5 Gallon FW Build/Journey Thread

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Hi fort, it is kinda like a little milky but not too much. thank you...i will try to get a picture of it tomorrow.
 
UPDATES:

So it is the 6th day of cycling and 5th day of ammonia testing. Today, the reading went way up. I don't know if it was because I moved the gravel around. I am concerned coz the ammonia went up to 6ppm. Thought it wasn't supposed to go up anymore. Did I do something wrong? I still put a pinch of flake food everyday. Please help.

Anyway, here are some updates pictures:

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I would do a partial water change (50%), and then keep testing for ammonia. You may not have to add flakes every day. All you really need to do is keep the ammonia at 2-4ppm. At 6ppm, it is too high... at high concentrations, the good bacteria won't be able to grow.
 
UPDATES:

I finished the 50% PWC for this tank as per advice by fort. Tested the ammonia after an hour, and it reads 3ppm. So I am hoping it will stay there for now.

Thanks again fort.
 
yup, should be good. I would skip feeding today and possibly tomorrow, and test the ammonia again tomorrow. So long as it stays close to 3, no need to add more food.
 
oh okay...thank you so much. I thought I had to do a pinch everyday. But if every other day is good, then I will do that then instead.

I will try to check the ammonia daily for 2 weeks so I can detect any change as soon as I can.
 
UPDATES:

I checked ammonia level and it is still @3ppm today (8th day of cycling, 7th day of testing the ammonia). I have put a pinch of flake today but not yesterday.

Water is much clearer today. Here are a couple pictures:

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Water cleared up nicely! You know you can stick some plants in now... you don't have to wait for the cycle to finish. So long as you keep the ammonia down around 3-4ppm they would be fine. Could give you a good head start and something to do while you cycle the tank.
 
I did have some bulbs in there right now. The ones that I got from Walmart:

6 x little bulbs of Hybrid Aponogeton
2 x Nymphaea Lily Bulbs

I don't know if they will really sprout though. But I also ordered some flowers from Sweet Aquatics, so hopefully tomorrow it will arrive.

I can't wait to plant them in. If the bulbs from Walmart will just rot, I will take them out.
 
Never grown the bulbs... but I have heard it is good to let them float free in the water until they start to sprout, and then plant them.
 
well, i did put them just in the top of the gravel...they didn't float, they just sit there in the gravel, so I hope they will root up like that...I don't know. I guess I have to wait and see till the time the period of the bulbs will sprout, as the writings say in the back of the package.
 
With the bulbs they can be hit or miss. Usually the ones that sank after a day or two would begin sprouting. Good luck though! Tank is looking a lot clearer! Lol. :)

Btw I got my plants from sweet aquatics too! :).
 
Hi Wayne. That was what I've heard about this bulbs. I just thought why not give it a try. It will not hurt if it will not sprout. I will just take it out if it will just rot. But yeah, they sank immediately and just sitting on top of the gravel so I thought it must be working. I will keep you guys updated with this one.

Yes, I think sweet aquatics is the best so far as it is cheap and the shipping does not cost you an arm and a leg. So I am so excited to get mine today. Yayy!
 
UPDATES:

9th day of cycling, 8th day of testing levels:

ammonia: 4ppm (it was in between 3 and 6ppm in the color chart)
nitrite: 0ppm

I think I need to PWC today to lower the ammonia again.

I will take a picture when the plants come in today.
 
Hi, I got my first batch of plants. But it was not complete. My anubias is not here yet. But I got my jungle and italian vals. I am trying to acclimate them.

Can anybody please tell me how long I should acclimate the plants before I plant them in?

Thanks in advance.
 
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