Shoal & Stem
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Full Tank Log

· 124 entries
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Layout change

Eriocaulon sp Vietnam

Key moment
Planted one bunch from Jung at A Betta World. Ordered a couple more from Chichi’s Planted Dreams. Will plant them here since they need higher light
Update

Amanos

Moved one big one to Rainforest Refuge and added 6 new ones from Miguel’s
Trim & reshape

Trims

Trimmed off some E. Montevidensis and Cyperus Helferi that was taken over by staghorn. Trimmed Rotala green down to correct some of the lateral growth and temporarily planted in net pots until they grow big enough to replant
Update

Bacter

Dosed bacter ae 1/2 spoon
Solution

Light

Light finally back to normal. Turned on at 730, 6 hrs later than normal, so short photoperiod today. Dosed ferts like normal
Problem

Chihiros

Chihiros servers down so can’t connect to light so tank is dark right now. Unplugged co2 and going to skip ferts for today.
Milestone

Filter

Key moment
Removed FiltoSmart and put it on ms piggy’s tank, took some of the filter floss and added it to the biomaster. Will monitor and test for any ammonia spikes but should be ok since bio media previously there is still in canister
Update

Caught one more baby

1 / 3
Layout change

Glosso

Key moment
Planted part one generic cup of Glosso from Hawaiian place. Not a lot yet . Could use more growth, leaves very small
1 / 3
Layout change

Pusilla mini

Key moment
Planted the Pusilla mini tropica cup for Kyle since it was running out of room in the cup
1 / 2
Layout change

Acicularis

Key moment
Got one generic cup of acicularis from Hawaiian place and planted 6 tufts. Also replanted the uprooted Vivipara and the tropical leftovers
Trim & reshape

Rotala green

Trimmed and replanted Rotala green
1 / 2
Layout change

S Repens

Key moment
Planted about 3/4 of Tropica S Repens tissue culture cup from Kyle at AquascapeGuide
Solution

Staghorn

Decided to just cut off the worst staghorn infested leaves on the giant hairgrass, Cyperus and emersed leaves of the Ludwigia white
1 / 2
Trim & reshape

Red plant trim

Trimmed Blood rotala and Ludwigia super red
Layout change

Taiwan Moss

Key moment
Added Taiwan moss from Tropica TC cup
1 / 3
Layout change

Glosso

Key moment
Glosso from dumb eBay seller was shit. Planted one Tropica TC cup from Kyle at AquascapeGuide N
Layout change

Vivipara

Key moment
Uprooted Vivipara to clear it out of dead leaves. Replanted some
Update

Babies

Another baby caught and at least one more in tank
1 / 2
Layout change

S Repens

Key moment
Planted S Repens
1 / 5
Layout change

Eleocharis Acicularis

Key moment
Planted Tropica TC cup of Eleocharis Acicularis on mid to lower left side of tank. Planted 10 bunches, still plenty of runners left. Not sure what to do with them yet
Update

New plants

Floating new plants from Aquarium plant center (Etsy) going to plant them tomorrow. Got H. Tripartita Japan mini, Rotala H’ra and Orange Juice, S. Repens, Eleocharis Pusilla mini, and Monte Carlo.
1 / 3
Layout change

Blyxa

Key moment
Planted one Tropica TC cup of Blyxa Japonica from Kyle at AquascapeGuide. Super healthy and stacked cup. Also got one plant from Etsy seller Aquarium Plant Center that is also very healthy and looks like was grown in high light as it’s got a pinkish…
Solution

APT FIX

Got in Apt Fix and applied it to the staghorn on the montevidensis and cyperus today. Fixlite wasn’t going much so trying this
Update

More babies

Caught 7
Layout change

Microsword

Key moment
Uprooted microsword and put into shrimpville
1 / 3
Milestone

First trim on Rotala green

Key moment
Unknown variety, sold as H’ra but looking more like Rotala green. No pink undersides
1 / 4
Layout change

Driftwood

Key moment
Replaced some driftwood for a better look. Took one from Shrimpville. And put a few pieces in there from guppy wood
Update

Another baby

Well, checking on the baby from Shrimpville that I put in yesterday, I found another super tiny baby and not sure when it was born. So far I’ve only seen one that small. The baby from shrimpville that has the black spots on the tail, which probably i…
1 / 4
Layout change

Updated layout

Key moment
Moved Ludwigia sp red carpet over by Rotala red. Moved Ludwigia white to short side. Replanted loose Rotala, lobelia, etc
Trim & reshape

Replanted and plants

Trimed and Replanted limnophilia
Problem

Algae

Noticing more staghorn algae on montevidensis. Treated yesterday with APT FixLite. Same with tufts of hair algae on driftwood. Will scrub algae off on hardscape tomorrow.
Milestone

Filter

Key moment
Transferred biome from Philmar to bio master, going to run both filters for a few weeks so as to not crash the tank
Update

Added 4 male neos

Solution

Hairgrass

Treated Montevidensis again with APT FIXLITE. 5ml
Trim & reshape

Moved plants

Uprooted most of the lower half plants to rearrange them. Planted more Glosso
1 / 2
Layout change

More planting

Key moment
Planted some Glosso and more vivipara and montevidensis
Update

Amanos

Found two amanos that jumped out the tank. Saw a large one as it was walking towards me! Got that one back in the tank. Found a smaller one later that was already gone
Layout change

New plants

Key moment
Planted a few bunches of Eleocharis Vivipara and montevidensis from eBay seller Planted tank paradise . Floated Glosso, Myrio green yesterday
Layout change

Moved Ludwigia

Key moment
Moved Ludwigia Super red to background to allow room for Glosso.
Trim & reshape

Rotala

Trimmed Rotala down to a few inches and replanted some to fill out bottom so tops can be pushed in
Layout change

Soil

Key moment
Attempted yesterday to adjust the soil on to be on top of the driftwood to no avail. Will not stay on wood because of angle and slope is too steep. Going to try again next last thing, using wire mesh or egg crate to keep area from rolling. I don’t wa…
Solution

Staghorn and green hair algae

Treated salvageable areas with direct spot dosing of APT FIXLITE during water change. Cut off leaves that just had too much and were dead anyway for both the hairgrass and bacopa salzmanni
Trim & reshape

Trident fern and soil

Separated trident ferns so I can just bread tie them where I want it on the wood. Cut off dead/dying leaves, excess roots and separated rhizomes that were grown in a weird angle. I plan on still using those with leaves and leaving the empty rhizomes…
Update

One more baby

Found another baby that was hiding. Smaller in size than the last. I’m almost thinking the one from yesterday got accidentally put in the tank when I picked up some plants
Layout change

Frogbit

Key moment
Moved all frogbit to ms piggy
Update

Another baby

Found another baby. Good size. Moved to Shrimpville
Layout change

Val nana

Key moment
Planted Val Nana runners I got from Adrian
Trim & reshape

First trim of Ludwigia white

Trimmed Ludwigia as its nodes are started to have roots and stems are bending
Layout change

Biostratum

Key moment
Added more Biostratum to the back wall to raise it a bit and to cover wood behind Rotala blood red so I can plant more
Update

More babies

Found 2 more babies. Moved to Shrimpville. At least one more left
Update

Baby

There’s still at least one more baby
1 / 5
Trim & reshape

Plant updates

Super glued tissue culture buce to driftwood so it doesn’t float during water changes and planted shorter eleocharis montevidensis on left side. Trimmed Rotala blood red for the first time
Update

Caught another 3 babies

Thought there was only one baby guppy that was hiding. Turns out there’s at least 3 left and all have been Added to shrimp tank
1 / 3
Problem

hair algae

Noticed green hair algae or stag horn in a few places. Hopefully it’s just due to dialing in the co2
Update

Co2

Started Co2 a half hour earlier than before, so it is now at 2 hrs before lights on. Still goes off 1 and half hour before lights off
Solution

Light intensity

Lowered light intensity back down to 64 red, 32 green and 48 blue as I noticed some Green hair and spot algae.
Observation

Guppy baby

Saw The one last guppy baby from the recent batch that I couldn’t catch is still alive and in good shape
Layout change

Rotala Mini Pink

Key moment
Picked up 2 bunches (about 10 stems ) of Rotala macandra mini pink from Troo Aquarium. Incorporated them in with the blood red as just having a bush of them didn’t look natural
Update

Auto top off

Installed FZONE Aquarium ATO with Controller, QST2.0 Auto Top Off System
Milestone

Light intensity increase

Key moment
Increased light intensity to 80 red 40 green and 61 blue (fish setting in Chihiros app). Previously was about 15%less
Milestone

ISTA Co2 Reactor

Key moment
Replaced UNS Inline Diffuser with ISTA Co2 reactor. So far so good with flow rate from OASE. Reactor is 12/16mm tubing so installed a couple of reducers and couplers to attach it to my filter. Lowered the bubble rate for the co2 slightly as I should…
Solution

Nitrogen and Potassium

In addition to normal ferts (APT 3/Complete) Added full cap of nitrogen to increase nitrates and half a cap of potassium for Java fern tridents to prevent more melt
1 / 3
Layout change

Cyperus Helferi

Key moment
Planted 3 Cyperus Helferi ~12” in size from ShoreAquatics on Etsy. More on the way.
Trim & reshape

First trim of Limno

Trimmed the limnophilia aromatics for the first time yesterday 07/22 as it was reaching the surface even though not yet fully converted to submerged
Layout change

Ludwigia super red

Key moment
Moved Ludwigia super red to left side to have better access to light. Trimmed down to just a few inches to start
Layout change

Cyperus, giant hairgrass

Key moment
Ordered a few hopefully large cyperus Helferi grown submerged from Etsy seller. Adjusted giant hairgrass in the back to make room for them when it comes
Update

Babies and detritus worm?

Found two more baby guppies, moved them to shrimp tank with others. Did catch one detritus worm swimming about. Didn’t see any others while siphoning substrate
Layout change

Replant and reorganize

Key moment
Now that driftwood is water logged Moved some of the lava rock that was temporarily holding them down to make room for more planting. Added 3-4 stems of Lobelia cardinalis that I got from Facebook seller. Added more bio stratum to lower side. Adjuste…
Layout change

Plant update

Key moment
Replaced jungle Val with more giant hairgrass (from fb seller) and left room for cyperus when I get it. Jungle Val started to take off and I didn’t want it to grow too much and shade the other plants. Removed Rotala Green to put in Shrimpville and Ju…
Update

Plus 1 more baby guppy

Saw one dart into the Java fern trident, super tiny.
Update

Baby guppies

Found three more baby guppies. Not sure when they were born. Two of them look to be about the same size as the most recent batch so they must’ve been eating good here in Guppy Wood and our more than likely from that same batch born in t he last week.…
Problem

Java fern mini trident

Looks actually less than 5ppm nitrates. Going to start dosing APT 3 in response to Java fern trident mini showing deficiencies in older growth by yellowing and brown spots and necrosis. Could also be potassium but going to start with nitrates first.…
Trim & reshape

Rotala Blood Red

Planted BR that was just stuffed into the other plants into the actual substrate. Also, moved bunches apart a little to give bottoms more light
1 / 4
Layout change

Anubias Nana “nangi”

Key moment
Added “nangi” from TC cup I got at Petsmart. Gel was browned and starting to mold. But rhizomes and leaves still healthy. So added it to the tank to save it and convert it. About 4-5ish clumps
1 / 8
Layout change

Buce

Key moment
Added more Topfin (Petsmart brand) Buce “Brownie” tissue culture. Unknown exactly which kind ) Making a total of 10 clumps to convert. 3 clumps from previous are doing well so far. Also added one clump from Shrimpville that was originally from Buce P…
Solution

Check Valve

Installed new co2 check valve. Hoping it doesn’t restrict flow like the other one
Trim & reshape

Bacopa Carolina Red

Trimmed and Replanted Bacopa Carolina Red. Bare lower stems so replanted tops
Milestone

New cylinder

Key moment
Picked up my now full co2 cylinder I got from Amazon for $64 and returned the the temporary cylinder back to Linde on Sunset. Their refill/swap cost is about $40. DJB gas place is cheaper at only $28. Will go there next time
Update

Guppies

Couple still surfing every now and then. Definitely all look either prego or full. Suspect that they ate a lot since I put some Kats shells yesterday. Going to fast the tank again today. Dosed 2 capfuls of stress guard
Update

Kats and Bacter AE

Added 7 shells (extra because fish are picking at it, and 1/2 scoop of Bacter
Observation

Pregnant guppy

Pregnant Guppy is restless still. After adding a couple of capfuls of stress guard. Doesn’t seem to be related to water parameters or co2 levels or the cardinals. One guppy joins her every now and then surfing before returning to graze. Prego will al…
Update

Tuning

Dialed down bubbles to slower than 1 per second as pH is still lowering even after lights are on. Likely because not a lot of plant mass yet. Need it to stay at 7.3-7.4 during photoperiod and not get any lower than 7.1
Observation

Co2

After tuning co2 again now. Started with 1 bubble with no change after 20 mins, change to 2-3 bubbles and after 1 hr and a half, reached 7.4 pH. So turned on lights. Drop checker is green, no gasping or hanging out at the top by the guppies. Cardinal…
Update

Retuning co2

Fully degassed sample is at 8.2, meaning that tank should get to 7.2. Started with one bubble/sec. Starting was 7.8. After 20 mins no change. Increased to 2 per second
Observation

Pregnant female

The biggest female, more than likely very prego is glass surfing. Not sure why. All other fish are acting normal. Dosed 4 capfuls of stress guard.
Update

Co2

Current bubble rate of 3-4 a second without the check valve has now brought pH down to 7.3 after an hour. Increased aeration a bit because guppies were hanging out at the top, not gasping just sitting more at the top than usual. Turned lights on now.…
Update

Removed Check Valve

Check valve was causing issues with flow of co2 into atomizer
Observation

Still no pH drop

After an hour at previous bubble rate, upped it to twice the number of bubbles. Going to check again in an hour
Solution

Check valve for co2 line

Check valve originally put on was plastic and cracked under pressure. That’s why co2 levels weren’t rising. Replaced with metal one. Will run co2 same bubble rate , 3 ish a second at 40 psi for an hour and see
Observation

Co2

After doing water change, pH was at roughly 7.9 (7.8 before, 8.0 is regular tap) so I’m assuming it was 7.9. After an hour of co2 at current bubble rate, no change in pH. Increased needle valve more. Will give it another hour. Fish look fine. No gasp…
Update

Mystery

Added smallest mystery to tank to help clean up glass
Update

Bubble count

After 2 hours of co2 ( with lights on) no ph drop. Adjust needle valve to push 3-4 bubbles a second
Observation

Male guppies tails look ragged and bit

Both male guppies have a bit of raggedness in their tails possibly from the tetras biting them. Dosed stress guard two capfuls
Layout change

Added couple more giant hairgrass

Key moment
Added more giant hairgrass from a betta world and trimmed off some dead ends from all of them
Update

Took out back of media

Took out bag of media in tank and put it in ms piggy tank. Removed profiler sponge temporarily
Layout change

Rotala H’ra

Key moment
Planted one bag of TC Rotala hra
Milestone

Setup co2

Key moment
Co2art regulator with UNS pro inline diffuser. Starting with 1 bubble a second at 40 psi working pressure should
1 / 4
Layout change

Blyxa Japonica

Key moment
Planted 6ish bunches of Blyxa that I got from Etsy
Update

Stability

One last capful of Stability
Update

APT Zero

Started Dosed 5 pumps of APT Zero. Bottle is a few years old so not sure on how good it is now. Will dose daily. APT complete has been ordered and should be here soon
Update

Stability

2 capfuls for new cardinals
Update

Kats shells

Put in 4-5 shells for the Amanos and nerite
Update

Bacter AE

Dosed half a scoop to help create biofilm for the Amanos
Update

Stability

Dosed 2 capfuls of Stability
Update

Introducing fish and amanos!

Acclimated guppies, Amanos and nerite.
Trim & reshape

Completed planting

Finally completed planting! Now to to just let settle until tomorrow and I’ll transfer the fish back
Rescape

Flooded tank and planted

Key moment
Finally flooded tank and began planting.
Update

Added a few Kats shells

Added a few into holding tank for Amanos and nerite since not a lot of bio film. Added extra since guppies are eating it
Update

Filter

Filter has been running on tank water since beginning the rescape on 06/27. Temporarily turned it off to squeeze out filter sponge in tank water to improve flow. Cleaned Lily pipes and hoses too
Update

Gave Rachel’s fishes

Rachel’s offspring 3
Rescape

Began rescape!

Key moment
Moved fish to tub. Uprooted all plants and removed hardscape. Amazed at the big crypt that hadn’t moved since I planted it 4 and a half years ago. Super healthy roots and lots of runners. Put the plants in a clear tub, with an airstone and heater so…
Trim & reshape

Gave anacharis bunch

Gave Anacharis bunch to Rach
Update

Fixed Thrive low tech

8 pumps of low tech Thrive
1 / 3
Update

Mini Java fern trident!

Added trident to tank for new scape .Bought off eBay seller qualitysubmergedplants. B2G2
Observation

Flashing?

One of the Orange tail juveniles looked like he was flashing. Not sure if it’s just the flow by the plants on the left
Update

One of the females giving birth

So far caught 5
Observation

Rachel’s guppies

Noticed Male was swimming up by the airstone like the female was so moved him initially with female and put into hospital tank. Male started to shimmy and then chase female in hospital tank so I moved him to the 15.
Update

Dosed NilocG Shrimp

5 pumps
Observation

Female (largest) hovering near airstone

Largest guppy from Rachel ,orange tail, started hovering top of tank near airstone. Moved to breeder box with airstone just in case she’s going to give birth and so she didn’t have to continuously swim against current. Fish will shiver at the top the…
Update

Bacter AE

Dosed 1/2 scoop of Bacter AE to grow biofilm for the snails to grow
Update

Ferts

Dosed 5 pumps of APT Zero and 3 pumps of NilocG shrimp specific AIO. Watch for algae levels and growth in Rotala
Update

New plants

Added 3 Java fern narrow, 3 anubias nana petite and 3 barteri, 2 red flame swords. One root tabs under 2 red flame sword
Trim & reshape

New plants and driftwood

Removed couple of older pieces of driftwood yesterday and over the weekend. Added new driftwood piece with Christmas moss glued on. Removed a ton of moss with algae