Journal Gwad's 20 gal Dutch Tank

[JayP]

Just invested in a Hanna high range kit from eBay and a spanky new magnetic stir kit for this very reason .. swear I will get my nitrate stable if it kills us all

I also bought those during the sales but haven't had a chance to play with it yet. I'll have lots of time over the holiday break. Hoping the magnetic stirrer makes the Hanna CO2 test easier.

 

[Koan]

Hoping the magnetic stirrer makes the Hanna CO2 test easier

Per some complaints on Bulk Reef Supply about the tiny 7mm x 3mm magnetic stir bar jumping down the sink appropriately sized extras are also available

 

[JayP]

Per some complaints on Bulk Reef Supply about the tiny 7mm x 3mm magnetic stir bar jumping down the sink appropriately sized extras are also available

As a home brewer who had (still has actually) several large Erlenmeyer flasks and magnetic stir plates, even the larger stir bars get lost rather easily.

 

[BenB]

View attachment 12212

Elements are in motion..

WTF am I looking at? Is this your meth lab?

Elements in motion....

 

[BenB]

I also bought those during the sales but haven't had a chance to play with it yet. I'll have lots of time over the holiday break. Hoping the magnetic stirrer makes the Hanna CO2 test easier.

Oh wow... we are so hijacking @Gwad 's Journal, but no reason to stop now. Why do you need the stirrer for that test? I have the LaMotte which operates on the same principal. I just swirl it a bit. I thought Hanna would be just as easy.

 

[Gwad]

I'll add a picture from today to take back my journal

Yesterday I bought some Cyperus Helferi and Monte Carlo from the new aquarium store in town. I think I have too many species now but it looks pretty cool.



I also tidied up my lobelia street and took it to the back wall, and I trimmed and replanted the tops of my bacopa and oak leaf. Mayaca needs some attention now as well.

 

[Koan]

I'll add a picture from today to take back my journal

Beautiful!

Why do you need the stirrer for that test?

<hijack >


</hijack >

 

[BenB]

I'll add a picture from today to take back my journal

Looks good. My tank is doing OK with little algae, but my scape needs lots of work. Hopefully this weekend. It's not the time of year for free time for hobbies.

 

[Gwad]

I had a bit of a facepalm moment yesterday. I was playing around with the Photone app and realized I had never measured PAR at the substrate for this tank and my janky $8 light bulbs I'm using. I put my phone in a ziploc bag, and it turns out I've been blasting over 150 PAR at substrate on this tank. These bulbs are no joke and when your tank is only 12" deep you dont need much light. I guess I figured they wouldn't be that strong since they are cheap.

I have been struggling with algae on old growth leaves and on my tank equipment, and it turns out that stuff nearer the surface was getting hit with like 350 PAR.

I lifted my lights up until I measured around 90-100 PAR at substrate. Hopefully that helps me clear it up without messing up my plants too much.

 

[Gwad]

Well, it has been quite a while since updating. A lot has changed in the past month and a half.


My Christmas present came in a couple weeks ago after some shipping delays coming from China over the holidays. My new light is a Week Aqua L600. It really changes the look of the tank. I already had a Week Aqua M series on my other tank and loved it, and this L series is also a winner. It looks and feels really nice with the black anodized aluminum construction, too.



I have continued to fiddle with this tank and am still working on layout and plant selections. I have some placeholder plants in a couple spots for now but am quite happy with how things are going. I have also started growing a moss wall using some "plastic canvas" material from Walmart clipped to the back rim with some chip clips. I had good results using this same material to do a moss wall in my 10 gallon tank:


My only real issue continues to be BBA appearing on plants and equipment in the path of the filter outlet. This has always given me trouble in all my tanks and is pretty frustrating. Does this continue to occur to folks with really balanced and mature tanks? It seems like to get adequate flow distribution I need to keep the filter flow pretty high, but then anything in its path ends up getting fuzzy. Do spray bars help with this?

 

[BenB]

I have always found Excel to be the best thing to kill BBA , but it can also melt sensitive plants.

Your new light looks great.

 

[Gwad]

I have always found Excel to be the best thing to kill BBA, but it can also melt sensitive plants.

Your new light looks great.

Yeah I've had great luck with it in the past as well. Unfortunately my high tech tanks now have moss and Vallisneria which are the plants that are supposed to be affected the most by Excel. I may try just doing small doses and see what happens.

 

[BenB]

Unfortunately my high tech tanks now have moss

If this were my tank, I'd agree. Unfortunately it has moss. And I'd double the dose of Excel. I hate moss.
I get it though. One day I'll do a scape with wood, and I'll probably have to use moss. Ugh

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

You can try to spot-dose 3% H2O2 instead of Excel! I was able to keep mosses and vals while spot-treating with hydrogen peroxide like that.

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

Also, great tanks. That littke 10gal dutch is really impressive for the size you're working with.

 

[Gwad]

Also, great tanks. That littke 10gal dutch is really impressive for the size you're working with.

Thanks very much! The hardest part is limiting the number of species. I wish I could have about 2-3 more per tank but there just isnt room to make them look right that way. I have also found a decent set of plants that all have foliage small enough to make the tanks look a little larger than they are.

 

[JayP]

I've used APT Fix Lite on moss without hurting the moss. It does take dosing over days though to have good results.

 

[Gwad]

Im due for an update, and things are looking pretty good. I dont know if the video embed is working so here is a https://youtu.be/TtWKD3yHg9M?si=WhjvxzNkThZzIybv

View attachment 42c52ec3-fb1c-4224-97a7-0f54c13f7817-1_all_28702.mp4

The newest additions are about 27 Green Neon Tetras. I already had about 10 of these guys in a 10 gallon tank and the local fish shop had a nice group so I picked them all up to go for the big shoal. They are a really great nano fish. They seem to shoal much tighter than most (and they've adopted the old straggler glowlight tetra that have dwindled over the years). I think they're an improvement over standard neon Tetras in every way (healthier, smaller, cooler behavior) so give them a shot in your next tank.

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

Your tank looks great! What PAR at the substrate, any idea?

 

[Gwad]

Your tank looks great! What PAR at the substrate, any idea?

Thanks! I have been fiddling with my light settings a bit and don't have a PAR number right now but I will try to get one tomorrow when the lights are on. I dont think it is as high as many folks here use.

Here are my week aqua settings: