My first planted tank (ADA 60p high tech)

[refrigerator]

Hi folks! After discovering aquascaping 15 years ago when I was a kid, I've finally gotten round to setting up my own planted tank 😄 Will post updates in this thread + update this post with new pics as things develop. Feedback would be much appreciated 🙏

Current stage: Hardscaping

Equipment

• Tank: ADA 60p
• Filter: Oase Biomaster 250 Thermo
  • I bought 4L of Seachem Matrix but have decided to stick to the default media in the Oase after much deliberation 😂
• Some CO2 kit I got from GreenAqua
• Chihiros WRGB 2 45cm light
• Oase CrystalSkim 350 surface skimmer

Plants

• I've ordered a bunch, will update this once they arrive

Critters

• TBD but I'm thinking a school of red/orange tetras and some little red shrimps

Progress

Day 1: equipment finally arrived

Day 4: hardscape placed, still need to glue it together but I think I'm happy with it. It's lava rock + mangrove wood with ADA Amazonia aqua soil. Plants should arrive in 2 days then I'll be able to place them and start cycling

Thoughts/questions:

1. One of the challenges is that the tank is going to be visible from 3 sides (2 big + 1 small) as a quasi-room-divider, so I can't have a real "background" or put too much scape in there. I'm worried that maybe the scape is too minimal, but it feels like it's easier to start simple and add more vs start with too much and try to remove stuff if I'm not happy with it
2. I'm very surprised there isn't a consensus on which filter media to use haha, lots of people out there still shilling Matrix, others following aquariumscience.org (myself included), etc.
3. Does it matter where the skimmer is placed relative to the filter inlet/lily pipe?

 

[Imran #786]

Looking sweet... u could a little more elevation at the back and a little more stone.
Just a thought 🤷‍♂️

 

[richardcunliffe]

scape is too minimal

Really depends on what look you're after and what your plant choices are. If you have stems then this will get swallowed up. If you do go bigger then just consider what the flow around the tank is. Probably have inlet on one side and outlet on the other of the central island.
Looks like it's going to be a nice set up. The room looks great, nice rug!

 

[Mike Singh]

Interesting project. Plant heavy from the beginning.

 

[refrigerator]

Day 10: Planting complete
I forgot to rinse the Seachem Purigen before putting it in the filter, so I had cloudy water for a few days but it cleared up

Day 24: Couple of weeks in (no CO2 yet)
Annoyingly I was missing a part for my CO2 regulator and was having trouble finding it, so ran the tank without CO2 for the first few weeks.
I introduced 2x Amano Shrimp + 10x Cherry Shrimp around this time.

Day 40: Lots of diatoms
Got the CO2 working a week ago, so now running the light 7 hours a day. But getting tonnes of diatoms in the last couple of weeks... I got 4 x Otocinclus catfish, but they haven't really made a dent in the algae yet.

Questions:
1. What should I do about the diatoms? I'm trying to manually remove them with a toothbrush but they just come back the next day, and I'm really worried about uprooting the plants in the process. I siphoned a lot of them off, but also accidentally siphoned up some of my grass, so now I'm too scared to do that. They look terrible!
2. When can I introduce some more fish? Planning on getting 12 Celestial Pearl Danios. I'm not really doing any water testing, though I do have these ammonia test strips which say that there's no ammonia (not sure how trustworthy they are)

Thanks!

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

What should I do about the diatoms? I'm trying to manually remove them with a toothbrush but they just come back the next day, and I'm really worried about uprooting the plants in the process. I siphoned a lot of them off, but also accidentally siphoned up some of my grass, so now I'm too scared to do that. They look terrible!

They are <"Fragilaria (Synedra), a filamentous diatom">. I'd keep manually removing them and <"they should go away"> as the tank matures. I know it is difficult, but you really need to concentrate on plant health and not the algae.

I'm not really doing any water testing, though I do have these ammonia test strips which say that there's no ammonia (not sure how trustworthy they are)

The test strips may or may not be right, but I wouldn't rely on them. Have a look at <"What is the “Duckweed Index” all about - Testing for fixed nitrogen, the elephant in the room">?.

When can I introduce some more fish? Planning on getting 12 Celestial Pearl Danios

I'd have let it grow in for, at least, another couple of weeks <"And so it begins..."> and the <"Seasoned Tank Time concept">.

I got 4 x Otocinclus catfish, but they haven't really made a dent in the algae yet.

My opinion is that whoever sold you these, well they shouldn't have done. They are delicate little fish that <"need an established tank">, you also need to feed them <"some vegetables"> as soon as possible.

cheers Darrel

 

[refrigerator]

Hi all,

They are <"Fragilaria (Synedra), a filamentous diatom">. I'd keep manually removing them and <"they should go away"> as the tank matures. I know it is difficult, but you really need to concentrate on plant health and not the algae.

The test strips may or may not be right, but I wouldn't rely on them. Have a look at <"What is the “Duckweed Index” all about"> - Testing for fixed nitrogen, the elephant in the room?.

I'd have let it grow in for, at least, another couple of weeks <"And so it begins...">.

My opinion is that whoever sold you these, well they shouldn't have done. They are delicate little fish that <"need an established tank">, you also need to feed them <"some vegetables"> as soon as possible.

cheers Darrel

Oh damn — how come you're worried about the Otocinclus? Is there not enough biofilm etc for them to eat without extra food? I bought algae wafers for them, so can start feeding that

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

how come you're worried about the Otocinclus? Is there not enough biofilm etc for them to eat without extra food? I bought algae wafers for them, so can start feeding that

Because they are sensitive fish, and eat a limited range of aufwuchs. You would need a huge tank to generate enough natural food for them. They will graze on <"structural leaf litter">and I would definitely offer them some.

They often don't recognise Algal Wafers etc as food, but may eat vegetables <"Tips on feeding otocinclus">, although these need to have gone slightly "slimy". They need to have very good water quality, a continual source of food and to look "plump".

If they <"continually swim around">? They are starving, and if they sit on the bottom and don't move? They are moribund and death is inevitable.

If they are happy they should be basically crepuscular and spend the day on a broad leaf, usually communally and in a vertical position. Towards the evening the will swim around and <"interact with one another">.

cheers Darrel

 

[G mac]

Otocinclus are sensitive to ammonia, so they often don't do well in new set ups.

 

[refrigerator]

Hi all,

Because they are sensitive fish, and eat a limited range of aufwuchs. You would need a huge tank to generate enough natural food for them. They will graze on <"structural leaf litter">and I would definitely offer them some.

They often don't recognise Algal Wafers etc as food, but may eat vegetables <"Tips on feeding otocinclus">, although these need to have gone slightly "slimy". They need to have very good water quality, a continual source of food and to look "plump".

If they <"continually swim around">? They are starving, and if they sit on the bottom and don't move? They are moribund and death is inevitable.

If they are happy they should be basically crepuscular and spend the day on a broad leaf, usually communally and in a vertical position. Towards the evening the will swim around and interact with one another.

cheers Darrel

Ok great, thanks!

 

[VarunA]

I'd add in 3 more Amano shrimp for that tank size. Amanos, cherries and ottos should take care of those brown algae. It is actually one of the easiest ones to deal with. Personally, I would also cut down the light intensity or photoperiod a bit until you find the balance and slowly raise it back up. I still use only 6.5-7h on my tanks. Also I am assuming you are doing more than normal water changes to deal with the nutrient release? I would do min 2 per week while it establishes itself.

PS: At day 40 already, I think it should be getting there. Maybe do a couple of big water changes and cut the intensity / photoperiod to find your balance.

 

[refrigerator]

I'd add in 3 more Amano shrimp for that tank size. Amanos, cherries and ottos should take care of those brown algae. It is actually one of the easiest ones to deal with. Personally, I would also cut down the light intensity or photoperiod a bit until you find the balance and slowly raise it back up. I still use only 6.5-7h on my tanks. Also I am assuming you are doing more than normal water changes to deal with the nutrient release? I would do min 2 per week while it establishes itself.

PS: At day 40 already, I think it should be getting there. Maybe do a couple of big water changes and cut the intensity / photoperiod to find your balance.

Thanks for the advice! My current Amanos absolutely demolished most of the other algae in the tank within like 48h (there was a lot on the wood in particular) but don't seem to eat the brown algae at all... is this common? Anything I can do to encourage them?

Will try big water changes and 6h of lighting, thanks