ericwithac
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Hello AA Family!
A week (5 days) has now passed since setting up our 55 gal Planted Tank. It has been a great learning experience and has been a joy to finally get our tank up and running.
This forum "article" is meant to help people just starting out their planted tank for the first time, or for veteran aquarists that may have questions or comments. I hope that everyone here at AA will contribute their thoughts as to make this a great thread for everyone with a freshwater and/or planted tank.
Filling the Tank
After purchasing all of our substrate, filters, co2 equipment and various other items needed to start our tank, we finally arrived at setup day! We hoisted our empty 55g tank onto the stand, and got the Penguin 350B draped over the back, as well as the heater, and attached the wave maker/powerhead to the inside of the aquarium. Since this tank will be heavily planted eventually, we decided on Eco-Complete for our substrate (60lbs & we may need more1). We then used our Python syphon system to begin filling our tank. The system works very quickly and in no time our 55g was filled to the brim. We started the Penguin 350 as to help clean up the cloudiness from the substrate. Once the heater and the wave maker we're fired up, it was time to begin placing decorations, plants and then we would get the co2 and sun-sun canister setup.
We placed our driftwood on either side of the tank, with our neat little rock formation and downed fighter jet in the middle as we wanted those as our focal points. Next came the plants. Initially we picked up an Amazon Sword, two Java Ferns, an Aqua Fern and Bamboo. Realizing the bamboo was not large enough to have its leaves out of the tank, and doing so would only make it rot, we took it out and placed it in a pot on our window sill. We then replaced it with an Aponogeton Ulvaceus and added two Dwarf Baby Tears to the substrate at the front of the rock. Flourish Tabs were placed below the plant to ensure a strong and fortified root system. We then placed our 4 Marineland LEDs on top, putting them and the CO2 regulator on timers. (We will discuss the light/co2 cycle later.)
Now it was time for the Milwaukee co2 regulator w/ bubble counter to be attached to our 5 lb tank. We then took the co2 proof tubing and attached it to the Insta Mix co2 reactor and then the inflow line from the sun sun canister through the reactor and up to the spray bar. The inflow line was then attached to the canister, and both the spray bar and outflow filter were placed in the tank. All of our media (filter pad, purigen, ceramic and bio balls) were washed and placed in the sun sun canister, it was filled with water, primed and turned on. We then completed the CO2 setup by adding our CAL AQUA drop checker.
We then proceeded to the LFS and picked up 3 awesome gold gouramis and 3 cobalt gouramis, acclimated them and placed them in the tank. Many people have said to wait a day or two for your tank to settle, however the water was clear by the time they went in, and they have been very active and look very healthy!
Our tank was finally starting to come together, greenery, fish and awesome decorations really made the tank pop.
The First 48
Pun Intended.
We have tested morning and night every day since we started our tank. It was obvious we wouldn't see any ammonia let alone nitrites or nitrates for a week or so, however we wanted to be on top of things and get into a good habit of staying on top of our water parameters.
Our first water test revealed the following;
PH- 7.2
KH- 4
Ammonia - .25ppm
Nitrates & Nitrites - 0
Temp - 78
This was a good start. The PH was just a bit high, but fine for the fish we have now. The water Hardness was perfect for DGs, but we will want to raise it once other fish are added into the equation. We would raise the temp to 80/81 in the coming days to help bacteria growth.
The second full day yielded the following test results;
AM
PH- 7.2 (PH Down Added to Attempt to reduce to 7)
KH- 4
Ammonia- .25ppm
Nitrates & Nitrites- 0
Temp- 79
PM
PH- 6.6
KH- 3
Ammonia- .25ppm
Nitrates & Nitrites- 0
Temp- 79
After seeing the PH was still at 7.2, I added some PH down to attempt reduction to 7.0. After an hour I tested, and we had achieved a PH level of 7.
That evening, getting a PH result of 6.6 and a hardness of now 3, I figured it was same to assume that the CO2 that is being injected into the water was making the PH level drop, as well as the water hardness.
Within the first 48 hours, our fish looked great and were very active, and all of our plant life was vibrant green!
The Next 72
Over the next three days we kept checking our water parameters in the mornings and evenings, keeping track on an excel spread sheet as to better keep track of parameters. Our PH was still fluctuating between 7/7.2 and 6.6 from morning-time to night-time and our KH was back and forth between 3 and 4 over the coming days.
On the third day, I awoke and came out to check on the tank and feed the fish their breakfast. All the fish were happy to see me and clearly hungry.
When I check on the plants, I noticed a few different issues. The Aponogeton Ulvaceus was slightly browning on some of its longer leaves and the Dwarf Baby Tears were a bit browner than the day we put them in. I also noticed some off brown algae looking "stuff" on our Aqua Fern. The Amazon Sword and Java Fern were just fine.
Seeing this, and realizing I should have gotten these items anyways, I went to our LFS and go Seachems Flourish, Flourish Excel and Flourish Iron. We dosed these into the tank hoping that this would help fert these plants.
Then I noticed something very interesting as the day progressed.
In the mornings, after the CO2 had been off overnight, the drop checker was back to dark blue (opposed to the lightish green it should be) and these plants were really showing their brown. In the evenings however, when the CO2 had been on for awhile, and the drop checker was closely matched to the green it should be, the plants appeared less brown, and even the dwarf baby tears had started to grow a very little bit. This really got me thinking about the CO2 and Light Cycle of our tank.
Time for a quick tangent. Our CO2 and Light cycle is as follows.
CO2 on at 11am, Lights on at Noon. CO2 off at 9pm, Light off at 10pm.
Im starting to wonder if this would work better, to help keep CO2 in the tank longer, thus helping these plants stay bright green and healthy;
Switching to a 12 hour lights on, 12 hour lights off cycle but to split it up.
CO2 on at 5am, Light on at 6am, CO2 off at 11am, Lights off at Noon. Co2 on at 5pm, Light on at 6pm, Co2 off at 11pm, Lights off at Midnight.
That brings us to the last sections of this article, Questions & Wrap Up.
Lingering Questions
1. Would the above listed new cycle help? Its a lot of light, and with the algae (black beard?) on our aqua fern, Im not sure it would help the algae go away, in fact more light would probably make it worse. On the other hand, wouldn't this allow more co2 to stay in the tank, thus not taking half of the day for CO2 levels to rise enough to change the drop checker green? I just know in the mornings there is a clear lack of co2 in our tank as the drop checker is dark blue.
2. How often should Flourish, Flourish Excel and Flourish Iron be dosed?
There are clear directions on the back of these that we have been following. However, I am curious how often people on here dose their tanks.
3. When should we start seeing ammonia? With 6 DGs in our tank, I would have thought ammonia would have become apparent quicker. Our API Master Test kit shows the same color green every day, almost as though there is the same amount of ammonia now as there was the day we put the fish in.
4. How should this supposed Black Beard algae be disposed of? I have read a few articles regarding this, but I wanted to hear first hand accounts from AAers of what works, and what doesn't.
5. I should probably buy better lights, shouldn't I? I have posted another thread and Brookster has really been helping me out, big ups to him for sure! I have four of the following:
MarineLand LED BioWheel Lights-
No. & Color. =84 White/6 Blue
Watts Per LED =0.11
Total Watts Per Fixture=9.02
Total Lux=990
Total Lumen at 12"=620
I am thinking of a planted+ from finnex. I have seen alot of people use and like these. Any other ideas for better lights?
Summary & Review
Well, I hope I have shown some insight on our first hand account of the first week we had our tank. I will be constantly posting updates on our thread in the members tank section and hope people can really benefit from this thread.
Feel free to ask questions about things I have accidentally left out, or about how the tank is coming along. I greatly appreciate everyones time in reading this thread and the helpful answers that are sure to come.
Erin.k and I have pretty much learned everything we know from threads and members here on AA, and we can't thank the community enough!
Happy Reading!
A week (5 days) has now passed since setting up our 55 gal Planted Tank. It has been a great learning experience and has been a joy to finally get our tank up and running.
This forum "article" is meant to help people just starting out their planted tank for the first time, or for veteran aquarists that may have questions or comments. I hope that everyone here at AA will contribute their thoughts as to make this a great thread for everyone with a freshwater and/or planted tank.
Filling the Tank
After purchasing all of our substrate, filters, co2 equipment and various other items needed to start our tank, we finally arrived at setup day! We hoisted our empty 55g tank onto the stand, and got the Penguin 350B draped over the back, as well as the heater, and attached the wave maker/powerhead to the inside of the aquarium. Since this tank will be heavily planted eventually, we decided on Eco-Complete for our substrate (60lbs & we may need more1). We then used our Python syphon system to begin filling our tank. The system works very quickly and in no time our 55g was filled to the brim. We started the Penguin 350 as to help clean up the cloudiness from the substrate. Once the heater and the wave maker we're fired up, it was time to begin placing decorations, plants and then we would get the co2 and sun-sun canister setup.
We placed our driftwood on either side of the tank, with our neat little rock formation and downed fighter jet in the middle as we wanted those as our focal points. Next came the plants. Initially we picked up an Amazon Sword, two Java Ferns, an Aqua Fern and Bamboo. Realizing the bamboo was not large enough to have its leaves out of the tank, and doing so would only make it rot, we took it out and placed it in a pot on our window sill. We then replaced it with an Aponogeton Ulvaceus and added two Dwarf Baby Tears to the substrate at the front of the rock. Flourish Tabs were placed below the plant to ensure a strong and fortified root system. We then placed our 4 Marineland LEDs on top, putting them and the CO2 regulator on timers. (We will discuss the light/co2 cycle later.)
Now it was time for the Milwaukee co2 regulator w/ bubble counter to be attached to our 5 lb tank. We then took the co2 proof tubing and attached it to the Insta Mix co2 reactor and then the inflow line from the sun sun canister through the reactor and up to the spray bar. The inflow line was then attached to the canister, and both the spray bar and outflow filter were placed in the tank. All of our media (filter pad, purigen, ceramic and bio balls) were washed and placed in the sun sun canister, it was filled with water, primed and turned on. We then completed the CO2 setup by adding our CAL AQUA drop checker.
We then proceeded to the LFS and picked up 3 awesome gold gouramis and 3 cobalt gouramis, acclimated them and placed them in the tank. Many people have said to wait a day or two for your tank to settle, however the water was clear by the time they went in, and they have been very active and look very healthy!
Our tank was finally starting to come together, greenery, fish and awesome decorations really made the tank pop.
The First 48
Pun Intended.
We have tested morning and night every day since we started our tank. It was obvious we wouldn't see any ammonia let alone nitrites or nitrates for a week or so, however we wanted to be on top of things and get into a good habit of staying on top of our water parameters.
Our first water test revealed the following;
PH- 7.2
KH- 4
Ammonia - .25ppm
Nitrates & Nitrites - 0
Temp - 78
This was a good start. The PH was just a bit high, but fine for the fish we have now. The water Hardness was perfect for DGs, but we will want to raise it once other fish are added into the equation. We would raise the temp to 80/81 in the coming days to help bacteria growth.
The second full day yielded the following test results;
AM
PH- 7.2 (PH Down Added to Attempt to reduce to 7)
KH- 4
Ammonia- .25ppm
Nitrates & Nitrites- 0
Temp- 79
PM
PH- 6.6
KH- 3
Ammonia- .25ppm
Nitrates & Nitrites- 0
Temp- 79
After seeing the PH was still at 7.2, I added some PH down to attempt reduction to 7.0. After an hour I tested, and we had achieved a PH level of 7.
That evening, getting a PH result of 6.6 and a hardness of now 3, I figured it was same to assume that the CO2 that is being injected into the water was making the PH level drop, as well as the water hardness.
Within the first 48 hours, our fish looked great and were very active, and all of our plant life was vibrant green!
The Next 72
Over the next three days we kept checking our water parameters in the mornings and evenings, keeping track on an excel spread sheet as to better keep track of parameters. Our PH was still fluctuating between 7/7.2 and 6.6 from morning-time to night-time and our KH was back and forth between 3 and 4 over the coming days.
On the third day, I awoke and came out to check on the tank and feed the fish their breakfast. All the fish were happy to see me and clearly hungry.
When I check on the plants, I noticed a few different issues. The Aponogeton Ulvaceus was slightly browning on some of its longer leaves and the Dwarf Baby Tears were a bit browner than the day we put them in. I also noticed some off brown algae looking "stuff" on our Aqua Fern. The Amazon Sword and Java Fern were just fine.
Seeing this, and realizing I should have gotten these items anyways, I went to our LFS and go Seachems Flourish, Flourish Excel and Flourish Iron. We dosed these into the tank hoping that this would help fert these plants.
Then I noticed something very interesting as the day progressed.
In the mornings, after the CO2 had been off overnight, the drop checker was back to dark blue (opposed to the lightish green it should be) and these plants were really showing their brown. In the evenings however, when the CO2 had been on for awhile, and the drop checker was closely matched to the green it should be, the plants appeared less brown, and even the dwarf baby tears had started to grow a very little bit. This really got me thinking about the CO2 and Light Cycle of our tank.
Time for a quick tangent. Our CO2 and Light cycle is as follows.
CO2 on at 11am, Lights on at Noon. CO2 off at 9pm, Light off at 10pm.
Im starting to wonder if this would work better, to help keep CO2 in the tank longer, thus helping these plants stay bright green and healthy;
Switching to a 12 hour lights on, 12 hour lights off cycle but to split it up.
CO2 on at 5am, Light on at 6am, CO2 off at 11am, Lights off at Noon. Co2 on at 5pm, Light on at 6pm, Co2 off at 11pm, Lights off at Midnight.
That brings us to the last sections of this article, Questions & Wrap Up.
Lingering Questions
1. Would the above listed new cycle help? Its a lot of light, and with the algae (black beard?) on our aqua fern, Im not sure it would help the algae go away, in fact more light would probably make it worse. On the other hand, wouldn't this allow more co2 to stay in the tank, thus not taking half of the day for CO2 levels to rise enough to change the drop checker green? I just know in the mornings there is a clear lack of co2 in our tank as the drop checker is dark blue.
2. How often should Flourish, Flourish Excel and Flourish Iron be dosed?
There are clear directions on the back of these that we have been following. However, I am curious how often people on here dose their tanks.
3. When should we start seeing ammonia? With 6 DGs in our tank, I would have thought ammonia would have become apparent quicker. Our API Master Test kit shows the same color green every day, almost as though there is the same amount of ammonia now as there was the day we put the fish in.
4. How should this supposed Black Beard algae be disposed of? I have read a few articles regarding this, but I wanted to hear first hand accounts from AAers of what works, and what doesn't.
5. I should probably buy better lights, shouldn't I? I have posted another thread and Brookster has really been helping me out, big ups to him for sure! I have four of the following:
MarineLand LED BioWheel Lights-
No. & Color. =84 White/6 Blue
Watts Per LED =0.11
Total Watts Per Fixture=9.02
Total Lux=990
Total Lumen at 12"=620
I am thinking of a planted+ from finnex. I have seen alot of people use and like these. Any other ideas for better lights?
Summary & Review
Well, I hope I have shown some insight on our first hand account of the first week we had our tank. I will be constantly posting updates on our thread in the members tank section and hope people can really benefit from this thread.
Feel free to ask questions about things I have accidentally left out, or about how the tank is coming along. I greatly appreciate everyones time in reading this thread and the helpful answers that are sure to come.
Erin.k and I have pretty much learned everything we know from threads and members here on AA, and we can't thank the community enough!
Happy Reading!
