Meziox's, Personal Log

[Meziox]

Hello everyone,

I'm a new member on this forum and I would like to start a new planted aquarium with live fish. So far I have acquired most of the items listed below and I’m waiting for the substrate to arrive before I start the fish-less cycle process.

Tank:
Marineland 46 BowFront Euro Glass with Black Trim Aquarium
Dimensions: 36w x 16d x 20h


Heating:
Aqueon Pro 250 Watt Fully Submersible Aquarium Heater

Filter:
Marineland Emperor 400 Filter
Hagen Fluval Zeo-Carb Replacement packs (I'm going to use it with the Emperor Filters) (On order)

Substrate:
Eco Complete 3x20lbs (On order)
CaribSea Tahitian Moon Gravel 2x20lbs (On order)
Peeble Beach Mix Gravel 3x25lb (On order)
I will return some of the gravel.

Test Kit:
API Freshwater Master Test Kit (On order)

Lights:
So far I have only the lights that came with the aquarium, but I’m considering on getting the: Coralife Lunar Aqualight T5HO 36” 39 Watts x2 daylight, x2 actinic and x3 moon lights.

Decoration:
3 pieces of grape wood (I will try to clear spray the wood with waterproof Polyurethane Coating) I will see how it goes and decide if I will use it or not.

Some Rocks



Question:

Do I need to purchase a air pump?? I might get CO2 down the road but not at this point?


~Marcin

 

[James_in_MN]

Welcome to the forums! I'm glad to hear you'll be fishless cycling your tank!

I don't run an air pump or have air stones in either of my tanks. Typically, there is enough agitation of the surface of the water with the filters to help with oxygen exchange.

I must ask, why are you coating the wood you intend to put in the tank with polyurethane?

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Welcome Aboard!

I don't have any experience with it myself, but i've heard the grape root will rot in water and I'm not sure you could (should?) put enough polyurethane on it to seal it completely.

 

[Meziox]

I have purchased the wood before I did any research on it and now I am stuck with it. Many people had some success with this type of wood and I am willing to give it a try. The wood is completely dry so I will put few coatings on the wood and let it cure for a while. The paint will be nontoxic and waterproof.

I will give it a try if I see any problems along the way I just won't use the wood.

 

[Homedog98]

Definitely test it somewhere else... Maybe put a ghost shrimp In there with it to make sure it's non-toxic.

 

[Meziox]

Update: 05/15/2011

So far I have created the substrate: 3x EcoComplete + 1x Peeble Beach Mix Gravel, added some rocks and filled the tank with water. I have decided not to use the grapewood for decoration. I will try to find some driftwood online or in LFS.

I have placed an order for the fallowing plants:
3 x Hornwort (Ceratophyllum Demersum) = $4.05

1 x Echinodorus Martii (Ruffle Sword) SM = $1.95

3 x Stargrass (Heteranthera Zosterfolia) = $4.05

3 x Cabomba Caroliniana (Cabomba, Green) = $4.50

3 x Rotala Najenshan = $4.05

1 x Cryptocoryne Wendtii Green lg clump = $4.50

2 x Dwarf Hairgrass Pot (Eleocharis Parvula) = $7.00

from: Aquarium Plants Pond Plants From Sweet Aquatics

 

[Meziox]

and also:
[FONT=&quot]1 x Alternathera Reinckii Var. Roseafolia Pot = $3.50

1 x Java Fern (Microsorium Pteropus) = $2.50

2 x Sagittaria Subulata (Dwarf) = $1.20

That is it .... Can't wait to get them.
[/FONT]

 

[Homedog98]

What does the whole tank look like? Picture time?!

 

[Meziox]

Here are some pictures of my tank. It's a start ..... once I get the plants the aquarium will look a lot better.

Here is the link to the album: Aquarium pictures by Meziox - Photobucket

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Great looking rocks you've found and I like the layout so far.

 

[Meziox]

Quick update 05/21/2011

I haven't received any plants yet and it's had been a week since I have ordered them. I might call them and check the status of the order. =(

ph level: 6.6-7.0
Ammonia: 0 ppm
NitrIte: 5.0 ppm
NitrAte: 10.0 ppm

Just added some Ammonia to get the level back to 4.0ppm

I made a list of fish I'm considering to add to my tank once the fishless-cycle is done. Here is the list:

6x Neon Tetra Jumbo
5x Skirt Tetra
2x Blue Gourami
3x Black Neon Tetra
3x Cherry Barb
2x Ghost Shrimp (I don't know if Blue Gourami will eat the shrimp or not, I will have to research it)

 

[James_in_MN]

I recommend that you stop testing nitrAtes until your nitrIte readings start to drop.

1) It's wasteful. It doesn't matter what your nitrAte readings are at this point.

2) It may be inaccurate. NitrAte tests may convert the nitrAte into nitrIte, then test for nitrItes, to measure the amount of nitrAtes in your tank. Since you have nitrItes already, that would throw the test off.

 

[Meziox]

Quick Update: 05/24/2011
The good news is I will be getting my plants by the end of the week. The bad news are my pH level is dropping a lot. My Ammonia and NitrIte seems to be going down, but NitrAte is going up.

pH level: 6.0-6.4 (Dropped significantly)
Ammonia: 1 ppm
NitrIte: 0 ppm (After 5 min, at first it was around 1.0 ppm)
NitrAte: 80.0 ppm

Should I do 50% or 80% water change at this point??