The ID Crisis Tank

[TheBubblingScot]

So I introduced myself a while ago but then r/l kept me away from adding anything further. To make matters more complicated I found out I was pregnant (yey unplanned pregnancies). To cut it short I'm now 4 months pregnant and my poor dirty tank is driving me nuts. So after some journal browsing I finally felt inspired enough to lump my big body into gear.

Here is my poor old tank in its current sorry state...

Specs :
91cm long
30.5cm wide
46 cm high
Makes 128 litres?
Metal half hinge hood with hinged section at rear for light power block and wires. (TBH was never a fan of this hood)

I plan to rescape a new planted set up from the old one but have no clear vision at this point. What I do want to do is reuse what I can in order to save money. And any new additions need to be cost effective or cheap. Not sure how far I can get with that mind set, but with a baby coming and the loss of my job last year, my poor hubby is my only source of income now, so anything that saves money is good. (Enough ranting woman, get on with it!)

I had already bought some gear to start with just before things had kicked off.

Here is what I have:-

Filter:
+ Eheim classic 600 external (basic kit just came with sponge filters)
+ Eheim 9mm double tap
+ Eheim 16mm double tap
+ Eheim external prefilter and powerhead (to protect tiny critters and allow external filter to not clog too quickly)
+ Eheim aquarium air 400 + 2 diffusers (for oxygenation if required)

Filter mediums (not sure what to use in what quantity):
+ Eheim Substrat Pro
+ Fluval Biomax
+ Fluval Clearmax
+ Fluval Zeo-Carb

Optional extras:
+ Eheim variable flow outlet
+ Eheim Lily flow pipe

CO2: (no idea at this point as never used before, more on that below)
+ JBL CO2 plus PH permanent test

Substrate:
+ Tesco low dust cat litter 10L (base)
+ Dennerle crystal quartz gravel diamanté black 10kg (cap)
+ Clay Peat Balls Root Nutrient for Aquatics Plants macro and micro fertilizer x 40 (to place evenly within base layer, but won't use too many (due to possible PH/KH issues?)

Chems:
+ Easy-Life Fluid Filter Medium - 500ml
+ Easy-Life Profito Plant Fertilizer - 500ml

Decor:
+ Bog wood x2 with java ferns (already in tank)
+ Spider wood x1 (currently soaking in tank)

(There is bogwood somewhere under there)

Lighting:
Currently only have an abysmal 25w daylight tube. I know I'll need better lighting and would love your advice on this one.
Note that the tank is in a room that receives full light from floor to ceiling windows which hit the left side and front of the tank.

CO2 wise, I have never used it before and my husband is quite hesitant at having pressurised canisters and CO2 gases in the house. I'm hoping you can all set me up with something simple, cheap and safe to use.

Also can anyone ID these plants? I've forgotten what they are. (Sorry about the reflection)

I was planning to drain the tank but could anyone advise how best to protect the plants and wood whilst out of the tank?

I also have poor neglected baby ramshorns in there that I need to temporarily rehome, but they should be okay in a jam jar for a short while?

Advice welcome! Thanks for reading.


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[ian_m]

quite hesitant at having pressurised canisters and CO2 gases in the house

We have 14 of these so call dangerous pressurised canisters hanging on the walls at work and nobody has died. They are call fire extinguishers.

 

[Madhav]

I'm hoping you can all set me up with something simple, cheap and safe to use.

Liquid co2
Simple : yes
Cheap : no
Safe : very


Pressurized co2
Simple : yes for most
Cheap : yes in long run
Safe : yes,

not heard any horror stories.
Its same as electricity or your gas connection in the kitchen. They are very safe if you treat respectfully.

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[gltjc]

The plants you are asking about are Cryptocoryne. They look like Cryptocoryne beckettii to me.

 

[agol77]

I was planning to drain the tank but could anyone advise how best to protect the plants and wood whilst out of the tank?

I also have poor neglected baby ramshorns in there that I need to temporarily rehome, but they should be okay in a jam jar for a short while?

Advice welcome! Thanks for reading.


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Hi there. I recently stripped my tank down for a rescape, and all of my plants (swords, Crypts, ferns) spent a couple of days in buckets in the living room, and survived perfectly. It shouldn't get too cold indoors at this time of year, but if you're concerned, or it's likely to take you more than a few days to get them back in the tank, you could add a small heater and air stone to the bucket. The snails would be fine in there too. If you decide to put them in a jam jar, just make sure you don't put the lid on and forget about it, as they will need to breathe.


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[TheBubblingScot]

Hi there. I recently stripped my tank down for a rescape, and all of my plants (swords, Crypts, ferns) spent a couple of days in buckets in the living room, and survived perfectly. It shouldn't get too cold indoors at this time of year, but if you're concerned, or it's likely to take you more than a few days to get them back in the tank, you could add a small heater and air stone to the bucket. The snails would be fine in there too. If you decide to put them in a jam jar, just make sure you don't put the lid on and forget about it, as they will need to breathe.


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Thankyou, I just hope I can find some big enough buckets around the house, or else they may end up in the bath wrapped in cling film until I'm ready for them. XD


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[TheBubblingScot]

So lighting wise I was thinking of investing in a Fluval Fresh & Plant 2.0 LED 46W for high tech plants, as would love some reds as well as greens in my plant setup.
Does anyone think that would be a good investment for High Tech planted?

My only other thought would be DIY suspended LED bulbs like the 38 PAR types, but not sure how well they would work for red plants.


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[Konsa]

Hi
If U are on a tight budget and suspended lights are an option there are lots of slim and powerful led flood lights(6500k) that will do the job perfectly
Regards Konsa

 

[TheBubblingScot]

So I decided to go with the Fluval Fresh & Plant 2.0. My husband was kind enough to buy it for me. I think he feels sorry for me being stuck in the house all day everyday.

I have yet to install it though. I want to get all the inlet/outlet pipes sorted first, which also involves cutting sections out of the condensation lid I bought.

So today I finally got some time from my husband to help with my tank rescape. He helped me move the tank outside so I could hose it down. Then we moved it back inside and added some blue adhesive film to the back of the tank.

(Sorry for the crappy phone photos)

Next my husband drilled holes for piping and cables inside the cabinet.

Then it was the fun bit. Adding the cat litter and capping with the fine black pebbles. My daughter wanted to help out with spraying it all down.

I couldn't help myself and added the wood back in (minus a lot of the java fern that had taken over every inch of wood). Filled it a couple of inches with water and added the crypts back in.
Once I was happy I flooded the tank a little more.

Just letting it settle a bit now while I have a break.
Also realised I had run out of tap water conditioner, so need to add that to the shopping list.

Next will be more plants when I figure out what I want and where I can order it. And at some point a few shrimp. I will add fish once I'm happy the tank has had time to cycle.


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[dw1305]

Hi all,

Also can anyone ID these plants? I've forgotten what they are. (Sorry about the reflection)

It might be <"Cryptocoryne ponterderiifolia">.

cheers Darrel

 

[TheBubblingScot]

Hi all, It might be <"Cryptocoryne ponterderiifolia">.

cheers Darrel

Thanks for the ID. Does C.Ponterderiifolia have red underside it's leaves? As most of the crypts I've replanted had this, as well as pinkish stems.


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[dw1305]

Hi all,

C.Ponterderiifolia have red underside it's leaves?

Yes it does, but other Crypts do as well. C. moehlmannii is very similar, but always has a green leaf without any brown tints.

cheers Darrel

 

[TheBubblingScot]

Some more photos with the lights on.

I have the lights set to go on at 8am until 4pm, and they are on the brightest setting just now. I don't have the wifi add on as the price is ridiculous for what it is, so can only use the basic settings on the light.

Also have an Eheim air pump with air bubblers on each side of the tank. The air lines need to be neatly clipped to the side with suckers when I can get hold of some. The air pump only goes on 3 hours at night. Not really essential at the moment. More for if/when I use CO2 injection. Still debating due to costs.

Will probably move the ceramic plant rings. Just recycling them for future shrimp/fish homes.

I also plan to hide the pre-filter with tall plants eventually.

And here is a pic of the Lily pipe I have fitted on the outlet. Not sure if it's positioned okay.

Still need to mess with the substrate to hide the cat litter that is still visible. Going to use a fork to release some of the surface bubbles.

Need to clean my old internal water heater as my house is getting a bit cold now. The tank water is sat about 21/22 degrees C at the moment unheated.

Haven't taken any water readings yet. I have some snails in there that seem happy enough zipping about, so can't be too bad. Though I have yet to think up a way of adding ammonia to feed any beneficial bacteria growing in the filter to get things cycling.

Any ideas, suggestions are welcome as I am very much an amateur still at all this.


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[Konsa]

Hi
There is no need to add amonia to cycle the tank.The plants will take care of it.Plus the few snails are helping too.
Try to get yourself some fast growers and floaters if U want to cycle faster.
Regards Konsa

 

[kadoxu]

Need to clean my old internal water heater as my house is getting a bit cold now. The tank water is sat about 21/22 degrees C at the moment unheated.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but slightly higher temps will also help cycle the tank faster, since bacteria will grow faster.

 

[TheBubblingScot]

Hey all, my new arrival is finally here. He is now 4 weeks old.

As a result I haven't been able to give my tank the daily water changes I had hoped to be able to do and now have a hair algae problem.

Anyone have any recommendations or links to threads as to how is best to deal with this invader?


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[ian_m]

Unfortunately you two new invaders are mutually incompatible. You are stuck with both.

In mathematical terms you expected....

But you haven't noticed that the 1st term on the right hand side (after the = sign) is in fact infinite, and will be for about 18 years. Actually more than 18 years it appears in my case.

This 2nd term expands to

leaving no room for the final term in the first equation...

In practice, turn lights down (block tubes with foil wring, darkened film, turn one off etc), reduce lighting period, reduce ferts dosing, reduce CO2, remove algae, spot dose algae with liquid carbon to kill it. This will slow tank down, so water changes can be done every couple of weeks.

Another way to get rid of algae is a black out. Wrap tank in blanket for 3-4 days, no lights, no food, no ferts, no CO2 and this should kill the algae.

 

[Edvet]

ctually more than 18 years it appears in my case.

even if you throw them out they come back

 

[TheBubblingScot]

Hello all. Long time since I updated but I’m still about. Small update.

Managing a weekly 30%-50% water change at the moment along with Easy Life filter media conditioner, Blue Exit to combat the hair algae (that I suspect is blue Cyanobacteria), a wee bit of Profito and of course tap water conditioner.

Last week I also added a heater for some new additions that travelled safely all the way from England to Scotland and so far (touch bog wood) are all alive.

19 Red Cherry Shrimp

I love watching these little guys, they are so busy eating all day.

I’m guessing my water must to okay for these guys as one shrimp played dead today but actually moulted. That’s a good thing right? Sorry for my ignorance as I’ve never owned Cherries before.

Also took my Eheim Lily pipe off as it was causing the hair algae to build up faster due to low flow. Much faster flow now so hopefully that will help.

Other then that just a couple of plant additions, some more Hydrocotyle sp. Japan and newly added some Eleocharis acicularis ‘mini’. It will take a while to fill out as not using Co2. I have found a plant I don’t remember introducing as well which is like a short curly corkscrew grass. Not sure what it is but it’s started sending a runner out with new shoots.

Apart from that still busy being a mom to my second born. 3 months now if you can believe it!

Ideally I would love to rescape with a different substrate combo and have it deeper and sloped. Would also love to add more carpet plants, but as money is tight that will have to wait. For now it will have to stay as it is. Not very pretty or interesting but at least it’s a start.


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