Fishie Day!
Water parameters this morning:
pH=7.2ish+ between 7.2 and 7.6
Am=0
NI=0
NA=40-80 (those colors are so close, I really can't tell)
Temp=87
So after church I'm going to buy some plants at Petco (not at my LFS because he's closed today). I'll go tomorrow and buy as many as my $ will get me. But my fishies are used to plants and I can't move their current plants that are hanging on with that black hair algae on them.
Today, fishies are moving to their new aquarium. So I'll do a massive treated water change to remove the NitrAtes and get them down to 5 or 10ppm, lower the heat, add the plants and bog log.
For the fishies, I'll do the acclimation method that Eco23 recommends with just a little twist. I will put them in two large dedicated fish only containers with some water from the old tank and then add in new tank water a bit at a time until they are acclimated. . . I'm guessing in about 30 minutes.
But if I need to take longer than 30 minutes, Eco23, please correct me. Then I'll net them with a NEW net and pour some new tank water over them and the net (to make sure no algae spores from the old tank travel to the new tank) and let them swim out of the net into the new tank.
Then, I'll tear down and remove the old tank, clean it up so it is absolutely sparkling and sell it.
I'm also going to use the MarineLand 360-C cannister filter in my new tank . . . after Ian power washes it and I treat it with some mild bleach, and scrub it until all the algae is gone. Then I'll hook it up the the new tank - so I'll have this second cannister running along with my Rena. That should keep the water nice and clean for them.
I'll post some pictures today, if I can figure out how to do that. Mostly, you'll be meeting Angelina (JuruPari Cichlid), 7 Rio Tapajos Red Nose Cichlids (one which is an adult and the other six probably teenagers), 6 Clown Loaches, 3 Cory Dory Julies (sp?), 1 Ancistrus. Doesn't sound like very many fish for that size tank, but they are growing and will get bigger and the Rio Tapajos will be breeding.
It won't have too many plants in it today, but I will be adding as I go.
Thank you again Eco23 - couldn't have finished this fishless cycle without'cha!