# Settling in



## EcleckticGirl (Jul 26, 2005)

Thanks again Matt for all the encouragement, plants and fertilizers to get me on my way. 

I got my first 7 gallon tank replanted with that finer gravel today and it was much easier going than with that other coarse pebble stuff. I am just waiting for the filter to clear out the debris from the red-do and silt I didn't get all rinsed away from the gravel.

Things got placed with a little more care this time around too, so hopefully when it grows in I won't have to do so much moving around as I would have with the other set-up. I may have planted the Hygro stems a little too closely after being so frustrated with them all floating up on me over and over again yesterday, but I am not moving anything any more!  

Anyway, I am looking forward to my first water change and when I can add the first fish whatever that may be. Thanks again.

Dineen


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

Glad to hear the finer gravel is working for you. If your filter doesn't clean out the debris and silt, you may want to just turn it off overnight and do a partial water change in the morning. It should settle to the substrate by morning and a light gravel vac should remove it.

Ihope yo did a better job of plant placement than I do. I'm never quite happy and tend to move things around a lot. 

As for the fish, once the water is clear I usually add them. Most planted tanks don't go through a cycle like non-planted tanks do, at least the high light ones. However, my only experience with low light is my 10g and 5g tanks. 

I added a ton of shrimp to my 10g the day it was set-up and 5 or 6 Otos a day or two later. The shrimp survived and multiplied so I guess the NH3 and NH4 levels were kept low by the plants. I don't think I have any otos left but they are kinda iffy in any tank. Everything was new in the tanks also, sand, RO/DI water, filter media, etc. The only thing that had any bacteria on it was the plants which came from my other tanks.


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## EcleckticGirl (Jul 26, 2005)

The silt cleared up fine, so it settled and was filtered fine.

The thing is about cycling... I did some tests last night to get used to using my kits and the nitrite was 5 ppm so I tested for ammonia and it was testing at 3 ppm. 

Other values:
Nitrate 40 
total hardness 120
total alkalinity180
pH 8.0

This was with the relatively inexpensive dip strips so, I am not sure if I was entirely accurate with when I read them against the comparison chart on the 30 second and 60 second timings... That's a lot of little blocks to look at at once.

If I have no animals where is the nitrite being generated? I had boiled that piece of driftwood very thoroughly. I DID add a few quarts (less than a gallon of tank water from a friends aquarium without testing it) but I can't believe with all the water conditioner I added to the fresh water from my starting up that any ammonia from that small amount, that his would have increased that amount in my tank that much. I didn't add any chemicals last night except water conditioner to the water I topped of the tank with yesterday.

I know the plants will love the ammonia, but any animals won't.

Doesn't matter anyway... I am still making up my mind what I want to live with my plants.


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

I don't rely much on those dipsticks! I think they are probbly the most unreliable method of testing there is...but that's my opinion  I do find it hard to believe that the nitrite is 5ppm. You have mostly tap water from the tap in the tank. Is that a typo??? The ammonia seems high too...maybe you should get your friend to test his water  Still, even at using a gallon of his water to five of yours, he would have to have some very high levels! Unless your tap has some high levels also. You may want to test the tap!

I remember when I first moved here, Jack's in Miamisburg said the water had high ammonia and nitrites. I think Damon may have mentioned something similar. 

Did you add any mulm to the tank or just the water from your friends tank? If no mulm was added, then it has to be coming from your water supply or a very inaccurate test kit. I wouldn't worry about it too much...at least until you decide to add some fish to the tank.


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## EcleckticGirl (Jul 26, 2005)

When I tested the tap water before I even started all this weeks ago, NO2 and NO3 were both 0 and pH was 7.6. I wasn't surprised really to find that my pH was higher because of the driftwood, but geesh these dipsticks are really a waste if it's such a huge jump from one reading to the next for pH scale.

No mulm was added, my friend uses an UGF, so no luck for OM there. I figure tomorrow is time for a water change anyway so I will do another reading a couple hours after that.


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## EcleckticGirl (Jul 26, 2005)

Testing 1 1/2 hours after water change showed everything in healthy ranges, so I am not worried.


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

I think the driftwood will actually lower the pH which makes your tests even more bizarre! Though I'm not sure this will have much effect in only a day or so. 

I think maybe there was a bit of test strip or user error in your tank water tests  I think I have always double tested things the first time I have used a new kit just to make sure I did it right (or wrong) each time. I'm kinda anal like that though...

I know it can be hard to read all of those little strips on the sticks. I tried in once for the pool and quickly gave up. I think I am a little colorblind also which makes the sticks even harder for me to read. There was no way I could read one of those strips in the 15-30 second time frame let alone all five of them!

Did you re-test the tank yet? I'm curious to see what the readings are this time.


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## EcleckticGirl (Jul 26, 2005)

We must have been posting at the same time. I didn't jot the numbers down. But everything was healthy when I tested before going out to lunch. I figured since there is such a wide margin of error with the interpretation of color and the steps between numbers on those blocks, there's no point in really keeping a record.

I stopped by my Smithville Road Jack's before heading home to look at guppies because I know they get shipment on Fridays. I was too early (darn). While I was looking around though, I saw a tag I had never seen before... Dwarf rasbora maculatus! -- Unfortunately none in the tank.  Since they are expecting a shipment today, I am going to call back. If not, I figure it's even worth a call to all the stores in the area to see if any of them have those little guys. I figure my tank is ready for 3.+


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

EcleckticGirl said:


> I stopped by my Smithville Road Jack's before heading home to look at guppies because I know they get shipment on Fridays. I was too early (darn). While I was looking around though, I saw a tag I had never seen before... Dwarf rasbora maculatus! -- Unfortunately none in the tank.  Since they are expecting a shipment today, I am going to call back. If not, I figure it's even worth a call to all the stores in the area to see if any of them have those little guys. I figure my tank is ready for 3.+


Wow, give me a call if you find anything out about the maculatus. Do you remember their pricing for them???

I could use a few more in the 10g tank. I have been toying with setting up a small (1g or smaller) nano tank also and a couple would go nice in there too. I love these small fish, especially in small tanks!!!


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## EcleckticGirl (Jul 26, 2005)

They were tagged $2.79.


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