Day 22.

Yesterday I bought a new tank for Swarley! It's bigger than the old one so he has plenty of space to run around. I also transferred his favourite rocks and tube over, and his companion guppy which he hasn't eaten yet.

I cleared out his old tank of course, then threw some of the crushed coral substrate into the main tank's filter. Hopefully it'll bring the pH up since it's still around 6 :( The main tank's inhabitants are doing pretty well, although I would prefer if they would eat the algae off the glass.

Since I've transferred Rainer over to the main tank, I also moved the old plants over. The red tiger lotus bulb has grow a tiny leaf! I'm leaving it in the main tank for now, but once it grows I'll take it out and put it in a tank on its own.

Day 19.

I've been incredibly busy and tired from work and didn't have the time to make an entry for the last week or so. However, I've been keeping up with my water changes, of course.

Notable things are that I've moved Rainer over to the main tank. He's found a nice hidey-hole under a piece of driftwood. Otto is still alive and well. The glosso is definitely growing well. The HC doesn't seem to have any noticeable growth but isn't dying either. There are green spots, which I assume are algae, growing on the glass. I don't mind them, because there's been an outbreak of snails. I'm kind of interested to find out what type of snails they are (too small to tell now) but I highly doubt I'll keep them around once they grow bigger.

Finally, the biggest thing to note is this:

Yes, after almost 3 weeks, my tank is finally starting to cycle! I thought the low pH was preventing it from doing so, but turns out it just needed some time. Of course, the amounts of ammonia and nitrites are pretty high right now, so I'll be keeping on top of my water changes. Good thing I'm not working the next couple of days.

If anyone is selling shrimp please let me know! I want to get some for this main tank once it's done cycling and the glosso carpet is properly grown. Will also be putting in my driftwood and getting mosses!

Day 12.

Finally back at home after almost 48 hours away. Such is the nature of my work. That's why I need my tank to be low tech.

I forgot to set aside water to age last time I did a water change, so I'm not able to do one now. I've only just put the water aside so I'll probably do it tomorrow when I wake up. When I looked inside the tank, I couldn't see any movement at all, which was weird because the guppy should be there. I couldn't find it on the substrate either. Later on, I found it on the floor next to the tank. It committed suicide. Can't say I'm too sad about it; I've been trying to get it out of the tank for ages.

Otto is still alive which is amazing and wonderful. Swarley has finished eating his moult and excitedly grabbed the algae wafer I dropped for him. Rainer is still alive, along with the guppies and snail in his tank.

As for the plants, the fanwort still looks terrible but everything else in the main tank looks normal. The red tiger lotus in the wine glass is disintegrating but from what I've read, it's common for them to do this. The bulb that I've dropped in the shrimp tank is growing roots, so that's awesome.

Just a short update until I've done more to the tank.

Day 10.

It feels like I've been working on the tank for a long time but it's only been 10 days.

Firstly, Swarley has eaten part of his moult, so that's good. Boyfriend said he saw Swarley holding his moulted claw. It must have been an amusing sight.

Secondly, the Red Tiger Lotus isn't doing very well. I dosed a lot of ferts and even Excel, but maybe a wine glass just isn't the best place for it. I think it might be the light, but I've already put it next to my main tank and I've read in many places that this plant does fine in low light conditions. Anyway, I left the leaves in the wine glass and placed the bulb in my shrimp tank.

Thirdly, two out of my last four feeder guppies have died, so I transferred the living two to Swarley's tank and got rid of the temporary container. Hopefully my room won't smell so bad anymore.

Lastly, my fanworts are dying. I posted in AQ asking for help. When I came home, I discovered that the stalk with two white buds had broken off. I'm quite sad since I've been looking forward to seeing them flower. The leaves are just turning brown and falling off the stem. I don't know what I'm doing wrong, since the anubias, glosso and HC seem to be doing fine. I dose Excel almost daily and Flourish maybe once every three days. My lighting setup is 0.5W x 7, with two 6-hour photo periods every day. The only problem I can think of is that it's below my HO filter, slightly to the side, so perhaps the current is too strong?

It looks so sad now.

Just did a 20% water change, as usual. Will test parameters later. I wonder if the tank will cycle even with low pH.

Day 8.

As usual, when I came home, the first thing I did was to check on Swarley. Imagine my shock when, in a dark corner of the tank, I saw a shadowy version of this.

It wasn't as well-lit as I made for this picture, so I only saw a crumpled mess of legs and thought he was dead. Then I looked further into the tank and saw the fella.

You gave me such a scare you silly crayfish!

Second thing I went to check was whether Otto was alive. I found it stuck to one of my anubias leaves. Congrats on surviving 3 days!

Did a 20% water change as usual, along with a dose of Flourish and Flourish Excel. Will test the parameters later or tomorrow morning.

Here are some pictures of the tank. Hornwort doesn't seem to be doing very well :(

Day 7.

When I woke up today, the first thing I did was to check whether the otto was alive. It was!

Did another 20% water change. Also changed the photo period to two 6-hour periods with a 4-hour break in between. I'm using this tank almost like a night-light, so it's during the times when I'm at home, and when I'm out at work, there's the daylight coming in from the window (although it's quite far away from the window actually).

Not much, because I was busy with work today.

Day 6.

I tested the water parameters when I awoke - nothing special.

pH is still low, so I added some crushed coral. I have it hanging from the shrimp net in the filter. Hopefully it makes a difference.

The last hornwort at the right side of the tank was falling apart too, so I removed it as well. Then I noticed that my driftwood was growing some fuzzy white stuff. I did a quick Google search and people said it was normal, and that ottos eat the stuff and they are quite hardy, so I quickly zipped over to the LFS at Tampines to get one. I also wanted to get some moss for the driftwood that was soaking.

I should have known better than to make an impulse purchase. After some more research, it turns out that ottos are very sensitive and will die very easily during acclimatization, particularly in a non-cycled tank. Wow, and I thought that since my guppy could survive inside, then other fish would too. I'm so sorry little guy, it's unlikely that you'll still be alive by tomorrow, but I really really hope that you will.

I was actually considering putting it into my other cycled tanks. Especially my shrimp tank that has been around for 4 months. However, I have never tested the parameters of that tank. True enough, it had already been cycled, but the nitrites and nitrates were through the roof! I quickly did a water change. Very amazed that a whole bunch of guppies managed to live through it. I also spotted Rainer, it's actually alive! Will move it to the 1-ft tank once it's cycled.

I didn't manage to get any moss from the LFS, but I did get a Red Tiger Lotus. It was the only one there and looked quite damaged, but from what I've researched (I actually did the research before buying this one) they grow very easily and very fast, even in low-mid light. I had been worried that they would take over my tank since they're very invasive, but while I was at the LFS I saw that they put a lotus plant in a wine glass, then put it into the tank. I thought it was a great idea!

I haven't put it into the main tank yet because I'm worried about the otto right now. Will see how it fares and relocate accordingly.

Did another test and water parameters are still the same as morning. pH didn't rise much. There must be something in the tank that's making the pH go down because I tested my tap water and the pH was around 7.6.

Hopefully the otto will live, and the tank will start to cycle.

Day 5.

After having been away for almost 48 hours, I came home to find a handful of dead feeder guppies again, not as much as the last time. Most were in Swarley's tank. Topped up the water in the shrimp tank and Swarley's tank, then did a 20% water change for the main tank.

I had left the light and cooling fan of the main tank on for the last 48 hours. There were several changes.

Firstly, my anubias flowered! I'm so lucky.

Secondly, it was a mistake to throw the feeder guppy into the main tank because I found 3 babies today. If you look carefully in the photo below you can see one of the babies hiding in there. I can only hope that I didn't accidentally throw out some of the other little ones during the water change.

Lastly, all the plants directly below the filter outlet were disintegrating. The anacharis, especially, so I removed all of them. It was a terribly long process. I also removed some of the hornwort that has been battered by the filter. The rest of them seem quite healthy though.

I have mixed feelings about the foreground plants. The glosso doesn't look so good, particularly on the right side. However, the HC is so bright and green and looks healthy.

So that's all for today. A handful of interesting changes since the last time I saw the tank. I also managed to buy a large piece of driftwood for $8 at the LFS near my workplace and am soaking it now. Hoping to add it to the tank a couple weeks later.

Day 3.

Left the tank alone for over 24 hours since I was at work. Came to a lot of dead guppies and a fishy smelling room, as expected. I think Rainer is the only shrimp left. I really hope the guppies in his tank don't stress it out.

I did a search to find out what type of shrimp Rainer is. The LFS usually call them Rainbow shrimps, but I know that's not the proper name. As far as I know, Rainer is a Malayan shrimp. It often changes between black with a yellow stripe, to orange with a yellow stripe (the above colour). I was considering shifting it to the 1-ft tank since it's been pretty hardy, but I found out that Malayan shrimps prefer higher pHs. Unfortunately my 1-ft tank parameters are like this:

It looks as though the pH has gone even lower. Ammonia seems to be higher than last time as well. Nitrites are still 0 and nitrates are still 10. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? I measured it after doing a 15% water change and adding Excel. Anyway, I'll just let the tank cycle. The hornwort and anubias seem to be doing quite well, but a bit of the glosso on the right side is turning brown.

 

Here's the tank at Day 3. Still watching the buds on the leftmost hornwort. The anubias on the right seems to be budding too.

Day 2.

I didn't mention that I also got a bag of feeder guppies for my crayfish, Swarley. I picked out some of the better ones and put them in the shrimp tank, and the lousier ones in Swarley's tank. I also dropped a couple of them into the new 1-ft tank.

Tank was looking the same by morning, loving how silent the Gex filter is. Also added some HC into the empty spaces in the foreground. Not sure how they will react with the Glosso.

Did a 20% water change and added more Excel. Intending to focus on the plants until all the water parameters stabilize.

Day 1.

After failing my last nano tank, I decided to stop being a cheapskate and get all the recommended equipment.

I went to C328 and spent almost $250 on a whole new setup.

• Dophin brand 40x26x30cm tank
• Gex Slim Filter L (my favourite purchase)
• Up Pro-Led-T-36 light
• Dymax digital thermometer
• Dymax cooling fan Vortex W-8
• ADA soil 9L
• API testing kit
• Seachem Flourish
• Seachem Excel
• Various plants: Hornwort, Anacharis, Anubias Nana, HC, Glosso

Luckily I had Duncan to help guide me through the 1.5 hours I spent there. Unfortunately since C328 is all the way across the country from where I live, I spent another bomb on the taxi fare back home.

 

This is what my tank looks like now.

pH 6.4 / Ammonia 2-4 / Nitrites 0 / Nitrates 10