My Riffle Shrimp And Tanks!

[TallTree01]

The plants arrived this afternoon. I've done some planting and filling of tanks. Pretty cloudy, but looks rather nice none the less. Haven't set up the filter as the stuff for it hasn't arrived yet. Pics will come later on.

 

[guppiegirlie]

Look forward to them!

 

[TallTree01]

So, pictures will be tomorrow or the day after that.
I'm here to ask how I should go about fertilizing. I'm not doing root tabs as the substrate claims to have what I need. With liquid fertilizers like excel and the like, should I start dosing them now or later? Also I've read Vallis and excel don't mix. Should I be concerned?

 

[TallTree01]

Ok guys, I've got around 20 pictures for you all to feast your eyes upon. 
First a recommendation of these two companies:
http/www.aquariumproductswholesale.com/cart.php
http/www.watergardenparadise.com.au
Both were very fast, easy to use and a pleasure to deal with.
 
First I'll remind you of the plants I'm using
Duckweed

Mayaca

Vallis

Chain sword

Echinodorus ' marble queen ' it's arrived leafless which I assume is due to it being stored outside in the cold. Fingers crossed it regrows.


The hardscape I've used
Stones


Wood - has been soaked for a couple months in preparation

Now onto the exciting part: the setup itself.
 
First I add two bags of ADA aqua soil Amazonia. I overbought a wee bit and now have two more bags spare, I'm sure it'll come in handy one day. The grains are very small, only about 1-2 mm. They're soft and surprisingly light too. I didn't rinse it as it said on the bag that it was unnecessary. 

Here's a closer view of the grains


I trialled the log in several positions. I decided ultimately to put it on to the right as it draws the focus off of the large filter box. The filter itself is surprisingly discreet considering its size. When I put the background in in blends in well with the substrate and backing.

 
Next I arrayed the stones aiming to create as many caves and caverns as possible to allow for lots of hideaways for catfish and the like. I used both boxes and had one stones to spare. Dunno what I'm going to do with it. I think the rocks look quite nice on the substrate. 

Next I filled the tank. The way i went about it was to use a cooking bowl to reduce the amount of current blasting the substrate. It worked fabulously. I added several buckets then some plants then some more buckets then plants etc etc.

Then I planted the chain sword in the front right

Then some more buckets and I planted the background plants, vallis and mayaca. They're fairly small so they're difficult to see at the moment. Hopefully they'll grow fast. The maraca is in the back left with the stones and the vallis is behind the wood.

Almost there

At last

Here are some various closeups of around the scape:
As seen here, the log has sort of shelves in it for catfish to shelter under behind the chain sword.

Here is the mayaca planted among the stones

Here is seen the rather disappointing echinodorus marble queen. It's rather shrubbish.

This was the best vallis shot I could get between the log and the filter

Forum won't let me post more images than this, the rest will come in about 20-30 minutes when it's reset.

 

[TallTree01]

Finally, I added the duckweed

It did as duckweed do

I rectified the situation hurriedly

 
I switched the filter on and let it clear for a bit

 
Here it is in the nighttime

 
Thanks for reading. I'll add some 20 mls of ammonia today and see what I can do to start the cycle.

 

[Ch4rlie]

That is a lovely set up TT, very good job

 

[NickAu]

Nice job but I think your fish is suffering from bloat......................... LOL

 

[Ch4rlie]

Nice job but I think your fish is suffering from bloat......................... LOL

 
Bloat? are you sure?.....
 
Ok, need more info, is tank cycled? what symptoms? gasping? lethargic swimming? ( got a feeling its real lethargic swimmer...)
 
 

 

[TallTree01]

Yah I'm worried about him, he floats and wedges himself under the log to stay down. He's off his food too, his eyes seem swollen.

In seriousness, my son couldn't grasp that the fish may be a while so I compromised.

So I added my ammonia and tested the water.
pH around 7 ish
Ammonia anywhere between 2 and 8 ppm
I think I'll add 15 mls next time
What is interesting is that I have nitrite. Looks like 1-2 ppm. I'm not sure, maybe the substrate leeched. Ought I to be concerned?
Ammonia

Nitrite

 

[benthyer]

Tank looks amazing! Love that wood you've got as well!

 

[guppiegirlie]

Looks fantastic TT, I absolutely love those rocks!

 

[Ch4rlie]

Yes, I belive that substrate does leach out ammonia and nitrate, basically food for plants.
 
This is what happened when i got similar sort of substrate, best to leave for about 2 weeks at least to get substrate to settle and for ammonia levels to balance out.
 
If you add ammonia while substrate is leeching ammonia, you may be in danger of stalling the fishless cycle as too much ammonia can overwhelm the bacs
 
Do keep testing for ammonia and nitrite at regular intervals, every day or every other day so you have an idea of what is happening.

 

[TallTree01]

What would you say would be the maximum amount of ammonia before it starts slowing the cycle? Based on the picture of the test above, ought I do a water change to lower the ammonia today?
It's strange that there's nitrite. I've not heard of substrate leeching that before. I'll hold off on adding ammonia until I'm certain the substrate won't cause issues.

 

[TallTree01]

Remember this sad shrub?

Note the lack of leaves and brownness.

Here it is today, just a few days after planting:


I reckon it's grown about 3 inches in as many days. The rest of the plants have grown similarly but it's not as noticeable as with the Echinodorus. It's strange as I haven't added CO2 or anything to the tank. This soil is crazy.

 

[ricbea]

Hi, I just read the whole thread, very interesting read thank you for the continuous update. i will continue following this with interest. I just got back into fish keeping after a 10 year break. Starting off gently with some mollys and platies and see where it leads me and as per usual 6 weeks after starting the tank i get 25ish lyre tail fry, 2nd tank is up and running as a nursery.
Thanks for the read.