125 Gallon Journal

[Odd Duck]

@Kevin F. It’s sooooo satisfying seeing those new leaves coming, isn’t it?  Tank is looking good!

[Kevin F.]

Yes seeing growth was quite a relief.  Not knowing if a plant will live in your environment seeing it melt then all the sudden it comes back and flourishes really can make your day.  I still don't know if the Scarlet temple will make it but it has roots and some new leaves so there is a chance. 

[Odd Duck]

On 7/31/2021 at 7:32 PM, Kevin F. said:

Yes seeing growth was quite a relief.  Not knowing if a plant will live in your environment seeing it melt then all the sudden it comes back and flourishes really can make your day.  I still don't know if the Scarlet temple will make it but it has roots and some new leaves so there is a chance. 

I have a like:hate relationship with scarlet temple.  I really *want* to love it.  It grows just OK for me, less than I hoped for.  It has decent color, less than I hoped for.  It sometimes melts randomly, more than I hoped for.  It comes loose on the regular without anything in the tank big enough to dislodge it.  I’m not terribly impressed, overall, and I want to be, darn it!

[Kevin F.]

That's one month!  Things are still going good.  We added 6 albino Corydon and 2 Hill stream loaches.  No water change this week the city is flushing all the pipes.  Tank tested 

Nitrate 25

Nitrates 0

Hardness 150

Buffer 120

Ph 7.6

Chlorine 0

Ammonia 0

Water temperature is 74°f

Lights are on 9 hours a day, from noon until 9pm

I'll be changing out and recharging the purigen today.

I test using aquarium co-op test strips.

[Kevin F.]

Week 5 down, and what a week it was.  I'm happy to report that all the fish are still alive.  Last week I talked about how the city water was messed up and I wasn't doing a water change.  Well Sunday I talked to the city and they said it was all cleared up and no problems.  Went home after church ran the water it was clear and tested fine.  Did a 25% water change.  The next morning saw that the fish were acting a little off.  Darting up and down, tested tank nothing was off.  Tuesday lights come on at noon see some white spots on a couple fish and all the Cory's were in the corner barley moving.  The spots were definitely ich.  Couldn't get any ick-x so I used API Super ick cure.  Followed the instructions treated for 4 days.  Did a 25% water change today.  Everyone is doing great except the smallest Cory cat.  He's not moving around alot.  I did see him eat a little during feeding this evening.  Back to the city water.  The reservoir we get to blind with the well water had high manganese and some other chemicals.  That I'll have to wait until next week to find out what they were, when they release the official report.  I did have 2 plants added this week.  Water Wisteria and a Amazon Sword.  I also added a longer bobble wand the old one clogged up.  Almost  forgot the tub I was using for a quarantine tank started showing some signs of fatigue.  So I went  down to the store and got a 10 gallon kit to replace it.  The water tested almost the same as last week except Hardness was up somewhere between 150 and 300 and Buffer was 180.

Edited August 15, 2021 by Kevin F.

[Kevin F.]

Unfortunately the smallest albino corydora didn't make.  He was fine when I left this morning.  Just got home to find him dead.  All the other Corydoras are out foraging and look great.  Hopefully this was a one off with the water and sickness.

[Kevin F.]

Week 6 over and done.  Unlike last week everything went well.  3 more fish came out of quarantine.  Two redlines and a SAE.  As you can see from the photos the SAE couldn't have come at a better time.  The hair algae has had a growth explosion.  No other Cory cats have gotten sick.  The reservoir situation has cleared up, our city put a new filtration system on the water coming in from there.  It has really helped a lot. I also added some root tabs to the area the val is moving into.  Just did a 25% water change.  Water tested.

Ammonia  0

Nitrate 25

Nitrite 0

Hardness 300

Buffer 80

Ph 7.6

Chlorine 0

 

 

[Kevin F.]

Week 7 over and done.  New fish came out of quarantine, two Oto's.  Love these little guys.  Originally had 3 but one didn't make it out of quarantine.  Tank is doing good.  Fish are all happy l, even had the danios spreading eggs.  Instead of posting the tank numbers I took three pictures of the test strips.  The first one is before water change next one is after and third is after dosing fertilizer.  Just can't wait until it cools back off a bit to order some more plants.

[Kevin F.]

Week 8.  No problems this week.  Also No water change this week.  The numbers all look good so I'm going to try and go two weeks this time.  The last three Denison barbs will be out of quarantine tonight.  That will put this tank at eight of them.  Still no new plants, hopefully by the end of the month it will be cool enough to order them.  Not because of the Co-op (there shipping is outstanding), but because my mail is in a car trunk  from abot 5 am untill noon or so.  Its to hot for that.  In the top left of the pic you can see there food varieties. Water right now is. 

Ammonia 0

Nitrate 10

Nitrite 0

Hardness 150

Buffer 80

pH 7.2

Chlorine 0

 

 

[Kevin F.]

Week 9.  Had another Oto pass and a zebra danio go back into quarantine.  It is swimming very erratic and having problems with the current.  The zebra danios were really small when we got them and not that there getting bigger I'm starting to notice some bent spines and off coloring.  Every thing else is good.  The SAE is starting to make a dent in the hair algae and some of the Denison Barbs are following him and trying to eat it too. Thanks to the root tabs the sword has already sent up 4 new leaves and looking strong   I'll try to post water parameters tonight after water change.

[Kevin F.]

Week 10.  Still chugging along.  During water change today I'll add some more root tabs to try and get the val growing taller, and one or two under some of the other plants.  The danio that was put into quarantine is still alive but unable to swim properly.  Hair algae is in decline but green algae is on the rise.  

Edited September 18, 2021 by Kevin F.

[Patrick_G]

On 7/31/2021 at 8:32 PM, Odd Duck said:

I have a like:hate relationship with scarlet temple.  I really *want* to love it.  It grows just OK for me, less than I hoped for.  It has decent color, less than I hoped for.  It sometimes melts randomly, more than I hoped for.  It comes loose on the regular without anything in the tank big enough to dislodge it.  I’m not terribly impressed, overall, and I want to be, darn it!

Old post but my AR was thriving in my 75 so I decided it would look spectacular in my guppy tub. Nope 👎🏻 Mega melt!  I’ll probably try some of the mini variety this winter. 

@Kevin F. I sometimes trim the ends of my Windelov Java Fern if it gets some algae. It seems to tolerate it and I think it stimulates new growth. 

Edited September 18, 2021 by Patrick_G

[Kevin F.]

Thanks for the tip, I'll try trimming it today during the water change.

[Griznatch]

Wow, beautiful tank, sooo much real estate!

Seeing the plants grow in and multiply is very satisfying. When that tiger lotus starts to fill out it'll be impressive. Mine was sending "pads" to the top a couple times a week there for a while.

 

Edited September 18, 2021 by Griznatch

[Odd Duck]

On 9/18/2021 at 12:36 PM, Patrick_G said:

Old post but my AR was thriving in my 75 so I decided it would look spectacular in my guppy tub. Nope 👎🏻 Mega melt!  I’ll probably try some of the mini variety this winter. 

@Kevin F. I sometimes trim the ends of my Windelov Java Fern if it gets some algae. It seems to tolerate it and I think it stimulates new growth. 

I have pulled all AR out of my tanks but I’m giving the Mini another chance emerse. If it does nothing for me it’s gone.  I’m tired of wasting time with it, spending time worrying over it, feeling bad that I can’t grow it, and being completely unimpressed with it.

Do you hear me, AR mini?  It’s your last chance!  Grow or be trash!

[Vanish]

I cant even get AR to grow in a co2 tank !

[Odd Duck]

On 9/19/2021 at 9:16 AM, Vanish said:

I cant even get AR to grow in a co2 tank !

I feel that in my bones!  😆 

[Kevin F.]

I was really hoping the AR would grow love the way the plant looks, but the last stalk gave up last night and is floating around now.  I thankost of my problems with this plant and the slow growth of the other plants is my light.  Yesterday I was cleaning the class hoods and had both on one side.  The water had the shimmer effect where you could see the surface agitation.  So we've started saving for some better lighting.  I know many people have said it before and I can say without a doubt it's true.  Go ahead and spend the money on good lighting.  

[Kevin F.]

Week 11.  Everything still going good.  The val is finally starting to get taller.  Trimming the windelon java fern it really didn't seem to mind and is looking much better.  Cleaned the glass tops today was really surprised by all the buildup on them.  In hindsight I should of got a before and after shot.  Fish are.all still doing good.  Forgot to test water before the water change so no numbers today.

[Streetwise]

That looks nice! I am getting serious memories seeing those bubble walls. As a young person, I had under-gravel filters that used horizontal filters and air stones instead of uplift tubes.

[Kevin F.]

The wife simply loves them.  She could set and just stair at the bubbles and listen to the sound it makes.  The one downside to this bubble wand is the tiny holes get clogged up and I have to scrape it all the time to keep it more uniform. 

[Kevin F.]

Week 12!!! Can't believe it's been three months since I restarted this hobby.   Plants are growing, I'm relearning a lot of stuff I had forgot.  Now that the weather has cooled off a bit and I have the wife's permission, it's time to order some more plants.  I'm going for now just increase the number of so.e of the plants that are already in here.  Maybe add some different anubias and I'm looking for a plant to go in the background on the right side behind the drift wood with nothing on it. I really don't know what to put here. Originally it was supposed to be stem plants, but I've had no luck with them.  So I'd like to get something different to put there.  Any suggestions?  The one on the other side will get another sword.  Some of the zebra danios are looking really ruff, bent spines and discolored.  I knew when I got them that they were to small and I should have waited for some more mature ones.  So now I'm paying the price.  The rest of the fish are doing great.

Water parameters this week.  First number is before water change second is after water change and fertilizer.

Nitrate       25  50

Nitrite         0   0

Hardness 300   300

Buffer        80    120

pH              7.6   7.2

Chlorine     0     0

Ammonia   0    0

 

[Odd Duck]

On 10/2/2021 at 4:36 PM, Kevin F. said:

I'm looking for a plant to go in the background on the right side behind the drift wood with nothing on it.

For fast growth, there isn’t much better than an Aponogeton growing from a nice, healthy bulb, maybe A. crispus or ulvaceus, your tank is big enough to handle either.  They both have a nice, bright, almost neon green color, and tall, wavy, rather translucent leaves.  Ulvaceus is even more ruffled than crispus.  Really beautiful plants.  Can sometimes elect to take a rest period.

The pic is an immature Aponogeton crispus beside Aponogeton madagascariensis henkelianus (Madagascar lace plant).  Your tank could also handle a lace plant by size, but they are very prone to algae covering the holes, so they’re trickier than the other Aponogetons.  I have to trim mine more for algae covering the leaves than for other reasons. I’m still trying to strike the perfect balance in this tank.

Pay no attention to the floating bits.  This was just after a filter cleaning and some mulm got away from me.

Edited October 3, 2021 by Odd Duck

[Kevin F.]

Those are some great suggestions.  I really like the wavy leafs on those.

[Kevin F.]

Week 13.  Sorry no update yesterday.  Mr and the wife finally got a day to go out and celebrate my birthday.  Tank is still stable.  Putting together a list of stuff to order, and I got some Aponogeton bulbs yesterday.  They also came with a Zephyranyhes grandiflora (water onion) and Nymphaea lotus green (water lily). Going to put them in the quarantine tank today and see if they sprout.