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My humble start - need plan advice

well woke up and the airline was separated from the sponge. hope the bacteria survived. probably gonna add 3 more albino corys if dont get a ammonia spike.

I really want to add a betta for a star fish of the tank, but then the tank has to be 75 or greater temp. Any other singleton fish that would be good at 74 sh?
 
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Added considerably more plant mass! Free of charge from a nice guy in the local fish club.

50% wc complete today

Traveling again M-W.

BBA toothbrushed off

Doing 1/3 suggested EI dosing

Got a free plant last week from the LFS that threw a cutting in when I bought $40 in fish.

The new leaves are growing in oddly, can I get an ID on that one Water Wisteria maybe??
 

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I attempted to use the described dosing in post 79, which as far as I understand the IFC calculator (is there a youtube for dummies on this thing? I just didnt know what to add in some of the entry points like ratios and what not) is somewhere between the mid and full EI Dose. Problem was I didnt know to add an acid to the Distilled water so I got some precipitate? in the Macros. The liquid is clear with a little bit of ferts that wont dissolve. I was unable to add the full amount of water as my container was only 500ml so that just maybe the source of my misadventure.

Will adding 10ml of white vinegar and some water to top it up after the first few doses help? or is this batch overloaded?
 
Midweek update noticing a lot less BBA after the addition of the floaters =D so could have been a light intensity thing. :D
 
Well by sunday the BBA was back in full force in limited to the same area that it normally was. I treated it with Hydrogen Peroxide 3%.

I was able to repair the SunSun Filter and will be adding it to the tank this week to assist with some mechanical filtering of the water, as its quite brown when I do WCs.

The floaters seem to be doing well.
 
got a lot more stock in the tank, a lady in the LFG got very ill and couldnt care for her tank any more.

7-8 full size albino corys
2 black widow /black skirt tetras
1 pigmy cory
1 CPD

Had a death in the family, and had to drive to MI for 3 days. The molly mill was self correcting( they got ate). I'm hoping shes out of the necessaries to keep having babies its been 2 spawns since she saw the male.

my micros started growing some mold... that mean the whole batch is shot? or can I just skim it off?
 
Im sorry about your loss :(

With regards to the mold, some continue to use it, but I heard some molds can make toxic substances, so the safest option would be to start with a fresh batch.
I guess this might indicate you need to get some potassium sorbate then? Did you try searching for it under alternative labels, like E202 or Sorbistat?
 
Im sorry about your loss :(

With regards to the mold, some continue to use it, but I heard some molds can make toxic substances, so the safest option would be to start with a fresh batch.
I guess this might indicate you need to get some potassium sorbate then? Did you try searching for it under alternative labels, like E202 or Sorbistat?
Thanks, was my Father in law. Wonderfully kind man, happened to own a perrenial farm. I wish I had more chance to talk plants with him.

regarding the mold, I skimmed the top and I nuked the mixture with some hydrogen peroxide. we'll see if it grows back. if it does, I'll get some additive and rework it.

On the fun side, the adult albino corys remind me theyre here every once in a while by shooting to the top and splashing me at my desk. its pretty funny.
 
Hey @Hufsa thank you for thinking of me! Its summer and have had little time to really spend on it like I should.

Almost no change at all to the slow growers.
Frogbit all died.
The Duckweed and salvinia grow like weeds.

A bit of black beard algae growing on the roots of the floaters which I harvest and toss, some still on the wood but its not bad just a spot here and there.

The canister filter I got free developed a leak.

Had a 1 of 7 kuhlis, 1 of 7 black neons and one rescued fish bite the bucket, but the rest seem very healthy.

Ive dialed way back on the ferts b/c I just dont have time to maintain it. Trying to help my recently widowed mother-in-law tidy up her house for sale, and once this project ends and the fam finally has a disney trip I'll be more able to spend some $ and some time making a better setup.

I have 3 rescue 10g tanks and on 55g just sitting in the garage. I honestly am thinking of starting a bit smaller and keeping just shrimp in a 10g.

I feel that I dont have a green thumb at all, but I am by no means quitting.
 
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hi hi!
the BBA is all gone and the tank is rather the same otherwise. I do not like the shape of it, I think it’s called a 27g column. Plants at the bottom just melt or grow too slow for it to be what I consider mentally engaging. Livestock deaths: I thought all the kuhlis, but was pleasantly suprised and saw one 2 nights ago, and 2 of seven black neons and 2 of 7 cardinal neon die in total. I think the reason was I was slightly too liberal with the Water Conditioner and I didnt know that it sucks to O2 right out of the water. The other fish are all lovely healthy with very nice color so I cant really blame myself as I am pretty good about water changes. However, I dont think I am going to put anything in it except for males growing-out from the "molly mill". I have them sexed and separated well and haven’t had any births in 6 months. I'm no longer actively trying to make that tank work as a planted tank.

The 10g "molly mill" has turned into my favorite tank to be completely honest. I had to toss my giant ball of susswassertang b/c while on a trip to disney the tank got overrun with green thread algae. I added about 10-12 cherry shrimp from a local enthusiast I got for $20. Theres now about 24 of them and 2 females are berried. Im also just adding plants here and there as I want. I have an SAE in there, which I know should go in a 20 minimum but hes a happy little guy and doesnt bother anyone. the green thread is almost all gone, and now I am turning the lights on longer to get more algae believe it or not. A couple tiny clippings of the suss that I was able to save are starting to grow on their own without any green thread as well. Ive added some java moss (free cause it was about dead and it may not survive anyway) , an anubias which has really nice color, some other reineckii Red and a rotilla and one other kind of plant I got for free since it looked so bad... It definitely has its problems and not really worth a photo, but theres so much action, that it is a fun tank to own. Ironically its the one I put the least amount of mental effort into, and its origin was an "emergency" home for baby fish.


I did set up another dirted tank... its a split down the middle 10g betta tank. I used smoked lexan with small holes drilled to separate, yet allow the water to circulate. But I dont think the opacity was high enough, its dark in the room as you look through it, but with LEDs it really blasts through, as they were constantly flaring at each other thru the separator and one died either of stress or maybe he did the 50yd dash in the 40yd gym and bonked himself too good.

I was very sad about this, as it was a tank that my girls and I set up together. We went to the local beach and gathered some driftwood and 2 buckets of sand (Lake ontario freshwater), We then went to a local swamp and grabbed about 2 handfuls of bog dirt and went and grabbed 2 nice amazon swords at the petshop on the way home. I grabbed some topsoil dirt from a raised bed garden that hasnt been fully planted(started last fall so the dirt has been washed pretty well by nature). Put the topsoil in the bucket just to get the wood chips out. Anway it was a really fun Daddy-daughter(s) adventure for the 8yo twins as we spent a whole day of it with the thought that the tank would be instantly cycled given the amount of microfauna/bioligicals being added from nature. I did add a precycled sponge filter for safety.

I sprinkled about a months worth of dry salts on the bottom, sprinkled some kitty litter over the top, then the 1" of topsoil and threw some of the bog dirt on top. then capped it without about 3-4" of sand and put the 2 large amazon swords in it. the girls also chose a plant or two from the molly mill.

I had a business trip for 2 days and one of the fish died while i was gone, had I been home I probably would have separated the fish. But the wife didnt know to communicate what the signs were, or what was normal vs what wasnt. Of course the one child was crushed. and I felt terrible.

Also the swords leaves air dried for a bit while I was setting it up and now are turning yellow/brown /translucent, I might have to just cut it way back and see if they recover.
 
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I am planning to make a 3 or 4 tank 10g tall bookshelf, each tank having its own sort of look. I planning the woodworking atm. wondering if I should sort of sump it and plumb it together or leave each its own entity. One thing I really want to do is make the water changes that much easier but plumbing them all together. but I havent seen a system that supports what I really want to do.
 
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