Dwarf Puffer tank build thread

[Deep Seven]

Well that seemed to work well. The slow flow and angle of the water seemed to flush the water column without disturbing the sediment. After an hour or two the water was clear and I could see all the dirt settled at the bottom.

At this point I increased the water flow. This caused the water in the tote to start a gentle swirling or whirpool effect. This picked up some of the organic matter that was laying on the surface and caused the water to become slightly cloudy again.

After about 20-30 minutes of high flow I turned the tap down again and left it for about another hour, after which the water was clear, except for a few roots or twigs still suspended in the water column. I slowly tipped the tote over dumping most of the water out, stopping when the dirt at the bottom started mixing into the water.

I then whisked the soil really well, stirring it up real good, and refilled it with water using a hard spray to aerate it really well. (It can get dirty. I recommend doing it outside with safety goggles).

I imagine I'm going to have to repeat the flushing process a few times. As soon as the water clears within 24hrs of being whisked and aerated I'll call it a success and start the mineralizing process.

 

[Greenmaster]

WOOT! Hurry up and get the cycle going.

 

[Fishies86]

Wow you have so much patience. Right about now I'd be thinking that gravel sounds like a great idea

 

[Deep Seven]

Wow you have so much patience. Right about now I'd be thinking that gravel sounds like a great idea

Not so sure about the patience thing. I just want to make sure I'm giving my fishies the happiest healthiest home I can, and for me that seems to involve a lot of delays and plan changes that simulate patience.

On that note, the soil I'm using is... well, seems to have lots of clay and colloidal substances. After my second agitate and wait cycle the water still hadn't cleared after 48 hrs. The soil seemed a bit heavy in clay anyways, and since I'm adding laterite clay I altered my soil cleaning plans.

I flushed the water till it ran clear, poured the water out, whisked the soil really well, and refilled the tote, then after an hour flushed it. This should allow most of the silt and sand to remain but should take out more of the problem clay.

I then started the mineralization process, (seems to be pretty good, very little smell, should be quick). I'm planning on flushing the soil again after the mineralization.

Living in a rain forest is slowing down the drying process. Because of the lack of smell I may bring the soil inside for the drying process.

 

[Deep Seven]

Wow, it's been a while.

I've had a rather complicated year and the aquarium tanks went onto the back burner for some time, but I'm back.

I kind of got going again spur of the moment. I collected some pond snails from a nursery a couple days ago and put them into my feeder tank. It's been running empty for almost a year with bubbler and heat going; so I'm watching the water parameters but I think I'll be fine starting with 9-10 small snails and some floating plants. Fed the snails some zucchini which they seemed to love, all good so far.

Started working on aquascaping the tank. Gotta cut and prepare the wood, finish building a decoration or two, decide what plants will work, and put it all together. Then I'll stock with ottocats and ghost shrimp and try and find someone selling dwarf puffers.

The fish store I was gonna buy them from couldn't keep them alive more then 2-3 weeks so they stopped ordering them in. I'm guessing they tried to feed them with flake food. Maybe they can special order some for me, but if not I'm back to square one. I want everything running smooth before I get the puffers anyways so I'm not gonna worry about it right now. With the pond snails it feels like I finally got started and now I can't wait to see it through .

I'll end my update here, gotta go to the store and buy a couple things and get back to work on it .

 

[Deep Seven]

Local Petland is going out of business so they had a 75% off sale. Thought I could pick up a good canister on the cheap.

Turns out I was a bit too late to choose, all they had left was the new API Nexx canister filter. The price was right so I picked it up with an extension module. It's rated for 55g (110g with extension) and I'm putting it in a 30g so I'm a little worried about flow rates. I purchased a few other odds and ends, but the store was pretty empty by the time I got there.

Basically I just gotta finish working on the driftwood and I can fill my tank and start planting it.