MY New Planted Tank

[jonraho]

Hey Guys,

Have been excited about building and scaping my second tank. First tank is doing really well, simple 12 gallon tank stocked with Tiger Barbs, Dwarf Corycatfish and Shrimps (not the small ones), Also thought it would be cool to record and share the start and progress of this tank =)

So while waiting for my plants to arrive, i began scaping out the new 25 gallon, after which i filled it up and let it cycle for about a week. Today some of my plants arrived early, or the guy had stock so i went and got them and began planting the tank. Took out the cycled water, and planted what i had, then filled the tank added some water from my other tank and stocked it with some stock that i had already got for this tank.

Looking forward to going back tomorrow and finishing off the planting, then stocking it in a few weeks! =D

Whats in this tank as of 08/01/14 (includes shipment of 09/01/014)

x2 Drift Wood
Lexia grass (local name )
Brown Grandue plant
Java Moss balls
Flame Moss
3 plant species which i dont remember the name of right now, will add them later
Cardinal - XL
Farlowella acus (apparently a dwafted species, was wary in getting it, but i plan to get a 60+ gallon in a few months so if it gets bigger then what i was told will move it )
Red Cherry Srhimps


I will post progress pictures of the tank as i go along with plant and stock updates =)

Setup 08/01/14

Ignore the current light and mess, its temporary till my orders arrive tomorrow =)

 

[Sk3lly]

As far as im aware its not the water that dictates that a tank is cycled, its the seeded material within the tank. So your filter media, rocks and substrate and drift wood that sort of stuff. A tank is cycled when there is sufficient beneficial bacteria within the filter housing to convert the ammonia and nitrite levels being produced into nitrate. This needs to happen faster than they are being produced. That is when the tank is cycled. I dont think just simply putting in old tank water helps to achieve this as the beneficial bacteria dont colonise the water. If youve added fish then keep a check on your water parameters

 

[jonraho]

As far as im aware its not the water that dictates that a tank is cycled, its the seeded material within the tank. So your filter media, rocks and substrate and drift wood that sort of stuff. A tank is cycled when there is sufficient beneficial bacteria within the filter housing to convert the ammonia and nitrite levels being produced into nitrate. This needs to happen faster than they are being produced. That is when the tank is cycled. I dont think just simply putting in old tank water helps to achieve this as the beneficial bacteria dont colonise the water. If youve added fish then keep a check on your water parameters

Yes i know, but i have also read that if you have have the chance taking water from a cycled tank is better then using tap water, which is also why I switched two filter pads from other tank from the hang on filter =D

Need to get liquid test kit.. these test strips dont work for shiz xD

 

[Sk3lly]

Switching the pads is good for your new tank. Im not convinced on the old water theory. Maybe someone else will disagree with me. That old water is full of fish waste chemicals. Fish urine and stuff like that. I think id rather my tank has nice fresh water to begin with. Why do you think we do water changes on our fish tanks?? Not just to remove nitrates

 

[jonraho]

Thought you could edit the first post, guess not. Anyywas

Update 09-01-14

Planted the Tank with the plants i ordered, it is cloudy cause i added crystal clear liquid before taking the picture, should be clear within the next day or 2. Going to let the tank continue cycling and let the plants grow out quite a bit before i touch the tank again =D but will post pics every now and then =)

 

[Sk3lly]

Are you going to use any ferts??

 

[jonraho]

Are you going to use any ferts??

bottom is layered as so
1 - Bottom firts
2 - Soil
3 - Fine Black gravel,

Also added water plant trace elements (once a week for the first month or untill needed)

 

[Sk3lly]

Ok good luck

 

[jonraho]

Switching the pads is good for your new tank. Im not convinced on the old water theory. Maybe someone else will disagree with me. That old water is full of fish waste chemicals. Fish urine and stuff like that. I think id rather my tank has nice fresh water to begin with. Why do you think we do water changes on our fish tanks?? Not just to remove nitrates

Everyone has their theories, I am no expert been started less then a month =D But so far what i have been doing is going well, so shall see on the long run hehe.

 

[Sk3lly]

Everyone has their theories, I am no expert been started less then a month =D But so far what i have been doing is going well, so shall see on the long run hehe.

Ok i'll ask the question this way, what is the reason you use old tank water? What advantages are there for this?? Maybe i might do this if it makes sense to me

 

[jonraho]

Ok i'll ask the question this way, what is the reason you use old tank water? What advantages are there for this?? Maybe i might do this if it makes sense to me

Been told and read that it helps speed the cycle when doing a fishless cycle (in my case i added a fish in after 1 week so prob didn't make sense) and also this way seeing as the water from a previous cycled tank is "fish ready" so to speak you wont have to add in more chemicals to rid off all the metals and chlorine etc from my tap water. Not in my case as the tanks aren't huge, but did it anyway.

 

[Sk3lly]

I see your reasoning with the dechlorinator. Still not sure about your using old water theory. This is what ive read...
"Nitrosomonas (ammonia -> nitrite conversion) and nitrobacter/nitrospira (nitrite -> nitrate conversion) are the two types you're looking at. They both thrive where there's a surface to which they can adhere.
Something interesting about nitrosomonas is that it likes to avoid light. So, there's probably negligible levels in the water column itself.

The beneficial bacteria tend to develop in places where water flows over a surface area - Substrate, filter sponges, and so on - rather than being free roaming"

I interpret this as the filter media is the main place that beneficial bacteria are found and not the water.
Each to their own though. Just pay attention to your water parameters. It would be nice if the more experience ppl chimed in.
Good luck

 

[jonraho]

I see your reasoning with the dechlorinator. Still not sure about your using old water theory. This is what ive read...
"Nitrosomonas (ammonia -> nitrite conversion) and nitrobacter/nitrospira (nitrite -> nitrate conversion) are the two types you're looking at. They both thrive where there's a surface to which they can adhere.
Something interesting about nitrosomonas is that it likes to avoid light. So, there's probably negligible levels in the water column itself.

The beneficial bacteria tend to develop in places where water flows over a surface area - Substrate, filter sponges, and so on - rather than being free roaming"

I interpret this as the filter media is the main place that beneficial bacteria are found and not the water.
Each to their own though. Just pay attention to your water parameters. It would be nice if the more experience ppl chimed in.
Good luck

Yea i will =D Need to keep on eye on my C02 input too

Thanks!

 

[Old Scales]

Filter Seeding Tip

Here is a tip that will help speed up getting beneficial bacteria into a new filter. This works if for some reason taking some old filter media and putting in the new one is not an option. Take about 1 gallon of water from the old established tank into a bucket. Then, perform like a filter cleaning of the old filter by switching its media around in the water in the bucket. You'll see lots of good crud floating in the water. This stuff is loaded with beneficial bacteria. Pour this water, crud and all into the new tank. Yes it will look like a mess but the new filter will suck all this up and become seeded with enough beneficial bacteria to start colonizing. This can give you a jump on colonization. This works much better than the bacteria in a bottle gimmick.
Good luck, OS.

 

[jonraho]

Here is a tip that will help speed up getting beneficial bacteria into a new filter. This works if for some reason taking some old filter media and putting in the new one is not an option. Take about 1 gallon of water from the old established tank into a bucket. Then, perform like a filter cleaning of the old filter by switching its media around in the water in the bucket. You'll see lots of good crud floating in the water. This stuff is loaded with beneficial bacteria. Pour this water, crud and all into the new tank. Yes it will look like a mess but the new filter will suck all this up and become seeded with enough beneficial bacteria to start colonizing. This can give you a jump on colonization. This works much better than the bacteria in a bottle gimmick.
Good luck, OS.

Thanks for the tip! =D

 

[flitabout]

I tank looks great!!!!