Tank check-up

[TwoFace99]

Hello, I am going into the third week of cycling my planted tank, but I have noticed some murky-looking substance at the top of my water level. I haven’t messed with the tank, outside of adding liquid fertilizer (Easy Green) a couple of times a week. Is this a sign I’m over-fertilizing my plants or something else? 

Also, would anyone be kind enough to tell me the state of my plants. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

[TheSwissAquarist]

Plants are looking pretty good, and you seem to have hit the right balance with the ferts. What’s the stocking plan??

[TwoFace99]

On 10/30/2023 at 11:28 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:

Plants are looking pretty good, and you seem to have hit the right balance with the ferts. What’s the stocking plan??

Thank you. I’m also using Controsoil as the substrate. The final stocking plan so far are:

2 Koi Angelfish 

2 Pearl Gourami

2 Apistogramma Cacatuoides Super Red

2 Bolivian Rams

8-10 Harlequin Rasboras

5 Panda Garras

Hopefully, I’m not overloading the tank. 

[TheSwissAquarist]

I’ve found that Angels work best in a group of 4 or more - it keeps the agression down. 

[TwoFace99]

On 10/31/2023 at 3:58 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:

I’ve found that Angels work best in a group of 4 or more - it keeps the agression down. 

Even if I get just two as juveniles? Also, are my Dwarf Chain Swords specifically doing good? I’m starting to really see brown/off-white leaves.

[TheSwissAquarist]

Any pics? They could just be dying back to regrow. 

[nabokovfan87]

On 10/29/2023 at 10:34 PM, TwoFace99 said:

Is this a sign I’m over-fertilizing my plants or something else? 

The substrate releases a bit of grime and I'm going to guess that is what you're seeing. Just take a paper towel or a fish only sponge and clean off all of the glass. Then, just do a big water change to remove the surface gunk. At first you'll likely need to do a big water change (75-90% basically) and then you should see that stuff disappear.  When I first setup my tank it was sort of sticky almost and that was the type of gunk and grime I felt.

The other thing of note is that you have the tidal, and you have it pushed all the way to the left. You'll want to push it towards the middle of the tank if you can to improve the overall circulation and movement across the length of the tank. I have a thread in my signature about modding the title and some things I've tried to fix on mine. For long tanks though I've always ended up running two.

I don't think you're over fertilizing or anything.

[TwoFace99]

On 11/3/2023 at 1:54 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:

Any pics? They could just be dying back to regrow. 

Yes, I got in contact with Co-Op customer support and they said the tiny, yellow almost transparent-like leaves were apart of the emerged stage the Dwarf Chain Sword was in. They advised me to cut those leaves to promote new growth. I did so yesterday, technically two days ago now, so hopefully, I can do right by them.
 

They are the only plants in my tank that haven’t experienced noticeable growth/propogation, unlike the Banana plants/Anubias/Java Fern/Amazon Sword. 

On 11/3/2023 at 2:14 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

The substrate releases a bit of grime and I'm going to guess that is what you're seeing. Just take a paper towel or a fish only sponge and clean off all of the glass. Then, just do a big water change to remove the surface gunk. At first you'll likely need to do a big water change (75-90% basically) and then you should see that stuff disappear.  When I first setup my tank it was sort of sticky almost and that was the type of gunk and grime I felt.

The other thing of note is that you have the tidal, and you have it pushed all the way to the left. You'll want to push it towards the middle of the tank if you can to improve the overall circulation and movement across the length of the tank. I have a thread in my signature about modding the title and some things I've tried to fix on mine. For long tanks though I've always ended up running two.

I don't think you're over fertilizing or anything.

Thank you very much. I got the Aqueon 55 gallon, and the lids I have equipped I cut the plastic in the rear specifically to allow the Filter/Heater to be placed there assuming filtration would be fine.
 

I guess I failed at that assignment, as I managed to create a dead zone like you referring to. Water parameters are zero across the board for Ammonia/Nitrite/Nirate. 

[nabokovfan87]

On 11/3/2023 at 11:00 PM, TwoFace99 said:

Thank you very much. I got the Aqueon 55 gallon, and the lids I have equipped I cut the plastic in the rear specifically to allow the Filter/Heater to be placed there assuming filtration would be fine.
 

I guess I failed at that assignment, as I managed to create a dead zone like you referring to. Water parameters are zero across the board for Ammonia/Nitrite/Nirate. 

You can flip the plastic or slide it to one side and it'll still work. I've got scraps of "rear trim" too that are put in place when need be. Trust me, we've all been there.

Parameters will be fine as the tidal has good biological, but it's just a weird issue of trying to get "enough" circulation and get the flow in all the right spots. 4 foot tanks make it a little tough. It's just the way equipment, lids, etc. Are all designed.