My First Attempt at an Aquascaped Tank!

[g0nk]

Did my first aquascape/tank today! 20H with all plants from Co-Op and heater and filter as well! So excited to see how it turns out! Gonna let it sit and grow and season before deciding on what livestock I'm gonna put in it. But baby steps! 🙂

Edited April 1, 2023 by g0nk

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

Looks amazing!! It will be cool to see the progress.

[g0nk]

Hello!  It's been now 9 days, and I'm starting to see some algae looks like. I wanted to make sure this is normal, as I have read that it is. There is no livestock in the tank (although I believe I saw 2 tiny snails that may have been stowaways from Co-Op plants, hehe). I have done 1 20% water change. Currently I have my light, a Co-Op Easy Plant LED at 50% and it comes on at sunrise, and turns off at sunset. Beyond that, I've dosed Easy Green twice to try and get the plants kick started. I have not put any beneficial bacteria in there yet, as I just got home from a 4 day trip. I didn't want to put livestock or anything beyond plants in there until I got back. So what's my game plan? How is the best way to start getting this tank on track for some livestock? Like I said, I ready that seeing algae on the driftwood like this was a good thing, but just wanted to double check. Thanks!! (sorry for the poor pics)

 

 

 

Edited April 10, 2023 by g0nk

[H20 Plecos]

This is amazing layout for the aquascape 😊

If you let the plants growth it going to establish roots in the substrate. The more you can help it, the better is going to be. 

What have you decided to put in tank? If not then concentrate your time on learning about fish keeping/plants to better obtain knowledge. 

[nabokovfan87]

On 4/9/2023 at 5:07 PM, g0nk said:

I wanted to make sure this is normal, as I have read that it is.

Yes, just use a paper towel or toothbrush to knock it off, let it settle, then do a gravel vac.

It's not going to be around when there is fish there, it's mostly just the cycling part of the tank and the "seasoning" so to speak from having wood and other organics in the water.

On 4/9/2023 at 5:07 PM, g0nk said:

So what's my game plan? How is the best way to start getting this tank on track for some livestock? Like I said, I ready that seeing algae on the driftwood like this was a good thing, but just wanted to double check. Thanks!! (sorry for the poor pics)

Let the plants grow in and take your time. No rush. Especially that DHG. Once you see runners and growth, then it's a sign the plants are doing good.

[jwcarlson]

@g0nk Do you mean it comes on at current sunrise and sunset times?  If so... that's quite a long photo period as days are something like 13 hours at the moment.  I think I'd cut that down quite a bit (down to like 7-8 hours).

That algae stuff just happens, I think.  As long as you approach it with a longer term mindset, it will probably work out.  My newly setup tanks seem to have a big bloom of algae and if I just wait it out, it eventually gets better.  I try to trim out the algae covered plants.  Some respond well to reverse respiration to kill the algae on them.  So you can kind of salvage them as long as you don't let it go too long.  I dislike the look of the slimy hair-algae looking stuff, but I find some of the other algaes visually appealing.  I have some marimo that came from who knows where that I actually enjoy.  It looks almost like a dense moss, I made a ball out of some.

[g0nk]

On 4/10/2023 at 2:02 PM, jwcarlson said:

@g0nk Do you mean it comes on at current sunrise and sunset times?  If so... that's quite a long photo period as days are something like 13 hours at the moment.  I think I'd cut that down quite a bit (down to like 7-8 hours).

 

Yeah, I just realized that. That was pretty dumb on my part. I adjusted it to Noon-8PM for now to see how that goes. Thankfully I can do it on the fly with an Alexa plug. 🙂

[jwcarlson]

I do a split of 4 hours in the AM and 4 hours in the evening and I still get the algae.  I think it's a good sign.  It means things are growing.  🙂

Your setup looks good though!  Once things start balancing out you can clean most of that stuff up and it usually doesn't come back.  Or if you have shrimp, they love to eat most of that stuff.  The tanks I have without shrimp are by far the biggest algae/gunk farms. 😄

[A3M0N]

Looks good! I'm looking forward to seeing your progress. 

[g0nk]

Hello again!! I wanted to post an update on my new tank, and ask a question! I am trying to raise the PH of the tank, so I got some crushed coral. I also got a 10-batch of cherry red shrimp! They're so cute, and they've been munching on my algae robustly! Here are some pics of some PH water testing, can you all tell me what PH you see here? Somewhere around 7.5?? It was like 7 before I put a few cups of crushed coral in there. Also, say hello to Sebastian (1-10 as my wife like to call them).. 🙂

Tests were done with API Maser kit, and also test strips from Aquarium Co-Op.

 

[Guppysnail]

Looks great!  It helps to look down the hole at the top. I would say roughly 7.2-7.6. That is a lovely ph for most critters. Plenty of buffer and hardness. I’m actually jealous of such perfect water!  Unless you are going to keep something you specifically need a different range for. 
Nice shrimp. I agree with @jwcarlson my tanks always go through seasoning phases. Algae means you now have life in the tank. That’s fantastic. I start with diatom and string algae, usually a brief stint of black beard, then I get the beautiful green hair algae. I’m also jealous of folks who get the marimo family algae. I never get the good stuff. 🤣 my tanks always grow out of it to as long as I nip at the worst of it. I call those the awkward teenage phases. 
 

Edited April 17, 2023 by Guppysnail

[jwcarlson]

I'll send you some marimo if you want, @Guppysnail.  It's my best growing plant, probably. 🤣