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Post by billyk on Jul 3, 2016 12:58:02 GMT -5
Hey and welcome to my blog. I am going to try to journal my adventure as I journey through making this 10 gallon tank into what I envision. As of today this is what I have: 10 gal. standard size tank. It's inhabitants are 8 Celestial Pearl Danios, 2 adult Corys, 2 blue mystery snails, 1 turbo snail, 2 Amano shrimp, and 10-13 cherry red shrimp. I have some Java moss and a few java ferns, anacharis, a largish Amazon sword a rosette sword, 2 marimo algae balls, 2 anubias ?? (I think), and some Staurogyne and one I don't have a name for. Filtration is a SunSun HW 602B with the foams, some polyfiber media pad, and a few teasp Matrix carbon. connected to a HW 603 filled with Matrix for a bio filter. Lights is a Finnex Planted+ 24/7. Params as I tested last night are Ammonia 0 Nitrates 0 Nitrates 10 ppm (more on this later) Kh in between 2-3 dKh GH ?? need to test pH 7.3 holding quite steady. The nitrates were very high and are probably rising I used a Nitrate reducing pack from API for a few days, previously it was 140 or so as best I could tell from the color chart. I know that the best way to provide a "natural" environment is to dial in the water. Filtration and adding the right stuff in the correct fashion along with proper cleaning/maint. will get me there and that's why I am here. That's where I am as of now. I think my environment is getting close. My inhabitants are reproducing, I have 3-4 baby cories that just hatched and at least 2 shrimp. I hope I am correct in my thinking that that is a good sign! Some pictures, sorry about the poor quaility, still working on technique! And some shrimp.
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Post by billyk on Jul 4, 2016 7:42:23 GMT -5
7-4-16 Did some water testing this morning. Tested the filtered tap water I use for water for my tanks and garden. I am using the API test kits. Not the best at matching colors but I think I am close. FTW (filtered tap water) Kh- 3 drops = 3dKh 53.7ppm Gh- 2 drops = 3dGh 35.8ppm pH- 7.3 by drops and 7.3 by meter Nitrate- 0ppm
Tank water Kh- 3 drops 3dKh 55.8ppm Gh- 8 drops 8dGh 143.2ppm pH- 6.8 drops 6.78 meter Nitrates 10-20 ppm Ammonia 0ppm Nitrites 0ppm
So what is this telling me. 1) my pH is swinging by time of day. I did not know that. Need to check more often. I will recalibrate the meter and use it a good bit more frequently. Also drop tests occasionally to insure the tests are in sync for accuracy. 2) My Kh is low, makes sense with the pH swings. 3) My Gh is low from the tap, need to test again will do on next test day. Low from tap but pretty good in tank, could be higher(??)
I need better buffering. I am using wonder shells, a small one, in this tank. I am waiting for the Seachem Alkaline buffer to arrive. I am planning on mixing up my replacement water in 5 gal. batches. Plan is to increase the kH and see where the Gh ends up. Still not convinced my ftw is that low.
My other issue is feeding. How do I feed this tank? Need more research into the right foods for the CPDs they just don't seem to eat. They have small mouths and some teeth. I over feed, I think that is currently my biggest issue. Need to learn how to do this better.
One thing I did not mention in my intro, my snails are growing very quickly! Too much leftovers I am thinking, although they look great.
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Post by Carl on Jul 4, 2016 9:55:27 GMT -5
Thanks for sharing, your aquarium is beautiful. Smaller tanks are more difficult to dial in IMO, so you are doing quite well. As for your pH swings, this is typical due to photosynthesis and a lesser known point is that GH has an affect on photosynthesis caused pH swings From our Planted Aquarium article: "*GH (general hardness): 100 ppm or sometimes higher; this is more important than many realize for planted aquariums. “During photosynthesis, a rise in pH can occur in water with low alkalinity (20 to 50 mg/L) or in water with moderate to high bicarbonate alkalinity (75 to 200 mg/L) that has less than 25 mg/L hardness”.
This is an often misunderstood aspect of aquarium plant keeping. There is so much anecdotal information that is out of date with more current aquarium/plant biochemistry information. Not only do plants need many of the minerals found in GH, but, just as important, potentially dangerous upward pH swings can occur if your GH is much below 50 ppm during peak plant photosynthesis. For example, I observed a pH of 6.8 in the morning and then a pH of 7.4 in the afternoon in a tank where GH was low or almost non-existent. "For your Celestial Pearl Danios, i would suggest the AAP Custom Omnivore Food (prevously Paradigm), which can crumbled and is highly attractive to fish www.americanaquariumproducts.com/ParadigmFoods.htmlCarl
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Post by childofiam on Jul 4, 2016 15:13:30 GMT -5
Does your tap water run through a water softener? If it does then the minerals are being bound up by the softener treatment and the water can't be remineralized. This will throw off your test on actual mineral content (GH) If you use tap water then get your source from tap before it enters the softener. Most outdoor water valves are plumed in before it enters into the house so test this water to see if there is a difference before use. From AAP Article "Worse, which should never be done, is the use of products that soften water by driving out mineral Cations or water from home water softeners which does the same. The result is water that CANNOT maintain essential mineral ions (even if added back) and a poor Redox balance!" Found here www.americanaquariumproducts.com/AquariumKH.htmlThis article is one of my most read article and I go back to it on a regular basis and learn something new every time. If your water does not run through a water softener then you are doing a great job. I diffuse CO2 in my 75 gal tank at a rate of 2 bps and my PH will drop from 6.8 to 6.5 over the course of 12 hrs. I have mostly low light plants and use 100% RO water because our tap water is not good to use with fish because of high NO2 & NO3 My KH runs 53.7 and GH 89.5 for my Angles, Neon Tetras and Cory Cats. As Carl Stated, "For your Celestial Pearl Danios, i would suggest the AAP Custom Omnivore Food (prevously Paradigm), which can crumbled and is highly attractive to fish" I second this. I have been using Paradigm for quite some time now and my fish eat less and their waste is low. Their growth rate is better as well as their colors. Looking forward to more of your blog... Richard
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Post by billyk on Jul 4, 2016 18:33:55 GMT -5
Hey! Thanks for looking in and the kind words. childofiam , thanks, but no softener here. I do have a filter array that I use, micron and several charcoal types. This gets a lot of the nasties and chlorine out. We don't have chloramines in our public supply either. Just looks like real soft water. The trick is going to be getting the additions just right to get the tank's numbers where I want them. Need to build the buffers, so to speak. Want to get the pH swing from photosynthesis, properly moderated. I think it's important, especially for the inverts. I have a whole drawer full of Sechem goodies for planted and trace, etc. I am having a time exercising restraint! Getting the basic water quality under control needs to come first then I can use some of this stuff. I think I am reasonably close. The algae is behaving, I see a bit here and there and the thick green on the wood, but I like it and the shrimp do too. The light I use is a bit much for my small tank when run in the 24/7 mode as I am I was sure I would a big problem. Plants are growing, not crazy but steadily and I like that. My next additions are the sterilizer, that should be here in a few days. Got the 9 watt version. Then some CO2, been said that the shrimp don't seem to like too much Flourish Excel, the glutaraldehyde I suppose. I want a decent set up for the CO2 so that will wait a while. I am rambling... @carl, thank you for the suggestion. I ordered some. I am sure it will be a welcome addition!
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Post by billyk on Jul 5, 2016 4:43:56 GMT -5
7-4-16 The holidaze... Thought it was Sunday almost all day! It was very enjoyable so Oh-Well. Did water change last night. Took out about 1.5 gal, put in 1.9 gal. I used my usual 2-3 drops of Prime per gal. This time I added 1 ml of Replenish per gal. Want to bring up the Gh/Kh a bit and that seemed to be the ideal thing besides the buffers. Should I add the Replenish to all my WC water? This brings me to another ponderance of mine. If I am going to amend my WC water, how about my top off water? Should that be RO? Seem like that would help keep the chemistry a bit easier to keep track of.
Interestingly, the WC was well received by the denizens. Perhaps wishful thinking... But the tank seemed to come alive after the water change. The CPD were less shy and the shrimps were downright frisky. I think it just goes to show I am on the right track!!
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Post by Carl on Jul 5, 2016 9:09:15 GMT -5
This brings me to another ponderance of mine. If I am going to amend my WC water, how about my top off water? Should that be RO? Seem like that would help keep the chemistry a bit easier to keep track of. RO is often great for top off water, but if your water is changed often, it likely will not make as much difference in planted freshwater aquarium. Sorry if my answer is somewhat vague, but there is a no "one size fits all answer" to this question. Once you get your tank numbers where you want them, then monitor numbers after top off with different methods and you will have your answer! Carl
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Post by billyk on Jul 5, 2016 10:25:49 GMT -5
This time I added 1 ml of Replenish per gal. Want to bring up the Gh/Kh a bit and that seemed to be the ideal thing besides the buffers. Should I add the Replenish to all my WC water? I answered my own question here... From the Seachem website: Thank you Carl. I kinda had the same thoughts myself. Will keep a jug of RO from the market next to the tank for top off and see how that flies. The thoughts are a carry over from reefing. No worries about vague, it was spot on!! Edit: fyi I did not find Seachem Equilibrium in your storefront. Edit-Edit: And now I know why... Thanks for the link below. Missed it in the cross post.
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Post by Carl on Jul 5, 2016 12:38:40 GMT -5
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Post by childofiam on Jul 5, 2016 16:00:57 GMT -5
I used Equilibrium in the beginning with my planted tank but never achieved the caution levels I needed until I started using Replenish. Mineral Cautions are salts; Replenish contains two salts, soft (Sodium, potassium) and hard (Calcium, Magnesium). Some salt like "table salt" (witch has had all of the minerals striped from it through processing) and is not good for cats or plants when it exceeds .1 % for a prolonged time. Replenish was developed especially for the planted tanks using RO/DI water. Using Filtered Tap water as you do I recommend Wonder Shells as Carl did to raise and maintain the calcium and magnesium levels. Tank water Kh- 3 drops 3dKh 55.8ppm Gh- 8 drops 8dGh 143.2ppm pH- 6.8 drops 6.78 meter Nitrates 10-20 ppm Ammonia 0ppm Nitrites 0ppm Keeping your KH above 50 ppm will stabilize your PH and you GH is great for the shrimp and cory cats. Calcium is important for your fish and because you have snails you will need to watch this mineral because they use calcium to build their shells and will deplete CA+ very quickly from your water and will give a false GH test as a result. I have API CA+ test I purchased from AAP to watch my calcium level. Now my PH (6.5) is stable in my 75. About 3 hours after my CO2 has shut off and at 7:30 am before the CO2 turns on my PH is 6.8 Then it takes about 2 to 3 hours for it to drop to 6.5 where it stays from about 10 am until 8 pm. You will see this when you invest in a good CO2 system. I have a high end CO2 system where I use a 5# tank I purchased from a Gas company that sells refilled tanks. My Refilled tank last about 14 months at a cost of 15.00 dollars. I didn't go with the paint ball tanks because their wasn't any places around here that refilled them so you might want to find out if someone refills paint ball tanks in your area before you purchase a CO2 system that takes a paint ball tank. I also inject O2 with a air pump 24 hours a day to maintain the O2 levels. It took some time to find my sweet spot or balance of CO2 and O2 because O2 bubbles will scrub off the CO2 in the water. I am able to maintain a CO2 level of 20-25 ppm When you start adding CO2 your Amazon Sword will take off in growth that will fill half of your 10 gal. The other plants will benefit too and you might see a decrees in algae as well. I use 100% RO water and have a 30 gal. tank that I fill with RO water that I make with the www.americanaquariumproducts.com/ReverseOsmosisSystem.html#50 that I purchased from AAP. I then add my buffers and Replenish to this tank for a KH of 53.7 and a GH of 71.6 I keep a 1/4 size of the large Wonder Shell in the 75 all the time too. Looking forward to reading you tank blog... Richard PS. Sorry for the long post...
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Post by billyk on Jul 5, 2016 17:53:26 GMT -5
Nice reply, thanks!
I will get this somehow... I know what I added last night made a perceptible difference now. The CPD are out and about and readily accepting food. This is a big change from yesterday. Very interesting. The rest of the animals are also responding positively. Speaking of responding, I think I have over a dozen cory babies!! Yikes, now what!! I am a victim of my own success!
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Post by billyk on Jul 6, 2016 10:00:41 GMT -5
7-5-16 I have a dilema now. There is a population explosion in my tank! Looks like 10 gal is not going to hold it all. I have counted at least a dozen, probably 15-20 cory babies and 6-8 baby cherry shrimp. I think I'll find a place to put a tank and fire it up. That can hold the "extras". Which brings me to my question, what do folks usually do with this? I did not expect my cories to breed! I had hoped if I got thing OK in the environment I wouldn't kill all the shrimp and eventually they would reproduce.
Tank looks good this morning, getting a bit clearer every day. I think the bio filter is starting to really kick in. The water looks very clear but there is a lot suspended in it. Be nice if some were nematode type of small organism that would help feed the babies. They seem to be doing fine on detritus and biofilm. I have seen some thread like organisms and the CPD seem to like to eat them. My guppy tank is so so crystal clear, almost perfect. But in that tank it's only guppies and turbo snails, no other live stuff. Interesting. This stuff is so interesting I love it!
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Post by coco on Jul 6, 2016 10:57:14 GMT -5
I am jealous! I want cory babies. I have never seen my corys lay eggs, although I am sure they have done so at some point. Thing is, I have 4 huge SAE that gobble up any eggs they can get their little mouths on. The corys and the SEA tend to hang out together too. I think any eggs they lay don't have a shot, unless I happen to be there when it happens.
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Post by billyk on Jul 6, 2016 13:31:38 GMT -5
Hey! Thanks, they are cute. This is what happens when take the larger carnivores out I guess! I went with smaller inhabitants so I could have more of them. I guess I got a lot of what I wanted!!
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Post by coco on Jul 6, 2016 13:46:13 GMT -5
You will have to get some pics of the little guys.
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Post by devonjohnsgard on Jul 6, 2016 18:08:23 GMT -5
Credit for LFS! Tank looks great btw.
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Post by billyk on Jul 6, 2016 18:59:47 GMT -5
Credit for LFS! Tank looks great btw. Hey! Clue me in on this one please. Indeed, a local shop would accept them? A chain? I am quite new at this. My tank as it is, is only a few months, maybe, and me I am new to that kind of transaction. If my tank continues to produce I am going to have to come up with something!!
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Post by coco on Jul 6, 2016 19:04:00 GMT -5
Yes. Local chain stores will except what they call "adoptions". I have brought fish to them that became either too big or too aggressive to their fellow tank mates. If you don't play nice....you don't get to play at all.
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Post by billyk on Jul 6, 2016 19:10:59 GMT -5
I'll check into it thank you. How about a few dozen??
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Post by billyk on Jul 7, 2016 4:49:34 GMT -5
7/7/16 Tragedy narrowly averted last night! Awoke as usual around 3:00 am (the joys of being in your 60's) and low and behold Bob, the cat, must have gotten on top of the tank and knocked the glass lid and a the work towel I must have left on top. Not too much damage although I do worry about the towel, I try so hared to keep foreign objects,like my hands, out of the tank. Grrr... The tragedy that was avoided it that my nice Finnex light was sooooo close to ending up under water!! Yikes!! I have to tell you that, that light is pretty much what started this all! Once I purchased it on sale and saw what it was doing the rest is history. More plants, filters, driftwood, plants, critters, fish... And now look at me!!!
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