AppleBeePi Posted November 30, 2022 Share Posted November 30, 2022 Well... here goes! I'm super excited to get this tank going. I have a bunch of plants on the way, as the LFS doesn't have much of a selection for what I want to do. I have fairly hard water and on the higher side as far as pH, so definitely gonna go with livebearers and snails, and MAYBE some hardy shrimp if I can get some that have been bred locally since they may be a little more hardy. We'll see. I am focusing on hardwater/higher pH tolerant plants and go from there. So far I have Bolbitis Diff, Val Asiatic, Hygro Diff, Ludwig Rubin, Hygro Compact, Anubias Nana Petite and Bateri Dark Angel, Dwarf Sag, Tiger Lotus, and Java Fern Windelov on the way. I'm soaking more driftwood for the middle. I may add more substrate for a little more depth. Tank is 45 gal and a friend gave it to me quite some time ago. I'm trying soooo hard not to have a couple of nano tanks sitting around the house but we know how that goes. Hahaha. Wish me luck... until next time. Take care! 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSwissAquarist Posted November 30, 2022 Share Posted November 30, 2022 Good luck! Can’t wait to see how this unfolds..🤷♂️ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted November 30, 2022 Share Posted November 30, 2022 How hard is is your water? You may be able to get some kinds of nothobranchius Killifish 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AppleBeePi Posted December 2, 2022 Author Share Posted December 2, 2022 On 11/30/2022 at 10:23 AM, Schuyler said: How hard is is your water? You may be able to get some kinds of nothobranchius Killifish Fairly hard here in Central Florida, my last read was 10 kh and 11 gh. pH 7.6. 🥴🤣🤣 There went my neon plans. 🤣 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AppleBeePi Posted December 2, 2022 Author Share Posted December 2, 2022 Update #2: I got my ACO plants and put in my Tiger Lotus bulbs, Anubia Nana Petite, Dwarf Sag, and Windelov. My other plants just got here and I'll post again after they're all in. The Wisteria is gonna have to float a bit. Here's what I've done so far. Expecting a small change in parameters today but so far holding steady. I poured bacteria last week and had a bloom that's cleared. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSwissAquarist Posted December 2, 2022 Share Posted December 2, 2022 On 12/2/2022 at 9:04 PM, AppleBeePi said: Fairly hard here in Central Florida, my last read was 10 kh and 11 gh. pH 7.6. 🥴🤣🤣 There went my neon plans. 🤣 You could go wild fish catching 😜! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted December 2, 2022 Share Posted December 2, 2022 On 12/2/2022 at 12:04 PM, AppleBeePi said: Fairly hard here in Central Florida, my last read was 10 kh and 11 gh. pH 7.6. 🥴🤣🤣 There went my neon plans. 🤣 Most Nothos like hard alkaline water. https://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/nothobranchius-eggersi/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AppleBeePi Posted December 2, 2022 Author Share Posted December 2, 2022 Update 3: All done, now here's to hoping these hardy hard water/higher pH plants survive. 🤞🏿 I planned it all out so it didn't take long to put everything according to my diagram. 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AppleBeePi Posted December 13, 2022 Author Share Posted December 13, 2022 Update 4: Hi friends! The tank is holding steady. I had bacteria going since I put water in way back early to mid Nov. I just didn't post until I had the time at the end of Nov. I attribute the steadiness to the size and hard water, lol. My glass covers came in today and for that, I am grateful. I bought a Bristlenose and a couple of Nerite snails, and one mystery. All have been thriving, but I won't add the other fish until Jan or so. I woke up this morning to about 8 visible baby snails of various sizes. From teeny weeny 2mm to about 5mm. They all have patterns on their tiny shells. 🤣🤣 None of my plants had snails or eggs, and I noticed the Nerites hanging out for a day in the visible areas when I first got them, then by the next day, they were in the driftwood hideaways. Now they're both out and eating away at the algae. With babies... So, culprit unknown, but I have a hunch. I could be totally wrong and missed some snails and eggs, but I basically power washed the plants. 🤣 The plant growth is fairly awesome so far. I'm trimming the Dwarf Sag to try to encourage it to grow out, but those suckers are reaching for the stars everyday, only a leaf or two that reach, so I don't mind the trims. That sprout at the top of the pic was a tiny runner that I accidentally broke off a few days ago for growth reference.. 😬 All parameters are holding steady and had my second bacteria bloom last week and it's clearing. I don't mind the algae since it's a snack. Apparently the Mystery snail likes green beans and zucchini slices as well. Until next time... Take care and happy holidays. Oh yeah, the Wisteria is converting so beautifully. 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schuyler Posted December 13, 2022 Share Posted December 13, 2022 Nerite snails are only supposed to be able to breed successfully in brackish water. You probably have some little stowaways from something. They are tiny but my guess is that they are pond snails. Looks like things are coming along nicely and that pleco should have plenty to eat. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luciferkrist Posted December 13, 2022 Share Posted December 13, 2022 Be careful with that wisteria... mine went absolutely insane and I have had to trim it almost weekly! But now I have a great plant for ALL of my tanks! I don't know that ACO put in their tiger lotus bulbs, but mine has almost taken over half of my 27gal with huge beautiful red/purple surface pads. It took about 3 weeks to even break the bulb, but then it grew so fast! These 2 pieces of ACO wisteria WERE little 3 inch cuttings about a month ago - this is in my 210g, so that tank is 25 inches tall from the substrate! I also have basically liquid rock for water, that also tends on the alkaline side so you should have all kinds of success with those plants! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AppleBeePi Posted December 13, 2022 Author Share Posted December 13, 2022 On 12/13/2022 at 2:44 PM, Schuyler said: Nerite snails are only supposed to be able to breed successfully in brackish water. You probably have some little stowaways from something. They are tiny but my guess is that they are pond snails. Looks like things are coming along nicely and that pleco should have plenty to eat. That's what I thought too, but I'm all, "Life will find a way.." 🤣🤣 Even if they are pond snails, I'm cool with it, may they enjoy their stay. I know they will only go as far as the tank allows with breeding. I have been sneaking by the tank at night to catch the pleco in action, but he's pretty chill. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted December 13, 2022 Share Posted December 13, 2022 @AppleBeePiit looks awesome. You’ve got a good feel for laying out a scape. I think it’ll look even better when it grows in. Hopefully it looks as good as @Luciferkrist’s tank! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AppleBeePi Posted December 13, 2022 Author Share Posted December 13, 2022 On 12/13/2022 at 2:59 PM, Luciferkrist said: Be careful with that wisteria... mine went absolutely insane and I have had to trim it almost weekly! But now I have a great plant for ALL of my tanks! I don't know that ACO put in their tiger lotus bulbs, but mine has almost taken over half of my 27gal with huge beautiful red/purple surface pads. It took about 3 weeks to even break the bulb, but then it grew so fast! These 2 pieces of ACO wisteria WERE little 3 inch cuttings about a month ago - this is in my 210g, so that tank is 25 inches tall from the substrate! I also have basically liquid rock for water, that also tends on the alkaline side so you should have all kinds of success with those plants! Beautiful!! One of my Tiger lotuses is growing so well, and the other not so much, but I think it's because it's in a shadow that I hadn't noticed in the beginning. Ha, this Florida aquifer water is the same! I'm gonna keep my eyes on that wisteria. On 12/13/2022 at 4:10 PM, Patrick_G said: @AppleBeePiit looks awesome. You’ve got a good feel for laying out a scape. I think it’ll look even better when it grows in. Hopefully it looks as good as @Luciferkrist’s tank! Thank you so much! I am so thrilled to see how it's coming along! I want to do a smaller low tech scape and see where I can go with it. We can never have enough tanks right?! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJenna Posted December 13, 2022 Share Posted December 13, 2022 On 12/13/2022 at 2:19 PM, AppleBeePi said: I basically power washed the plants I did the same with mine...closely inspecting the roots and I still got some lil black snails in my tank. I just pick them out and feed them to the barbs and turtle in my big tank. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted December 14, 2022 Share Posted December 14, 2022 Fantastic looking start. I’m looking forward to following its growth. Those look like bladder snails. The eggs are what usually stay hidden. Reverse Respiration for future projects eliminates both snails and eggs. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AppleBeePi Posted January 18, 2023 Author Share Posted January 18, 2023 Quick update! Still no other fish have been added, and it's been pretty stable since my first few readings. Zero nitrites and nitrates, pH has been steady around 7.2 to 7.6, it kinda reads between colors. Hard water. Lots of bladder snails and some mystery snail babies. I thought those clutches were gonna be duds, but as mentioned, they can carry sperm for up to 140 days! I'm just letting them grow up in the tank and will probably trade them off for fish at my LFS or our local hobby page. As you can see, the plants have grown beautifully, and the dwarf sag is starting to grow outward. I JUST trimmed it down yesterday.  Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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