PFK Olé - My first Journal

[Four50]

Hi All,

Thanks for the hello's to my intro post a few days back and i am delighted to be on here - truly been bitten by the bug again! This is my first journal; which i will try to keep up to date and i would be very grateful for any thoughts and comments as i go (please also excuse the inevitable daft questions from me!)

The tank itself was a subscription gift with a year long Practical Fishkeeping subscription i was given at Christmas and holds a sum total of 8 litres (measuring 22x17x22cm). It's therefore very small, that's a mouse mat it's sitting on, and is going to be a bit of a struggle for me i think!

Also, i have no idea how the name for this journal came about, but I will run with it

Specs are:

Betta Cube Mini Acrylic Tank - 8 litre, 220mm(L)x170mm(W)x220mm(H)
Built in IQ3 filter pump (in rear filter chamber / sump)
6w LED Flexi Light and Power Upgrade
Aquael Easyheater 25 thermostat set at 25 degrees

Fluval Mini Pressurised CO2 Kit
ANS Nano CO2 Diffuser
gUSH Nano Drop Checker

Dennerle FB1 Substrate Start
Dennerle Nano Deponit Mix
Dennerle Sulawesi Black Shrimp Gravel
Seiryu Stone

Vimi All in One Fertiliser

Tropica Anubias sp. 'Petite'
Tropica 1-2-Grow Eleocharis sp. 'Mini'
Tropica 1-2-Grow Micranthemum 'Monte Carlo'
Tropica 1-2-Grow Vesicularia dubyana 'Christmas'

plus i have pinched a bit of Eleocharis Parvula from my daughters tank and await some Eleocharis sp. to plant in the background

Alder Cones
Catappa Leaves
Guava Leaves
Banana Leaves
Mineral stone

Fauna will be shrimp only and added once the tank has matured for at least a month

This is a shot from my flicker (Flickr: four50photo's Photostream) and as yet i have still to suss out how to add the links etc - i have added more details to flickr too re how the shot was taken etc

The first attempt at a hardscape i think has turned out okay and given the space limitations (and rocks received) it's about as good as it will get! plus, i have now planted it

The shot above is of the glassware now added and i will endeavour to add a few more shots here soon. i have taken a 'test' FTS snap and will wait a few more days before attempting a decent shot to give the plants a bit of time to bed in (and hopefully the last of them will arrive in the post too!)

thanks for looking, bob

 

[Dan walton]

I keep looking at these tanks and I've often considered setting one up on my bedside cabinet make a nice lamp in a way will be watching this good luck looking forward to the planted pictures

 

[Ady34]

Look forward to seeing what you come up with
I like the scale shots of the glassware.
Cheerio
Ady

 

[aliclarke86]

I wanna see plants

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[Four50]

Hi all,

Thanks for the comments and Ali as requested I will get a couple of shots of the plants up on here tonight.

There are a few more snaps on my Flickr pages and actually a bit embarrassed by the state of some of them ... I will get some proper photos done soon

So this is what I'm taking to be day one and will try to get my planned routine kicked off when I get in from work tonight!

I'm aiming to do the following and as ever, grateful for any thoughts or comments

Week One: Daily

1. 25% (2 litre!) water change (dechlorinated tap water) at around 25 Degrees.
2. One 'skoosh' of Vimi All in One fert (1.3ml) possibly too much as the instruction states x1 pump for 50l and low plant levels?
3. Check temp, TDS and PH - tap water has a PH of 7 - 7.2 and TDS in the tank was 157 last night
4. Check CO2. I'm using an in-tank ceramic diffuser and have barely turned the valve on (it's on all the time as it's a micro setup and has no solenoid etc. I have fitted a nice steel check valve too)

My previous CO2 was a DIY yeast job and pressurised gas is a steep learning curve, I just about blew all the water out of the tank when I put the CO2 on yesterday! (C'mon, hands up who did the same!!)

After much fiddling, it's now just a very light trickle of gas and around 1 bubble every 15 secs or so! I do appreciate the plants won't need the CO2 when lights are out, so will see how it goes especially when I add shrimp in four weeks time might manually turn it off at bed time and back on in the morning? - difficult to get the minute adjustment right though for the gentle trickle of gas!

The gUSH drop checker was fitted yesterday too and had turned from a pale (not enough Bromo solution!) blue to a pale green within a few hours yesterday, so quite chuffed with that - will see what colour it is tonight and fingers crossed it's still green!

The LED (6w for 8l of water - using Tropica's scale for plants i.e. medium difficulty plant requires 0.5w per litre so should have that covered?) is set for 8 hours currently and with a two hour 'rest' period around midday - am sure I read that tip on here; must admit it appears to work and has helped with the algae control in my daughters tank, her plants are growing very well and the algae seems to be steady with no new growth that's noticeable (my daughters tank is very low tech - bare (pink!) gravel and no C02 or ferts what so ever)

Sorry for the rambling post and actually can't wait to get home tonight and stare at the tank again

All the best, bob

 

[Four50]

Oh and as part of the routine I will be adding a few millilitres of Nutrafin's 'Cycle' bacterial supplement with each water change

I resisted the urge to use some mulm and filter media from my daughters tank due to the algae issue ... I will just have to be patient and let it mature!

 

[aliclarke86]

Nice photographs mate. I shall follow on flickr. Good shots of chino was that a show you attended for fun or was it work?

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[Greenfinger2]

Hi Four50, Love the little Nano "Cube"?? Nice glassware too Looking forward to seeing this one come to together

 

[Four50]

Nice photographs mate. I shall follow on flickr. Good shots of chino was that a show you attended for fun or was it work?

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Thanks very much Ali, t'was a great gig and lucky enough to know the promoter so had full access backstage etc

 

[Four50]

Hi Four50, Love the little Nano "Cube"?? Nice glassware too Looking forward to seeing this one come to together [/quote

Thanks very much

 

[aliclarke86]

Awesome. I saw deftones in 06 at download was a fantastic show and tool finished that night off too kinda felt they peaked on the first night that year

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[Four50]

Awesome. I saw deftones in 06 at download was a fantastic show and tool finished that night off too kinda felt they peaked on the first night that year

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Liking your taste in music fella! I have also been lucky enough to get free passes to the likes if Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson to name but a few ... It's quite a struggle to remain laid back when these guys wander into the promoters office. Act casual bob, act casual!!!

 

[Lindy]

I'm so glad you didn't want to put a betta in that. I can't believe the things that are sold as betta tanks, this is quite big by some standards

 

[Four50]

I'm so glad you didn't want to put a betta in that. I can't believe the things that are sold as betta tanks, this is quite big by some standards

Fully agree that this is simply far too small for any fish ... Pushing it with shrimp even IMHO, planning on it becoming a growing on / display tank eventually once I get the other Christmas present setup

'Betta' is the manufacturer name I believe or it denotes the range of tanks, not a Betta as in Siamese Fighter

 

[Lindy]

Some amazing photos there. At first I thought the garden torture event thing was a night from glasgows club Noir.

 

[Lindy]

Betta' is the manufacturer name I believe or it denotes the range of tanks, not a Betta as in Siamese Fighter

Ah, thats why it's so big!

 

[Four50]

Some amazing photos there. At first I thought the garden torture event thing was a night from glasgows club Noir.

Thanks very much and no, it was a job shooting at an event in The Caves, Edinburgh (not my full time job, just a hobby)

 

[Four50]

Bit of a disaster kicking off the routine mentioned above tonight - central heating boiler packed in so no warm water or heating, hoping the engineer can fix tomorrow

tanks are all fine though so i added the fertiliser and filter supplement, checked the CO2 and fired a few plant pictures up here as requested! (no water change however)

This first photo is the delivery from Aqua Essentials and the first time i have tried the 1-2-Grow pots; very impressed with the quality and quantity, plus the service from AE was first rate too. Another first is using plants to carpet and having checked the CO2 distribution in the little nano tank, and being quite happy the gas will reach them, i decided to carpet with Eleocharis sp. 'Mini' and Micranthemum 'Monte Carlo'

Anubias is the only 'easy' plant used so far and a slow grower compared to the others. Loved the fact that when prepping and removing the wool stuff (technical term there!) i found i had three full rhizomes out of one the one small Tropica pot speaks volumes re value for money - my eldest was delighted too as she grabbed one, the biggest one, for her tank

The last shot for tonight is an idea i have seen done a couple of times while lurking in the background here over the last six months or so and i had to give it a go! The Tropica 1-2-Grow pots have loads in them and after planting my little tank, i spread a thin layer of TMC NutraSoil in old chinese takeaway tubs and simply laid the spare stems across the top, watered and plugged in the heated propagator. This is a shot taken a few days after i planted and the Micranthemum has taken off in a big way ... the Eleocharis not so much, as a school boy error of not watering daily resulted in crispy mini grass ... now sorted and recovering ... slowly!

I also checked (and watered!) the tubs again tonight and the growth on the Monte Carlo is staggering (to me anyway!). Just for info too, the propagator has a plastic / transparent lid with vent (currently closed) and it is alway covered in condensation. i think i spent the princely sum of £14 at the local Aldi for this 8w heated propagator and reckon it has paid for itself already

again, thanks for looking guys

 

[Greenfinger2]

Hi Four50, Sorry to hear about the boiler
Grow pots are superb Well worth the money I often get a few plants of Anubias out of one pot too
Love your thinking with the propagator Plants get all the C02 they need and grow a lot faster this way. Lots of plants for other projects

 

[Four50]

Day 2 (18/02/14)

2 Litre (20%) water change with de-chlorinator
Temp - 25 Degrees (no change)
TDS - 199 (was 157 on Sunday)
PH - 6.8 (was 7.2 on Sunday)
1.3ml (one pump) Vimi All in One Fert added
1ml Nutrafin Cycle Bacteria Supplement added
Plants all looking fine and CO2 mist still reaching them
CO2 turned off around at lights out, will put back on in morning (manual effort at the moment)

Now the daft questions!

1. The TDS is rising as it started off at 97 (15/02), was 157 (16/02), now it's 199 two days later - I can only assume this is due to the addition of the mineral stone and Seiryu Stone? I cannot think of anything else in the tank that could be causing the increase? I guess i can rule out the C02, the Capatta / Guava / Banana leaves and Alder Cone, the TMC Nutrasoil, the Dennerle Duponit mix, the Vimi fertiliser, the bacterial supplement and finally the "inert" Dennerle Sulawesi black shrimp gravel. I'm a little concerned as have read 160 approx. is the 'ideal' for shrimp?

2. How do you guys measure KH? I have a pen for the TDS and PH and is it a case of a test strip as not too keen on the test kits available due to previous issues

I'm hoping the Eleocharis Sp will arrive in the next few days to complete the scape and after planting that with more of the Eleocharis Parvula, i should man up and get a FTS shot up here

Again, thanks for looking