CJhilljack

Welcome! Taylor is a beautiful boy & I love all the plants you put in your tank. I hope you're recovery goes well.

I'm about to set up an container to grow some plants emersed while I'm slowly gathering everything I need to set up the new 14 gallon tank I got for Christmas. It got me thinking...what is the minimum frogbit would need in order to do something similar - by which I mean, a nursery setup for use in my future tank? I have been working to eliminate as much duckweed as possible in my 2 gallon jararium and now the frogbit is absolutely flourishing. In just the 2 weeks I've been working on the duckweed, my frogbit has expanded to the point where there I was able to put some in my 1 gallon jar and I'm sure by next week, I'll need a place to put the excess. The attached picture is from last week, after I did my first duckweed cleanout, today, there is even less duckweed. (I have nothing against duckweed, I just don't want it taking over, which it was starting to do). My main goal with the 14 gallon tank is to finally get some medaka & I read they will lay eggs in the frogbit roots. Since I much prefer pretty plants to sponge mops, I want to hang onto my excess frogbit so I can add it to my tank when I'm ready. Has anyone set up something with their frogbit? If I put it in a container of water and feed it easy green would that be enough for it to be happy & healthy for my next tank? I know selling it is an option too & I might do that at some point as well, but in the meantime, does anyone have experience with this?

I did some cleaning of the tank over the weekend, topped it off, but have not done any water changes. Today, the water is clearer & the snails still seem to be doing fine. Catching up test results: 1/15 - ammonia 1.0, nitrite 0, nitrate 5.0 1/17 (today) - ammonia .50, nitrite 0, nitrate 5.0 I'm happy to see the ammonia reducing and hoping that combined with the water clearing up some is a good sign.

I left it for now, to see if it would continue to climb, but today it's down from 1.0 to .50. Nitrate is 5.0 so we'll see. Thanks again for the help!

Thank you both for the advice!

I rebuilt my 1 gallon jararium Dec 30th. Yesterday, I noticed a bit of cloudiness that I'm pretty sure is bacterial bloom. Yesterdays test results were Ammonia .50, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 5.0 - I did a 20% water change, and I also did a water change on the weekend, also 25%, which I'm not sure I should have been doing. It seems some folks say they do daily water changes on a new tank, but other says leave it alone the first 3 weeks. Results today are: Ammonia 1.0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0. I was just reading it's best to ride these bacterial blooms out unless Ammonia spikes. This makes sense, but at what point does the ammonia level trigger a water change? Since this was a rebuild, it has the same plants and snails that were originally in the jar, but the snails don't seem to be in distress so far.

Test results for 1/11/23: Ammonia - .50, Nitrite - 0.0, Nitrate 5.0 I did a 20% water change. The lower 1/4 of the tank water looks cloudy to me, if I understand correctly, this may be bacterial bloom. I also trimmed a couple of the moneywort stems, and replanted them. Test results for 1/12/23: Ammonia - 1.0, Nitrite - 0.0, Nitrate 0.0 Hmmm, time to ask questions....

Wow, this is your FIRST tank? It looks great!

I didn't test the water as often as I should have this week, here are the results of this week's tests: 1/1/23 - Ammonia - .25, Nitrite - 0, Nitrate - 5.0, high ph 8.4 1/4/23 - Ammonia - .50, Nitrite - 0, Nitrate - 0 1/7/23 - Ammonia - 1.0, Nitrite - 0, Nitrate - 0 I did a 50% water change today and cleaned. So far, the water is clear & the snails seem happy. I'm going to make an effort to test daily this week & see what results I get. Prior to rebuilding the tank, I was having issues with the ammonia being high and everything else being zero. I'm hoping to turn that around with this new build.

I'll have to research those, I've never heard of either. Thank you for the suggestion. I purchased a 14 gallon tank this week too, which I'm nowhere near ready to set up yet, but Medaka are at the top of my stocking list & I know they like some live food, so that might work out well. 😄 I'm amazed at how interesting it is to watch the snails. I had no idea they could move so quickly. They've really been busy exploring this morning.

I'm really new to this, but I've been taking lots of notes in my bullet journal for 2 jarariums I set up in September 2022. This journal will be documenting my journey with my 1 gallon jar, which I affectionately dubbed "Tiny Mighty" when it seemed to be really taking off initially. The initial setup included 7 Lucky Bamboo Stalks, some Dwarf Hair Grass, Christmas Moss, and Pearlweed. They got off to a good start and things seemed well, but the only plants that seemed to be doing well at all were the Lucky Bamboo, the other plants died. I realized the 7 stalks of LB, were probably taking up all the nutrients and leaving nothing for the other plants. I had also tried to keep a few shrimp, but my parameters were all over the place & they didn't survive. I decided earlier in December I was going to need to rebuild this jar, but I was headed on vacation, so I held off until my return. On the 29th, I headed to Aquarium Coop and picked up new plants including: Moneywort, Crypttocoryne Wendtii (I think) and another plant recommended by the staff for ground cover - but which I've forgotten the name of. Yesterday, the 30th, I got to work and re-built the tank. I used substrate recommended by & purchased at Aquarium Coop & capped it with white sand, then returned 3 of the Lucky Bamboo stalks to the tank, plus all of the other plants I purchased, breaking most up into individual stems & spreading them out, Moneywort at the back. Then replaced the snails - a Blue Ramshorn & pond snails & added frogbit to the top (with a little Duckweed that hitched a ride - as it does) & a little bit of the water from the former setup - hoping that will help with the beneficial bacteria. This morning, I tested the re-built tank for the first time, here's the results: High PH: 8.4 Ammonia: 0 Nitrite: 0 Nitrate: 0 I also realized this morning that a large and unusually colored "pond" snail may, in fact, be a baby Blue Ramshorn after reading just yesterday they can reproduce individually. I blanched some seaweed & eggshell this morning to feed the snails. Attaching a before & 3 after photos from this morning.

I did a 50% water change in my 2 gallon jararium (snails & plants only) and am almost finished re-scaping my 1 gallon jararium (also just snails & plants). I am already feeling very happy with the new setup & feeling accomplished to have so much done already today.

I purchased wood at my LFS, I don't recall what kind it was, but the label said it was safe to add the wood directly to the aquarium, if desired, and that the tannins would clear up after a few weeks. It's been 4 months now, & my water is still very dark. Would those who commented they don't boil please let me know if the tannins ever cleared up in your tanks? The image below is after a 50% water change just this morning.

I don't really celebrate Christmas, but I visited my bff this year for the holiday & actually did take some small gifts along with me since I never get to see her for birthdays & such. I was surprised to receive a cash gift from her which I used yesterday to buy new plants, substrate & root tabs at Aquarium Coop's Lynnwood store yesterday - it's always a treat to visit the store. Then I picked up a 14 gallon, Aqueon cube tank too. I may not set it up anytime soon, but that was a nice gift to be able to purchase. Merry Holidays everyone!

I did a 50% water change in my 2 gallon jararium (snails & plants only) and am almost finished re-scaping my 1 gallon jararium (also just snails & plants). I am already feeling very happy with the new setup & feeling accomplished to have so much done already today.

I had the pleasure of visiting the Lynnwood store for the 2nd time just yesterday. I just want to thank the staff for always being so helpful & patient. The store was crazy busy and the staff were all so polite, friendly, patient and helpful with everyone. I just finished re-doing my little 1 gallon jararium and I am so pleased with the plants that were suggested by the nice guy who helped me. Thank you!

Thanks for sharing this link, it was helpful.

Thank you!

I don't have any yet, but I've become obsessed with Japanese Ricefish. I love the color variations! I started to set up a mini-pond for my porch, but it was too late in the season, so I'm waiting for spring/summer to finish setting it up.

This is beautiful, that pothos is clearly happy. This is exactly what I wanted to do with my jar aquarium. I have been shy about taking cuttings from my pothos, but I need to get with the program because this is just fabulous!

I hope it's ok to hop onto this thread. I am having a similar issue with my jar tanks. Both are new, set up mid-September 1 gallon & 2 gallon size. My well water base levels are: Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0, PH varies between 8.2 & 8.4. I have not yet purchased test kits for the KH, etc, but when we had the well tested professionally (something overdue to be done again), it tested as soft with a high PH. I wasn't using water conditioner at first, but have been for the past month, just in case there are heavy metals. For awhile the ammonia was at 1.0 in both jars for the past couple of weeks. In the 2 gallon jar, the ammonia has been decreasing and I've been seeing nitrite & nitrate rise & fall, but nothing has arrived at zero yet. In the 1 gallon jar, the ammonia is the only change I see, it finally started decreasing this past week or so, but after testing it on Wednesday at .25, it tested today at 5.0. I have been doing weekly water changes. The 1 gallon jar was also quite cloudy, but it has finally cleared up considerably. The 2 gallon jar has a lot more plants in it than the 1 gallon. It has stem plants, crypts & anubis, with frogbit floaters which all seem to be growing well - especially the frogbit which went from about 4 or 5 plants to a completely covered surface. The 1 gallon jar is the one I'm really worried about. It has lucky bamboo, dwarf hairgrass & pearlweed (purchased from Aquarium Coop, thanks!). I did have Christmas Java moss in both, but I have since taken it all out - I didn't plant it correctly and I didn't like the brown color. This jar also has an odd, red something growing in the gravel at the front of the tank. Is this a type of algae? I have snails in both tanks 1 nerite each & 1 blue ramshorn each (plus pond snails that appeared on their own) which seem to be doing well. I am wondering if the smaller jar needs more plants? Are there not enough plants to process the ammonia? I had shrimp in both tanks too, 3 in each, but they all died when the ammonia spiked. I should add, both jars have organic potting soil substrate. The 2 gallon jar has a sand cap and the 1 gallon jar has gravel cap. I've had a tough time planting the 1 gallon, I've tried to add some other plants, but haven't been able to bury them properly & they ended up floating & rotting. 😞 I included photos of both jars in my introduction today, but here's the small jar again, for visual on plant quantity.

Wow, This is beautiful! Thank you so much for the encouraging words.

Hi Everyone! I'm in Washington State in the foothills south of the Aquarium Coop shop, which I recently visited for the first time. My parents had a fish tank when I was a child and I had a Betta for awhile in my mid-20's, but I consider myself new to the hobby. I recently set up a couple of tiny, planted tanks - which I am actually struggling with - that currently have just snails in them. I'm watch some of you on YouTube & I'm looking forward to learning from you all!