# New tank for Newbie



## webgirl74 (Dec 2, 2009)

I'm newer to planted tanks myself, but from what I've learned on here, you'll need a CO2 setup with an T5HO fixture and you will have to dose fertilizers as well. I'm sure the more experienced folks on here can make some suggestions to you as well, but a lot of people seem to set up DIY CO2 systems on smaller tanks.


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## hurley0816 (Sep 18, 2005)

welcome to the forums!

webgirl74- thats a mighty beautiful trout you have there!


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## ambchang (Mar 15, 2010)

Thanks webgirl. Forgot to mention, I have a DIY CO2, with a CO2 ladder. I may have to double the capacity given the amount of light I have. Depending on how the CO2 setup works, I may move onto a pressurized setup.


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## hurley0816 (Sep 18, 2005)

some sort of crypt wouldnt be to bad for larger plants and you need to get some moss too!


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## ambchang (Mar 15, 2010)

First setback, though not a big one.

Finally got all the supplies, felt like a kid on boxing day. Opened the box, and realized that I was mistakenly given the stingray stand instead of a two-door model I was looking for. So it either means that I will go back for a refund or an exchange, which, regardless is an extra trip.

The light I got is the aquatic life T5 HO Dual light, and the tank was a custom-made rimless tank. They look great, and I can't wait to set it up. But I guess I will have to wait a little while on those ....


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## timwag2001 (Jul 3, 2009)

welcome to the site. i want pics!


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## minicrazy592 (Apr 1, 2010)

I will be watching.


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## ambchang (Mar 15, 2010)

I will be putting up pics, but this is probably going to be a 2 week + process, minimum.

Thanks for the support guys. I am totally stoked about this, it's like having a new born!


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## ambchang (Mar 15, 2010)

Image of my stuff. I didn't have the flourite black around, and am still waiting on the stand.

My wife and I decided to go solid wood stand instead, since the cost difference isn't too much, and would have to wait another week or so for it. The petstore owner is very helpful, and just a friendly guy in general. He is willing to give out advice pretty quickly, and concentrate on giving the right advice instead of constantly trying to push new products. Great for a newb like me.


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## duff (Feb 26, 2006)

Welcome aboard, looks like your getting close to starting! you'll love it here - So much good people and info here! Cant wait to see how your tank comes along.


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## timwag2001 (Jul 3, 2009)

he needs to sell products to stay in business so beware. its very common for them to try to get you to buy products to alter ph and what-not. if you have questions, post them first. we have nothing to lose in giving you advice


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## ambchang (Mar 15, 2010)

Thanks timwag2001. That's the thing that was impressive about the petstore, I actually asked him if I need to get testing kits and stuff, and he said that he would do the water testing for me for free, and that most testing kits are not needed. There were a few things that I wanted to get, and he basically told me that those are not things for planted tanks. Pretty honest guy.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

Hey, I don't know if it's out of your budget, but instead of doing the DIY co2, I would do pressurized and return the ladder, because you have HO lights, I think most people would probably recommend pressurized also, also as a plus, you would save space, because the ladder takes space and looks funny (IMO), and just replace the ladder with a smaller diffuser. Your pet store guy sounds like a good guy, better than mine, who told me I could fit 15 angelfish in a 10 gallon tank (=.=")


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## ambchang (Mar 15, 2010)

Thanks VincentK, the pressurized system is definitely one thing I am looking at, but right now, it is way over my budget. In fact, my system is around 40% over budget already, without even getting the fish and plant and stuff .... tough, tough hobby.


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## ambchang (Mar 15, 2010)

Drop by my brother's place a couple of days ago, and he is more excited about the tank than I am, seriously. He has been keeping an aquarium all his life, and has recently (the last 3 years or so) switched to saltwater.

He gave me a whole bunch of stuff that he has little use at this moment, including a Hydor Koralia 1 powerhead. I would imagine this would be great to create some flow in the tank. However, I must find ways to guard the powerhead and avoid having it suck in my future RCS colony.


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## timwag2001 (Jul 3, 2009)

i dont know how i would do it witha koralia but you can just put a sponge on the intake of a regular powerhead


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## ambchang (Mar 15, 2010)

Got two pieces of Malaysian driftwood, both with a lot of holes and hideout places.

Planning to get some CRS, and figured this could be a fantastic hideout.

Driftwood 1:









Driftwood 2:









Both stacked together (1 on top of 2), essentially connecting the "caves" between the two pieces of driftwood.









My stand is probably going to come in the next few days, so I am very very excited.

Still have to rinse out my seachem black subtrate.


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## luke20037 (Jan 24, 2010)

looking forward to seeing how your tank turns out! keep us posted


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## ambchang (Mar 15, 2010)

Just got my stand today, so it's time to set up.

The Eheim 2213 is a pain in the butt to set up, so I am going to get my brother to help out.

Anyways, the water is murky as mud, and part of it is because of the Flourite Black (I think), part of it is because I took about 10 G of water from a friend of mine, who's water is kinda brown because of a piece of new driftwood.

Anyways, pix as below, it's going to take me forever to fill the tank because my RO tank is extremely small, and it takes a few hours to fill about 5G of water.


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## sharkbite (Apr 16, 2010)

nice~ can't wait to see your complete set up.


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## ambchang (Mar 15, 2010)

Finally filled the tank up this weekend, and it really took a LOT longer than expected.

The thing is, after putting in the filter, and dosing the water with some bacteria, I decided to move the filter to a "better" spot. Problem is, I didn't know that I have to tighten those knobs around the hose.

Well, you can probably guessed what happened next. After a few minutes of swearing, it turned out I only spilled about 2 litres or so of water (on carpet). Had to reprime the filter, which means that I had to suck in a few mouthfuls of bacteria filled water, but finally got it to work 1 in the morning.

The next day, my brother came over to check out the tank, and realized that I didn't tighten the knobs. Thank goodness for an experienced fish keeping sibling.

Anyways, the hose, heater, and CO2 ladder is quite obstructive, but there really nothing much I can do about it other than put some plants to hide them.

The driftwood and scaping is pretty much done:










The water is also turning into a tea-like colour, probably because of the tannin from the driftwood, but I am thinking of doing a few water changes soon. Waiting till next week to test the water, and time to populate the tank.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Some Purigen chemical media in your filter will help pull out the tannins and can be regenerated each time it's fully saturated with tannins.

How are you planning on cycling the tank for the fish?


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## ambchang (Mar 15, 2010)

I think my APL Aquarium Pharmaceuticals is good enough for the bacteria. I will let it rest for a week, test the water, and if things are right, I am thinking of populating the tank with guppies, looking to get 4 to 6 of them to begin with.

After things are settled, I will get some otos, dwarf hairgrass, marimo mossballs, maybe some christmas moss, and then later some RCS.


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## ambchang (Mar 15, 2010)

Finally the tank is settled, had the water tested. pH a little on the high side (7.6), but everything else is good enough to put in some hardy fish.

My wife and I picked up a yellow, male fancy guppy, a female fancy guppy from the store, and a couple of guppy babies from my dad's tank.

Below are a couple of pictures with the tank set up, with lights, and the guppies:



















I know this is a planted tank forum, so the plants would be coming. We are planning to check plants out this Saturday, and I just can't wait to get the whole thing set up.


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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

If you dont have any experience with planted tanks dont get caught up in all the hype about pressurized co2, lights, and ferts. I ran a 65g with 2 175w metal halides and never once put in any co2 or ferts, just good ol fish poop and water changes. You may be slightly limited in plant selection and wont see the bursting growth but alot of plants do quite well without either. If you click on my avatar that tank is the one im talking about. Crypts and some stem plants do just fine w/o co2 or DIY co2.


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## ambchang (Mar 15, 2010)

Chad320, your tank is beautiful. I am not going to get a pressurized CO2 system yet, and have just started the good old yeast and sugar routine wrt CO2.

As for fertilizers and minerals, I think my subtrate should have enough minerals in them to last a good while, and as you mentioned, fish poop would be the source of ferts.

I am actually waiting for the algae to come in so that I can get my otos and shrimps. I know, once algae starts, there is no stopping it.


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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

If you do it right you wont be fighting algae, and youll be feeding your ottos and shrimps to suppelement their diet. most all algae can be beat or overcome by some method other than green spot algae or GSA which grows slowly on the glass. At leats for me, others appear to have little problem with it but for me its just a once a month fact of life.


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## ambchang (Mar 15, 2010)

Well, the Co2 tank is not working. I thought it was pretty simple. Sugar + Yeast + Baking Soda + warm water = Co2.

This morning, NO Co2, so I opened the canister, and water started pouring out. It seemed that, for some reason, tank water reversed and got back into the tank, don't know why. The yeast seem to be working, as the water is warm is obviously fermenting, but I just don't get the water back filling part. Drained some extra water, and giving it another whirl ....


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## acrofish (Apr 23, 2010)

the Co2 canister probably created a siphon to suck water out from the tank. Either:
* position the canister higher than the water level, or
* get a back-flow preventor (costs $1) to prevent the water from getting sucked down

I would recommend getting the back-flow valve, easy fix.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Yeah, I'd get a backflow valve. You definitely don't want the reverse to happen, and all that mixture end up in the main tank.


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## ambchang (Mar 15, 2010)

Thanks guys, I don't even know what a backflow valve is!

I will hunt one down.

BTW, the Co2 Cannister is working now. Turned out the yeast and baking soda was expired, and didn't do anything. The Co2 is now running fine, with about a bubble every 1.5 seconds. I will need to get some plants soon before the water is too filled with CO2 and the fish suffocate.

Speaking of the fish, the guppies (especially the male) have turned back to the vibrant colours. I have plugged the powerhead back on to give some flow to the tank, and this would probably be more useful later on when the tank is more planted.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Not a huge investment, my Petsmart carries them

http://www.pet-dog-cat-supply-store.com/shop/index.php?page=shop-flypage-31028


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## ambchang (Mar 15, 2010)

Got some hairgrass and a couple of marimo moss balls over the weekend. The moss ball is still a vibrant dark green, but the hairgrass it not doing too hot. It's likely that when I was separating the blades to plant, I severed some of the grass from their roots, causing some to die off.

So now, a couple of them have this silk like filament coming out of it. I don't even know what it is. Some are turning brown, but the majority is doing OK. I am putting in about 9 hours of light a day, with a CO2 cannister averaging about 1 bubble every 1.5 seconds.

One of the baby guppies I got from my dad is gone. It probably didn't adapt to the new environment, perished, and is now part of the filter pad, or more gruesomely, is now part of the other two adult guppies.

Also got 4 otos, and they are doing super. Flying around the tank after light out. Problem is that it doesn't seem to be paying any attention to my algae wafers. What gives?

Dwarf Hair Grass:









Tank just being planted:


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Mine have never liked algae wafers either. Fresh veggies, Hikari catfish wafers (catfish wafers, not the generic "sinking wafers"), frozen foods like mysis shrimp and bloodworms...


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## ambchang (Mar 15, 2010)

Based on your suggestions, i went out and got some Zucchini today, boiled them, cooled, and then fed them to the otos. One of them loves it, the other 3 were just hanging around, not paying much attention.

Not surprisingly though, the guppies couldn't stop biting at it.

The water is getting quite dirty though because of all the gunk from the zucchini now.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Yeah, I stopped freezing/blanching my veggies b/c of that problem. I think the only purpose of the blanching etc is to make them easier for the fish to digest, but with the potential water quality issue presented by rotting food getting all over my tank, I made the judgment call to err on the side of water quality LOL

Check out www.otocinclus.com for some other food suggestions and tips on Oto care. Mine get Romaine lettuce and Hikari catfish wafers in addition to all the flake and frozen foods I feed all of my fish.


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## Kathyy (Feb 22, 2010)

Hairgrass. I just planted some myself. The first couple weeks every time the corys went through detached leaves floated up but that has mostly stopped. Some of the leaves are still dark green emersed growth but most are submerged growth now. Time, give it a bit of time. I love seeing the Malaysian Trumpet snails cleaning the leaves. So far the snails and good water flow through the lawn is keeping it looking fresh. At first there was a lot of gunk after water changes and the grass would have scary looking brown filaments streaming from them but I think it was debris and not diatoms or any other sort of algae. Either that or it was so delicious the snails and platies ate it right up because a couple days after the water/vacuum stuff it would be gone again.

I bought one baby bristlenose and in quarantine offered flakes, algae wafers and blanched nasturtium leaves. She took flakes and the leaves. I had raised a tree frog tadpole on blanched dandelion leaves but none were to be found this time. Dandelion is very nutritious. I have plenty of other related weeds that ought to be good but they all have nasty milky bitter sap now. Not going to take a chance. So glad she is in the big tank now where there are yards of wood to gnaw on. Hoping to find otos soon and will BUY a zucchini special just for them. Too scary having herbivores not eating much. I want to see lots of poop from them.


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## ambchang (Mar 15, 2010)

The hairgrass seem to be doing better after a water change, the water was murky brown, and I suspect it's due to the rotting parts of the hairgrass. There is also some mold around the driftwood, and I am trying to eradicate that soon.

Before the tank is settled, I am looking to do relatively frequent water changes, about 15% every two or three days, so that the water can stay pristine and clear so that the hairgrass and absorb the light better.

Three of the four otos are settling in nicely, the other one just seemed content hanging out in the corner, and is still struggling with the fact that zucchinis and algae wafers are tasty.

Got to do some hairgrass trimming this weekend, and another round of water change.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Sounds like your driftwood is throwing off alot of tannins. You could also throw a bag of Purigen in your filter to take care of those between water changes. Activated carbon also will work, just you'll have to replace it pretty frequently. Purigen you can recharge and re-use.

Don't worry about the mold on your driftwood. Either your Otos will eat it (mine always love the stuff) or it will die off on its own over time. I get it all the time on new driftwood, or if I place driftwood back in tank after it's dried out for a while.


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## ambchang (Mar 15, 2010)

I will have to get the Purigen over the weekend.

Thanks.


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## ambchang (Mar 15, 2010)

Turned the powerhead back on, and a day later, the water is MUCH clearer. The otos are getting happier and happier, and are starting to own the place. The two guppies are vibrant in colour, and the baby guppy has grown considerably in size.

Tank after almost a week of planting:









One of the Otos:









Male Guppy (Passed away May 1, 2010):


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## ballagie (Apr 23, 2010)

I love to see tanks just starting out. Yours looks like its going to be pretty spectacular when complete. Just curious, why did you use baking soda in your CO2 set-up? I didn't realise it was needed?
casa


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## ambchang (Mar 15, 2010)

I heard that baking soda can act as the "stabilizer" in the CO2 canister, and that was the only reason for me to use it.

In other words, I just put it in because I heard it somewhere. Should I?

Speaking of the CO2 canister, the Co2 bubbles are definitely less now, I probably put in way too much yeast and it just ate up all the sugar all at once. I hardly a week, and it's now gone down from 1 bubble every 1.5 seconds, to about 1 every 2.5, or even 3 seconds.


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## ambchang (Mar 15, 2010)

My male fancy guppy is dead. Me and my wife came home after a long day, and were excited to check out the fish. We searched for the fish a long time, counting them and making sure they are OK, but couldn't find our male guppy, who is usually the most active.

Turned out he was crushed underneath a driftwood. We are not sure if it was crushed because the driftwood fell on top of him (there doesn't seem to be any movement), or was it simply he was trying to burrow into the bottom of the driftwood and got stuck.

We are both very upset right now.


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## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

ambchang said:


> My male fancy guppy is dead. Me and my wife came home after a long day, and were excited to check out the fish. We searched for the fish a long time, counting them and making sure they are OK, but couldn't find our male guppy, who is usually the most active.
> 
> Turned out he was crushed underneath a driftwood. We are not sure if it was crushed because the driftwood fell on top of him (there doesn't seem to be any movement), or was it simply he was trying to burrow into the bottom of the driftwood and got stuck.
> 
> We are both very upset right now.


 I'm sorry. I once had a turtle years ago that was killed because a rock slipped and fell on him (i had a big pile of several rocks stacked inside the tank for them to bask on). Very sad.


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## ER9 (Aug 2, 2008)

ambchang said:


> Thanks VincentK, the pressurized system is definitely one thing I am looking at, but right now, it is way over my budget. In fact, my system is around 40% over budget already, without even getting the fish and plant and stuff .... tough, tough hobby.


lol....this made me laugh....only 40%?  

dont worry that 40% will very quickly reach 5000% and the sofa is going to be your new best friend when your wife catches up with your new hobby expenses *cough* critical upgrades *cough*

sorry to hear about the guppy. i have simply had fish dissapear before with no clue or die for crazy reasons. unfortunate but it happens.


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## ambchang (Mar 15, 2010)

I need not to worry about my wife complaining about the expenses, it was really her idea, and it's pretty much her bday present.

OTOH, we are advised that we shouldn't hang on to the fish so permanently, as fish tend to die relatively easily. Still, neither one of us could get ourselves to get a male fancy guppy to replace the one that just passed away, we will wait a week or so, and then just let the fact sink in.


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

ambchang said:


> I need not to worry about my wife complaining about the expenses, it was really her idea, and it's pretty much her bday present.
> 
> OTOH, we are advised that we shouldn't hang on to the fish so permanently, as fish tend to die relatively easily. Still, neither one of us could get ourselves to get a male fancy guppy to replace the one that just passed away, we will wait a week or so, and then just let the fact sink in.


Don't worry about it, I also just discovered I was fish keepingly challenged, and I'm fine :bounce:


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## ambchang (Mar 15, 2010)

More problems. While I was cleaning up the tank after discovering my dead male guppy, I put all of my fish in a small quarantine tank so that I won't crush any more fish. Turned out the femal guppy didn't like that at all, and is now crazy. Literally.

She has been swimming erratically up and down, left and right all throughout the tank, and is not eating at all. I am not sure what to do now, and am afraid the female is not going to last too long.


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## ER9 (Aug 2, 2008)

ambchang said:


> More problems. While I was cleaning up the tank after discovering my dead male guppy, I put all of my fish in a small quarantine tank so that I won't crush any more fish. Turned out the femal guppy didn't like that at all, and is now crazy. Literally.
> 
> She has been swimming erratically up and down, left and right all throughout the tank, and is not eating at all. I am not sure what to do now, and am afraid the female is not going to last too long.


where did the water for the quarantine tank come from? did you take it out of the aquarium they were in?


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## ambchang (Mar 15, 2010)

I used the water directly from the quarantine tank.

And when it rains, it pours. For some reason, my CO2 canister is not doing well. I put in some sugar, some yeast, and baking powder, but the CO2 coming from it was abysmal. No idea why.


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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

DIY co2 doesnt last very long (2 weeks) If you go to northern brewer youll find yeast nutrient which will help and there is also a high gravity yeast that will tolerate up to 22% alcohol which is much higher than bread yeast so it will last longer. Youll save $$ on yeast too if you use a little from your previous batch to start you new one. I recommend find a set schedule ( once a week?) to redo your co2 bottle or at least have one ready and fermenting a day in advance to keep your levels consistent.


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## ambchang (Mar 15, 2010)

Thanks Chad320. The canister worked well for the first batch, not sure why it isn't working all that well this time around.

Maybe I will try to redo the whole batch tonight, with a more liberal amount of yeast this time around.


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## ambchang (Mar 15, 2010)

Fixed the canister, it's just that there wasn't enough yeast. But the female guppy has this white blotch on to tip of her mouth. It's either infection from disease, or she scratched herself while crashing around the tank. I hope it's the later, as I have no clue what to do if it was actually disease.


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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

If you have a LFS or walmart nearby, a fungus guard should work. Just read the bottles and youll be able to figure it out. Im bad for advice on this as its been along time since ive trreeated a fish for a parasite other than to quarantine and use malachite green.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Do you have a QT tank? If so, salt treatment is pretty effective on mouth fungus.

Pimafix might also work if you've caught it in time. Pimafix would be safe to use on the main tank if you don't have a QT tank.


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## ambchang (Mar 15, 2010)

Came back home tonight, and there is nothing on the guppy, she looks perfectly good and healthy, is swimming a lot less erratically, and her gills are nowhere CLOSE to as red as before, although there is still some redness.

The CO2 canister is working great, about a bubble every 3 seconds or so. I still would want one ever 1.5 to 2 seconds, but the yeast does what the yeast wants.

It has been quite stressful for me the last 24 hours, and now that it seemed the guppy is doing a lot better, I am more than relieved. Still have to monitor though.


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## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

Just a tip on DIY co2, using precise measurements gives you the same result. Watch your temp, yeast and sugar content and you shouldnt have any problems. And brewers yeast works ALOT better than bread yeast although its a little more finicky about its conditions. and you get some wine out of the deal.


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## ambchang (Mar 15, 2010)

My first batch of waste water from the CO2 smells like bad champagne, I was almost tempted to drink a sip and see how it tastes, but the fear of food poisoning and a sane mind talked me out of it.

I am using measuring utensils to get the CO2 going, so theorhetically, it should be consistent. But since I am dealing with organisms, it doesn't work that way.


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## ambchang (Mar 15, 2010)

Thank goodness the guppy is fine now, the tank seemed to be going back to normal.

Had the water tested, and other than pH sitting at 7.6, everything else is normal. Wife and I are looking to feed less to avoid spikes in ammonia, but other than that, everything should be good.

I guess we are both mentally ready to get two, or maybe three more guppies. The aquarium owner hypothesized that something may have spooked the previous male guppy, and it just dashed into the crevice, killing himself. Still not sure, and have a feeling that I will never find out what really happened.

Now waiting for the hairgrass to grow, and is considering getting another DIY CO2 canister to suppliment what I already have in order to lower the pH to around neutral.


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## ambchang (Mar 15, 2010)

The tank is getting back to normal now, did two 15% water changes in consecutive days over the weekend, may sound like overkill, but the subtrate was exceedingly dirty due to overfeeding. I am smartening up and elect not to feed the fish the last few days, as I can see them picking off algae and other organic matter off driftwood, subtrate and glass.

The otos are getting fatter and fatter, and I have bought two more guppies (one male, one female), and two albino halfbeaks. The fish are very peaceful, exist well together, and seemed to enjoy the newer surroundings.

Also changed my outflow to a vertical setting to change the flow in the tank. The previous alignment seemed to have caused the tank to have excessive flow throughout, tiring the fish. The new alignment gave the tank a few "deadspots" that the fish can rest.

The plan now is to get another male, yellow fancy cobra guppy, and stop with the fish purchases.


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## AshleySix (Dec 18, 2009)

Male and Female guppies in one tank? Get ready for some babies! 

Man, I have no idea how you kept your otos alive. My first batch lived for a good few months before they all died within days of each other, and the new ones did too. But, mine never seemed to get fat, I think its a lighting issue as two months later I see absolutely no algae anywhere noticeable. I suppose it stays like that until I can get some better lighting or I miss those little cats enough.


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## ambchang (Mar 15, 2010)

I have only had those cats for about two weeks, so it may be too early to tell.

I have enough algae in the tank, but I also fed them boiled zucchini and algae wafers (contributing to the mass overfeeding). There seems to be enough algae in the tank right now, so I will let it be for now, perhaps putting in 1/4 to 1/2 a wafer every week.


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## ambchang (Mar 15, 2010)

New photos:

My new female guppy:









Metallic Blue Fancy Guppy:









One of the two halfbeaks, I believe this one is male:









My first female guppy:









On top of this, there has been some minimal growth with my hairgrass, and two of the otos (not coincidentally, the two that couldn't stop eating) has grown huge. The four otos used to be the same size, but now those two are about 50% larger than the one who rarely eats, and about 20% larger than the 3rd normal appetite oto.


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## VadimShevchuk (Sep 19, 2009)

Sorry to hear about the guppy that died. I tried growing DHG in a 29 gallon with 65w and 2 2L co2 and its not growing for me. Is yours growing for you? You should look in to dosing EI. Should help the HG alot.


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## ambchang (Mar 15, 2010)

After two weeks, there are some new roots in the subtrate, a few new blades, and some minor growth in the old blades. It is by no means CLOSE to what the general community say the growth should be, so I am probably missing something.

The light should be strong enough, and the subtrate should have enough minerals. I am counting on fish poop, with some multi-purpose.

Still mourning the loss of the guppy.


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## ambchang (Mar 15, 2010)

Found new creatures in the tank!

There are two guppy frys in the tank, hiding around the subtrate area away from the other fish most of the time. They are two big to be new born, so I am thinking that they have been around for a few days already. I am not even sure if I mistakenly took some out during water changes. I am hoping it's the decendants of the dead male guppy. Because of the two fry, I am turning off my powerhead, hopefully the dirt won't accumulate too much.

Also found a nematode swimming around, then hiding in the driftwood. I am going to leave it for now, and let the otos make short work of it.


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## ambchang (Mar 15, 2010)

Apparently, there are a LOT more nematodes in my tank. After vacuuming the subtrate, there were around 30 to 40 nematodes floating around the tank. The guppies had a feast, and seemed to cleaned up most of the floating ones.

Of course, for every one I saw, there were probably about 1,000 of them hiding in the subtrate. I guess I need to vacuum a lot more, some protein for the fish can't be a bad thing.


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## ambchang (Mar 15, 2010)

Got a portion of Blyxa and a crypt over the weekend. The tank is filling out nicely, with significant growth with the DHG after some CO2 fidling.

Looking to get some activated carbon to clear out the tannins so that the plants can get more light, and then get some flame moss, and some RCS in the tank.

Also helped my father-in-law set up his 75G tank. I kind of regret not getting a larger tank, but then finances is always a concern. He now has a Eheim 2217, a Hydor in-line heater, two DIY Co2, and a T5 HO Dual 104W light. The tank is crystal clear, and the water quality is great. In fact, his Annubias started to pearl immediately after being planted in the tank.


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## ambchang (Mar 15, 2010)

Came back from a 2 week vacation, and the tank is a disaster.

An oto died a day before we left.

Two guppies died after we came back.

Tank lost about 4 inches of water due to evaporation.

Algae grew all over the tank.

Blyxa totally melted away (no trace other than one blade of leaf).

Some hairgrass loss.

Crypt still fine.

Three new baby guppies.

One of my T5 bulbs died, so I am left with only 39W of light over a 30G tank.

After a 20% water change, some scrubbing and such, the tank seemed to be back to "normal". Crossing my fingers and hoping things will turn for the best.


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## Mr BrownThumb (Aug 1, 2009)

ambchang said:


> Blyxa totally melted away (no trace other than one blade of leaf).


Don't uproot the blyxa!!!!! My friend xmas_one, he's on here and SCAPE (our local club) sent me some, says one of his friends thought it died and he chucked it all. IT COMES BACK WITH A LITTLE TLC:angel:. Don't give up. You can contact him for more details. his name is Dan he's pretty laid back and has like mad knowledge. my 2c


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## ambchang (Mar 15, 2010)

Oh, the Blyxa wasn't uprooted, they just disappeared, it was that bad.

Bought two more male fancy guppies, one a yellow cobra, one a black guppy.

Also got six rosy pink danios. Later found out these things are genetically engineered danios by mixing in genes from corals.

The DHG, though worse off than what it was before, is doing better.

Also, there are 3 new crypt buds, despite one bulb dying on my T5 HO.

Also made a new DIY CO2 cannister, and this one is powerful enough to push my nano diffuser (compared to the previous one, which leaked a little).


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## codfish1 (Jun 13, 2010)

it looks like your off to a good start keep up the good work...and it will turn out nice...


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## ambchang (Mar 15, 2010)

Got the Hagen T5HO with two Life-glo bulbs, gotta say it's a visible step up from the AquaticLife lights I have. It's a bit more expensive, but I am hoping this could help my plants grow healthier.

Am also getting a whole lot of slime in the tank. It's this white stuff that looks like mucus, and would usually appear in parts of the tank with lower flow. I heard excel will get rid of it, and I am crossing my fingers on that.

Sad news: The first female guppy I got passed away, and as strange as it sounds, it may be the two male guppies harrassing it to death, literally. It upsets me a great deal, but I just have to get two more female guppies to avoid a similar tragedy in the future.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

I'd recommend a ratio of 2F/1M with guppies (and most other livebearers also). It's actually fairly common for the males to harass the females to death, unfortunately.

Is your "white stuff" just on the driftwood, or all over the tank?


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## NJAquaBarren (Sep 16, 2009)

Tank looks great. Nice Stand too. Where did you get the stand?


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## ambchang (Mar 15, 2010)

Got a few fish at the LFS, but it turned out one of the female guppy got some kind of disease, likely lymphocystis. Within a week, the disease wiped out all my live bearers, including 6 guppies (3 adults, 3 fry), and 2 halfbeaks. Only one male guppy now survives in the quarantine tank.

The tank is now empty and bare, with a few danios and ottos remaining.

To make matters more frustrating, I just connected two of my CO2 canisters together to one output through a T-valve. But there seeks to be some leak along the way, because I never built up enough pressure to drive the nano diffuser.


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## ambchang (Mar 15, 2010)

Two months ago, upon returning from a trip, all my Blyxa Japonica has disappeared and melted. A few weeks ago, I notice sprouts growing out of the ground, and though it was my Crypt Wendti.

After a few weeks, it seems like those are actually Blyxas, returning from the dead!

Also, I got some ruby tetras, and two featherfin rainbows. they are settling in the tank nicely. Hopefully no more dead fish for a while.


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## Mr BrownThumb (Aug 1, 2009)

ambchang said:


> Two months ago, upon returning from a trip, all my Blyxa Japonica has disappeared and melted. A few weeks ago, I notice sprouts growing out of the ground, and though it was my Crypt Wendti.
> 
> After a few weeks, it seems like those are actually Blyxas, returning from the dead!


toldja


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