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

[banasophia]

Yes, my saltwater tanks do tend to run pretty high nitrate and phosphate levels.. low nutrients have never been a problem for me… we’ll see with a freshwater tank though.
 

I like the look of blackwater tanks, but I wasn’t planning to go for that style in this tank and I think chemipure green specifically helps filter out tannins and toxins without depleting nutrients needed by the plants. If I use it, I’ll keep an eye on nutrient levels.

 

[Sharbuckle]

I know absolutely nothing about freshwater tanks but I’m looking forward to seeing what you do with it!

[banasophia]

1 hour ago, Sharbuckle said:

I know absolutely nothing about freshwater tanks but I’m looking forward to seeing what you do with it!

Thanks, haha me neither but I’m learning… so grateful for everyone’s input here. I really love this atoll tank and it’s fun to do something different. The local guy with bettas gets such pretty fish, I’m looking forward to keeping one.

 

Check out some of the nice ones he has now:

 

 

 

 

 

[Lebowski_]

That Blue Alien is stunning, wow. Very photogenic.

[A.m.P]

Honestly the plakat koi is my favorite, but I've had a soft spot for them since the first I saw

[banasophia]

1 hour ago, A.m.P said:

Honestly the plakat koi is my favorite, but I've had a soft spot for them since the first I saw

Which one is that? My favorite of these is the one behind the fish with the red lipstick… waiting for him to send another video of it. Sometimes it’s hard to see cuz there is usually a front and back tank. 

[banasophia]

I also really like this one from his last batch, not sure if he still has it:

 

[banasophia]

Hmm… apparently I need to soak the ghostwood before setting up the tank? I guess I’ll just fill up the tank and do it as a leak test? 

[DevilDuck]

All wood (maybe except ironwood) needs to be soaked and waterlogged or they will float, sometimes for weeks.  You can speed up the process by soaking them in hot/warm water a bucket or plastic bin.

Once they start to somewhat sink you can weigh them down with rocks until they no longer float.  

They will release tannins for a while and may develop a coating of fungal film. Both are ugly but harmless. 

 

 

 

[banasophia]

1 minute ago, DevilDuck said:

All wood (maybe except ironwood) needs to be soaked and waterlogged or they will float, sometimes for weeks.  You can speed up the process by soaking them in hot/warm water a bucket or plastic bin.

Once they start to somewhat sink you can weigh them down with rocks until they no longer float.  

They will release tannins for a while and may develop a coating of fungal film. Both are ugly but harmless. 

 

 

 

Okay thanks! Bummer I haven’t been soaking it these past couple weeks. I saw some driftwood scapes online that came pre attached to slate. Can I superglue the wood to slate (that would be hidden by the substrate) to prevent floating? Also, do I soak the portion that will be sticking up out of the water? 

[A.m.P]

14 minutes ago, banasophia said:

Can I superglue the wood to slate (that would be hidden by the substrate) to prevent floating? Also, do I soak the portion that will be sticking up out of the water? 

You can boil it for a while outside to get it saturated faster (and also to make sure it's safe).
Because of the latter part it is recommended to soak/boil everything.

The rocks should work though.

And the second shot has the plakat Koi betta in it ^^

[banasophia]

Hoping this will work… being extra careful not to scratch the acrylic. Just soaking in conditioned tap water. 
 

 

[wuzzo]

Might start coming here for questions, but I bought some blue seiryu stone and then found out it can raise ph. Can it raise it to a point where it becomes a problem? Trying to keep shrimp and some otos 

[banasophia]

2 hours ago, wuzzo said:

Might start coming here for questions, but I bought some blue seiryu stone and then found out it can raise ph. Can it raise it to a point where it becomes a problem? Trying to keep shrimp and some otos 

Oh that’s interesting… seems like you see it used all the time with Iwagumi Aquascaping… didn’t realize it had such an impact on water chemistry. Here’s an article I just found that seemed good. Check out the suggestion that you can put it in a bin with RODI or distilled water for a period of time and then test how it affects the pH. 

 

https://www.buildyouraquarium.com/seiryu-stone/

[MrP]

1 hour ago, wuzzo said:

Might start coming here for questions, but I bought some blue seiryu stone and then found out it can raise ph. Can it raise it to a point where it becomes a problem? Trying to keep shrimp and some otos 

Seiryu will buffer your water. It depends on the type of shrimp. Neocaradina will be fine. Caridina, no.

[banasophia]

The big piece of wood still floats, the other piece does not. 
 

This is such a learning experience. The way we always talk about cycling saltwater tanks made me think that freshwater tanks would be instant setups.  This is much more involved than I had expected!!
 

Once the driftwood is ready and I can fill the tank, looks like some sources say to wait 2-3 weeks after adding the plants before I add fish or other livestock… is that what you guys do? 

[Lebowski_]

34 minutes ago, banasophia said:

The big piece of wood still floats, the other piece does not. 
 

This is such a learning experience. The way we always talk about cycling saltwater tanks made me think that freshwater tanks would be instant setups.  This is much more involved than I had expected!!
 

Once the driftwood is ready and I can fill the tank, looks like some sources say to wait 2-3 weeks after adding the plants before I add fish or other livestock… is that what you guys do? 

 
It’s a bit like SW - no way to know if it’s ready without a test. Usually 2-3 weeks is enough. I would get it cycling now, you can always add the wood when it’s ready.

 

Plants can be added right away, you just gotta make sure to add a source of nutrients to feed the cycle. I used to just sprinkle fish food in and it would cycle neatly in about 15 days. 

[banasophia]

4 minutes ago, Lebowski_ said:

 
It’s a bit like SW - no way to know if it’s ready without a test. Usually 2-3 weeks is enough. I would get it cycling now, you can always add the wood when it’s ready.

 

Plants can be added right away, you just gotta make sure to add a source of nutrients to feed the cycle. I used to just sprinkle fish food in and it would cycle neatly in about 15 days. 

Hmm I’ll have to see what other big containers I have to soak the wood in. I want to make sure the container is inert and won’t give off anything the wood will soak up. 

[banasophia]

Oh and do you guys know if I can use these Bali black beach pebbles from Lowes for attaching my plants such as my Anubias and Java fern? I have a bag of them for rock painting… they are naturally black rock and look nice, not sure if they are safe though. 
 

[MrP]

Bali black beach pebbles are fine. A good way to find out if a rock is safe is to dip it in vinegar. If there's a reaction, it will buffer your water. No reaction means it's inert. Anubias and java ferns can be glued to the rocks with gel superglue. 

 

A freshwater tank cycles the same way as salt water. There will be an ugly stage with diatoms and algae. Plants can go in immediately as ammonia is beneficial to aquatic plants. You definitely want to wait until it is cycled to add fish. The best and quickest way to cycle a freshwater tank is to get some organic potting soil, place it in a filter sock and drop it into the tank. There are lots of beneficial microbes and bacteria in the soil that freshwater tanks need. No need to buy bottled bacteria if you do this.

[banasophia]

20 minutes ago, MrP said:

Bali black beach pebbles are fine. A good way to find out if a rock is safe is to dip it in vinegar. If there's a reaction, it will buffer your water. No reaction means it's inert. Anubias and java ferns can be glued to the rocks with gel superglue. 

 

A freshwater tank cycles the same way as salt water. There will be an ugly stage with diatoms and algae. Plants can go in immediately as ammonia is beneficial to aquatic plants. You definitely want to wait until it is cycled to add fish. The best and quickest way to cycle a freshwater tank is to get some organic potting soil, place it in a filter sock and drop it into the tank. There are lots of beneficial microbes and bacteria in the soil that freshwater tanks need. No need to buy bottled bacteria if you do this.

Thanks so much! If there is a reaction with the vinegar, what would that look like? 

[debbeach13]

Bubbles 

[wuzzo]

6 hours ago, banasophia said:

Oh that’s interesting… seems like you see it used all the time with Iwagumi Aquascaping… didn’t realize it had such an impact on water chemistry. Here’s an article I just found that seemed good. Check out the suggestion that you can put it in a bin with RODI or distilled water for a period of time and then test how it affects the pH. 

 

https://www.buildyouraquarium.com/seiryu-stone/

Welp, decided to just see what happens. Stopped by the lfs, got another piece of driftwood and some plants lol, filling it rn 

[banasophia]

5 hours ago, wuzzo said:

Welp, decided to just see what happens. Stopped by the lfs, got another piece of driftwood and some plants lol, filling it rn 

Alright then, here we gooooooo! 

 

Let’s see yours!!

[banasophia]

Ended up with the following plants from the LFS:

• java fern
• anubias nana petite
• hydrocotyle japan
• micranthemum monte carlo
• salvinia minima
• dwarf water lettuce

Split the anubias rhizome and superglued the two pieces to one of the dragon stone rocks. Superglued the two java fern plants (from one little pot) to a river rock. Ended up not using the Bali black pebbles because they seemed to have a waxy coating, so I just used a natural rock instead (also from Lowes). 

 

Also placed an order tonight for the following:

• asian water moss
• anubias nana petite marbled/white
• dr. tim’s freshwater
• floating plant corral from etsy

I’m currently using an Aquatop 115 gph pump I picked up at the LFS today rather than the tiny pump I had ordered because I needed an attachment that didn’t come with the tiny pump. Looks like too much flow for this tank to me, and the floating plants are swirling around, but maybe it will be okay once I have the floating plant corral. 
 

What should I do about evaporation in this tank?