I've been reading up on the forum a lot over the past couple of months while preparing to set up a new tank - I've based everything on stuff I read here, so hopefully I'm heading in the right direction. I got it running 2 weeks ago - a Roma 240 litre. This is my first properly planted tank, prior tanks were only sparsely planted.
The setup is running well, but I have a few questions (at the end of the post) that I could do with help on.
This is what I have:
Fish: 6 x Red Rasbora (not sure exactly, was told they were strawberry rasbora by lfs, but not sure), 2 x Siamese Flying Fox, 1 x male Bolivian Ram. I added them straight away as I thought the planting level would handle it, and I had used various media from my old tank to get the filter going.
Ferts: 12ml of Tropica TPN+ and 5ml of EasyCarbo both daily. However, I was using JBL Ferropol and Ferropol24 until a few days ago thinking it had NPK by mistake.
Co2 - 1 drop every 4 secs (seem really low, but struggling to figure out the dropchecker results, so erring on the low side).
I have made 50% water changes every 1 or 2 days. There is no ammonia but the test kit shows nitrites at > 1ppm.
After 2 weeks the tank is looking OK, no algae, plants are generally OK, but Vallis has melted, as have a few various leaves and flowers. The Rotalis has gone stringy and is growing lots of outshoot roots in mid-water.
This is a picture of the tank as a fts, then 2 close-ups:
So here are my questions:
1. I am testing for Nitrites so I can figure out when it's safe to add more fish, but they have gradually increased to over 1ppm. I am doing big water changes - is this to be expected with such a small fish load in a biggish tank like this? In a planted tank do I follow the usual rule of waiting until it's down to zero to add more fish now?
2. The dropchecker doesn't seem to fluctuate away from its lime-green colour, even when the CO2 is turned off over night. I am using 4dKH solution. I added a 1600lph pump to make sure the CO2 is circulating well. I have set the CO2 at only 1 drop per 4 seconds, but I'm nervous to go high in-case I start affecting the fish. Basically I'm struggling to trust the dropchecker - any ideas? I've never used CO2 before...
3. Can you suggest the best place to put the Hydor Koralia pump? At the moment it's about 2/3 up the tank at the back right corner, but it is affecting the plants in its immediate path, making them bent away from the stream of water. I want to keep equipment as unobtrusive as possible.
4. Is it normal for the Rotala rotundifolia to grow lots of long white root-like shoots all the way up the stems?
5. Does the fert dosing seem OK to get me going? I will progress to EI, but can't yet figure out how to adjust dosing according to the amount of plants.
6. I am using stock lighting of 2 x 40w T8 tubes, so it's only 1.3wpg - is that just going to produce slower growth or do I really need to increase the light levels? I would prefer slower growth, lower maintenance, but not if that means I won't be able to grow plants well.
7. Can anyone recommend fish that will occupy different levels? Right now I'm keen on a school of Cardinal Tetras, a mate for the Ram, maybe a pair of Red dwarf Gourami's and some shrimp.
8. Any general suggestions for me?
I know this is a long post, not sure whether I should have split it up....
I look forward to any help or general comments you can give. Much appreciated.
The setup is running well, but I have a few questions (at the end of the post) that I could do with help on.
This is what I have:
- Roma 240 tank
- Fluval 305 external filter
- JBL m602 pressurised CO2 system
- Substrate: 2 x 10l bags of Columbo Florabase
- Easy Aqua super mist diffuser - large
- JBL drop checker with 4dKH solution
- Hydor 1600lph circulation pump
- Redmoor wood and approx. 30 plants
Fish: 6 x Red Rasbora (not sure exactly, was told they were strawberry rasbora by lfs, but not sure), 2 x Siamese Flying Fox, 1 x male Bolivian Ram. I added them straight away as I thought the planting level would handle it, and I had used various media from my old tank to get the filter going.
Ferts: 12ml of Tropica TPN+ and 5ml of EasyCarbo both daily. However, I was using JBL Ferropol and Ferropol24 until a few days ago thinking it had NPK by mistake.
Co2 - 1 drop every 4 secs (seem really low, but struggling to figure out the dropchecker results, so erring on the low side).
I have made 50% water changes every 1 or 2 days. There is no ammonia but the test kit shows nitrites at > 1ppm.
After 2 weeks the tank is looking OK, no algae, plants are generally OK, but Vallis has melted, as have a few various leaves and flowers. The Rotalis has gone stringy and is growing lots of outshoot roots in mid-water.
This is a picture of the tank as a fts, then 2 close-ups:
So here are my questions:
1. I am testing for Nitrites so I can figure out when it's safe to add more fish, but they have gradually increased to over 1ppm. I am doing big water changes - is this to be expected with such a small fish load in a biggish tank like this? In a planted tank do I follow the usual rule of waiting until it's down to zero to add more fish now?
2. The dropchecker doesn't seem to fluctuate away from its lime-green colour, even when the CO2 is turned off over night. I am using 4dKH solution. I added a 1600lph pump to make sure the CO2 is circulating well. I have set the CO2 at only 1 drop per 4 seconds, but I'm nervous to go high in-case I start affecting the fish. Basically I'm struggling to trust the dropchecker - any ideas? I've never used CO2 before...
3. Can you suggest the best place to put the Hydor Koralia pump? At the moment it's about 2/3 up the tank at the back right corner, but it is affecting the plants in its immediate path, making them bent away from the stream of water. I want to keep equipment as unobtrusive as possible.
4. Is it normal for the Rotala rotundifolia to grow lots of long white root-like shoots all the way up the stems?
5. Does the fert dosing seem OK to get me going? I will progress to EI, but can't yet figure out how to adjust dosing according to the amount of plants.
6. I am using stock lighting of 2 x 40w T8 tubes, so it's only 1.3wpg - is that just going to produce slower growth or do I really need to increase the light levels? I would prefer slower growth, lower maintenance, but not if that means I won't be able to grow plants well.
7. Can anyone recommend fish that will occupy different levels? Right now I'm keen on a school of Cardinal Tetras, a mate for the Ram, maybe a pair of Red dwarf Gourami's and some shrimp.
8. Any general suggestions for me?
I know this is a long post, not sure whether I should have split it up....
I look forward to any help or general comments you can give. Much appreciated.
