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d6veteran

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  1. d6veteran
    I have 10 week new planted aquarium with fish and I cannot tell if the plants are on a good path or showing signs of poor health. I have read that new plants will often end up being trimmed back to allow healthier new leaves/growth to come in. Stats: kH 6 pH 6.8-7.4 75-76 F CO2 3.5bps on with lights Lighting 5000k, 27W, 10 hours Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0 - .1 Fertilizer: 2x/week Flourish, 2x/week Pottasium, 1x/week Iron (all Seechem products) Exhibit A: This Buce has been in the tank for 4 weeks. Some yellowing leaves but some new green/reddish leaves coming in. Several (new) leaves beginning to unfold. Algae growth seems under control. I assume this is doing well? Exhibit B: I added 4-6 Java ferns on 3 different occasions. These are the larger basic Java Fern. They have stay green with little browning, but are rapidly growing offspring. The offspring look healthy - great color, long roots. But is that algae on the roots? Do I remove the offspring and plant them? Is this a sign of stress or health? Exhibit C: These are smaller Trident Java Ferns (they might actually be Petite, I got them mixed up). Out of about 6 plants a couple are starting to get tips melting away, brown spots, and algae collecting. Snails love eating the algae off of them. Are these plants struggling or is this a case where I have to trim and wait for new growth? All comments feedback welcome.
  2. d6veteran
    Thanks for all the help! Update. I worked on raising pH and kH (added 4 lbs of crushed coral to sump) and today reached the following timeline. 7AM (pre-CO2/lights): 6.5 kH / 7.4 pH 10:30AM: 6-7 kH / 7.2 pH 12:30PM: 6 kH / 7.0 pH 2:30PM: 6 kH / 6.8 pH 5PM: 7 kH / 6.8 pH For the kH I get results between 6 and 7 drops. Often the 6th drop turns the water slightly yellow, but not bright yellow. So calling it 6.5 kH. According to the chart I am getting into the red at 6.8pH (which is higher than when I was bottoming at 6.6 pH at peak CO2). Going to dial down the bubbles a bit tomorrow to keep it above 6.8pH. Any comments/advice welcome.
  3. d6veteran
    Update. I retrieved two of the Zebra Danios and put them in a small bowl. They both look fine. I then fiddled with the lights to reduce the all but the blue hues (so I could still see in the tank) and then fed bug bites which drew about half the Danios out. They were very tentative - zooming out to grab a bug bite then zooming back into hiding. I did spot the Danio with the red gill and it looks more like a damaged gill. I can see a bit of scale flashing just below the gill like it was torn. Observing the other fish more closely (as best I can as they are FAST), some of the gills are pink-red, and I am wondering if this is normal and I am just looking for reasons based on their weird behavior. I am going to hold tight and just let the tank be without any changes for a week or two. There have been many many changes in the past 2-3 weeks (plants added, pH change, a major piece of aqua-scaping taken out and put back). They might just be overly stressed and need some peace.
  4. d6veteran
    Good advice. I am going to calibrate some things in the tank that might be stressing the fish out (like low pH). And capture one of the Danios to inspect the gills. Then like you said, carefully form a plan.
  5. d6veteran
    I did see some references to Flukes and it says look for hairs (they are worms). I need to get a photo of the fish so I can enlarge and see if there are hairs ... I did not see that it was common to Danios. Thanks for the reply!
  6. d6veteran
    So I've been calibrating a fairly new tank for just over 3 months and all the fish were happy until some big change this weekend. Cory's and Plecos fine, but all 18 Danios (10 Zebra, 8 Kyathit) have gone into hiding at the bottom in the plants/driftwood, only a few come out to eat. Just now I tried to coax them out with some food. Several came out and I noticed red gills on at least two of them. Internet search took me many places ... Ammonia is 0, so it isn't Ammonia poisoning CO2 is between 15-30ppm, but the fish are not gasping for air or going to the surface So that leaves ... bacteria? But why don't the Cory's and Plecos have it (at least they are acting normally with no red gills)? My first tank crisis 😞
  7. d6veteran
    +1 to Nerites I have 15-20 Nerites in my 65 gallon and they are continually taking down all types of algae. They are surprisingly agile - climbing on all size plants, rocks, heater, airline ... They are also fun to watch.
  8. d6veteran
    @Solidus1833Yes, agree with your approach, my goal is also healthier/greener plants over pearling. I had LOTS of pearling which might be a sign of pushing past 30ppm CO2?
  9. d6veteran
    pH went from 7.4ish down to 6.8 between 8am and noon. So adjusting bps from 4 to 3. That is a big swing and not even at peak CO2 yet.
  10. d6veteran
    @Solidus1833 Danios - no gulping for air. 2-3 of them will come out and swim back and forth the length of the tank rapidly for a bit, then go hide again. Normally, the second I open the lid, all 10 Danios are ready to feed, and then 10 seconds later the Kyathit are out after the food hits the water. Now, once I put food in, about 4-6 fish come out to feed. So definitely something going on. I don't see any visible signs although we do think one of them has super red gills. Hopefully it is not a bacteria, but rather too many changes and they are hiding to destress. I feel I need to dial the CO2 down because based on the KH/pH chart, dipping down to 6.6/6.8 is getting into the red (if I understand the chart correctly). But yes - I'd like to stop changes for a couple weeks and see how things go! I still am shocked that 18 fish are managing to stay unseen. I cannot find them visually no matter what angle I look through, and don't want to rummage the aquascaping. Thanks for all the feedback/ideas!
  11. d6veteran
    Thanks for all the help. Here is an update. Monday night I added about 3lbs of crushed coral to the sump (recommendation on the bag was 6lbs for 60g, so I started with half the amount for my tank). @Cory Airstone added to sump as your recommended. I do have high flow through my nozzles with some splashing, so I think along with the airstone I have great agitation and oxygenation. So at this point I think I am maximizing gas exchange. I like the airstone in the sump idea. No water change since Saturday. Measurements using API test kit: KH has raised to between 5-6. Four tests over the past 24 hours are right between 5 and 6 drops in the test. pH is now peaking at 7.4 this morning before CO2, and yesterday during peak CO2 it was 6.6. 0 Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate CO2 is at 3.5bps So @Solidus1833 I think I need to dial down the CO2 bps to aim for a 6.8-7 pH at peak CO2? The thing I cannot figure out is that while the 10 Cory Pandas and 2 Plecos seem active and normal, the 10 Zebra and 8 Kyathit Danios are MIA. Over a 24hr period (even at night) it is rare to see like 3-4 of them come out for a quick dart around the tank. They are so well hidden that I keep thinking they have all somehow been sucked into the filter or died and under a plant somewhere. It's very very strange. Just last week all of them were frenzied eaters and highly active.
  12. d6veteran
    @Jungle Fan ha! I just tried that out and it works! I have been having trouble with my tubing to the sink (I hook it up to an old water pump to refill the tank, as well as run from the bucket to the sink when vacuuming) and sometimes I've cut the tube to get it off. Good trick!
  13. d6veteran
    That is a good idea Jungle Fan.
  14. d6veteran
    I just tried a quick solution in the meantime. We shall see how it goes ... Airline tubing cut to about 6 inches Cut some scrap tubing to insert both open ends around to secure a ring Heat over stove (just to soften, not to melt) to shape Float! Plan to dispose of extra growth over ring
  15. d6veteran
    Oh interesting. Meant to keep plants out, but could be used to keep a small bit of plants in ... and those would keep the plants in one place. Thanks for the idea!
  16. d6veteran
    I've got two types of floating plants in my tank (one was a volunteer that came with the other). I love them, and they are growing quick, but I'd like to coral them a bit. I have high flow and if I could keep them in 2 clumps it would help with feeding and just generally more pleasant visually. Before I DiY I wanted to see if anyone has a design they found works best or even an off the shelf product. Thanks.
  17. d6veteran
    Thanks for the link. Super interesting!
  18. d6veteran
    @Cory I came across this video you gave on cycling. Super helpful!
  19. d6veteran
    Mine is getting eaten by either Nerites, Corys or Plecos. Not sure which. But I also had to cut off some leaves where it had gotten to like 1-2" long.
  20. d6veteran
    I have a Waterbox All in One 64 gallon with a sump. This is my fist time using a sump and wondered what others are stocking them with for their freshwater setups. I currently have my sump with: Four 200m filter socks (screens out large particles High-flow pump 1 bag of bio balls (6x4 inches) 2 bags of bio max (4x4 inches each bag) 1 bag of activated carbon Currently in the process of adding a small bag of crushed coral to raise pH. Also considering: Replacing bio balls with another two bags of bio max, and replacing 2 bags every 6 months Removing carbon I am not sure on what the proper amounts are for any of the media, just trying out the smaller sizes for now.
  21. d6veteran
    @Solidus1833 My KH has been around 4-4.5. So based on that chart I do need to raise the pH like you mentioned. Because if I am getting to 6.6 that looks like some over-dosing for my KH range.
  22. d6veteran
    Thanks for the reply and compliment. I did add a small bag of crushed coral. I'll try another small bag or two, added over time. Also that is a good reminder on the CO2 to make tiny changes slowly. I'm going to focus on cutting the additional water change, and raising the pH, and leave the CO2 as is for now.
  23. d6veteran
    Yes, same parameters. I was reposting for Cory. Basically what I did was forgot to close the needle value after switching tanks and when I wasn't looking CO2 was just racing through the line (for about 10 seconds until I noticed). The Danios are the only fish that are acting different. But if any where dead I imagine they'd be floating by now? Going to try out an airstone and just stop fiddling for a while 😉
  24. d6veteran
    Thanks for the reply Cory! So it sounds like: Cut out the mid-week water change. Let those nitrates build up. (I like the trash analogy - makes sense) Add an air stone to ensure good oxygenation. Water temp is stable at 75. When I do a water change I error on the cooler side so it drops to about 74 for a bit. I will look into ways to raise the pH slowly.
  25. d6veteran
    Yes that would help! lol Setup Waterbox 64g All in One Sump has 4 filter socks, bio balls on mid-left chamber, bio max in mid-right chamber Variable water pump (Hydor Seltz) exchanging between 250-500 gph. Most often set to around 350 gph. CO2 Art dual regulator set at 3-4 bps (runs during lighting) AI Freshwater LED running about 50% for 10 hours I used sand, which I regret, but am locked in now lol. Stock Slowly added the following over last 5 weeks 15 nerites 2 small plecos 10 Zebra Danios 8 Kyathit Danios 10 Cory Pandas 20 Java ferns (various types) 6 Buce Maintenance 50% water water change 1x/week (Saturday), add general fertilizer and potassium 20% water change 1x/week (Wednesday, add general fertilizer and potassium Water Composition pH: 6.8 before lighting/CO2, 6.6 end of lighting/CO2 GH/KH ~80ppm Ammonia/Nitrite: 0 pre/post water change (too low to measure?) Nitrate: 5 pre water changes, 0 post water change Phosphate: 0-.2 (several tests, not exactly sure but below .2)
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