New 30 gallon plan

[deb_unlimited]

Looking for any comments, suggestions for my new tank. Okay, after searching for hours, trying to put together an attractive, unplanted community tank of hard water loving fish, that would fit my tank, I gave up. Here's the new plan for a planted 30 gallon high:

Eco-Complete substrate with sand
Assorted plants
4X 24 watt T5 light fixture
Aquaclear 70

8X Cardinal Tetras
6X Harlequin Rasboras
1X Pearl Gourami
1 Nerite Snails

Aquarium Advisor suggests:
Recommended temperature range: 75.2 - 77 F.
Recommended pH range: 7 - 7.5.
Recommended hardness range: 10 - 15 dH.

My tap water tests after sitting awhile :
GH 60
KH 40
pH 6.5
NO3 20
How can I raise the pH and lower the KH?


My new (3 weeks old) 10 gallon tests:
1 Betta 1 Cory
GH 60
KH 40+
pH 7.0
NO2 0.5
NO3 20
NH3 0 (did partial water change today)

 

[librarygirl]

Your plan sounds good I think. You'd have room for a bottom-dwelling fish too, maybe some corys? Maybe add the cory from the 10 and put it into the larger tank and get it some friends as they do better in groups.

How long did you let tap water sit out before testing? 6.5 is a bit on the low side for the bacteria but still might be ok. You could add some crushed coral or crushed argonite to a mesh media bag or clean (never washed in detergent) nylon stocking and add it to your filter to try to get PH up a bit, maybe around 7.

For the 10 gal, watch the nitrite as it seems to be rising.

Forgot to mention this lights: so it's a total of 96 watts on that tank? That's way too much light, you're asking for algae problems without adding Co2 and a lot of fertilizers.

 

[deb_unlimited]

Thanks for your reply. I was thinking about some clams to clean the substrate layer. The cory will probably go into the 30 gallon and will get some pals. He's fun to watch, active little guy. I really wanted to get some shrimp but I don't think they would survive the Pearl Gourami. I'm also wondering what is raising the pH in the 10 gallon tank. Is it part of the cycling? I do have a piece of driftwood in the tank. I soaked it for several days, until the water stayed clear. The tap water came from my Britta pitcher and had been sitting for hours.

 

[librarygirl]

Oh so the water was filtered? I'd get a glass of water straight from the tap and let it sit for 24 hours (stir it occasionally) then test PH; this is your true PH and what your tank's PH should be. Driftwood usually lowers PH, not raises it. It's possible that 7 is your true PH; we'll know for sure when you do the water test as stated above. Good call on the cory in the 30; they are active as you've seen and would appreciate the room as well as some buddies.

 

[deb_unlimited]

I will do that. I remember reading that driftwood lowers pH because of the tannins. Do I need to use RO water to lower the hardness? The hardness was so high that I've been using distilled water from the store to reduce the overall GH KH. Okay, just did a check on the water after letting the filter run for a couple hours to mix everything. I'm using strips which I know aren't accurate. I am going to pick up test kits like the one I have for ammonia. That tested at 0.25 before doing a 20% water change, and just barely registering after the change. I had to use tap water (conditioned) because I used all my bottled water and got:
GH 120
KH 60
pH 7.5 (really?)
NO2 0.5
NO3 20
I'm thinking I need to invest in a good RO unit to economically get the hardness down in my tanks. Especially since I'm planning to have another 10 gallon and then the 30 gallon.

 

[deb_unlimited]

The 10 gallon has just a 5 watt LED. I got the big light for the 30 gallon. That's a little over 3 watts/gallon and since it is a tall 30 gallon, I figure it will be just right. I am planning to add a DIY co2 system to the 30 gallon. I'm also going to tear down the 10 gallon and re-do it when I get my other two tanks this week. They will both get Eco Complete/sand, plants, Aquaclear 20, DIY co2 and a T5 36 watt light.

 

[librarygirl]

Personally I don't think you need to worry about hardness. The fish should adapt to your levels. Ph of 7.5 is good out of the tap but it can change when it degasses hence leaving the glass of water out for 24 hours to test again. I wouldn't bother with RO water; it has zero minerals which you'd need to replenish and it seems more work than it's worth for the stock you're planning.

 

[deb_unlimited]

Update

Picked up my two 10 gallon tanks today. Lights, filters, heaters should be arriving any day. Visited two LFS today, one for the first time, nice store! Picked up some plants from both stores, also picked up a bag of sand at Home Depot. It's outside in a tub after running water through it for an hour. It will be frozen by morning but it's too heavy to move! I will have to thaw it out and transfer it a bit at a time. My husband is working on the stand for the 30 gallon, strengthening it (it seems it was a TV stand that somebody modified) and putting casters on it so it is easy to move. Yes, he's a real sweetheart! Once the stand is done I can start setting up the tank. I will start setting up the other two 10 gallon tanks tomorrow. How fun! One will be very Zen and the other one will be fun with a bubbling dragon "hiding" behind a screen of plants. Once I fix the leaking 10 gallon tank, I think I will set it up for shrimp and something too small to eat the shrimp. I'll have a tank in every room if I get my way! I fell head over heels in love with a canary blenny today. What a face! One of the LFS people told me to stay away from pygmy gouramis because he's never known them to live more than two years. Comments? If that's the case, I'm back to a single Pearl Gourami for the 30 gallon.

 

[Rivercats]

A couple of things, you really don't need to cap the Eco with sand. Since the sand has smaller grain particles than the Eco the sand will eventually work/fall down into the Eco and mix with it.

Another thing is the watts per gallon rule is obsolute and doesn't apply to newer lighting like LED's, metal halides, T5HO's, etc. I'll see if I can find the thread about lighting concerning lumes, lux, and par. Plus lighting a deep tank is tricky and many lights can't penetrate deeper tanks. So that being said what type plants are you planning on using?

If your going to use DIY CO2 you also need to start a good fertilizer dosing regime. I suggest using dry ferts as they are very economical $20 for a micro/macro package and dosing PPS-Pro once your CO2 is running.

 

[deb_unlimited]

Here's the scoop on the lights I got for the 30 gallon. They are 6400K 24 Watt T5 bulbs, bank of four in reflective hood, two switches so I can have different bulb combos if I want to change some out. The light I found purchased from a hydroponics supply house. I can hang it above the tank at whatever height is optimal. I will have to get some plexiglass to make a cover for the tank so nobody jumps ship but that's okay. The cheap little Marineland hood I have on my 10 gallon is 5 watts and the plants are definitely not thriving. I have better lights coming, dual 18 watt T5 aquarium lights. Don't know what temp the bulbs are. I already got some Seachem Flourish. I found a recipe for making dry fertilizer. I'm also a gardener so I can use the same compounds in the garden and I won't end up with too much. I bought some duckweed and something he called lettuce, an amazon sword, pygmy chain sword (?) and bacopa frill (I think) or could be hornwort, it floats. I already had some Java fern and some Cryptocoryne wendtii (I'm melting, I'm melting...) which the LFS said would do okay in low light. I added an Anubis also about a week ago. I wanted sand in the 10 gallon tanks to show off the betta colors (dark blue). They disappear against dark backgrounds. The 30 gallon could have dark substrate but I kinda like the look of sand/pebbles mixed in.

 

[phishfriend]

There is a great lighting link in my sig

 

[deb_unlimited]

My DYI CO2 system

I hooked everything up yesterday and it is working great! It was really quick and very easy to make. I like using the ketchup bottles which are heavy duty. Here are some pics. I used air couplings to connect to the ketchup bottles, super glued and then siliconed. There's a check valve and a bubble counter in the loop.

 

[deb_unlimited]

Pics

Still struggling with getting pics to upload...Trying again... Hey, it worked this time! You can see the two ketchup bottles, "T" connector, check valve, and bubble counter. I'm using one of those little glass diffusers located in the tank under the filter intake.

 

[deb_unlimited]

Lighting

There is a great lighting link in my sig

I just skimmed this link....%@$#$&$(*)^&...TMI...

 

[deb_unlimited]

Update

My original 10 gallon tank is doing great, testing 0 nitrites, barely there nitrates. The one little cory cat I had died. Don't know what happened. Came from Petco along with the betta. I worried that I didn't feed him enough. I was giving him broken algae wafers. Of course any of the pellets the betta didn't get went to him also. He got frozen brine shrimp a couple times. Again, whatever the betta didn't get to first. I got 3 more corys yesterday and I also bought sinking pellets for bottom feeders. The other betta has adjusted to his tank and is now looking so beautiful. His color has changed completely from a pale turquoise to a dark irridescent cobalt blue. I picked him because he WAS a different color from betta #1 He's active and flaring his fins all the time instead of just hanging in the water. I was so unhappy with the 10 gallon tanks I got from WalMart the I ordered 2 more tanks online, 13.3 gallon bowfronts. The WalMart tanks look like they were put together by a one handed blind man, sealer all over, big gobs. I will take the rims off and use them for my orchids. I assembled another CO2 setup today and discovered that a 1ml syringe tube fits the ketchup bottle lid perfectly. Here's a pic. Cutting the tube was a chore!

 

[Aqualady40]

My original 10 gallon tank is doing great, testing 0 nitrites, barely there nitrates. The one little cory cat I had died. Don't know what happened. Came from Petco along with the betta. I worried that I didn't feed him enough. I was giving him broken algae wafers. Of course any of the pellets the betta didn't get went to him also. He got frozen brine shrimp a couple times. Again, whatever the betta didn't get to first. I got 3 more corys yesterday and I also bought sinking pellets for bottom feeders. The other betta has adjusted to his tank and is now looking so beautiful. His color has changed completely from a pale turquoise to a dark irridescent cobalt blue. I picked him because he WAS a different color from betta #1 He's active and flaring his fins all the time instead of just hanging in the water. I was so unhappy with the 10 gallon tanks I got from WalMart the I ordered 2 more tanks online, 13.3 gallon bowfronts. The WalMart tanks look like they were put together by a one handed blind man, sealer all over, big gobs. I will take the rims off and use them for my orchids. I assembled another CO2 setup today and discovered that a 1ml syringe tube fits the ketchup bottle lid perfectly. Here's a pic. Cutting the tube was a chore!

Where is the pic?

 

[deb_unlimited]

Pics

Sorry, they didn't upload last time. Here they are