Hello! First aquarium - fluval flora 14.5 gallon

[Jessie]

Hello everyone. This is my first aquarium. I love plants so this seemed an obvious progression of my obsession. Haha! There is so much to know, so I’ve been studying this forum. The knowledge here is epic and very helpful. I’ll lay out what I have set up and some issues I’m encountering. Of course I would delight in any insight you all may have. Thank you! 
Fluval Flora 14.5 gallon tank- Fluval nano light - Co2 45g kit - Aqua Clear power filter - Fluval M50 heater 
Substrate- Tropica soil powder - Nutrafin plant gro fertilizer -  

Plants- Hemianthus Cuba -Littorella - Eriocaulon cinereum - Microsorum windelov - Alternathera - Vesicularia Christmas - Ludwigia Repens Rubin- Dragon stone - Spider wood

I did an emersive planting for the first 10 days. Seemed to go well except for the Ludwigia which I delayed until I filled ‘er up. 
-First week - a bit of melting which I expected. Then a cloudiness on the 7th day. 50% water change 

-Second week - Started to see a tiny bit of algae. Clear goo blobs appearing on tree bark. (Boiled for tannin removal) Read they can be fungus or from tree sugars/sap. Scraped off goo. Clouding bloom gone. Pruned Ludwigia and Moss.  40% water change.  Trying to figure out best placement for Co2 and heater. Need longer hose for Co2! 

- Third week - Realized I had the lights way to strong! Used the pre-program ‘Plants’. Then I discovered Bentley Pascoe! Thank you Sir I now have your Day SIM Red Late as my Pro setting. The goo seems to be subsiding. But the algae is appearing on the sand. 😞  Some dark spots appearing on Windelov and Ludwigia. 😳

Questions- Should I introduce some shrimp at this point? Would help the inevitable new tank algae? I plan on having a Betta and perhaps some Neon Tetra also. Maybe a snail. Is it best to establish one at a time?  Water test kit on its way and don’t want to add until I know water is safe. I live in Vancouver, Canada and the water is a neutral PH. What kind of fertilizer do you recommend?  Using the Free sample Size Nutrafin. Should I get separate micro and macro nutrients? 
I’ll stop now. It’s a lot. Haha  Thank you all! 

 

[Bill]

19 minutes ago, Jessie said:

Hello everyone. This is my first aquarium. I love plants

Welcome, it's obvious that you love plants, and aesthetics because it looks great. I can't offer any suggestions because getting to be OK with plants is on my todo list. I have a rimless cube (14 gallon) right next to my desk and I'd love it to look like that! Good luck. 

[Jessie]

Thank you Bill. I’m all about plants but they can be complex like relationships! Once I get some fish in there I’ll chill out. Or maybe not. Aquascaping is amazing. I had no idea. Glad for this forum, so much knowledge out there.  Happy growing Bill. 

[be28ans]

10 minutes ago, Jessie said:

Thank you Bill. I’m all about plants but they can be complex like relationships! Once I get some fish in there I’ll chill out. Or maybe not. Aquascaping is amazing. I had no idea. Glad for this forum, so much knowledge out there.  Happy growing Bill. 

Your aquarium is amazing. I have a 10 gallon waterbox cube planted aquarium. Its coming along i guess. Needs work 

[Jessie]

Thank you B28ans.  Yours is gorgeous and so clear! I need more background plants like yours. What fish are you planning? 

[be28ans]

Thanks, im a beginner also. I think im gonna go with just the neon tetras most likely, ive been having trouble with snails so i bought an assassin snail last week hope he can do the job. Im just waiting for plants to grow a little esp the monte carlo. Been having trouble growing it into a foreground mat

[CanadaAmanda]

Lovely!!

Be aware shrimp might be betta snacks, especially babies.  A betta may also harass a snail and bite off their feelers.  Less of a problem with nerites which don't really come out of their shell.  🙂 Adding stock slowly is a great idea.  I've recently had an issue in a tank going too fast and it sucks. 

I have a female betta in a 6gal and a male in a 29gal and find it can be a little trickier for stocking.  Unless the betta is sort of the centrepiece fish you want to build the community around and you're happy to do what it takes to accommodate them, they can limit things a bit, when my male is gone I don't think I'll get another.  It's also a bit of a gamble what their temperament is like - some are peaceful with other fish, some don't like anything else that moves.  I've had good luck when the betta is added after the other fish, so there was no opportunity for the betta to establish the tank as their territory ahead of introduction to the other fish, and females on average are less aggressive than males.  Bettas can have a bit of an adjustment period when they first come out of their cup or small very still tank at the store, so you may need to turn down the flow on your filter and slowly increase it over the course of a couple weeks to avoid exhausting them.

[teenage fish]

I’ve got to say you are a great aquascaper, especially for a new fish keeper! I can’t even aquascape that well and I’ve kept tanks for a while!

[Jessie]

Thank you Teenage fish! Your adorable! I’ve made a few changes and I’ll update soon. There is a lot to know and we learn by our mistakes. I’m certainly making some. Lol. So much encouragement on this site. 😘