Intro And My Fishy Project - Cora

Oh, and oddly enough my pH is 7.8  That is unusual for my water.

I'll see if it drops tomorrow.

And cheers Littlefish

Very nice.

oooo - that's nice, that is. I love the floaty bag filling thing - very smart. That's going to be a stunning tank.

Still a nifty idea for filling the tank.
Enjoy your plant shopping.

It's Alternanthera Rosaefolia.
Apparently it's aquatic but requires iron and other dosing to grow properly and stay red. But of course, I could be wrong and been sold a dud   

I have a clump in my shrimpery as a focal point, it's a lovely plant when it's growing well.

You are now at #6 in the method in the cycling section. So add the amount of ammonia that gives 3 ppm and test every 48 hours till you get zero ammonia then zero ammonia again 2 days later. You need two zeros, two days apart.

Update (I know it's not been 48h )

Ammonia: 0.5
Nitrites: 2.0+ probably higher.

It seemed to me the ammonia wasn't as green as yesterday and the nitrite was a deeper purple.

Nitrates were probably not a zero, but somewhere between 0 and 5; hard to tell with such tiny volumes - it probably doesn't matter - and my numerous plants should eat the NH3 and NO3 quickly anyway.

Though if you believe Diana Walstad (with whom I've been impressed) plants' preferance for their N is:

NH3 > NO2 > NO3

- and my numerous plants should eat the NH3 and NO3 quickly anyway.

Umm I think you'd need a heck of a lot more plants before they made any significant impact on your water parameters. Have a look at Richard's tank, that's the level of planting you'd need.

Update:

Ammonia: < 0.5 (probably 0.25)
Nitrites: > 2.0
Nitrates: didn't bother.

Dosed with Ammonia (<= 4.0ml). Such a tiny amount, yet the tank water smelled of ammonia only a few minutes later. As foul as ammonia is, it's redolent of high school chemistry, a subject I used to love. Hated PE, hated RE, but couldn't wait for Chemistry and Physics to come around.

Had an algae bloom yesterday. The obvious causes are always: too much nutrient or too much light (or both). It could be high nutrients (ADA iron-bottom sticks) but I do have lots of hungry plants. I think it's just too much light. I'm now draping big black towels over the tank so I can control the light. For now, I'm thinking of allowing just 5-6 hours a day in the evening.

Edited to add: I'm also concerned that I have insufficient flow in my tank. Low flow is preferable for the plants and fish I have (and will have) but I'm reminded of what Sue said earlier in this thread about the low effective rates of cannister filters when full with media. My APS is stated at 1400 l/H but it's probably half that, at best. Even with the spray bar underwater there is almost no discernible flow. The water and tank's contents just look static and I'm not sure that nutrients and fresh water will be flowing around the whole tank.

Hi Sue

If I can remember off the top of my head, the filter contains, in descending order:

crushed carbonate rock in a fine filter bag, on top of a plastic grid, then:

The first compartment:

two large bags of ceramic media side by side, which sit on top of:
filter wool, which sits on a plastic grid.

The second compartment:

two bags of plastic "bio balls", on top of:
filter wool, which sits on a plastic grid.

The third compartment:
(contained two large bags of activated carbon, but I removed these)
Another two bags of ceramic media (this is the stuff lifted from my sister's tank - heavily colonised one would hope)

I have a meter length of filter floss/wool that I'll use to replace the existing stuff as-and-when.

I was thinking of removing the spray bar and having a single outlet in the corner. I'm sure this would provide more force.

But I will clean the filter anyway and see if the flow improves.