# working on a 29g taking tips



## Runawaypencil (Apr 11, 2006)

any ideas on things i should be doing i have tested the water and waiting on the cycle hits..... new to the planted style so dont be afraid to add, help/ideas are wanted.



29 Gal planted NEW
40 pounds eco-complete
(UPDATE i have stopped using the 50/50 cause someone said the blue is not helping anything and have the 10k on for 10 hours) 65w 10k and 65w 50/50 the 50/50 runs 10 hours and the 10k runs 2 hours in the middle
diy co2 how many bubbles should I watch for. Or what is the recommend count. 
water temp 75
using flourish (should i use the Flourish Nitrogen & or something else)

FISH
7 tiger barbs
2 black neon tetras ( will finish the school 6-8 a little later)
3 Fire Fox
1 otto

PLANTS
water spirt aka Ceratopteris thalictroides
horn wort aka Ceratophyllum demersum
Ludwigia repens 
java moss aka Vesicularia dubyana
little star aka Pogostemon Helferi
and something else



sorry about the poor pics all i have for now. will work on it very soon.


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

Hey Runaway,



> diy co2 how many bubbles should I watch for. Or what is the recommend count.


 The bubbles are strictly a way to visualize how much CO2 you're putting into the system. How 'many' bubbles (flow rate) will depend on your water's kh and pH. You need a kh and a pH test kit. First your kh needs to be 3 or higher or you will have issues with pH swings. You want to have in the ballpark of 30 ppm of CO2. Check out here for a way to determine your CO2 levels.



> using flourish (should i use the Flourish Nitrogen)


Flourish only provides trace minerals to your plants. You also need to provide them with the macro elements, namely potassium, nitrate and phosphate. Read this over for a good basic overview on setting up a planted tank. You can also check this out for more info.

Tank looks good for a start. Don't be afraid to add more plants, the more you start with, the better it will go for you.

HTH.


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## Runawaypencil (Apr 11, 2006)

*your right*

ok i got the ph of 7.6 and a kh of 8 (that is how many drops i put in intill it changed colors so i guess that is what it is or aka 80ppm) and i got a co2 level of less then 10ppm. As for my diy co2 it isnt quiet working yet. but I am figuring it out, i had it working on the last tank but not on this one yet. As for adding more plants theres some on order that the lfs didnt have so working on that as well thanks for the link


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## TetraFreak (Mar 15, 2006)

Looking at the tank pics, it looks like you could definately use some reds in there...

Background:
Ludwegia Repens(Red) can be used to help hide equipment such as heater & filter intake.

Red Stargrass as a background would also accomplish the color plus hide the equipment.

Anachairis, Cabomba, Wysteria, etc. Won't give any colors but primarily green, but grows like crazy and makes great cover for equipment

Foreground Center:
Java moss or any number of other mosses(Taiwan, weeping, etc) would be perfect.

Mid Ground:
Melon Sword, Wentii Crypts(Red or Bronze), 

Short Grasses/Lawn Effect:
ECHINODORUS TENELLUS(Pigmy chainswors) or similar will give a great "lawn" edffect if planted correctly.


Hope this helps ya out a bit!


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## Runawaypencil (Apr 11, 2006)

*update*

Ok i go some of that Ludwegia Repens for a red color which is a good idea. and i also have some java moss on it's way as i understand i should make the java moss reall thin and then rubber band it to places on the wood and rock. and it will root it's self in time... todays test were

gh=6 drops i think when *20 = 120ppm not sure if i understand that right.
ph of 7.6 
ammonia = .25
nitrite = .5
nitrate = 5
phospahte = 2
kh will be done when i get out of class because i got the co2 working yesterday night and i wanted it to get in the water some before i do another kh and ph test... kh was 8 not 6.5 sorry about that tetrafreak


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## TetraFreak (Mar 15, 2006)

If you're injecting CO2, you want a STABLE kH! Stable kH will help when calculating the CO2 levels!

So basically do NOT modify kH as 6.5* is good when you're injecting CO2!!!!!


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## Runawaypencil (Apr 11, 2006)

*...*

nope that was a wrong number lol... my bad mondays was 8 and todays was 9 and the co2 is diy stuff but there are bubbles coming out.. lol...

so if kh is 9 and the ph is 7.6 i think i still come up with like co2 levels of 7ppm which needs to doulbe or more... hmm so how should i got about this should i increase co2 levels which will decrease the ph levels... NOW CHECK me if i am wrong cause i am just reading and filling in the blanks with my stuff not quiet understanding all the effects.. because i just read something that you might have increased phosphate from tap water its self which will throw everything off... so how do i go about checking my tap water to see if the phospahtes are elevated... because before i got the co2 running i was getting like co2 6ppm and now with co2 on for 14 hours it is at 7ppm

another question is how long will it take a co2 diy to stabilze. like 24 hours and then recheck and that should be its reading. Because if you do it right after you turn your co2 on then the co2 levels will obviously not be right...so how long should i wait.


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## TetraFreak (Mar 15, 2006)

With a kH of 9, it looks like your "Target pH" is going to be 6.9 to 7.0.

Keep in mind that "Non-Carbonate buffers" or additives will totally invalidate the ratio.


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## Runawaypencil (Apr 11, 2006)

ok well my ph is down to 7.0 and my kh is still 9 so i have a high 20ppm co2. the plants are looking good and there is no algae signs. I did have a problem with ick yesterday so i ran out and got some ick treatment. I didnt have a chance to look at it today and see if it cleared up, it was only on one fish so fare. So i will probably treat for the next week. I have read a little on it and it's main cause is because of the fish stress levels. for ammonia and nitrite. which both of them were registering on my test at the lowest levels like .25 & .2 but i know your not suppose to have any in the tank at anytime. So I am still in the prosses of cycling


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## TetraFreak (Mar 15, 2006)

When trating for Ick, you will need to remove any/all activated carbon from your filtration. If left in the filter, you're not getting the benefit of the meds. carbon in the filter provides a chemical filtration that renders meds useless.

As for the ammonia & NitrIte levels, partial water changes to assist in keeping it at or as humanly cloe to 0 as possible.

Another option, to expedite the cycle...
Get some BiroSpira, it's the actual live nitrifying bacteria and will dramatically speed up the fishy cycle as it gives a boost to the bio-filtration.

Bio-Spira is kept refridgerated that the LFS' that carry it. if it's not chilled/referidgerated, it's useless.


Hope this helps!

-TF


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## Runawaypencil (Apr 11, 2006)

i did get the bio-spira stuff my older brother told me to go pick some up so i did that i also add some aquarium salt as well as ick guard and doing 30% water changes so they dont OD on the ick guard... and this being the third day the ick seems to be gone but will maintain this for a total of 5 days so i dont have another spike. I did have an allege bloom today on the hornwort only. The stuff is growing like weeds though so i dont really know why i have cut 4 already and will cut probably another 4 tomorrow or thursday. The rest of the plants are growing good and in good color. there just not exploding like the hornwort. I also picked up some flourish excel and iron which i will start adding.


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## Runawaypencil (Apr 11, 2006)

Ok well here is an update. The ick went just as fast as it came. I had no deaths in the tank. Last week I bought 8 H. Rasbora Hengeli and 16 ghost shrimp. I wanted to see if they will establish in my tank or will the tigers eat them. That is why I started off with the cheap ghost shrimp. But the good thing was they were .25 each and half of them were adults and the other half juveniles. I am not really sure how many shrimp are still alive but I know there are still at least 10. I know there most active at night which is why I can't tell how many there are left. Last week I redid my diy co2. This had really bad results on the tank. The co2 really didn't start producing for 2-4 days which really hurt some of my plants. The plant leafs are clear and haven't started coming back. I don't know if it is from the co2 problem or something else. So I am bidding on some co2 equipment on eBay and if I don't win that I will be going to DR. fosters and getting this

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=9895&N=2004+113779
Or 
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=9935&N=2004+113779 
There basically the same.

Question:
I have ludwigia Rubin that has kind of a yellow or yellow/green look to it now. It does have some red on the newest leafs what is the problem here. It is still growing allot in respect to there growth limits. Like 2-3 inches a week. So what would be the problem?

On my horn wort I seem to get allot of algae growth on them... But it is only on the horn wort. As much as I know I thought horn wort helped prevent algae because of a by product it produced. Any ideas on what I may be doing wrong.

The top of the water seems to be looking like an oil slick. Is this bad. How should I go about fixing it or is it ok. I think it is probably from the fish food. And the lack of surfice disturbance.

Thanks For Reading
Tyler


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