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ADA 60F iwagumi

jbirley said:
Sorry to hear about the shrimp :( plants defiantly look like they are thicker to me though its starting to grow in nicely. on a side note does it not drive you mad that the tank is not centre on that stand that would drive me mad.
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lol I only did that as lily pipes don't have enough room and bend into the tank but I could try play around see if I can get in centre as it does bug me to be honest the inlet fits but outlet into tank have atomiser on so awkward but will have play about this weekend I think

any recommendations for fish ?

Thanks dean
 
foxfish said:
Way hey mate, definitely looking better know!!
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thanks mate need to buy more now for the rear of the tank, what fish do you think I should buy that are small as I want a shoal of around 10-15 will get some more shrimp this weekend

Thanks dean
 
Hi everyone been very busy lately not had time to post update also been a little discouraged as purchased 2 sets of shrimp and all jumped even when dropped water level 1cm :( but done full tank clean today and now want to get back on track, my algae seems to have reduced now so glad about that, I am now going to do full clean every week so clean filter etc I found the white sponge pad on top of the filter media was quite dirty so squeezed out but when should I change this ? and I remember some people saying they never changed their small balls or the tube media so just ruffled around a bit is this right ? will get a picture up tomorrow of how the tank currently looks grass has grown nicely but not enough so will need more also thinking of buying some staurogyne does this plant stay small and any ideas of were to place maybe left hand side onto of the bank ? (still not looking full enough of plants) also need some fish as bored now of fishless ;) want a shoal of small fish any recommendations ? maybe tetras or rasboras ? also still doing daily dosing etc

sorry for not keeping the post going but back now and help greatly appreciated
Thanks Dean
 
Hi Deano.
Bad luck with the shrimp mate. All jumping suggests something they dont like....what c02 injection rate are you currently running and are you using liquid carbon products still?
Staurogyne will look great as an accent perhaps clustered around the base of some of the rocks. It doesnt get too big and will be a nice contrast to the hairgrass.
As for fish...maybe celestial pearl danios (although maybe a little shy), or chilli rasboras?
Cheerio,
Ady.
 
yeah I agree currently only 1-2 bps only lime green drop checker and been dosing liquid carbon around 4ml daily but stopped recently as not much algae, think I will buy some more hair grass and some pots of staurogyne :) thanks for fish recommendations, I want small fish so can have a lot I like those celestial pearl danios and chilli rasboras but I really like fish that are blue like neon tetras etc is there any small similar fish ? and is the starogyne easy to maintain ? will post pic later on mate to show progress

Thanks dean
 
pics as promised and any help on above would be great
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thanks dean
 
what you think you think staurogyne will look good and is there any small shoaling fish that look like neon tetras (also like green neon tetras are they small enough to have decent shoal)? and I will test my water tomorrow see if ammonia or nitrites etc high or low or what

Thanks dean
 
Deano3 said:
been dosing liquid carbon around 4ml daily but stopped recently as not much algae,
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careful Dean, best to be algae free for a while before thinking about reducing co2 availablity. Its certainly a mistake ive made.... thinking all is well then increasing light, stopping LC etc only to be bitten again.
The tank is looking much happier now, will be great to see it bloom and grow in.
 
Yeah agree with Iain there. Best to view liquid carbon as a food source for the plants rather than an algaecide, and as such treat its use with the same principles as pressurised gas regards consistency and any alterations.
The plants will be used to the extra carbon availability so if you want to stop using it best to do it very gradually monitoring any plant health issues and adjusting lighting if necessary.
Cheerio
Ady
 
Thanks for the info guys I have totally stopped dosing the liquid carbon last week or so and seems ok now, I also ordered 7 more pots of plants grass and staurogyne so should be here tomorrow, removed all the long grass as very thin and looked rubbish, grass seems to have stop thickening but back on top of it now and determined to get started now as got slightly bored of having no fish :( dosed some household ammonia yesterday and took to 5 ppm then checked 24 hours later and exactly the same so going to start fishless cycling now ammonia wont harm the plants will it ? looking forward to getting all plants in and getting some fish

no beneficial bacteria take it that's why the shrimp jumped :( but sticking with it now , will post pics when get new plants

Thanks dean
 
Mate you don't want to be putting ammonia in your tank!!!!!!!!!!! it was cycled months ago!
Even before you filled it up the friendly bacteria was working & ever since you switched your filter on the tank was maturing you filter with dead plant particles etc.
 
well planted all my new pots today so will upload a pic tomorrow, thanks for info fox fish but just a quick question I am unsure about, if it is cycles when I add 5ppm of ammonia should it not be gone within 24 hours ? because it didn't change for me at stayed at 5ppm ? I didn't add any today and going to check my drop checker tomorrow and make sure co2 doesn't need adjusted then hopefully this weekend if possible will get some fish in there as up to now its only been a garden :( there is dobbies near me maybe they will have some chilli rasboras, also seem some neon tetras in pets at home said small in brackets but says grow to 4cmdo they always grow this big as think would be to big for my tank ?

also I have asked this question before but how often should I change filter foam pads (the blue and white ones) up to now I have just squeezed out and I know some people never touch the trays full of biological media any help on the question would be great.

Thanks Dean
 
Black Neons can reach 4cm but standard neons normally max at about 3cm. Green neons are usually slightly smaller at 2-2.5cm.

As you are unsure of the bacterial load of your filter, I'd be careful to start with. Add a small shoal of 6 and carry out daily water changes for a week or so just in case. On your size of tank I probably wouldn't add more than 10 fish in total anyway, you could add the next 4 a week or two later. If opting for the chilli rasboras they are a bit smaller so maybe top it out at 12.

I also wouldn't add any more ammonia.
 
I like the green neon tetras aswel will go have a look next weekend as never has chance this week, here is some planted picks upped my co2 a little and looking good
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will keep eye on this week and doing water changes every other day
Thanks dean (stopped adding ammonia, hopefully bacteria in filter I just thought should go back to 0ppm form 5 in 24 hours)
 
Hi all,
I should say straight away that I wouldn't ever add ammonia to a planted tank, <http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/should-i-fishless-cycle-a-new-planted-tank.27103/> and I've never kept a non-planted one.
Deano3 said:
I just thought should go back to 0ppm form 5 in 24 hours
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Ammonia (NH3) is pretty toxic, but unless you added enough of it to kill all your plants and your filter bacteria, you can be fairly confident that you didn't still have 5ppm ammonia. Plant/microbe systems are very effective at biological filtration, and the large surface area of your tank would ensure that oxygen isn't a limiting factor.

The real problem is that testing for ammonia isn't as straight-forward as many forums would have you believe. Because it occurs as both a dissolved gas (NH3) and an ion (NH4+), dependent upon pH, most test kits measure "total ammonia nitrogen" TAN as NH3. It should say on your test kit whether it is a "Salicylate" or "Nessler" test.

There a number of problems with this, and the measured values may have little to do with the actual ammonia levels. If the test gives a green/blue colour? it is a salicylate based test ("free ammonia reacts with hypochlorite to form monochloramine. Monochloramine reacts with salicylate, in the presence of sodium nitro-ferricyanide, to form 5-aminosalicylate"). The efficiency of these tests declines over time as chlorine is released from the sodium hypochlorite reagent.

Nessler reagent tests also have some problems, but are more stable, my suspicion would be that they aren't still sold due to the mercury issue? if it is a Nessler test it will give an orange colour.

We do some ammonia testing (as NH4+ with an ion selective electrode), but even then values are open to question due to interference by sodium (Na+) etc. Why use an ion selective electrode? because it gives you a more consistent result than the tests do. Would I make decisions based upon it? No, because it is still not reliable or repeatable.

cheers Darrel
 
Thanks Darrel for that very complicated but great explanation ,took a few times reading lol, I am not adding any ammonia at all now, I am allowing my new plants to take hold and making sure no algae etc then be adding fish Darrel can I quickly ask you how often should I change filter foam pads (the blue and white ones) up to now I have just squeezed out and I know some people never touch the trays full of biological media any help on the question would be great ?

Thanks Dean
 
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