Scottyhorse's 25 Gallon Community Build

[Scottyhorse]

You don't want 1 or any pond snails in your tank...they are asexual and will breed super fast...without loaches they will overrun the tank...get rid of all you see unless you wanna see them all the time haha

any pics?

Pics of the snail? Maybe it is a good thing the evil amano shrimp ate it.... Lol.

 

[Scottyhorse]

idk if i posted this earlier...but for best results...use 3 reg water bottles to do DIY Co2...no risks guaranteed! I have tried 3-4 diff ways and this is the most efficient and produces best results ime...

here is a vid

HOW TO: DIY CO2 for planted aquarium - YouTube

That's what I did but with 2 L bottles instead.

 

[Scottyhorse]

Wow. Never heard of that. Hope it was tasty =p

Lol, same here.

 

[Scottyhorse]

Alright, an update is due!

Nitrates are sky high again, others are the same.... Is it stuck?
I re-did the co2 with a different silicon that actually dries, instead of staying sticky, and I re-did the co2 mixture also. This one looks more promising.

 

[Scottyhorse]

co2 is bubbling! Not a whole ton, but it is! Yay!

 

[Scottyhorse]

Alright, an update is due

Co2 stopped it seems??
50% Water Change
Ammonia: .25
Trites: 2 or 5
Trates: 40 or 80

Trimmed the plants and planted the trimmings.

Seems like the cycle is stuck...

 

[bud29]

I wouldn't say the cycle is stuck, some days you may not see a change.....I didn't see a single change in my 29's cycle until I was 11 weeks in

 

[Scottyhorse]

I wouldn't say the cycle is stuck, some days you may not see a change.....I didn't see a single change in my 29's cycle until I was 11 weeks in

Wow I really hope mine doesn't take that long.... Oh, the pond snail has returned in the other tank

 

[Scottyhorse]

So good test results after the water change!!

Ammonia: less the .25 but not zero
Nitrites: I have no idea, it was kind of pinkish? I'll test again later.
Nitrates: 40

 

[Scottyhorse]

Ammonia: 1 ppm
Trites: I have no clue, the color is magenta?
Trates: 40 ppm

This will never end....

 

[CharlieKlein]

How long has your cycle been goin? And are you still using the fish food? When you dose, does it go all the way to 4ppm?

 

[Scottyhorse]

How long has your cycle been goin? And are you still using the fish food? When you dose, does it go all the way to 4ppm?

It's been going for 2-3 weeks. Yep, still using fish food. No, highest it's gotten to is 1ppm.

 

[CharlieKlein]

It's been going for 2-3 weeks. Yep, still using fish food. No, highest it's gotten to is 1ppm.

Well from what I've heard, you need to dose 4 ppm. That way the bacteria have something to feed off of. Otherwise the cycle will not go anywhere

 

[Scottyhorse]

Well from what I've heard, you need to dose 4 ppm. That way the bacteria have something to feed off of. Otherwise the cycle will not go anywhere

Yeah, I've been trying, but it's hard with fish food

 

[CharlieKlein]

Not sure what else you can use. If it really isn't changing and you can't find the ammonia in stores, you can order it online my cycle is almost done and its been 18 days using that. Works great

 

[Scottyhorse]

We are going to try and find some on Wednesday..... Hopefully....

 

[Scottyhorse]

Alrighty, Ammonia is Z-E-R-O!

Here is the odd colored Nitrites I have been talking about:

Here are the Nitrates. From the pic it's hard to tell, but I think they are 80 maybe?

Sorry the pics are sideways

 

[Scottyhorse]

My mom is going to buy some PURE ammonia tonight, then I can finally dose to 4 ppm.....

Eck this is taking forever... No wonder nobody if following anymore!

 

[severum mama]

I haven't read through the thread yet, but you absolutely do not have to dose to 4 PPM. That's an arbitrary value that gets repeated over and over on forums. There is no reason to do that other than wanting to throw an entire stock list in a tank all at once (which I personally wouldn't recommend).

If you're converting 1 PPM of ammonia, just keep adding the fish food until your nitrite level goes down to 0. Your nitrate reading will be really high by that point, so do a big water change, 75-90%, and add a small fish load. Monitor with your test kit daily for a while, but your tank should easily be able to handle a few small fish. Wait a week or so, then add another small fish load. Repeat until the tank is fully stocked.

 

[Scottyhorse]

I haven't read through the thread yet, but you absolutely do not have to dose to 4 PPM. That's an arbitrary value that gets repeated over and over on forums. There is no reason to do that other than wanting to throw an entire stock list in a tank all at once (which I personally wouldn't recommend).

If you're converting 1 PPM of ammonia, just keep adding the fish food until your nitrite level goes down to 0. Your nitrate reading will be really high by that point, so do a big water change, 75-90%, and add a small fish load. Monitor with your test kit daily for a while, but your tank should easily be able to handle a few small fish. Wait a week or so, then add another small fish load. Repeat until the tank is fully stocked.

Alright, phew. That was really bugging me. I would have to put in the whole container of fish food to get it to 4 ppm, I think! Besides, I wouldn't ever, ever, add 20+ fish in there, unless the tank is HUGE.....

I am still super confused about the nitrites. I have tested them a couple times a day for the past few days, and every time it comes out a magenta color What the heck?

In Charlies thread you stated not to add micro fish in a community setting. And now that I am thinking about it, it makes a ton of sense. I was planning on adding ten Pygmy Spotted Rasboras, which fall into the micro species category. I was also going to add 5 hatchet fish, 2 rams, and either a couple 'dwarf' (under 4") upside down cats or a pit bull pleco. So if I shouldn't do the psr, which I am kinda bummed about but okay with, what should I add? I really don't want to do neon tetras because I would like to stick with one species of uber sensitive fish species....