New tank & inexperienced

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oc Robbie

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Mar 24, 2015
Messages
35
Location
Dublin,Ireland
Hi , I got a new aquanano Aqua 40 . 55ltr tank with all the filters etc built into the back . I've been cycling the tank for 3 weeks now & all seems to be fine . ImageUploadedByAquarium Advice1427184059.027367.jpgImageUploadedByAquarium Advice1427187634.319456.jpg
However as you can probably see from the pics attached I've a couple of questions.
1. The White fuzzy growth around the tree roots. I've cleaned them twice now & it comes back . Is it normal?

2. PH is always around 7.78 can't see to get it to drop . Any suggestions?

3.would I better off with a co2 system for the live plants? I want to get a grass look on the surface. At the moment I'm using easycarbo 1ml once a day & jbl ferropol 24 fert. One drop a day.

3. I'd like to add blue ram. Are they an easy fish to care for? They look pretty . Do I need to add some more shelter or plants for them ?

Thank you so much for any advice .
Oh
Ph 7.78
Temp 24.5 c stable
Kh 6
Nh3 0.040
Nh4 32.23
Lux 6.8
Par 0.1



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Hi , I got a new aquanano Aqua 40 . 55ltr tank with all the filters etc built into the back . I've been cycling the tank for 3 weeks now & all seems to be fine . View attachment 268247View attachment 268249
However as you can probably see from the pics attached I've a couple of questions.
1. The White fuzzy growth around the tree roots. I've cleaned them twice now & it comes back . Is it normal?

2. PH is always around 7.78 can't see to get it to drop . Any suggestions?

3.would I better off with a co2 system for the live plants? I want to get a grass look on the surface. At the moment I'm using easycarbo 1ml once a day & jbl ferropol 24 fert. One drop a day.

3. I'd like to add blue ram. Are they an easy fish to care for? They look pretty . Do I need to add some more shelter or plants for them ?

Thank you so much for any advice .
Oh
Ph 7.78
Temp 24.5 c stable
Kh 6
Nh3 0.040
Nh4 32.23
Lux 6.8
Par 0.1



Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice


Welcome!

The tank is off to a great start!

1. The white fuzzy growth is quite common on new driftwood. It's harmless to the aquarium besides making it look bad. I took mine out every day and just scrubbed it off. It will go away eventually. Your wood also might discolor the tank water brown. This is just tannins from the wood. Also harmless. Boiling the wood helps get rid of the tannins faster.

2. Your pH does not need to be perfect. If that is the pH of your tap the fish at the LFS are likely used to it any way. It stresses fish more trying to change the pH than just leaving it stable. Only time to change the pH is if it low like 6.0 or high like 9.0, otherwise, it's fine and the fish will adapt.

3. I'm not familiar with those fertilizers but then again I'm from the U.S., maybe someone on here is from your area. But besides that, since you are new, I would hold off on the carpet. Most carpets you see in tanks on google images require high lighting and co2 injection. They are hard for people new to the planted world to take care of. There's plenty of other plants to choose from that would be great to start out with till you get the hang of them. Keep in mind that some plants require more lighting than others. I would take a dive in the planted section to get some feelers on what you are looking for and what lighting/ ferts/ co2 will be needed.

Easy starter plants: Anubias, Java Fern, wisteria, Amazon swords (needs root tabs), Cryptocoryne species( also root tabs), bacopa, Java moss, water sprite, anarchis.

4. Blue Rams are beautiful fish. But due to the breeding to make them look so beautiful it has greatly affected their life span(around 6 months) and made them sensitive to water conditions. Electric blue Rams are even worse as far as life span. People who get Rams prefer to have the tank established for a little bit before adding them because of their sensitivity.

Hope this helps :)


Caleb

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If you're gonna keep with the easycarbo, you can easily up the dose. I'm dosing 3ml in a 5g (20l). I have a lot of live plants tho.


Sent per three-eyed raven..
 
Thanks for the info. I think I'll forget about those Rams !6 months is quite short . I'll look for a breed with nice bright colours etc .

I'll be adding more easycarbo. I was unsure of overdosing as the instructions seemed to steer away from putting more than 1ml per 50ltrs



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Ok so I've started to stock my tank . I took your advice Caleb & for now steered clear of the Rams. I got 5 lampeyes & 3 clown killifish. I think this is nice small start to see how everything reacts .

I also got a Blau nano co2 set. No bloody instructions with it . Set it up & I understand it's 1 bubble every 5seconds .Ive to turn it off overnight . I'm not sure if I'm using it right & I'm concerned I might crash the ph.
Any advice on the co2 set would be great :)
Also should I still use ferts for the plants ?

Cheers


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New tank & inexperienced

Ok so I've started to stock my tank . I took your advice Caleb & for now steered clear of the Rams. I got 5 lampeyes & 3 clown killifish. I think this is nice small start to see how everything reacts .

I also got a Blau nano co2 set. No bloody instructions with it . Set it up & I understand it's 1 bubble every 5seconds .Ive to turn it off overnight . I'm not sure if I'm using it right & I'm concerned I might crash the ph.
Any advice on the co2 set would be great :)
Also should I still use ferts for the plants ?

Cheers


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice


Looked it up. That's some fancy equipment.
Important items to have on your system:
1.co2 diffuser- this is the end piece where the co2 comes out into the tank in bubbles.
2. Check valve- ensures if water were to get into the line, it won't flow back into your system.
3.co2 indicator and liquid. These are good till you get the hang of things. If the color turns from blue to yellow you need to get the water oxygenated fast. Replace the liquid every 3 weeks.
4. My co2 is on a timer to cut on with the lights. When the lights go off so does my co2 and my air stones kick on to dissolve any remaining co2 in the water.

What plants have you added? Your dosing of ferts and co2 depends on how well planted you are.

Also keep an eye on your parameters when adding fish like that to make sure you don't see any mini spikes. If one occurs, do a water change to fix it.

Keep a look out for algae. Algae can be a real battle in planted tanks because of all the nutrients and lighting provided for the plants. I'm fighting off green algae trying to come in on my planted.


Caleb

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