New 20 Gallon Tank

[Mumma.of.two]

Alright, I'm back. About a week or so ago I added fish food to the fish tank to get the cycling going being I couldn't seem to come into ammonia quickly enough for my taste, which was probably immature and stupid of me, but it's too late now.

Anyway, today I got the API Freshwater Master's and it was fantastic. I got my results back (which were kind of... Off from what I've read) which I will now share.

Note they're all rough estimates due to my lack of experience testing.

0.25 ppm Ammonia
0.00 ppm Nitrite
More than 0.00 ppm Nitrates but less than 5 ppm it seems
A pH of slightly under 7.

To me this seemed off, being I was pretty sure there were supposed to be more nitrates and nitrites. However, the pH did drop from a basic status to the ever so slightly acidic, so I figured something had to have been happening.

I added conditioner (dechlorinator) each time I added water due to water loss.

I also think it's worth mentioning the state of my plants.
My banana plant is thriving. It has grown 4 new leaf stalks (giving it 7 from its original 7) and the roots/stems are growing like wildfire, frequently curling making dips in and out of the sand. It's actually quite cool.

However, my java ferns don't seem to be doing so hot. My smaller ferns are pretty brown, and are beginning to look like what I can only describe as a texture and color similar to a browning banana. Each leaf is about half green and half brown. One has even snapped, with a half an inch tip dangling off.

My other java fern is still pretty green and strong looking, but has a few brown blotches on it which weren't originally there.

I leave the tank light on for about 11-12 hours a day, which feels like a lot for low light plants, but due to the conflicting progression of the plants I'm not really sure what to do (plus I don't have many options being I leave at about 7 A.M. and get back at about 6 P.M.

The reason you aren't seeing any nitrite and nitrate and barely any ammonia is because fish food doesn't give off enough ammonia and cycling takes far longer than a week to complete. It can take 2-4 weeks (sometimes longer) just to get nitrites and a further 2-4 weeks (sometimes longer) to get nitrates. They whole process takes 4-8 weeks or more.

What kind of lighting do you have? The plants could just be adjusting to your tank but they could also be lacking nutrients. Do you add ferts?

 

[SegadorDAlmas]

The reason you aren't seeing any nitrite and nitrate and barely any ammonia is because fish food doesn't give off enough ammonia and cycling takes far longer than a week to complete. It can take 2-4 weeks (sometimes longer) just to get nitrites and a further 2-4 weeks (sometimes longer) to get nitrates. They whole process takes 4-8 weeks or more.

What kind of lighting do you have? The plants could just be adjusting to your tank but they could also be lacking nutrients. Do you add ferts?

I'll be honest, I have no idea what ferts are and the extent I know about my light is it's a fluorescent bulb. I assume I can check it somewhere on the bulb (though the compartment for it is probably fogged up from being on the tank right now)?

 

[Mumma.of.two]

I'll be honest, I have no idea what ferts are and the extent I know about my light is it's a fluorescent bulb. I assume I can check it somewhere on the bulb (though the compartment for it is probably fogged up from being on the tank right now)?

Sorry. Ferts = fertilizer.
Check the bulb and see if it has any K rating and see if it's t8, t5 t5ho. You should be able to grow plants under any of those as long as the K (kelvin) is 5000k-10 000k.

 

[SegadorDAlmas]

Sorry. Ferts = fertilizer.
Check the bulb and see if it has any K rating and see if it's t8, t5 t5ho. You should be able to grow plants under any of those as long as the K (kelvin) is 5000k-10 000k.

My lightbulb is a 8000K full daylight spectrum bulb (that's what it's labeled as at least). And I personally didn't add any fertilizers, and I'm not sure if it counts, but my ferns came with their bases (rhyzhomes, correct?) inside of a clump of what seems to be decomposing plant materials with a net holding the whole thing together.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

My lightbulb is a 8000K full daylight spectrum bulb (that's what it's labeled as at least). And I personally didn't add any fertilizers, and I'm not sure if it counts, but my ferns came with their bases (rhyzhomes, correct?) inside of a clump of what seems to be decomposing plant materials with a net holding the whole thing together.

That bulb sounds good for very low light plants (what you have). They will benefit from ferts but they aren't needed for those plants. Did you take them out of the net? Did you plant in the substrate or tie onto something. And rhizome is correct.

 

[SegadorDAlmas]

That bulb sounds good for very low light plants (what you have). They will benefit from ferts but they aren't needed for those plants. Did you take them out of the net? Did you plant in the substrate or tie onto something. And rhizome is correct.

No, I left them in the net, I thought it just kind of was supposed to hold them together and I didn't bury them into my substrate (which is sand so that would be double bad due to low water flow from my understanding). The one that seems to be doing pretty bad is tucked into a crevice in my driftwood. The other one is just kind of in a tiny ditch I dug for it (but not in the sand), so it's just kind of floating around.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Take them out of the net and see how they go. If the rhizome is buried it can rot causing the plant to become sick and die.

 

[SegadorDAlmas]

Take them out of the net and see how they go. If the rhizome is buried it can rot causing the plant to become sick and die.

Alright I'll give that a shot. Thanks.

 

[SegadorDAlmas]

Alright so I got home today, tested the pH (hasn't really gone up by much, I'll give it another few days, but if it doesn't pick up at all I might either have to hunt for ammonia or attempt to cycle with fish) when I got home today.

But as I went to free the java ferns from the net that holds them together, I noticed that the brown stuff on my ferns was essentially a kind of powder. It is also only on the front of the leaves, never on the back. And a few of my leaves are actually starting to sprout what appear to be more ferns! I remember reading somewhere that when Java Ferns grow more of themselves, they turn brown for the event for some reason. Could this be the case, assuming that's what actually happens?

 

[SegadorDAlmas]

I don't mean to triple post, but hasn't really been a lot of activity. I discovered that the brown powder on the ferns was simply left over matter from the driftwood. It wiped right off. I already denetted one of my ferns however, revealing a couple of individual ferns which I spread out, taking care to only bury the roots and not the rhizomes.

After a trip to the pet store today I wound up purchasing an amazon sword (for background botany decor and a plant to give some hiding space for higher swimming fish) and three giant danios. The fish guy at my LFS convinced me into getting them after I explained to him that I was looking to cycle using fish and my current tank. Had it been anybody else I probably wouldn't have went for it, but the fellow is usually very conciencious (spell check me there) about the fishs' needs and the needs he describes are fairly accurate with research I dig up. From my understanding, these guys are supposed to have at least 30 gallons and probably could use some extra space, but their behavior hasn't eluded to any issues so far. They school when I enter the room or get too close, spread apart to explore when I watch from my computer chair, and like to twirl around through the plants or chase after one another. I think my tank is an improvement in size and plant stock from their previous tank. Hopefully all goes well. Is there a specific way I should be feeding these guys (well, 2 guys and one gal from what I can tell) while cycling? My understanding of feeding is roughly 3 small feedings a day. But most cycling guides I see recommend one feeding a day

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Since you have fish now you will need to follow this guide.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/artic...g-but-I-already-have-fish-What-now/Page2.html
I'd recommend one small feed per day. Any excess waste will only contribute to ammonia and you don't want too much in a cycling tank with fish.

 

[SegadorDAlmas]

So I woke up today and looked in my tank. Didn't notice anything too strange so went about my normal business. Looked casually back at it a little later and saw that there were tiny little things moving near the surface. I moved closer only to find out that my danios have had a litter (?) of fry! I've had the fish for about 3 or 4 days, the time required for them to hatch. What do I do about these guys? My tank is still cycling. I assume they can't survive, and even if they do, there's way too many of them for me to care for or deal with while cycling.

Did a headcount. About 13 fry.