Recently Changed Substrate, now I've got some Questions!

[alia258]

I changed my substrate from a colorful gravel (one might call it "clown barf") to black sand (I know a certain someone who'll like this, you know who you are ) and I was wondering about a few things. Firstly, I've changed out my dechlorinator for a fertilizer and water conditioner combo. I've just put it in the tank today (which basically had a 95% pwc, will explain later) and I was wondering how helpful it'll be for me. Here's a pic of the bottle, it was the only water column one they had:


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And I also have API root tabs which I'll be putting in tomorrow. I know the root tabs will work, but how soon should I expect the benefit of the liquid fertilizer to start showing in my plants?

I've also purchased some micro sword and I'm hoping it'll grow nice and thick, but does it feed more heavily from roots or the water column? And how quickly should I expect new growth?

And one more question, would adding extra of the dechlorinator stuff be more beneficial, make things go bad, or just leave things the way they are?

And now my story of changing my substrate (so you guys can check that I did everything right):

I cleaned out the sand until the water ran clear, and then I took all my fish out of the tank and put them in a bowl, and the same with the plants. Then I used a cup to put the gravel into a pasta bowl with holes in it. This knocked up lots of old root tab, now in a powdered form and fogged up my water. I did 3 pwcs (making sure my filter had the original tank water in it so the bacteria wouldn't die) and between each pwc I put in about 3-4 gallons of water. (the pwcs happened after I had gotten all the gravel out) finally I started putting the sand in and it's filled the tank to about 4-5 inches thick. Then I planted the plants and now I'm waiting for the last of the root tabs left to settle so I can suck it up. The tank should be totally clear by tomorrow so I'll post a pic of it then. Did I do everything right? And should I do the root tabs differently because of the sand?

I also forgot to add my list of plants in the tank:
Anaubis nana
Wisteria
Anacharis
Melon sword
Amazon sword
Micro sword
And I'll also be getting some frogbit in may from a very nice person on here

Ooooh! And I forgot my other tank info! It's a 10g with a peppered Cory, 2 guppies, and 3 (soon to be 6) neon tetras

 

[Eleven13]

Not sure of the time frame on the liquid fertilizers, but as long as your plants aren't showing signs of deficiency (holes, color changes, etc) you can rest assured it's doing its job.

Micro swords are tricky....I have them as well and they are a root plant which means they will get most of their nutrients from their roots; throw a root tab or two underneath them. However, I have had some for about 3 months now. They grow VERY slow, and they require high light and CO2 in order to carpet. They still look fantastic for me, but they haven't spread at all. I'm adding CO2 this week (DIY) to my tank, and also changing to a sand substrate in the very near future, so I'll see if that helps out or not.

Root tabs are pretty easy, just try to get them directly underneath the root plants if you can, or as close as you can get them.

Plants like Anacharis are stem plants, they'll get their nutrients directly through the water column, although that doesn't mean they don't root feed at all. Root plants will also take nutrients from the water column, and stem plants and things will also take some nutrients from their roots, so it is always best to have both available for your plants.

And as for dechlorinator, it's a pretty safe chemical to use in my fish tank experiences. Very hard to over-dose on, so I always put in more to be safe rather than sorry when I am in doubt. However, that said, it IS a chemical, so in massive quantities maybe it would cause a problem.

 

[alia258]

Okay so you answered alot, but now I'm worried about my micro sword. Does it require high light to live or just to grow? All I have are incandescents and I can't change them till summer (or at the very least next time my parents go to Costco) so what problems would this cause me and what could be a short term thing I could do to make up for any issue?

 

[Eleven13]

Okay so you answered alot, but now I'm worried about my micro sword. Does it require high light to live or just to grow? All I have are incandescents and I can't change them till summer (or at the very least next time my parents go to Costco) so what problems would this cause me and what could be a short term thing I could do to make up for any issue?

I don't know a whole lot about lighting, but micro swords are technically a "low light" plant, so you should be able to keep them alive and keep them looking nice with low lighting.

However, to get them to take off and spread is another ball game. They are very slow growing plants to begin with, and they will only carpet with high lighting and CO2. However, if you just want to grow them as is, they should be fine in low light, they just won't grow much (other than gaining a little height).

 

[alia258]

Okay that's good, that's all I wanted from them, not a carpet. *big sigh of relief* now I've got another issue though. My tank went into a mini-cycle, and usually I'd be right on top of it but I've got three more neon tetras that are moving into my tank today because they're in with a goldfish at a neighbors house and we need to get them out today because the goldfish is nipping tails, and he's big enough to swallow one whole. I'll have to add them to my tank as soon as possible, because I don't want those neons to die! How will I deal with the mini-cycle though? Can I do extra pwcs and expect the fish to deal with it okay? I totally screwed up my poor fish tank I'll be doing a nice big pwc before I put the neons in so the water will be a little cleaner and they can adjust to the other fish, unless you guys have a better plan! I am totally open for ideas here!

 

[blert]

You are supplementing iron and potassium with that fert. Fish food and waste should give you nitrate and some phosphate. You are only lacking micros, regular weekly 50% water changes may help with that. If you don't have CO2 then run an air pump to add a bit more CO2 to the mix.
You can get the screw in CFL spiral bulbs (10 to 15 watt, full spectrum daylight) to give you more usable light for less heat and less energy usage. You may end up with algae issues though if you don't do at least DIY CO2.

 

[blert]

Okay that's good, that's all I wanted from them, not a carpet. *big sigh of relief* now I've got another issue though. My tank went into a mini-cycle, and usually I'd be right on top of it but I've got three more neon tetras that are moving into my tank today because they're in with a goldfish at a neighbors house and we need to get them out today because the goldfish is nipping tails, and he's big enough to swallow one whole. I'll have to add them to my tank as soon as possible, because I don't want those neons to die! How will I deal with the mini-cycle though? Can I do extra pwcs and expect the fish to deal with it okay? I totally screwed up my poor fish tank I'll be doing a nice big pwc before I put the neons in so the water will be a little cleaner and they can adjust to the other fish, unless you guys have a better plan! I am totally open for ideas here!

Big water change before acclimation. Keep on top of the toxin levels and PWCs as needed. Your tank should balance out quick enough if the filter is well established.

 

[alia258]

Okay, great big water change (50% maybe more?) and then I'll acclimate the neons. And then keeping on top of the water levels will be easy enough! Because of the sand I realized that I overfeed... I'll be fixing that as well!

 

[alia258]

You are supplementing iron and potassium with that fert. Fish food and waste should give you nitrate and some phosphate. You are only lacking micros, regular weekly 50% water changes may help with that. If you don't have CO2 then run an air pump to add a bit more CO2 to the mix.
You can get the screw in CFL spiral bulbs (10 to 15 watt, full spectrum daylight) to give you more usable light for less heat and less energy usage. You may end up with algae issues though if you don't do at least DIY CO2.

I've got a bubble wall, is that adding CO2? I'm confused by what you meant, could you please explain a little more for me?

 

[blert]

I've got a bubble wall, is that adding CO2? I'm confused by what you meant, could you please explain a little more for me?

Using bubbles is a way to increase not only O2 but CO2 as well (and probably a number of other gasses). The increased surface agitation will greatly aid in gas exchange. It won't add a lot but every little bit helps. Of course, if you add CO2 by either DIY or pressurized you DON'T want to run bubbles as that would gas off the CO2 you are injecting.

 

[alia258]

The bubble wall has added to the amount of surface agitation from the filter, I'll take a pic of how much it is when I get back home. Don't plants create CO2 at night as well? I forget. I'm hoping the water has cleared up a little by the time I get home (the filter is established so I'm sure it will be a little cleaner than this morning) and I'll be doing a 50%+ pwc and then I'll add the neons (they're gonna be stressed little cookies, poor guys :<) and so by Wednesday or Thursday my tank should be in order and all cleared up

 

[Bearchumjs]

Okay, great big water change (50% maybe more?) and then I'll acclimate the neons. And then keeping on top of the water levels will be easy enough! Because of the sand I realized that I overfeed... I'll be fixing that as well!

ghost shrimp are good at taking care of the extra food. Of course over feeding isnt good and should be avoided, but the ghosties will help keep things tidy in there. (sorry, I don't recall if you have shrimp or not.)

 

[alia258]

I don't have shrimp, I will look into it, but I do already have a Cory cat (poor guy is all alone and I don't have room for more after today)

 

[Bearchumjs]

I don't have shrimp, I will look into it, but I do already have a Cory cat (poor guy is all alone and I don't have room for more after today)

I see! You may not need shrimp then since the Cory probably eats the food off the bottom.

 

[alia258]

He does eat a large amount (I'm suprised! He's got a big appetite!) but some shrimp to help would be nice I'm guessing they have a low bio load? I heard that the rule of par for shrimp is 10 per gallon somewhere

 

[blert]

He does eat a large amount (I'm suprised! He's got a big appetite!) but some shrimp to help would be nice I'm guessing they have a low bio load? I heard that the rule of par for shrimp is 10 per gallon somewhere

Depends on the shrimp. For Ghost shrimp it's about one per gallon and hope they don't become snacks for larger fish (yes, they have a very low bio-load). I usually divvy up a couple dozen between two of my tanks every two weeks as my Angels and BGK love to snack on them.

 

[alia258]

Oh I see, my fish are all pretty small, so how will the shrimp fare in my tank IYO? And about how many would I get?

 

[blert]

Oh I see, my fish are all pretty small, so how will the shrimp fare in my tank IYO? And about how many would I get?

Can't hurt to try. Get ten or so and see what happens. If you go to a big chain they will cost you about 50 cents each, if you go to a Mom-n-Pop they will likely cost a buck a dozen.

 

[alia258]

All I have available are petsmart and petco, I'm not entirely sure they have shrimp. Do you know how to look up their stock of fish and when they get shipments? It'd be a great help if I could find that out

 

[alia258]

The neon tetras are acclimating to my tank. They look slightly younger than the ones I have. I fed them a little bit and they ate most of it, which is very good, because that means that they are less stressed than I expected them to be look at them in their little floating box