[PiDo]

INTRO

First the setup:
10 US gal tank 20"L x 12"H x 10"D
Substrate is 7.7 ltr Flourite Black Sand
Plants (in vitro): Marsilea crenata, Pogostemon erectus, Rotala Robustus Mini,
Rotala rotundifolia from ABC Plants Montreal
25W water heater
Filter is Fluval 207 with 3 baskets full of lava stones
Water temperature maintained at +/- 25.6 C
Lightihg is 378 LED and framed it at 12 inches from the tank top

Planted the tank on Dec. 28th 2022

Fast forward
Days Date pH Ammonia Nitrite Nitrate TDS Temp
22 Jan 19, 23 7.6 0.25 0 160 248 25.6
Thank is cycled, Nitrate need's to be lowered.
50% water change lowered it to 30-40 ppm. This will be lowered with another 50% water change tomorrow
Added ammonia to 2 ppm

Photo Jan 19, 23

 

[PiDo]

Journal Day 29th, Jan. 26, 23

A few days ago I noticed rust like material in my tank

So, yesterday I made a 95% WC followed by a general cleanup of the entire system and added a phosphate eliminator pad.
Following somewhatshocked's suggestion I toke out the heater and added ammonia to 4 ppm to sustain bacteria
This reduced the nitrates, eliminated a lot of diatoms and will eliminate phosphates if present.

Ok, today's system looks like this:

Ph 7.7
Ammonia 0.0 ppm
Nitrite 0.0 ppm
Nitrate 14.5 ppm measured with Hanna Marine Nitrate tester and about the same with the API freshwater testing kit
TDS 237
Temp 23.3
Diatoms small quantity

 

[PiDo]

Days 36 Date Feb. 2, 23

Ph 7.9
Ammonia 0.0 ppm
Nitrite 0.0 ppm
Nitrate 35 ppm
TDS 248
GH 161 ppm
KH 5 °dKH
Temp 23.9

Diatoms disappeared.
Tap water GH & KH is quit hight so, I will use RO water for the shrimps I intend to add to the tank.
Testing nitrates with API is far from accurate, there is no tone difference between the colors for 10 ppm and 20 ppm on the chart. So, I bought an Hanna HI782 that I will make tests with standard solutions.

 

[PiDo]

Days 43 Date Feb 09, 23

Ph 7.5
Ammonia 0.0 ppm
Nitrite 0.0 ppm
Nitrate 8.3 ppm
TDS 87
GH 71.6
KH 53.7
Temp 23.8
This week was busy installing RO system and calibrating my Hanna HI782 for freshwater
I made 2 50% RO WC the last 2 days to get better water quality. Results, water is better but diatoms reappeared after the first WC
Still adding 5 drops ammonia every day for 0.5 ppm and feeding the plants with Tropica Specialised Fertilizer
Ammonia isn't high but I only want to start with 12 shrimps
I have a nice bio-film on the surface so I will add a skimmer

 

[PiDo]

Day 50, Date Feb 16, 23
Ph 7.43
Ammonia 0.0 ppm
Nitrite 0.0 ppm
Nitrate 18.4 ppm
TDS 103
GH 4 drops
KH 2 drops
Temp 23.9
To set GH & KH to a lower level I did an 50%, a 80% RO WC
I received my SaltsShrimp Sulawesi Mineral 7,5, made a 43% mineralised RO WC and stopped adding ammonia
Tuesday at 20:00 hrs I added 12 Bloody Mary Shrimps (Neocaridina Heteropoda)
With today's Nitrates level I did a 33% mineralised RO WC
This week's observation : Needs a lot of PWC to lower nitrates

 

[PiDo]

Days 57 Date Feb 23, 23
Ph 7.66
Nitrate 10.6 ppm
TDS 179
GH 6 drops
KH 2 °dKH
Temp 23.1

I made 2 33% mineralised RO WC to lower nitrates
Diatoms are gone

 

[PiDo]

Days 64 Date Mar 2, 23

Ph 7.53
Nitrate 17.4 ppm
TDS 186
GH 6 drops
KH 3 °dKH
Temp 23.6
Today, 33% mineralized RO WC. Added Tropica Specialised Fertilizer 2 ml. Counted 8 of the 12 shrimps I added

 

[PiDo]

Days 71 Date Mar 9, 23

Ph 7.55
Nitrate 19.8 ppm
TDS 221 ppm
GH 7 drops
KH 2 °dKH
Temp 23.7

Today:33% mineralized RO WC. Added Fertilizer 2 ml. Counted 10 individuals . One female as eggs.
I think I should do more WCs

 

[PiDo]

Days 78 Date Mar 16, 23

Ph 7.63
Nitrate 19.8 ppm
TDS 231
GH 7 drops
KH 3 °dKH
Temp 23.5

Today: 43% mineralized RO WC. Added Fertilizer 2 ml. Counted 8 individuals.
I think I should do more & larger WCs

 

[PiDo]

Day 84 Date Mar 23, 23 or Day 34 with shrimps

Ph 7.24
Nitrate 17.1 ppm
TDS 224
GH 7 drops
KH 3 °dKH
Temp 24.0
This week I lost 1 adult (female?) and finally saw babies. Yesterday I counted 10, measuring 4 to 6 mm.
If it goes on like that, I must be doing it right.

 

[PiDo]

Days 91 Date Mar 30, 23 or Day 43 with shrimps

Ph 7.73
Nitrate 6.2 ppm
TDS 224
GH 7 drops
KH 3 °dKH
Temp 24.0

Stopped adding fertilizer to see how nitrates varies. Day 85 9.4 Day 86 8.6 Day 88 & 90 7.3
Two or three females gave birth