Bubblegum's 40b Community Tank Build

I don't think you need to add denitrate. Some plants should be enough!

 

Denitrate won't work well in tank, matrix would be better. Denitrate needs a low oxygen environment like a reactor to work best. I just typed a long reply, along with someone else's info in this post for nitrates
How Do I - Best Plant For High Nitrates?
Also ready this sticky after for further explanations.
Review of Nitrate Reducers
I have lots of nitrate ideas, but with the filtration that you are using instant ocean nitrate reducer dosed directly into tank will likely be your best option. Most are good for a canister or large hob, or as briefly mentioned above a reactor. Tag me with any other questions about it after you read the others.

Also, is your other tank still running? You can add some filter material into this one to help your cycle along....

I heard that about Denitrate... Unfortunately, when I bought it I just grabbed it after I saw it got rid of nitrate. I'll wait on the Matrix - I'll see how every things going once I get some plants in there. (It'll be another two+ weeks, depending on where we get them.)

And no, the other tank isn't still running. It was going to be a 10 gallon betta tank, but now it's going to be our quarantine tank. (One of my old five gallons will be a betta tank instead, but I haven't even started putting that together though.) When I get back from vacation next weekend I'll get the QT setup... Or after we get plants.

 

I got to testing water parameters later than I wanted. Cousin's first baseball game of the season was tonight - they lost, horribly - and we're treating Harry for ear mites, so getting around to testing the water parameters in the tank got pushed back. (He doesn't like the part about putting olive oil in his ears, but the rest of it he enjoys.) From now on I'll only test pH once or twice a week.

Ammonia: 1 ppm
Nitrate: 40 ppm
Nitrite: Somewhere between 2 and 5 ppm (I even did the half tank and half tap water test, results came back somewhere between .25 and .50. The color is more lilac than purple, so probably closer to 0.25.) I'm guessing 3 ppm, but I'm leaving a question mark by that in my journal for now.

I dosed three drops of ammonia again. Should I keep with three, or raise or lower that amount?

Thrive and lights arrived today! For some reason, I thought Thrive would have a thicker consistency, like soap or shampoo, and I'm sooooo relieved that I was wrong. (I think I got that idea from the of it with the pump.) The Beamswork light looks great! It arrived while I was taking a nap (before the baseball game) so the parents set it up. Of course, when I woke up and started playing with I accidentally knocked one end into the tank, but all looks well for now. I got it dried off pretty quickly, and it wasn't knocked in very far or was in for very long.

Lastly, Mom and I decided that after we get back from vacation we'll be going on an adventure - it's what I say when we have to go to multiple stores that aren't right next to one another - to get another bag of Eco complete, small bag of sand (to put in terracotta pots for the cories), root tabs, and then plants. We'll get plants locally first, and if we don't get everything we want/need then we'll shop online.

 

I wouldn't let ammonia get higher than 2-3 ppm. If nitrites get 5 ppm or above, I would do a water change to bring them down - they can stall your cycle.

 

You can dose ammonia every other day to prevent you nitrites from skyrocketing. As long as there is an ammonia reading it doesn't need to be dosed.

 

Thank you both! Yeah, I'll start dossing ammonia every other day. Here are tonight's readings:
Ammonia: 0.50 ppm
Nitrite: 5 ppm
Nitrate: 20 ppm

So nitrites went up, which when I tested it I figured meant water change but I wasn't sure at the time. Tomorrow morning I'll do 25% water change - I'd do it tonight if I knew it wouldn't wake my mom. And the nitrates went down, again, so... that's good. I think.

 

You can dose ammonia every day if you want - dosing every other day won't necessarily prevent a nitrite spike. Nitrite levels depend on the amount of ammonia you add and the size of the bacteria colony, and you can still get a spike adding ammonia every other day.

 

Yes, Texas is right. I didn't explain very well.
As the ammonia is processed it creates nitrites. While the nitrite is spiking high and you are doing water changes to keep nitrites down below five it helps to dose the ammonia every other day. More ammonia processed=more nitrites. The ammonia can be fed less often, giving the bacteria a chance to catch up.
It won't prevent a spike, but it will help with the water changes.
sorry for the lack of explanation.

 

You can dose ammonia every day if you want - dosing every other day won't necessarily prevent a nitrite spike. Nitrite levels depend on the amount of ammonia you add and the size of the bacteria colony, and you can still get a spike adding ammonia every other day.

Thanks for the clarification, I was a little confused by that.

Yes, Texas is right. I didn't explain very well.
As the ammonia is processed it creates nitrites. While the nitrite is spiking high and you are doing water changes to keep nitrites down below five it helps to dose the ammonia every other day. More ammonia processed=more nitrites. The ammonia can be fed less often, giving the bacteria a chance to catch up.
It won't prevent a spike, but it will help with the water changes.
sorry for the lack of explanation.

You're fine! I'd blame me anyway, since I usually just assume things.

Sorry for the lack of updating, I've been busy the past couple days! Mostly family stuff. Dad's birthday was Thursday, cousin's baseball game Thursday night, and babysitting last night and today.

Thursday I put off doing a water change (for all the reasons listed above), and because I heard it was going to rain, just wasn't sure when. (It didn't start till my cousin's baseball game started. :meh Friday I did a... 25ish% water change. (Since the tank doesn't have a lid some water had already evaporated out, but I still took water out. By the bucket too, since no one else had a spare hand to help me with the Python.) I haven't gotten around to checking water parameters - eek, I feel horrible - but I'll do that tonight - when I get home from babysitting - or sometime tomorrow. (I didn't do it after the water change because I did it right before I left to babysit.) When I added water back into the tank I did dose a little bit of Prime, Stability, and a tiny bit of ammonia.

 

Sorry for the late posting, it's been a long day!

I'm horrible. I didn't get around to doing anything with the tank till tonight. Both ammonia and nitrite were at 0ppm, nitrates were well over 80 ppm. pH dropped to about 7.4 or 7.5. (It's a very light blue.) *Sigh* Well, I suppose this means that I have to start the cycle all over again... (Not the end of the world, it's what I get for neglecting the tank.)

Tomorrow I'll top off the tank - since it still doesn't have a lid, and the tank is at 82+ degrees, at least 2 inches has evaorpated since Sunday. I'm starting to think about not getting a lid, so it'll look more natural... but I'm worried about jumpers... (Not that I think anything I'm getting has been known to jump... but still.) Maybe if I keep the water down three inches from the top? If I go this route, because of evaporation, I'll top the tank off with RO/DI water (mostly to prevent a spike in pH and nitrate) as needed.

(Friendly reminder of my stocking list, since it's been awhile:
3x honey gourami
14x penguin tetra
1x bn pleco
10x panda cory
1-2x nerite snail - maybe, still haven't decided if I'm getting snails or not)

Sort of speaking of plants, I'll be ordering them either at the end of this week OR Sunday when I get back from vacation. Ignore what I have on the first page; since I really started looking at plants this week half of them aren't accurate. Here's what I'm leaning more towards:

Chain swords
Vals
Frogbit
Water wisteria
Ludwigia repens
Swords (something a little wider then the chain, just a few... three-five, I think)
Maybe java moss and/or fern
Anubis

I'm pretty sure I'll be ordering most - if not all - of my plants here (on Fishlore). (Gotta support my fellow Fishlorians!) I have everything written down in my handy-dandy notebook - - and I'm probably going to go over it again and again tonight until I fall asleep. Knowing me I'll write up like three different options of what I'll be getting and from whom. Night everybody! (Or good morning. Or good day, if you're not reading this as I update and are just scrolling through.)

 

Your cycle might still be there, dose ammonia and see if it processes within 24 hrs, if the ammonia reading stays after then yes, likely you need to restart.

PH- do you have a test for kH? With your pH dropping like that I would be concerned that your kH is too low. KH is a "buffer" that maintains your pH. If it's not high enough your pH will crash. Good thing it happened now vs when fish are inside.

 

Your cycle might still be there, dose ammonia and see if it processes within 24 hrs, if the ammonia reading stays after then yes, likely you need to restart.

PH- do you have a test for kH? With your pH dropping like that I would be concerned that your kH is too low. KH is a "buffer" that maintains your pH. If it's not high enough your pH will crash. Good thing it happened now vs when fish are inside.

It hasn't been 24 hours, but I went ahead and tested everything. No ammonia or nitrites, and nitrates are still at 80. I topped off the tank with RO/DI water.

And yep, I sure do! kH is 4, so... 70 something, I think? So it's kinda low. At three it went from blue to a clear yellow. And yeah, it's a good thing it did it now as opposed to later. Maybe it was the water change that caused the drop?

 

So if it turned colors at three, it's at three not 4 BARE minimum is 4 and that's risky... I keep mine around six/seven, with 5-9 being the normal range.
I used seachem alkaline buffer to maintain my pH, I tried the crushed coral but with my plant mass it wasn't enough to hold it steady.

If you dosed ammonia and then tested tank and came out with those readings it would seem you are cycled. Remember to keep adding ammonia to feed the bacteria until you add fish.

 

Agreed, your cycle may still be intact. Just test that it is processing ammonia.

Sometimes the kh drops during cycling and a little bit of bicarbonate baking soda can get it back up and on track. That should be sufficient if your kh is usually higher.

 

I'll add alkaline buffer to our list!

Though for now, how much baking soda should I add (until we can get it)? I'm a bit of a baker, so I always have baking soda on hand. (Actually, today is baking day. So many cookies... so many...)

 

Be sure it is baking soda and not baking powder.

Start with 1 teaspoon of baking soda to 1 cup of tank water and stir until dissolved. Once completely dissolved dump it in the tank. Wait about 30 minutes and test for pH and KH.

If the added baking soda does not get the tank water to the concentrations repeat with 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda this time as it is easy to swing things big once you get them going. If still low, repeat again with 1/2 teaspoon...until you get it about 4 to 6 dKH.

 

We only have baking soda - I think I've only used baking powder once or twice.

I'll do that tonight, I've got some sugar cookie dough to start rolling!

 

Vacation was great! I picked up some rocks while I was there - - but I haven't done the vinegar test or cleaned them yet. (There's a very good reason behind that, too.)

So, yesterday when we got back I demanded we go get another bag of Eco-Complete so I can start terracotta mountain. Except we went to Petsmart, and Petsmart doesn't carry Eco-Complete. (At least the one we went to didn't.) Because I wasn't thinking clearly - impatiently, I was thinking impatiently - we just got a bag of Seacheam Flourite. Which is red, not black. We also got a tiny bag of sand (to put in the terracotta pots for cories), three plants - lucky bamboo, anubias congensis, and windelov java fern - AND a yellow mystery snail, named Mr. Gold. (We also got Root Tabs and Flourish, and then when we got home I remembered that we didn't need Flourish because we have Thrive. I told you, I was thinking impatiently.)

And, since I was thinking impatiently, when I went to clean the Flourite I rinsed it out a few times, not enough for the water to be clear, and then put it in the tank. You can guess what happened next. *Sigh* The next five hours were... exhausting. Just exhausting. I took about 80% of the substrate out - even the Eco-Complete and Seachem sand, since it was all mixed together - and went out to the backyard and rinsed it off until the water was clear. Put it back in the tank, did about a 60% water change, and... the water was still blood red. I didn't want Mr. Gold to sit in a small space all night, so I put him in the tank and crashed.

This morning, went to check on the tank and it was more of a peach color. Walked the dog, took a four hour nap, and then it was a LOT clearer. Now it's pretty clear to see through, but there's red dust all over EVERYTHING. (Filters, heater, bubble wand... the moss balls and smaller rocks I put back in...) When the water is clearer I'll rinse the sponge filter off. Later today I'll take everything else out (bubble wand, heater, etc.) and rinse it off.

Mr. Gold is doing well. He likes hanging on the bubble wand (I don't have it secured to the bottom of the tank, so the end with the cords is up a couple inches off the substrate) and most of the time when I've been able to see him that's where he is. (I don't actually know Mr. Gold's gender. But he's yellow, and mom called him Goldy in the store, and then BAM, I decided his name shall be Mr. Gold.)

I'm unsure about the Lucky Bamboo. I looked it up online and I think it'll work. I'll have to take it out of the tank every now and then (as it can't be completely submerged all the time... which kinda doesn't make it an aquatic plant, but my mom really wanted it). Now I'm going to work on Terracotta Mountain (now that I can SEE into the tank) and I'll post pictures later!

 

Ok, I can't imagine cleaning out the whole tank like that... That's a lot of work!

One of the key learnings from keeping fish for me has been to take it slow and BE PATIENT. If they don't have eco complete, don't buy anything. Just wait to you find a store that does carry it. Also, having a shopping list and sticking to it has helped me in the past. (Thinking about the accidental ordering of 10K light). Not to mention, taking it slow and minimizing mistakes will help keep your parents sane too. LOL. And keeps your budget from blowing out of proportion.

It's all about the journey, though, so enjoy the ride!

 

Yeah, it was! Especially since the sink we're using for the Python is upstairs, and it doesn't really suck anything up... so I had to do it by bucket. Not recommended.

Yeah, I realized that after we got home and I opened it... I just shouldn't have gotten anything. One would think I would've learned that by now, but nope! I was just in this weird mindset of "I HAVE to get this today, and we're not going anywhere else today, so I have to work with what they have." You know? Definitely need more patience though!

But mistakes happen, just have to learn how to roll with it and adjust. So far, the filter is really working wondrously. About 1pm-ish I took the luffy balls and rocks out to rinse them off, and I ended up kicking up all of the red dust again... Three hours later, it's becoming more translucent again. I also took out the bubble wand - Mr. Gold was not pleased - and rinsed it off. It looked like Mr. Gold cleaned the bubble wall part of the bubble wand and the airline tubing connecting the bubble wand to the air pump because it was the only part of the bubble wand (in the tank) that didn't have any red dust on it... so maybe he'll clean the surface of the the heater and filters for me too...? Not too sure yet. The last time I checked on him he was chilling on the smaller sponge filter suction cup. (I plugged that into the air pump when I took the bubble wand out.) He really likes the back of the tank, but that's where all of the stuff is.

I may just wait until tomorrow or Wednesday to start Terracotta Mountain. Give everything more time to settle. It's not what I wanted, but since I acted impatiently yesterday, it's probably for the best to wait a little now.

 

Oh my what a crazy couple a days you have had!
Just a tip- a lot of supplies are much cheaper on Amazon.

 

Oh my what a crazy couple a days you have had!
Just a tip- a lot of supplies are much cheaper on Amazon.

And this way you don't impulsively buy something else if the store is out of stock.

 

Yep. And it didn't stop today! Harry decided to roll in another dog's poop this morning, so guess who got a bath today. (He has since had a, "I haven't done anything wrong ALLLLLLL day. I'm a good puppy! " look on his face.)

I found a minI cucumber in the fridge yesterday, so I cut it up and put a tiny slice on the veggie clip for Mr. Gold. It took him a while to find it - even though I put it right next to him - but I found him on it this morning... until he jumped down. Haven't really seen him since - but I've moved things around in the tank and kicked up all of the red dust... again. On the brought side, within 6 hours of doing this the red dust has settled back down. So I'm assuming that means filtration is good?

I got both pieces of driftwood back and started Terracotta Mountain. I got the base down, but since I was putting it in the tank when all of the red dust was up... so I'll probably move it around again. Pictures coming soon!

 

I've got something better than pictures! Last night Mr. Gold was moving so quickly I figured I might as well film it. (Mom and Dad were watching the news, so I muted the video and added YouTube approved, instrumental music.)

(I've never added video to a post here, so hopefully it works!)

He seems a lot more active after 5PM. I tried looking for him all day (well, the part of the day I was home; Dad had eye surgery today and I went with him) and eventually I found him in one of the terracotta pots. After 5 he, literally, came out of his shell and started moving around more. (Lights were on between 8:30AM and 4:30PM, since there's java fern and anuabis in there now.)

 

That is one fast moving snail! And the music was so fitting, lol!

 

That's what I thought! When he moves... he really goes! Mom was sitting across the room and was like, "Woah! Look at that snail go!" That's my snail! (Mom now really wants to get another. I'm thinking a couple Nerites, since they won't breed, but another Mystery snail wouldn't be too bad... but I'm just not sure on Mr. Gold's gender. Pretty sure he's a male, but I'm not sure.)

The song is called Mature Sounds, and the entire time I was editing I was trying not to laugh. I'm thinking about just putting music to all of my fish videos. Just imagine a video of schooling tetras with calming music... That'd be awesome! (I just need tetras!)

 

Wow! That snail is fast! -Turbo

Lol

I love watching my snails! And who ever said snails are slow never actually watched one! Even my tiny horned nerite snails zoom across the tank! I'll see one, then watch the fish for a few minutes and look back and can't see the snail! Oh! He's on the other side of the tank now!

 

LOL. My Malaysian trumpet snails surprise me with their relatively fast speed too. Sometimes my MTS are faster to find food than my Cory fish. I am like, "hello!! The food is in front of you, how can you not see it?!?" while the MTS makes a beeline for the food.

 

Since he barely ate a fourth of the first piece of cucumber, I left him a thinner piece last night. When I went to check on this tank this morning he ate everything but the skin! I have to say, I'm impressed! You go, Mr. Gold!

Here's a pic of the whole tank - try to ignore how dark it looks in the photo. The tank looks more like it does in the video. (None of the other lights in the living room are on, that's partly why it looks so dark. Though the living room is so poorly lit it barely makes a difference.)

40B Plantless

• bubblegum-heart
• May 11, 2017
• 2

40B with Terracotta Mountain and... basically plantless, except the moss balls, java fern, and...

Mr. Gold is in the big terracotta pot by the heater. (At least, when I took this picture. It's been a few minutes, I'm sure he's moved.)

Terracotta Mountain is exactly on the third mark like I would've liked, but I'm gonna reserve judgement until more plants come in. It still looks a little bare, to me.

 

Sorry for the lack of update guys and gals! My dad's had eye surgery twice (once for each eye) and I've been helping him with his eyes and household chores. That and I had an appointment with a gastroenterologist about my stomach problems and I'm getting scoped on both ends at the end of June. Not looking forward to it. At all.

Anyway, to the tank! The first batch of plants I ordered got lost in the mail, so I reordered them this week and they arrived yesterday. They're in the tank, but not "planted" since I had other things going on yesterday. (Cousin had a baseball game, and then Mom and I went on an adventure to find Vess for my sister.) No pictures yet, but I'm going to plant everything after I post this.

Mr. Gold is doing great! I think he really likes having the whole tank to himself - not that I blame him, I would too if I was a snail. I try to put a slice of cucumber in the tank at least every other day - sometimes it's every two days. I noticed that he likes it when I cut off a piece of the skin before I put it in the tank... or at least he notices the slice a LOT quicker. I'm working on editing another video - the new avatar is from the upcoming video - so that and a picture should be coming soon. (Cousin has another baseball game tonight, so I'm not sure if it'll be tonight or not.)

Mom and I are running to our LFS store tomorrow to see what they have. Don't think we'll get anything... but if we do it'll probably only be some more snails... and more plants...