Silent cycle - plant list

[ClownLurch]

I just successfully dealt with black beard algae using hydrogen peroxide with a spay bottle. Maybe try that.

It went into the garden wate recycling ban. It’s the councils Problem now. I’m now battling a bit of hair algae. Twas a lot of hair algae last week. Fingers crossed.

 

[Naughts]

What is your GH? The fish that you have been discussing need softer water but London water is typically hard. If you don't have a test result you could find the GH of your source water on the suppliers website?

 

[Retired Viking]

It went into the garden wate recycling ban. It’s the councils Problem now. I’m now battling a bit of hair algae. Twas a lot of hair algae last week. Fingers crossed.

Hydrogen peroxide works on all algae so should work on hair algae. I had BBA on some anubias plants and simply removed them and sprayed them and kept them in a bucket but you can treat the algae directly in the tank if you need to.

 

[ClownLurch]

I’ll keep that up my sleeve for the time being. Thanks.

 

[Fishy_Dan]

What is your GH? The fish that you have been discussing need softer water but London water is typically hard. If you don't have a test result you could find the GH of your source water on the suppliers website?

15/16 GH

On the borderline for honey gourami I believe. Not sure about H Rasbora or M Kubotai

 

[Naughts]

That's 268-286ppm. You will have most success with fish that have this GH around the middle of their range.
SeriouslyFish.com is the best place to research species requirements.

Trigonostigma heteromorpha – Harlequin (Rasbora heteromorpha) — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

Microdevario kubotai (Microrasbora kubotai) — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

Trichogaster chuna – Honey Gourami (Colisa chuna, Trichopodus sota) — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

 

[Essjay]

I scrubbed and boiled my azalea half a dozen times and ended up throwing it away. Every time I put it in tank it was ok for a few days then the fuzz returned. Twas very little clouding after the first couple of times but the white fuzz looks horrible and scary.

I'm beginning to think I need to throw mine away. But I do need a bit more large wood to replace it as I have lots of small pieces which look bitty. I do have a chunk of "mangrove" floating in another tank. All that's doing is refusing to sink and tinting the water brown, but I want more than just this one piece.

 

[Fishy_Dan]

I'm beginning to think I need to throw mine away. But I do need a bit more large wood to replace it as I have lots of small pieces which look bitty. I do have a chunk of "mangrove" floating in another tank. All that's doing is refusing to sink and tinting the water brown, but I want more than just this one piece.

I don't know if it's true, but I read that the boiling/scrubbing the root just makes it inert and hospitable to the fungus. So it will grow again every time after boiling. Better to leave it to take its course.

 

[AilyNC]

I'm beginning to think I need to throw mine away. But I do need a bit more large wood to replace it as I have lots of small pieces which look bitty. I do have a chunk of "mangrove" floating in another tank. All that's doing is refusing to sink and tinting the water brown, but I want more than just this one piece.

Oh no! It's a beautiful driftwood. I didn't get any cloudiness with mine. Just gave a quick wash & let it float until it sank. I got mine from an online fish shop. Pity it didn't have brand name.

 

[Essjay]

If you check the wood for a sort of white slimey fungussy stuff, that's what causes the cloudiness. Mine has almost stopped growing the white stuff; I scrub it off before emptying the water, pour a kettle of boiling water over the wood in a bucket, refill the tank then put the wood back.


Years ago I remember getting some wood which grew a white slime once it was in the tank with fish. The nerite snails and honey gouramis ate it with no apparent problems. It's just reading comments since then that have made me wary to the point of waiting till it's all gone. Maybe I'll test it with some pest snails.

 

[Fishy_Dan]

Update: the cloudy water seems to have cleared, although there is a yellowy tinge now. I'm guessing the bactierial bloom, possibly caused by dechlorifying the new tank water, has passed and now the tinge is tannin leach from the wood. I'm going to do a 70% water change this evening.

I also turned down the flow rate on the filter and the salvinia has settled now. It already looks like there is more of it than came in the pot, though this must be an illusion it can't grow THAT quickly surely?

 

[Fishy_Dan]

Update: after 70% water change and a minor re-scape. The air bubbles after a water change, is that the plants using up the new carbon dioxide in the water to photosynthesize?

I did a quick water test before changing the water and amonia was up to 0.5ppm. I guess the new plants rotting down dead parts is to blame.

 

[Essjay]

Air bubbles on all the surfaces after a water change are just the gasses that were dissolved in the new water coming out. The warmer the water the less gasses it can hold, and the tank is warmer than your tap water so as the tap water warms up, the gasses in it come out and sit as bubbles all over everything.

 

[AilyNC]

Air bubbles on all the surfaces after a water change are just the gasses that were dissolved in the new water coming out. The warmer the water the less gasses it can hold, and the tank is warmer than your tap water so as the tap water warms up, the gasses in it come out and sit as bubbles all over everything.

I love all the It bubbles on everything after a water change

 

[Fishy_Dan]

The tank only came with one LED lighting strip, but room for two. To promote growth I've been thinking of adding another. Ciano sell a 'plants' lighting strip that has a different blue/red wavelength than the stock white light, but I can't seem to find how many lumens they have.

Ciano Aqua CLA60 Plants LED Light

Ciano Aqua CLA60 Plants LED Light, Suited for Ciano Aqua 60 and 80, specifically designed for the healthy growth of plants, designed to fit as an additional LED.

www.completeaquatics.co.uk

Is there any benefit to getting this apparently plant friendly light over another white one?

Thanks again!

@AilyNC you mentioned you have this tank. Have you just got the single light strip that came with it? Have you manged to grow swords and other plants that need medium light levels with it?

Thanks