"Restarting" a tank

[clownbaby]

After waiting two weeks to see if the feeling would go away, I have decided to completely "restart" my aquarium. I am just not happy with it and no matter how many rescapes I do there are so many issues that just need to be fixed. 

I set this tank up almost ten months ago now, it was my first planted tank and first non-overstocked "actually going to care for my pets" tank. So I made a load of mistakes. Even though I have learned a lot and have been able to fix some of those mistakes, a lot remain. 

My substrate is now 8 inches deep, which takes a lot of water volume away from my fish. It was initially 4 inches deep but I have allowed mulm to accumulate and for the microfauna to reproduce like crazy. I love the mulm (so do my corycats) and all the microfauna but I really need to reduce the substrate all together. 

The plants are all over the place due to me rushing my planting sessions and getting frustrated. There is no sense of depth or reason to it and I think I could do a lot better. 

Algae is everywhere. My otos are making a small dent but a lot of it is spot algae and black beard algae. Wouldn't mind these in small amounts but it is really harming my anubias and other plants.

The "pest snail" population is out of control. I don't mind my Malaysian trumpet snails but there have to be literal thousands of bladder snails in that tank. I feed my tank twice a week so again I just think the mulm is causing them to overpopulate. I cannot add an assassin snail or anything like that because of my mystery snail.

There is not enough hides for my corycats who get bullied during meal times. They need more cover for being so shy and like a third of the size of my black neons. 

I want to add a hang on the back filter for more filtration capacity because my 20 gallon and two 5 gallon sponge filters are really just the bare minimum. 

I want my aquarium to actually have some sort of aesthetic appeal, which it does not have right now whatsoever

The light I have used is starting to get kinda old and isn't bright enough anymore and I would like a new light - any recommendations? High lighting is preferred, I don't care too much on color of the light, my tank dimensions measure 30inches (length) x 12 inches (width) x 21 inches (height).

notes:

• water parameters 6.8 pH gH 3-4 kH 8. Temperature will be 76 f or so
• stocking is otocinclus, pygmy cories, black neon tetras, mystery snail
• sponge filters
• dirted tank but it needs to be reduced lolz
• current plant species that haven't died from algae are various anubias, java fern, moneywort, and ludwigia. 

 

So basically. Any tips for someone who has experience and has done a crap ton of research but is just kind of failing at fishkeeping? My fish get great care but my tank hasn't been good in a long time. Pretty much anything because I am just really frustrated with trying what I already know and it just not being good enough. I've saved up some cash to help with funds so money isnt too much of an issue 

So basically aquascaping tips, plant tips, snail tips, really just anything. i feel so frustrated and hopeless about this tank someone help lol

Side note - I will keep a bit of my substrate to retain beneficial bacteria and microbes, but I just really need to take a lot of it out

Edited September 6 by clownbaby
adding notes

[AllFishNoBrakes]

 My advice would be:

-Before you do the restart, work through everything in your head! Do you need to build up the back substrate to create depth? Why don’t you like the plants as they currently are? What changes do you hope to make to enhance how much you like your tank? Think through all of it, and then execute your plan. 
 

-I highly recommend the ACO light. Get it while you can. I bought a 48” when they first came out. I bought a 20” and a 30” when I heard they were going to be discontinued. Get it while the gettin’ is good. 
 

-Execute your plan, and then give it time. I’m talking 12-18 months. Of course, you will have to tweak things, remove algae, deal with the normal “new tank” things, but really time is what you’re after. Balance that light. Balance your nutrients. Balance your maintenance schedule over a loooooong period of time. Most of my tanks looked terrible in the first year. Now that they’re 4 years old and super stable they basically take care of themselves. Besides my Pea Puffer tank. That one still requires a decent amount of manual work. 

[johnnyxxl]

Decide what you want the look to be.  Plan what you need to accomplish this.

[Tony s]

If I may suggest something, and it kind of goes against everything you’ve done up until now. How about trying to create a sort of show tank. Where you keep it very clean and highlight your fish. And possibly your plant skills. We both know you have the natural thing pretty much down. Learning to create something beautiful is a whole other challenge. One that I haven’t gotten figured out yet either. Give your corys and others exactly what they need to thrive. A perfect living space. Something you can be proud to show off.

Then, in a corner out of the way, create a couple of sources of live food for your fish. Something that appeals to your naturalist side. Doing both would be great and equally challenging. Very different from the first time. But don’t rush either one. Take your time and figure it out first. 

[Tony s]

On 9/6/2024 at 3:52 PM, clownbaby said:

Any tips for someone who has experience and has done a crap ton of research but is just kind of failing at fishkeeping? My fish get great care but my tank hasn't been good in a long time. Pretty much anything because I am just really frustrated with trying what I already know and it just not being good enough

Omg, please cut yourself some slack. I know it’s hard sometimes. But, really, you’re doing okay. You have the same issue that most of the people in this hobby have. Me included. You’re not failing at anything, you’re learning. And doing it rather fast, I might add. Calm your mind. Find your peace. Really look at your tank and see how much you’ve learned in so little time. Then, when you have your plans together, think of how much more you’re going to learn next. And sometimes you will fail, we all do at some point. I completely crashed my big tank 2 months ago. But when we fail, we learn. We do better next time. I certainly won’t repeat what I did to mine. You’re doing great kiddo, give yourself some credit.  😉

[beastie]

Let me focus more on the practical part of the restart. How will you catch the fish, where will you keep them, how do you ensure your bacteria stays alive and the tank continues to be cycled?

I recently did a remake of my tank, some of the same reasons, definitely replacing the substrate for me. Took me 9 hours, back pain, so many buckets, mess everywhere and the fish had to spend the night in a bucket s with air stone (and one without cause i just didn't have that many) as the tank was not move in ready in the evening for sure, barely move in ready in the morning. My otos were my biggest concern too, since the new tank is a bit sterile and i tried to compensate for having them in a quarantine box with h diatome algae and leaf litter and moving them back last (5days after the change) and target feeding them more.

Catching fish like corydoras means taking out everything first, and taking it out means messing the mulm and spiking the ammonia. It requires a plan