The beginning:
I have a 40 gall breeder setup where the hob filter was connected to some tubing in order to have the water intake on the other side of the tank, smart right? Not so much. One of the tubing was badly sealed and ended sucking up the soil from the bottom of the tank a spouting it in the water. Plus I had a small snail infestation.
I took away all the fishes and shrimps and parked them in a temporary tank. Removed all plants and placed on a temporary tank with some API anti snail thing.
Removed all the soil, cleaned the tank, cleaned everything and I was ready to restart. The soil had been washed with boiling water in order to kill the eventual snails.
While putting the soil back I saw some earthworms wiggling O___O
OK I said, if they where there already (???) and I didn't notice, it can't be bad, right?
So you go, soil, sand, plants, decorations... bacteria and then after a little fish and shrimps.
Problem 1: after a while the worms started (during the night) to come out and poop (creating worm castings); the worm castings started accumulating and mudding the bottom of the tank.
Problem 2: snails came back, bu if before the snails where small bladder snails, now I have bigger snails that look a little like ramshorn snails (but uglier and not colored). Probably I always had them (??) but now they found food and started growing like there's no tomorrow.
Problem 3: algae, algae everywhere. They looks like filament algae but they form tick bushes on plants, rocks and decorations.
Attached images shows that
Now, the details:
Ph 6.8, Ammonia Nitrite Nitrate 0, KH3 GH 6, TDS 270, temp 72-74°F, 7h of light with Beamswork DA FSPEC
Stocked with
15 ember tetras, 3 siamese algae eater, one mistery snail, one nerite snail, 4 amano shrimps, 50+ cherry shrimps, 2k+ little pest snails.
I am considering to spend the holiday
removing all shrimps and fish (poor them they will be very stressed)
Removing plants and re-planting after brutal treatment with copper sulfate
sterilization of the substrate (soil+sand)
through cleansing (autoclave) of rocks and woods.
Re start everything again.
Please correct me. If you have ideas, please feel free to help.
I would consider down-sizing to a 20 gallon long since in August I may have to move and a smaller tank would be easier to manage. Any suggestion, any idea, anything will be welcome.
I have a 40 gall breeder setup where the hob filter was connected to some tubing in order to have the water intake on the other side of the tank, smart right? Not so much. One of the tubing was badly sealed and ended sucking up the soil from the bottom of the tank a spouting it in the water. Plus I had a small snail infestation.
I took away all the fishes and shrimps and parked them in a temporary tank. Removed all plants and placed on a temporary tank with some API anti snail thing.
Removed all the soil, cleaned the tank, cleaned everything and I was ready to restart. The soil had been washed with boiling water in order to kill the eventual snails.
While putting the soil back I saw some earthworms wiggling O___O
OK I said, if they where there already (???) and I didn't notice, it can't be bad, right?
So you go, soil, sand, plants, decorations... bacteria and then after a little fish and shrimps.
Problem 1: after a while the worms started (during the night) to come out and poop (creating worm castings); the worm castings started accumulating and mudding the bottom of the tank.
Problem 2: snails came back, bu if before the snails where small bladder snails, now I have bigger snails that look a little like ramshorn snails (but uglier and not colored). Probably I always had them (??) but now they found food and started growing like there's no tomorrow.
Problem 3: algae, algae everywhere. They looks like filament algae but they form tick bushes on plants, rocks and decorations.
Attached images shows that
Now, the details:
Ph 6.8, Ammonia Nitrite Nitrate 0, KH3 GH 6, TDS 270, temp 72-74°F, 7h of light with Beamswork DA FSPEC
Stocked with
15 ember tetras, 3 siamese algae eater, one mistery snail, one nerite snail, 4 amano shrimps, 50+ cherry shrimps, 2k+ little pest snails.
I am considering to spend the holiday
removing all shrimps and fish (poor them they will be very stressed)
Removing plants and re-planting after brutal treatment with copper sulfate
sterilization of the substrate (soil+sand)
through cleansing (autoclave) of rocks and woods.
Re start everything again.
Please correct me. If you have ideas, please feel free to help.
I would consider down-sizing to a 20 gallon long since in August I may have to move and a smaller tank would be easier to manage. Any suggestion, any idea, anything will be welcome.
