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Planted fish tank

LBoz said:
Tom, your red cherries are high order (they have a trendy new name now, but I still use that) so there is no larval form. Your berried shrimp is constantly rotating her eggs with her spinnerettes, and she'll deliver fully formed live babies. They will be extremely hard to see for the first few days, but if you look close enough you'll see them, usually hanging out on plants eating micro fauna. They'll be pretty clear until the females start to mature, then you'll be able to tell the males from the females...but that will take several weeks.

Good luck, and definitely get that pre-filter on there! I use the black ones by zoo-med. I think it's for turtle power filters...they're expensive, so I cut them in half and just place each half over the intakes. The good news is that they last forever. I use the AC sponges in breeder and grow out tanks, but the black ones in my display tanks.

Keep us posted!
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Thanks Lori! I will get that prefilter tomorrow. I think they just had a growth spurt thanks to an algae wafer I had dropped in for my otos. The otos weren't the slightest bit interested but the shrimp devoured it. Next thing I know, they were huge and there were shed 'skins' all over the place. I'll bet lots more of them will start carrying eggs as well.
I am pretty sure that my guppies will eat most of the babies, as they are ALWAYS hunting through the plants for something to eat, but I'm hoping that as planted up as the tank is, some will find places to hide and make it to full size.

I'll keep posting here as things change.
 
Ahh, I forgot about the gups, Tom....you might not get many survivors, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed! Keep the molts in the tank as the shrimp will eat them eventually...good calcium source.
 
Algae!!

I'm starting to see the black beard algae, yuck. It's in just a few isolated spots, but I have a feeling it's about to take off if I don't do something. I am looking for a local source for Flourish Excel, but so far no luck with that.
Other pictures here are of the new manzanita burl I added (looks like a turtle to me with a thumb sticking out of his head. The otos love to chew on him) the red tiger lotus is sprouting to his right, and some critter pics; oto and 2 shrimp.
 
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Flourish Excell will kill that beard algae, Tom!
 
I hope so Chip. I have one more store to check today, but it opens at 1 on Sundays. If not I'll have to mail order.
I was thinking that I probably didn't have enough CO2, so I picked up a second little DIY can (uses yeast and sugar water like my other one) but that was only because I couldn't find the Excel.
My plants are just pearling like crazy though today, so that might help some.
Only plants that aren't doing well is the Apon Crispus (I don't think it liked being moved, but it's got a bulb, so I'll just cut the tops and I'm pretty sure it'll come back) and the Anubias. The Anubias look like crap: multiple kinds of algae, holes in them, melting leaves etc, but they are still bubbling like crazy when the lights are on, so I'm not going to give up at them yet.
 
Tom, I feel your pain. I hate that stuff! Have you tested your water for phosphates? That can really cause the BBA to take off....but you also have a pretty heavily planted tank, so it's more likely that the decreased nitrates are helping this along as well. I like Excel, and I get it from Drs. Foster&Smith...that's the best price I've found, but it's been a while since I've had to order it. I used to get it by the gallon.

Again, a Florida flag fish can help eat the stuff, but also a true siamese algae eater will make the stuff disappear.

Phosphate sponges can also help, and check the labels if you're using ferts...I can't remember what you said you were using. Are you doing the Estimated Index method of fertilization? I know I have a box of dry ferts around here somewhere. If I can dig it out of my supplies closet, you're welcome to it. I got them from Greg Watson. Check him out online if you haven't already. Also look over Tom Barr's "Barr Report" for some great articles to deal with this stuff if you're not familiar with him.
 
I'm using the pfertz system for fertilization. I liked it because it's really simple. Four bottles, and I had one pump of each for every 10 gallons. Maybe it's too simple, or maybe I should just use more or less depending on what I see? Here they are- http://www.pfertz.com/

My phosphates are reading 1.0, and I'm really having a tough time keeping nitrates in the water. I used to see it at between 20-40 ppm, now it's always about 5. Even if I check it right after fertilizing.

Edit: just tested them and they're reading 40 nitrate and 2.0 phosphate. I guess I hadn't waited for the fertz to really mix in the water before I tested...:rolleyes:
 
Well that's good news about the nitrates. I know people like to keep them at 20 and below, but your tank is so well planted that 40 ppm wouldn't worry me in the least. Just make sure to have a good mix of fast and slow growers, but I'm sure you already know that.

I'll have to check out your ferts. I have heard of it, but haven't used it.
 
Oh, and check your food source...sometimes those prepared foods can have large amounts of phosphates as well! ;)
 
I've slowed WAAAY back in feeding the guppies. Their food is typical fish flakes, but I've started giving them just a pinch now in the morning. I was feeding as recommended on the little can, "feed two-three times a day as much food that will take five minutes to eat." I think that really is too much. Now they mostly eat snails- I smash them a little against the glass and they munch them up. But I also see them picking at something on the leaves, they may be eating algae?

Should I like to see that the nitrates are gone by the time I'm turning the lights off? Or should I want to see about 20 ppm or so even then?
Thanks for the help Lori, I'm posting on another forum too, but unfortunately that forum doesn't seem super active, either that or they're crazy noob questions that no one wants to touch, lol.

I've also now got the lights on a timer, I had been keeping them on just 6 hours a day, but I had gotten lax on that. Mostly because I wanted to watch the tank all the time, I was leaving the lights on too long.
So now, I'm cutting back on the fish food, put the lights on the timer, and I've got Flourish Excel on the way.
 
Ok, it's going to take me a little longer than I thought, but I will get those names for you.

In the meantime, it sounds like you're taking all the right steps. Lights on a timer is an excellent move. I absolutely know what you mean about wanting to watch it all the time. My current tank is in a dark area of my living room, so I turn those lights on at night while I'm in there.

Definitely DEFINITELY cutting back on feeding is the right move! I do tend to feed my smaller fish twice a day, but very little..about the amount that they'd eat in ONE minute, not five. Keep in mind that a fish's stomach is as big as it's eye. It doesn't take much. I typically feed my fish 5 days a week.

As for the nitrates, I don't think you're going to see that drastic of a change within one day....once you cut back on your feeding for a while, you'll then start to see some swings and will want to fertilize accordingly...it might not seem like it, but you'll really start to get into a "groove" with the tank and you'll need to test much less often.

I will be back in a bit with some more info for you!
 
Oh...one more thing...rather than flakes, you might consider switching to pellets. Much less waste hits the bottom, so less fouling of the tank. I really like New Life Spectrum or Omega Seas. They have different size pellets available as well. Both are very high quality foods, too. I'd steer clear of brands like...Tetramin, for example.

Can you PM me with the name of the other forum you're using? I might be able to give you some names of people to deal with that you'd really like.
 
I got SO frustrated with PT.net, I quit going. And I had contributed, donated things in raffles, RAOKs, etc. I can deal with noobs trying to answer questions when they are over their skis, but add that to not having a sense of humor and I'm out! Tom Barr is great. Between him, Rex, and the "Simple Guide to Planted Aquariums" book, I don't often run into a question that hasn't been answered.
 
I know, Chip...I felt the same way. I got burnt by a few people there, but overall I like the group. Momotaro (Mike) rocks and Jen Ford is on the board of my local fish club, and she's an awesome resource. Rex is also a member there, and I can't help but love a fellow curmudgeon.

I'm SO loving this thread, though...It's like living vicariously through Tom without all the effort! ;D
 
elrojo said:
I got SO frustrated with PT.net, I quit going. And I had contributed, donated things in raffles, RAOKs, etc. I can deal with noobs trying to answer questions when they are over their skis, but add that to not having a sense of humor and I'm out! Tom Barr is great. Between him, Rex, and the "Simple Guide to Planted Aquariums" book, I don't often run into a question that hasn't been answered.
Click to expand...

I should add that I'm not unhappy in anyway with the other forum- It's not the one you mentioned either. Honestly, I just don't think there are a lot of people looking at the threads there, or there's just a huge amount of threads there to look at. People who have replied there are really great, you just wait longer to get replies than we have to wait here. That's another reason why I love this place! There's always someone on these boards who knows about whatever you're posting. But digging through old threads over there and reading the FAQ's and stickies answers like 99.9% of my questions..

You guys are helping a lot. Big thanks!

Prefilter is on, and the Flourish Excel is on the way. I also trimmed a bunch of leaves today that looked like they were goners, or just too covered with algae. Tank looks really nice again!
 
Yeah, more photos! As for the *other* website... Cool! Turn me on to that other forum via PM and I'll contribute, for what I'm worth with the limited time I have. I've done planted tanks since '89 but never went pressurized until 4-5 years ago, so I'm no mentor. But I can tell you mistakes I've made, and wish I had someone to set me straight earlier on.
 
Ok guys, I'll get some pictures together real quick. You know I HATE showing it off, but I owe you guys :grin01:

PMing you the name of that forum Chip.
 
Chip..it's actually just sort of a sister-site. There is some competetion, but it's basically the same group of people. I think overall, both are full of really nice people. I've done a lot of trades/sales/purchases on both sites, and have only been burnt once.

Mike (Momotaro) on PT is a great guy. I sought him out right away when I first started so I could get the 411 on the big sellers. He's an excellent resource. I don't know if he remembers me, but I'm "Boz" on both sites.
 
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