1 week in

[Daisyfish]

Hi,

I have a planted aquarium and one week in I have done a 25% water change yesterday and this evening I did a water test these are the results...

Do I need to do anything? Thank you

 

[Essjay]

Are there any fish in the tank? If there are you need to do a water change to get the nitrite reading to zero. If there are no fish, you don't need to do anything.
What is the ammonia level in the tank?

 

[Daisyfish]

Yes there are 3 harlequins in the tank. Ok I will do another water change. How much should I do? 25% again or 50%?

I will do an ammonia test now

 

[Essjay]

You need to change as much water as necessary to get nitrite - and ammonia if that's not zero, - down to zero. And the next water change needs to be done when ammonia and/or nitrite read above zero.

 

[Daisyfish]

Ok thank you. Just tested ammonia and it’s zero . I can see some fish food on the bottom on the sand.

 

[Essjay]

That needs to be removed as it will decompose to make ammonia and then on to nitrite and finally nitrate. If there's food on the bottom, you may be over feeding the fish. 3 harlequins won't eat very much. I have the related espe's raboras and I know these fish won't eat any food which is on the bottom of the tank, so I assume harlequins are the same? In they are, try dropping the food in slowly so they have time to get it all before it reaches the bottom.

 

[Daisyfish]

Thank you! I did a 50percent water change yesterday and will test the levels tonight.

 

[Daisyfish]

These are my readings tonight. I wonder how long I need to leave it till I can get more harlequins?

 

[Retired Viking]

What types of plants do you have and can you post a picture of your tank. You can do a planted cycle if you have the right types of plants and enough of them to absorb the ammonia.

 

[Daisyfish]

I have salvinia at the top of the tank but I don’t know what the other plants are called.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

The plant on the driftwood is Java fern. The planet in the back right hand corner are amazon swords, and I'm not sure about the ones in the back.

 

[Retired Viking]

Salvina will help with ammonia, other plants Java Fern, Amozon swords and jungle val will help but at a lesser degree since they appear to be slower growing plants. Water sprite, anacharis, hornwort,moneywort,pennywory and frog bite are fast growing plants that will also absorb ammonia at a higher rate.

 

[Daisyfish]

Ok thank you. Should I get some more plants before adding more fish?

 

[Daisyfish]

Also the plants you suggested are they ok to have without a cO2 system?

 

[Retired Viking]

They should be alright with a CO2 system, be careful with fish at night with co2 system, I would add more plants before adding more fish. You want to see some growth from the plants which takes a week or two before adding more fish. You want a balance between what the plants can absorb and what the fish produce in ammonia. This balance should favor the plants absorbing more.