20 Gallon Shellies

[LyraGuppi]

So, I finally got around to this tank..woo!
Substrate: Black Petco Sand
Rocks: Native stuff? Limestone based, I'm sure

Plants: Hopefully some Cabomba or Hornwort. Anubias and banana plants, for sure.
Inhabitants: Hopefully around 8 Multis, and mayyybe some dithers. Dunno.
Shells: Standard escargot shells.
 
So far I've padded the rocks and put in substrate and driftwood in. It's only halfway full at the moment, I'm watching for any leaks...
I want to paint the background of the tank dark grey, but for now it's white.
And I don't have any pictures, because it's late and I'm tired from math tests and lugging around rocks xD My LFS's next shipment of multis is in four weeks..enough time to scape and cycle.
 
That's it for now, bye!

 

[LyraGuppi]

Here's an ugggly picture of the tank..just watching for leaks and running the equipment before I start up the cycle. El Plástico is in there to make it not look so bleak.

I still have to paint the background, and change the bulb. (The current one is temporary.)
 

 

[NickAu]

Finally a photo.
 
How coarse and or sharp is that sand?  It looks cool. I might want some.

 

[LyraGuppi]

I would be comfortable with having cories in this tank, the sand is fairly small and smooth.
 
I'm lowering the multi count to 6.

 

[LyraGuppi]

Here's a picture of the sand in my hand, with some large gravel on top for size reference. The next is the actual sand.

 

Sorry about the lighting, it's always crazy in my room.
Here is the lid, with the LED lighting underneath and a single T2 on top. The LED lights the middle of the tank, and the T2 lights the back.

 
LET THE ALGAE RAIN FORTH

 

[LyraGuppi]

Plants were removed, and shells will be coming in on Tuesday.

 

[LyraGuppi]

Could two colonies of shelldwellers be okay? Like, for example, multis and occies?

 

[LyraGuppi]

Got the shells in! The tank has been decided by the Dadlet that it will have no plants, so.... *sad violin music*
I believe there are 36 shells in total, counting the seashells.
 
(AGG! Photobucket is being a poop >:C No photos today)

 

[LyraGuppi]

 
Yup, around 36 shells in total. I may, actually, bump the Multi/Occie/whatever count to 10.
Sorry it's so bright, my T2 makes them look so bright

 

[LyraGuppi]

T2 has been removed.
 
Whenever I did the substrate change on the 20 sorority, I destroyed my cycle. To try and keep the bettas alive until they could find homes, I dosed the tank with some DrTim's bacteria. Whenever I took apart the tank, I sat the sponge filters aside for a day. They still held some water, but I thought all the bacteria was gone so I didn't care to submerge them. The cycle has made a huge jump..could some of the bacteria have lived?
 
Day 1: 6/17/15
Added 3 ppm of A
 
Day 2: 6/20/15
.25 ppm of A
Somewhere in 2-5 in Ni (I find this test hard to read in that section)
Somewhere in 5-10 in Na (same on this one)
 
Any advice/ideas?

 

[TwoTankAmin]

If the sponge filters are not in, put them it as long as they have any sign of moisture. The bacteria are not easy to kill. You also have bacteria other places besides a filter.
 
My bet is the nitrite is nearer 2 than 5 (maybe less than 2).  The nitrate number is meaningless w/o knowing what it was before you added the ammonia. Dr. Tim's bacteria has both ammonia and nitrite bacs in it. If you had enough to process 2.75 ppm of ammonia, you should have had enough nitrite bacs to handle the amount of nitrite that produced. In this situation the nitrite bacs may still be a tad behind the ammonia ones.
 
3 ppm of ammonia makes a max of about 7.5 ppm of nitrite. 2.75 ppm, the amount that is gone, would make under 7 ppm tops.
 
Incidentally, nitrate is NO2 and nitrate is NO3 . Ni is nickel and Na is sodium.
 
Between the One and Only and the old sponges you should be OK pretty fast, i.e  a couple of days. Do not add any more ammonia until you see 0/0. The dose is not to 3 ppm but only to 2.6 ppm. This is the dosage on an API type kit to use with the Dr. Tim's.
 
Keep an eye on the fish. the ammonia level is not a concern but nitrite might be. If the bettas are breathing at the surface more than normal, you can add a small amount of salt to the tank. Use the formula for calculating how much salt in this article http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/433778-rescuing-a-fish-in-cycle-gone-wild-part-il/ The amount of salt you might need is extremely small.

 

[LyraGuppi]

Okay, I got it all sorted out.
 
I added in 2ppm of Ammonia, but saw TTA's post too late, so I'll be waiting for that to go 0/0, then follow the bacteria bottle's instructions.
 
Thanks TTA

 

[LyraGuppi]

Added Bacteria and Ammonia
-waited a day-
.50 Ammonia
0 Nitrite
Added Ammonia
-waited a day-
Today: .25 Ammonia
0 Nitrite

 

[LyraGuppi]

Today:
25. Ammonia
0 Nitrite
 
The LFS can only get shellies in "seasonally", so we'll have to go the online route.

 

[LyraGuppi]

Today:
Yesterday I increased the ammonia from 20 drops to 30 drops. Same outcome. I'm thinking the Nitrite is very developed, but the ammonia is a bit slow?
 
.25 Ammonia
0 Nitrite