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Dan's 45p - A Blank Canvas.....

Great organization in that cabinet :)

If you haven't already, spend some time on Tropica's site, they offer quite a bit of supporting information if you click on all the links - the 90Day App is quite decent, you may need to change water more frequently to start if you've used ADA soil (with it's high ammonia levels released) which generally recommends 50% daily for the first 1-2 weeks, then alternate days for a week or so, then every 3rd day for a week or so, then weekly ...
(Note Tropica soil does not release measureable ammonia when their water change schedule is followed, so when they add shrimp etc before tank "cycles", it's quite a different situation from an ADA soil setup)

Without the shrimp etc in at the early stages, algae detection is on you, so take the time to check the tank thoroughly each day & physically remove algae, also possibly increase CO2 & water changes ... ADA also offers the "Phyton-Git"
If tank receives much ambient room light, you might consider running CO2 24/7 during tank startup.

I believe ADA begins with fertilization in the early stages, but also uses different fertilizers as tank develops, so you might consider following Tropica's guideline of limited ferts in the first week or two
(I just use Tropica range, & don't add anything other than CO2, light & water changes in the first few weeks)

Tanks cycling usually takes 4-6 weeks, fastest is ~2-3 weeks ... if you can source some filter material from a running tank, that will jump start your tank (note ammonia levels greater than 2-4 ppm will inhibit your bacteria of interest).

Usually one can check filter establishment by looking at nitrate production , but most EI recipes seem to include a good amount of nitrate salts, so you need to take this into account.

Filter comment - the outlet "poppy" shape produces a gentle flow compared to the ADA "lily" shape, hardscape also impacts flow, so take note as tank progresses.

If plants are packed/stored properly, they should be fine with a Sat pickup - remove any damaged leaves as you're planting.
 
Cracked diffuser! Not happy.

Turned everything on and it started bubbling from the casing, must have cracked during the move as it was fine before. I've superglued over the hairline crack for now and think I will need to order a new one. I also forgot the wood would float as it had dried out so now it's being weighed down with a big rock.

On the plus side the STC 1000 and hydor appear to be working in harmony, all the timers and auto doser are programmed. I am going to start with 8 hours of lights with CO2 coming on/ going off 1 hour before the lights. Dosing 10ml of macro/ micro on alternate days.

Just hoping the superglue will seal the crack enough to allow me to run CO2 until a new diffuser arrives! Stress.....

Dan
 
Superglue appears to cure all woes...

Looks like it is ok for now, will get a replacement at some point.

Couple of pictures, ignore the rock weighing down the wood, should have soaked it!

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Dan
 
To start I would recommend 6 hours or less of light

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Hi,

Thanks, OK will change the timer, how long should I leave it at that, should I gradually increase it over a few weeks? I Have a dimmer on the Aquasky so I have dimmed it to about 70%. Should I do the same with the CO2 or keep that on 8 hours?

All the plants are in and everything is running.

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Again ignore the big rock weighing the wood down!

Dan
 
I was hoping someone with more experience would chip in. Plans need to transition from emersed to be submerged which takes months. From the first weeks they are very inefficient at taking CO2 from the water that is the reason most folks advice you to run low light for the first month or so, this slows down your tank growth so that if CO2 is insufficient you don't have major plant melt and algae all over the place. It will still happen just slower so you can reduce lights, increase CO2 and improve flow to solve the problem in time.

CO2 normally starts 2h before lights on and shuts off 2h before lights out. You may need to play with this

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Hi,

Thanks Bacms, I have the lighting on 6 hours and have reduced the intensity further today as have started to get some monte carlo melt. I guess getting some is inevitable as it transitions from being a tissue culture plant to immersed:

Melting Monte carlo...

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Had just gone a water change, hence the blue drop checker.

Any help appreciated.

Dan
 
  • Micranthemum 'Monte-Carlo' Tissue Culture
  • Bacopa 'Compact'
  • Anubias Nana 'Mini'
  • Rotala Rotundifolia
  • Hydrocotyle tripartita Japan

Just reminding myself what's planted :oops:

If you're not easily able to replace the MC, I'd be inclined to pull some & set up an emerse culture from one of the bunches that still looks decent - just spread out the stems & lay them on the soil, they'll anchor themselves
(a shallow translucent plastic bin with some damped ADA etc soil, plastic wrap cover, daily misting but be careful of too much damp, indirect light on a window sill should work - glass vases look better of course ;))

I don't think the melt is inevitable - take a look at the 1,2-Grow plants that Pedro has used in his Going Dutch by Tropica journal - obviously he's a master :thumbup: but note his attention to detail & the separation of the stems ...
I believe that plant history impacts "meltability" as does localized environment ie your water parameters, whether filter/tank is still in that "brand new" stage (an established tank/filter has a complex array of microlife) ... very soft leaves are more susceptible to physical damage/bruising during handling but I don't know how significant a contributing factor this really is ...

My experience with tissue culture MC is sometimes it melts, other times it doesn't ... not very helpful :lol:
I placed some in a Spec 19 a week ago, it's melting nicely, I added shrimp last night (my delay) & they've cleaned up all the melty bits so at least what remains looks clean & green.
The good news is that even just a bit of a stem will grow on & on ...

Likely you can't vacuum the melty bits without pulling up the whole section, try doing it with tweezers (if you're good that way), definitely stay on the water changes.

You might try separating some of the larger clumps into smaller sections.

I think balancing CO2 & light is more important than actual light levels - my very light poor Spec 19 has melted the MC very nicely (of course CO2 is also very low as none is added) - but you're likely doing fine to reduce light intensity.

The time required for plants to transition from emerse to submerse is species dependent, some not very promising looking Didiplis diandra looks to be completely submerse leaf after a couple weeks.
(it was doing rather well until the chocolate gouramis decided it was in need to trimming - & they do just trim, bite & release those untidy leaves leaving an artistic stem behind - fortunately the Dd is made of pretty stern stuff & is growing back quickly)

Re tank flow, some dislike that bowl shaped glass outflow - check that you've got current where you want it (it only needs to be gentle & not a torrent)
I don't see a diffuser in the tank, so assume you've put it inline - otherwise you might place it near the MC ...

Without livestock in the tank, you can also opt to run CO2 24/7 while plants establish, especially if room lighting is brighter than dim.
 
Reduce the light for sure it may also be worth searching the forums to see the intensities people use those lights.

Try and move your drop checker close to the substrate as you probably have low CO2 in there, so you will need to up your CO2 injection or improve distribution. Ate you aiming to get a lime green at lights on?

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Update:

Plants growing in nicely, still struggling a bit with the Monte carlo though, although I think it is still growing...

Getting this annoying speckled film on the surface, half wondering if it is the EI ferts crystallising.

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Dan
 
Sooooo I was thinking of adding some fish this weekend, so thought I'd test the water....

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Looks like I will be waiting a bit longer.

Nitrite and nitrate are through the roof, but ammonia is looking reasonable. Am I right in thinking that the cycle has started and the ammonia has been cleared from the aqua soil but now I just need to nitrite to reduce?

Just done another water change to help things out.

Dan
 
I'd do 3 consecutive day 90% water changes - that should bring the nitrites etc right down & then your kit should be able to more accurately measure the N's
When kit is measuring end of scale (or close), there's no way to know if the actual N value is that last measurement or 10x that last measurement ... you can take the tank water & mix it with tap water (check "tap water only" as a "blank" though) in various ratios to get a more accurate estimate of nitrites etc

Note that when nitrite levels are that high, they will inhibit growth of your desired filter bacteria, so another reason to just do large water changes ... as you're seeing both nitrites & nitrates, your filter is likely well started BUT check tap water for nitrates also consider what nitrate levels you may be adding through fertilizers

I add shrimp & otos from Day 2 & feel they just help with plant establishment - I use a Seachem Ammonia Alert & always have some cycled filter material to jump start the process.

Nice to see the tank settling in, you might just keep removing the melting bits from the 'Monte Carlo' - if you scissor, then wave gently with your hand, it shouldn't interfere with rooting, then syphon as needed.

That speckled film may be more algae related than EI precipitates (floating ... hmmm ... :wideyed: ) - just turn the filter towards the surface at night to break it up ... you can also try skimming with a very fine net or paper towel to remove the bulk of it ...
 
Hi,

Thanks for the replies, I have done a couple of water changes so nitrite is much better now.

Next problem is algae, got brown patchy stuff and then brown fronds (highly technical I know).

Monte carlo still melting in patches. I have removed these bits as they weren't rooted well and trimmed all the remaining green stems and replanted.

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The brown is diatoms which are common in new set-ups. How many water changes have you been doing? Also if you still are getting melting you need to lower your lights. How many hours are you doing at the moment?
 
I've upped the water changes to 50% twice weekly as I had slacked before with only once weekly. Lights are dimmed to about 70% output on for 7 hours a day.
 
Lights dimmed to about 50% and on for 6 hours per day.

50% water change today and had to replant the back left background plant as the deeper stems went black, assuming they aren't getting enough light.

Diatoms still occurring, keep removing as much as I can...

I also removed more of the melting monte carlo and replanted the newer green offshoots. Not sure if I am winning or losing here!

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Dan
 
Black stems are melting which is caused by to much light for the amount of CO2 your tank is requiring. Raising lights levels will make the problem even worst

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Inhabitants are now present.

10x Neons
7x Otos

Still waiting for the Monte Carlo to pick up... lights on 6 hours at 50%, CO2 on for 8 hours, EI ferts auto dosed.

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Dan
 
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