# [Wet Thumb Forum]-New 30 Gal



## flagg (Nov 29, 2004)

Well, after about a month now, my new 30 gal is starting to settle down. No more nitrites and ammonia problems (for well over a week now!) No more ich or any other signs of disease. Water has become softer (from 12dGH to 8 dGH and 8dKH to 5dKH). Is that normal? pH has remained fairly steady at about 7.4. Nitrates, nitrite, phosphate and ammonia all read zero....

So, my only problem right now is algae. Starting to get quite a bit. On the glass, it's next to impossible to remove while the stuff on the leaves is some type of green algae, kinda a little fuzzy and bright green. I'm guessing this is due to high levels of iron so I'll be adding carbon this week and see if that helps.

Tankmates are now 1 Ram (going to get more to try to get a pair), 1 angelfish (same sit. as ram), four guppies, 3 paleatus corys and a bristlenose pleco. Everybody's doing great....

Plants are doing well, vals are starting to grow pretty well as has the indian water fern. Rubin sword still going strong.

I'll post a pic tomorrow as I just realize my camera's batteries are dead









-ricardo


----------



## sherry (Sep 30, 2005)

I have a low tech tank, not quite natural because I do water changes and add a little flourish excel for carbon.. but I stumbled on algae fixes thatare totally natural!!!

After I scratched my acrylic one day, I was complaining to Peter at AZGardens and he suggested Olive Nerite snails. They don't reproduce in fresh water and are great window cleaners.. 4 in a 12 gallon tank has kept it spotless. 

For algae on my plants I use amano shrimp and they have totally cured a very present hair algae problem. 

My tank is algae free and it's all the work of my critters.


----------



## whiskey (Oct 9, 2004)

Still waiting on those pics







.

Whiskey


----------



## flagg (Nov 29, 2004)

Sherry: Thanks for the tips! I'll look into the nerite snails. Did you buy them from azgardens? As to the shrimp, I'm afraid they'd be eaten by the angelfish and/or rams... 

Whiskey: Tonight! Sorry!

-ricardo


----------



## flagg (Nov 29, 2004)

I added my filter today... a hagen quick filter that goes over the powerhead.

Here's a pic of the front... (mind you, the water's a little hazy 'cause I've been adding melafix to take care of some torn fins that resulted from the agression of a dwarf gourami that I removed)


----------



## flagg (Nov 29, 2004)

Here's a closeup of the left...


----------



## flagg (Nov 29, 2004)

...and one of the right.

Comments, suggestions, critiques, all welcome!

-ricardo

That area of blue behind the sword will eventually be covered by some hygro that's back there and still really small. I think I did ok w/ the filter and powerhead, you can't see them that much, but well, i wish the sword was bigger!


----------



## Erin (Feb 18, 2005)

It looks awesome! I hope the fish are doing better. In a month or so you won't be able to hardly tell the background is blue!


----------



## whiskey (Oct 9, 2004)

Very nice, you are right it is impossible to see the powerhead/filter unless you know it it there.

What are the dimentions on that 30, and how do you have the lighting setup? I had a heck of a time deciding the lighting for my 29 because it was 30 inches long.

BTW, I always have problems with the DKH from my soil using tanks, I have a few ideas on why, but at least in the short term they can be fixed by bi-monthly water changes. In your case (without co2) the low KH is probably not a problem. Bacteria do use your KH to live (at least in a salt tank, I assume it is the same here) so bacterial activity may be to blame for the drop.

Great work,
Whiskey


----------



## flagg (Nov 29, 2004)

Thanks for the compliment Erin! The tank has def. been an enjoyment. I sit on the couch in front of it for hours just staring....

Whiskey: The dimensions of the tank are 36 x 12 x 16... At first it was big enough for my needs, but I really need a five footer (or six like yours!) As for the light it's a double light strip w/ a Hagen Flora-glo (I think) and a phillips cool white. 

I used to have it just sitting on a glass cover, but I wanted to be able to get some emergent growth so I bought a 1 x 3 and I cut it into two 1' pieces which sit nicely on the inside edges that used to hold the glass up. Then, I took two 6" pieces and I laid them on their side and screwed them into the 1' segments. (See pic for details) So the light ends up sitting 3" from the top of the tank. 

-ricardo


----------



## MyraVan (Feb 13, 2005)

On snails.... Olive nerites may be useful, but they aren't very pretty. There are plenty of nerites that are both nice-looking and eat algae. I have two of these:








and one of these








The Snail Shop in the UK has a collection of nice ones, see
http://www.snailshop.co.uk/html/tropical.html


----------



## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

Nice tank! Glad that you can sit back and enjoy it now. I wouldn't be too concerned about algae; actually, I can't see any in your pictures. Plants look great.

Plants like Val that can use bicarbonates will use them as a carbon source. So its not surprising that you're seeing fluctuations in alkalinity. The alkalinity should regenerate itself during the night, so I wouldn't predict a gradual depletion.


----------



## Miss Fishy (May 13, 2006)

The tank is looking great, Ricardo. Is that water sprite on the surface? 

From Alex.


----------



## flagg (Nov 29, 2004)

Sure is! Those plants are the latest generation of a water sprite that my lfs owner had about 30 years ago! It's a great plant. I once had one plant stretch the entire length of the tank (3 feet across!!) with roots that started to bury into the gravel a bit and TONS of baby plants...


----------



## Miss Fishy (May 13, 2006)

Three feet! Now that's a big Water Sprite! I bought some of these nice plants a while ago, but sadly they did not like my tanks and soon died. 

From Alex.


----------



## flagg (Nov 29, 2004)

Miss Fishy: That's weird that they died, I usually have good success w/ them. I think they might be sensitive to nitrates?? Not 100% sure though. I was told by the guy I bought them from that they were sensitive to ammonia and their decline would be an early indication of poor water quality, but the ones I have managed to live through my high ammo/nitrite problem so I don't know. If you want to try some again, I can send you some when I thin them out again...

-ricardo


----------



## Miss Fishy (May 13, 2006)

All but one of my tanks have zero nitrates. It's weird but I seem to have the least success with so-called "easy" rosette plants like crypts, swords, and water sprite. Oh well. 

Thanks for your offer of plants, but Australia has very strict import regulations on plant and animal material, so it would be pretty much impossible for the plants to actually get to me alive. 

From Alex.


----------



## flagg (Nov 29, 2004)

Here's a cool little picture I took this morning as the sunlight streamed in through the left side of the tank...


----------



## Miss Fishy (May 13, 2006)

Nice! One of my fish likes to play in the early morning sunlight. As soon as it shines into the tank, he swims over and sunbathes. 

From Alex.


----------



## flagg (Nov 29, 2004)

Ok, about 1.5 months into it now.... Things are getting better... after adding the carbon, most of the algae now appears to be dying. Nitrites and ammonia must all be at zero since my guppies finally had babies. I'm also assuming that any iron that may have been in the water is also decreasing (I never did get that test kit...)

I've also increased the number of rams to 5 to try to get a pair but just realized that all of them are females, so two or three will go back to the store and be replaced.

Water sprite has grown like crazy, I keep having to thin it out. I received one water lettuce as an extra in a shipment of some r. indica and now that has sent out two baby plants! I like the water lettuce better so I think that as it grows I'm going to get rid of more and more water sprite. I can't get rid of too much of it right now or I'd risk putting the baby guppies at risk (which actually wouldn't be so bad... I'm sure my rams and angel would love the snack!) Let's see.... Oh! Jane sent me a bunch of salivinia, much of which unfortunately died in transit, but the stuff that survived has really taken off big time! It's so much nicer than duckweed too and looks really nice around the lettuce.

Now, here's something I was thinking of... I've read (I think in Diana's book) that hornwort produces an allelochemical that inhibits algal growth. So, I'm wondering, if I place the hornwort around the filter that is attched to the powerhead, would these allelochemicals be spread throughout the tank and perhaps more efficiently reach all the algae and help get rid of it? Also, is/are the allelochemical/s released by hornwort also harmful to other plants? Such that if I planted it as above, would it then kill my other plants? Any ideas?

I'll post an updated picture soon too.

Thanks for following my tank!

-ricardo

PS Whiskey- What's up with yours? Haven't had an update in like three days... I'm dying here!


----------



## javalee (May 8, 2006)

Hi Ricardo,

The only problem with hornwort is that it is such a nitrate hog that it can strip your water column of nitrate to the detriment of your other floating plants especially. My java ferns and anubius couldn't compete and started to go downhill. But your soil is probably still providing nitrogen, right? But it's such a pretty plant, and provides great hiding spots for fry! 

I'm interested in water lettuce. Can you grow it in a full tank with a hood? Does it need more above-water space? It's $4.00 per plant at the local pond store!


----------



## flagg (Nov 29, 2004)

Javalee: Thanks for the tip on the hornwort, I'll def. keep an eye on the nitrates and plant growth to make sure that the plants are getting their nitrogen. I'm gonna thin some of the hornwort out and give it to my fiance so she can put it in her tank at school...

I'm just discovering what an awesome plant water lettuce is. I got one as an extra in a shipment from an aquabid buy and it did nothing for like two and a half weeks. Now, just since thursday, it's going gangbusters! It's already sent out half a dozen baby plants in a few days. And the baby plants are sending out new ones as we speak! The roots are awesome too! I imagine that you could grow it with a full hood if you kept the water level down a bit. You can see in one of the pics below that I have no cover on my tank and keep my light up a couple of inches w/ my homemade little light stands. So I don't know what the effects would be if you kept the full hood on... I would not spend $4 at a store though. If you want to wait, I can send you some when mine regrows some plants (some of the babies are going into another tank). Or... I just found this on aquabid.... http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?liveplantsf&1131921709

Looks like about 20 plants for $12 ($14 if you "buy it now") including shipping. MUCH better deal!

Anyway, I'll post the pics in a separate reply as my honey just fixed our breakfast!

-ricardo


----------



## flagg (Nov 29, 2004)

Ok, here are some new pictures of the tank....

First, here's a view from the top of the tank, you can see the sprite, salivinia and lettuce...










Here're two fontal views (one angled from the left)



















Here's a pic of the left side...










And the right...










You can see that the blue space in the back is slowly being covered up by the crypts and the H. difformis which I thought was a fast growing plant but is creeping along like java moss....

Thanks for reading!

-ricardo


----------



## javalee (May 8, 2006)

I see a little ram







! Your tank looks awesome, Ricardo! The picture of health! It helps to see the top of the water; now I can see how these floaters work.

I feel better hearing how it took a bit for your water lettuce to take off. My floating hornwort and anacharis aren't doing so great since I redid my tank a few days ago. Maybe it will kick in soon.

I think I will get a glass canopy and drop the water level in my tank. I have bacopa in it that will grow emergent and I kinda like the look thru the glass. I think I'll get an internal filter to help with this adjustment, too. Then I could fit water lettuce too. Yes, I'd love some.


----------



## flagg (Nov 29, 2004)

Thanks Javalee! This is my first success w/ a well-planned planted tank (I had another that had great success, but it was due to dumb luck!) so I'm pretty stoked about it! It's nice to be able to just sit back, relax and enjoy a tank for a change.

You know, for some reason, anacharis, though described as an undemanding plant, has had very little success in my tanks. My finance had to get rid of tons it that died and started fouling up her water a bit... I would def. keep an eye on yours and if it isn't growing then just toss it!

-ricardo


----------



## Miss Fishy (May 13, 2006)

The tank is looking better and better! I love those long Water Lettuce roots! Did the baby Guppies survive? 

From Alex.


----------



## flagg (Nov 29, 2004)

Baby guppies! Surviving and growing! They're hard to see, but any time I move my arm over their part of the tank (they hang out around the water sprite on the left/backish side of the tank) to feed them some powdered fry food (I think my microworm cultures have died







) I see little ripples all over the place from the fish swimming for cover! I think I've counted around half a dozen or so.... I'll try to get some pics tonight...

-ricardo


----------



## 10GALAQUATIC (Apr 18, 2005)

It's a great tank







. My tank is just 5 gal. and just a week old. I have 4 Otos in this tank and they clean the tank night and day. They getting fatter than when I buy them from lfs. My Otos ignor the algea waffle (may be they like flesh algea







)


----------



## flagg (Nov 29, 2004)

10G... I'd love to see a pic of it? Do you have one?

I think otos are really neat little fish too! They don't bother plants either do they? I would get some for this tank, but I have a bristlenose in the tank, who come to think of it, hasn't been eating much in the way of algae lately... 

I would keep an eye on your algae and if it totally disappears, then have those wafers ready as they'll need a new food supply. You might also want to try zuccini... I feed my bristlenose some a couple times a week and he loves the stuff!

-ricardo


----------



## flagg (Nov 29, 2004)

NO! Not again! FUR ALGAE!!









Yup, just saw a few clumps of it on the driftwood today... maybe I should consider getting some shrimp? Are there any that will eat fur algae and not get eaten by angels or rams? Should I start removing it by hand or just let it run its course?

-ricardo


----------



## flagg (Nov 29, 2004)

Here're a couple of pics of one of the babies....


----------



## Andrea Baker (Aug 21, 2004)

This is a beautiful tank. Just another plug for water lettuce. If it grows for you anything like it grows for me just one plant would be fine to start because it more than doubles its size every week. I started about a month ago with four small plants and have probably thrown out 50 plants already. 

And, about the hair algae- the water lettuce sucks up excess nutrients so fast that it will also really help with that. I drastically thinned the lettuce (as in down to like 3 baby plants to buy myself some time until it needed to be done again) and within 3 days I had an algae bloom. The only variable that changed was the pruning of the lettuce. 

Good luck!


----------



## flagg (Nov 29, 2004)

Thanks for the heads up Andrea! I think I'm def. going to get rid of the sprite as the lettuce grows more and more. I also just ordered some plants of aquabid so I'll have even more!

-ricardo


----------

