Banasophia's Fresh Start: The IM Nuvo 12 g Atoll

[banasophia]

9 hours ago, wuzzo said:

Haven’t read many threads at all recently, but wow this tank is beautiful! The plat betta adds so much contrast to the rest of the tank, and those embers are amazing

Thanks so much…yes, I’m really happy with the way it has come together, and it’s really easy so far. I haven’t been spending as much time in that room in the house lately… I need to hang out in there more to enjoy it. 
 

How is your shrimp tank doing? I still just have the two amano shrimp - Todd and Tad - they are amazing cleaners. But I’d like to add some tiny colorful shrimp soon. 

[banasophia]

What colorful shrimp do you guys think I should I try? I like the little red and white ones but apparently they are more difficult and like cooler water, so I’m leaning toward the blue ones below instead. 

 

 

 

[Lebowski_]

I love those blues, but the white and red really stand out to me. I always notice them right away.

[MrP]

Neocaridina are much easier to keep. Caridina require a low ph and kh. 

[banasophia]

It has been a bit eventful for this tank in the last week.

 

When I did my water change last weekend I siphoned detritus from the bottom and in a few areas without plants I vacuumed a bit of the upper layer of substrate. At the end I feel like I stirred things up a bit too much when I added the fresh water back in. I also moved the ghostwood a little bit, maybe an inch forward, to give my bronze crypt in the back a little more room and light.
 

A couple days later (related or not I wasn’t sure), I noticed that my crypt in the front developed a yellow leaf. 

 

I removed the yellow leaf and added three Seachem room tabs total to the tank: one near the base of that crypt, one between the two crypts in the back right, and one near the base of the red leafed stem plant in the back left. 

The other bad thing that happened is that I may have lost one of my cories… I don’t know for sure because I haven’t seen them all together to get an accurate count but I also haven’t found his body… it’s possible he recovered but here’s what happened. 
 

I found him in the front in one of the clumps of hydrocotyle Japan. He wasn’t swimming and looked like he was breathing heavily.
 

There was always one cory that was smaller than the other six so I thought maybe stirring things up with the water change, or adding the root tab stressed him, or maybe I injured him when I moved the ghostwood. He seemed like he was no longer able to swim around, and I was going to lose him…

 

Turns out I was probably wrong about that and that he was actually just stuck in some hair algae. I didn’t realize it until I was watching and filming him and Zava, who was hanging out by him and the cucumber and algae wafer I had added to the tank. 
 

Zava kept laying down next to him, covering him with his fins like a blanket, and swimming around the area. It seemed like he was trying to care for the cory. Then Zava got trapped in a strand of the hair algae!!! (DO NOT WORRY WHEN YOU SEE THIS, ZAVA IS FINE.) Freshwater hair algae is no joke!! It’s really fine and hard to see… I didn’t even know it was there.

 

I was able to get both fish free… Zava seemed uninjured but the cory swam off behind the dragonstone so I couldn’t see what happened to him… I hope he recovered. 

 

 

 

 

I removed those clumps of hydrocotyle Japan. And Zava is okay and the crypt is looking good a few days after the addition of the root tabs. 

 

[banasophia]

The next thing for consideration with this tank are the parameters. Here are my recent parameters from yesterday:

 

pH. 7.2

Alk 56

GH 37

Nitrate 0

Phosphate 0

 

Here’s some info from Chat GPT regarding parameters for freshwater planted tanks, for anyone interested:

 

The ideal parameters for a freshwater planted tank can vary depending on the specific plant and fish species you have. However, here are some general guidelines for temperature, alkalinity, pH, general hardness, phosphate, and nitrate:

1. Temperature: Most freshwater plants thrive within a temperature range of 72-82°F (22-28°C). However, certain plants may have specific temperature preferences, so it's best to research the needs of the plants you have.

2. Alkalinity (KH): Alkalinity is a measure of the water's ability to resist changes in pH. For most planted tanks, a recommended alkalinity range is between 3-8 dKH (or 50-140 ppm). This range helps stabilize pH and provides a suitable environment for both plants and fish.

3. pH: The ideal pH range for a planted tank usually falls between 6.5 and 7.5. However, specific plant and fish species may have different pH preferences. It's important to choose plants and fish that are compatible with the desired pH range.

4. General Hardness (GH): General hardness refers to the concentration of minerals, particularly calcium and magnesium, in the water. Most freshwater plants prefer a moderate general hardness level. A range of 4-8 dGH (or 70-140 ppm) is generally suitable for most plants.

5. Phosphate (PO4): Phosphate is an essential nutrient for plants. It's generally recommended to maintain a phosphate level between 0.5-2.0 ppm (parts per million) in a planted tank. However, excessive phosphate levels can lead to algae problems, so regular monitoring is important.

6. Nitrate (NO3): Nitrate is another essential nutrient for plants, but high levels can also contribute to algae growth. For a planted tank, it's generally recommended to keep nitrate levels between 5-20 ppm. Frequent water testing will help you maintain appropriate nitrate levels.

Remember that these ranges are general guidelines, and certain plant and fish species may have specific requirements outside of these ranges. It's essential to research the needs of the specific plants and animals in your tank and make adjustments accordingly. Regular water testing and observation of plant and fish behavior will help you ensure a healthy and thriving environment for your freshwater planted tank.

 

 

[MrP]

Corydoras are neat little fish. I just got some Gold Laser Cory's from a local that breeds them. They are great clean-up crew members. 

 

Your kh looks fine but you might consider raising your gh to around 100 ppm. I keep my gh double what my kh is. Seachem Equilibrium is a good product to use for gh. It also adds potassium which is just as important as nitrate and phosphate but it is rarely mentioned. 

 

For the algae, you can spot treat it with peroxide to manage it. 1 ml per gallon of water volume. Until the tank matures and stabilizes, you just have to keep it under control. 

[banasophia]

6 hours ago, MrP said:

Corydoras are neat little fish. I just got some Gold Laser Cory's from a local that breeds them. They are great clean-up crew members. 

Ah just looked these guys up - love them!

 

 

 

6 hours ago, MrP said:

For the algae, you can spot treat it with peroxide to manage it. 1 ml per gallon of water volume. Until the tank matures and stabilizes, you just have to keep it under control. 

I don’t think there’s really much to spot treat… there are just some super fine strands like hairs that seem to appear on occasion and I just remove them. They totally look like a strand of my hair but they’re not. I’ll have to keep a closer eye out for them though since obviously the fish can get caught in them.
 

There is some algae on the back branch of the driftwood I suppose I could spot treat, so I may try that if the amanos don’t take care of it. 

 

6 hours ago, MrP said:

Your kh looks fine but you might consider raising your gh to around 100 ppm. I keep my gh double what my kh is. Seachem Equilibrium is a good product to use for gh. It also adds potassium which is just as important as nitrate and phosphate but it is rarely mentioned. 

Sounds good, I’ll order some of that, thanks!

[banasophia]

Returned home last night after over a week away on vacation… so happy to see the tank doing well, though it’s very dark and shaded because the floating plants spread so much they are now in a double layer in some areas. The fish don’t seem to mind though!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[banasophia]

Things are going pretty well in this tank; I love it so much! Bettas are really amazing fish and I definitely think it’s good to keep them in a bigger tank like this if you can with plants and other fish so they have the stimulation, a beautiful natural environment, and buddies to swim around with. 

 

The floating plants are all growing so fast it’s crazy!!! I took this pic after my water change tonight and you should have seen how many I removed! My LFS said they’ll be happy to start taking them, so I will plan to rehome them to the LFS in the future. 
 

I have now removed both of the stem plants with red leaves… the one in the back right didn’t do well and the one in the back left was growing too long and getting too tangled. I do like having more room for the Java fern to grow and reach its potential. 
 

I’ve seen some yellowing leaves on the crypts and the dwarf water lettuce this past week or so, so I picked up some Aquarium Co-op Easy Green pump fertilizer yesterday and I’ll start dosing one pump on a weekly basis here soon to see how it works for the tank. 
 

I’ve also seen an issue with what looked like some whitish algae/mold growing on the sandbed recently. I was able to siphon most of it up during the water change, hopefully that will take care of it. 

 

[banasophia]

Well this tank has had some setbacks, but I think it’s pulling through. I think it was just too low flow, I was getting a lot of detritus buildup, and there was quite a bit of biofilm on the surface.
 

Zava, the seven ember tetras, Todd & Tad (the amano shrimp), and Barb & Starr (the nerite snails) are all doing well. But sadly I lost two corydoras and an otocinclus (a few days apart). 😢 I also lost the two crypts in the back.
 

So I replaced the crypts with anubias and turned up the flow and things are looking better. These are my test results from before my water change tonight:
 

ALK 47 ppm

GH 55 ppm

pH 7.2

phos 0.0

nitrate 0

 

I just ordered some Seachem Equilibrium as recommended by @MrP and I’m thinking I may need to go up to 2 pumps of the Easy Green fertilizer per week.

[banasophia]

Here are some pics from tonight:

 

 

 

 

[debbeach13]

Any updates?

[banasophia]

Thanks for popping by this thread, Deb!! I see I haven’t posted an update in a long time! Zava and the tank are doing well, but the floating plants, they grow so fast, it’s hard to keep up with them!! It’s a total jungle right now. I’ll try to get a pic to post in the next day or two! 

[banasophia]

I finally had a chance to give this tank some TLC… it really needed it!! The floating plants had really grown out of control and totally shaded the lower parts of the tank, especially over the past week or so as I haven’t had a chance to remove any of the excess growth, which I usually do once every couple of weeks, but the fish didn’t seem to mind. 
 

I removed the majority of the floaters and did a water change this evening. Also changed out the Chemipure Green. There was a lot of detritus in the tank; I’ll plan to do another water change soon. Here are some pics:

 

Before pics… and holy smokes it looks extra dark with the exposure, wasn’t quite this drastic looking in real life, but it was pretty shaded. 

 

 

 

 

 

After pics, so much better!!!

 

Did I ever show you guys the cover I made for the back chambers? I just made it out of cardboard and contact paper I had on hand. I needed to block the light supply to the back chambers to prevent algae growth there. I’d like to have a better one made out of black plexiglass or plastic in the future, but this seems to be doing the trick for now. 

 

 

 

 

[debbeach13]

In real life, you could see in there! Looks so much better now.

[banasophia]

4 hours ago, debbeach13 said:

In real life, you could see in there! Looks so much better now.

Yeah, I always have to adjust my exposure to avoid a lot of reflections on this tank. When I looked at the pics to post them I was shocked it looked like it was a total blackout!! 😳😳😳 The water lettuce had really taken over.
 

On the bright side, the shade did take care of any algae in the tank and the fish are all still doing well. I still have Zava, all 7 ember tetras, at least 2 otos, 3 cories, my 2 amano shrimp, and my 2 nerites. A betta with ember tetras seems to be a really good combination. 

[banasophia]

The floating plants are taking over again! And there’s some interesting green algae floating on the surface as well. The fish and shrimp are all doing well. Water change tomorrow night. 

[JonathanS]

Nice betta! Here is mine: