My (daughter's) tank so far...

[Blu3Shyft]

Just a quick thread to kinda show off my (daughter's) tank progress. Still working on cycling the tank. Kinda working. Ammonia still taking a long time to go down, but Nitrites are staying at 0, and Nitrate is slowly climbing. It's only been a week and a day since I started the cycling though, so I'm glad of the progress made anyway.

Quick question, though. Am I correct in thinking that the cycling will be more effective/slightly faster with more decorations and mid-tank (like IN the water, not around edges/on the bottom) surface area?

adding the water last week.

wife scared the hell out of me with the camera flash JUST as I went to grab the surge strip and plug in the filter and heater. I was sure it was electricity arcing to my hand!

first of the decorations in and filter running.

soon to be birthday girl checking out her present in progress. She picked the decorations. The bag on the bottom left is a 'slime starter' from a LFS's established tank that she keeps extra old filters in just for the purpose of cycling help.

Added some more decorations (more surface area for the bacteria to cling to), and a starter piece of wood, about 5 inches long, also from an established tank behind the dragon, by the filter intake.

What do you think? Should I adjust placement of equipment or anyting? I was thinking have the filter intake toward the corner so it's kinda easy to 'hide' with plants or something.

 

[brennae]

Are your plants real or fake? I LOVE my planted tanks so I would recommend more plants. What livestock are you planning?

 

[Blu3Shyft]

Are your plants real or fake? I LOVE my planted tanks so I would recommend more plants. What livestock are you planning?

The plants are real. 2 Asian water ferns, and 1 wysteria that kinda fell apart so I planted them to look like trees around the castle. I'm planning for more plants over time, with a few fake ones for color as my daughter chooses.

As for planned fish, we're going with 2 Angelfish, 1 koi colored, 1 blue. Gonna have a trio of austraile killifsh, a few Cory cats (probably bronze), a mekong red fin zebra eel for the wife, an albino long fin bristle nose pleco or two, and probably a small school of the Glofish tetras. I'm hoping to get a mated/breeding pair of Electric Blue Rams and maybe a trio of kuhli loaches at some point. The only fish set in stone for us to get are the angels and at least 1 of the plecos. The rest are going to be as money and availability allow.

 

[Krissycakes]

Looking good. What a lucky little girl, to be able to have her very own box of happiness. Happy soon to be birthday, birthday girl!

 

[Blu3Shyft]

I think they cycle stalled. Ammonia has been sitting around 1-1.5ppm for a couple days now, and the Nitrates up around 20+. I just did a 10% water change to see if that helps. What else can I do at this point? 46gallon bowfront, for those that don't know.

 

[Sillyfishies]

I'm happy to see this tank finally started up! I'm sorry, I've never done a fishless cycle so I'm not much help

 

[Whiteout]

I think they cycle stalled. Ammonia has been sitting around 1-1.5ppm for a couple days now, and the Nitrates up around 20+. I just did a 10% water change to see if that helps. What else can I do at this point? 46gallon bowfront, for those that don't know.

Mine stalled at the ammonia phase so I just went and got my stock not finished stocking yet but a start and now my nitrites and some nitrates have shown up know this might have not been any help

 

[Tuck]

I think they cycle stalled. Ammonia has been sitting around 1-1.5ppm for a couple days now, and the Nitrates up around 20+. I just did a 10% water change to see if that helps. What else can I do at this point? 46gallon bowfront, for those that don't know.

Do a larger pwc.

 

[Blu3Shyft]

Did a 50% water change this morning. Test tonight says ammonia is about 0.5 ppm, nitrites still at zero, and nitrates down to about 5. Should I add more ammonia? more food?

 

[Blu3Shyft]

Today was the day. Big fun day out, followed by a trip to PetSmart (gift cards from family were for there). We ordered 1 koi angelfish from eBay, but they sent us 2 (bonus!), and today we picked up 2 Opaline Gourami, 6 GloFish tetras, and a Clown Pleco. We might take him back though, and trade him for something else, they sold him as an 'algae eater', but when I looked him up, he's a wood eater with a side of algae wafers.

 

[Krissycakes]

oh my gosh, I love her backround! Perfect fish for a little girl btw. Hope she is stoked!

 

[Sillyfishies]

Today was the day. Big fun day out, followed by a trip to PetSmart (gift cards from family were for there). We ordered 1 koi angelfish from eBay, but they sent us 2 (bonus!), and today we picked up 2 Opaline Gourami, 6 GloFish tetras, and a Clown Pleco. We might take him back though, and trade him for something else, they sold him as an 'algae eater', but when I looked him up, he's a wood eater with a side of algae wafers.

Those angelfish are so tiny!

 

[Blu3Shyft]

Well, one of the green glofish died overnight, and then the 2 orange ones started acting weird (possibly mating/dominance dance of some sort), so I took them and the dead one, and the clown pleco back to PetSmart and traded them for new glofish that seem happier and so far healthy, 2 otos with nice markings, and a striped Nerita snail. The snail's name is EscarGANTUA (Monsters vs. Aliens reference).

 

[Krissycakes]

Sorry to hear about your fish=( your snail is beautiful. The stripes are neat looking. My sister wants one since I showed it to her.

 

[Sillyfishies]

Well, one of the green glofish died overnight, and then the 2 orange ones started acting weird (possibly mating/dominance dance of some sort), so I took them and the dead one, and the clown pleco back to PetSmart and traded them for new glofish that seem happier and so far healthy, 2 otos with nice markings, and a striped Nerita snail. The snail's name is EscarGANTUA (Monsters vs. Aliens reference).

Can you get a closer picture of the angelfish? They look rough.

 

[Blu3Shyft]

Can you get a closer picture of the angelfish? They look rough.

I thought so too, when we first got them, but it's just their coloration. Their 'white' areas are almost completely see through. I thought the one's tail had been chewed, but it's clear except for the black lines.

 

[FishBoy185]

Wow, what an amazing tank. Good job! What awsome parents that little girl has!