New tank project - Riparium 3ft

Hi guys,

I said I would eventually start my new tank project after my shot at an aquascaped micro aquarium (doing pretty well still).

I have decided to give a Riparium a go. Wish me luck!

Currently I have:
- 3 Foot shallow tank
- LED strip light
- Bog standard Aquaone 800 filter
- Substrate (I will make a blended substrate myself which includes various sized rocks, sand and aqua soil. I will crush some tabs and add that as well.
- Cabinet for the tank to sit on
- 2x Large spider sand blasted drift wood (not even sure it's called this it just looks like it lol)

Plants
So far I have only decided on Peace Lily (I have this at home growing everywhere already) and Cantella Asiatica.

Scape
As the tank is long and thin I will flow the planting at a high point to a low point from left to right (I have attached images to demonstrate which I mean).

Stock
No idea, not even thought about this and probs won't until everything has grown in. (Besides shirmp). I will move my male Cockatoo Cichlid out of his small home into the larger tank once cycled.

Day one has been made of of cabinet building and tank setup as well as the hard scape. I had to cut a hole in the back of the cabinet to hide everything away.

I will keep posting as I go.

 

Just a quick update. The pond plants are in. I will and the aquarium plants in next week.

I did add some floating plants to assist with the algae bloom that will be sure to happen. The tank light is brighter then expected so I am bracing myself for the worst.

This will also be a none CO2 setup

 

An interesting thread I will be following along on thanks Chewbroccoli.

You are working on an indoor tank in the warm climate of Queensland but nether the less you are using pond plants.

I to am playing around with pond plants suitable for the much cooler climate down south. While I have found a couple of native plants that are frost tolerant I am not restricting myself to natives.

As well as pothos I can recommend brazilian penny wort as an interesting weed. Not the native shield pennywort.Another plant ( weed ) worth checking out is Lebanese celery.

 

An interesting thread I will be following along on thanks Chewbroccoli.

You are working on an indoor tank in the warm climate of Queensland but nether the less you are using pond plants.

I to am playing around with pond plants suitable for the much cooler climate down south. While I have found a couple of native plants that are frost tolerant I am not restricting myself to natives.

As well as pothos I can recommend brazilian penny wort as an interesting weed. Not the native shield pennywort.Another plant ( weed ) worth checking out is Lebanese celery.

View attachment 845181
View attachment 845182

Can you come and do my garden haha this look amazing!

I am just going to feel it out with this tank and take it month on month. I want to see how it all grows in and add in some more plants under the water level and maybe an additional pond plant. I am not expecting the Cantella Asiatica to survive under water for two long and probs should have lifted the substrate level to clear the water more to allow it a better chance. You live and learn.

 

Still early days for me, you know how photos make things look better than in real life?

This is a link to where I first saw Bazillion penny wort in an aquarium.

It’s a real weed but I don’t expect it to do well outdoors in my climate. I have some indoors and am still seeing how it goes long term with the water changes I do compared to LRB’s routine.

Still living and definitely still learning.

 

An update on this:

I have added some new plants. I have some swords in there and also planted a very small amount of Monte Carlo to see how it takes.

I also added some media and sponge "gunk" to my canister and the cycle process has sped up considerably.

I did see a full bloom on day 3 I think but settler after 3 days. It's now been about 12 days since setup. I have transferred some of my Cherry Shrimp (6 of them) over from my smaller tank and they have all settled in nicely with no deaths.

Still not even sure on stock for this tank yet. Just happy to watch the grow in. The tank is a great back drop to my work zoom meetings and often get comments on it

 

Another update

Tank is going strong and Shrimp are happy (some of the females are fanning some eggs).

I did see a bacterial bloom which fogged the water and was gone in 3 days however it has returned and has stayed steady for the last 5 days. I am not super concerned at the moment as there are no fish just the plants and Shrimp but hoping it will dissipate soon.

I have planted the Monte Carlo as mentioned and it's growing okay. Seeing some new shoots sprouting up.

I got some plant bombs (java moss) but hated how they looked so dismantled them and glued them to the stones at the bottom of the tank. I will do a 50% water change on the weekend and shift the stone under the drift wood to get some growth going on it as well.

Floating plants are doing an excellent job in keeping the algae at bay why the other plants settle in. I have seen a little melt on some of the plants. Peace lily is doing okay as well but could be better if I hung the light maybe.
I also want to make a change to the drift wood. And switch the angle to improve the scape balance. Let me know if you think this is worth it or not.

 

Another update: The algae bloom has now gone (6 days in total) and the tank has settled down now thankfully. That's two blooms in 3 weeks. Also, the Monte Carlo is starting to grow into little clumps. I am super happy with this as I really wanted a green carpet of it if I can as it looks so good when fully grown in.

Starting to look at stock options. I am actually pretty limited in what I can add in. The tank is quite shallow and the substrate is taking up about 30% of the current space which I do get back in volume from the large canister filter but I am most likely going to be limited to 2-5 fish depending on the species.

Dwarfs, Rams or apistogramma are at the top of the list for me. I have had Bolivian Rams before and Blues but never the German Black so I have been hunting around for a pair. Also, what are people's thoughts on Balloon Rams. Super cute or super Genetically wrong?

 

Just a quick update on the tank. I did not change the water for two weeks and have now finally done a large water change. All plants are producing new growth which great considering this is a low tech no CO2 setup.

Off to check out the current LFS stock and do a little more research on stock combinations. My LFS has just got in a whole bunch of imported fish from Vietnam I believe so interested to see what they have.

I added a before and after to see what a 4 week gap looks like. I will do another comparison in another four weeks to just track the growth really.
Update: one of the fish I have always loved as the Golden Ram and they had some beautiful ones in today. I chose a male and female and they are currently in the tank. Once settled I will get some pictures.

 

Always great to see a shallow tank!

 

Love it! Picture book stuff! With tanks like this one, I always find less (in terms of stocking) is more.

 

I looks lovely! Great job!

 

Love it! Picture book stuff! With tanks like this one, I always find less (in terms of stocking) is more.

Absolutely! And that's the plan. Keep it nice and simple
As promised here are pictures of the two Golden Rams. I am pretty sure it's a male and female based on the fins. Female is actually quite active but the male hardly moves at all (slightly concerned). But we shall see how he goes over the next few days as it's only day one.

 

Update: my male and female golden rams turned out to be two males. I have added two more to the tank and I am watching them closely for signs as they develop. The first two males have now declared each side of the tank his own. I have also added 12 diamond backed rummy nose tetras. Everyone has settled in well. If I get more males then my LFS has allowed me to swap them out.

 

I hope you have better luck with rams than I have

 

I hope you have better luck with rams than I have

I was interested in getting some as they look awesome. I have successfully bred rams before years ago (it was not intentional it just happened).

I do love the golden rams even though I know they are not a "natural fish". I find the high temp requirements slightly challenging to work around.

 

Well it's been almost two months so I thought I would provide an update on my tank. The grow in process is chugging along nicely. I have had minimal Algae which is good and makes the tank easier to clean. Happy with the progress. The Monte Carlo has actually note done as good as I would have hoped and blame this on the high water temps as it's gone gang busters in my smaller Micro Aquarium which sits around the 25 degree mark where the larger tank is around 28 degrees. I did have an issue with my Golden Rams. I got two dudes. I thought they were a pair. I got two more and now for sure have two males and two females. The sexing was very hard to pick on the juveniles golden rams.

The Rummy Nose tetras have settled in well but so did notice one was missing an eye (could be deformed due to inbreeding).

The female rams have been digging pits all around the tanks but both males often hide a lot and I have yet to see any courtship behaviour. The males when they spot each other do display aggressive territory behaviour.

I will update in a month's time.

 

(just started) following with interest

 

Hi folks, another month has gone by so I thought I would give an update.

Grow-in process is chugging along nicely but the Monte Carlo is not doing so well (I have tried dimming the light the past few weeks but no real change has been noticed). I do want to lift the light further but have yet to find a solution for this (I can't hang it from the wall). My current dosing is Excel, flourish & Potassium (I dose in small amounts and only really once every two weeks). I am considering adding in some more swords but I am undecided. Algae is present but not in any great volume. I might include a picture to show what it looks like before I do a full tank cleanout.

Fish update!
The rummys are going well and look nice and fat and doubled in size. But I had one jump out of the tank yesterday. The Golden Rams are also doing well. No pairings yet. The largest male has no interest in the two females or any other fish for that matter. All he cares about is that no one enters his territory. I don't think he thinks the females are a suitable match for him. But he is slowly making ground on the other male and dominates 70% of the tank now. I will most likely have to call it soon and sell the other three (I am somewhat convinced that one of the females is actually a submissive male pretending to be a female).

Only other issue I have is with the snails getting caught in the spray bar holes and blocking them.
I have also included some shots of the failed Monte Carlo and Java moss that is doing well

 

Just a quick update on tank maintenance.

I have included some before and after I do my tank maintenance.

I do get some build up of algae and as you can see the duckweed goes crazy and almost covers the top (this only takes one week)

I do get some buildup on top of the substrate that I have to pay extra attention to as it can get real messy. I will say that the algae is become less and less of an issue.

I use a simple kitchen sponge to clean the tank. Not sure how others do it but I normally take as much of the floating plants out as I can (I try and leave 25%). Then drain the tank to about 70% and leave the last bucket of water to use to wash out my sponge and literally get to work scrubbing the tank. I switch off the filter and heaters during this process. Once done I fill the tank up and dose the tank with Flourish, Excel and every second clean I add potassium.

 

30 day update:

All plants but Monte Carlo are doing well. I have all but given up on it. I have tried dosing changes, light changes and nothing has made it grow.

I have added 2x wild caught Black Sail Cory's and 2x Dwarf Chain Loaches aka the clean up crew. I needed some help to shift the substrate around a bit. Can't do shrimp and I worry about the rapid breeding of snail's.

Golden Rams update: finally seeing lots of pairings behaviour from both males with both females. The females are also arguing more. I am getting to the point where I will have to sell off a male and female.

I am reviewing my lighting needs and will most likely add another light above the Peace Lily to lift the growth.
I will be adding in some mor let Loaches but the dwarf chains are $80 a pair so need to do it phases on each pay cycle.

 

I have added 2x wild caught Black Sail Cory's and 2x Dwarf Chain Loaches aka the clean up crew. I needed some help to shift the substrate around a bit. Can't do shrimp and I worry about the rapid breeding of snail's.

Your choice, but actually not necessary. Embrace the mulm!

I find the group sizes really too small.

Otherwise I like the layout, the way the rootwork and mulm layer have evolved...

 

Your choice, but actually not necessary. Embrace the mulm!

I find the group sizes really too small.

Otherwise I like the layout, the way the rootwork and mulm layer have evolved...

 

I will be adding in some mor let Loaches but the dwarf chains are $80 a pair so need to do it phases on each pay cycle.

Where in Queensland are you? These guys on the Sunshine Coast have them for under $13 each. They also ship fish.

Loach – Dwarf Chain Loach (Ambastaia Sidthimunki) 4cm – Aquarium Central

 

I have s

Where in Queensland are you? These guys on the Sunshine Coast have them for under $13 each. They also ship fish.

Loach – Dwarf Chain Loach (Ambastaia Sidthimunki) 4cm – Aquarium Central

Oh that's awesome. I am in Brisbane. Thanks for the recommendation.

 

Monthly update:

My dominant male Golden Ram and female have started to spawn in random locations. I have sold my remaining two.

I took out all my Monte Carlo as it was just failing to grow successfully (I gave it 8 months). I have since replaced it with Mini Alternanthera Reineckii to give some colour to the tank and matches my current light settings. I will update on this once it grows in a bit more.

 

Monthly update:

My dominant male Golden Ram and female have started to spawn in random locations. I have sold my remaining two.

I took out all my Monte Carlo as it was just failing to grow successfully (I gave it 8 months). I have since replaced it with Mini Alternanthera Reineckii to give some colour to the tank and matches my current light settings. I will update on this once it grows in a bit more.

Wow! I love the algae look and the plant pick is just incredible!

 

Looks Good!
I am looking at redoing/changing my 55g. I like the Peace Lily, I have been using Pothos.
Thanks for the idea.

 

So I have an update.

I decided to add in a C02 setup.

But what it has done is explode my aquarium with I assume hair algae.

The growth you see is literally one week. I am having to do huge tank clean outs each weekend to keep on top of it.

I am wondering if the shallow tank and led light choice is to bright and I need to bring it down a notch. I am seeing new plant growth which is good but it's not as fast as the algae is growing at the moment.

There is an imbalance here for sure I am just trying to work out what it is. Light, nutrients or C02. One of them is in excessive amounts or not enough.

Wish me luck.
I will run a raft of testing to see what I can pinpoint. But if nothing comes up I will reduce my light to half luminosity and drop down the amount of time it's on and see if that works

 

There is an imbalance here for sure I am just trying to work out what it is. Light, nutrients or C02. One of them is in excessive amounts or not enough.

This is the standard conclusion. As if there are three dials you can tweak. Once dialed right, plants grow and no algae to be found. The tank is "in balance".

I think it is not a biological relevant model and hence not a practical one. But it is always applicable at hindsight (because it doesn't make much sense anyhow), hence people keep regurgitating it. Sure, fertilising plants in darkness will not make sense.

Algae have a head start in water compared to plants. Aquatic environments is the domain of algae. Algae are opportunistic. A few triggers is all they need to reproduce. Filamentous green algae is a typical symptom of outdoor ponds in summer: bright light, high temps and nitrogen.

Plants are terrestrial. They invest in growth first, before turning to reproduction. OK, a little black and white stated, but plants follow a different course. You need to work along those lines.

For instance, if you add plants and two weeks later introduce CO2, and perhaps adjust other parameters as well in order "to find balance", it is most likely to no avail for plants. It perhaps only stresses plants. And most likely you are stimulating algae only.

Plants need to adjust a month or so in a new environment. So best to create a situation that won't benefit your algae first and foremost (no nutrients, dim light, low temp and forget about CO2).

Plants can dominate tanks at the expense of algae once they are numerous and healthy, i.e. capable of investing in defensive mechanisms and feeding the microbe community found in the rhizosphere.

 

Something's not right there but hard to say what it is. When I added CO2 injection to my tank I experienced less nuisance algae rather than more, although I also increased nutrient and light levels. Your light doesn't look very bright, but it's difficult to tell just from pics. You may need to experiment a bit.

I find this website quite informative although with regard to this article I can't see any obvious causes in relation to your tank:

How to control fuzz/hair/thread algae (filamentous algae)

 

So a bit of an update, my nephew has turned up my MY C02 system while I was at work and killed half my stock. All my 12 Diamond rummy nose tetras are dead as is my female Golden Ram. I came home to the male Gasping for oxygen. I pulled the system out and did a 90% water change. So my 2 Cory's, Male Ram, starlight pleco and a single Dwarf Chain loach survived.

After a lot of consideration I don't think I will try and pair the male ram. It's to much effort in getting a natural pairing.

I decided instead to add a few more dither fish to make him feel more comfortable.

I have added in:
6x Black Phantoms Tetras
6x Serpae Tetras
2x Kuhli Loaches

On the Algae issue, as soon as I removed the C02 the Algae went away (cleaned the tank and it has not returned). If anything the tank looks better then ever.

I will revisit this soon but will just use Excel for now as I am feeling somewhat burt by the mass death. I also need to work out a proper balance with the C02.

 

WOW, that is something sorry about that! you may want to try a pair of apistogramma instead, ive heard rams can be finicky but apistogammas are way less finicky.

 

WOW, that is something sorry about that! you may want to try a pair of apistogramma instead, ive heard rams can be finicky but apistogammas are way less finicky.

Rams from the normal trade are really ... I rarely say rubbish, but they are. Many domestic Apistogramma breeds are the same nowerdays, though. I would stay away from A. cacatuoides, A. agassizii and A. macmasteri from the standard trade as well. A. borelli, A. trifasciata and A. hongsloi are still better stock.

 

Rams from the normal trade are really ... I rarely say rubbish, but they are. Many domestic Apistogramma breeds are the same nowerdays, though. I would stay away from A. cacatuoides, A. agassizii and A. macmasteri from the standard trade as well. A. borelli, A. trifasciata and A. hongsloi are still better stock.

I do have agassizii at my LFS but with the Ram in the tank it would just cause fighting. I stared at these long and hard on Saturday but thought better if it. I will most likely sell the male now and look at some other options. Even know my tank is 3 foot the depth actually limits what I can have. Thanks for the other three recommendations. I am in no rush so will see what's floating around my area.

You are right about the Rams!

Rams from the normal trade are really ... I rarely say rubbish, but they are. Many domestic Apistogramma breeds are the same nowerdays, though. I would stay away from A. cacatuoides, A. agassizii and A. macmasteri from the standard trade as well. A. borelli, A. trifasciata and A. hongsloi are still better stock.

I actually really love the look of the A. Hongsloi but not sure my tank setup is suitable for them.

 

I actually really love the look of the A. Hongsloi but not sure my tank setup is suitable for them.

Had one of those before I got the Dicrossus. Your tank is so-so suitable for a single one, not for a pair. The substrate is not Apisto-friendly.

But then, I don't know how the tank looks right now.

 

Had one of those before I got the Dicrossus. Your tank is so-so suitable for a single one, not for a pair. The substrate is not Apisto-friendly.

But then, I don't know how the tank looks right now.

Yeah, it's not an optimal. There are plenty of other options.

 

Just another update.

My Remaining golden Ram died. Had Popeye and lasted maybe half a day. Could not save him. Oddly enough, my smaller tank with my Beta is also struggling as well. But it looks internal. He is swimming very badly but no visible outside issues that I can see and his appetite is still strong (am basically hand feeding him at this point). I am keeping up the water changes and I did general dose the tank with a multi cure.

Plants are all doing fine with some slight issues with the leaf deterioration (I am assuming lack of potassium is the cause).

I was concerned with my tap water quality and have ran some tests on the tank in full to understand where I am at.

PH - 7.6-8
Ammonia - 0.5
Nitrate - 0.0-0.5
Hardness - 107ppm (soft)

I could not get an accurate reading on my Nitrite

I am dosing Excel and that is about it at the moment. I will get some potassium today and see how that goes.

 

PH - 7.6-8
Ammonia - 0.5

I could not get an accurate reading on my Nitrite

The combination of pH and ammonia is your bigger problem. High pH makes even low levels of ammonia problematic. Are you sure the 0.5 is correct?

I was concerned with my tap water quality and have ran some tests on the tank in full to understand where I am at.

So... the above are the tank values, not tap, right? What results did the tap give you, then?

 

The reading was so low and the colour graph only had 0 or 0.5. it sat below 0.5 for sure. But there was a faint colouring to the water. But you normally have some ammonia in your tank.

This was just testing the tank water before I did a water change. I will run a seperate test on the tap water from the bathroom and also from the kitchen. The water from the bathroom has a noticeable smell. I stopped using it. But will test it.

I am wondering if the C02 poisoning with my Golden Ram has impacted his overall health. He was never quite right even when the tank returned to normal.