So It Begins

[Byron]

okay, I think I've understood most of that and from my observances of my fish it all makes sense. Certain fish in my tank seem to like the light, other tend to like shade. Curviceps is one fish often found shading in the plants and brought out into the open and their colours fade a little. Their natural enviroment is blackwater so that makes sense.
 
My tank has two T8 tubes. One for plantlife the other a daylight bulb. These seem to work well for plant growth etc. I have two reg tiger lotus plants in my tank and I do sometimes allow them to reach the surface and float there but I need to prune them often or they will outcompete my other plants. It's a delicate balance. I think given what I've understood from your write-up I'm going to allow a few more lotus leaves to float on the surface and see if it makes any difference to the fish  

 
I'd say you're doing fine.  Yes, it is always interesting to me to see how fish respond when given options, whether lighting or water current.  
 
I like T8 lighting, mainly because I understand it and it has worked for me for 20+ years.  My temporary foray into T5 and LED a year or so back was due to my T8 fixture on the 5-foot tank giving out.  Eventually I bought a T8 dual tube shop light that would fit the housing, and now have a brand new T8.  You can't get these any longer, at least not in NA, as everyone is either into T5 or now LED.  B.

 

[Akasha72]

it's the other way in my area. T8's are easy to get, T5's tend to be rarer and those I've found are Juwel's own brand and are expensive in comparison to T8. LED's I've not seen appearing yet but then I've not really been looking

 

[BiggTexx]

Just a take on the substrate - I use pool filter sand, specifically silica sand.
 
If you have a pool supply store nearby, you can pick it up for roughly $1 per lb, normally in 25 lb bags.
 
**EDIT The price above was for Zeolite sand.  The Silica sand I used (shown below) was cheap, around $12 for a 25 lb bag.**
 
It has nice shading (in my opinion) and my cichlids absolutely love it.  It is also a very clean and heavy weight sand to begin with and rinsing is a breeze.  Dump it in a 5 gal bucket, drop in a hose and let it run for a bit. You can even add it to a filled tank and it will not cloud like most other sands, it settles quick!
 
The exact sand I used (SeaGull Silica Filter Sand):

 
Rinsing the sand (expected more dust/particles than this):

 
Adding to a filled tank (sorry the pic is not clear, filling with one hand, pics with the other, lol) :

 
Starting to level it out (better judge of sand color here):

 

[jag51186]

This has to be excess iron right to get that color??

 

[BiggTexx]

I may be able to offer a little help and/or guidance on the water situation.  Excuse all the questions, it will help though:

1. Public or Private (well) water?
2. Any guess on the types of pipe used in the house, such as iron or cast?
3. What is your pH reading from the closest water faucet to the water source? (closest to well or water meter)
4. You mentioned a water softener.  Is this a unit you run, or the public (city) runs?
5. If you allow the water in the cup to sit overnight, do you see any particles or slime that starts to separate from the water?  What color do they turn?

You can also grab a test kit (not 100% accurate, but will give you an idea) of what/if any metals you may be dealing with.
 
If you are on a well or run your own water softener, you can run a fairly simple check to see if this an organic iron issue.  Grab an in-line AC (activated Carbon) filter generally used for RVs (run about $10).  Hook up to a hose, run about 20 gallons to clear the filter and then capture a sample.  Leave it out for 24 hours and compare the results.  You can also try aerating a larger sample to speed up the process.
 
Since Iron and Manganese are dissolved in the water initially, the water can be crystal clear coming from a faucet.  They do not begin to separate until oxygen is introduced, which is where aerating probably just sped up the process.

 

[jag51186]

Private well, no idea on the pipes but guessing iron, closest source gives me 7.0, aeration increases that significantly. The water softener is ours, but came with the house so I know nothing about it, except it requires salt in a separate tank. Not sure about the water overnight thing...can try it tonight. My guess is it will remain reddish

 

[jag51186]

It has happened!!

Still cloudy, hoping clearer tomorrow. I ended up using two buckets of well water and the rest tap. As for the plants, I don't even know what most are, a few sword varieties, a couple anubias, a red rotala, a water sprite, and a bunch of other stuff. Sand in the front, gravel in the back. Going to dose ferts for the first time tomorrow. I'm excited!

 

[Hunterprey]

Tanks looking real nice

 take another pic when its not as cloudy.

 

[Akasha72]

looking good from what I can make out. I'll be excited to see it once it's cleared

 

[BiggTexx]

Looking good! Were you able to leave the cup out over night? Anything unusual happen, such as particles appearing?

 

[jag51186]

I didn't leave the cup out, but those buckets sat out for about a week and there was red sedimentation along the water edge and in the bottom...I did actually use two of those buckets to get some hardness, and hoping my plethora of red plants will utilize the iron.

 

[jag51186]

We're getting there...

My timer isn't working currently, so they didn't get any light today, so I put my extra led on it for now. How often do you think I should dose ferts and iron?? I think some of the plants I ended up getting are a little high maintenance. If it clears up and numbers are good, I might add a few fish this weekend to give the plants some ammonia, etc.

 

[Akasha72]

looking good
 
Is the filter cycled?

 

[jag51186]

Everything is brand new, so there hasn't been any cycling of anything yet. I'm so happy I used some sand, you can see the light shimmer on it as the water ripples on top. It's getting close to being clear,but still a little ways to go. Does it usually take this long to clear or is that because the filter and everything is new and there's no cycle??

 

[BiggTexx]

I didn't leave the cup out, but those buckets sat out for about a week and there was red sedimentation along the water edge and in the bottom...I did actually use two of those buckets to get some hardness, and hoping my plethora of red plants will utilize the iron.

Yea, sure sounds like excess iron, but I think you are ok and on the right track.
 
The tank is looking great by the way!  Makes me even more depressed about my little nano in progress