My ~15 gallon fish tank project

[Mr_Harrys]

baking soda helps removing tannins faster. I will not add it when i'll do the final water change before planting.

And yes the bubbles on the side of the tank. I think it might be ammonia

On some yt channels they said that on ALL wood there will be fungus. And i was like...hmm i have 2 different types of driftwood and NONE got the fungus...

 

[AlexT]

You are not losing out with no fungus

 

[Byron]

More questionable "information"... I've not heard that baking soda removes tannins from the water, that dosn't seem too likely. And all wood does not have fungus, and be glad yours does not. Only once have I had this, and it was a toxic fungus that killed fish.

The bubbles are not ammonia, they are here most likely CO2. The baking soda may have something to do with this too. Nothing to worry about. You may see this with each water change, depending upon the amount of dissolved CO2 in the tap water. It dissipates out in the aquarium over 24 hours or less. If you have plants, especially fast growers, they will gobble this up!

 

[Mr_Harrys]

i won't add plants until 22-26 september. I'll make another water change on saturday and the last one on september 20 when I'll add another batch of bacteria and on 22-26 plants will go in + CO2 (Dennerle Bio CO2 60 Complete Set) and fertilizers, the fish will go in only after the plants are all grown up.

For water tests i've got
Dennerle AquaTest GH*KH*pH

and
Dennerle Crystal-Line CO2 Mini Long term + a dennerle active substance kit of 5

baking soda is very good at removing tannins, including tea or coffee stains from clothes. Its alkaline properties help break down the tannin molecules.

 

[Byron]

i won't add plants until 22-26 september. I'll make another water change on saturday and the last one on september 20 when I'll add another batch of bacteria and on 22-26 plants will go in + CO2 (Dennerle Bio CO2 60 Complete Set) and fertilizers, the fish will go in only after the plants are all grown up.

For water tests i've got
Dennerle AquaTest GH*KH*pH

View attachment 326120

and
Dennerle Crystal-Line CO2 Mini Long term + a dennerle active substance kit of 5
View attachment 326121

baking soda is very good at removing tannins, including tea or coffee stains from clothes. Its alkaline properties help break down the tannin molecules.

That makes sense, I guess most tannin issues are with fish in the tank, and you do not want to be adding baking soda then. I know, some say it buffers, but Stanley Weitzman said don't so I wouldn't.

 

[Mr_Harrys]

Update: I've ordered the plants:

1. Nymphaea Lotus Zenkeri Red
2. Hygrophila corymbosa Siamensis (in between and in the back of the root)
3. Alternanthera Reineckii Rosanervig (between the rock and the large root)
4. Anubias Barteri var. Nana (glued to the root)
5. Vesicularia ferriei Weeping (glued to the stone to create a green, natural curtain to hide the entrance to the cave)
6. Staurogyne Repens
7. Hygrophila Polysperma
8. Echinodorus Bleheri(behind the large root)

Also on the list Limnobium Laevigatum to make the gourami feel better.
The plants are a mix from Tropica and Dennerle

 

[JuliaAndFish co.]

Ooo I am very curious about how this tank will turn out in the end, I'm sure it will look really.good!

 

[Mr_Harrys]

UPDATE ordered the fish and shrimp:

2x Otocinclus affinis
4x Red Cherry shrimp
6x Neon Tetra
1x Honey Gourami

_________________________
CO2 kit arrived, same with the tester. I got Dennerle Bio CO2 60 Complete Set and Dennerle AquaTest GH*KH*pH

 

[AlexT]

UPDATE ordered the fish and shrimp:

2x Otocinclus affinis
4x Red Cherry shrimp
6x Neon Tetra
1x Honey Gourami

_________________________
CO2 kit arrived, same with the tester. I got Dennerle Bio CO2 60 Complete Set and Dennerle AquaTest GH*KH*pH

Are Otocinclus affinis the ones that can starve when new? I never knew this until recently. There was a thread on here.

 

[Mr_Harrys]

Yes and no. i depends if the petshop cared for them. They are captured from the wild and from the moment they are captured until they reach the pet shop usually are not fed and are not kept in best conditions. But the ones at the petshop i ordered from look healthy and are fed regularly. but anyways those are quite sturdy fish that can live in you tank for up to 10 years.

 

[Essjay]

Another reason otocinclus are not recommended for newly cycled tanks is the lack of algae. Many newly purchased otos will eat nothing but algae and if the tank does not have enough they starve. If your shop has been feeding them, their otos must be eating something other than algae.

 

[Mr_Harrys]

I do expect some algae to pop up after the planting , but just to be safe i've bought some algae tablets for them

 

[Mr_Harrys]

After all this time, despite changing the water 3 times a week, the water still had issues with clarity and biofilm and stuff. So i decided to scrap everything. Got rid of the rocks (i want more plants), got rid of the soil and gravel (no brand local made, local bought), got rid of the filter that came with the tank (it was clearly underpowered) and gave it a good clean. Same with the roots, gave them a good clean, boiled and baked them again.

I've decided to go all-in for Dennerle as it follows:

soil: Dennerle NutriBasis 6in1
cap for the soil: Dennerle Plantahunter Sand 0.1-1.4 mm and Dennerle Plantahunter Rio Xingu 2-22mm
for the filter i went with Aquael Turbo 500
I also ordered a large root and a small one with branches. Did a simulation with the two ones that I have and photoshop.

 

[BettaFishGirl]

I like the 1st and 2nd pic for the mock-up. Maybe for the 2nd pic you could mirror it and spread the wood out a little and it would look nice. But I do like the 1st mock-up

 

[Mr_Harrys]

i want wood on the left also. to have that M shape and give fish places to hide and to be able to place some plants like moss and anubias