It was suggested by another member that I start a journal for this tank on this forum--so here I am!
The tank is now currently at the end of week 3, but I shall attach all the pictures I have since day 1.
Tank specs:
Hardware
UNS 45s (5 gal shallow)
Aquatek paintball dual gauge co2 regulator with built in bubble counter
Aquario neo diffuser
20oz paintball tank
Twinstar 450 EA light
UNS contrasoil
UNS delta 60 canister with double tap valves to adjust flow as needed
Aquario neo flow inflow outflow set with skimmer
Stocking and plants
1 female betta
Foreground:
Monte carlo
Staurogyne repens
Pogostemon Helferi 'downoi'
Midground:
Hygrophila sp. 'Chai' RARE
Alternanthera Rosanervig 'Mini'
Alternanthera Reineckii 'Mini'
Tiger lotus
Rotala butterfly 'Mini'
Limnophila Mini Vietnam
Bucephalandra kedagang rainbow mini
Background:
Rotala sp green
Bacopa salzmanni-RARE (purple)
Mayaca Fluviatilis
Rotala hra
Alternanthera Lilancia (purple)
Alternanthera Reineckii 'pink sunset'
Alternanthera Reineckii 'Variegated'
Ludwigia "Triple Red"
So far I have been tinkering and tweaking as the weeks have passed since setup. Originally I started at 1bps but because of my high surface agitation and shallow footprint oxygen exchange is high so I had to up it to 2-3bps to achieve a yellow drop checker. Around week 2 I introduced RO at 50% through a water change and have been topping off with RO. This weekend the water will be completely changed and converted to full RO to help make fert balancing easier as well as start to get the tank parameters proper for caridina shrimp which will be added once it matures more.
I didnt dose any macros for the first week and started dosing full EI through nilocg's separate macro and micro liquid fert. I like it enough but would like less nitrogen, so after the water reset I am going to try APT complete instead.
Around week 2 I also got a mild BGA outbreak. It is currently limited to my monte carlo carpet thankfully. However it is starting to spread all over the monte carlo slowing its growth and is starting to choke it out. I did a second dose of ultra like green slime remover and upped the nitrogen dose, hopefully in a few more days I will see results. If not, I bought APT fix and will give that a go to see if it can knock it out.
I have my photoperiod at 6 hours, co2 comes on via solenoid timer 1 and a half hours before lights on, and shuts off an hour before lights off. Light may be a bit intense currently but despite the BGA my stem plants have had exceptional growth.
Here's the current pictures starting from the beginning of setup. From here I will post weekly updates
Here's some miscellaneous pictures: