I only post when something intrigues me
and sometimes it only takes 1 post so to 'save any blushes' by singling out a post I will reply to many
I'd box/bag them up in a bit of water, make sure the container is air tight. Then store them away in a cupboard for a few weeks whilst it finished cyling.
It won't 'finish cycling' with the plants in there. Assuming there is a decent amount of plants there will be nothing to cycle with
That is why we don't 'cycle' a planted tank
because there is basically nothing to cycle. If you add ammonia in you are just adding fertiliser. If there is ammonia present it gets consumed.
What we normally do is chuck in a load of mulm (detritus from the filter. squeeze old sponges into the empty tank) and then chuck the substrate in on top. Why? provides an instant bacterial colony to get you started because you won't be able to get a colony going in the filter when the plants are 'stealing' all the food the bacteria need.
I wouldn't bag them up at all. Leave it and unless the lighting is high forget about it for a little while until things calm down. If it is a bacterial bloom (and it shouldn't be that early) then it will disappear on its own as the substrate and filter get settled in.
i think the reason is i was not very careful putting the water in (learnt that hard way with this one), the water was full of particules.
Put a small plate on the substrate, then put a dessert bowl on the plate. fill the water slowly into the bowl and it will overflow gently onto the saucer. Another way I' have seen is to lay polythene or bubble wrap on the substrate and fil onto that.
Particles sounds the most likely at this stage to me.
Don't bother with the DIY if you are going lo-tec. it will only upset things eventually if not instantly. Just learn while the system runs slowly. CO2 speeds things up (including problems) If problems happen slowly it gives you more time to sort it out without it getting out of hand.
I wouldn't worry about the second filter for circulation unless the first is poor. Use it to clear the particles for a hort while but then pack it up and put it away. Lo tec doesn't need as much circulation as the plants are not consuming nutrient at turbo speed. Therefore depletion and 'dead spots' aren't as likely. You will see 'signs if anything is suffering and it won't be from circulation. It will be because the livestock/waste are not supplying enough.
Buy a small bag (100g) of KNO3 (Potassium Nitrate) from ebay or somewhere (will cost a few quid delivered) Just put a teeny pinch in every 2-4 weeks. You will see signs of defficiency before you need to put any in and because it is lo tec they aren't going to go from hunger to dead within a short time frame. Lo-tec gives you much more time.
I would add the second filter to the tank in its first 2 weks. Not for filtering but to trap as much of the particles/detritus from the substrate etc and save it from clogging your main filter up as quickly. I keep an old internal for this very purpose. Why? I fill it full of filter floss (79p from Wilkos) and being an internal I can whip it out every couple of days and clean it in tap water (not using it to get bacteria going - see no cycling above
) After a couple of weeks it gets left to dry for a few hours and goes back in the box for the future
i've got a dead spot in one corner.
Get the positioning o right. It is a common problem in the planted hobby that people are obsessed with 'hiding' things and they seem to ignore trying to glean as much 'performance' out of it. People make fun of glasware owners saying they 'show off' their lily/diffuser and put it at the front so people can see it. In the majority of cases the reason they put it there is because it is an open space (low foreground plants) which means it can filter better. When it is stuffed behind a mass of plants it tends not to do as good a job. Its a trade off 'aesthetic vs performance' which is more important? Hide from 'yourself and get less performance or have it in the open and take it out for photos?
Play with the positions to get the best circulation you can. If you can't get that then get a better filter. No 3x tank volume here as you would with a non planted tank. Even lo-tec thats not good enough. 5-6x for an external or internal should be fine. Internals have less restriction on flow due to no pipes etc but need cleaning more often.
i don't plan on putting fish for a good few months (November) time (another long story involving a small boy who will turn two and is having fish for his birthday).
Don't forget the chips and ketchup
If you aren't going to add fish for a few months what is going to feed the plants? You are going to have to add some ferts (lightly) or they are going to die.
18W is probably about right for your size tank with low ltec
[teh filter is currently just below the surface so it creates a ripple, don't know if this is good or not.
Not a problem. I always have ripples. Good for fish and plants. O is as important as CO2 and in a lo-tec tank where CO2 is basically at equilibrium there is nothing to lose
It could be a bacterial bloom from all the organic waste being kicked up I guess...
It won't be anything being kicked up as there is no livestock and the internal is 'outing' at the top. Unless the bottom of the filter is at the substrate it will just be from the initial setup. With the filter running and then a (second maybe) You should either see it
start to clear almost within hours and in a few days have nothing to spoil your view.
But a few things to note(sorry if you already know)...
You tank will have probably have completely uncycled by now, and definitely will have by your little boys birthday. Seeing as you have plenty of time though, I suggest getting it cycled fishlessly. And then keeping it cycled using household ammonia.
No problem it uncycling. Its planted read the pins (and the few posts above) NO POINT IN CYCLING A PLANTED TANK. You are wasting your time and money. That link is not in the planted section. It doesn't apply to planted tanks unless it is a case of not many plants in the tank.
You shouldn't cycle with plants in as it won't work. Please read the pins yourself before leading a newbie planted down the wrong trail. Why cycle a tank and then put the plants in when the plants would've taken care of the ammonia which wasn't there in the first place? NO FISH - read the posts. You will add ammonia (which the plants would've consumed anyway) to build a colony. then add the plants who will then consume all the ammonia the colony you built needs and then the colony you just built will die and then feed of itself as it is dying. What a waste of time and effort!!!
also you're pretty much assured to end up with an algae bloom which isn't fun and makes the water look like pea soup. On top of that you'll end up with other types of algae popping up all over the place.
Wrong way around here. By doing the fishless cycle and then adding plants thus starving the bacteria colony you are more likely then to get algae and/or bacterial bloom as the colony dies. They will produce ammonia while they die!!!
LEAVE THE PLANTS IN and dose some ferts (a tiny pinch of fish food each day.) as that will provide a small amount of NPK and trace etc
Ahh JBL aquabasis. I think I was right at the beginning here. Take a read
:
http
/www.plantedtank.net/forums/substrate/37729-cloudy-water-jbl-aquabasis-plus.html
i may end up doing as suggested and basically start again, i need to get my head around adding this that and the other to the tank. the more i read, the more i get confused
Thats because there are some suggestions telling you do things that don't need doing. Quite simple the reality is: Do nothing. Let your filter clean the waterborne particles out. Add some fish food for ferts and let it sort itself out.
is there anyway i can keep what i have going or is it really a case of learn from my mistakes and start again
Yes there is a way. Leave it as is. You did it right. The above posts are wrong and you can now teach them how to do it
Well first things first, you need a test kit at some point. So I suggest buying the API Freshwater Master Test kit.
Test Kits? Good idea for the OP as they are a new user so they can get accustomed to what happens in their tank but don't buy it to use and base any 'plant related' needs on. YES check the water. Learn how much of this and that there is, research the consequences (carefully as you will have to filter the myth from the reality) but take no action unless it is a fish health related part. Not many of us in planted use test kits.
Let the tank continue to run and if it's a bacterial bloom it'll pass in a few days.
If it doesn't clear, buy some filter floss and stuff your full of it. Leave it overnight (don't look at the tank at all), and then look in the morning and see if you can see a difference. If you can then it's physical particles that are making it cloudy so the filter floss should clear that for you.
If it still hasn't cleared then you will have to resort to emptying and refilling the tank (use a bowl or plate to take the brunt of the water you're pouring in).
Top advice
looked this morning and the water is allot clearer. i need to clean the sides of the tank but thats not urgent.
I should've read the whole thread before I started posting. lol. All that typing. Oh well at least you know which advice is good and which is bad. I guess I can 'told you so seeing as I hadn't read this.
Check the following site and ID your plants. Get any non aquatics out as they will just die. Then you will have a cycle. lol:
http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide_all_gallery.php
I would leave it. Don't worry. If you do it again you will have the same problem.
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Some picture reassurance. Right click on the pics and then select image properties. You can then see the date and time the pics were taken to reasure you that this is not going to last forever
This is one of my previous scapes an hour or so after setting up 29/06/08 9-41 and 45 seconds PM:
h
This i nearly clear now(see the internal in the rear) 01/07/08 7-34 and 31 seconds. Less than 2 days later. Why was it cloudy? The substrate creating some dust. Second filter was as mucky as every couple of days for a week or so but there was no other problem:
28/7/08 - crystal clear
29/11/08 - 5 months later. Notice the CO2 diffuser has moved!!! That is because as the plantmass grows the flow pattern is altered by all the new 'obstacles'. Therefore things need moving around to get the best performance.
Be patient and listen to those who don't suggest cycling. Those who do suggest it don't understand the differences between a planted system and non planted system. They are very different beasts and as different a system as freshwater is from marine!!!!
AC
