So it's been 10 days since my last update and a lot has changed.
My co2 system is up and running although the co2 isn't diffusing as smoothly as I'd hoped. The entire ceramic isn't being utilized and co2 bubbles are only coming out of one section of the glass diffuser. The bubbles are also coming out periodically with approx. 1 sec pauses. I'm unsure what is causing this. My best guess is that the glass diffuser is too large or my check valve is restricting some of the flow. In either case, the Co2 system seems to be working since I see growth in my riccia including the bubbles at the end of the plants. The riccia is currently my favourite plant in my tank since it is flourishing more than any of the others.
As you can probably see, there are a ton more plants! I ended up buying a low-light plant package from someone in a local forum for $10CAD and there were more plants than I can fill in my tank. I ended up having to ziplock some of the moss I received because I had no other objects to tie the moss to and didn't want it floating around in the tank. Hopefully they survive in the ziplock bag which I kept relatively moist. If there's a better way to store the moss, I'm hoping that someone reading this thread can share.
The planted package I purchased came with Vallisneria americana (Tape grass), lacy java fern, java fern, pellia, fissidens/phoenix moss, java moss, flame moss, and wendtii crypts. In addition to adding the plants above to my 20gallon, I also added a piece of driftwood to tie some of the moss to.
With about 3 weeks in, my tank is fully stocked. I will definitely need to remove some of the plants as they start growing.
Future items that I'm looking forward to and considering:
1) My dwarf hair grass hasn't started carpetting. I am considering adding root tabs to hopefully speed that along. so far, my dhg looks pretty sad but I'm hoping they will start to flourish as well.
2) Algae has started to form and I'm hoping I can slow it down by leaving the lights on for lesser periods of time. In addition, I've removed the lid from my tank which has made maintenance alot easier. In retrospect, I really shouldn't have bought the glass lids in the first place especially since they cost quite a bit.
3) Water parameters are looking great and the tank is close to being cycled if not already cycled. Transferring water from my already established tanks at my parents' house 30km away has helped speed along the process. Ammonia levels are close to 0ppm, Nitrites are relatively low between 0 to 0.25ppm, and nitrates are close to 0ppm. Nitrates should be higher but my water test was done a day after a water change and plants are probably taken whatever nitrates are left in. Ph is sitting about 7.2.
4) Excited to put some fish in. I'm probably going to bring one of my BN plecos up from one of my cichlid tanks. In addition, I'm thinking about purchasing a pair of Apisto Agassizi cichlids... can't wait to add some inhabitants.
That was quite a long post... as always, here are some pictures:
, works like a charm with the nutrafin canister.
