Squirrel's 38g Progress Report

[Squirrelbuddies]

I am new to planted tanks and last weekend I finally took the plunge and changed the 38 gallon over to a planted tank. Pic below shows what it was prior to the change: “Décor” consisted of play sand, several lace rocks and 3 java ferns. Lighting: 24 inch, single 20 watt tube. No CO2, no ferts.

Before:

This is what it looks like at the moment (one week since the makeover):

Here are the current stats:

Tank – 38 US Gallons, 36”X19.5”X12”

Filtration – Eheim Classic 2213

Lighting – 3 T8 tubes (36 inches) – 25 watts each, 8000K, not quite 2 watts per gallon

CO2 – 2 Nutrafins with DIY mixture

Substrate – 3-4 inches of small (3 mm) black gravel with a layer of laterite (1 oz per gallon) on the bottom layer

Fertilisation – (Flourish liquid) NO3 – 2.5ml, PO4- 5.0ml (3 times weekly), Trace 10ml (3 times weekly)

Water chemistry – pH 6.6, KH 4, GH 5, NO3 10ppm, PO4 0.5ppm, temperature 77F

Fish – 5 Boesmani rainbows, 4 Praecox rainbows, 2 pearl gouramis, 5 upside down catfish

Plants – Aponogeton crispus, Glossostigma elatinoides, Hygrophila difformis, Ludwigia repens, Microsorium pteropus, Vallisneria gigantea, “Foxtail” (??)

Decor – only 2 small lace rocks at the moment (the java ferns are attached to them)

I think the crispus might really be “ulvaceus” instead? (It was sold as “crispus”.) I don’t know what the “foxtail” really is. It looks like hornwort except it’s a brighter green and a little more delicate looking. The glosso I bought as one bunch held together with a lead weight. Currently I have it broken down into 6 or 7 smaller clumps but I need to separate these even further.

This is the "foxtail":

I have two very nice pieces of bogwood soaking right now and will be adding these next weekend along with spreading out the glosso and making a few plant adjustments.

The ludwigia and vallis have been growing like crazy. Most of the vallis grew over 6 inches this past week and the ludwigia and crispus are beginning to pearl. The leaves on the java ferns are much bigger now, too.

The pH dropped quite a bit when I added the plants and Nutrafins (from 7.4 to 6.6). I use an airstone for 8 hours during the night and the pH is 6.8 at lights on. (Does the airstone create that much oxygen that the pH would actually rise from 6.6 to 6.8 at night?)

I’m going to switch two of the 25 watt, 8000K tubes for two Life Glo-2 tubes which are 30 watts each, 6700K (high noon, full spectrum). This will give me a total of 85 watts.

I just started using the liquid ferts this past Tuesday. I think I need to increase the PO4 dosing as it’s consistently testing at 0.5ppm. The NO3 is 10.0ppm – but it’s not far from the next color on the chart (20.0ppm)

I have a long way to go - but I’m pleased with the progress. Many, many thanks to jimbooo for helping me through this. I look forward to adding the bogwood next week. Please feel free to comment or provide any constructive criticism!

 

[karen84]

looks really good

 

[Squirrelbuddies]

looks really good

Thanks!

I figured out what foxtail is. It is Myriophyllum scabratum also know as Filigree Foxtail. It looks really nice in a large clump -- very soft and graceful looking.

I trimmed my vallis yesterday (took off about 8 inches) and tonight I noticed some of the leaves are 50% wider than they were. It's amazing how quickly these grow in one day.

I have a question -- the LFS gave me some micro sword tonight and I noticed there was a small amount of algae on the leaves. I washed the leaves in tap water (which I do for most of my plants) and I think I got most of it off. Will I be ok adding these to the tank? (I haven't planted them yet...)

 

[Squirrelbuddies]

Well, I didn't add the micro sword. I actually added it to the 29 gallon tank which is being converted to planted as well. Same with the bogwood -- it looked better in the 29 than this tank!

So, it's been two weeks now and things are going pretty well. I've trimmed over 15 inches of growth from the vallis, thinned out the ludwigia and moved the smaller java fern to the 29 gallon. I also spread out more of the glosso and it's now starting to creep along the bottom!

Small algae problem at the moment as I forgot to close the blinds one day and the sun had a field day in my tank! Plus, I'm having a bit of trouble trying to figure out the right dosing of nitrogen. When I tested the nitrates a couple of days ago it was just barely registering 5.0ppm.

Also, I have this white mucous looking stuff growing on the Nutrafin airline output and it stops the bubbles from climbing the ladder properly. I just searched on this and found it may be due to the bicarbonate that I add to the mixture. KH is 4 -- so could I stop adding the bicarb?

I'll add an updated photo as soon as the camera batteries recharge!

 

[Squirrelbuddies]

Over the past two weeks I have had issues with the pH, algae and very cloudy water.

The pH has finally stabilized at 6.4, the algae is mostly gone and the water no longer resembles diluted milk.

Per advise in a separate post, I am replacing the Seachem liquid fertilisers with dry. I stopped using the ferts altogether while waiting for the dry stuff to show up in the mail and this is when the water started to clear up. For the past week or so I've only been dosing the Trace. The nitrate consistently tests at 5.0ppm and the phosphate at .50ppm.

The vallis continues to grow like crazy and I have to trim approx 12 inches every week. Here's a current picture. The plants are not very orderly -- but look really healthy which is what I'm aiming for at the moment. I've been preparing my sketch of the desired future layout. One thing I have decided is to remove the ludwigia (red plant on the left.) I want more green as the vallis provides plenty of red at the top.

I replaced the lace rocks with shale which I like better. Still looking for the "right" piece of bogwood.

Still trying to figure out the camera, too! The background is black but shows up as blue in the pictures.

 

[pseud]

Progress looks positive. Well done.

You could try replacing the vals with a different species. Vallisneria Spiralis stays quite small, would probably be more suited for your tank. If you can't get hold of any, let me know and I'll try and grow some out for you.

 

[danski]

looks like you have very good water conditions in there for your plants and fish

 

[Squirrelbuddies]

Progress looks positive. Well done.

You could try replacing the vals with a different species. Vallisneria Spiralis stays quite small, would probably be more suited for your tank. If you can't get hold of any, let me know and I'll try and grow some out for you.

Good idea -- the vallis in there now is way too large for the tank size. I'll check around this week for some of the Spiralis -- perhaps the store where I buy my plants will let me trade some of my vallis in. They're pretty good about buying plants (and fish) from their regulars.

Thanks for the suggestion and the offer!

 

[lljdma06]

The tank looks great. That valis has grown like mad and the rainbow fish are stunning. Funny, I've never kept them, hmmm, maybe I should.

I've also been having issues with cloudy water and seachem liquid fertilizers, but what's funny is that it's only affected one of my tanks. I'm glad yours cleared up. Mines better, but still cloudy.

 

[Themuleous]

I like the jungle look, gives the fish lots of places to hide and investigate. That Hygrophila on the left looks like a small shrub its so bushy!

Sam

 

[Squirrelbuddies]

Funny how so much can change in 10 days....

1. Removed about 75% of the jungle vallis -- it was way out of control. The stuff I took out filled a 5 gallon bucket. It was getting so I had to trim it twice a week so it wouldn't shade the other plants.

2. Tried to trim the big bushy plant on the left....that didn't work out so well.

3. New plants arrived this week in the mail -- hooray!

4. Starting replanting last night and worked on it some more tonight.

5. Water is more cloudy than ever due to the uprooting/rearranging of plants.

I am rather discouraged at this point as the tank looks like total crap. Water is cloudy, plants are small so it looks bare...

I'm having thoughts of calling it quits and selling everything (all five tanks) and buying a 125 gallon with a pair of oscars....no plants, no gravel, no CO2, no high lighting, no fertilizers, no researching "planted tank issues" until 2AM. Just two simple fish in one basic tank with rocks and a pile of small stones for them to play with. I spent all day last Saturday researching the best place to buy CO2 supplies so I could replace the Nutra fins and only ended up with carpal tunnel and no CO2. I need to get a life!

Assuming I push these thoughts away and wake up feeling better in the AM, I am going to focus on getting rid of the cloudy water. It's been weeks. It seems when I stop dosing the ferts. the water starts to clear up. Why is this??

No picture to post at this time. Just imagine a desserted, foggy London street.

 

[Themuleous]

Dont say that!!!!! You can't give up just yet, you're on the verg of it looking great, give it time to fill out and it'll look loads better, not that it looks crap now!!!

Do you does the NO3 and PO4 at the same time as you does Iron? If added together this can turn the water cloudy, try doseing it on alternate days, i.e. ferts one day then iron on the next, and so on.

Sam

 

[Squirrelbuddies]

Thanks, Sam - the encouragement is good.

I dose NO3 and PO4 every other day and Trace on the off days. I haven't even started to dose iron yet.

My 29 gallon is the same story. It's been cloudy for over a month. I even used the diatom filter on that one for a couple of hours just to see if it would clear the cloud. No improvement was seen.

Also, what is the filmy-looking stuff on the surface of the water? Is that normal?

 

[Themuleous]

Oh right, well I'm afraid Im all out of suggestions then, new to EI myself!

The film is normal, not 100% sure what it is, have heard its bacteria or just an oily film. I have it on all my tanks, so long as there is some surface movement (obviously not too much or it'll affect the CO2 ) it shouldn't be a problem. I remove some when I do the water change, just hold the end of the tube a few mm from the surface and it gets sucked in.

Sam

 

[Squirrelbuddies]

Quick update -- things are looking better (and I have a better attitude, too!)

Water is still somewhat milky looking. It actually looks pretty good straight on. It's when I look through the sides, I really notice how cloudy it is.

My tiger lotus bulb has sprouted and the glosso is pearling tonight!

Algae is starting to appear. I think this is due to the loss of plant mass. (the vallis was HUGE.) Hopefully that will stop once the new plants take off.

I'm having second thoughts about the black gravel...it reminds me of pavement/blacktop. (I miss the natural looking sand.) Oh no....I don't even want to go down that path!