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Hello there!

Alex C

Member
Joined
13 Jan 2020
Messages
30
Location
Berkshire
Hello all,

Just joined up so saying hello.

Had a small 50L on the go for a few of years now which has always had a few plants in the go, and prior to that had a similar size but unplanted. Recently decided to experiment with an upgrade! Got a second hand corner which holds about 160L with the substrate in.

Trying a few things out with this one, soil under the substrate which I've never done, and going for a lot more plants, I want a under water jungle! Haha

Getting it fish less cycling at the moment and the only unexpected thing is a lot of white fluff on the branch I've put it. It's a apple tree branch and I'm fairly sure it's just fungus and harmlessbut if anyone can confirm this (or more importantly if it's not!) that would be appreciated!

Alex
 

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Hi all,
Welcome,
I want a under water jungle!
I'm a jungle fan, basically from the (average) small fishes point of view you can never have to many plants.

Have a look at @Chris Jackson's <"Lazy Asian Biotope"> and @Tim Harrison's <"Windswept Eternity">
Getting it fish less cycling at the moment
Don't add any ammonia, it won't help, and it may actually delay the amount of time before the tank becomes fish safe. I know that a lot of video, forums and shops still push fishless cycling with ammonia and test kits, but there are techniques with <"less risk involved">.

"Fishless cycling" was an improvement on the "sacrificial fish" method that preceded it and was based upon the bacteria that we thought occurred in aquarium filters, and their requirements for growth. <"Subsequent scientific research"> has shown that those bacteria mainly don't occur in aquarium filters and that nitrification is carried out by a wide range of microbes, many of which have only been discovered in the last 25 years.

Have a look at <"these threads">, <"Bedside Aquarium">, <"Has my tank instant cycled"> and linked threads.

It is different with a planted tank, you just need to plant the tank and wait until the plants are growing strongly before adding the fish. It is never entirely reliant on the filter organisms in the way a tank without plants would be. The plants themselves take up some of the fixed nitrogen, and they also provide conditions which increase the nitrification potential of the tank.

I really like a floating plant, they aren't CO2 limited and this allows them to respond quickly to changes in nutrient level. I've called it the <"Duckweed Index">, but it <"was around before me">.

cheers Darrel
 
Thanks a lot!

I've just been adding a bit of food on everyday to have something that breaks down for now. Not in a rush, currently the fish I have are happy as Larry in the other tank so no pressure from there.

I'll certainly hold off a bit longer than planned though, make sure the plants are going strong!
 
You don’t need to add fish food. It’s a rubbish source of ammonia as it’ll take a long time to break down and you can’t control it. One day you are gonna have to get all that rubbish out!

best option is to do daily water changes for a week. Then every other day,

3rd week add your fish in.

move a bit of filter media over now, then the rest when you add the fish.

hope that helps.
 
I've just been adding a bit of food on everyday to have something that breaks down for now. Not in a rush, currently the fish I have are happy as Larry in the other tank so no pressure from there.
 
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