Talked me into it!

[Ericwm]

Good to know. I have a few leaves out of the water, I will keep it that way. We bought it from petco and it was fully submerged so we thought it may be ok. I guess that's why petco isn't the best for fish stuff. If the leaves grow above the water will it be ok?

 

[Autumnsky]

Good to know. I have a few leaves out of the water, I will keep it that way. We bought it from petco and it was fully submerged so we thought it may be ok. I guess that's why petco isn't the best for fish stuff. If the leaves grow above the water will it be ok?

Sometimes. But usually not for the long haul. Watch for it to start turning pale, on the lower stem. More of a yellow color, pale green to yellow to tan yellow mush. The green leaves on the top sometimes stay green even though the bottom is rotting! Maybe better in a vase or return if you don't want to hassle with it.

 

[abrinn23]

I'm pretty sure that as long as a top portion of the plant is above the water it should be okay. That's only what I've read though so I'm not entirely sure about that! It would be worth a shot to try it!

 

[Ericwm]

The plants are planted and I did a water change yesterday. The water still doesn't seem really clear, it is kind of brown. Does any one know why or what to do about it? I'm assuming t will go away with water changes. All the fish seem happy but I don't know how to judge health of fresh water fish.

Here is the tank today, not much has changed.




How frequently should I do water changes with a fish in cycle?

Also, my wife wants to add an eel, would it be best to wait for the cycle to finish or are they hardy enough to make it through with enough care? Also what tips do people have on eels?

Thanks,

 

[Ericwm]

So I have been testing my ammonia daily and it seems to stick around 0.25, today it looked like 0.20ish, it's tough to tell exactly.



It looked like this. After an hour or so it looked like 0. Is that just what the tests do or do they get closer to the actual reading with time.

I doubt my tank is cycled I just thought I would ask.

 

[Ericwm]

One more thing. I had a question about my plants, I think they are looking pretty good for the most part but not perfect.



Whatever this one is seems to have some new leaves coming in and I think it looks good.



My baby tears (I know I should have waited on this one but the guy at my LFS said it would be fine, turns out he was the reptile guy) is showing some growth so it might be good. My question on this is my lower leaves are getting kinda dark, is this normal or do I need to do something? The knowledgeable person at my LFS said it may need to be pruned to allow light to get to the lower areas. Is this true? If so what should I do to prune it?

 

[Autumnsky]

So I have been testing my ammonia daily and it seems to stick around 0.25, today it looked like 0.20ish, it's tough to tell exactly.

View attachment 152439

It looked like this. After an hour or so it looked like 0. Is that just what the tests do or do they get closer to the actual reading with time.

I doubt my tank is cycled I just thought I would ask.

I think it looks higher, more green like 35, so I think another pwc is in order.

Are you keeping a log, daily, I understand this helps a lot.

You are supposed to read after 5 min with API test. Shake bottles thoroughly - 8 drops #1, 8 drops#2, mix for 5 seconds wait 5 min check color.

Anything happening with Nitrites or Nitrates?

Would definitely wait on a special Eel type pet, as it would be sad to buy and lose it if you miss a water change, and your numbers skyrocket! Also it seems it would be pretty big and a heavy bioload.

 

[Ericwm]

Yeah I have a water change coming tomorrow. I will see if that gets it down. How long should I expect the fish in cycle to take?

 

[Autumnsky]

One more thing. I had a question about my plants, I think they are looking pretty good for the most part but not perfect.

View attachment 152440

Whatever this one is seems to have some new leaves coming in and I think it looks good.

View attachment 152441

My baby tears (I know I should have waited on this one but the guy at my LFS said it would be fine, turns out he was the reptile guy) is showing some growth so it might be good. My question on this is my lower leaves are getting kinda dark, is this normal or do I need to do something? The knowledgeable person at my LFS said it may need to be pruned to allow light to get to the lower areas. Is this true? If so what should I do to prune it?

The baby tears - was it grown submerged or like a potted house plant when you bought it?

Also they need to be in the most brightest area of the tank, I think you could separate it into two long slices, trim one and leave one that way you have twice the chance for success.

Are you using any ferts, liquids and / or substrate?

 

[Ericwm]

It was submerged at the LFS so I am assuming it was always like that. I am using liquid frets and it is located directly under my light.

 

[Autumnsky]

I tried growing one myself and just didn't have enough light. Mine also grew a few new leaves but they all just died.

Wondering how long they had it submerged. It is easy to have a very nice looking one and drop it into the water, voila, submerged. Sorry I am a skeptic! lol

Do you have your light specs? I probably can't help you with that part but someone else might have something to contribute. How many hours do you have it on?

How many Watts and how many inches is it from the light to the sand?

If you leave the light on maybe 2-3 more hours, but if you have a timer and can turn it off for a couple hours during the mid day, it helps disrupt the algae growth cycle.

 

[rider6]

Yeah I have a water change coming tomorrow. I will see if that gets it down. How long should I expect the fish in cycle to take?

Honestly it depends....its usally more then 4 weeks, but I set mine up the last week of december and now I'm starting to get some good bb going on....here's mine from this morn.

 

[rider6]

Had to use a live bacteria to help jump start my system after I sat for 6 weeks with rising ammo and nothing else..and remember if you use a ammo blocker it just attaches to the ammo and nutralizes it, if you don't start removing it soon then it will un neturalize and reak havoc on your system...we had a 5 gallon bucket and my lfs on standby for my tank to crash and having to move my whole stock to spend a few nights....lol

 

[Ericwm]

I am hoping my plants help, I also used live gravel. Not sure if that will help but it was a couple bucks more a bag and didn't need to be rinsed, worth it just for that. I have a couple 5 gallon buckets ready for an emergency water change, I am hoping I won't need it though. I have been doing a little over 10% twice a week, I hope that gets me through the cycle with my wife's fish in tact.

 

[Ericwm]

I did a water change yesterday and added a few tiny fish, not sure what they are but they are small, two are pink and one is yellow. My ammonia looks like it is getting better, if it continues to drop do I need to watch my nitrites?

 

[Ericwm]

My ammonia has stayed steady around .25 pretty much my whole time. Is this normal? Also I am starting to get some algae growing. How should I go about taking care of this? Would a fish that eats algae be a good addition? Here are some pics of my algae.


This is like little green hairs coming off my plant



This is fuzzy stuff on my drift wood

Any suggestions?

 

[rider6]

Possiable that your driftwood is just getting everything out of it...I had stringy hair type stuff comming off of mine but it was white...it was comming out of everwhere it was cut...so that's a possiability...have you done a water change? Is it the same color as your wood?

 

[Ericwm]

Well it has been a while since my last post so I thought I'd better post some new pics. We have added a bunch in the last couple weeks. The baby tears didn't make it, no surprise there. It was replaced with this.



We also added this cool little guy.



The stock now also includes a little catfish, a marble mollie, and 2 little algae eaters of some sort.