Blank Slate - 30G Long

[taylorodw]

Bolivian Rams Club is the best guide I've found for sexing Bolivian Rams.

Thanks for the word of warning. I'll be sure to ask the LFS about pairing, and whether I can return incompatible fish.

All in all though, since this is the first I've heard of the Bolivian Rams being incompatible amongst themselves, I'm not too worried.

 

[severum mama]

LOL, it happens sometimes. HN1 had a gold ram for a while that killed its mate and started picking on the angels! The fish took over a 29 gallon tank for itself until we found it a new owner (yes, they were warned)!

 

[taylorodw]

New FTS:



I have the driftwood loosely like I want it to look (but one piece is being stubborn and hasn't waterlogged enough to sink yet). Please don't mind the tannins, or the plants I am letting float free.

Plants are anubias nana floating in the air, and java ferns sitting wherever I sat them. Java moss is floating in the net, right under the light, since all of it came dislodged from my rock and driftwood while I moved, so I collected the remainder and balled it up.

The lights I have now won't grow much of anything for this tank (maybe java moss)... But they will sustain what's living.

Here's my list of things to do/buy:

- Lights (thanks mgamer)
- More plants
- Terracotta pots for caves

I am overall pleased with the direction this tank is heading.

 

[severum mama]

Nice work man. I like how it's coming along.

 

[taylorodw]

Well...

I finally got nitrates!!! 5 ppm to be exact. !!!!!!!!!

Here's my most recent testing:

Ammonia 0.25 ppm
Nitrite 0.5 ppm
Nitrate 5 ppm
pH 7.4

I bought a t5 light that mgamer20o0 showed me, it should ship soon. I am tempted to stock soon now that my cycle is coming to a close, but I still have a lot unsettled in the tank.

Still to be done:

Buy fishing line to anchor plants/dw
Buy rocks to help establish territories (any ideas where to pick up good rocks inexpensively? Most LFS's have holey rock or rock that changes pH... I don't want that)
Buy more plants to fill out tank

As far as plants go, I will soon have a T5HO light that will expand my options. It is 2x 39w, 1 white @ 6700k and the other one blue. Will this make my setup low-medium, or medium light?

Also just a misc. update, my final piece of driftwood waterlogged almost completely and sank yesterday. But if I set it where I want it to go, it's just a tiny bit too buoyant and it slowly floats back out of position. Haha.

Edit: Just want to say thanks for the help & support! I am well on my way to having the fish tank I've always wanted!

 

[severum mama]

HO T5 lighting puts out a ton of light relative to the wattage. I ran a medium light planted 45 gallon tall with only a 2 foot, 2x 24W HO T5 light. The tank was 3 feet wide and 2 feet tall, and I still had enough light to want to dose ferts. I think you're going to be in solid medium-light territory with your lighting and you'll have many options for what you can keep. Of course, low light plants will also do well for you.

 

[taylorodw]

Well since the blue light won't grow plants, that puts me at 39w, correct? My tank is 1ft tall. I hope I don't need ferts...

 

[severum mama]

Well since the blue light won't grow plants, that puts me at 39w, correct? My tank is 1ft tall. I hope I don't need ferts...

Yeah, but the HO T5s render the WPG thing even more useless than ever before. If you've never seen one of these lights in person, I think you're in for a surprise, LOL.

I didn't have a strict dosing regimen or anything, I just used some Seachem products... I think it was Flourish, Iron, and something else. I just followed the instructions on the label.

 

[taylorodw]

I can't wait to be surprised! Haha. Thanks for all the help SM. I really hope I don't need ferts at this light level though. I chose to stay low-light specifically for cost concerns more than time/maintenance.

In my fish journal I drew myself a little medal/ribbon that says "Cycle Pro" now that I've successfully tested and gone through a fishless cycle. Last time I just listened to what they told me at Petco, haha.

I also need to get some filter media for my 10G HOBs, since I think my HOB doesn't do the best job... I can barely see it agitate the water surface.

 

[severum mama]

If you find yourself in the position where you need to dose (you'll know!), there are much cheaper ways to do it than buying Seachem's products. I just worked at a LFS at the time and got them for cost so they were pretty cheap for me. Full price is a different story. There are dry ferts that you can order online that work out to be MUCH cheaper in the long run. I still think that 1x 39W daylight HO T5 bulb is going to be medium light over a 30 long, but you may be able to get away with not dosing anything.

Glad your fishless cycle went well!

What HOBs are you using, and what media are you looking for?

 

[FishEggs]

if you find your tank looks like it needs some ferts you can just adjust how long the light is on back a bit. also depending on what plants you buy you might only need to just throw some root tabs in the substrate.
a lot depends on the reflector in the unit you are getting too. i have 2 x 39w t5ho on my 40gal tall and i think its on the lower end of medium but my reflector is flatback. then again you have a short tank so it may be more medium than mine. of course low, medium and high aren't exact measurements of light and are open to interpretation so back to square 2
so i guess what i'm saying is we wont know until you try it.

 

[taylorodw]

I am using a Tetra Whisper 60. The two other HOB's I have are both Aqueon 10s.

 

[taylorodw]

Hey FishEggs, I hadn't gotten a chance to read your post before my last one, but thanks for the info. You're right - I just need to get the light and see how my plants do!

Here's my plan for my tank, sans live plants. Do you guys think this will be enough territory division for 4 Bolivian Rams? Tank footprint is 3ft x 1ft.



Thanks for the help guys!

Edit:

How do I know when my cycle is done? With ammonia, I know that when the ammonia and nitrites are at 0 within 24 hrs of adding ammonia, the tank is cycled. But with fish food, since it has to rot and gradually release the ammonia, how do I know when the bacteria are processing it quickly enough?

 

[taylorodw]

Got my new light today! So you get a FTS...



Hopefully I'll wake up tomorrow and have a densely planted tank. Haha.

 

[FishEggs]

good start

 

[kaiofcanada]

looking good!

 

[taylorodw]

Hey all,

Long time no updates... but I got my first paycheck from my new job and I can now spend a few more $$ on the tank.

I am now thinking of this stocking list:

2x Bolivian Rams
4x Otocinclus
10x Cardinal Tetras
7x Hatchets

I am pretty much ready to start stocking. What order should I stock them in?

 

[taylorodw]

Good new... I finally have stock in my tank!

Pictures forthcoming, but after a $70 trip to the LFS my tank is ready to roll, and I have 4 hatchets which I am acclimating now.

Thanks to all so much for the extensive help! I love my tank's new look.

 

[Aquarium1]

Pics

 

[taylorodw]

New FTS



Also got 4 of these small camera-shy guys running around.



Thanks for the help all.

One more shot: