New 29 Gal Planted Tank

[fort384]

Just recently got into the hobby, been almost three weeks now. I have already received some great advice from the experts on this forum, which has been great. This being my first tank, I may be a little ambitious starting straight away with a planted aquarium, but I think the plants are at least half fun, and I think the fake ones look too tacky.

So far so good I guess, although I have lost a few neon tetras. Probably was a bad choice to start with, but it has become abundantly clear after reading this forum that the kid at my LFS has no flippin idea what he is doing.

Attached to this post is a link to my "log" for the aquarium. It shows my water test results over the last several weeks. Several areas I would say are "not good", but I hadn't started to panic yet - just trying to wait out this initial break in period. This onset of cloudy water the last 2 days has me worried though. There are some photos of this in the workbook. It also shows my water changes - maybe my schedule for this has been too ambitious (or not ambitious enough, I don't know)?

If anyone would like to take the time and look over the information regarding my new tank in the excel workbook at the link below and offer any kind of advice for a newbie, I would greatly appreciate it.

http://www.geocities.com/pricex2000/masterAQ.xls

Part of the hobby it seems I am going to enjoy is simply the collection of data regarding my tank. I think it will be interesting to watch over time how my tank shapes up in this regard. i am also working on an access database that will make data collection even easier. I know there are some commercial products out there, but I have checked some of them out, and they just don't seem user friendly enough for me. Would anyone else be interested in using a tool like that, or am I over the top with the data collection here?

[cwt]

Hi, I'm new to this too and am interested in this data, since I started my 29G about 9 weeks ago. Looks like your data tracking is very thorough, but I have to ask... 2 dozen fish in the tank right now, when it still appears to be cycling? Might be losing a few more fish that way. I didn't add my zebra danios until the cycle was just about cleared out, 4 weeks in. Just my two cents, would like to see more of this data as time passes.

[rkilling1]

Ummm... Where do I start.

'Ideally' in a new planted tank, you would want to let it run in for a couple of weeks and slowly add a couple of fish every week or so until you are at your ideal stocking level. This prevents the build up of NH3 and slowly cycles your tank.

The problem with adding a ton of fish to an uncycled planted tank is the lighting. NH3 and light are a sure recipe for algae. But you really can't turn the light off for the entire duration of the cycle if want your plants to survive.

That's just the general jist of your problem.

Now where do we go from here?
1) You can return all the fish and start over again, but that may not stop what has already started. IE algae bloom.

2) Put the plants into another tank or take them back and perform a 'normal' cycle of the tank without having the lights on. This may cause further problems depending on your setup. If the plants were comsuming a lot of the NH3, then you will see an increase in NH3 following the removal of the plants. This may be the only way to avoid an increase in algae growth.

3) Keep doing what you are doing and just deal with whatever happens next. I really can't say what is going to happen next. Is this cloudy water a bacterial bloom or an algae bloom? don't know. Are the water parameters ok? Not for having fish in there. NH3 and NO2 over .5 PPM (general recommended level) are very stressful and unhealthy for the fish. PWC's are a must.

This is a newbie mistake and I have done the same thing. I started a new tank with plants and added a TON of fish. I had algae everywhere. Once I figured out what I had done, I added a ton of mung from another tank and the cycle was over within a week.

Having your tank setup (lights, ferts, plants, ect) would help.

[fort384]

Thanks for the reply. The good news is after treating a second dose of aqeon water clarifier and changing my carbon filter, the water has cleared up quite well in one day. The bad news is I lost two more neon tetras.

[fort384]

Well, my water has cleared nicely, and my Ammonia level has finally dropped to zero. Nitrite levels are still a bit high, but based on what I have read, I think the nitrite levels will soon drop as well. Not 100% sure, but I think the cycling might be OVER!

Now I can concentrate more on getting my plants healthy, and learning to aquascape. I upgraded my lighting to the NOVA extreme 2X24W T5 HO. I have a 10000°K daylight bulb and a 6700°K floraglo plant bulb. Unbelievable the difference it makes. The fish appear to be more vibrant than ever. I think this will help create a good environment, a great upgrade from my 20W single tube florescent. I am going to install some lunar blue LEDs that I ordered on line in the hood to come on at night and simulate moonlight. Hopefully that will turn out well. Any advice on the lighting would be welcomed - specifically, am I using the proper spectrum, and is this enough light, or should I add back my single tube fluorescent in addition to the T5 HOs?

Also still running the DIY CO2. I have some parts on the way so I can create the 2-canister system that was recommended on this forum to keep my CO2 input as constant as possible. When I calculate my CO2 level using KH/pH, it seems a bit low. I have new/more sensitive pH/KH test kits on the way so I am hoping I can zero in on this a little bit. My drop checker pretty much indicates all is well every day (some times it will be on the high side in the morning, but that is expected). However, I am not using the 4dKH solution in it, so I am not sure this thing is accurate in the least. I plan on attempting to make some calibrated solution in the near future for it.

The heavy fish load in the beginning was a challenge, but as I said, everything seems to be healthy now. I have

4XSerpae Tetra
2Xyellow guppies
2Xblack neon tetras
5Xneon tetras
2Xlamp eye tetras
1XZebra Loach
2XGhost shrimp (Added today)

I have a multitude of plants - still trying to catalog them and figure out what I have. My LFS wasn't very good at explaining the differences and requirements, I just kind of looked and picked the ones I liked. Oh well, I know for the next time I start a tank up to research carefully before purchasing... hopefully what I have will do well.

Here is a picture of my current setup... still looking/deciding on what to do for a large feature, whether that be drift wood, or a big rock or two, but would like to develop a couple of levels as opposed to the flat look I have right now. How hard is it to attach/grow plants on rocks/wood? My LFS has some beautiful pieces of drift wood with live plants already attached, but they are very expensive. Besides, it may be more fun to do it myself . Anyway, there is my update. Thanks for all the help you all have provided so far - this site seems to be the most friendly and the most useful out there.

[Purrbox]

Unfortunately it appears that you've probably bought one or more plants that aren't true aquatics. I see a couple that look to be Dracaena sanderiana. PlantGeek has a pretty good listing of non aquatics that are frequently sold to the unsuspecting.

[fort384]

that would not surprise me. I bought it from petsmart, it was advertised as an aquarium plant, but now that I look back, it came in a plastic tube planted in gel medium. So far after 3 weeks, it looks very healthy, but I will keep an eye on it and remove it when it starts to turn. Petsmart is terrible by the way. I have since found a very good lfs specializing in planted tanks. It is more expensive but the advice that comes with it might be priceless.

[Purrbox]

Yeah. Over half of the plants sold in those tubes are not true aquatics and would be better suited for either a pladarium or a pot on the window sill.

[fort384]

So I need to replacemy background plants. Any suggestions for
My setup?

[fort384]

Ok, did some revamping today, got rid of the non-aquatic crap from petsmart. Going to see if I can get my money back on them, but I doubt it. After reading up on plantgeek.com, the nearest I can tell, I now have:

Blyxa Japonica
Dwarf Riccia
Java Ferns
Narrow leafed java ferns
Anubias
Bacopa
Rotala Rotundifolia

I acquired a piece of borneo drift wood and anchored several of the plants to it using 4lb test fishing line. It looks decent, but I will have to do some more rearranging in the coming days/weeks.
Here is the photo with the new layout: