31g Community Tank

[WestCoastChelle]

Returning to the hobby after many, many years away. Thought it'd be fun to keep a journal of the progress here. (sadly I wasn't able to fit the 50gallon I'd hoped, but I have a nice 31g all set up).

First, the cycle. Yes it's planted, yes I'm adding ammonia. We'll see how that goes. Curious to see how the plants will do, conflicting reports everywhere on whether to cycle first or not, and I like experimenting

Dosed with pure ammonia, added TSS+, now we wait. Will test tomorrow.

Current water stats:
Ammonia: 2
Nitrite: 0
pH: 7
Temp: 77 F

 

[WestCoastChelle]

Tested today, still no Nitrites, but Nitrate was measuring 5. The ammonia doesn't seem to have gone down, although I recall from reading up on using the bacterial starters that they can screw with the ammonia reading? The 2 ammonia reading from yesterday was just the assumed level after dosing with ammonia according to the calculator. It's possible I messed that up somehow. Ahh well, onwards! I think with the ammonia still reading 2 that I shouldn't add more. The Dr Tim's guide says not to add til the ammonia and nitrite read less than 1.

Current water stats:
Ammonia: 2
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5
pH: 7
Temp: 77 F

 

[Essjay]

Stick to the method. With plants, you may not see nitrite if the plants take up the ammonia, or if the bacteria in TSS 'eat' it as fast as it's made.

With nitrate, you need to test your tap water to see if the tank level is the same or higher.

 

[WestCoastChelle]

With nitrate, you need to test your tap water to see if the tank level is the same or higher.

Yeah that occurred to me as I was falling asleep last night (yay brain fog). I tested my tap water this morning for nitrate and got like 2ish? It wasn't 0 but it wasn't as orange as 5. So the tank is higher but not by a super large margin. I'll be testing the tank again this afternoon.

 

[WestCoastChelle]

So, the ammonia seems to just be hanging out a 2 even though I haven't added any more sources.

Nitrate is going up, so something's happening anyways. Odd its going up and the ammonia isn't going down. Not really seeing any plant melt which would indicate that it's breaking down into ammonia. Some reading that I've done suggests the API ammonia test isn't always the mostest accurate but it's what I got. (liquid drops, not strips). I did use a kit I got from someone else (not expired) I checked, for the first reading. Maybe some shennanigans going on there. With the nitrate rising I know at least some little BB working in there. Patience, patience.

Current water stats:
Ammonia: 2
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 20
Temp: 77 F

 

[WestCoastChelle]

I *think* the ammonia is trending down. Still no signs of nitrite but nitrate definitely going up.

Pretty sure the ammonia is reading less than 2 now. Over 1 still but lower than yesterday I'm certain. So hurray! Maybe tomorrow it'll be ready for an ammonia dose. Steady on.

Current water stats:
Ammonia: 1.5?
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: ~30
Temp: 77 F

 

[WestCoastChelle]

So, out of curiosity I did a test today of the tap water for ammonia compared to the tank's water. The tap ammonia is 0.5-1 and the tank is sitting around ish 1.5?

Unsure if this means that the API tests higher (or I'm bad at color comparison) or if the tap water has a small amount of ammonia in it. I know some places add chloramine to water which can read as ammonia due to how the test is done. BUT where I live in Abbotsford is actually like world-famous for not adding anything to the water (it's weird our tap water wins awards, as recently of Feb this year, lmao).

Uncertain how to proceed, whether I need to be adding more ammonia now to feed the BB or not.

 

[WestCoastChelle]

Well, I'm still testing at around 1.5-2ppm of ammonia and no nitrites. I think its fairly safe to say the TSS+ did bupkis. So we're on the slow cycle track. Is what it is. I'll be reverting to this method and testing every 3rd day til I start to see movement on some of those numbers.

 

[Wills]

If you can I'd look at adding a lot more plants to help with getting started (and also creating a really natural habitat for your fish ).

Some fast growing stems like Limnophilla Sessiflora, Hygrophila Siamensis 53b, Cardamine Lyrata and Hydrocotyle Leucocephala are all great options to get started with, try and order online to get specific species and I'd aim for 3-5 bunches or pots of each. Some floating plants like Frogbit or Red Root Floater would help a lot as well.

Get some root tabs like Seachem or Tropica in the sand for the stem plants, and a liquid fertiliser from one of the brands I mentioned and they will really take off.

Wills

 

[WestCoastChelle]

If you can I'd look at adding a lot more plants to help with getting started (and also creating a really natural habitat for your fish ).

Some fast growing stems like Limnophilla Sessiflora, Hygrophila Siamensis 53b, Cardamine Lyrata and Hydrocotyle Leucocephala are all great options to get started with, try and order online to get specific species and I'd aim for 3-5 bunches or pots of each. Some floating plants like Frogbit or Red Root Floater would help a lot as well.

Get some root tabs like Seachem or Tropica in the sand for the stem plants, and a liquid fertiliser from one of the brands I mentioned and they will really take off.

Wills

Thank you! I *definitely* have planned to add more plants into the tank. Sadly my locals had a really poor selection. And I wasn't sure if the liquid fert or root tabs would screw up my testing results.

Do you know of good places in Canada to order online? Unfortunately a lot of times when I search I can only find US stores and bringing plants across a border is a whole thing.

 

[Wills]

Thank you! I *definitely* have planned to add more plants into the tank. Sadly my locals had a really poor selection. And I wasn't sure if the liquid fert or root tabs would screw up my testing results.

Do you know of good places in Canada to order online? Unfortunately a lot of times when I search I can only find US stores and bringing plants across a border is a whole thing.

There are a couple of really experienced Canadian members here who might be able to point you in the right direction but if you try to find an aquascaping store or even just somewhere that stocks Tropica plants you can't go wrong.

Just remembered that George Farmer did an aquascaping video in a Canadian store

- I remembered it as my step sister lives in GTA https://plantedaquaria.ca/ their website looks pretty good too - not got all the plants I mentioned but some solid species on there.

Hygrophila corymbosa 'Siamensis 53B' - Potted - Planted Aquaria - Bring Nature Home

Hygrophila corymbosa ‘Siamensis 53B’ – Tropica Potted Plant Hygrophila corymbosa ‘Siamensis 53B’ is a variety of Hygrophila corymbosa ‘Siamensis’. This Hygrophila ‘Siamensis 53B’ forms an incredible amount of side shoots and becomes bushy relatively rapidly. Stems becomes 15-40 cm tall and 7-12...

plantedaquaria.ca

Limnophila sessiliflora - Potted - Planted Aquaria - Bring Nature Home

Limnophila sessiliflora – Tropica Potted Plant Limnophila sessiliflora is a pretty and undemanding plant from South-East Asia. A great alternative to Cabomba, which requires a lot of light. Stems grow fast up to 40 cm tall and become 3-4 cm wide. The plant often grows leggy in poor light, but...

plantedaquaria.ca

https://plantedaquaria.ca/shop/live-plants/placement/floating-plants/limnobium-laevigatum-tc/

Few others on there that are worth checking out - have a look around on YouTube too for some inspiration MD Fishtanks and George Farmer are always good starting points IMO. Helps get a good understanding of what to buy and then where to put it

Wills

 

[seangee]

For the species @Wills mentioned you don't need to buy a lot. Once it starts growing you can literally cut the tops of every few days and plant the cuttings.

Edit: Just spotted that all 3 of those are in my signature, hygrophila siamensis 53b in the front left, limnophila sessiliflora along the back wall and limnobium laevigatum hanging from the surface. Any yes - every one of those started life from a single pot

 

[10 Tanks]

Returning to the hobby after many, many years away. Thought it'd be fun to keep a journal of the progress here. (sadly I wasn't able to fit the 50gallon I'd hoped, but I have a nice 31g all set up).

First, the cycle. Yes it's planted, yes I'm adding ammonia. We'll see how that goes. Curious to see how the plants will do, conflicting reports everywhere on whether to cycle first or not, and I like experimenting

Dosed with pure ammonia, added TSS+, now we wait. Will test tomorrow.

Current water stats:
Ammonia: 2
Nitrite: 0
pH: 7
Temp: 77 F

Hello. If you're willing to follow an aggressive water change routine and you could with no trouble in such a small tank, you could introduce a few of your favorite fish from the start. You don't need to dose ammonia or anything like that. If you're interested in getting fish into the tank right away, just reply to this post. The steps are very simple.

10 Tanks (Now 11)

 

[WestCoastChelle]

Hello. If you're willing to follow an aggressive water change routine and you could with no trouble in such a small tank, you could introduce a few of your favorite fish from the start. You don't need to dose ammonia or anything like that. If you're interested in getting fish into the tank right away, just reply to this post. The steps are very simple.

10 Tanks (Now 11)

No, I am aware I could do that. But I'd rather not do a fish-in cycle. A big difference between the fish-keeper me now, disabled and 40, and the fish-keeper me from her early 20s is that I have so much more patience, lol

 

[10 Tanks]

Hello. It's all good. Do what you feel will work the best.

10 Tanks (Now 11)