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Hi everyone. I've tried journaling in general several times but failed to be consistent. This time I'm doing a fish tank journal, so hopefully it being my hobby will keep me consistent, lol. Anyway. August 2023. My cousin gifted my little sister a 1 litre fishbowl with a guppy pair. Really beautiful pair. Female was a grey belly with mosaic tail, and the male was a dragon head. The male died in September 2023 and mom asked me to get another one, so I got a leopard guppy. Mom and sister flew away for vacation for 2 weeks in November 2023. Initially, I wanted to give a gift to my sister to make up for skipping many festivals and occasions. So I started planning out a bigger tank. With a very tight budget that was my entire savings, I decided to go with a 8g cube. I got it with fluorescent gravel as substrate and an internal filter. That was it for the beginning. I cleaned it, added water, dechlorinated it and immediately put my fishes in. I didn't know about cycling until 2 days later. I started a fish-in cycle from then. Here's a pic from that day. Yes you're also seeing an Albino Corydora because I was told to get it for bottom clean-up. 2 days later, I DIY'd a lid using sunboard, old CPU fan and a 3W blue spotlight laying from a festival decor. A week later, I thought my tank looks like the horrible fluorescent gravel overstocked glofish tanks. I decided to remove all gravel and switched to white sand. I also got an Anubias trimming, and a good bracket light for a full spectrum lighting. (At this point I had studied a decent bit about PAR and aquarium lighting) A couple of days after, I was told on many Discord communities that keeping the albino cory alone is a bad idea and the tank is also too small for him. So I exchanged it for 2 cherry shrimps. What happens next is actually kind of funny. I add my shrimp and one of them immediately disappears. I spend hours trying to find it but I can't. The next day, I see this. I asked around, experts confirmed my suspicion that the guppy had consumed a cherry shrimp and passed away the next day because of being unable to digest it. I quickly removed the other single shrimp remaining in my tank and gave it back to my local fish store. To replace the leopard guppy, I got this beautiful double swordtail guppy. I also wanted to maintain a 2f:1m ratio so I got another female guppy. At this point my tank was finally how I planned it to be. Although, this female was very pregnant and I had to do something about it. I quickly got a 20 litre water bottle from a grocery store and cut it in half. I also bought some chicken screen and zip ties and put together this. The female guppy somehow passed through the net the next day so I had to make it double layered to make the holes harder to pass, since both layers were offset and would cause the holes to be unaligned and smaller. Meanwhile, the tank got 2 nerite snails. I wish I knew about their bioload before getting TWO of them, haha. Enjoy a pic of them eating a slice of blanched cucumber. I decided to get two plants for better nitrate processing. Here's the weird part. A week after the leopard guppy died from presumably eating the cherry shrimp...... A CHERRY SHRIMP SHOWS UP IN THE TANK! I had already given away the other so there were supposed to be none! So the guppy did not die of eating a shrimp, because he never ate one! I immediately gave this shrimp back to the LFS. Fastforward to 10th December 2023. The grey female guppy (oldest one in the tank) passed away from Nitrite poisoning. I forgot to mention, I've been doing the cycle without a test kit because I can't afford one and it's too overpriced here. Worry not, it's coming in the next month or two before I get my next tank! By now, the pregnant fancy female had given birth at noon! I assume there to be around 25-30 fry. I got an air pump, tubing, air stone, T joint, knobs, and a sponge filter. Aimed to sell these fry so I wanted them to grow real healthy! Here are two pictures from 12th of December. The guppies look blurry, but this is the last time you'll see them....

So I’ve had this cube for MONTHS, I’m pretty sure I got it around January this year. I got the wood in very early February (I took a pic with it dry in the tank on Feb 3, to see if it would work and how it would look). The wood has been soaking all this time and was still floating (floating low, but still floating). I was getting the wood out every couple months, and no significant improvement. I finally cut it to height since I wanted it in 2 pieces anyway and I was hoping it would sink faster if I exposed some end grain - nope, floats. I *finally* gave up and got slate to attach for weight and to steady the pieces. It’s planted, has a Buce accessory piece and a group of pothos (in the surviving “too brittle to drill” shower caddies - see “75 gallon redo” in my sig). I’m not sure if the pothos will stay after it cycles. I don’t know 100% if it’s going to be another nano tank or a Betta tank. I’m leaning toward nanos since I’ve got grumpy Bad Pea Daddy at the left end of this row (he’s pretty boring) and the puffer shoal at the right end of this row (they are also pretty boring). I’m considering moving the peas to the 29 gallon in the office since I just sold the last of the cories that were in that tank. Gives me an excuse to scape that one. I have wood that is soaking (one sinks, the other floats, but I have slate pieces now). 🤦🏻‍♀️🙄 1. First pic with the dry wood. Feb 3. 2. Trying out different wood pieces, the substrate is ready (heavy, red clay dirt, Osmocote granules, black blasting sand cap). April 3 - I’m clearly getting antsy to get some plants and water in the tank. Dragging out gooey, wet wood pieces and sticking them in the sand. Today: 3 & 4. Determined shape of the slate I needed, split it as needed. Then marked the slate around the base of the pieces, drilled the slate. 5. Got the wood fastened to the slate and in the tank. 6. Planting - clockwise from back left: Cryptocoryne pontederiifolia, Epipremnum aureum (Pothos) above it in the shower caddy, Echinodorus barthii x schlueteri ‘Red Flame’, Crypt. ‘Pink Panther’, Bucephalandra ‘Red Dagger’. I’ll be adding some Anubia nana ‘Petite Golden Coin’ to the bigger wood piece, possibly other Buces. I may also add either some red root floaters or some Amazon frogbit - long term or short term, all to be determined. 7&8. Filter moved from the tank where it’s been getting seasoned for months. Water in the tank! A couple different angles to show the pothos, too. I used the sponge filter I had getting seasoned, so I’ll have to get another couple. I like to keep at least one spare seasoned and ready. I’m slipping! 😆 9. The “Low Row” isn’t finished but there is at least finally water in every tank! Next, I need to add the little light shield (a strip of black window cling film hot glued to the light). Then I just need to let it all “cook”. Test every few days until I see a nitrite peak, then drop with the nitrate climbing. Once the nitrite drops and the nitrate climbs, I’ll blind feed to make sure the tank can handle some fish, then start adding snails first. I may have some snails pop out anyway. I have ramshorns in both tanks where most of these plants were growing.

Hello! I've got a JBL 28gal nano cube tank with 25 white clouds. Algae has been a problem, so has the water quality. The ecology doesn't seem well established after almost 6 months with recurring spikes in nitrates and nitrites. The tank has a built-in overflow style filter powered by a pair of pumps in the outside chambers that returns the water after it passes through the filter chamber. The removable chamber holds ceramic cylinders plus 3 chunks of porous foam. I'm wondering if this method of filtration doesn't work as well as it should? I could easily replace it with a pair of sponges and shut that mess down. I have been introducing plants that struggle with hair algae almost constantly on the growth. Thoughts on the filtration greatly appreciated! Perry

10 gallon Cube is coming along, myro is growing like crazy. The Fluval nano led light is a really good light still playing with the settings to get it just right(have it on manual with all the lights on 26 except blue light 3). I use easy green once a week. My monte carlo seems to still be alive i had it for 3 months but its not carpeting. Im gonna try CO2. I have an assassin snail to try in get rid of all the pest snails. Does anyone know of another attractive snail i could put in my tank that the assassin snail wont bother? Somthing that will help clean tank?