Cbass

Axolotl! My kids have been bugging me forever to get one. Welcome! These are great.

Glad to hear that you have the fungi under control. I dealt with that with my oscars (they are extremely messy). Out of curiosity, how big is the tank?

Almost 2 weeks, so I figured I would give a quick midpoint update and post some pics. Not much change, but I'm a data analyst by trade so I like making a chronicle of changes (even if they are minor). Apologies in advance for the long post. Current water parameters pH: 7.2 (did a water change over the weekend and my tap is very much on the alkaline side) Ammonia/Nitrite: 0 Nitrates: 5ppm Phosphate: 0 (will likely have to address this later?) Gh/Kh: 7 and 2 respectively Added 1/4 teaspoon to epsom (changed out 5 gals of water exactly). AC fert dose this week: 6ml on Monday Plant update AR mini - New growth coming in slowly. AR - slow recovery. There's some new growth (mostly near the bottom) and that's good because I worried that the stem cuttings weren't rooting. Pink Panther Crypt: 2 of the 4 rosettes are showing signs of life finally. New growth is pink on one of them. I have a feeling I may lose the other 2, but that's ok. Lagenandaras - Weird, but the ones on the right side of the tank are melting. Not really alarmed yet as there is new growth and the leaves are the older leaves from when I first planted (tissue culture). My Amanos are doing a pretty good job clearing some of it up, but I've also been removing them. Weeping moss - growing well again. Looks like it's going grow out of the tank. Lol. Rotalia R. - Growing faster. The fact that they are more yellow/orange is expected as my nitrates are low. Monte Carlo - starting to carpet. Some melt, but lots of new little ones coming through Observations: Other than above, That the right side of my tank (where the ARs, Crypt and melting Lagenandaras are) is reacting differently than the left. Note that on that side is a sidelight window (annoying glass pane next to a door). When the season changed I had to block the tank because it was getting a ton of ambient light, which would explain why the algae is heavier on that end. But to @Seattle_Aquaristpoint, will mess with the lights later as I can now see that this is very much the awkward teen stage. Pics attached. Shot of my female koi betta in her own tank for kicks. She's a brat but we love her.

@Torrey Thank you! Agree. I read a lot about C02 when I was cycling the tank and the best thing I read was to start low tech and learn how everything works and interacts before making a huge investment. I don't think I've ever learned so much about water chemistry in my entire life. Haha. And to your point, yes, patience. It's so easy to get sucked into "I want this all green right now" but everyone here has been so helpful to give me a better perspective. The algae right now is tolerable and I have my cleanup crew pretty happy since they have a ton of food to graze on. Will definitely keep a close log and let everyone know how it goes!

@Seattle_AquaristFinally replaced the Gh test. I'm currently at 7.

Yep. I'm just excited that they are at least starting to recover. The crypt has never put out new growth that was pink.

Quick update: The AR's are starting to show signs of new growth. The existing leaves on the AR mini have also grown a little and a few seem flatter. No new growth just yet. One of my pink panther crypts is showing new growth and its pink (before new growth was coming in white). The other bunches are still struggling, but the old leaves seem to be growing slowly. Also, in other news my pregnant amano dropped her eggs somewhere and I have a female neon that has paired off with a male. Looks like she's ready to mate (stomach is big). Lots of action going on in this tank. Haha.

Sounds good. Added the Epsom salt yesterday so we'll see how it goes. Picking up a new GH test today. @xXInkedPhoenixXthose nerites are pretty awesome. Been in the tank for a day and they've cleared out a fair amount of algae.

@Seattle_AquaristThis is SUPER helpful. What I forgot to mention was this: The regular ARs were stem cuttings. So it makes sense that the leaves at the top look better as the leaves at the bottom. I also noticed that a few of my lagenandaras are starting to pale (white). So if it is magnesium, the entire tank will likely show something. I actually have a ton of epsom salt on hand, so I'm good to go and will try tomorrow morning. Question about that. I've read that it will change parameters of the water (pH I believe)? As for the lights and tank (thanks btw...it took awhile to get that size). The tank is 12" tall, 36" wide but the substrate is between 1.5-3" inches deep. It's ramped toward the back and sides. I've never used the light at 100 percent intensity in fear of algae bloom and have been gradually working up to it. I have a 3rd nano on standby, but honestly, I've been thinking about getting a long strip light, even if it means sacrificing the convenience of the bluetooth and app. Do you recommend kicking it up? Max intensity is currently 67%.

I believe it. This is actually the first time that I've built a community tank. Obviously with Oscars and cichlids, you're limited with the type of fish you can put and community fish = feeders. Haha.

Will get more Otos soon. Just trying to build up to it as I figure the plants out. Plus they ran out at the store..haha

Yep. It's the API test and I shake that nitrate test tube as much as possible then wait 5 mins. The only time it got to 10ppm was during the dark cycle. My pump is the same. Dispenses 0.5ml to 0.7ml which is why I try to use a 1ml eye dropper to dose. I should have N from the soil. But when the tank was done cycling it barely registered a 5. Since the plants were smaller (mostly tissue culture) they were happy, but of course they grew. Will try again tomorrow, remeasure and see what happens, but will take a pre-test of N before I dose so I have a base.

@xXInkedPhoenixXI picked up 3 nerites to start and will get more later. The shop had a new shipment so they have a bunch. These things are really cool! @GriznatchThanks!

@Patrick_G it's pretty new. 2 months and 2 days old. I have a spreadsheet with charting the cycling period and kept going. I figured that the ARs want a ton of light. Will likely increase the intensity once I get the fertilization and Nitrates at a better level.

Haha. I was really trying not to C02 because I figure if I can't get a low tech tank thrive, what makes me think C02 will solve my problems. Haha. I could bump the light, but the tank suffered brown and green algae bloom a couple of weeks ago (you can see some of it in the pics). So I had to dial down a bit. @Seattle_Aquarist pics attached. The algae bloom covered the leaves and likely prevented growth. Dunno why it's sideways. As for hardness levels, my KH is 3. Not sure about GH as I ran out of test solution and need to get more. I was topping off with RO/DI water and doing half tap/half RO/DI for water changes but realized that because my KH is so low, it made the pH unstable. So I started to use tap, which has a GH of about 10 and PH of 7.6. My driftwood and soil then soften the water. The pH finally stabilized last week.

@xXInkedPhoenixX I'm actually going to the shop today to pick up some horned nerites. The tank is struggling with nitrates (too low) and I suspect that the bioload from the fish isn't enough to help feed the plants. I love the ottos, so will definitely get more of those. @lefty othank you!!!

Hi all. So I've read through several posts/articles here, 2HR, ADA, UK forums, etc and was hoping to get a little input as I'm new to planted aquariums. I currently run a 20 gal long, pretty heavily planted (photo from my intro post attached and yes I went too far in with plants too soon..bad habit of mine). What I'm struggling with is the amount of AC liquid fert to get my nitrates in gear as my AR, AR mini, and Pink Panther aren't doing well. Signs of micro and macro deficiencies, but mostly Nitrogen and phosphate. My rotalia, lagenandara meedboli, Sword and Anubias, weeping moss are doing ok. Brazilian swords are exploding and the monte carlos are growing, just slow (which is fine with me). I use ADA Amazonia 2 for substrate along with the substrate ferts that came with it. The ARs were hit the hardest. Darkening leaves, chlorosis, and signs of calcium/magnesium problems (twisted leaves some new growth turning white). They both got overrun by green dust algae so I had to trim down. Did a water change yesterday (20%) and pumped 6 pumps of AC today and the nitrate levels only got up to 5ppm. Trying to hit at least 10, but not sure how to go about it. Here are the tank's current parameters: pH: 6.6-6.8 depending on time of day. Ammonia/Nitrites: 0 Nitrates: 5ppm Phosphates: I didn't measure this today, but last time I dosed it was around 0.25 Stock: 8 neons, 2 ottos, 5 amano shrimp. Lighting: I run 2 fluval nanos, pro mode, with a break around noon for 1.5 hours (siesta I think it's called?). Total light at max (67% warm white is the highest) is about 8 hours in total. Thoughts? I have a feeling that my weeping moss (there's a good amount of it) is sucking the column dry as the stem plants seem to be the ones taking the hit.....

Hi all, just stopping in for an intro. I'm not new to aquariums, but new to planted. My current main setup: UNS 20 gal long with a school of neon tetras, a pair of ottos, and 5 amano shrimp. Tank is 2 months old, no C02. Bioload is pretty light and I may pick up a few nerite snails to help control some of the algae I'm fighting. Running lily pipes as well as this will home to our Betta who is currently waiting it a small 3 gal planted. Plants (I may butcher some of these names): rotalia rotundafolia, AR mini, AR (2 types I can't remember), lagenandara meedboli red/green, weeping moss, monte carlo grass (trying to grow a carpet), anubias nana and coffeola, Pink Panther crypt, and a pair of Brazilian Swords. Funny thing, I said I was going to start with a moderately planted tank...... I used to have a 50 gal tank for 3 Oscars and swore off aquariums for awhile since I was waiting to get my "forever home". But if you're familiar with the the Bay Area you know that it'll take forever to get a home that's not a condo. So I gave in and decided start over with a smaller tank. Have a great day/afternoon/evening depending on where you are in the world!!