[Torpedobarb]

well.... keep us updated on how it goes. you cat really enjoys your planted tank keeping skills though!

[idontknow]

Originally Posted by lauraleellbp

Haven't ever removed the plecos, either, so the swords are all looking very ratty as well. Fish are all doing great, though.

Was that your gold nugget causing havok?

[lauraleellbp]

Well, lots of changes.

Most of them not so good.

About a month ago I drained the tank down to an inch or two of water and my hubby and I managed to push it out into the living room.

Unfortunately, the move triggered an ammonia spike that I couldn't get under control even with Prime and water changes, and I lost over 1/2 the livestock within the following 48 hours.

I'm down now to:

0 Amanos (they ALL died! About two dozen )
2 Cardinal tetras (lost 30ish)
12 or so Pristellas (lost about 1/2)
1 of the blue female GBRs (lost 4)
1 clown pleco (lost the 2 GNPs)
4 or 5 Cories (don't think I lost any from the move, but these have slowly dwindled down over the past year, I think from jumping?)
?? Otos (no clue, but I didn't lose any of these from the move either)

In the months prior to the move, I also neglected the tank and let the surface get choked up with floaters, hydrocoytle, and bacopa. The end result is I had to pull out all of those plants, and my E. tenellus carpet has died back quite a bit. Since removing the floaters, I've had a BBA outbreak.

To add insult to injury, my Solar fixture pooped out. I'd left the tops off the tank for too long, and let water deposits build up on the fixture, and I burnt out the ballast (it flamed a bit, even... oops).

So, I now have one of the new black Solar T5HO 5x54s now, with a mix of 10k and Plant grow bulbs (still only running 2 bulbs at a time).

I'm going to pull the Bacopa and replace it with Val nana, and I also have some more E. tenellus 'pink' to fill in the sparce areas.

Here's a few pics of the current sorry state of things (pics taken with the temp 36" T5NO that I used while waiting on the new Solar to come in):

The tank on its new wall:


Right side


Left side


At least the Kleiner bar is now able to put up leaves that don't get munched to death


Still puts out swordlets... I need to call it "Old Faithful" or something lol


Some of the fish

[rasetsu]

Wow, that's terrible news. How much water did you remove? Did you replace it all with new water or did you save it in barrels?

[James From Cali]

Wow laura im sorry to hear about the plant mass. Especially about the loss of your fish. Its a blesing in disguise. I hope things make a quick Uie for ya.

[lauraleellbp]

For logistical reasons (in other words, I didn't have enough buckets) I replaced all but a few gallons with new water.

I actually don't think it was the water change that was the issue, I think the substrate got too stirred up with all the vibrating during the move (we had to push it across the tile floor, there was no way we could lift it at all).

Since I've got a really deep substrate, there's also a possibility an anaerobic spot was stirred up...

I may never know for sure, but things are finally looking up now. A few days ago the Pristellas were spawning, so that's definitely a good sign.

The new Calico BN plecos from Saganco are also doing really well.

And thanks, James.

[Coltonorr]

Sorry to hear about all the bad news.
Guess you sort of get a fresh start...
Good luck!

[Tex Gal]

Glad you got it all moved. The good news is that you are now onto a new adventure. We all get to see what it will look like new again!

[jaidexl]

Major bummers

I just drove half of mine down Colonial into Lehigh, in the back of a pickup, and they're AOK. Still gotta get the 65gl, 10gl, 2.5 and the reef over here though.

I used all the same water except for about 10%. Are you using tap? They could have changed something on you without warning, or else your anaerobic theory makes sense in a tank that big.

Our well water out here has a KH of 10, versus 3 in Ft. Myers. Sure am glad I have an RODI.

Oh, I like your tank's new wall.

[lauraleellbp]

No, I'm on well water, aka liquid rock

Glad so far the tanks are making the move, oh how I HATE moving!!!

Thanks for the encouragement, all!

[lauraleellbp]

More mixed news.

The Pristellas were spawning again this morning, so the water params are definitely stabized.

But BBA is even worse, looks like I'm going to have to take more invasive measures to deal with it (as opposed to my usual "leave it alone and it goes away" method LOL)

I'm pretty sure the BBA gained a foothold b/c I removed all the floaters... but I don't want to add floaters back in, b/c I need to give the E. tenellus some light so it has a chance to re-establish itself. A little bit of a catch-22.

I've got plenty of Excel and hydrogen peroxide lying around, so now i've got to find my syringe....