Ziggs 30 Gallon Planted Build Thread

[adadkins1]

I don't know what the bubbles would be, but please do keep doing the PWC's so the ammonia doesn't get to .5ppm. It sounds like you are doing good, just have to keep up the PWC's.

 

[Ziggs180]

It seems that my city uses Chloramine in the water, because testing the tap water shows signs of Ammonia. The Conditioner i have merely breaks the bonds, but doesn't seem to do anything about the Ammonia, which could explain why my Ammonia reads pretty high. Will probably have to get a better conditioner soon, additionally im pretty sure the bubbles are from a well water source that i use whenever the tap water hasnt dropped in Ph enough.

 

[Ziggs180]

2 Days since my last update. I've searched and found that the bubbles might be me using to much water conditioner. The Algae went away, as the Hornwort and Anacharis exploded in size and seemed to outcompete them. The Guppies seem fine, and are acting normally. I've been doing water changes whenever i see the Ammonia at .5, but Nitrites are still at 0, and the PH has been at a very stable 7.4. An issue i may have to deal with soon are Snails. I found 3 - 4 Snails on the glass of the tank, and one on the floating plants. I've removed the ones i've seen, but i've heard they can be beneficial to a tank as algae cleaners.

 

[adadkins1]

Sounds like you are doing it all right. You should be seeing some nitrites in several days to a week. I wouldn't worry about the snails unless they just explode in population. If this happens all you have to do is put a piece of lettuce in overnight and then remove it when it is covered with the unwated snails.

 

[Ziggs180]

Have a Video here of the fish tank that i just took.


YouTube - ‪Fish Tank 6/29/2011‬‏

Nothing much has changed in past couple days, fish are still acting normal and im doing water changes whenever i see Ammonia hitting .50 ppm.

 

[Ziggs180]

I think my tank might be cycled, but im still not sure. Ammonia seems to be reading about 0, Nitrites at 0, and Nitrates im unsure about, not reading 5 ppm, but the color is definitely not 0. I've read that the presence of an Amazon Sword (which i have) reduces the levels because it absorbs Nitrates as food. Guppies are acting normal, no signs of anything.

 

[adadkins1]

Great to hear, if you have a well planted tank and especially if you have fast growing plants, you will have very low nitrates. My 20g tank planted with anacharis and amazon sword has only 5-10 nitrates right before a PWC.

 

[Ziggs180]

Ammonia seems to constantly be at 0 now with the coloration being pretty yellow, still no sign of Nitrites. Anyways, i had to replace the lighting on the tank. The Flourescent light kept flickering on and off, and i just bought a new one completly. Also while trying to trim some plants and remove dead pieces, i accidently uprooted one of the water wisterias, which was dying. i didint want to risk kicking up dirt trying to re-root it, so i threw it out. at least the Anubias is clearly visible now.

Also i'm going to be adding some driftwood to the tank, i might buy a pleco and i've seen that they need a source of it in the tank. I've begin treating some wood from a tree in my backyard, the wood is soaking in a bucket.

 

[Homedog98]

Ammonia seems to constantly be at 0 now with the coloration being pretty yellow, still no sign of Nitrites. Anyways, i had to replace the lighting on the tank. The Flourescent light kept flickering on and off, and i just bought a new one completly. Also while trying to trim some plants and remove dead pieces, i accidently uprooted one of the water wisterias, which was dying. i didint want to risk kicking up dirt trying to re-root it, so i threw it out. at least the Anubias is clearly visible now.

Also i'm going to be adding some driftwood to the tank, i might buy a pleco and i've seen that they need a source of it in the tank. I've begin treating some wood from a tree in my backyard, the wood is soaking in a bucket.

A bristlenose pleco of course... Right?

 

[Ziggs180]

Yes! dont want no 2 Foot monster in my tank.

 

[Homedog98]

Yes! dont want no 2 Foot monster in my tank.

Good. Just checking! Lol. Sounds like you're doing well on your cycle. You may get through it without ever seeing nitrites. Keep checking though... You never know!

 

[Ziggs180]

Since Yesterday i've been noticing the Water starting to get white cloudy. Seems like the Cycling is coming to an end, as this should be a Bacterial bloom. I've been noticing my amazon sword has been losing some of its healthy green leaves, found one floating at top this morning and one 2 days ago. What could this be?

 

[Ziggs180]

I bought 2 Amano shrimp for the tank to act as a clean up crew, they seem to be adapting well to the tank. Although i noticed the guppies are curious about their new tankmates and get a little to close for comfort for the Shrimp. Water turned brown, likely from some tannins released when my Wisteria was accidentally uprooted.

 

[Ziggs180]

‪DSCF0985‬‏ - YouTube

We have an Update for those still paying attention! As you can see im now the owner of 5 Harlequin Rasboras. Everything seems to be going normal, my next fish purchase is going to be a south american Cichlid. I'm leaning toward Keyhole or Bolivian Ram, but might settle for German Blue Ram if none of those are avaliable in my area. Driftwood is still being prepped, so the Bristlenose pleco will have to wait.

 

[adadkins1]

Very nice tank. Looking forward to seeing it when it is fully stocked.

On a side note, I prefer the Rams over the Keyholes. Just my opinion.

 

[Ziggs180]

I've heard keyholes have a habit of eating snails, so i may get one for assisting in snail control. I'm just worrying that with the addition of a Bristlnose pleco and a Ram, the tank will still appear understocked. Anybody have any additional suggestions for fish?

 

[adadkins1]

It really depends, you have done a good job of balancing your tank, i.e.:

Top of water column: Guppies
Middle of water column: Rasboras
Bottom/substrate: Amanos

If you wanted to make your tank appear a bit more stocked, you could safely add a school of some type of tetra (glowlight, neon, etc.) to hang around the bottom middle. Unless you are set on getting a bristlenose, I think the shrimp would do a mighty fine job with any algal problems you may have. Then you could put in the ram/keyhole.

 

[Ziggs180]

Bad news. One of my guppies had died, Woke up this morning to find him upside down and bloated at the bottom of my tank. He had been acting incredibly lazily for about 2 weeks, sitting in one spot and not moving for hours on end. I tried salt treatments and dosing Melafix for some tail damage, and the past 2 days wouldn't even swim to get food.

It seems that one of the other guppies is starting to show some initial symptoms of tail rot. I've added salt and melafix to remedy the problem, see how that goes. Will try and make sure no more guppies die, but im still not sure the reason one of them died. The other 2 Guppies are acting normal.

Tommmorow i'll be going shopping for a Blue Ram, a LFS opened up nearby a few days ago and im going to check it out.

 

[Ziggs180]

And another thing, just tested water and it seems that everything is reading 0. The Amazon Sword is probably sucking up all of the Nitrites, because i've been seeing some moderate growth in the last few weeks, so i doubt its poor water quality.

 

[roundar]

And another thing, just tested water and it seems that everything is reading 0. The Amazon Sword is probably sucking up all of the Nitrites, because i've been seeing some moderate growth in the last few weeks, so i doubt its poor water quality.

Soaking up nitrates. It'll take up both, but I assume you mean trates.