WillC

@Fishman Jason Just for you a picture of my humble tank. Since I am focusing on growing out plants first, I am seriously thinking about removing all but one sponge filter. Am I crazy for thinking about running a 40g tank on just a medium Co-op sponge filter? Will

Glad you are doing a journal! I can so relate to your journey so far! Will

I followed Cory's using multiple 100W Heaters on a tank method. Currently, I am happy with the Hygger 100W so far. https://www.amazon.com/Hygger-Submersible-Thermostat-Controller-Thermometer/dp/B07X33RXGP?th=1 Temperature seems to be maintained well. The longevity of the suction cups is the only thing I am currently keeping an eye on. Will

Update: Parameters are holding steady now! And, I proudly have some nice algae growing on the sides of the tank. Plants are doing so so. A few are making their predicted comebacks. Some I pulled because they hated life. Currently waiting for my centerpiece woodscape to finish getting water logged so I can place it in the tank. Once it's in place and the parameters adjust to the new addition, I will start looking at livestock. Right now, there are a few mystery snails, a rabbit snail, and a rams horn snail in the tank. Possibly a rogue bladdersnail as well. Future stocking ideas: Small group of Dwary Platys Plakat Betta Small group of Cories Future changes, maybe: Going lidless. Not a fan of the aqueon versa top lids. A pain to service the tank while its on and projects a shadow across the middle of the tank. Changing from sponge filters over to a HOB or Canister. I love my sponge filters but going lidless would be messy since the sponges have a nice splash back out of the tank when no capped with a lid. Possible options for new filter would be aqua clears, tidals, or a nicrew in tank filter like MD Tanks on yt uses. Questions for forum member feedback: For Aquaclears, Do the AC 20s and 30s have the same strength outflow as the AC 50s? I tried the AC 50s for a bit, but they seemed to push out a little too much pressure for my tank. And, the instant drop off of water into the tank was meh. For the Nicrew internal, https://www.amazon.com/NICREW-Aquarium-Submersible-Adjustable-Waterflow/dp/B08TM4BY1L/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=i07FY&pf_rd_p=29505bbf-38bd-47ef-8224-a5dd0cda2bae&pf_rd_r=CCXGVD5EF42WFMH3TE0G&pd_rd_r=676c44a8-86b2-4fb4-a649-20f687712e8f&pd_rd_wg=mD7Hd&ref_=pd_gw_ci_mcx_mr_hp_atf_m&th=1 Anyone used a similar system as the only filtration besides plants? MD makes it look so simple like always. lol Thanks for reading.

@sairving Did the last pygmy make it? Looks like a good list of accomplishments to strive for this year! My list is very similar. Looking forward to updates!

Speaking as a total newbie, but.. I am using a mixture of Caribsea gravels. They are easy to plant in and seem to keep the plants down well. Easy to gravel vac without making a mess or sucking them up. Debris and poop blend in due to the color variations. Looks super natural. Carib Sea Peace River & Carib Sea Rio Grande were a nice mixture.

Removed some fungus from the tank. Trimmed up some dying leaves. Tossed in a tiny piece of food for the snails. Dosed Easy Green. Now to sit back and just leave the tank alone for another week. Merry Christmas all!

Sorry to see you're having to part with your tank. You can definitely see the love and attention put into the fish and plants. Hope the next part of your journey is blessed and you can return to the first world soon.

Today, I bought myself another plant for the tank. LFS had a 20% off sale going for Christmas. Found a HUGE Anubis nana mother plant.

If you are a member of the Co-op's club, Giane Souza's talk on Bettas covers how she approached line breeding Betta. Might be a good starting point. Will

What colors are the drops? Picture added to show what I am talking about.

Sounds like progress! One problem down....

So I wanted to run this by the collective... If I am reading the instructions correctly for my API kit, GH is supposed to go from Orange to Green and KH is supposed to go from Blue to Yellow. The testing solution in my kit seems off. GH is green/blue and the KH is orange. You can see the color of the liquid in the tip of the solution bottle. Any thoughts?

Update: Removed the heater. The chrome was super distracting. Will order a black one. Tank water seems a bit clearer. Water Parameters (AC Test Strips) nitrate 25ish nitrite 1 buffer 0 ph 6.4 chlorine o ammonia .5sh

Awesome pic on the first betta. Welcome to the forum!

Tank has FIRST resident. A snail made an appearance today. Must have came in with some plants. Hopefully the lil dude can survive my water.

Thanks everyone for the encouragement! @Beardedbillygoat1975 I made a late night run to the store and picked up some supplies. Grabbed a Fluval M100 heater. Looks well made and isn't an eyesore in the tank. @Gumbo99 You were right the M series is a little too long for the tank, but I think this will tide me over until a smaller, heavy duty one comes on the market.

Day 10 so I used a Coop test strip to see my parameters. Nitrate 10 Nitrite 1 Hardness 25 Buffer 0 ph 6.4 Chlorine 0 Plants look like death warmed over. I am going to let the current plants ride until the parameters settle after a couple months. My Neka wood should be sinking by then and I will add it along with new plants to fill in. Water is a little cloudy still. To Do List: Since I added the Aquaclear 50, I am curious if the flow is too much for some of the plants. Waiting on a pre-filter sponge to add and I will see how that affects the flow. I need to add a heater. Researching models to make a purchase. Im really stalling until the Coop releases a new one. My water has zero buffer and is super soft. I should research ways of improving this without chasing parameters.

A new fish store in the area had a grand opening today. I stopped by and met the owner briefly. It was heavy on marine inventory, but I appreciated he asked for input on freshwater products/stock to carry. I made sure to squeeze a plug in for Xtreme foods. I hope the store does well. Now to think of ways to support them with my business. Will

@Tyler Kaplan Coop plant tabs were inserted in a grid pattern under the gravel bed.

So I decided to start a journal on my one and only tank. This will be my first attempt at using live plants in an aquarium ever. Please be gentle in your comments. It's a hot mess. 🤣 Tank went went on December 1st 2021. My journey started back in August/September and I will share some stories later on. Here is a picture taken tonight. Just added an Fluval Aquaclear 50 tonight. It's been using 2 Aquarium Coop medium sponge filters since day one. I added the AC since I wanted to see more flow. It's also running a Fluval Planted 3.0 using one of @Streetwise's programs. I will add a plant list to the post later. Took Cory's suggestion and just bought one of everything that caught my eye. Hardscape will be added once it's be soaked long enough. I will hotrod the Aquaclear with sponge filters after my next coop order. My focus right now is just being patient while it cycles. Once my hardscape is ready to install, I will probably order more plants to fill in and replace things that haven't made it. Will

Your tanks are definitely one of my inspirations! My gravel bed selection was taken straight from your tank setups and one of Daniel's experimental post.

Today, I finally put water in my long awaited first tank in years. Few lessons learned: No need to work out when I am carrying 40g of water up stairs on water change days. Just because a piece of wood is heavy doesn't mean it will sink in your new tank. You will kill plants, but can always buy more. Now I begin the waiting game for the wood to get tank ready and the tank to cycle. I am liking the look of plants dominating the tank..... may skip hardscape all together. Time will tell!

Anyone done a tank that's entirely planted and no hardscape? And noooo I am not asking this question because I just planted a new tank and failed to sink my centerpiece of hardscape for a few weeks before I planned on planting the tank... 🤣

Today, I rested most of the day. Arm was still sore from my latest booster. My plants are coming this week from my Plant guy & the Coop. I took the time tonight to finish hooking up my sponge filters, lights, etc... and got it all running on the Kasaa power strip. Tank is ready for water! Just a few more things to check off the list tomorrow. Program all the electronics on a the wifi app. I need to pick up a few wood pieces and rock bits to use for the plants that need to be anchored. And a quick stop by a hardware store to get tubing and some buckets for the water change/filling. Almost there!