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My first adventure into aquascaping - Aquael 125L Walstad

Thanks all! The frogbit has perished but the water sprite is looking greener now. As I've got red root floaters for the "aerial advantage", I'm not going to replace the frogbit for now. Sadly still no sign of the tiger lotus.

I've added about 15L of dehumidifier and RO water to the tank. It's going to take a while (and some maths) to reach the 2:1 ratio I'm aiming for. I'm reducing the hardness of the water mainly to give me more flexibility in what fish I can keep, if it helps the plants that's a bonus.

@hax47 thank you for your suggestion - I've dissolved a 3g of EDTA 13.5% iron in a spice jar of 80ml dehumidifier water and 2% vinegar. I'm planning to dose 0.5ml (18mg) each morning - roughly in line with the EI low light/weekly dose of 96mg/week. Calculated using - Nutrient Dosing Calculator

I'm hoping the iron will cease to be needed once I've dropped the water hardness, added fish (and fish food!) and let the tank become more established.
 
Today's water test -
Ammonia/NH3 - 0
Nitrite/NO2 - 0.25
Nitrate/NO3 - 5 - 10

Seems like things are going in the right direction!
 
Been feeling very optimistic today!

My red root floaters seem to be settling in and I've been enjoying watching the snails and other tiny mysterious creatures. The snails are bigger every day!

While there's still lots of algae in the tank, it's growing back on the glass very slowly after I scraped it, and only in certain places, so it feels like it's getting under control.

Plant growth, particularly the water sprite, is now bright green - the iron is definitely helping!

I trimmed and replanted the ludwigia which has revealed the tiger lotus is growing after all! It has unfurled a beautiful pink tinged leaf, with a second on the way. I really thought it had died, so I'm very happy!
 
Water test results -

Ammonia/NH3 - 0
Nitrite/NO2 - 0
Nitrate/NO3 -5.0
pH - 8.0
Carbonate hardness/KH test - 213 - 231 ppm CaCO3
General hardness/GH test - 267 ppm CaCO3

The tiger lotus has been growing like crazy, it already has a leaf on the surface!

I've attached the wood to a piece of rock to make it less likely to move if it gets knocked.

Think I might be good to add a few fish now, though the snails are hiding today so I want to check they're okay first. (Probably they just didn't like it when I was moving the wood around a bunch).

Edit -here's a photo of how things are looking (it's just cloudy from the reorganising) -
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I got three rabbit snails yesterday and a water lily. While there's plenty of algae for them to eat, just in case I added a few organic veggies: a slice of carrot, half a Brussel sprout, and some cabbage. The Brussel sprout has been a big hit - two of the snails have been eating it all day. I think the third just hasn't found it yet!

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My partner is not impressed as he was hoping they would be eating the algae. 😂 I'll remove the cabbage and the carrot but I don't have the heart to wrestle the sprout off them!
 
_Maq_ said:
Not a good idea, I'm afraid. You'd better try to decrease the organics.
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I'm not sure I understand your concern - half a sprout gradually decomposing seems like a very low bio load.

I've checked my water parameters today and they show no signs of excess nitrogen, in fact it seems like I should be investigating adding extra nutrients as nitrates are now unmeasurable:

Ammonia/NH3: 0
Nitrite/NO2: 0
Nitrate/NO3: 0

I have a question about algae on the glass more generally - is it realistic to rely on snails and perhaps otocinclus or shrimp to clean the glass or is some manual cleaning inevitable?
 
Also here's a tank update - you can see the tiger lotus is growing crazy fast - it's got maybe 6 leaves now. The lily is also rapidly growing towards the surface. Red root floaters are gradually growing in number and a piece of frogbit I thought was dead is gradually coming back to life!
1000001693.jpg

1000001692.jpg
 
Katharine said:
half a sprout gradually decomposing seems like a very low bio load.
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Yes, it seems. Yet in fact, it's a heavy load.
Katharine said:
I have a question about algae on the glass more generally - is it realistic to rely on snails and perhaps otocinclus or shrimp to clean the glass or is some manual cleaning inevitable?
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Your algae seem to be diatoms. They are very common in new tanks and usually disappear within a few weeks even without any particular measures. But they may be followed by green algae.

I wonder what's behind you zero nitrates. You know, nitrate tests are notoriously unreliable. But still...
 
I am planning some upgrades to the tank too:

I bought a secondhand filtosmart themo 100 off the lovely @Courtneybst and am waiting for pvc tubing to arrive to set it up. I am considering getting some taps so I can shut off the pipes when I'm doing maintenance (any advice on whether this is useful/what to buy appreciated!).

I'm not planning on adding much media as I want the plants to do the heavy lifting, the main advantage is aesthetics and that the flow shouldn't push my plants around as much.

Unfortunately I dropped the heater on the floor (😭) so I think I'm going to replace it with a Oase 150 heater instead, which means I won't need to worry so much about maintaining tank temperature when the room gets cold. (Maybe I will experiment with room temperature and my current heater to get a better sense of if this is necessary - in fact I have a smart plug I could use to track when it's on!)

I'm also considering getting the aquario neo flow inlet and outlet for aesthetics.
 
_Maq_ said:
Yes, it seems. Yet in fact, it's a heavy load.

Your algae seem to be diatoms. They are very common in new tanks and usually disappear within a few weeks even without any particular measures. But they may be followed by green algae.

I wonder what's behind you zero nitrates. You know, nitrate tests are notoriously unreliable. But still...
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Thank you, you seem to be spot on as the brown algae appears to have stopped growing and there is some evidence of green algae - a small patch on the glass and some on the wood.

I will take out the sprout when the snails leave it alone for long enough!

R.e. nitrates - there's been nothing going into the tank since I set it up (fertiliser, plant food etc - before the sprout of course, and the iron, and the misguided addition of a small amount of organic fertiliser a while ago!) so is it possible the nutrients are just gradually being used up as the plants take hold? (It's been almost a month since I set it up).

^ various edits as I remember things!
 
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It's useful to keep in mind that the matter exchange between sediment and water column is quite slow. There's no mass flow in the sediment, only diffusion. Beyond that, a zone of dense microbial population quickly develops beneath the sediment surface. These microbes utilize all oxygen diffusing down from the water column and use it to oxidize all species diffusing from beneath. A bit beneath the oxic zone microbes respire other species, primarily nitrates (that is denitrification). At the same time, they oxidize reduced forms of nitrogen, which is ammonia and organic compounds containing nitrogen. This is the environment which plants' roots love and cultivate because it's the best spot to acquire all nutrients, no matter if oxidized or reduced forms are preferred - both are there.
Next feature to consider is the fact that with few important exceptions (nitrates, nitrites, chlorides, sulfates, potassium) most nutrients appear in forms which readily adsorb on sediment particles, namely on organic matter and clay. Therefore they seldom diffuse up to the water column and remain buried in the sediment. This counts namely for all reduced nitrogen, but also for phosphorus and microelements.

You have made the sediment rich in organic matter, i.e. favourable for rich microbial colonization. Many things can happen there while the water column may remain relatively poor in nutrients.
Therefore, it's far from granted that your plants are starving while you measure zero nitrates in the water column. Instead of fertilizing, at this moment, I'd suggest to wait and look for signs of nutrient deficiencies on the plants. My bet is they are fine and not facing any nutrient deficiency.

This may change in the coming months because we know nothing as to how balanced is the stock of nutrients in your soil. It may very well be rich in nitrogen and poor in phosphorus. That's an example, any other imbalance is possible. Only plants will tell you for sure.

@dw1305's famous Limnobium index is of limited applicability in your case because floaters are indeed dependent solely on nutrients in the water column. That's not the same as nutrients within the substrate, especially if it had been established the way you did.
 
Hi all,
_Maq_ said:
Therefore, it's far from granted that your plants are starving while you measure zero nitrates in the water column. Instead of fertilizing, at this moment, I'd suggest to wait and look for signs of nutrient deficiencies on the plants. My bet is they are fine and not facing any nutrient deficiency.
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I agree with @_Maq_ , we just don't know what is happening in the substrate, other than as that substrate matures, and the plant roots ramify through it, it is going to provide a <"huge range of different environments">.

Dr Stephen Tanner's article is well worth a read <"Aquarium Biofiltration - SWISSTROPICALS"> & <"Anaerobic alkaline substrate - iron, natural products?">.
...... Plants are very effective at manipulating the rhizosphere to make nutrients available (or unavailable where toxicity may be an issue), so I rather have <"good root growth"> with the microbial community "managed" with radial oxygen loss etc.....
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_Maq_ said:
@dw1305's famous Limnobium index is of limited applicability in your case because floaters are indeed dependent solely on nutrients in the water column. That's not the same as nutrients within the substrate, especially if it had been established the way you did.
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Agreed, the <"Duckweed / Frogbit / Limnobium Index"> would have been better with a rooted emergent plant and that <"was where I originally started">, the problem is just that not all tanks can accommodate <"a Cyperus plant"> etc., but (nearly) all can have a floating plant.

cheers Darrel
 
Water test results for today:
Ammonia/NH3: 0
Nitrite/NO2: 0
Nitrate/NO3: ~5

I bought 6 red cherry shrimp today that I'm currently drip acclimating.

Plot twist - the three rabbit snails I bought last week may actually be black panther snails (sulcospira testudinaria). Here are a couple of photos of them side by side in the shop:
1000001740.jpg
1000001739.jpg

And here's some photos of the ones I have:
1000001728.jpg

1000001736.jpg


My most immediate concern is the difference in temperature requirements (my tank has been set to 23⁰C) - I've raised the temperature to 24⁰C today and will raise it to 25⁰C tomorrow. They have been eating and active, though one less so than the other two (it also has a hole in its shell). Of course I could take them back to the shop, but if I can provide the right environment for them I'd like to keep them as I'm quite attached to the little guys!
This is the best source I've found on them - Black Panther Snail (Sulcospira testudinaria)
 
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It's a mixed picture with the shrimp this morning - two are at the front and quite lethargic, three have been seen wandering around going about their day in what I assume is a happy fashion, and one I haven't seen at all. I suspect this is due to the difference in water parameters but I don't really know.

The lethargic black panther snail is also still in the same place. :(

There's lots of little critters covering the glass which makes me feel something must be going right in there. I guess I'm just going to have to wait and see.
 
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