So It Begins

[jag51186]

Newest pic, sorry the color is off *shakes fist at tannins* I thought the big long leaves in the back right were vallisneria?? I'll get a better pic of the melon sword when I move it.

Oh and the melon sword is hidden behind some driftwood, so I'm going to move it out front during my water change.

And finally, I split my other anubias rhizome in half on accident, and there are new sprouts coming up from the piece. So I'm hopeful it will grow into a replacement plant!!

 

[Byron]

Newest pic, sorry the color is off *shakes fist at tannins* I thought the big long leaves in the back right were vallisneria?? I'll get a better pic of the melon sword when I move it.

Oh and the melon sword is hidden behind some driftwood, so I'm going to move it out front during my water change.

And finally, I split my other anubias rhizome in half on accident, and there are new sprouts coming up from the piece. So I'm hopeful it will grow into a replacement plant!!
 

 
Yes, that could be the "giant" Vallisneria.  At the moment I would leave it alone and see what it does.  It is best in moderately hard to hard water.
 
Anubias can be divided by cutting the rhizome (intentionally or accidentally), and provided there are a few nodes on the cut pieces, they will generate new leaves and roots.

 

[Akasha72]

looking good. I love tannin stained water

 

[jag51186]

Degassing tower up and running!!

Moved a lot of plants, everything is sad and foggy!! I'll post another when things clear

 

[Akasha72]

why did you move things? It looked great as it was

 

[jag51186]

Trying to give some of the plants, that were struggling, more light. Moved all the anacharis into a bunch and to the back...one was clogging the filter intake on the left and drowning out some other plants on the right. Otherwise it was mainly rearranging for light.

 

[jag51186]

Also, any thoughts on how to heat the water for water change besides just throwing a heater in the buckets for awhile??

 

[jag51186]

Well, I've added some fish. After the big water change, my gh was still only at 5 degrees. Ph held steady at 7.6. So, I decided to go with a barb tank.

My initial stocking is five rosy barbs, six cory paleatus, 4 assassin snails (to kill all the hitchhikers that came in on the plants), and three ghost shrimp just to see how they do.

I added a bottle of living bacteria, that I can't remember the name of for the life of me. Well check water parameters tomorrow, and hopefully get some decent pictures.

The corys are already happily digging in the sand! Makes me so happy!

 

[Akasha72]

did you cycle the tank first?

 

[jag51186]

Not really, and I know I stocked it heavy for a non-cycled tank. But I've read you don't have to worry about cycling as much with a planted tank, and that's why I added all the live bacteria as well.

I'm going to keep a close eye on water parameters for awhile and do water changes as necessary. In the in between, I plan to get my twenty long quarantine set up and ready for when I get more fish.

 

[Byron]

Not really, and I know I stocked it heavy for a non-cycled tank. But I've read you don't have to worry about cycling as much with a planted tank, and that's why I added all the live bacteria as well.

I'm going to keep a close eye on water parameters for awhile and do water changes as necessary. In the in between, I plan to get my twenty long quarantine set up and ready for when I get more fish.

 
You shouldn't have any issues, with the tank size, plants and mentioned fish.  I have always used live plants, and you have some fast growing ones.
 
Byron.

 

[jag51186]

Thanks so much for saying that Byron! I was so worried that everyone was going to yell at me for jumping the gun!

 

[jag51186]

My next question is stocking, I'd ideally like to put in some denison barbs, black ruby barbs, and gold barbs. Maybe a few oto cats. I was thinking 6-8 denisons. And a decent number of the other kind to have a proper school. I have a second canister waiting in the wings, a fluval 306 to go with my 406....would this be possible?? Or just too much

 

[Byron]

My next question is stocking, I'd ideally like to put in some denison barbs, black ruby barbs, and gold barbs. Maybe a few oto cats. I was thinking 6-8 denisons. And a decent number of the other kind to have a proper school. I have a second canister waiting in the wings, a fluval 306 to go with my 406....would this be possible?? Or just too much

 
OK, here we have some issues/aspects to consider.  First, the tank dimensions given in post #1 indicate a 75 US gallon.  The length of 4 feet is important here though.  The second filter won't change tank dimensions, and when you are dealing with active swimming fish like barbs, they need space.  A filter can only do so much in a given tank.  One of the many myths in this hobby is that more filters (or larger filters) will allow more fish...absolutely not so in most cases.  Provided you have a filter that is relevant to the tank size and likely stocking, that is all you need.  More filters are only moving the same water around more (the water movement may or may not be good, another aspect), but it certainly does not provide better filtration unless the filters are inadequate to begin with.  One cannot overstock a given tank space without trouble.
 
As you say, having decent numbers is important, so those that suit this tank size should be the emphasis.  The Denison Barb should have a 5-6 foot tank, though 4-foot is absolute minimum.  This fish attains six inches, and a group of no less than eight is the recommendation or it may get rather feisty.  It requires more water current than many fish, and cooler temperatures.  Endemic to southwestern India, this species inhabits fast-flowing hill streams and rivers, occurring in shoals in rocky pools with thick marginal vegetation. Water temperature averages 15-25C/59-77F.  I would suggest quite a different aquascape for this species.
 
The other barbs mentioned are fine.  The Rosy I would increase from five to eight or nine.  Some sources suggest six inches for this fish, but most give around three, but its suitability for flowing streams or quiet lakes makes it a better choice here.  Cooler temperatures again, though not a problem as this will suit the corys too, and by cooler I mean in the range 64-74F, roughly room temperature.  You could even unplug the heater, except for winter if the room gets cold.
 
The Black Ruby is a gem of a barb, and a group of 10-12 would be good.  This barb likes a bit more warmth, range 72-79F, so with this species included the heater might be needed to keep the tank around 74-75.  The Rosy should be OK with this, if you have both species.  The Gold Barb is in the 64-75F range, and needs at least eight.  It is said to be a possible fin nipper of slow fish, but with what you're planning I wouldn't suggest sedate fish anyway.
 
The otos I would leave for a few months, to see if you need them, plus they settle in much better in an established tank with a decent biofilm and that takes a couple months minimum.  I would increase the corys, either more of the C. paleatus or a group (5-6 minimum) of another species.  This could be down the road.  Some of the smaller loaches are another option here.
 
Byron.

 

[jag51186]

I'll probably end up taking your advice (as usual lol) and ditch the dennison's. I really want to do this thing right so I'll probably stick with rosy, black ruby, and gold barbs...and my cory's of course!! Maybe way down the road I'll get a massive tank and just put a crapload of denisons in it lol.

Random sidenote, I went to the Georgia Aquarium last weekend and saw some Reticulated Hillstream Loaches that I thought were super cool...do you think they would work with denisons??
Oh and how long should I go in between additions and how big of a group can I add to my tank at a time. Going to start getting my qt tank setup and ready!