# In The World of Smooch



## Smooch

This is not a tank journal or anything like that. It's just a place to plunk fish pics and such. When it comes time to buy the 40, I'll add that stuff here too.

Let's start this thread off right. One grumpy fish that has no reason to be grumpy. LOL This is one of the three rams I 'rescued' from Pet Co. The other 2 are in the 29 whipping everybody into shape. I love these little guys more and more as I get to know them better.


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## Smooch

Took me a hour to get a picture I liked. It was worth it.


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## Smooch

This is going to be a ramble-y post. If you're not interested, feel free to skip it. I'll post pictures later today.

Yesterday I went out and bought some of this Gila 4 ft. x 6.5 ft. Frosted Privacy Window Film-PFW486 - The Home Depot for the backs of my tanks. I've always used the standard backgrounds sold at pet stores which is fine, but the tanks look like they are lost in a black hole at night and I got tired of it.

I didn't apply the film as suggested. Instead I cut it down to size and used tape to hold it in place. I didn't have any problems, however, as to be expected, my Bleeding Heart Tetras freaked out and knocked their noggins off of the tank lids a few times. All of them are fine, nobody hurt their little melons. 

Since I had more than half of the roll left when I was done, I decided to do some 'problem solving' with the rest.

The 10-gallon has a table lamp sitting next to it with a LED bulb which I think is contributing to my minor diatom problem. The film doesn't block the light on that side of the tank, but it does knock it down quite a bit. Along those same lines, I did the same with the nano, but not for the same reason.

The little female ram (first pic in this thread) can see out into the hallway from where her tank is. I don't know how far she can see, but she knows when my son goes into his room as it is right next to my office which leads to flaring. She doesn't like my son ( or hubby) anyway, but I got tired of the endless attitude, so I stuck a piece of film on that side of her tank which seems to be helping. Only time will tell if my fix sticks or not. 

And finally, my office gets lots of morning sunlight which means I've been leaving my office blinds closed more than I would like. Since my office is the second smallest room in the house with only 2 windows, I decided to use up the film and apply to it the windows.

I did actually install it for that and I'm not going to lie, it was a total pain in the butt. That said, the sunlight is now diffused in a way that I don't have to leave blinds closed if I don't want to. Other benefits include no longer having to look at the ugly house across the street and denies the prying eyeballs of my other neighbors. I don't know what they expect to see, but every time they drive by the house they literally gawk at my house which they see everyday. Creeps.

Who knew that a single roll of privacy film could solve so many issues. 

In other news, I've been window shopping for things I'll need for the 40 gallon that I want. I called Pet Smart the other day to ask about this stand. Top Fin® Center Shelf Aquarium Stand | Aquarium Stands | PetSmart. The manager I spoke with told me I had to order it as they didn't carry it in the store. If you click the link, it says this particular stand is not sold online. *facepalm*

After going to Home Depot to get the privacy film, I took a trip around the Pet Smart I called to see if they had said tank stands. Not only did they have one, but they had 2. 

I don't expect a manager of a pet store or any store for that matter to know what exactly they have in their inventory in their heads at all times. However, I don't think it would have hurt said manager to go check to see if they actually carried said stand instead of completely blowing me off. I honestly don't think such reasoning is that unreasonable. Also, said stand is more expensive in the store which i found interesting. 

I'm sure when the time comes Pet Smart is not going to refuse my money, so going out of their way for less than a minute while on the phone shouldn't have been a big deal. Gotta love big chain pet stores....


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## Smooch

I overexposed this a bit in Lightroom. It seems like if I don't overexpose, they appear underexposed when I post. I dunno. Maybe it's just my imagination. 

If you want to know if you have crud on your glass or not, use a macro or zoom lens. LOL I can see some diatoms on the lower left side of this picture. I know it's because I changed the substrate and it will go away, but they are there...lurking.


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## Smooch

Not spamming my own thread. This is a FYI for anybody that may be considering using the privacy film I bought for the back of my tanks.

For reasons unknown to me, the film gives off a green hue which makes your tank look like it is going through some weird algae bloom. To the naked eye, you don't see it. In pictures, it is really bad. 

First picture is unedited, the second is color corrected. 

I'm not going to remove the film as I like the plainness of it, but if a person dreads photo editing and or struggles with it, you may want to consider using something else.


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## Smooch

This is not the best picture I've taken and it is edited. 

Aside from getting rid of the green as mentioned above, I also removed the filter intake from the right side as the photo bombing rainbow is distracting enough. Yeah, I could have removed her (?) as well, but this is typical. When the 'Blues Brothers' as hubby calls them are sparing and doing their thing, the rainbows always want to see what is going on.

I've spent a lot of time reading / learning about these guys. One You Tuber went as far as to say that if you buy a ram, they are on their death bed so don't anticipate having them for very long. 

I'm no expert in dwarf cichlids and have only had them for going on a couple of weeks, but I haven't found them to be nearly as fragile as people say they are. They're also not on their death beds. They're curious, have healthy appetites, don't put up with any nonsense and are fun to watch.

Maybe they're not dying because I have baby soft water and or it's because I keep clean tanks. Whatever the reason, I'm glad I didn't let the mentioned You Tuber sway me from having them. 

Have a good weekend all. I will be spending mine gardening. I have two gardens that need to be pulled apart and redone.


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## Smooch

My goal was to post a pic of the little monster in the tank to my left. She disappeared into her log and wouldn't come out until the camera was put away. Guess little monster pictures will have to wait. LOL 

While I had the camera out, I decided to see if I could correct the green issue with the camera instead of doing everything Photoshop. Not that I mind playing in Photoshop, but I tend to lose track of time when doing so. I digress. I found a fix.

Instead of using the white balance setting to match the light, I put the camera in auto. This worked, but it still needed further tweeking, so I changed the aperture priority down one stop. 

I don't know what the fix would be for something like cell phone pictures as I don't have one. The camera I use is a first generation Canon Rebel XTI. The ISO only goes up to 1600, that's how old it is.


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## Smooch

The spots on the leaves on the anubia on the left are from when I had issues with GSA in the 29. They're not raised, however, the leaves are stained. Not sure what to do about it, so I've opted to wait until there is enough new growth so the spotted leaves can be trimmed.


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## LovesPlants247

Nice pictures . So weird no one has commented - but you have a fan


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## Smooch

LovesPlants247 said:


> Nice pictures . So weird no one has commented - but you have a fan


Thanks! :smile2:

LOL! Comments are welcome if anybody has something on their mind.


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## Smooch

This is what I've been working on lately. 

It's very green and jungle-like. I'm not really a fan, but Miss Grumpy Pants loves it. This tank needs color, but I have the 10 and 29 pulled apart right now. I'm trying some new plants, adding color, ect... 

I'm over the water sprite, but I'm waiting to see if the frog bit and salvinia minima take off. I've had the frog bit for about 2 months, the salvinia minima came in yesterday. I added some to all three tanks ( just like the frog bit) to see if it grows better in one tank over another. If the salvinia minima is anything like the frog bit, it will grow the same in all tanks. 

The little square patch in the middle of the tank is christmas moss. I live in MA, so it takes less than 24 hours to get plants from Hans. Despite that, it is looking a little rough because of the hot weather, so I'm going to leave it alone and see what happens. I have another square of christmas moss in the 10 gallon.

I didn't bother ordering some for the 29 and after this morning, I'm glad I didn't. I asked the cashier at Pet Co when their next Dollar Per Gallon sale is and was told it will be next Sunday. I tend to believe it as they had 40 gallon breeders everywhere. 

I plan on saving the 40 gallon for a fall project. Before I do anything I want to paint my office first. Waiting will give me a few months to plan and gather stuff. Maybe by then I'll have a frog bit and salvinia minima growth explosion so I can use it to cycle the new tank with it. That'd work for me.


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## Smooch

This isn't the most interesting picture to look at. The fact that the plants are completely washed out due to them being about 1.5 inches from the light doesn't help. However, this picture does serve a purpose. This is the part of top of the 5.5 gallon if that matters to anybody.

I'm seeing new roots on all of the salvinia minima I added the other day. After doing a water change on the 5.5 ( Miss Grumpy is getting brave. She came out of hiding to check out the siphon) I tested the 10 and 29 gallon for phosphates. 

Plants need some phosphates, but I'd like to see the levels reduce some after dosing. My hope is the salvinia minima will be the phosphate sponge that I've been looking for. I'm not having any issues with algae, just want the excess absorbed. 

I can't tell at this time if I'm seeing a actual reduction or not, so I'll test both tanks again next week and see if all this new growth means something or not. 

FYI: salvinia minima is considered a noxious weed in TX and CA. If you do have it, dispose of it responsibly when you no longer want it in your tank (s).


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## Smooch

Yes, as much as I complain about API test kits I'm using one for this test. I haven't had a reason to place a Amazon order and I'm not paying shipping for a single kit.

Phosphates anybody? Left side is the 10 gallon, right side is the 29. I didn't include the 5.5 as it is getting 3 water changes per week.

I'll dose as I have been for the next week and see what happens with the salvinia minima in the tank. If I don't see any change, I'm going to play around with my dosing regime, again.

I'm off to do tank maintenance. I wanted to post this before water changes, not that it matters as the blue doesn't change much even with 50% of the water being replaced. For shiz and giggles I tested my tap water. There is no phosphates in it.


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## Smooch

The Blues Brothers are becoming less camera shy. Was able to catch this picture with the 50mm instead of using the telephoto lens.


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## Smooch

Yup, this phosphate thing is still buggin' me but I found the problem.

Test tubes left to right:

7 days worth of PPS-Pro Macro. I used a 5 gallon bucket, so it was one drop per gallon x 7 days. 

Middle tube is the 5.5 gallon after a 50% water change this morning.

Last tube: This should look familiar. It is another sample from the 29 gallon after a 50% water change this morning. 

I used to use Seachem pH Regulator. I knew it was phosphate based, but figured the issue would clear itself after I switched from that to crushed coral in the filter. NOPE! The crap gets into porous surfaces and just continues to leech phosphates into the water even with water changes. 

The reason I haven't had a algae problem is because I don't let nitrates get out of control. If I didn't do all the cleaning I do, I'd every kind of algae and probably lots of it. 

I've got Phoguard in the 10 and 29 gallon. The reason I'm not having this problem in the 5.5 is because I never used pH Regulator in that tank. By the time I set that tank up, I had switched to crushed coral. 

Now I get to wait and see how long it takes to get phosphate levels down to where they should be which is about 0.7 ppm. Not 8, 10 and beyond. Bruh! Do not use that crap, ever! Learn from my stupidity!


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## houseofcards

Smooch said:


> The Blues Brothers are becoming less camera shy. Was able to catch this picture with the 50mm instead of using the telephoto lens.


Is that the 50mm 1.8? What SS is that pic taken at?


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## Smooch

houseofcards said:


> Is that the 50mm 1.8? What SS is that pic taken at?


It's a 1.4. I didn't like the cheap feeling of the 1.8 and wasn't willing to spend lots of cash on a 1.2.

What is SS?


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## houseofcards

The 1.4 is a good lens. I was just abbreviating shutter speed with the SS.


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## Smooch

1/30
iso: 800


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## Smooch

Left side: 10 gallon 
Right side: 29 gallon

According to the API chart, the 10 gallon is now in the 5 ppm range. The 29 gallon is now in the 10 ppm range.

Second picture is from yesterday. The boys were feeling photogenic so I took advantage of it.


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## houseofcards

Smooch said:


> 1/30
> iso: 800


That's a pretty good shot for 1/30. I guess you didn't have enough light to use faster shutter and keep ISO where it was. I find most of my better shots of fish are at 1/160 or faster.


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## Smooch

I'll have to give that a whirl and see what happens.


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## Smooch

I should be doing something constructive... 

Playing around with shutter speeds. My subject is feeling salty today.

Shutter speed: 160
ISO: 800


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## houseofcards

Nice shot! Is that 1/160 and wide open (F1.4)? Did you lighten in post. That's a good lens, but the minimum shooting distance is probably over a foot, so you can't get that close.


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## Smooch

Yes and thanks. 

I can't get real close anyway as most of my fish don't like it. The rams are doing great in terms of adjusting to room activity and me being around / have my hands in the tank, ect... so that makes me happy.

I did lighten, but it wasn't much. I tried pushing the ISO up a little more and the picture came out overexposed and just looked like crap. I'd rather underexpose and fix it then overexpose and be left with headache. It isn't that I can't deal with overexposure, it's just not my idea of a good time.


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## Smooch

Time to test the phosphates. 

Things are moving in the right direction. Within the next day or two I should be able to pull the Phosguard from the 10 gallon assuming it doesn't exhaust first. The goal is not to get to zero. I want it to get to the 2.0 - 1.5 range. 

The 29 is also moving in the right direction although it is going to take longer. When I started, the color was almost purple and the API chart doesn't read that high. 

I mixed 2 batches of new ferts the other day. Neither batch has nitrates added as the more I thought about it, the more dumb it seemed to add them when I already have nitrates in my water. I tested all 3 tanks earlier and what do you know, nitrates are coming down because they are being used. 

As for phosphates, one batch has them added, the other does not. The phosphate free stuff is for the 10 and 29, while the batch with phosphates is for the 5.5 gallon. Instead of adding the suggested 2.9 grams, I added one. This can changed if it needs to be, but for now at least, the benchmark is to have phosphate levels almost exhausted by the time I need to dose again. 

Depending on how this phosphate removal goes, I may or may not need to keep the phosphate free batch of ferts around. I don't know if there will be a spike or not, so I'll be holding on to it for a while. If there is no spike, I'll add the ferts to the water I use for the gardens. If there is one, I've already got the issue covered.


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## Smooch

Just a update / disclosure post.

I decided to check phosphate levels before going to bed. My fear of having phosphates spike once the Phosguard exhausted came true. I'm losing ground on both tanks, so I've refreshed the Phosguard and we'll see what tomorrow brings. So much for the 4 day thing Seachem talks about on their instructions on the back of the bottle. 

While I'm here, the 29 also now has ick. It's not from the phosphates, but I have no idea where it came from. Last thing added to the tank was plants. I added a air stone and have raised the tank temp over a few hours to 86. If that doesn't work, I have Pargard coming tomorrow. 

I really need to 'break up' with Seachem....


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## Smooch

I emailed Seachem after my last post here. To paraphrase my message to them, I asked them how do I get rid of these phosphates as their own phosphate remover is struggling to get the job done from using another one of their products. 

Will post response if and when I get one.


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## Smooch

I have yet to get a written response from Seachem, so I called them as I also had a question about using phosphate removers with ParaGuard should heat alone not work. Fish have been acting like cranky children all day, but they ate with their usual vigor so they couldn't feel that bad.

Back to Seachem.

First I was told to do water changes. I explained that I did a 50% water change on Saturday and it didn't make a dent. It was then explained to me that Phosguard removes the least amount of phosphates. 

It was then explained to me that there are three other phosphate removers that are more heavy duty. The first being PhosBond which is a step 'higher' than Phoguard, then there is Phosnet which is stronger than the other two. 

There is a even stronger one sold in the Aquavitro line called Phosfiltrum. Since no LFS carries the Aquavitro line locally, I won't be trying that. I'm lucky if I can find Prime locally, much less anything from the Aquavitro line. 

At this point there is no point in posting daily with phosphate test results as I'm not going to be getting anywhere fast with Phosguard. I'm going to order some Phosnet, then I'll get back to posting daily testing results. It would have been nice to know this little piece of information before, but live and learn. 

Picture is a updated version of the one I posted the other day. I wasn't happy with it, so I thought I'd try again.


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## Smooch

New day, new tests.

The Seachem Phosphate test kit finally came in as did the PhosNet after paying to have it shipped to me in one day. 

Unless somebody can tell me otherwise, I think API has punked me yet again. 

The Seachem Phosphate test kit only tests for inorganic phosphates. From left to right: 10 gallon, 29 gallon and 5.5 gallon. The 10 gallon tests just below 2.5 pmm, the 29 tests 2.5 ppm, and the 5.5 gallon tests 1 ppm. This doesn't surprise me as I dosed the tank yesterday. 

The API test kits don't show much of a change from yesterday. This begs the question of what exactly API phosphate test kits actually tests for. I tried calling them, but they wanted me to leave a message and they would get back to me in 2 business days. I can't be bothered. I've been through this BS with their nitrate test kit already...

I have added the PhosNet to the 10 and 29 gallon. If anybody opts to use this product at some point, I'd suggest using rubber gloves when you rinse the dust off. I didn't and now my fingers are a weird orange color. It looks like I have jaundice on my hands only. 

I'll end this post on a positive note instead of a grumpy one. 

The fish in the 29 have dropped all of their ich spots or cysts and all the flashing that was going on has stopped. There wasn't many cysts to begin with and only a few popped up after cranking up the heat. I'm going to leave the heat turned up for the full 10 days as they are tolerating it well. 

I will be pre-treating plants regardless of where they come from, from this point forward. I've never had to treat my tanks for anything and I don't like it. A ParaGuard dip should remove any uglies that I don't want in my tank.


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## Smooch

Phosnet has been in the tank for less than 24 hours, but I'm not seeing any significant difference. It would help if I took these with better room light, but I don't have time for that today.

There has been little decrease with the API tests as well as the Seachem test. Left to right for the Seachem test: 29, 10, 5.5.

The tray for the Seachem test stains really easy, so the 5.5 looks higher than what it is. I'll be bleaching the tray this afternoon so further testing will show true colors rather than murky ones. I'm not impressed with the Phosnet either way. I got the same reduction with the Phosguard.

The 29 is due to a water change and vac. May as well do the 10 as well since I'll have all the gear out anyway. The 5.5 got it's 50% water change yesterday, so it won't need one again until tomorrow. 

I may cut this visual project and just do things off camera and see how long it takes to get this issue under control. I have a sneaking suspicion I could be doing this much longer than I thought I would be.


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## DennisSingh

Thank you for sharing your world, sucks as if tpt is shunning you by not replying, i feel ur pain...good read i shall/should read it all


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## Smooch

That's not it. I have nothing exciting to post about here at the moment. Here's what I've been up to:

I gave up on all mechanical removal of phosphates as they're completely useless in my case. 10 gallon is still hanging at around 2ppm, the 29 is still at 2.5 pmm via Seachem test. This comes after doing 2 50% water changes last week. 

I don't over feed, my tap water doesn't have phosphates, I don't add weird stuff to my tanks, so I don't know. The residual phosphates from pH Regulator is like the gift that never stops giving. 

I also changed my plans on how to deal with ich in the 29. We had a few days where it got really hot and I didn't want to risk stressing the fish out more, so I lowered the tank temp over 2 days and treated the tank with ParaGuard. It cleared up what was left and everybody is doing good now. 

One of my male bleeding heart tetras has managed to make a mess out of his upper lip. I don't know if he's fighting with somebody or if something is freaking him out that I'm not aware of. They're fine during the day and have themselves hidden before I go to bed, so if stuff is going on that I don't know about, it happens after I go to bed. Nobody else has any injuries, so I don't really think it's fighting but anything is possible. 

I've been watching the wound and making sure it doesn't turn into something ugly. Keeping the water clean seems to be helping with the healing process. 

I post about these fish a lot, but they are the oddest fish I've ever owned. I've had all six of them since they were a little bigger than nickels. I've never done anything bad to them and yet, they never lost their shyness or whatever it is that is going on with them. 

Miss Pissy ( or Prissy as hubby calls her) on the other hand has decided that humans are not so bad and actually greets me in the morning now. Hubby stuck his face up to her tank yesterday and she didn't throw her stripes out. Instead of doing that, she's taken to plant chewing instead. If she had her way. the small bunch of Rotala Rotundifolia I added to her tank last week will be leafless is no time. She does a really good job picking at the Christmas moss I ordered a few weeks ago, so all the picking isn't too bad.

40B is sitting in my living room. I'm not touching it until I have everything I need to set it up.

As I said, nothing exciting going on with the fish my house. We do have a new 'resident' outside. It's a groundhog that I have yet to catch pictures of. He disappears into the flower bed near the back door and comes shooting out to run away anytime somebody leaves. I don't mind him being around, but he / she needs to chill. The squirrels and chipmunks could careless when we come and go. Groundhog needs to take notes.


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## Smooch

*munchmunchmunch*

I finally found a top for the 40B. Amazon is completely out of it's mind if they thought I was going to pay almost $100.00 for a Versa Top. https://www.amazon.com/gallon-Breeder-Versa-Aquarium-Clear/dp/B0002AS80M

My local Pet Co no longer answers their phone or the number changed...I don't know. I've tried calling there a few times and the line just rings. Anyway, I called another store that is about a 1/2 hour away and they had tops for Aqueon 40B which doesn't come with a brace. The lid was $34.99 and it's heavy. 

Tip to any new Aqueon 40B owners that are looking for tops. Do not order from Amazon. Even the dude at Pet Co didn't believe me that Amazon was charging that much. Also the store I went to is completely stocked with everything I want most of the time at the store I go to.


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## Olskule

I found an online source for glass tops at very reasonable prices; I have it bookmarked on my computer, but I'm on my phone at the moment so I can't paste it right now (sorry). I recall it was a place called (oddly enough) "I love horses", or something like that. I guess they started out with just horse supplies, but they carry a variety of different pet supplies at very reasonable prices. (The closest pet store to me is a Petco 45+ minutes away, so I do a lot of my aquarium shopping online.)

Olskule


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## Smooch

Thanks for the tip. Please post the link when you have a chance so people won't get robbed by Amazon. That said, I've read the reviews over there and there are a few people complaining that the lids don't fit correctly. I have no idea what that is all about.

I did make noise over there about their price gouging. My review was denied because it 'wasn't about the product' and there was mention about how porn wasn't allowed. Indeed, price gouging for a glass lid for a fish tank screams nothing but porn. :fish: >


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## Smooch

10 gallon on the left, 29 on the right.

Does Pothos remove phosphates? I know it removes nitrates.

I'm willing to buy a tiny, cheap HOB filter as it wouldn't be used for filtration just to get this crap out of my tanks. I'd test it out on my 29 first. 

Filter choices:

https://www.amazon.com/AZOO-AZ13097-Mignon-Filter-60/dp/B005VEWCMO/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1468099283&sr=8-3&keywords=nano+fish+tank+filters

https://www.amazon.com/Aquarium-Desktop-Saltwater-Aquariums-Terrariums/dp/B00OFKQDGQ/ref=pd_sbs_199_7?ie=UTF8&dpID=51pXugNygvL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR128%2C160_&psc=1&refRID=TW41QGMS7S5J38YRVWBM

https://www.amazon.com/Uniclife-Aquarium-Submersible-Circulation-10-Gallon/dp/B01CZNOKJ6/ref=pd_sbs_199_18?ie=UTF8&dpID=41y5GvbLG9L&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&psc=1&refRID=TW41QGMS7S5J38YRVWBM


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## Hilde

Why you are worried about phosphates? Plants like ferns and moses crave phosphates. Do you have moss or ferns in either of your tanks?


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## Smooch

I did a bunch of reading last night about plants that absorb nitrates. Towards the end of my search, I came across this Plants As Filters. If you scroll all the way to the bottom there is mention of how terrestrial plants absorb phosphates while aquatic plants absorb nitrates.

In the response, Tom mentions using a peace lily, but I didn't want to do that or spend cash on a plant. Instead I have a philodendron that was in need of trimming, so I thought I'd give that a try. 

The plant pictured is one of many I have around the house. I've had the mother plant for several years and since I don't use pesticides or chemical ferts, there is no worries about putting weird things in my tank. The plant itself is toxic to cats and dogs, however, where the filter will be going neither my cat or dog have access to it, so I'm not concerned about that either. 

I typically root philodendron clippings with growth hormones which works well, but since I've never tried it just using water, I'm not sure how long it will take before I see roots. When I plant them in dirt I don't look for roots. Instead I gently tug on the stems to see if I get any resistance. 

From what I've read, it can take a week to 10 days. Wednesday when I do a water change, I'll swap out the tap water for tank water to see if that speeds up the process. When I start seeing roots, I'll order a filter.


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## Hilde

Olskule said:


> I found an online source for glass tops at very reasonable prices; I have it bookmarked on my computer, but I'm on my phone at the moment so I can't paste it right now (sorry).


So when are you going to post the link? I have found that marineland glass tops from drsfostersmith fit my tanks the best. Perhaps because they are old tanks with black rims. The aqueon tops were off 1/4in.

Bump:


Smooch said:


> The little female ram (first pic in this thread) can see out into the hallway from where her tank is. I don't know how far she can see, but she knows when my son goes into his room as it is right next to my office which leads to flaring. She doesn't like my son ( or hubby) anyway.


:hihi:

Bump:


Smooch said:


> I did a bunch of reading last night about plants that absorb nitrates. Towards the end of my search, I came across this Plants As Filters. If you scroll all the way to the bottom there is mention of how terrestrial plants absorb phosphates while aquatic plants absorb nitrates.


You still haven't said why you are so worried about the phosphates. Why?


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## JJ09

Smooch said:


> Took me a hour to get a picture I liked. It was worth it.


This is a beautiful picture.

Bump:


Smooch said:


> The spots on the leaves on the anubia on the left are from when I had issues with GSA in the 29. They're not raised, however, the leaves are stained. Not sure what to do about it, so I've opted to wait until there is enough new growth so the spotted leaves can be trimmed.


I really like this one too- especially the fish peeking out of the cave. What's the plant just to the right of him? a hygro? You take really nice pictures. I enjoy taking pics (and posting them!) but mine aren't near the same quality.


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## Hilde

Smooch said:


> The spots on the leaves on the anubia on the left are from when I had issues with GSA in the 29. They're not raised, however, the leaves are stained. Not sure what to do about it, so I've opted to wait until there is enough new growth so the spotted leaves can be trimmed.


Tom Barr says to aim for good plant growth. Then the plants will out compete the algae for the nutrients. That said my favorite fert, which I think will benefit your plants, is Seachem Equilibrium. I have found most plants need calcium sulfate, potassium sulfate and KNO3.

Have you tested your gh?


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## Smooch

JJ09 said:


> This is a beautiful picture.
> 
> Bump:
> I really like this one too- especially the fish peeking out of the cave. What's the plant just to the right of him? a hygro? You take really nice pictures. I enjoy taking pics (and posting them!) but mine aren't near the same quality.


Thank you.

That was a sad crypt that I was trying to bring back to life. It didn't go well so it went to plant heaven and was replaced with a healthy crypt from my 29. Once the tank is done, I'll post a updated picture.

I try, although I pitch more than I keep.




Hilde said:


> You still haven't said why you are so worried about the phosphates. Why?


I'm not worried, it's annoying. If Seachem posted something about this problem on their website or even on the back of the bottle of pH Regulator, then there wouldn't be a issue. However, I've spent roughly $30.00 on their 'phosphate removers' to remove their product and they didn't work. I suppose they would eventually, but I'm not willing to keep giving Seachem money for that.

Had I known that the phosphates from their product was going to stick around like a unwanted house guest, I would have never bought or used it.

Progress is being made with the 10 gallon. This morning the phosphate level was in upper 1.5-ish range. Nitrates were also down which means the new plants I've been adding are working. The 29 has also been getting new plants, but not enough apparently to make a difference.


----------



## Smooch

A updated pic of the 10 gallon. It's still messy but not nearly as bad as it was.

I dumped the regular Java Fern in there as I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep it or not. I've decided that I don't want it anymore, so it will be going as well the plants in the right corner, the pathetic crypt in front of the lava rock on the left and the mess that is in the back corner to the left.

I can't decide that I want in that corner. I love the dwarf swords on the right, but the critters are my greeting committee in the morning ( also hubby's favorites) and I'm wondering if adding more swords would make this tank feel too 'heavy'. 

The rotala needs be trimmed and split up, but I'm waiting for more root growth before I do that. I don't have any real issues with plant chewing in this tank sans the frog bit, but I still don't feel like dealing with uprooted plants from sparring, ect...

I was supposed to use this layout in the 5.5 gallon. After playing around with plants I already had, I decided it wouldn't work in that tank as it's too small. I think it works for this tank, so I'll see what happens when it grows in.

If anybody has thoughts on what to do with the left corner, let me know. For comparison sake, the second picture is what the 10 gallon looked like before.


----------



## JJ09

I think it looks really nice. Maybe something ferny for the corner, but not as fine as watersprite or wisteria- bolbitis? (It's one I've been thinking of trying myself).


----------



## Smooch

Thanks

I do have a few options. 

I have a 4x6 mat of Hydrocotyle sp. Japan and Creeping Charlie coming. I have no idea where they are as the post office isn't scanning packages like they should be, but they're coming either way. I also have Pennywort stuck in the 5.5 gallon. The little brat likes to use the bottoms of the leaves like lily pads for shade.

The mat of Hydrocotyle sp. Japan is going to be way too big for the 5.5 gallon which is the tank I ordered it for, so some of that will be going in the 10 gallon regardless of what I do. That alone would soften the heaviness in the left corner if I added more swords. 

Second option would be to use the Creeping Charlie as the background plant along with the Hydrocotyle sp. Japan

The third option is to use some of the Pennywort with the Hydrocotyle sp. Japan.

Whatever I put there, it needs to be able to tolerate the outflow of the filter. I can slow the flow down, but anything with fragile leaves isn't going to like the water flow very much.


----------



## Smooch

My order of Dwarf Water Lettuce and Salvinia Minima came in. The mailman was nice and bounced the box off of the front door. That will be dealt with. No need to throw boxes much less bounce them off the door because he thinks nobody is home.

Place your bets! The water lettuce has really long, flowing roots. My fish love to destroy long roots. I only have a few plants as I only ordered one bunch, so I'll divide it up between all three tanks. I'll give it 3 days before all the roots are shredded. LOL


----------



## JJ09

My mom has always had a creeping charlie plant. Do u have the one that's a sweedish begonia? I am so nostalgic for that plant, but can't find it anywhere here sold as houseplant. I didn't know it could grow submersed, if I had one I'd sure try it!


----------



## Olskule

Hilde said:


> Olskule said:
> 
> 
> 
> I found an online source for glass tops at very reasonable prices; I have it bookmarked on my computer, but I'm on my phone at the moment so I can't paste it right now (sorry).
> 
> 
> 
> So when are you going to post the link? I have found that marineland glass tops from drsfostersmith fit my tanks the best. Perhaps because they are old tanks with black rims. The aqueon tops were off 1/4in.
Click to expand...

Sorry, Hilde, I've been in the process of moving and I don't have internet yet, so I'll have to go to McDonald's and use their Wi-Fi and I just haven't gotten around to it yet. I'm finishing up moving today, but then I need to start unpacking, but I can take my time on that part. I haven't forgotten about it.

Olskule


----------



## Smooch

JJ09 said:


> My mom has always had a creeping charlie plant. Do u have the one that's a sweedish begonia? I am so nostalgic for that plant, but can't find it anywhere here sold as houseplant. I didn't know it could grow submersed, if I had one I'd sure try it!


It's a aquatic Creeping Charlie. I need to start using Latin (sp?) names for plants. Micromeria Brownei, creeping Charlie, live aquarium plant

I've never had it and seems simple enough to keep. It also doesn't mind being cut back, so that's a bonus for small tanks.


----------



## JJ09

Cool- thanks for the link! Does it need C02?


----------



## Smooch

JJ09 said:


> Cool- thanks for the link! Does it need C02?


You're welcome. No CO2 needed. I don't use CO2 or Excel in my tanks.


----------



## Smooch

It has been a couple of days since I plopped some philodendron cuttings in water. I checked it yesterday; saw nothing. Today we have one root. This could either be a sign of things to come or it could mean I'm going to be twiddling my thumbs for awhile.

If things don't start to progress a tad faster, there is a backup plan. I have a pothos plant sitting on my desk that I'm not willing to pull apart, so I found another one while grocery shopping for $2.99. I also looked for a cheap filter while at Pet Co and the only cheap ones I could find were undergravels. I remember using one of those a long time ago and hated it. 

All this playing around with plants has lead me to researching how to grow plants emersed. The Blues Brothers have taken to sitting in the middle of the big things of needle leaf java fern in the 29 like a clown fish wrapped in a anemone. It's funny, cute and has made me want more needle leaf java which I cannot find it locally. It grows well in my tanks, but it does take awhile.

I have either one or two 20 longs upstairs. Whether I kept the versa top for it when we had the betta, I don't know. 

I haven't committed to anything yet, but I may have yet another fall project to work on. The advantage of growing plants out this way is hubby and my son won't ask me "What are you going to put in there?" as the tank won't be filled with water. This is a thing with them. If a tank has water in it, said tank must also contain fish. Why? I have no idea.


----------



## Olskule

Years ago, some women in the office where I worked had philodendrons growing in just glasses of water--nothing added for nutrition, just tap water. They had some pretty long ones growing, that they had thumbtacked up over doors, windows, etc. And most of them were just under standard office fluorescent lighting, too. I've grown them like that since then; the "hardest" part is keeping water in the glass or bottle you have it in. Just keep an eye on it and top it off every so often and they do fine.

Olskule


----------



## Olskule

Ok, Hilde, I'm using my cellphone as a hotspot for my computer so I can give you and Smooch this link, but it's eating my data, so I hope you appreciate it! (lol) The place is https://www.horseloverz.com but I only found Perfecto 30", 24", and 10 gallon sizes, but those sizes will cover a lot of tanks (no pun intended...ok, pun intended  ) They have a few other fish items, not a big selection, but what they carry, they have at a good price.

Olskule


----------



## Smooch

TGIF! 

Pictures are of nothing exciting. Even my water testing this morning is boring. Top: Nitrates: 5.5, 10, 29. All tanks are ready for their Saturday morning water change and cleaning. Bottom: Phospates: 10, 29. 

I always talk about my 29 but I don't think I've ever actually posted a picture of the tank itself. It is my 'problem child' in the sense for the longest time I never knew what I wanted to do with it in terms of plants. Once I came to realize that a planted tank to me is less about plants and more about the health and well being of the fish, everything became easier. All 3 of my tanks are now treated that way. 

I need another Echinodorus 'Rubin' Sword Plant for the right corner, move the Ozelot to the left and make a final decision of what to do with the wisteria. Everything else is java ferns, crypts and anubias and a few small plants that I don't remember the names of.

There is still some long roots left of the dwarf water lettuce although there is a chunk of roots stuck in the needle leaf java that looks like a huge clump of hair algae. 

Since I will be tearing this tank down at some point in the near future, I won't be adding more plants to it. It will be trimmed and maintained, but since I have no idea what I want to do with the 40B in terms of plants, I'm not going to keep buying them only to not like what I bought later.

Other than that, it's a problem free tank.

Have a good weekend.


----------



## Nordic

Beautiful fish, those floaters on top is going to turn into a mess though. Their roots and leaves start shedding after some time, and it is not a pretty sight. great for fry or fish that require mulm in their diet.


----------



## Smooch

Nordic said:


> Beautiful fish, those floaters on top is going to turn into a mess though. Their roots and leaves start shedding after some time, and it is not a pretty sight. great for fry or fish that require mulm in their diet.


Thanks. 

I don't think dwarf water lettuce to be around long to become a problem. They've killed off much of the frog bit I had in there, so my expectation for the dwarf water lettuce is the same. 

What looks like tufts of dog fur are the roots of salvinia minima.

They are supposed to be white, but since they are grown in a pond they are dark in color. Those roots don't get long and the fish keep them trim by chewing in them, so I think those will be okay. In my 10 gallon the amano shrimp loves to get into the roots and clean which is neat to watch. 

The other thing I like about salvinia minima is the leaves don't turn into a mushy mesh and rot if they get wet unlike frog bit which drives me crazy.


----------



## Waterski

Nice Pictures!! I dont think the API test kit will detect organic phosphates. The chemistry requires that you break the bond between the organic parts and the phosphate anion and these tests probably cannot do that. Will be interesting to know what API says


----------



## Smooch

Waterski said:


> Nice Pictures!! I dont think the API test kit will detect organic phosphates. The chemistry requires that you break the bond between the organic parts and the phosphate anion and these tests probably cannot do that. Will be interesting to know what API says


Thank you.

I don't know what the company would say, but this is what the current testing with the API phosphate test kit says. Much different than what it has been in the past. 29 on the left, 10 gallon on the right. The green from the lawn doesn't help, but I needed more light.

According to this test, API puts the 29 at around 3.0 ppm, while the 10 sits around 2 ppm. This is fairly accurate as the Seachem test kit puts both tanks at around the 2 ppm range. 

The only thing I've done to both tanks aside from regular tank maintenance is increase plant volume. Seachem test doesn't reflect that, but for whatever reason it shows with the API test.


----------



## Smooch

Somebody is having a 'fat' day and is being indecisive. To throw the stripes or not to throw the stripes, that is the question.

I know about the droopy Creeping Charlie on the left. It came in yesterday and didn't like the heat from it's trip from Arizona. Getting here wasn't any type of a break as it was 102 degrees in the sun. The mail man gave me the stink eye when I went to get the box from him, but he didn't throw it. 

I've stopped ordering plants until the weather cools off.


----------



## Smooch

It is that time of day yet again. 

The Blue Brothers do this every morning. It starts with flaring at each other from each end of the tank, then the tail slapping starts and they'll continue all this posturing for about a hour or so. 

Usually it's the male on the left that gives up first and disappears behind the lava rock or swords. Once they get all of this nonsense out of their systems, they'll spend the rest of the day being best of buds. 

While all of this is going on, the Bleeding Heart Tetras get too close and nosy which always results in them having their tails nipped. 

Ship of fools, tank of misfits. roud:


----------



## Hilde

Smooch said:


> The reason I'm not having this problem in the 5.5 is because I never used pH Regulator in that tank. By the time I set that tank up, I had switched to crushed coral.
> 
> Now I get to wait and see how long it takes to get phosphate levels down to where they should be which is about 0.7 ppm. Not 8, 10 and beyond.


Info I had found by Rex Griggs said phosphate level is 1 - 2. 

My city doses phosphates in my water and I have found that mosses are great for absorbing the phosphates. The level is 2.

Bump:


Smooch said:


> The Blue Brothers do this every morning. It starts with flaring at each other from each end of the tank, then the tail slapping starts and they'll continue all this posturing for about a hour or so.
> 
> Once they get all of this nonsense out of their systems, they'll spend the rest of the day being best of buds.
> 
> While all of this is going on, the Bleeding Heart Tetras get too close and nosy which always results in them having their tails nipped.
> 
> Ship of fools, tank of misfits. roud:


LOL:wink2:


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## Smooch

Cichlid in the jungle. Beat that, Axle Rose! :hihi:


----------



## JJ09

Nice picture!


----------



## Smooch

JJ09 said:


> Nice picture!


Thanks! 

Here is my second picture of the day. I have You Tube comments to thank for this little experiment.

In comments of You Tube videos, I keep reading over and over again about how people can see ammonia in their water. Fair enough. 

Both glasses contain 1 1/2 cups of tap water. One contains a measured 5 mls of pure ammonia. Can anybody tell me which has ammonia and which one doesn't?


----------



## Smooch

I clean, boss fish supervises. Can't have big, fuzzy, red things misbehaving...


----------



## Smooch

Excuse the shoddy picture quality. The more 100 degree days drag on, the more tired I get. #readyforfall

I set up a 5.5 gallon two weeks ago as a way to start dabbling with growing plants emersed. I'm using regular Miracle Grow soil which is helping to develop new root growth, but it contains pearlite which is useless in this environment. Thinking about ditching the Miracle Grow and swapping it out from something closer to my regular substrate that I use in my tanks. 

Plants are anubias nana 'petite'.


----------



## Nordic

You may not be able to tell ammonia by the way you are thinking, but.....
If you look at a tank with discoloured water, water below the normal fill line, white burns on fish fins... you can see that all the conditions are there to potentially have high ammonia levels unless you are very well planted.

Hey smooch, didn't mamma teach you to wash glass with newspaper? I always laugh at the car detailing place when they try to make a window shine with a microfiber cloth.

Our weather only does very hot or very cold, currently wearing 3 fleece tops and a jersey.... There are 3 weeks at the end of October you can sleep with only a sheet.


----------



## Smooch

Nordic said:


> You may not be able to tell ammonia by the way you are thinking, but.....
> If you look at a tank with discoloured water, water below the normal fill line, white burns on fish fins... you can see that all the conditions are there to potentially have high ammonia levels unless you are very well planted.
> 
> Hey smooch, didn't mamma teach you to wash glass with newspaper? I always laugh at the car detailing place when they try to make a window shine with a microfiber cloth.
> 
> Our weather only does very hot or very cold, currently wearing 3 fleece tops and a jersey.... There are 3 weeks at the end of October you can sleep with only a sheet.


I was completely confused by the first part of your post. I was wondering why ammonia would matter with plants that are grown emersed and transplanted later. LOL

There is also a haze that develops when ammonia gets too high, but You Tube comments. I need to stop reading them.

Does the newspaper thing even work? I've never done it as I've always figured it would smear ink all over the place.

I don't want it to be cold, but in the 60's with low humidity would be nice. I'm starting to feel like a zombie and I'm tired of listening to air conditioners.


----------



## Nordic

Lol no, the ink stays on the page, Just spritz a bit of window cleaner on a ball of crumpled newspaper (don't want to spray in tank at all), and go to town. It cleans effortlessly and without streaks.


----------



## Immortal1

I can only answer 1 of your above questions - yes, newsprint does work. Give it a try.


----------



## Smooch

Nordic said:


> Lol no, the ink stays on the page, Just spritz a bit of window cleaner on a ball of crumpled newspaper (don't want to spray in tank at all), and go to town. It cleans effortlessly and without streaks.


I'll have to try it next time I wash windows. I try to avoid using cleaners of any kind near tanks if I can help it.


----------



## Smooch

Anubia is sprouting a new leaf.

Anybody know the best way to keep a Venus Flytrap? Yes I know they are not aquatic, but I added one yesterday to my emersed set up as I've never had luck keeping them otherwise. I think they got too dry and didn't get enough light.


----------



## JJ09

I've never had luck with venus flytrap- tried three times. They always died. I think I didn't keep them humid enough, would have done better in a terrarium... Keep posting pics of yours, I'd like to see them!


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## Nordic

Plain water is fine, but the window cleaner goes on without leaving a trace if you do it right, and takes a lot of elbow grease out of the exercise. Part of the mix is something to help it evaporate. Stuff is nasty when it is left on paint though. It washes and dries in one process if you do the newsprint thing.


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## Smooch

Thanks, JJ09. I've got a few things up my sleeve, it's just a matter of making them happen. 

I'm not happy with my emersed set up, so I want to change it up a bit. I also want to play around with dragon stone, but that won't be for a few weeks.

As for pictures, they'll be sporadic for the time being. The time I spend trying to take decent pictures is being reserved for the little man posted below. We brought him to the vet yesterday as he's not feeling well. 

His name is Gromet. He's one of my adopted guinea pigs. He'll be 6 in November.

Bump:


Nordic said:


> Plain water is fine, but the window cleaner goes on without leaving a trace if you do it right, and takes a lot of elbow grease out of the exercise. Part of the mix is something to help it evaporate. Stuff is nasty when it is left on paint though. It washes and dries in one process if you do the newsprint thing.


I'll keep that in mind.


----------



## Nordic

Is it as dumb as it looks?
Meant in the nicest possible way.


----------



## Smooch

Nordic said:


> Is it as dumb as it looks?
> Meant in the nicest possible way.


I suppose it is all how you define 'dumb'. Almost daily I've been reading about people getting hurt and or killed playing Pokemen Go. That from where I'm sitting, that is pretty dumb, not to mention completely avoidable. Just sayin'...


----------



## JJ09

Cute 'Pig! (Named after Wallace and Gromit, by any chance? I love Aardman's work). Hope he feels better. How old do they live? I didn't realize could be past six years...

Ditto all that on newsprint for cleaning glass. I use it all the time. If I'm lacking newspaper I use paper towel or cloth, but that always leaves tiny fibers behind. I'm cautious of using actual window cleaner (windex) on my tank glass, though. Instead I just use vinegar. Funny thing, it scares the fish. They don't care if I'm rubbing algae off the _inside_ of the glass, but if I'm cleaning the _outside_ with vinegar the squeaking makes them all run and hide.


----------



## Smooch

JJ09 said:


> Cute 'Pig! (Named after Wallace and Gromit, by any chance? I love Aardman's work). Hope he feels better. How old do they live? I didn't realize could be past six years...
> 
> Ditto all that on newsprint for cleaning glass. I use it all the time. If I'm lacking newspaper I use paper towel or cloth, but that always leaves tiny fibers behind. I'm cautious of using actual window cleaner (windex) on my tank glass, though. Instead I just use vinegar. Funny thing, it scares the fish. They don't care if I'm rubbing algae off the _inside_ of the glass, but if I'm cleaning the _outside_ with vinegar the squeaking makes them all run and hide.


Yes it is. Always nice to have a fellow Wallace and Gromit fan around around. :smile2:

The usual life span is 3-5 years. Many people don't take care of them like they should, so many die long before their time. 

At least your fish will tolerate algae cleaning. Most of mine act as though the sky is falling even with that. The occupants in the 10 gallon don't mind though. They like to chew on my hands, arm or anything else they can peck at when tank cleaning. LOL


----------



## JJ09

Smooch said:


> They like to chew on my hands, arm or anything else they can peck at when tank cleaning. LOL


Haha, yes. My Oliver (betta) hides when I am doing _any_thing in the tank, but the cherry barbs will come and nip at freckles on my arm- to see if its something edible I guess. And the kuhlis always approach the hand that's pulling up a plant or moving the siphon vacuum- they want to see what I've stirred up from the substrate.


----------



## Smooch

JJ09 said:


> Haha, yes. My Oliver (betta) hides when I am doing _any_thing in the tank, but the cherry barbs will come and nip at freckles on my arm- to see if its something edible I guess. And the kuhlis always approach the hand that's pulling up a plant or moving the siphon vacuum- they want to see what I've stirred up from the substrate.


I don't mind them pecking, most of the time. It's when I want to get things done pronto that somebody decides otherwise, like my shrimp. 

Usually he isn't a problem, but when I'm in a hurry, that's when he decides to 'protest' my cleaning efforts and refuses to move from the areas I want to clean. If he had crab legs, he would most certainly wave them at me. 

I sound like a crazy person on those days. "No biting!" Stop it!" "Will you move?" "Get...out...of...the...way!" The joys of fish keeping that nobody talks about.


----------



## JJ09

Smooch said:


> I sound like a crazy person on those days. "No biting!" Stop it!" "Will you move?" "Get...out...of...the...way!"


To a shrimp? that's the size of your finger maybe? that's funny. 

The other day I walked into the room and the betta saw me from across the room and drifted up out of his plants wiggling all over up and down the glass. I said out loud- "Oliver's saying 'Hi!! is that you? are you gonna to come over here? feed me!' "

My husband was standing there and he looked at me like I was nuts: "Um, I just see a fish," he said slowly. (But he will make up phrases pretending he knows what the cat's thinking). And my kids would just giggle and play along if they heard me verbalizing some personification of the fish's thoughts.


----------



## Smooch

Yes, my fish have me trained well. 

My hubby talks to the fish all the time. Every morning I hear "What are you doing, squishy fish? Are the little pacus hungry? Look at those little fishy ribs." The 'pacus' are white skirt tetras. 

My hubby is 6 feet tall and weighs 200 pounds. He's also the same man that used to tell me only weird people talked to animals. He talks to all the other critters in the house as well. He'll never own it, but he has come over to the weird side.


----------



## Smooch

I think it is safe to say that anubias like plant crack AKA Miracle Grow potting soil.

The new leaf on the left ( the one standing straight up) was from the other day and now there is a new one on the right.


----------



## Smooch

So...phosphates. I've pretty much given up on the whole issue. 

The philodendron stems I started in water started growing fuzz so those were planted. Then I found a pothos plant for $2.99 at the grocery store a few weeks ago, so I decided to try that. I have stems in a filter of the 10 and 29 gallon. 

Since I'm sitting here listening of one of my favorite You Tubers and not doing anything, I decided to get out the phosphate test just to see what it would tell me. 

According this newest round of testing, the 10 gallon has no phoshates and the 29 in the .5 ppm range. A completely different story from when I started as seen in picture 2.

I did run a Seachem test and got the usual results. I read through the instructions that came with it and it says that freshwater phosphate levels are typically higher than the test measures for, so as long as algae is not a problem, don't worry about it. *shrugs*

I can't say what brought my problem child tanks down to this level. The last time I used the API test, phospahtes were on their way down. What brought them down to this level, I don't know. It might be the pothos or it might even be the extra water changes I've been doing.

I'm going to start dosing the ferts mixture that contains phosphates again in both of these tanks and leave the pothos stems in just to see what happens. If it is the pothos that is 'cleaning' up the excess, then yay. I haven't noticed any real difference in nitrate levels, but I don't let mine get high anyway.


----------



## Smooch

This thread won't be updated for awhile. We had to bring Gromit back to the vet. He's doing okay, for now, but there will be no recovery.


----------



## Immortal1

Sorry to hear. Best wishes


----------



## JJ09

Sorry about Gromit. That's hard.


----------



## Smooch

JJ09 said:


> Sorry about Gromit. That's hard.


Me too. We put him down last Thursday. 

On to happier things.

The first picture was taken 8/6. The second one was taken this morning. 8/9.

If anybody wants to dabble with emersed plants, Brazilian Pennywort is the way to go. You can almost watch the stuff grow.

Nothing special about what I'm doing.

The plants are in Miracle Grow Potting soil. The light is a 13-watt CFL that is left on anywhere from 8-10 hours. 

The plants are misted twice a day. After I mist them, I leave the tank lid open for 5-10 minutes to let fresh air in.


----------



## AquaAurora

I had Brazilian penny wort in my emersed set up, it completely took over the whole tub! Its insane. Shame it doesn't do well in low humidity, would be a great house plant by a window.


----------



## Smooch

Lazy Sunday...


----------



## Smooch

I haven't forgotten about this thread. Been busy with more important things.

This morning I cleaned out the emersed tank as it was looking kind of gross. The Hydrocotyle sp. Japan likes being in a pot over just sitting in a food container.


----------



## Smooch

It is a emersed tank kind of day. I decided mine needed some new plants, but since it is only a 5.5 gallon, i had to make room.

I was going to toss the crypt pictured below. It wasn't healthy when I got it and it never really recovered even after doing the crypt melt. I'm glad I didn't as now the 10 gallon has a new plant with many more to come in a few short months. 

Fabulous healthy roots!


----------



## Smooch

No fish. Just plants and a place for plants from emersed tank to hang out in until they are big enough to move.


----------



## BettaBettas

I suggest you make that a shrimp tank XD then the plants can be x-tra clean


----------



## Smooch

Giving new meaning to the expression "Grow your own" and making use of my otherwise useless API ammonia kit. 

Most people try to keep bacteria out of their kitchen, I'm growing some in a bucket in mine.

Temp: 84 
pH: Manipulated to 8.0
Using a fluval internal filter to move water around and to hold what will be newly cycled bio media. 

Tomorrow I have some Tetra Safe Start coming, so that will be added once it gets here.


----------



## Smooch

Buces!

My Pet Co is finally selling emersed plants other than swords again. It has taken forever and I found these by accident. For the container they come in ( they are sitting in it) it was $9.99 and there are 5 plants in there. I've never grown buces before, so I'll see how they do after they spend some time in the emersed tank.

Note: They come in gel. I rinsed the plants and the container, then replaced the gel with Miracle Grow Potting Soil.


----------



## JJ09

I'm jealous. I haven't seen anything like that around here, and I'd love to have more buces, especially for my low-light betta tank, they do well in there for me. I will have to look for them in particular next time I go to our store, maybe even ask...


----------



## Smooch

JJ09 said:


> I'm jealous. I haven't seen anything like that around here, and I'd love to have more buces, especially for my low-light betta tank, they do well in there for me. I will have to look for them in particular next time I go to our store, maybe even ask...


If it helps, I can tell you where to look and show you what to look for.

If your store carries the bulbs for lilies and such, look at that rack. I usually ignore it but the new packaging caught my eye.

Pictured is my plant haul from today. The Top Fin crypts are from Pet Smart, but the packaging for the buces come in the Aqua Plant packages. The name of the plants is not on the front, it's on the back. There is a list of plants and whatever is in the package will have a box that is filled in with black ink. I'm looking forward to seeing what other kinds of plants they get in as there is a lot of variety.

I'm glad Oliver is feeling better by the way.


----------



## Al3x

That's an amazing price for buces? Does it say what variety?

Wish my LFS sold those. 


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## Smooch

Al3x said:


> That's an amazing price for buces? Does it say what variety?
> 
> Wish my LFS sold those.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


The name is "Bucephalandra Sp. "Green"

I don't know what the going price is for green buces. It is crazy how much people get for other species though. 5 leaves for 8.99. Ouch.


----------



## JJ09

Yeah, my store has the bulbs in packets, also tissue-cultured plants in gel packets (that's where I got my bacopa). I'll have to keep my eye out and see if these show up. Thx for the extra info!


----------



## Smooch

Whose the wise guy that swapped out my tank water for somebody elses? I'm kidding, but holy cow. After a month of ripping my hair out, losing my favorite fish ( I'm still pissed off about that), daily water changes, spending lots of money, reading, ect... my tanks are clear of free ammonia. 

I have no idea what is going on with total ammonia levels and why they're still purple, but maybe that will straighten itself out. 

I'm going to continue my bucket experiment that I'm doing with Tetra Safe Start. The bio media in both of my tanks still needs a good cleaning, so I still need something to replace the old stuff with. As of this morning, the media in the bucket is still doing it's thing. Now however I can focus on other things, like mowing my lawn. Our resident ground hog in the yard does a good job with the weeds, but a goat he is not.


----------



## Immortal1

Lol, goat. Could use one or more of those some days. Good to hear you are making progress on the ammonia issue


----------



## Smooch

JJ09 said:


> Yeah, my store has the bulbs in packets, also tissue-cultured plants in gel packets (that's where I got my bacopa). I'll have to keep my eye out and see if these show up. Thx for the extra info!


No problem. Pet Co is a big franchise, so hopefully you'll find some buces soon.




Immortal1 said:


> Lol, goat. Could use one or more of those some days. Good to hear you are making progress on the ammonia issue


I'm still going to test for the next week or so, but getting a all clear at least with free ammonia is a good start.

Yeah, the lawn, it's going to wait another day. It is hot, humid and there has been a parade of dump trucks going by my house for the past hour with some dude trailing behind them to compact the sand that is being dumped for sidewalks. I'll let Mr. Grumpy Ground Hog have his fun with long grass for another day.


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## Smooch

I tried to open a Flickr account. They wanted a cellphone number. I don't think so.

After doing a search I figured out that I needed to delete pictures to make room for new pictures. It may be time to start a tumblr or something just for fish and plant pictures. Anyway, buces are growing! Top picture is from tonight before lights out for the emersed tank. Second pic is from a week ago.


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## K1963158

I just subscribed to this thread. It's a good read and the pictures are great!


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## houseofcards

Smooch said:


> I tried to open a Flickr account. They wanted a cellphone number. I don't think so.


For just random photo posting I like to use photobucket. Pretty simple and easy. I use Flickr to house my better photos by album.


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## Smooch

K1963158 said:


> I just subscribed to this thread. It's a good read and the pictures are great!


Thanks for the sub. Glad you enjoy the pics. :smile2:



houseofcards said:


> For just random photo posting I like to use photobucket. Pretty simple and easy. I use Flickr to house my better photos by album.


I have a Photobucket account and thought about using it, but meh. If people don't want to click a link, I'm okay with that.


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## HaeSuse

You guys make me sick! I've got 1 LFS within 50 miles of me, and it's a run-down, little, reef-oriented, ancient store. Other than fish, RO water, and some coral, there are API test kits 20 years out of date, and $5 single check valves, and a single 100% markup sunsun canister filter.

Plants? Bulbs in packets? Gel packed Bacopa at your LFS?

Jealous.


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## houseofcards

The best plant selection near me I hate to say it is Petsmart, LOL. Most of the LFS have closed. There was an incredible 9,000 sq ft Aquarum Adventure store near me (most are in Ohio) and they closed up a few years ago. I think they survived 3 years or so.


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## Smooch

HaeSuse said:


> You guys make me sick! I've got 1 LFS within 50 miles of me, and it's a run-down, little, reef-oriented, ancient store. Other than fish, RO water, and some coral, there are API test kits 20 years out of date, and $5 single check valves, and a single 100% markup sunsun canister filter.
> 
> Plants? Bulbs in packets? Gel packed Bacopa at your LFS?
> 
> Jealous.


There is nothing to be jealous about. Seriously. The grass is not greener here.

While the buces and other plants I bought last week are doing awesome, the lone package of buces that are still sitting at Pet Co are not. I didn't pick up the package to look at it, but I could see all yellow, dying leaves while I was there the other day. 

Test kits? They had one calcium test, a couple pH kits, my personal favorite...API Nitrate kits and maybe one or two ammonia kits. A person couldn't scrounge around enough to put a basic kit together even if they wanted to. A maser kit? Absolutely not. 

Pet Smart isn't much better. They insist on trying to sell a empty box of bio max for the Fluval U series of filters. I know it's empty because I almost bought it before I hit up Amazon for new bio media for my tanks. Test kits? I was there on Thursday and they had 1 ammonia kit, a couple pH kits and I think 1 API master test kit.

The only slight advantage Pet Smart has over Pet Co is they also have emersed plants and usually have a decent supply of them. People complain about them because they're small. Yes they are small, but there is also a whole lot plants in those little packages. If a person is patient and grows them out for a few weeks, same person would soon have more plants than they know what to do with. Granted they are easier plants and not fussy stems, but fussy stems are highly over rated from where I'm sitting. I'll take some healthy crypts that take up the corners of my 29 any day over stems. This week I moved 3 crypts from the emersed tank to the 10 gallon. They have yet to melt and certainly have more then 3-5 leaves. They will be 'hedges' when full grown. 

I've been looking for Jungle Val for months. The people I usually buy plants from don't carry them and I refuse to order from aquariumplants,com because they're jerks, so I bought a package of Cyperus Helferi along with green crypts on Thursday. The Cyperus Helferi grows tall like a val and the the crypts I bought because I wanted them. By the middle of next month, the Cyperis Helferi will have enough roots to plant, and the crypts can hang out until they outgrow their pots. They are going to replace the Amazon and Ozelot sword I have in the 29 that have yet to fully bounce back from my water issues. They're not dead, but they're not growing like they should either. Needle leaf ferns, anubias and crypts are doing okay, so the swords can go when the crypts are ready. They're not worth fussing over. 

My point is: Sometimes you have to be resourceful. It doesn't require much energy on my part to grow out plants. Turn light on and off, mist plants twice a day. They do the rest of the work. If there is something I really must have, I'll order it, but for right now, I'll keep the shipping expenses in my bank account.


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## Smooch

I'm tired today. Anybody else tired?

Here is the 10 gallon with blurry fish. There is a third tetra in there, she's in the background behind the Creeping Charlie. And nope, this tank is not scaped and it isn't supposed to be as we're still in 'recovery mode'. 

Water changes continue to happen every other day, but the fish and plants are doing good. The air stone is a permanent fixture in this tank as well as the 29 due to gill damage from when this mess started. At least one of this fish in this tank and a couple from the 29 engage in open-mouth breathing which is not normal. They're not gasping or anything, but it is a unfortunate effect from all the issues that will never go away. Everybody eats, spars and does normal fishy things beyond the breathing issues.

Since nothing else is going my way during this process, the crypts on the right side are making me happy. I've found 1 dead leaf from the three in the front and they're transitioning from the emersed tank with no problems. 

I still have patchy diatoms on the glass and heater, but it isn't anything like it was before, so progress. I'll take it where I can get it.


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## Smooch

sp.Japan is taking over..again. This is a new batch I started about 2 weeks ago.


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## Smooch

First pic is really grainy. My camera hates when I use a ISO above 400, but I didn't want blurry fish this time around.

The planets are finally starting to align correctly, at least for the 10 gallon. Diatoms are dying off but even more exciting is the fact that mt crypts are growing. I've been watching them develop submerged leaves for the past week or so, but didn't realize how much they've changed until I compared this pic to the one I took last week.

Picture 2 tells the tale of why the remaining dwarf sword I had in this tank was not doing well. Less than a handful of healthy roots with lots of dead ones with no fine feeder roots to speak of. I took it out, cleaned up as much of the dead roots that I could and moved it into the emersed tank to see if I can nurse it back to health. So far so good as I tried gently pulling on it yesterday and got the resistance I was hoping for. 

The daily water changes I had been doing are becoming less daily. Today is day 3 without a water change for the 10, the 29 is getting there slowly but surely. While I have new bio media cycling ( waiting for nitrites to drop at this point) I did add new bio media to all filters about 2 or so weeks ago. I will never buy the Aqua Clear bio media ever again. It's hard, doesn't absorb water and has a shiny 'shell' which makes it impossible for bacteria to stick to. Thanks @Immortal for mentioning that you use the Eheim Substrat Pro as I think it has been a total game changer.


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## Smooch

The TDS meter I ordered came in last week. The water from my tap is disgusting. 

On semi unrelated note, Dave from ADU put out a interesting video about the effects of bio film on CO2 levels. I say this is semi unrelated because while I was using tap water in my tanks, even though I don't use CO2, I always had problems with bio film. Looking at the TDS levels from my well, all the problems that I've had for going on 2 months are all starting to make sense.

Here's the video if you're interested. He talks about a couple of other things as well. The video is short. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIlCnJ4kUH8


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## K1963158

About biofilm.

I gave up trying to deal with it and bit the bullet and purchased the Eheim surface skimmer. Works great but needs to be cleaned out often. Surface of my tank is crystal clear.


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## Smooch

K1963158 said:


> About biofilm.
> 
> I gave up trying to deal with it and bit the bullet and purchased the Eheim surface skimmer. Works great but needs to be cleaned out often. Surface of my tank is crystal clear.


The film in my case is coming from my tap. My tap water has a slick feel to it that sticks to everything which leaves all of our drinking glasses which are clear look like the have milk residue stuck them.

Since switching to RO water, I no longer have that nasty film on the water surface or on the glass of the tanks.


----------



## Smooch

It feels like it has been forever and a day since I posted here. Lost interest in fish forums in general due to all the endless and often needless drama. 

Posted below is a picture I just took of my messy 10 gallon. I've seen it stated time and time again that emersed plants do not grow. Every plant in this tank was started emersed. All them are growing just fine. So where does that rumor come from?

The buces have diatoms from the 5.5 gallon that was drained a few weeks ago. I didn't bother cleaning them. The diatoms will go away eventually. 

This tank was finally cleared of the ammonia issues I was having last week. The bottles of Prime I was buying from Pet Co for whatever reason were not doing their job. I would add it at a water change, test a few hours later and the ammonia levels never changed. Since changing over to Seachem Safe, I've haven't had any issues. For any Prime users, I'd suggest you test the bottle you have and or buy in the future. Just a FYI. 

Hope everybody had a wonderful Thanksgiving. If you don't celebrate it, I hope you had a good day anyway.


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## Smooch

It has been awhile since I posted pictures, so I thought I'd share the sad looking crypts I bought from Pet Smart the other day. They came in the packages with the gel that is supposed to be semi-clear, however in this case, it was a nasty yellow color. Each package ( I bought 2) were around $5.00 each. They were on sale because the plants were dying. 










Despite how awful they look, they are starting to grow new leaves. The old leaves will be trimmed off, but I'm leaving them for now.










In about a month from now they should look completely different. I'm not doing anything fancy with them. I'm using organic potting soil from Home Depot and a Fluval Eco Bright light over the tank which is left on for about 10 hours. Plants are misted in the morning, then again at night if they need it. The tank they are in has a lid, so the humidity level stays fairly consistent.

We'll see if my semi-green thumb fails me or not in a month.


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## Smooch

I just turned on lights for the emersed tank and noticed weird things growing that were not there yesterday. 4 of the 6 pots have these mushrooms growing in them. 

I did not read the ingredients list of the Home Depot Organic soil I'm using, but since I've never had this happen before, there is something in there that shrooms like. LOL! I don't think they'll do any harm, but if the pots become overrun with them, I'll swap the soil out for something else.


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## Opare

Woah that's cool! Spores may have just come in through the air. Yeah I don't think they are too harmful, fungi would only be munching on dead stuff mostly.


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## Smooch

Opare said:


> Woah that's cool! Spores may have just come in through the air. Yeah I don't think they are too harmful, fungi would only be munching on dead stuff mostly.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I figured out the mushroom mystery.

For some dumb reason I thought Home Depot had their own house brand of organic potting soil. When we went to Home Depot to get water, I checked. What I'm actually using is Miracle Grow's "Nature's Care Organic Potting Mix". Why my brain thought the soil was from Home Depot, I have no clue. I digress.

One of the ingredients in this particular soil is 'processed forest products'. I have no idea what that means, but if I had to take a guess, I would think that means forest debris. Mushrooms grow in the forests, so I'm guessing that is where the spores came from. The soil itself is dry and doesn't smell funky. It smells like clean soil. 

Since I'm here, the next time I take grow out tank pictures, there will be more pots. I grabbed some Staurogyne Repens while I was at Pet Smart. I've never has them in my tanks or tried to grow them out, so we'll see how it goes. The remaining plants on sale were in really bad shape, so I passed on those.


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## Opare

I think one of the most interesting things is to see whether those Crypts will flower for you. I'm not gonna lie I'm starting to become a Crypt fanatic. Such a wonderful genus of plants.


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## JJ09

I think the spores probably air travelled, weren't in the soil... and for a mushroom, it's cute! Won't harm anything, just pull it out. I get ones that look like that crop up in my houseplants when they are summering outside on the deck, time to time


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## Smooch

Happy Mother's Day to all moms, moms-to-be and grandmothers.

My Mother's Day gift was gifts for my fish. LOL We had to go out for more water, so I bought another AC 70 for 40B. All the plant leaves are gently wiggling from the flow, so I'm done buying gear, unless something breaks. 

While I was buying a filter, I decided to get more Cyperus Helferi for the 10 gallon as the White Skirt Tetras like to hide out in it at night and a thing of Reineckii Cardinalis. I've tried these before and they melted as I didn't give them enough time in the grow out tank, so I'm trying them again. They look like crap from being crammed in the package. That will change when the leaves grow out.

I said I wasn't going to post crypt pictures until a month in, but I'm in plant mode so, why not?










All three pots are doing well, I just got a picture of 2.










My little grow out tank is now full. The green crypts are growing, but they definitely have minds of their own growing out every which way.


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## Smooch

Itty-bitty Bolbitis heudelotii.










There are actually 2 of them in this picture. One of them looks okay, the other is literally 2 stems. I wasn't happy about that seeing how it cost me $10.00 to have 3 of these shipped. Meh! The third is in the 40B. All of them are tied to small pieces of aquarium gravel to prevent them from floating and developing deformed leaves. 

I was going to wait until fall to get these, but they were on my mind for a week or so which in my world means they were meant to be bought. 

Grow little, Bolbitis...Grow!


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## JJ09

Smooch said:


> Itty-bitty Bolbitis heudelotii...
> There are actually 2 of them in this picture. One of them looks okay, the other is literally 2 stems. I wasn't happy about that seeing how it cost me $10.00 to have 3 of these shipped.....


I got mine so small for a high price, too. I guess because they are such slow growers, the cost is dear. Mine have been in the tank about six months, and are just now starting to get big enough to appreciate looking at them!


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## Smooch

JJ09 said:


> I got mine so small for a high price, too. I guess because they are such slow growers, the cost is dear. Mine have been in the tank about six months, and are just now starting to get big enough to appreciate looking at them!


Did yours come in a cup? Was the rhizome obvious? 

All 3 of mine came in their own cups, which is fine, but I can't figure out if they were grown out submerged or emersed. They're healthy regardless, but at that price, I'm considering trying to grow them out emersed once I get some growth. 

I don't know what is going on with the rhizome of mine. It doesn't look like the rhizome of something like a Java fern which is what I was expecting. I know that's how they grow as that was part of what lured me to them, but they are weird in that regard.


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## JJ09

Yeah, they were in a cup. I can see the rhizome, but it's very small, narrow compared to say, a java fern. It was really tricky to handle. I tied the bits onto my driftwood and now it is finally growing out nice.


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## Smooch

JJ09 said:


> Yeah, they were in a cup. I can see the rhizome, but it's very small, narrow compared to say, a java fern. It was really tricky to handle. I tied the bits onto my driftwood and now it is finally growing out nice.


Thanks. I'll keep on a eye on them and see what happens. They're only about a inch and half, so I need to lower my expectations a bit.


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## Smooch

Who has the most pathetic looking Bolbitis? I do!










I am so annoyed right now. This is the same plant that I posted a picture of the other day. The two-stemmed Bolbitis in the 10-gallon is doing okay as is the one in the 40B. None of the other plants in the 10-gallon are having problems, so whatever is going on, it is with this one plant.

I've pulled it and stuck it in the emersed tank to see if I can get it to come back. If it doesn't, I refuse to by more. The base of where the rhizome is supposed to be is hard and crusty. I've loosened it up as much as I can without destroying the whole thing. 

Gotta bounce. Have a good Sunday.


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## DennisSingh

Smooch said:


> Itty-bitty Bolbitis heudelotii.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> There are actually 2 of them in this picture. One of them looks okay, the other is literally 2 stems. I wasn't happy about that seeing how it cost me $10.00 to have 3 of these shipped. Meh! The third is in the 40B. All of them are tied to small pieces of aquarium gravel to prevent them from floating and developing deformed leaves.
> 
> I was going to wait until fall to get these, but they were on my mind for a week or so which in my world means they were meant to be bought.
> 
> Grow little, Bolbitis...Grow!


I don't think that is heudelotis
especially if you got 3 for 10 buckarooooos
I'd be happy with one at that price, but that bolbitis doesn't look thick enough to be hued.


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## Smooch

StrungOut said:


> I don't think that is heudelotis
> especially if you got 3 for 10 buckarooooos
> I'd be happy with one at that price, but that bolbitis doesn't look thick enough to be hued.


I didn't get them for $10.00. It was $10.00 to ship them. The plants themselves were $5.00 each and the one that melted on me went into the trash. It turned into a pile of mush.


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## mrjbacon

Smooch said:


> Yes, as much as I complain about API test kits I'm using one for this test. I haven't had a reason to place a Amazon order and I'm not paying shipping for a single kit.


If you don't like the API kits, what do you normally use? I have an old TetraTest Laborett lying around but they're discontinued. I thought API was about the only reasonably priced kit out there these days....


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## Smooch

mrjbacon said:


> If you don't like the API kits, what do you normally use? I have an old TetraTest Laborett lying around but they're discontinued. I thought API was about the only reasonably priced kit out there these days....


If it is old, check the expiration date before using it.

The kits I use depend on what I'm looking for. I use Seachem for their Nitrate/ Nitrite test and their ammonia kit. I also have one of their phosphate kits that I haven't touched in a year. For everything else, I use Nutrafin. 

Being 'reasonably' priced is in the eyes of beholder. I test my tanks once a week. I have zero interest in fudging around with banging bottles together and all the other nonsense to maybe get results. I want to test my tanks, see results and move on with my life. The Seachem kits let me test both of my tanks at once. I can't do that with the Nutrafin kits, but that's okay.


----------



## Smooch

Picture from 5/14.

A.reineckii cardinalis has come a long way from when I first bought it which is good, but now I'm 'meh' about the plant itself. I don't know why, it just isn't doing anything for me at the moment.

This tank is getting a overhaul tomorrow. Growing stuff out in dirt works well, but I'm tired of the swamp water that collects on the bottom. Since I've been buying plants from my LFS that come in pots packed in rockwool, I'm finding that much easier and cleaner to deal with. I have everything I need to adjust RO water and ferts, so why not. 

Maybe plants will grow out better, maybe they won't.


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## barb1221

I love your tank smooch also am a fan of photography. I have many pics of my 29 gallon will post some other time. Seeing your pics of miss grumpy Blue German Rams, makes me miss mine so much I tried 4 of them the first 2 died within 2 days my other 2 were eating happy & healthy for 3 weeks then decided not to eat and wasted away.
I live in FL so water is hard and high ph even though I filter thru Sera Peat. All other fish are happy & healthy. So sad, miss them. Think you will have better luck.


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## Smooch

barb1221 said:


> I love your tank smooch also am a fan of photography. I have many pics of my 29 gallon will post some other time. Seeing your pics of miss grumpy Blue German Rams, makes me miss mine so much I tried 4 of them the first 2 died within 2 days my other 2 were eating happy & healthy for 3 weeks then decided not to eat and wasted away.
> I live in FL so water is hard and high ph even though I filter thru Sera Peat. All other fish are happy & healthy. So sad, miss them. Think you will have better luck.


Thank you.

Out of the 3 original rams I had from those old pictures, I'm down to one. I lost the other 2 to water issues I had last year. Since changing over to RO water, the last one is doing very well. I still miss Miss.Prissy though. She gave me attitude all the time.


----------



## Smooch

Grumpy post ahead. Consider yourself warned if you read further.

Tank makeover is done. It took longer than expected, but I wasn't in a hurry so no biggy.










On to the issues:

I bought the wrong size slotted pots, they're too big. The one seen on the far left is a pot from my LFS. That is the size I should have bought. Instead of waiting another few days to get the right sized pots, I made do with what I had. The plants themselves are packed in pod things, then I filled the rest of the planters with Flora Max. It prevents them from floating and keeps the pods in place.

Organic Miracle Grow legit smells like a raw sewage treatment plant after being in water for awhile. Gross!

Organic Miracle Grow does a crappy job for root growth. I was expecting beefy roots but instead I got thin, stringy roots with a few solid roots mixed in.

I don't know what the deal is with the A.Reineckii. It has crazy leaf growth, but not much for roots. I'm thinking about trimming off all the lanky growth and seeing what happens after that. The only time I see plants grow out like that is when they are jacked up on nitrates. 

The one plant in the slotted pot is the one I'll be using to see if this idea is actually working or not. If I see roots sprouting from that pot, I'll know that the rest of the plants are doing well unless they do something to tell me otherwise. 

As for soil, if I go back to using it because this method is a total fail, I'll be sticking to either regular Miracle Grow or cactus soil. The organic stuff is not with the money. 

I did treat the water in the tank with a drop of Carbonate and Mineralize. Mineralize is the liquid version of Equilibrium that I'm currently trying out. So far I like it hands down better than Equilibrium. It is a liquid, it isn't chaulky and can be dosed exactly how you want it. I also added a drop of ferts. 

I'm done grumbling. I'll post a update when there is something to talk about.


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## Smooch

SoapyFish said:


> Hey Smooch,I got a question about one of your fish.
> It's the one that is Mrs.Grumpy I think?
> Yeah what kind of fish is that and what size tank,as I really enjoy how that fish looks and would like to know what size tank you have it in as a guidline.
> Thanks!
> P.S Good looking tanks!(I also have diatom issues)


Electric Blue Ram or Mikrogeophagus Ramirezi, Apistograma Ramirezi 

They should be kept in a 20 gallon or more if you wanted to keep more than one as they are territorial. To keep disputes at bay, the more heavily a tank is planted, the better. I bought cichlid caves, but they didn't like them. Even the one I have now doesn't like them so I don't bother.

Their vertical bars come out when they're irritated, stressed or sick. When they're none of those things, the bars disappear for the most part. You can tell which ones have been injected with dye and those that haven't at the store. The ones that injected are a unnatural bright blue which is not normal. Stay away from those. I've seen them at Pet Co, they're not healthy. 

Other than that, they like soft, clean water. People say that rams are hard to keep, I haven't found that to be the case. If you keep a clean tank and feed them a good diet, they're awesome.


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## houseofcards

Smooch said:


> Itty-bitty Bolbitis heudelotii.


Emersed form. They grow more compact and the leaves are not as elongated. When you buy that way I would cut off every leaf expect for one. Your really buying it for the rhizome not the existing leaves which will usually not transition well to a new environment. It has to grow it's own leaves once acclimated.


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## Smooch

It has been about a week since I made changes to the emersed tank. 









Picture taken 6/24









Picture taken today

I can't tell if there is a difference with plant growth or not. The tank looks fuller, but since I had to move pots around, it is hard to make a "side by side" comparison. There has been a big difference with how roots are growing, for the better.


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## Smooch

My emersed tank is no longer emersed.










I got bored with this tank shortly after my last post, so I decided to change things up. It is been a uneventful experiment, but a experiment nonetheless. There are no fish in this tank. Sans a 50% weekly water change, turning the light off and on and water testing every couple of weeks, this tank is hands off. I do feed the plants every couple of weeks, but it is only when I remember.

Plants consist of java fern, a piece of needle leaf java that I'm nursing back to heath, S.Repens has taken to growing up rather than out and some crypts. This tank gets a fair amount of afternoon sun, so I don't turn lights on until later in the day. I leave them on for 5-6 hours. The pods the plants are sitting in are made of peat. I had planned on using rock wool, but peat seems to work just as well. They're made for starting seeds, but ripping them apart and stuff them with plants appears to work as well. The substrate is Eco-Complete as I've been trying to use up what I have. Sadly I still have another brand new bag.

There is some diatoms growing on the left side, but other than that, I haven't had any algae issues.

The 10 and 40 gallon are doing well too.


----------



## Smooch

There was a conversation recently about giving advice about how to maintain a tank without posting pictures of a person's tank or tanks. I agreed with the point that was made, but some people are not into posting every detail of their tank or tanks as some things are not worth talking about. I digress. This conversation has been on my mind, so here we go.










Here is my messy, but clean 40 breeder. Let's talk about it.

On the left, I have a floating anubia. It wanted to be special from the group and say hello. Also on the left is a reflection from one of my monitors. Sorry about that.

The center of the tank has 3 species of Vals that I've recently ordered / planted. Jungle Val, Italian Val ( came from my LFS) and Jungle Val Nana. If I can get them to grow, they will hide the ball of roots that is from the Philodendren or Pothos plant that is sticking out of the center of the tank. The wispy-looking plants on both sides of the vals that are shedding everywhere are Giant Hairgrass which is also new. 

On the right, I have too many anubias that will eventually be replaced with Dwarf Sag and Red Crypts, but I have a pile of medical bills to take care of first. 

There are currently 3 filters on this tank. 2 Aqua Clear 60's and a Ziss Bubble Bio Moving Bed Filter. Because the bioload in this tank is so low, I'll be removing one of the Aqua Clears in a month or so after the Ziss is cycled and full of beneficial bacteria. 

I scored a Fluval 2.0 on Thursday via my LFS. They are moving their store closer to home ( Woohoo! No more hour plus drives) and are looking to unload some inventory so they don't have to move it. I don't like the controller for the light, but it the fixture itself is awesome and hasn't caused any problems thus so far. The other new piece of equipment is the air circulation pump on the left. I've been dragging my feet about getting one for reasons I can't explain, so now I have one. 

So, yeah, I haz a tank... @Greggz

I will not be posting regular updates for this tank unless there is something to actually talk about.


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## JJ09

I like seeing your tank. I missed seeing posts from you. How's all your fishes doing?


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## Greggz

Smooch said:


> So, yeah, I haz a tank... @Greggz


LOL I figured you had a tank!:wink2:

But here's the thing. It does help seeing it, as when you mention how you dose or other things about the tank, folks can relate to what type of tank it is. Everything is relative to ones goals what type of plants they are keeping.

By the way, the tank looks good. You've got a lot of plants growing, and that is a good thing. For lots of folks that is exactly what they want in a planted tank. Nice work!


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## Smooch

I'm down to 3 fish these days; they're fine. I'm down to 2 female Bleeding Heart Tetras and one Panda Cory. They turned 11-12 years old last month, so they're cranky, old fish. Not like age matters as the tetras have always been cranky even though I bought them when they were just shy of the size of a nickle.

Yesterday I was doing some tank maintenance and one of the tetras tried to jump out. She bounced off of the backside of the lid then decided to chill somewhere in the back right hand corner until I was done. I have no idea what her issue was as I wasn't bothering any of them. Maybe they didn't like the fact that I had the turkey baster out and was getting all the crud out of the nooks and crannies of the dragon stone; I don't know. Either way, after I was done and gave the tank a small water change, she got over it and has been fine since then. My water parameters are good so the jumping was attitude, not because she was trying to get away from bad water. 

I said the other day that I was done buying fish due to how having a tank with fish in it makes me crazy during bad weather and the power goes out which is true and it does, however, I may end up eating those words now that my LFS will be less than 10 minutes away. Maybe once they get settled I'll see if they'll order me some White Cloud minnows or something.

One of the reasons I bought the Ziss filter is so I can plug it into one of the two batter backups I bought for the tank. They're most commonly used for computers, but they are also good for tank filters when the power goes out. Aqua Clears work fine being plugged in that way, but they drain the batteries really fast. The Ziss filter works on a air pump, so it shouldn't be as much of a power hog if I need to use them. 

I have sent a email to the person I bought the Jungle Val Nana from. I had a idea to possibly increase my odds of having success with Vals, so maybe I'll post update depending on how it goes. I don't think my idea would do any harm, but I'm not going to waste my time if I'm told it won't work.


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## Smooch

Greggz said:


> LOL I figured you had a tank!:wink2:
> 
> But here's the thing. It does help seeing it, as when you mention how you dose or other things about the tank, folks can relate to what type of tank it is. Everything is relative to ones goals what type of plants they are keeping.
> 
> By the way, the tank looks good. You've got a lot of plants growing, and that is a good thing. For lots of folks that is exactly what they want in a planted tank. Nice work!


LOL!

I'm the most boring person in the world when it comes to keeping my tank. If somebody wants to know something, all they have to do is ask.

Thanks


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## Smooch

This is a silly thing to be excited about, but when you have a success for whatever reason, it should be celebrated. Right?

I have new growth popping out of all 3 species of Val in my tank this morning. This is a big deal for me as I've struggled with Vals for what feels like forever. 

I got to this point by: Planting them, leaving them alone and using root tabs as that is what my tank needs for root feeders. I don't use many ( 4 to be exact that are placed where needed), nor do I use osmocote. Yes it's cheap, but they can also cause problems with too much nitrogen in the water column. Instead, I'm currently using these https://www.aquariumcoop.com/collections/plant-supplies-1/products/easy-root-tabs.

I'm not suggesting the root tabs I have linked couldn't cause a problem if a person uses too many, but what I like about them is that they are mostly soil; plants like soil. Along with the soil, there is powder, just like one would use to make a batch of ferts from dry ferts. They're expensive for that they are and I'm thinking about making my own, but for now, I have plenty for a couple of months. 

Now that I know the Vals are going to grow, that changes some future plans for my tank. Once the Vals grow in, the swords in the back are coming out. I have no attachment to them and they're going to be in the way. Depending on how the Giant Hairgrass goes, they will also need to be moved, but like with all my other plans, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.


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## Smooch

After all of my mumbling and grumbling about what I was going to do with my tank and whether to add more occupants or not, I bought more fish yesterday. I don't have pictures of them, but here's the list of what I bought:

6 Giant danios
1 Angel Fish- It kind of looks like a Veil Tail, but I don't know. He or she is still a juvenile. 
2 Bolivian Rams

The danios were planned. Since my tetras don't like anybody whether they be human or otherwise, I thought perhaps some dithers would bring them out and maybe they'd chill a bit. The new fish have been in the tank less than 24 hours and I've seen the tetras behave like normal fish do in that time instead of like they have spent the past 11 or so years being tortured which they haven't been. 

No issues to speak of with the newest editions. Tank maintenance is certainly more interesting as the danios have no fear of the siphon tube. I have to pay attention now instead of just standing near the tank while waiting for the bucket to fill up.

Once everybody settles in a bit more, I'll try to get pics to post.


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## Smooch

I should just start a regular tank journal as my camera is always having issues these days. I do have a new tank pic, but I have to wait for the battery to recharge. I'll add a picture later.

I don't know where to start so I'm just going to dig in.

I lost one of the two rams I bought 2 weeks ago. The one I lost didn't look right to begin with, but I thought perhaps a clean tank and a good diet would help; it didn't. I will be buying another ram when my LFS settles into their new location. 

Bleeding Heart Tetras have ich. I'm not sure if it came from the new fish or plants I put in the tank last week. Either way, I caught it early and the tank is being treated with Paraguard for the next 8 or so days. The plants I added were Dwarf Sag and I don't really think the ich came from the plants. The person I've been ordering from lately is awesome. I think it was from the new fish. 

Speaking of ordering plants, I ordered some Ruby Red Jungle Val. The whole plant doesn't turn red, just the tips of the leaves when under medium to high light. I may or may not regret this decision as I've been told that this plants' leaves can grow up to 6 feet long. I however have figured out that my favorite kind of plants are ones that 'grassy', so the more 'grass' the better. They will also provide some shade for my anubias and Java ferns although they're not having any problems. I have decided that while I have lots of broad leaf Java fern, I prefer Needle Leaf java fern which is hard to find. I like it because of its leaves. Eventually the broad leaf will be replaced with all Needle Leaf.

Diatoms have reappeared in my tank; I don't know why. They're not taking over, but they are there and it's annoying. The tank is going on 3 years old (?) so that isn't it. I also haven't changed my substrate or made any major changes to the tank, so that's not it either.

I have beefed up water changes to 40% and gone back to weekly water changes as I now have a bigger bioload than 3 fish. Nitrates are 15 ppm and there is no ammonia or nitrites. I've been testing daily for both as I feel like I'm missing something, but so far both tests have come back not showing anything. I'm using the Seachem Nitrite / Nitrate test for both of those and a brand new Nutrafin Ammonia test kit. The tank is gravel vac'd every week, there is no rotting plant debris and the filter is cleaned every couple of weeks. 

I did try removing one of my AC 60's for about a week and half. I've added it back and loaded it up with my usual biomedia which is Eheim Substrat Pro. Even though I haven't seen a cycle bump, maybe a mini one occurred when I added the new fish as that is the only thing I can think of that could be a possible cause. To help out the filter, I ordered some Dr.Tim's One & Only Nitrifying Bacteria. I don't know if it actually works or not, but I didn't feel like cycling the filter in a bucket. 

I don't think fish food would cause diatoms, but if there is enough junk in it, it could cause a excess of organics in the water column so the fishes' diet is getting a overhaul. The frozen food I feed a couple times of week is fine as it is thawed and rinsed until the water runs clear. What is not fine is the flakes and sinking pellets. 

For flakes I'm currently feeding Cobalt which is said to be a good brand. The problem with it is: The first ingredient is Salmon fish meal, the second is wheat flour. The sinking Hikari wafers are worse. First ingredient is fish meal, the second ingredient is wheat germ. Since this topic tends to make me grumpy, I'm not going to jump on my soapbox about it, but I will say that I'll be happy when my bags of Northfin arrive. One is coming in today, the other will be here tomorrow. Clean eats for is good not only for the fish, but also for the tank. Before I settled for Northfin, I was considering ordering some fish food from Damichi, but I don't know if it is worth the money or not. 

Last but not least, I ordered a bag of Seachem Gray Coast. I don't know if a fluctuating KH and GH could cause cycle problems, but since I want to make sure I have all my bases covered, I'll be adding some of this substrate to my current substrate to help stabilize KH. I won't be using the whole bag, nor will I be covering my current substrate. Small amounts will be mixed in when I gravel vac until the KH remains stable. Because I'm back to doing large water changes, its all over the place. I don't need more things driving me crazy, I have more than enough crazy in my life as it is.


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## Smooch

I said I would post a pic in my last update. My dog was sick so that was more important than posting tank pictures. Unfortunately I lost her to a large, gross, tumor that was discovered in her liver. It was inoperable and she was in pain so we did the right thing. Being dog-less hasn't been easy and I haven't been dealing with it well; this too shall pass.

On to a lighter subject...

My camera is too slow to catch the Giant Danios, so what looks like weird hair algae in the middle of the picture is actually fish. They remind me of the seagulls on Finding Nemo. If they could say "Mine! Mine! Mine!" every time I feed them, they would. "Frank" the Angel fish was hiding behind the Java ferns on the left, but you can see the Ram. Speaking of the Angel and the Ram, they were having a dispute yesterday over who was going to be in one spot. It wasn't serious and no harm was done; there lots of flaring. It was my son who decided the Angel should be named Frank. I don't know where or why he came up with the name and I haven't bothered to ask.

Speaking of the Giant Danios, I've lost count of how many plantlets of Dwarf Sag and Dwarf Val that have died at their expense. I can't add plants that only have a few roots to this tank as the 'seagulls' uproot them in their mission to find any bite of food they come across. The Italian Vals, Jungle Val and the newly added Red Ruben Vals are fine along with all the Anubias and Java ferns, but to add anything that would be considered 'delicate', fehgetaboutit.

The Red Ruben Vals came in Saturday; they're going to melt and need time to adjust. Seeing as the Giant Danios can't play nice with plants, I'm going to buy more. I sent out a email about getting more Needle Leaf Java fern and it seems as though it isn't easy to find, so I'll add it when I can find it. I have found that plants ordered closer to home come in less stressed than those that have to make the trip across the country, so I'm going to stick to getting plants that way. 

The Bleeding Heart tetras that I've been talking about forever died Friday. The only other original fish to this tank is my Panda Cory who is still hanging in there at a old age of 12.

I had 2 things of Giant Hairgrass; one of them was pulled this morning when I did tank maintenance as it wasn't doing well. They have been in the tank for a few weeks; the one I pulled didn't really develop new roots. If I left it in there it was just going to continue to shed and pollute the water column, so I'm down to one.

In my last post I grumbled about diatoms which I seem to have gotten a handle on. I can't say it was one specific thing that fixed the problem as I did pretty much what I said I was going to do. I changed the fishes' food; pitched what was equal to fish junk food. I dumped a entire bottle of Dr.Tim's All in One Bacteria in the tank, have continued water changes as usual and discovered the pump that I added isn't doing what I need it to do. There is nothing wrong with the pump itself, I just haven't found the ideal place to put it.

Food for whatever reason likes to collect along the back wall of the tank. I do vacuum back there, but apparently I wasn't doing it enough and the java fern that is along the dragon stone on the left also tends to be a food and gunk collection spot. It would be reasonable to move the pump to the right side of the tank and have it hit those areas and it's a simple thing to do, but at the moment I don't care. It is just as easy to make sure those spots as well as the java ferns themselves are well vacuumed every week. Moving the pump isn't on the priority list, I'll get to it at some point.

Other than that, the tank is what it is. I accidentally killed a anubia by doing the very thing people are told not to do. I put a root tab too close to it's roots and it melted as a result. I need to find better spots for root tabs.

EDIT: I've found that Nutafin KH test kits register as zero when a tank reads below 1 dkh. Salifert KH test kits do read and register below 1 dkh, so if anybody is having KH issues and is wondering if their tank really has zero for a KH, try the Salifert test kit. It is simple to use and you'll be better off knowing rather than fudging with water chemistry like I've been doing.


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## Smooch

My ability to overlook the obvious is something else sometimes; it is a talent I'm not proud of.

In my last post I said I had a handle on the diatom situation. I need stop doing that until I know for sure as they came back. I had a "Ah-ha" moment yesterday; so maybe third time is the charm.

I've been surfacing vacuuming my tank for quite awhile. I figured it was doing something good as my nitrates don't get over 20 ppm and TDS levels at their highest are in the 200 range. When levels get to that point, it is at the end of the week so tank maintenance gets things back to where they should be. There was nothing to indicate that there is a problem except that TDS meters do not say what is causing the levels to rise and then there is the other issue I hadn't considered; plant mass. 

The bulk of the plants in my tank at the moment are java ferns and anubias. All of the Vals that have survived the nonsense of the Giant Dianos are sprouting new growth, but they haven't been in the tank long enough to develop a root system that covers the bottom of the tank. So while it is great that I've been surface vacuuming around those, there is no need for me to allow mulm and gunk to collect and gather under the anubias and java ferns as they are not 'planted' in the substrate. They are never going to use all that gunk and at the moment, nor are the Vals, Dwarf Sag, ect...

Yesterday I rolled out of bed and got my sleeves wet. I removed the big dragon stone on the left side of the tank as it was restricting water flow. I adjusted the water pump so that it bounces off the back wall of the tank as that is where I'm having problems with dead spots. The only two plants that are actually planted on that side of the tank is a small Amazon Sword and a crypt, everything else is java and anubias. All of the plants sans those two were pulled out, then I vacuumed and vacuumed some more. Just moving the dragon stone alone caused a puff of nasty as I haven't been pulling out on a monthly basis to clean it. 

Since I was making a huge mess anyway, I decided to make use of the bag of Fluval Stratum I have. I bought it as I'm growing out some Crypt Undulata via emersed in a 2.5 gallon. They're doing well, but because they're crypts, they're taking forever. I digress. Fluval is like Seachem with their claims that their substrates only have 'light dust' which is total BS, but since I wasn't dealing with the whole tank, I dealt with endless rinsing with minimal grumbling. I ended up adding a couple of cups worth of stratum to the substrate I have. I'm pretty sure after a couple of years the Flourite and Eco-Complete that has been in this tank and the tank before that isn't doing much at this point.

The tank got a 50% water change by the time I was done. The water was crystal clear again after a couple of hours. Nitrates are still on the higher end because I disturbed everything. They are not crazy high, but since it is roughly 20 ppm post water change, the tank will get a second water change today and TDS levels are now down into the low 100s. I checked it this morning and it was 116. Yesterday before I started it was in the 220 range. This tells me that there was a whole lot of crap in the water column. I also ran a ammonia test late last night and will do another today just to make sure it is still at zero.

Next week the tank will get this same treatment on the right side. The dragon stone on that side is actually two pieces and since they are easier to manage and provide a good place to put anubias, I think I'll be keeping those, but that is subject to change. All of Vals including the Red Rubens are now in the center of the tank, so I won't be disturbing too much when I do another deep vacuum. The center of the tank will get a surface vac as usual and I'll be light-handed when I mix the stratrum in to prevent plants from becoming uprooted. 

If this doesn't fix the diatom issue, I will honestly be able to say that I have done everything.

EDIT: Tank has had it's second water change. If I haven't gotten this situation under control, diatoms will be back by the end of next week.

ph: 7.2
Ammonia: 0
TDS: 88 This was before I added RO Right
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: Between 10-12 

Everything looks good to me, but that doesn't mean anything. Fish are happy and begging for food as usual.


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## Smooch

@Immortal1 Can I get your opinion about something when you have time? It isn't serious, I promise.

I have put in order for more Ruby Red Jungle Val with Buce.com as the person I normally order from didn't have enough. The order hasn't been shipped yet, but I need to make room for them. My question is about the Dwarf Sag. I know they're supposed to be in bunches, but it is now starting to sprout runners which means with time, they will fill in. 

Do I move them and put them in proper 'bunches' or do I leave them? 

So far my deep cleaning of the left side of the tank has resulted in no schmutz on the glass, so tomorrow night I'll be tearing apart the right side and giving it the same treatment.


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## Immortal1

Smooch said:


> @Immortal1 Can I get your opinion about something when you have time? It isn't serious, I promise.
> 
> I have put in order for more Ruby Red Jungle Val with Buce.com as the person I normally order from didn't have enough. The order hasn't been shipped yet, but I need to make room for them. My question is about the Dwarf Sag. I know they're supposed to be in bunches, but it is now starting to sprout runners which means with time, they will fill in.
> 
> Do I move them and put them in proper 'bunches' or do I leave them?
> 
> So far my deep cleaning of the left side of the tank has resulted in no schmutz on the glass, so tomorrow night I'll be tearing apart the right side and giving it the same treatment.


Hey Smooch - regarding the dwarf sag, I would move your largest / main plant to where you want it. Eventually it will send off runners (at least mine does). Currently I am just leaving the main plant to grow and every so often I pull out the small runners. I would suspect, if you re-position the runner plants you could develop a pretty nice clump of plants. 

Does that answer you question? or where you thinking of creating a whole floor of dwarf sag?


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## Smooch

Immortal1 said:


> Hey Smooch - regarding the dwarf sag, I would move your largest / main plant to where you want it. Eventually it will send off runners (at least mine does). Currently I am just leaving the main plant to grow and every so often I pull out the small runners. I would suspect, if you re-position the runner plants you could develop a pretty nice clump of plants.
> 
> Does that answer you question? or where you thinking of creating a whole floor of dwarf sag?


Yes, that answered my question; thank you. :grin2:

If they spread across the tank to create something that resembles a 'carpet' that's fine. but that isn't my plan.


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## Smooch

I'm doing this now as I'm about to get my sleeves wet. I was going to tear apart my tank tonight, but I can't as I've got other things to do that I forgot about.

This picture is showing 3 species of vals. The ones I'm referring to in this post is the Ruby Red ( the chunky val on the left behind the stone) and the pathetic Jungle right next to it on the right. And yes, you can see ghosting of the Danios. They refused to stay out of the frame. Feeding them as a form of bribe would have made it worse.

The Ruby Red Vals have been in my tank for about a week or so. Most of the new center growth has happened over the past few days. The pathetic Jungle Val has been in my tank for a couple of weeks. What gives? The rest of the Jungle Vals in the tank are also shooting new leaves, but like the one pictured, the new growth is coming in really slow. 

I'm going to keep Jungle Val as they are trying to settle in, but if anybody has a idea of what one species is growing like it is on steroids while the other is putzing along, some insight would be helpful as I don't understand.

As a side note, the Italian Val on the far right is showing new growth that I haven't noticed.


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## Smooch

The tank looks a bit different from the last time I posted.










This picture is crooked. I fixed it as much as I could with Photoshop. It wouldn't be my thread if there wasn't something wonky with the pictures I post; just being consistent. After this update I think I'm going to start going with monthly updates as there really isn't anything to talk about.

I cleaned the right side of the tank like I said I was going to the other day and removed all the clutter. I got rid of plants that I no longer liked or doing well ( Giant Hairgrass), put the large piece of dragon stone back on the left, just laid it on its side. I lived without it for a few days and hated it, so its back for the time being. Then I removed one piece of dragon stone from the right side and laid the one I kept on its side then moved the the anubias that stayed. 

Because of where the stones are, I'm still going to have flow issues, but I'm aware if it and the problem isn't across the whole tank. I bought a mini siphon and can spend extra time vacuuming the front the tank once a week. Currently everything water parameter wise is stable including nitrates and TDS. Nitrates are hanging at 15 ppm and TDS is 118.

My order came in from Buceplant came in. I was expecting a couple of vals, I got more than a couple. They came in nice and healthy, but they didn't have much in terms of roots, so many of them have them are being held down with weights. I'll remove the weights in a week or so. I think there are too many in there, but I'm leaving them alone for now. I also ordered some guppy grass which is doing well. Stems plants and I do not get along, we'll see how it goes. 

Except for the tiny Dwarf Sag in the front, all of it has been moved the right. I was expecting them to melt, but they have proven me wrong. They tolerated being moved and are starting to shoot new growth. I think they're happy for the lack of abuse. The crypt was moved as was the narrow leaf java fern and then there is the piece of Bolbitis Heudelotti Difformis that really hates me, but that too is growing new leaves.

The Jungle Val I posted about the other day is also in there, but that is going to moved. I was supposed to pick up a 20 long as I want to set up a plant grow out tank, but Thursday went from okay to bad, so I haven't done that yet. I'll be starting that project tomorrow assuming nothing stupid happens. The regular java ferns I had will also being going into the new 20. I don't want to get rid of them, but I don't want to put it back in the 40 either. They're currently living in a bucket with some water.

No fish problems, all of them are happy. Frank the angel fish loves hanging out in all the vals. The tank turned out looking pretty much like I wanted it to. When the vals spread to the left and right, the guppy grass will come out.


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## JJ09

Wow, it looks really nice. Love that thick stand of vals.


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## zmartin

Hey Smooch I just read the whole thread and really enjoyed it. Recent changes look good. Your experimentation with emergent growth provided some food for thought and fantastic photos. I have a 1.4 50ml lense in the kit bag somewhere; I’m going to have to dig it out. Thanks 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Smooch

I'm not dead. I couldn't stand not having a dog in the house so we got a puppy July 3. I love her dearly and she is a terrier by every definition of the word ( she's a red and white Boston Terrier) but the sensitive stomach issues have been making me grumpy to put it nicely. Just when I get things quiet, vet decides to change things which brings us back to having to bring her out every half hour, ect... No dog regardless of age should have that much slime coming out of their backside. 

I don't have anything to report tank wise. This morning during tank maintenance I pulled what was left of the guppy grass as it died; I'm not surprised. I have have zero luck with stem plants and I'm not willing to swap my substrate. The rest of the plants are fine as are the fish. Frank is growing, zebra danios are starting to look like silver sausages and the ram is being bossy as usual. 

I'll be glad when summer is over; I'm over it. My fuzzy socks have been calling my name for weeks...


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