Mantis' New Tank

[plankton]

I wouldn't use any soap anywhere near anything to do with the fish, hot water should be good enough.
I even rinse my hands before feeding or doing water changes.

[mantis]

Quick update on the tank. Plants are growing infuriatingly slowly but the wavemaker and ferts that are coming will hopefully help with that. Pretty pleased with the crypts progress and one of the java ferns is showing really good progress particularly this one, I was worried none of them would go 'bushy'




All the fish are doing fine, the lemon's have chilled out and the bolvians have found a spot to hide in if they feel like it. I raised a piece of wood and created a cave which has really helped. Got some oak leaves drying to stick in this week as well and I'm tempted to shove some more plants in there if I can find the space haha. I'm thinking a tiger lotus and maybe give valls a bash.

[mantis]

Been a while since the last log post so thought I'd give some updates on the "progress"

As you can see it looks like someone has fly tipped some hardscape and plants in there



Not happy with it at all, the reason for moving stuff was to create more room for the swords to repair, speaking of which, one of them is doing nothing so will be removed next WC, and the one that is showing signs of a resurgence is developing algea, not quite sure if it's hair or BBA yet but plant is to trim all the effected leaves and hopefully get more healthy growth.



Also bit unclear from this photo but one of the crypts is showing the start of the same, although it is very minor so tempted to leave this one.



Also got a lot more livestock since the last time, in the form of bladder snails



and this little guy, who is pink and translucent, not exactly sure of the type of snail but I'm assuming it's a rams horn. Doesn't seem to breed/multiply at all so I'm quite happy with him/her in there.



So as you can see the tanks turned into a right mess. To try and combat it I've stopped dosing ferts for now until I get it under control and I've lowered the lighting. I really need to research my light and tank size to find the optimal lighting conditions as I've just had it blasting on full for 6-8 hours a day. To get rid of the snails I'm trying to feed less but I'm not sure if that's the issue, there's plenty of other food in there in the form of a rotting sword and algea so hopefully once they are sorted the population will start to drop off.

Scape wise, I'm going to get some more wood, the wood I've got in is too dull and flat and there's not a lot I can do with it to make it look nice. Also going to skim all of the shredded riccia fluitans from the surface and try and cover the old pebbles I had with it using one of those mesh bath sponges.

As for the fish they are all doing brilliantly, two of the rams are really friendly and come to the front of the tank at feeding, the other two still sulk in their 'caves' when I'm near the tank but I have noticed a lot more socialising when I'm at a distance.

[plankton]

I quite like your tank, it looks far tidier than either of my four......

[mantis]

Small update, still having slight algae issues but it hasn't exploded like I thought it would. So just going to keep trimming as and when I need to.

Removed a sword, added a more established Ludwigia and a little cave for the new addition which I'm hoping I'll be able to coat with moss at a later date



Also trying to make good use of the shredded Riccia Fluitans by attaching it to a pebble using sponge netting. This is just a test, so as soon as I see some growth I'll be doing the rest.



And added this little orange bristlenose, not sure on the sex because it's tiny but it such a great addition to the tank. Hoping to get a better picture in the future when it's not constantly cleaning the front glass haha. Was worried about adding it since even my smallest rummynose dwarfs it, but it's settled in straight away with no issues at all.

[Ric]

Love a well-planted tank!

Amazons did best for me when I had them slap-bang in the centre of the tank where they got maximum light. Any sword planted at the side or back would just do nothing or just grow a small leaf here and there. In your tank, I noticed the bulk of the riccia is almost above the sword - this may already be enough to reduce the light coming through and now it sulks.

[mantis]

Cheers @Ric

I shall try and shimmy it along a bit during todays busy water change, the root system is well established now so I can't rip it out without turning over the substrate. Going to remove a couple of the bad leaves as well which have the black hair algea on them.

Along with that I need to do filter maintenance, I think the floss is past its best since my tank looks constantly yellow Also going to submerge the rest of the Riccia Fluitans as I can see bits of growth poking out the netting, so that will create a lot more light, as well as scoop out some duck weed which has mysteriously found its way into my tank.

Then remove and find somewhere for the baby Java ferns before the roots strangle the parent fern, and finally lowering the filter outlet as the wavemaker more than creates enough surface agitation, I'm thinking the lower flow might help with the algea as well, who knows. Oh and I need to trim and replant some more of the stem plants That will teach me for slacking with the maintenance

[Andys temperate tank]

Tanks looking good mantis. Is the yellowing of your water not just tannins?

[mantis]

Tanks looking good mantis. Is the yellowing of your water not just tannins?

It might be but I don't think so mate, I haven't cleaned the filter for about 5-6 weeks I think It usually stays crystal clear for a few weeks when I clean/change the floss. Been thinking about purchasing a pre filter as that's meant to help extend the floss life. Although I think it's just the nature of using it, I've read of people changing theirs weekly! Not going to happen with my setup, it's a nightmare accessing all the piping etc.. for the filter! Although I have been thinking of moving the tank to a different wall, away from the conservatory door which would help with that.

[mantis]

Done! May have overdone it slightly with the Riccia pebbles but we'll see how it grows.

Definitely some stubborn hair algea on some of the plants, don't think Bristlenoses eat that stuff so not sure how to deal with it. Doesn't look that bad yet so might just live with it for now.

Ordered the auto timer day/night thing for my light so hopefully that will help.. been a bit all over the place with the light timings lately.