RennjiDK

First trim. The back is pretty full from all of the culture cups I used, so I did not replant. There seemed to be a good bit of GHA starting. I'm not sure where it got introduced. Perhaps it started to overtake due to my Co2 tank being empty? I replaced the Co2 and blew all the detritus into the water column with a bulb, then knocked back the stems and Cuba to promote new growth. Sept 28th, 2023

Sept 14, 2023

Another 10 days of growth, Aug 27th 2023 Not sure when I should do the first trim and re-plant.

All filters have pros and cons. HOB's provide the worst filtration next to air driven sponge filters. That's just an issue you're going to have to deal with, if you chose to run one. I also said in my original post to use a cut to fit sponge. See? This takes care of the bypass issue, once the basket is removed. For the record, I like having a surface skimmer. It removes a lot of biological waste that would otherwise build on the surface and form a protein film.

Buy your media bags on Amazon. There's hundreds of manufacturers with all different dimensions and pore sizes. You can get a 10 pack of whatever your looking for, for around $8.

For HOB, Tidal is best in class (IMO). It's self priming, has a sicce pump, and skims. I wouldn't worry about a canister or media types, as you're not going to max out any filtration with a 9g tank. A simple sponge cut to fit will be fine. As for lighting, it doesn't really matter without Co2. Don't believe that adding more par is going to result in more growth. Just look for something with a plant spectrum. Kelvin, lumens, and wattage mean absolutely nothing. I would put the $30est 12" light on the tank, and that should get you close.

Sorry for the late reply. Feel free to follow along.

Moving to the journal section to keep an online tank record. Equipment: Lifegard 7g full view Chihiros B series 30cm GLA paintball reg and atomic diffuser Aqueon Pro 50w Seachem Matrix 1L Brick sized coarse sponge Setup and dark cycle start Jul 27th, 2023 Planting day Aug 7th, 2023 10 day growth update Aug 17, 2023

Nitrifying bacterial colonies can double in size in a matter of hours. Pull the filter media and/or sponge out of the HOB, rinse it off, and just toss it in the new canister. There's no reason to run them both at the same time or squeeze old detritus into your new clean filter.

The last time I looked into it, I was using it in a low tech planted setup. My tap water is right around a 7.5 ph, so it is inert in MY low tech tanks, and that just stuck in my mind.

They're the exact same. What makes you believe that GHA, GSA, BSA, etc, photosynthesize using a different spectrum in the presence of salt?

Sorry, I misremembered and was partially incorrect. CaCo3 stops dissolving and becomes inert around a pH of 7.4. If you're water is much more acidic, say 6.4, it will help to buffer it to that level. It absolutely will not raise it to 8.2 like caribsea claims.

You can't really "stall" a cycle. At this point, you are finished, there's no question about that. As for your stocking choices and testing methods, both could probably use improvement. Api reagents settle out of solution. Make sure you are shaking those bottles for a solid 30 seconds each before testing, and holding them completely vertical when counting drops. Also double check that you are filling the test tubes correctly, with the bottom of the water curve touching the line.

Very small or labyrinth. Either way, just make sure your "ecosystem" really is one capable of substaining what ever you place in the tank.

Every tank has ammonia present. It's a universal constant. What we need to pay attention to is the concentration. In OPs case, 1ppm is very high from the tap. Anything over a 25% WC at that concentration I'd consider harmful. Aragonite is completely inert. It's fine to use in both FW and marine applications. Keep in mind that most non aquasoil substrates will bind phosphate for a prolonged period until an equilibrium is reached. Dosing nitrifying bacteria during WCs does absolutely nothing. You've already colonized the amount your tank can substain. They do not live in the water column anyways.

That's really the only option without a dedicated chiller. I'd get a couple 2l bottles and freeze them, should net you a few hours between swaps.

Livestock only add nitrate and phosphate. Even then, it entirely depends on the feeding schedule. Planning ferts around stocking is not a road to success. If blue light was responsible for algae, every reef tank on the planet would be a wall to wall display of Mt Dew.

You can't grow plants without feeding plants.

I've never used the method, but plenty of people have. All of my tanks are high light and high tech. Perhaps someone else will chime in with more DSM experience, though I can't imagine any more issues than just freshly planting. Most plants are grown out of water. The real issue is maintaining the correct humidity as to not dry out or rot the plants. I'd also highly recommend tissue cultures. They will save you a lot of headache.

I'm assuming you ordered from amazon? Return it. Hygger lights are terrible, IMO. They do not blend spectrum well and you will have a disco ball of individual colors in the tank, especially one that shallow. Most also dont turn off at night, they just dim, which means programming is out and you will need to use a timer anyways. Especially with the rev. 2 chihiros b series out now for the same price (or even cheaper). This is my go to budget light par/dollar. A step up would be the AI Blade. Iwagumi scape with seiru or ohko. That's what tanks like these are begging for. Go really high in atleast one back corner (or both), 3/5's height with aquasoil. Use MC in the front and any low areas, and Cuba in the back. This will create and even further sense of depth in the tank. Finally, use the dry start method, or set up a diy co2 system with a 2 liter bottle, airline, and air stone. Either way after 6-8 weeks, you'll have a beautiful carpet and will never need to worry about it again. Again, that's just my personal opinion.

I've pretty much given up on fishtubers for non-entertainment purposes. There is simply too much misinformation being spread, followed up with pseudoscience experiments, and the vast majority are guilty of it. I still keep one or two channels specifically for in depth species profiles and husbandry, but other than that, if were aren't roasting tanks on tiktok or scaping ADA level tanks, I'm out. That being said, I 100% agree. Scrolling endlessly for a single video posted 5 years ago is daunting.

I would personally try to vacuum out as much as possible during a WC. I would just use the hose itself, unattached from the plastic tube of your python for more flow. Once the bulk is removed, you could try a product like Dr Tim's waste away. I don't particularly like his brand and normally don't recommend it, but it's worth a shot.

In order to get the sort of gyre effect he's describing in the video, you need massive flow. I doubt that it could be done practically in a FW system, and certainly not from a HOB. Realistically, when the water exits a HOB, it just slowly pushes across the surface until it reaches the glass, then changes direction. Even if the water level is below the output (waterfall), there will be small eddies that form around the exit point, but the energy quickly dies off in the surrounding water volume. That's why floating plants end up in one corner, or going around in circles all day.

Yes, as long as the sand is deep. I personally don't possess an O2 sensor, but you could test with proper equipment. If their environment is disturbed and oxygen is introduced, the anaerobic bacteria will die off. More importantly, there a very toxic compounds which can build in low oxygen environments, and when released, can cause harm and death to the livestock inhabitants. You usually see this when people who don't vacuum their sand try to replace their substrate, after being in place for years. Yes, and no. I never claimed that you could reduce nitrates in a FW system via anaerobic bacteria. I specifically stated that without the benefit of a protein skimmer, you would be left with net zero results at the end of the process. This is because you are not going to develop a large enough colony without the aid of carbon dosing and an export method. If your goal is just No3 and Po4 reduction, a great and simple FW solution would be to either balance your nutrients with enough live plants to counteract input, or in plant-less/low plant load systems, install an algae scrubber. You can significantly cut back on WCs with either method, as you are only replenishing trace.

Api tests are pretty accurate, however, it can be difficult to interpret the results which is why it's always better to have a digital display. For instance, I cannot tell a difference between 40ppm and 80ppm of No3 using the api test. I know that my No3 is 11.2ppm when my egg checker tells me it is, +/- 0.1ppm. Diffusing outside air directly into the tank will definitely bump it up significantly, as would adding a Co2 reactor in the line. You will normally see a fluctuation of +/- 1 unit throughout the day, based on the levels of Co2 in the room with the tank.