my 29g planted build

[harmy4993]

i love reading the build prject threads so much i thought i would start my own. lucky for me my sister came over to take a couple of pictures while my camera is off on vacation.

im currently in the middle of my cycle. my ammonia dropped to 0.0 last night and i have bumped it back up to 5.0 and my nitrite dropped to 2.0 last night but it has gone back up this morning when since i added the ammonia.

the large driftwood has been moved to the left side of the tank to better take advantage of the holes for swimming and hiding places. the rock and small driftwood with the yucky diatom has moved to the right side but its not staying. just dont like it so it will move to a 10gallon qt when my cycle completes. ill have to find something else to add.

i am going to go either 65 or 110 watts with co2 for this tank. leaning toward 65watts and go 4wpg when i get a bigger tank.

my fish im looking at is 2 german blue rams, couple of sunset platy, and a school of glolight tetra. also thinking about starting a family of red cherry shrimp before i add fish to give them a chance to grow and hopefully survive with the fish.

 

[harmy4993]

well my fish tank survived its first ever earth quake lol.

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

well my fish tank survived its first ever earth quake lol.

wow, starting off with a bang

 

[harmy4993]

yes the joys of living in cali. unexpected 5.4 earthquakes.

 

[harmy4993]

2 questions

1: any plant besides java moss that can be grown on driftwood?

2: i have seen some tanks with branches in them. where do you get the branches? after seeing this today...
i had an idea for my tank and need 3-4 branches.

 

[Peyton]

1. Bolbitis heudelotii, anubias nana, and Microsorum pteropus/windelov can all be grown attached to driftwood.

2. I've seen nice pieces for sale on aquabid.com before. Not sure if thats the best/cheapest place though.

 

[new2betas]

yes the joys of living in cali. unexpected 5.4 earthquakes.

Yes....my twin brother lives in So. California and is getting ready to start up a 45-55 gallon saltwater tank....I would be so very scared....
He was at work and was moving around fast and didn't even feel the earthquake....lol....go figure.

 

[harmy4993]

1. Bolbitis heudelotii, anubias nana, and Microsorum pteropus/windelov can all be grown attached to driftwood.

2. I've seen nice pieces for sale on aquabid.com before. Not sure if thats the best/cheapest place though.

thanks ill check it out.

 

[harmy4993]

also just for tank news. my ammonia went form 4+ to 0 in 36 hours so getting closer there. and the nitrites went from 5.0 to 1.0 in 36 hours.

 

[harmy4993]

ok things are starting to speed up and im so not ready lol.

my ammonia dropped to 0 in 9 hours. and my nitrite dropped to .25 in 9 hours. so i dont think im far off on my cycle by the looks of it.

i still need my lights and my co2. get one on this pay check and the other on the next. need another medium/large peice of drift wood about the same size i currently have and some kinda wood to go on top of them to make a bridge. and still need to get a qt tank set up. i was kinda counting on a 4-6 week cycle not a 2 week cycle.

i guess i just keep adding ammonia everyday to keep the good bactira in there.

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

i guess i just keep adding ammonia everyday to keep the good bactira in there.

Yep and keep reading

going to want to get some ferts also or read up on it depending on the light

 

[harmy4993]

lol i forgot all about ferts. ill have to read thru all my book marked pages i have 2-3 pages about ferts. going to go with the 65w that ithink you linked for me by coralife. should be plenty of light for this tank. if/when i get a bigger tank ill go with more lighting on that one.

i also need some more test kits for the plants. gh/kh/ and the other ones im forgettign at the moment.

and btw dont worry i love to read. =)

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

and btw dont worry i love to read. =)

Thats the best asset you could have

heres some reading for yayou may have seen some, they cover, algae/CO2/Ferts) Just remember there are many different ways to get the same outcome
Want more accuracy? Want daily PMDD style EI dosing? - Aquarium Plants - Barr Report
Newbie Guide to PPS-Pro - PPS Analysis and Feedback - Aquatic Plant Central
Aquarium Plants | My views, Steve Hampton, on how to succeed with aquarium plants
Nutrient Deficiency in a Planted Tank
James' Planted Tank - Algae Guide
Algae Treatment and Prevention Charts | Rex's Guide to Planted Tanks
EI light: for those less techy folks - Aquarium Plants - Barr Report
Measuring CO2 levels in a Planted Tank

 

[neilanh]

Congrats, you are very close being done with your cycle. I bet by this time tomorrow it's complete.

You're exactly right, all you have to do is feed ammonia once a day to keep them alive. Don't rush yourself, that'll just lead to issues later on. The bacteria will be fine as long as you feed them, so relax and enjoy the fact that the hard part (patience) is over, and it's ready when you are!

 

[harmy4993]

Thats the best asset you could have

heres some reading for yayou may have seen some, they cover, algae/CO2/Ferts) Just remember there are many different ways to get the same outcome
Want more accuracy? Want daily PMDD style EI dosing? - Aquarium Plants - Barr Report
Newbie Guide to PPS-Pro - PPS Analysis and Feedback - Aquatic Plant Central
Aquarium Plants | My views, Steve Hampton, on how to succeed with aquarium plants
Nutrient Deficiency in a Planted Tank
James' Planted Tank - Algae Guide
Algae Treatment and Prevention Charts | Rex's Guide to Planted Tanks
EI light: for those less techy folks - Aquarium Plants - Barr Report
Measuring CO2 levels in a Planted Tank

awesome stuff. you have been such a big help thanks so much

 

[harmy4993]

Congrats, you are very close being done with your cycle. I bet by this time tomorrow it's complete.

You're exactly right, all you have to do is feed ammonia once a day to keep them alive. Don't rush yourself, that'll just lead to issues later on. The bacteria will be fine as long as you feed them, so relax and enjoy the fact that the hard part (patience) is over, and it's ready when you are!

thanks. althou once you figure out that fishless cycle is a good thing, thats really the easy part. now the harder part. setting up a home that your fish will enjoy.

 

[harmy4993]

well i think i can officially declare my tank cycled.

last night i had this reading:
ammonia 0
nitrite .25
then i redosed ammonia and had this reading
ammonia 4.0
nitrites .50
and this morning im at
ammonia 0
nitrites 0
nitrates 5.0 (seems a little low but ill watch it)
and a ph of 7.8
temp 80.6

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

How old is your test kit? there should be a date on it(well a code that you can decipher into a date).

Have you seen more than 5 nitrates ever? I hear that the nitrate test is the 1st to expire.

I think taking a sample of water to your LFS and have them test to see if it reads.

 

[harmy4993]

yes i had slightly higher reading durning the cycle. 2-3 days ago i got a 10 and 20 reading but then was told that during the cycle it wouldnt be very accurate

 

[neilanh]

Give it a few days before you panic on your NO3 level. It's true, it's inherintly the most innaccurate test, it's the first to expire, and that a reading of 5.0 just seems way off - But, it's also common for the latter part of the cycle to play havoc on those test results. Make absolutely sure you're conducting the test properly - when they say shake for 30 seconds, and then again for a full minute, they mean it. I'd wait, test again tomorrow before worrying about that reading.