Beginner Small Tank Diary

[darryl864]

Anyway, greatly enjoying the pics of your "dining room project!"
~~waterdrop~~

As you liked the photo's I thought I'd write an article on how I do them (flattery will get you everywhere). The link is [topic="239894"]HERE[/topic].

Darryl

 

[darryl864]

Planting
Got around to planting the tank at the weekend so here are the pics I will try to get some better one sometime later.

Armed with my short-list of desired plants I headed off to the LFS to see what they have. However when I get there most of the plants were not labelled so I just picked some based on how they look. Also there was an offer of 5 for £7.50 so I just picked 5. I then also went out and got the small foreground plant from a different shop which was labelled but I don't have it to hand. I have also inserted some of this into a crevice in the wood as I have seen this on other posts but have no idea if it will grow there. I have also got some fertiliser liquid made by Tetra but again the exact name is not to hand.

I think the wood might be a bit too large for this size tank but this was the smallest they has and I had my heart set on getting this all planted that afternoon. I also had to drain off some water as when I was planting it was going to overflow the tank. Not too sure what impact this will have on my fishless cycling. Also have now turned down the temperature so this may also slow down the process.

On the bright side I feel that I have managed to achieve the natural look I was after by hiding the heater and filter.

 

[vinylman]

That's looking very nice, Darryl. I take it you've bought a smaller syphon for vacuuming the gravel?. Just be careful not to dig down too far when you do a water change; the Tetra Complete substrate is fabulous, fabulous stuff, but if you disturb it when vacuuming you won't see many of the fish!. Just lightly go over the gravel with it, without actually digging in.

 

[darryl864]

I suppose I should report on how things are going so here we go.

The fishless cycling is going well with my ammonia being reduced from 5ppm to almost 0 in a day. The nitrite levels are still high though so still waiting on those to drop. The tank now looks like a right state with brown algae all over the place. Some of the plants don't look too well either and as discussed in other threads ([topic="240187"]here[/topic]) I may have an issue with poor lighting.

On the whole though I feel good about the progress of the fishless cycle and am looking forward to getting some fish. I think we have made a decision on 2x Dwarf Gourami and about 5-6 Endlers. However this is subject to change when the girls get to the shop. I would also like to get some shrimp but not seen any in the shops. Any suggestions on where I might try in the Bath area?

 

[darryl864]

OK another update on how things are going I now have completed my cycle. I had some strange results to report with that too as the kids got fed up with waiting after two weeks we were all set to go and get some fish and pop them in any way. So I did a 99% water change and gave the filter sponge a bit of a squish. Anyway we never did get the fish that weekend as I tested the water and found that the Nitrite levels were high (but not off the scale). Anyway the next day the Nitrite levels were good and Ammonia was down from 5ppm to 0.25 in 12 hours. Anyway in total the whole process took just 16 days.

Went out and got some fish at the weekend at last! Got 4 Endlers and 4 X-Ray Tetra in the end and all have settled in well. The Endlers mostly hide around the back behind the bogwood but the X-Ray Tetra are quite sociable. Everyone seems to like each other too. So lets have a look at them.

Endlers

X-Ray Tatra

So far I have been quite disappointed with the Endlers as they are so small and I hardly ever see them. Perhaps I should have got 8 Endlers? The X-Ray Tetra have been great and I would recommend them to anyone. I have even tried feeding them some bloodworm by hand without success but it's still early days yet!

I have been thinking of getting something else in the tank as the original plan was to have 2 Dwarf Gourami. If the Nitrate levels don't go up more than 20ppm in a week I might still consider it. I was also thinking of getting some cherry shrimp in there too. I know that this would be getting a bit close to overstocking so will wait to see what the Nitrate levels are like before getting any more. I should also wait until the fish are fully grown too!

Thanks for looking!

Darryl

 

[waterdrop]

Nice pics -again- Darryl!

Tank cleared up nicely from previous pics and your plants look really good. Wish ours looked as good as that.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[OscarWilde]

Nice X-Rays! I have 13 and they are some of my favorite fish.

 

[darryl864]

More Pictures

X-Ray Tetras

Endlers

Tank

I find that the X-Ray Tetras are quite photogenic but the Endlers are quite elusive. I have changed things around again a bit as some of the plants need more light I have had to move them to better positions. Some have been looking a bit dead so I have removed them. I have also changed back to the diffuser rather than the spray bar on the filter.

Also if you look hard on some of the photos I have got a bit of thread algae growing on some of teh plants. Any ideas on how to get rid of it as I feel just getting a few shrimp may not be enough.

 

[Canis-Equus]

If you get some black background around the back and say half way across the sides of that tank, you'll find the endlers suddenly pop right out and become much more visible - same with the x-rays really.

Great looking little tank - I would stick some shrimp in and leave it at that though... overstocking in a tank that size will likely end in tears.

 

[darryl864]

If you get some black background around the back and say half way across the sides of that tank, you'll find the endlers suddenly pop right out and become much more visible - same with the x-rays really.

Great looking little tank - I would stick some shrimp in and leave it at that though... overstocking in a tank that size will likely end in tears.

Yes I just have a watercolour painting my daughter did in these pictures and I think that it actually camouflages the fish. I have put up some dark blue paper at the back but found that it got all wet and stuck to the tank. I have also printed out a background from Microsoft Word which has a gradient from black to blue but A4 paper doesn't quite fit so I have an unsightly join. When I get time I'll post a picture.

 

[darryl864]

New Additions
I have now added some Cherry shrimp to the tank and they seem to be doing rather well. 7 were added last week but I hardly ever see all out at the same time. The most I have seen is 4. They keep hiding inside the crack in my bogwood. I have seen the skin of one though and they are growing quite well. Still plenty of algae in the tank but its a step in the right direction.

I am a bit worried though as I dont seem to be feeding them anything specific, they are just on algae and leftovers. I have read that not feeding them is a common error but have also read that overfeeding them will also kill them. What should I be doing to ensure they are getting the right diet?

 

[darryl864]

Photos
After taking over 30 photos below is the best I can do for a photo of the shrimp.

I believe that this one is a female as it is larger and reder than the others.

 

[SJ2K]

Nice little tank, lighting doesnt seem very strong though, how many watts is it?

 

[darryl864]

Nice little tank, lighting doesnt seem very strong though, how many watts is it?

I know I have issues with the light as it is only 8W but its all built in so I don't think I can change anything.

There are two points to mount LED lights but I don't know if this would make much of a difference?

 

[Aleydis]

Wow- You have a beautiful tank. The best of luck for you and your fish!

This diary seems like a good idea- Would you mind if I kept one too?
Don't worry- chances are my diary won't survive as long as yours did!