[Matty]

Using Active Flora substrate, Just waiting for the water to clear up, its been maybe 15 hrs since i filled it. Kind of want to throw a slope into the back right side. Might as well go ahead and stirr it up some more before i start planting anyway here is the tank.


Morning of day 2

20g Tall
Active Flora Substrate.
DIY CO2
Alternate Excel doses.
T5 lighting fixture with 10k and 6,5k bulbs
Plethora of plants and moss

3 Serpae
5 Neon tetra
1 Baby angel Fish
2 Bamboo shrimp.

 

[RipariumGuy]

Welcome to TPT! What type of equipment will you be useing and do you have any idea of what you want it to look like\keep?

 

[Matty]

Well as im sure you can see im at the VERY beggining stages. The substrate is Active flora and its insane how the thicker darker substrate makes it to the bottom and the lighter "sootier" stuff rises to the top, you can clearly see the two different colors on the front of the tank.

The aquarium came with a Tetra whisper 10-30 water filter, ive heard mixed things about them but hey, im going to give it a shot and see how she works. May replace later on.

Have a heater and a few odds and ends to pic up over the weekend.

Hopefully get it arranged over this coming weekend.

There are some beautiful tanks on this site, here is one of my favs.

(weird angle but its a wonderful tank)
and its a 10g

Also plans for a DIY CO2 reactor and a defuser with the use of a power head. (once i get plants and such in there)

Any advice for a newbie?

 

[Matty]

Must say that the tank is doing extremely better.

Made my way to the store and bought some goodies:
(taken with an iphone)

New heater rocks and wood added.

Ive had the wood soaking in chlorine free water for a few weeks, replacing the water every few days.

here are some pics.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y22/fiveandnoise/Dec5th2009cloeup1.jpg

 

[Matty]

Oh dear

Sooo, have had the tank up and running for a few days, been busy with holiday festivities and getting odds and ends together for the tank, so no fish or plants yet, but i was adding a small powerhead to the tank and i noticed there is this crazy white spiderweb-ish material essentially growing on my driftwood. I read somewhere else on here that its just a type of bacteria that grows on new wood and when tanks are being rearranged but i just wanted to check

I want to catch it early if its something bad.


These pictures are taken with my iphone so bare with me:

In this picture reference the highlighted areas along the edge of the driftwood.

In this second picture reference the line of arrows.

 

[Dr. Acula]

You were right, that's nothing to worry about. It looks ugly and feels gross, but if you just leave it alone it will gradually disappear. And you do just have to leave it alone. It comes back after picking it off, and nothing eats it. Harmless though.

But that's a fun looking piece of wood. Good luck with your tank!

 

[Matty]

Big update

Alright, so today = big day.

New plants!

the tank now begins to take shape, and color.roud:roud:roud:roud:

I did some modification to the lighting, as you can tell from the first pictures that it was waaay too low.

the water is still cloudy but def clearing up.

PLanted a few "seeds" as well.

Defuser set up.

well see how well it works, power head makes great tinny bubble.
First mixture if DIY co2 mix. (How long does the mixture usually take before activating?) no rush, just curious.


Got a timer as well so i can completely control the lighting sequence
My room is pretty dark during the day as well as i work during the day. i set the schedule to come on around 2 pm, and go off around 10ish. I did this so i could enjoy the tank while im at home.

this could prove disastrous and my tank have waaay too much light.

thanks for reading.
Matt

 

[hydrophyte]

That looks pretty good so far. Dr. Acula is right you don't have to worry about that stuff growing on the wood it goes away with it and it should be harmless.

That white-edged plant positioned right behind the driftwood is a Dracaena. It is actually a terrestrial plant and will eventually drown and perish and rot if kept underwater.

 

[Matty]

That looks pretty good so far. Dr. Acula is right you don't have to worry about that stuff growing on the wood it goes away with it and it should be harmless.

That white-edged plant positioned right behind the driftwood is a Dracaena. It is actually a terrestrial plant and will eventually drown and perish and rot if kept underwater.

Ah you are correct! i should have double checked.

It looks nice so i will most likely leave it in for a week or two until i get some more plants in.

I will most likely keep the plant, and plant it in a pot or somthing, since ive already planted them and i doubt the store will take them back.

 

[Matty]

Quick photo update.
waiting on paypal than should have some replacements on the non-aquatics.
Was running DIY co2 for the first time. felt that i made too much (bottle was starting to pooch out and the tank was filled with tons of co2 bubbles, seemed that it might have been a bit too much, making new batch tonight with smaller portions

 

[Matty]

This is from my other tank, but its a good shot of the tank family. Somebody that lives in a shell is mighty hungry...

 

[Matty]

New plant update.

Did some rearranging with my new plants that came in.

Took out the Dracaena, never caused any harm by having it in there for a few weeks.

Also i need to move the windelov fern from the substrate to my driftwood, also have my DIY CO2 vs 2.0 set up.

This time just added a "filter" or a Bubble counter bottle along with the mixture bottle, just so i dont get any yeast mix in the tank, and i can have somewhat of a refrence of how much co2 is being introduced, about one bubble every 1.5 sec

 

[Matty]

Holiday update.

Hope everyone had a great holiday.

Spent mine up north.

I left my tank essentialy unattended while i was gone, i had a light timer and had my DIY CO2 set up. Tons of growth while i was gone for the week.

I tested the water last night when i got back, My PH is really high, so high that i would be afrraid to add fish.

What is a good way to bring the PH down?

 

[Hilde]

I tested the water last night when i got back, My PH is really high, so high that i would be afrraid to add fish.

What is a good way to bring the PH down?

Here is what I have found.
PH lower

1. Filtering water over peat
2. Add bogwood to the tank
3. Injects carbon dioxide CO2
4. Water changes with soft water or RO (reverse osmosis) water

In time it should go down. Don't use the chemicals to lower the ph. They just create a yo-yo affect.

I have noticed that Seachem Excel lowers my ph a bit. My tap water ph of 8.4. In the tank ph is around 7.5.

What about your gh, and kh?

 

[Matty]

Thanks, i have some wood that i soaked while i was out of town and is ready to add to the tank so i will likely do that tonight. And im already adding CO2.

I Should know this by now but what are the suitable peramiters for gh, and kh.

What are the affects of the two?

and Where can i find a test kit for it?

Here is what I have found.
PH lower

1. Filtering water over peat
2. Add bogwood to the tank
3. Injects carbon dioxide CO2
4. Water changes with soft water or RO (reverse osmosis) water

In time it should go down. Don't use the chemicals to lower the ph. They just create a yo-yo affect.

I have noticed that Seachem Excel lowers my ph a bit. My tap water ph of 8.4. In the tank ph is around 7.5.

What about your gh, and kh?

 

[Buckster]

My initial impressions were:

followed by:

Sorry couldn't resist! Lookin good so far!!

 

[Matty]

My initial impressions were:

followed by:

Sorry couldn't resist! Lookin good so far!!

haha Brilliant.

 

[Hilde]

Oh, what humor you have!:hihi:

The plant with white on the edges looks like a terrarium plant.

 

[Matty]

The plant with white on the edges looks like a terrarium plant.

It is, the "artist rendition" is from when i first set up the tank, that plant has been removed and replaced, check out my blog in my signature to see the updated tank.

 

[Matty]

New years update

I moved some things around, added the last bit of wood. And ive got some new inhabitants to get the levels going in the tank. Going to get some neon tetras in a week or so.

The new fish seem to love the plants. Flying in between and under everything.
Alot of fun to watch.

Also came across a locally owned fish store here in memphis called Memfish
great people, and a wonderful store.

They definitely have more saltwater products and fish. But also have more "gear" medications and plant products than any of the chain stores around the memphis area.