Hello all thought I would start a journal on my new 29 gallon build. It won't only help me keep all my information in one place but maybe it can help a fellow member that has some questions. I built the stand 3 days before I planned to start the tank to give the paint time to dry. I started this tank on 5/18/17 with little plans on the scape/plants and a lot of questions. I knew I wanted to do a fishless cycle so I ordered Dr. Tim's Ammonium Chloride and used Seachem's Stability. It is my first planted tank so I am sure I still have a lot to learn and a lot of progress to still to be made. I decided I wanted a sand substrate so I went with pool filter sand to try to mimick the natural look of a ecosystem. I collected rocks from below the dam here in the local river and tested them with muriatic acid to see if there was a reaction. I then washed them and soaked all the rock for 48hrs with 4 water changes. I cleaned the pool filter sand for about an hour in a bucket with the garden hose pushing clean water through it to remove any debris. Rinsed the tank out really well and let it air dry. Once I had the stand in the final resting place I placed the tank on it and started the beginnings of a new adventure. Wish I would have painted the back glass black but since I didn't I will tint the back glass with 5% static cling tint. Once I had the substrate in I placed some old decorations in the tank as the main rocks were still soaking and placed some S Repens & Anubias on one side so it could go ahead and get started. Once I had the main rocks in place I used them to hold the Anubias. The fishless cycle was started on 5/18/17 when the tank was started. I dosed the ammonia up to 4ppm and began using Seachem Stability & what I had left of API Quickstart the same day. Not sure yet if the Stability & API Quickstart had much of an effect and believe I should have gone with Dr. Tim's "One & Only". After 13 days the ammonia hasn't budged on it's level and the nitrites have come up to a trace (still below .25ppm but not at 0 anymore). Nitrates have come up to about 10ppm but I think that is due to dosing Nilocg's Thrive for the plants. Diatoms have started to appear since around day 9. I have been testing the water daily and might move to every other day until I see the nitrites really start to spike. Then I'll monitor to make sure the ammonia doesn't crash. Can't have the BB starving. Got to keep them fat and happy haha. I will post up pics, water test results, plant progress, and probably a few questions here and there. I do want to make this tank a nano fish home and I'm still learning a lot on the nano fish subject. As far as plants I'm also still learning more each and every day. So try to bare with me during my learning curve and hopefully all will turn out as planned. I will post up a list below of all the equipment and progress so far.
Equipment:
Aquaclear 70
Hydor Koralia 425gph Circulation Pump
Hydor 150w Heater
Zacro Digital Thermometer
Aquaclear Versatop
30" Beamswork DA Pent 6500k .50w Light
Ferts & Chems:
Nilocg's Thrive
DIY Osmocote Root Tabs
Seachem Stability
Seachem Prime
Dr. Tim's Ammonium Chloride
API Freshwater Mater Test Kit
Plants (So Far):
S Repens
Anubias Nana
Substrate:
Pool Filter Sand
Media (inside filter):
Sponge filter
Aquaclear Biomedia
Fluval Biomax
Thank you for reading and if anyone has any questions for me please post up. I will be glad to answer any questions and am more than happy to hear opinions or critiques on what I am doing as I am still learning. Seems like every time I listen to others critiques and opinions on what I am doing I learn something [emoji106] Pics will be posted up in separate posts to separate the days of progress.
-James
Equipment:
Aquaclear 70
Hydor Koralia 425gph Circulation Pump
Hydor 150w Heater
Zacro Digital Thermometer
Aquaclear Versatop
30" Beamswork DA Pent 6500k .50w Light
Ferts & Chems:
Nilocg's Thrive
DIY Osmocote Root Tabs
Seachem Stability
Seachem Prime
Dr. Tim's Ammonium Chloride
API Freshwater Mater Test Kit
Plants (So Far):
S Repens
Anubias Nana
Substrate:
Pool Filter Sand
Media (inside filter):
Sponge filter
Aquaclear Biomedia
Fluval Biomax
Thank you for reading and if anyone has any questions for me please post up. I will be glad to answer any questions and am more than happy to hear opinions or critiques on what I am doing as I am still learning. Seems like every time I listen to others critiques and opinions on what I am doing I learn something [emoji106] Pics will be posted up in separate posts to separate the days of progress.
-James