Hi all,
I wanted to share my newest adventure in aquascaping/ fish and plant keeping! I would love hear any of your thoughts on aesthetics, scaping, stocking, etc.
Established: 12/05/15
PARAMETERS:
Ammonia: 0-0.25 PPM
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5-10 PPM
PH: 7.0
GH: 9
KH: 2
(Measured with API liquid master test kit)
Water Changes: Bi-weekly 5 gallon water changes using a mix of RO water and tap water using Seachem Prime (tap has 0.25 PPM Amonia, zero nitrite or nitrate, and a PH of 9... Can't remember the hardness offhand but the stuff is liquid rock... I assume it's because of all the limestone in Austin, TX)
Temperature: 78 F / 25.55 C
HARDWARE:
Tank: Aqueon 36 gallon bowfront
Hood: Homemade with Acrylic and Silicon
Lighting: Finnex 24/7 Planted + 30"
Filtration: Aquaclear 70 -- filter media (bottom to top) - very course foam over filter intake, normal stock course white foam block, medium courseness filter floss pad, fine blue bonded filter floss pad, extra fine filter floss pad, 100 micron felt, ceramic bio media, Purigen, extra layer of 100 micron felt.
Heater: Aqueon 150 Watts
AQUASCAPE:
Substrate: normal red Fluorite with beach of black Fluorite sand in the middle.
Hardscape: Driftwood
FERTILIZERS AND SUPPLEMENTS:
Fertilizer: Flourish Tabs (as needed), Flourish Comprehensive (1x a week), Flourish Iron (1x a week or as needed), Flourish Potassium (1x a week or as needed), Flourish Phosphate (1x a week or as needed), Flourish Nitogen (as needed), Flourish Excel (every other day), Flourish Trace (2x a week)
Other Supplements: Seachem Prime, Seachem Stability, Tetra Safe Start (used both BB supplements during cycle... Stability got me to the zero ammonia and high nitrite within 3 days but then seemed to get stuck for about 8 days, but then added Tetra Safe Start and that got me over the hump... The next day Nitrite was almost gone, and the day following the tank was completely cycled).
INHABITANTS:
Flora (current):
- Crypt Wendtii
- Kleiner Bar Sword
- Rotala Indica
- Rotala Nanjenshan
- Red Rubin Sword
- Microsword
- Christmas moss
- Ludwigia repens
Fauna (current):
- 2 (1M/1F) Killifish (Nothobranchius Palmqvisti)
- 2 Albino Cory Cats
- 3 Panda Cory Cats
- 3 Gold Tetras
- 5 Celestial Pearl Danios
- 3 Emerald Microrasboras
- 1 Tiger Blood Nerite Snail
- 1 Zebra Nerite Snail
- 1 Horned Nerite Snail
- 2 Amano Shrimp
- 16 Red Cherry Shrimp
- 1 Orange Shrimp
Fauna to be added (maybe):
- 3 Caridina Shrimp (not sure what type yet)
FEEDING:
Frequency: 1 small feeding daily
Schedule:
Monday - New Life Spectrum Community Fish 1 mm sinking pellets (a few crushed to powder for smaller fish)
Tuesday - Omega One sinking Shrimp Pellets
Wednesday - New Life Spectrum Community Fish 1 mm sinking pellets (a few crushed to powder for smaller fish)
Thursday - 1/3 cube of San Francisco Bay Brand Frozen food ( I have the freshwater multipack - FW Frenzy, Emerald Entree, Spirulina Brine Shrimp, Bloodworms... I just rotate each week)
Friday - New Life Spectrum Community Fish 1 mm sinking pellets (a few crushed to powder for smaller fish)
Saturday - Omega One sinking Veggie Rounds
Sunday - New Life Spectrum Community Fish 1 mm sinking pellets (a few crushed to powder for smaller fish)
Occasional Treat: Zoo Med Betta Dial-A-Treat (freeze dried bloodworms, mysis, and daphnia)
Below pics are from 12/29/15
View attachment 565137
Let me know your thoughts!!!
Thanks!
Matt M.