10g Asian Theme (New Pics Sept 6)

[Myka]

Here's the rocks...not sure I like them. They look better in the photo than in person.

All the fish are checkin out the big new rock in the pic!

[mizu-chan]

I really like you new rocks. Especially the two black ones.
I'm just not a big fan of any other color rocks.
But I think that the brownish one does accent the substrate you have.

[Myka]

Thanks! I'm warming up to the rocks too. Still not sure I approve though. Haha! I might have to re-arrange them. I honestly don't care for the reddish brown rock either! I might have to go find another grey one.

Well today I went into my fav LFS here and noticed...what is this?? Rasbora espei??!?! ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRG!!! He only had two left, so I bought them, and told him to let me know when he gets more. So I'll be re-homing my regular Harlequins since the Espei are sooooo much nicer! Tank looks a lot fuller with only two more fish. So I think eight Rasboras in there is tops, so I'll get six more of the Espeis when he gets them in, and just have a total of eight Espeis and the one Betta. Sound good?

Oh...and guess what I found in the CLEARANCE bin? A Hagen CO2 kit! So I bought that for the $25 clearance price. Hehehe... I just put the Hagen mixture packets into it. The owner said the kit is really old, so they might not work. Oh well, can't go wrong for $25. I figure to keep the CO2 consistent I will change it out once a week.

Oh, and am I going to have troubles with algae since I am adding CO2 with super low light??

And...is it worth my while to buy a $20 Hagen GLO 15w 6700K T8 bulb for my current fixture, or should I just save my $20 and put it towards a power compact fixture in a month or two?

My dog recently gave me a $920 vet bill, so I'm really scraping right now!

[ZooTycoonMaster]

Are those shrimp ir blurry fish near the big rock in the pic?

Hmmm...it depends on how much CO2 you're adding. I'd hold off on setting it up until you can get higher light. Unless you already set it up

I'd save the money for a new light fixture

[Myka]

Ya I set the CO2 up already using the packets it came with. Two hours later, no CO2 bubbles. Haha! So I guess I have to go buy some yeast...

Those blurs are Rasboras. No shrimp in there...Mr Betta would eat em! He tries to eat the Rasboras, but they are too quick for him.

[Myka]

One of the Espeis was dead the next morning. I think he may have been partially squished in the bag during transport when the bag went flying off the seat of my car onto the floor. Poor guy.

I set up a new container of CO2 mix. I found a recipe in the archives that sounded different/interesting so I tried it. I used 1/4c sugar, 1/4 tsp normal bread yeast, 1/4 tsp molasses, 1 tsp baking soda (oops was supposed to be 1/4), and 2 cups RO/DI water warmed up to about 90 degrees. Shook it up, and hooked it up. It took about 24 hours before the bubbles got as far as the ladder to come out!! I'm getting 1 bubble every 3-4 seconds now. So the CO2 wasn't technically working until lastnight.

Hopefully the addition of CO2 will help with the small amount of diatoms and blue/green algae that are on a few leaves of the Water Sprite.

EDIT: Just tested the tank for the first time since setting it up.

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0.25
Nitrate ~7-8
Phosphate 1 ppm
KH 1.6 dKH (0.57 meq/l Alkalinity)

In freshwater, do you measure KH or Alkalinity? So I guess my cycle isn't over yet (not surprising). Apparently I should have higher nitrates though? I don't have a freshwater pH kit, and the batteries on my pH meter are dead, plus it's calibrated for saltwater anyway. I'm not about to calibrate it every time between testing fw and sw! Hmmm...I should find a decent pH kit for the tank I guess.

[Myka]

I'm getting 1 bubble every 3 seconds on the Hagen CO2 now. I will watch it, and figure out how long it takes for the mixture to die down. As soon as it starts to slow down I will replace the mixture so that I can keep a fairly steady supply of CO2.

I'm noticing a bit of GHA on the leaves of the Water Sprite now. It has diatoms, BGA, and GHA just on the mid-height leaves. Not the very top growing part, and not the bottom. The diatoms seem to be almost all gone now. What is the cause? New tank syndrome or poor lighting? Should I bite the bullet and get a (non-Asian) Oto?

I added another 100gph HOB filter too.

GHA, BGA, and diatoms:



FTS:

[youareafever]

i like how ur betta fits perfectly with the color scheme.

[Myka]

Haha! Ya, he's the same color as the bamboo.

Anyone have any ideas on the algae? Or do I have to make another thread?

[ZooTycoonMaster]

I think Amano Shrimp eat Hair Algae.

[@marko@]

BGA is a nasty algae IMO. it is a bacteria so nothing eats it, it grows fast, and it cna survive from microscopic peices. the colony mats will tear easily if you try and remove them. i got rid of mine after a 5 day blackout (i also had moss, ferns, and anubias in the tank and they all did fine). IME cyanobacteria likes to be near decay. it makes sense since it is a bacteria, and may be able to get some energy by decomposing (though its probably just a minor amount, if any at all).
it is capable of nitrogen fixation, giving it an edge in low nitrate tanks. nitrogen fixation is taking N2 gas (which is normally useless to most organisms), and converting it to a usable form. you do have N2 in your tank, it makes up over 2/3 of the air so if you have surface agitation for oxygen, your cyano can get N2. so if your nitrates are lower then 5, dose.

this bacteria is capable of anaerobic respiration, but that shouldnt matter, since your tank has plenty of O2 for your fish to survive.

[Myka]

Originally Posted by ZooTycoonMaster

I think Amano Shrimp eat Hair Algae.

Thanks, but Bettas eat Amano shrimp!

Originally Posted by @marko@

BGA is a nasty algae IMO. it is a bacteria so nothing eats it, it grows fast, and it cna survive from microscopic peices. the colony mats will tear easily if you try and remove them. i got rid of mine after a 5 day blackout (i also had moss, ferns, and anubias in the tank and they all did fine). IME cyanobacteria likes to be near decay. it makes sense since it is a bacteria, and may be able to get some energy by decomposing (though its probably just a minor amount, if any at all).
it is capable of nitrogen fixation, giving it an edge in low nitrate tanks. nitrogen fixation is taking N2 gas (which is normally useless to most organisms), and converting it to a usable form. you do have N2 in your tank, it makes up over 2/3 of the air so if you have surface agitation for oxygen, your cyano can get N2. so if your nitrates are lower then 5, dose.

this bacteria is capable of anaerobic respiration, but that shouldnt matter, since your tank has plenty of O2 for your fish to survive.

I don't get it. I have nitrates...about 7-10 ppm. Low, but they are there. I will do a blackout if it doesn't get better, as I have heard from other people as well that this is often the only way to rid of it!

[ZooTycoonMaster]

Or you can do a spot treatment of Flourish Excel. Just suck some up in a syringe and squirt it all over the hair algae. It made mine go away in less than a week

[@marko@]

its not the only cause. low flow also is a factor. and decay (just my observation however).

not the only way. some people beat it like a regular algae, others used etheromycin (spelling?). its the antibiotic in maracyn.

[Myka]

Hmm...I will take a look around for some Flourish Excel. I haven't noticed it in the stores here though. Supplies are scarce! Plants ever scarcer!

Flow could definately be a contributing factor. I added a small crappy Petcetera HOB filter to the tank. I think it is only 50 gph or so. It's tough to add flow to a small tank because it gets cluttered with equipment so easily!!