148.6L (39.2 gallon) aquarium journal

[Naughts]

Seachem Flourish and Flourish Trace for the plants. Twice a week for Flourish and once a week for Flourish Trace.

That’s perfectly fine. Nothing there that would upset the cycle.

 

[elephantnose3334]

That’s perfectly fine. Nothing there that would upset the cycle.

Yeah, I thought I crashed my cycle as the nitrite results came up (around 0.50ppm, but not the fatal 5.0ppm)... but I'll keep an eye on them.

 

[EmmaS]

I clean mine in tap water but it is not recommended, especially not for newer tanks. This is because the chlorine in tap water can kill the beneficial bacteria which maintain the cycle.

If you have a bucket of tank water that you have taken out, use this to clean the filter as it doesn’t contain chlorine.

Apart from dechlorinator, are you adding any chemicals or medication to the tank?

This is true. I clean my sponge filters in tap water because my aquarium is very established with many plants and rocks. Beneficial bacteria is everywhere including in the substrate. I wouldn't dream of doing this in an aquarium less than 6 months old. If I do a big maintenance job on my aquarium and trim plants etc I will rinse my sponge filters in used tank water only.
I wouldn't recommend inexperienced people rinsing there filter media in ordinary tap water.

 

[EmmaS]

Ah, right. I had never tested water before via a chain petstore, which offers free water testing. The results are okay, but the nitrites and the pH of our tap water is something I need to keep a watchful eye on.

Never trust the word of a store person. Listen to what they say and go and double check. Lots of places are no better than a used car salesperson.

 

[EmmaS]

Do yourself a favour and go and get a small pot of beneficial bacteria. Do a large water change and add the bacteria. As mentioned you really should get a testing kit of some sort and don't rely on others to do it.

 

[elephantnose3334]

Do yourself a favour and go and get a small pot of beneficial bacteria. Do a large water change and add the bacteria. As mentioned you really should get a testing kit of some sort and don't rely on others to do it.

Yeah... good idea. I will do that in the future. I just hope I don't make the same mistake again.

This is true. I clean my sponge filters in tap water because my aquarium is very established with many plants and rocks. Beneficial bacteria is everywhere including in the substrate. I wouldn't dream of doing this in an aquarium less than 6 months old. If I do a big maintenance job on my aquarium and trim plants etc I will rinse my sponge filters in used tank water only.
I wouldn't recommend inexperienced people rinsing there filter media in ordinary tap water.

Ah, I didn't know that.

 

[elephantnose3334]

Never trust the word of a store person. Listen to what they say and go and double check. Lots of places are no better than a used car salesperson.

I am being careful about store advice, and I do some research online before proceeding to do something about important advice.

 

[elephantnose3334]

Here is the tank at Day 160 (today). The silvertips are behaving normally as of now. The tank is a bit of a mess so I might tidy things up soon:

 

[elephantnose3334]

Cleaned up the tank a bit from the last couple of days, along with a small topoff today.

 

[elephantnose3334]

Yesterday's tank photo. The vallisnera on the back-right is growing quickly.

 

[elephantnose3334]

Did a water change and filter media clean (with old tank water this time) today. The rock holding the java fern came loose when I had to move it to remove some excess mulm and I had to anchor the plant somewhere else.

 

[elephantnose3334]

My tetras have become a bit shyer to the Canon camera compared to the iPad camera. There is a bit of a behaviour change on the former, and they hide near the large driftwood. They weren't shy on the March photos, but now they're a bit hidey. Why is that?

 

[Colin_T]

probably camera flash, the light substrate and no backing on the tank.

try having the room light on and curtains open when using the camera. The brighter the room the less the fish will notice the flash.

having a dark picture on the back will make the fish feel more secure and they will be less stressed. more plants will also help with this.

don't photograph fish first thing in the morning. give them a chance to wake up and spend a few hours with the lights on before taking pictures.

 

[elephantnose3334]

probably camera flash, the light substrate and no backing on the tank.

try having the room light on and curtains open when using the camera. The brighter the room the less the fish will notice the flash.

having a dark picture on the back will make the fish feel more secure and they will be less stressed. more plants will also help with this.

don't photograph fish first thing in the morning. give them a chance to wake up and spend a few hours with the lights on before taking pictures.

I don't shoot with the flash on. The black card would be a good solution.

 

[MattW]

I do shoot with flash on, but a maximum of 5 pics in a row, usually spaced between a few days. A background does help I found. I like to think the fish only have to keep an eye out for 3 out of 4 sides of the tank I have found my Sawbwa love to retreat to the wall of plants in my 90L when the big camera is out. Then they come back out after a few minutes when they are comfortable enough to face the camera.