Newman's 10 Gallon Journal
- Thread starter Newman
- Start date
my plants arrived today 
I coulda used more pots of HC, and on the other hand i ordered WAAAY too much dwarf sag. i didnt realize that i could separate a few bunches from one pot...I have like 20 dwarf sags in there xD
The HC looks desolate among the black substrate...
I trimmed the dwarf sag because it was way too long. They grew it in the emmeresed sate; i could tell by all the broad shaped leaves...i hope it wont melt on me too bad, but im not giving up on it no matter what.
I put some ammonia in there. trying to get it up to 5ppm, and then leaving it for a week or two.
Also put some sponge filter media from my 40 gallon in there...
No pics yet, cuz i havent had enough time. plus the water's real cloudy, full of rotting dwarf sag roots, and the lighting is still blue, so its not a pretty sight
Cant wait to get the 6700K bulbs in a few days. I put some of these on my 40 gal's fixture, and they are BRIGHT! Love em.
I coulda used more pots of HC, and on the other hand i ordered WAAAY too much dwarf sag. i didnt realize that i could separate a few bunches from one pot...I have like 20 dwarf sags in there xD
The HC looks desolate among the black substrate...
I trimmed the dwarf sag because it was way too long. They grew it in the emmeresed sate; i could tell by all the broad shaped leaves...i hope it wont melt on me too bad, but im not giving up on it no matter what.
I put some ammonia in there. trying to get it up to 5ppm, and then leaving it for a week or two.
Also put some sponge filter media from my 40 gallon in there...
No pics yet, cuz i havent had enough time. plus the water's real cloudy, full of rotting dwarf sag roots, and the lighting is still blue, so its not a pretty sight
Cant wait to get the 6700K bulbs in a few days. I put some of these on my 40 gal's fixture, and they are BRIGHT! Love em.
So i took a good look at my 10 gal today and found some interesting stuff:
1. the glass is full of white worms, daphnia, cyclops, and tiny white spiders.
2. The HC is bubbling. the Dwarf sag is also letting loose streams of bubbles.
3. the water surface is a whitish film...(any idea what that may be? ammonia, dust, crap?)
4. the white worms look somewhat like white planaria, but at close inpection, they are not. much longer than planaria and they dont glide over stuff, they move like an earthworm, and if disturbed go into the crazy earthworm jig where they twist violently in all directions.
Will those white worms be safely eaten by any thing i introduce into the tank? (shrimp, fish) I dont see em as a threat, and it'd be great if the neon tetras eat them once those are in there.
1. the glass is full of white worms, daphnia, cyclops, and tiny white spiders.
2. The HC is bubbling. the Dwarf sag is also letting loose streams of bubbles.
3. the water surface is a whitish film...(any idea what that may be? ammonia, dust, crap?)
4. the white worms look somewhat like white planaria, but at close inpection, they are not. much longer than planaria and they dont glide over stuff, they move like an earthworm, and if disturbed go into the crazy earthworm jig where they twist violently in all directions.
Will those white worms be safely eaten by any thing i introduce into the tank? (shrimp, fish) I dont see em as a threat, and it'd be great if the neon tetras eat them once those are in there.
Well apparently the whitish film is protein...I have it in my 40 gallon as well.
I tried running papertowel through the water surface, but theres just no stopping this film. Any idea on how i can remove it without getting a surface skimmer or some bull like that?
I'm not dosing anything nor am i feeding anything in my 10 gallon, yet this film is even worse than my 40 gal's
I tried running papertowel through the water surface, but theres just no stopping this film. Any idea on how i can remove it without getting a surface skimmer or some bull like that?
I'm not dosing anything nor am i feeding anything in my 10 gallon, yet this film is even worse than my 40 gal's
the film is probably dust and protien crap, you probably don't have much surface aggitantion? you can probally use a container of some sort to skim the surface and get rid of it if it comes back then you need to probably add more surface aggitation. Do you have a lid on the top or is it open top?
The white worms are fine, once you get fish they will probably dissapear. My turtle tank has them but the fish tank does not.
The white worms are fine, once you get fish they will probably dissapear. My turtle tank has them but the fish tank does not.
The white protein film i think is causing a CO2 concentration issue, especially at night. Its preventing the co2 from leaving the water, so i hope my plants arent being choked out by it at night...
It is open top
Yah i figured the white worms are just nematodes (definately not planaria, ive worked with those in the past.) and will be eaten by the fish i introduce.
So how about the latest problem?
Recentlythe HC has been looking like a death-bed. i dont know what could be causing it to turn dark green and melt like this...could be the fact that it was raised emersed, and the change killed it. also it could be the fact that i have 4ppm of ammonia in my water right now. Also the water has that protein white film on the surface, and that has been preventing the CO2 from leaving the water...maybe too much CO2 is causing it to melt? I havent had any air pump working on here at night (when the plants need oxygen) so maybe if i run the air at night, the plants will do better 0_0 ?
Can someone help decipher this HC melting issue?
EDIT: from what ive researched, the melting is inevitable, and i should just let it melt, and convert to its submersed form. My question is should i let it float to convert it, or keep it rooted in the gravel the way it is now?
It is open top
Yah i figured the white worms are just nematodes (definately not planaria, ive worked with those in the past.) and will be eaten by the fish i introduce.
So how about the latest problem?
Recentlythe HC has been looking like a death-bed. i dont know what could be causing it to turn dark green and melt like this...could be the fact that it was raised emersed, and the change killed it. also it could be the fact that i have 4ppm of ammonia in my water right now. Also the water has that protein white film on the surface, and that has been preventing the CO2 from leaving the water...maybe too much CO2 is causing it to melt? I havent had any air pump working on here at night (when the plants need oxygen) so maybe if i run the air at night, the plants will do better 0_0 ?
Can someone help decipher this HC melting issue?
EDIT: from what ive researched, the melting is inevitable, and i should just let it melt, and convert to its submersed form. My question is should i let it float to convert it, or keep it rooted in the gravel the way it is now?
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You are correct, emesersed leaves will die off when submerged and if the plant in healthy will grow back submerged leaves. I would probably leave it where it is and let it grow back in the conditions it will be growing.
The surface skin could cause problems with O2 levels i wouldn't be too concerned about the plants getting enough. They need it but not nearly at the levels the fish will. Also the scum is probably blocking a lot of light depending how bad it is and HC needs a lot of light esppecially being at the substate level.
The surface skin could cause problems with O2 levels i wouldn't be too concerned about the plants getting enough. They need it but not nearly at the levels the fish will. Also the scum is probably blocking a lot of light depending how bad it is and HC needs a lot of light esppecially being at the substate level.
did you use any additives to cycle the tank or no? because when i cycled my tank with an additive it left an oily residue on the surface of my water! are you using just regular tap water for your tank or RO/DI? as far as the white worms i thought those were only present in saltwater tanks. never heard of them in fresh. the bubbles on the plant i cant see being anything to worry about and i bet it actually looks really cool! overall nice setup. i actually just went and got some dwarf baby tear at the LPS and also looking forward to dwarf hair grass!
i know certain plants will melt almost when they are introduced to a different water quality for instance a different ph level. mine did that too at first and then once the leaves sluffed off sorta they came back. so i would just keep an eye on those for now and maybe monitor the ph since you are adding co2 and there is a oily film on the surface. hope all of this is ensuring.
Thanks for the feedback guys.
1. I will leave it planted at the bottom.
2. I am now running the ecco to help deal with the scum. i have it on low flow so that the HC wont float all over the place.
3. I have 4.8 wpg, not counting the fact that its T-5HO, so maybe i have even more light. the film is visible. i cant really judge it on how thik the layer is, so idk how much light its blocking. the tank looks bright though.
4. I did not use any additives to cylce the tank. I just added pure ammonia to get it up to 5ppm. its 4ppm right now. I've never added fish food, or fish, or anything to this tank.
5. I am using regular tap water treated with prime.
6. the worms are namatodes, and are edible by fish.
7. LOL i know that pearling isnt bad, in fact its just a way of knowing if the plants "work" and arent "broken" *laughingc
8. Yea it coulda been the pH as well. My dwarf hairgrass in my 40 gallon is only just starting to recover after being introduced, two weeks ago. 90% of it melted. But i think the issue with the HC (and soon to be with dwarf sag) is that it was grown emersed.
9. i actually havent checked my pH yet...The tank has only been running for like 3 days...
As a really random sidenote, i think this 10 gallon is inhabited by just about every species of invertebrate known to reside in a tank...
I've seen:
Scuds
Daphnia
Cyclops
Nematodes (or white worms)
Snails
water spiders
water mites
Its a real zoo in there at 4ppm ammonia o_o
1. I will leave it planted at the bottom.
2. I am now running the ecco to help deal with the scum. i have it on low flow so that the HC wont float all over the place.
3. I have 4.8 wpg, not counting the fact that its T-5HO, so maybe i have even more light. the film is visible. i cant really judge it on how thik the layer is, so idk how much light its blocking. the tank looks bright though.
4. I did not use any additives to cylce the tank. I just added pure ammonia to get it up to 5ppm. its 4ppm right now. I've never added fish food, or fish, or anything to this tank.
5. I am using regular tap water treated with prime.
6. the worms are namatodes, and are edible by fish.
7. LOL i know that pearling isnt bad, in fact its just a way of knowing if the plants "work" and arent "broken" *laughingc
8. Yea it coulda been the pH as well. My dwarf hairgrass in my 40 gallon is only just starting to recover after being introduced, two weeks ago. 90% of it melted. But i think the issue with the HC (and soon to be with dwarf sag) is that it was grown emersed.
9. i actually havent checked my pH yet...The tank has only been running for like 3 days...
As a really random sidenote, i think this 10 gallon is inhabited by just about every species of invertebrate known to reside in a tank...
I've seen:
Scuds
Daphnia
Cyclops
Nematodes (or white worms)
Snails
water spiders
water mites
Its a real zoo in there at 4ppm ammonia o_o
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well that ammonia that you added was it a liquid? because 9 chances out of 10 that was oil based so that will lead to the film on the surface! i cant wait to see the results of the tank! how long does the diy CO2 last you like a few weeks on the setup before you have to recharge it or more i am curious because i want to setup a lil 10 gal shrimpin tank on my desk with java moss and dwarf HG and dwarf BT. but i only have one legitimate CO2 system which is currently being used on my 90 gal!
1. the 2 liter CO2 bottle lasts me about 3 weeks.
2. Yea it was a liquid 100% ammonia...damn oil. since i added the filter, the oil hasnt been that bad. in fact i can no longer tell if its there or not.
3. i usually buy my plants from my LFS. i've also bout plants from Liveaquaria (doctor foster and smith...?) or something like that. try to find an LFS near you that specializes in ONLY fish. they will have lower prives than online.
2. Yea it was a liquid 100% ammonia...damn oil. since i added the filter, the oil hasnt been that bad. in fact i can no longer tell if its there or not.
3. i usually buy my plants from my LFS. i've also bout plants from Liveaquaria (doctor foster and smith...?) or something like that. try to find an LFS near you that specializes in ONLY fish. they will have lower prives than online.