10g Planted Tank Journal - 5/2 - Small Update

[demonmagus]

good old stable pH lol

 

[n3ont3tra]

Not only that, but high-enough-for-apple-snail-ph!
-ish so happy-
Plus, baking soda is dirt cheap!

The only thing that bugs me now is that the plants aren't pearling anymore. They're growing really fast, but no pearling. CO2 is stable at 30, as well. It irks me. Hehe, irks. Anyone know any ideas why it's not pearling?

Oh, ammonia = 0, nitrites = 0, nitrates = 10, PH = 7.1, KH = 12, GH = 12 (what does this mean anyway?)

 

[demonmagus]

I think (this may be completely wrong) that a lower pH is better for most plants

 

[n3ont3tra]

I think plants prefer a slightly acidic PH but I only have 2 types of plants and I looked them up and they recommended PH is 6.5-7.5 on both of them so I think I'm okay. Grr... I wanna post some pics! Stupid camera cord!

 

[demonmagus]

lol, can't wait

 

[n3ont3tra]

The PH was 6.8 this mornign when I tested just before lights on. Tuesday is water change day so I did a water change, but I didn't check the tank water before that. Now the PH is still 7.1, after the water change. That's kind of strange. Also, I may be getting a few Apple Snails tomarrow.

 

[demonmagus]

awesome, are you getting the snails from a shop or online?

 

[n3ont3tra]

From a store. I'm a bit wary of buying online now, after the azgardens disaster. Even sites that I've used a lot.

 

[n3ont3tra]

No apple snails. Turns out my lfs is gone out of business. So maybe this weekend we'll get something, if not then probably the weekend after that. I'm still having problems with my ADFs though, one of them still won't eat. I've tried a ton of foods. I have a thread in the invert section if anyone can help

 

[demonmagus]

ouch, that's pretty bad (both things)

 

[n3ont3tra]

The plants are growing well, though, faster than I thought they would. Especially the hairgrass, they've grown about 50% bigger.

 

[n3ont3tra]

One ADF died this morning. He just wouldn't eat.
RIP Froggy

 

[n3ont3tra]

PH still 7.1, the other frogs is happy and healthy, all the shrimp seem fine. Here's what I have now.

10g tank
Whisper 10 filter, works well, keeps nitrates down
Unknown brand heater, but works perfect, stable 79* F
Flourite Substrate, I might put sand on top
Compact Flourescent Satelite lighting system, total of 45w
Nutrafin CO2 system, stable at 30

Plants:
Lobelia cardinalis -- growing really well, just needs to stay in the ground!
Dwarf Hairgrass -- waiting for it to carpet more, I have about 50% more than what I started with though, that's good.

Fish:
4 Otos, all happy and chubby
Inverts:
3 Cherry Shrimp - now they've adjusted and are sooo colorful
3 (i think) Amano Shrimp - not as active as they used to be, but still awesome and pretty cool
4 Ghost Shrimp - Very active, i always seem them swimming aroung
Pest snails - ughh

Other:
1 ADF

My eventual plans:
6 Otos
6 Cherry Shrimp
4 Amano Shrimp
4 Ghost Shrimp
4 ADFs
3 Apple Snails
maybe a Dwarf Gourami, depending on how everything is once all that's in there.

There's still some spot algae on the back wall, but it's going away pretty fast cause of the otos. I put a few pieces of black construction paper on the back, big improvement. I'm going to the fish store probably in another week, and I"ll probably get a few snails and ADFs and maybe two more otos.

I've recently added some baking soda to the tank, the PH raised from 6.4 to 7.1, which is exactly where I want it. Scroll up to see exactly what I did.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to put sand over the flourite, but I need a way to keep them from getting mixed in. Any ideas?

Pics are coming as soon as I get my camera cable back.

 

[Themuleous]

You could use a gravel tidy, but don't know anyone who's used one in a planted tank as it might restrict plant root growth in to the fluorite. Both worth a try if mixing really is a big issue.

Sam

 

[n3ont3tra]

Few problems with that...
1. It's in the UK
2. What I don't understand is how the plants will benefit from it. If they absorb nutrients from their roots, and they can't get down to the nutrient-rich layer because the gravel-tidy blocks it, then what's the point?

I don't want the two layer to mix, I don't think it would look good.