My Dream Aquarium- 55 Gallon - Plans

MuddyWaters said:

UPDATE: Thoughts on plants and planting
Thinking about what plants I want. I read an approach to planting that helps to keep the algae at bay. It uses "negative allelopathy," kind of warfare of plants on stuff that's bad for them, to keep algae from getting a foothold. It requires one to load the tank with plants. I want to do this anyway, and I think I'll scape it better if I do it in one chunk (at least at first), so I'm excited about getting a bunch of plants at once and planting them. Also, I'm going to use the Estimative Index fertilization method developed by Dr. Tom Barr. It works best if the whole tank is planted, apparently, so yay! - another reason to put a bunch in at once.

The challenge is to get them all in a relatively short period of time (a few days), and get the ones I want (or that I think I want). Looking at different plant selling sites to see what they have- actually using them to find the ones I want.

Also, thinking I'll give the list to the LFS to see how much they have.

I'm very hopeful that folks that belong to my local aquarium association will grow a lot of these plants and sell them to me on the cheap. Plants are SO expensive now- it's crazy.

I purchased a good CO2 setup, and I'll be following the EI fertilization method after the plants settle in and start growing, so I should have what I need to make these things do right.

Anyway, here are the ones I am excited about (please forgive spelling errors):
1. Top: Red Root Floater - phyllanthus fluitans - I'll keep these in a ring- the roots are beautiful!
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2. Mid: Bucephalandra Dark Skeleton King/Dark Achilles - I'll tie this to some wood- it is so striking!
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3. Back: Amazon Sword- easy, big, beautiful green
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4. Back: Water Wisteria - pretty green foliage, big and abundant
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5. Back: Alternanthera Rosanervig - red - nice blast of red in the back- a lot of the pics show this in the middle, but I think it can grow tall- either way it's purty!
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6. Cover: Christmas Moss - growing on wood/rocks - I like the "little christmas tree look" of this moss- lovely on the hardscape
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7. Mid: Alternanthera Reineckii red - another splash of red in the middle
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8. Front & cover: Micranthemum Monte Carlo- I love the way this looks and it's supposed to be easier than baby tears
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9. Mid: Pearl Weed - this is prolific grower and can grow in the middle or background. Just a beautiful green
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That's what I have in mind so far- we'll see how it all turns out. Any thoughts on plants to try?

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Loving your choice of plants, I'm just about to set up a new tank as well and am thinking about plant choices, although on a much smaller scale than yours!

Let us know how the pee works out for cycling

well, tested again, and plenty of ammonia and no nitrite. Dadgummit, I can't stand it. I guess it's still in line with normal- it's not been quite 2 weeks. I just don't have any dang patience. I had read that the "biologics in a bottle" were no good, but I decided to buy one anyway. I read an article last night that described a solution called "Bio Spira" actually worked and they published their tests and findings. It later "turned into" Tetra SafeStart. I went to 2 stores today to find it. The first store had one bottle, but it was expired. The 2nd store had plenty that were not expired, so I bought one and dumped it in the tank.

I wanted to check the nitrite tonight. I have some kind of dang disease, man. Or, more likely, I just have a massive lack of patience.

I personally think, if your tank is on the way ( like yours )… & I did the same thing… and you use a starter, even if the starter isn’t totally the answer, it pushes your tank in the right direction, even if the starter is a temporary condition, if it doesn’t stop your tank from finishing it’s cycle, they work together

Magnum Man said:

I personally think, if your tank is on the way ( like yours )… & I did the same thing… and you use a starter, even if the starter isn’t totally the answer, it pushes your tank in the right direction, even if the starter is a temporary condition, if it doesn’t stop your tank from finishing it’s cycle, they work together

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yeah that's what I was thinking too- maybe it'll help some even if it's not the total answer.

Man, I HATE patience.

Was hoping for an overnight miracle from the Tetra SafeStart. No such luck.

PH: 7.9
Ammonia: 2ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 5ppm (this has been steady from the first time I checked it)

I started reading for more ideas on what to do or something I missed. I raised the water temp to 82 F, double-checked the PH- steady at 7.9- and stirred up the gravel on the bottom. There was a huge pile of gunk- food and that white crap that grows on it- it was all in this little vortex where I guess it settled away from the flow. I stirred that bad-boy up and wow! what a mess. I would normally be horrified by a mess like that, but it made me hopeful.

I'm running out of extra crap I can do. I thought about taking the sponge from my 15 gallon and squeezing it out in the new tank, but I don't want to end up with ammonia in my 15 gallon- last thing I need is to have 2 tanks not doing what I want them to.

I guess I'm finally down to just @#%@% waiting. I gotta find something else to do to take my mind off of it. ...maybe I should do some work? LOL

Have a great rest of your day, all- or a great tomorrow if you're in Australia. I used to work with folks in Sydney- I would get on calls with them at 7pm here - it would be 9am tomorrow there. I would always ask them, "how's tomorrow shaping up?" LOL- I think they got a little tired of my fascination that they are already in the next day They were great folks, though.

EDIT: I did read that I should have 3ppm ammonia to really make sure the bacteria have enough to eat- I had stopped adding food/pee, but looks like I need to get it going again- time to start drinking water....

MuddyWaters said:

Man, I HATE patience.

Was hoping for an overnight miracle from the Tetra SafeStart. No such luck.

PH: 7.9
Ammonia: 2ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 5ppm (this has been steady from the first time I checked it)

I started reading for more ideas on what to do or something I missed. I raised the water temp to 82 F, double-checked the PH- steady at 7.9- and stirred up the gravel on the bottom. There was a huge pile of gunk- food and that white crap that grows on it- it was all in this little vortex where I guess it settled away from the flow. I stirred that bad-boy up and wow! what a mess. I would normally be horrified by a mess like that, but it made me hopeful.

I'm running out of extra crap I can do. I thought about taking the sponge from my 15 gallon and squeezing it out in the new tank, but I don't want to end up with ammonia in my 15 gallon- last thing I need is to have 2 tanks not doing what I want them to.

I guess I'm finally down to just @#%@% waiting. I gotta find something else to do to take my mind off of it. ...maybe I should do some work? LOL

Have a great rest of your day, all- or a great tomorrow if you're in Australia. I used to work with folks in Sydney- I would get on calls with them at 7pm here - it would be 9am tomorrow there. I would always ask them, "how's tomorrow shaping up?" LOL- I think they got a little tired of my fascination that they are already in the next day They were great folks, though.

EDIT: I did read that I should have 3ppm ammonia to really make sure the bacteria have enough to eat- I had stopped adding food/pee, but looks like I need to get it going again- time to start drinking water....

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Could you squeeze your filter into a separate container and then pour that into the new aquarium? I've literally just started cycling a new tank today and that was the first thing I've tried to hopefully get things going. I completely agree about the patience issue, this is going to be torture, patience is definitely NOT a virtue!

I also like to have strong aeration for cycling

Lcc86- definitely. I did it when it started. I am about to clean my pump in the small aquarium in a couple of days. It usually has a lot of "brown gunk" in it that ends up slowing the flow. I will put that in the new one too- it'll be full of the good bacteria.

After about 4 days I went and re-read the guide I'm using and noticed I missed the aeration part- I have an airstone going full blast on a pretty strong air pump, so it's getting lots of oxygen.

Thanks, y'all. Let me know if there's anything else- chants, yoga poses, prayers, etc. LOL- anything but more waiting! (I think it'll just be more waiting, though)

UPDATE: Nitrite, baby!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Today I'm grateful for Nitrite in my tank!!! FINALLy- 2 weeks and 1 day into the cycling, I get a huge nitrite spike.

Found an interesting article on red root floaters… not sure if I can link it with my cellphone, but giving it a shot

Magnum Man said:

Found an interesting article on red root floaters… not sure if I can link it with my cellphone, but giving it a shot

Red Root Floaters: Care Guide

Family name: Phyllanthaceae Origin: South America Red Root Floaters, or Phyllanthus Fluitans, are a freshwater floating fern plant known in the aquascaping game for their unique look, deep red roots, and easy care. These highly sought-after floaters are known as the “Red Root Floater” because...

buceplant.com

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Reading that makes me more excited to get them. I'm going to have to keep them in a ring or use some kind of method to keep them from growing all over the tank. I haven't done that before, so we'll see what works.

Getting there! All the ammonia is gone (added more food today to keep it going), nitrite is still high, but nitrate is growing so I'm getting closer! woo hoo!!!

Was amazed to see the ammonia yellow. It was SO green before LOL. I waited 10 minutes instead of the requisite 5 to make sure

UPDATE: Plants arrived Right after Covid

Well, I got Covid on Saturday. plants arrived today. Trying to get them put in the tank so they won't die. Taht's about all I can manage to do - Been waiting for this for awhile LOL. I really wish they came next week.

The FX4 makes it easy to drain the water, so that's good. Hopefully it'll be equally easy to put it back. Should be able to do it without lifting those buckets over the top lol.

Anyway- I'll put a - certain to be pathetic- picture of whatever I cam manage to do with these plants once i get done.

UPDATE: Plants are in, CO2 working, Covid (slowly) on the way out

Well, I spent from 4pm to 10:30pm on Thursday doing a 50% water change, adding all the plants and setting up CO2.

It was a comedy of errors- I've been super-lethargic and i can't think straight to save my life.

First, I had to figure out to change water in what I call my big@ss aquarium (stop snickering all you with multi-100gal tanks!). I was not looking forward to slopping water out of that tall thing into a ton of 5 gallon buckets. I have one of those vacum things with a thing on it to start the siphon, so that's good, but
the FX4 has a method of removing the water and adding the water from the filter itself. I could get a hose long enough to go out the door and just dump it off the back of the deck- will look into that later . It will also allow you to put water back through the same hose, so no dumping 5 gallon buckets over the top of the tank-no heaving, hefting hauling, spilling, spitting, spewing foul language or sputtering as I cry.
But, I'm sick, lethargic, can't think straight and frankly, scared of this water change, so I still watched about 30 minutes of videos (...wait what did he say? [rewind] ..oh yeah....wait, what am I watching again?) before I did it. Removing the water was SO easy- loved it. Still hauled the water, but was simple and (mostly) clean. Adding the water back took more effort and my dadgum water pressure is not what I would like inside, so it took awhile, but again, not nearly as much lifting.

Question: Can I use a regular garden hose to bring the water back into the house? During the summer the water will be warm enough to use without any added heat, so I can use my spicket outside which has WAY better water pressure.

Anyway, in between removing the water and adding the water, I had to add the plants.

I was not able to get all the plants i wanted. I only have 1 really red one now- Rednecki or something- anyway, I stuck it in the back, but you can't see it in the pick below. There is water wisteria and amazon swords also in the back. I put a bunch of moss on the wood and have a TON left - I'm going to add more to some river rocks this afternoon before it dies on me. I have 2 pieces of wood that are like branches- I think they're actually roots, but whatever- anyway I stuck or tied all the rhizome laden plants to that. Can't remember what all I got, but they look kind of cool.

I added the monte carlo to some rocks I bought. There's something else I stuck there too- not sure it's the right thing to do with it, but didn't realize it wasn't monte carlo.

The floaters are up there. I added the spray bar to distribute the water, but there's still too much movement at the top for the floaters to thrive, so I've ordered some rings. Most people use the rights to create space to feed the fish, but i'm going to use them to keep the floaters in. Not sure it'll work, but I hope.

Anyway, my goal was to just get them in there and keep them from dying. OH, btw, the wisteria, I just left the weights on and they're floating at the bottom. I'm hoping they'll just start to grow some roots and then I'll plant them in the substrate.


Water Quality
Lots of nitrite still in the tank, even after the water change, so giving it more time before getting any fish. I want to give the plants some time to get settled anyway- I think they're harder to make happy than the fish, frankly.

CO2 - BLAST OFF!
Ok- remember I can't think straight. The last thing I did was set up the CO2. Man, this stuff comes with pretty sketchy instructions and I couldn't find a video that showed my specific set up, so I watched a bunch of stuff trying to make sure I pretty much get it.

I worked through it. I got the hoses set up, went to put the beautiful new glass diffuser in the tank and promptly broke it as I tried to stick it to the inside. So, I have the little cheapy plastic one I still had from my little tank. That thing looks funny in my "big@ss aquarium" (stop snickering, you 100gal + people!).

I have a Milwaukee auto PH controller. I set it up to turn on if the PH is more than 6.5. The dang thing just went and went man. I started wondering if it really works. I turned it up to 6.6 and it turned off. So, I kept an eye on it. It does turn on and off, so I'm happy- and I tested with the API kit too. The weird thing is, it'll show 6.6 on the meter, but be turned on. I think the probe is much more sensitive than the meter shows.

[edit- forgot to add this next part] So, i got things hooked up and turned it on. The monitor turned on the gas and I thought I blew the roof off LOL. Turns out I forgot to add the little screw down clamp to keep the hose on the top of the bubble counter, so the gas blew the top off and all the water out of it. Scared the crap out of me. The little screw-down clamp was sitting right there.....

I need to get my wife to help me figure out where to mount the meter- it's sitting on a book shelf next to the tank right now- want to hide the cables etc. but still be able to get to it and read it easily, etc. I'd like to mount it on the bookshelf, but not sure she will allow that.

That's it for now. If you read all this, thank you very much! ...or if you read any of it!

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