Journal New Country, Old hobby

[MrPugface]

I recently moved from South Africa to Canada. The process of moving took a year to get the visa, and i had sold everything near the beginning of the process. needless to say It wasn't long before the itch to start up a tank got the better of me.

Luckily i managed to find a second hand Waterbox pinnacle 25 in good nik pretty quickly and got started.

The Hardware:

• Hygger clip-on 14W Aquarium light (Cheap and has Ramp up/ramp down functionality)
• 100w heater (not sure of the brand)
• Fluval Bio-stratum
• Yeast CO² generator

As you've probably picked up, this will be a budget build (Except for the soil, somethings you can change as you go along. and some things are a pain in the ass)

After running through a couple of ideas in my head i settled on a shoreline looking scape.


To stabilize the rocks that could potentially fall, i used cotton and superglue. It doesn't look great but I'm hoping the places that are visible will eventually get covered by plants or algae.


Starting the hobby from scratch has its drawbacks. For example, not having pipes to fill and drain the tank. I'm pretty sure filling this thing by pouring water straight from the bucket gave me a few extra grey hairs. Needless to say i went past the LFS (only one freshwater shop in my city) the next day.


Options for plants were pretty limited at the LFS but got some things to get started while the rest of the plants get delivered.

Ordered Plant list:

• Micranthemum 'Monte Carlo'
• Nymphoides Aquatica (Banana Plant)
• Echinodorus Ozelot (Green Ozelot Sword)
• Echinodorus 'Chocolate Marble'
• Anubias Nana 'Petite'
• Nymphaea Tiger Lotus Red
• Vesicularia Ferriei 'Weeping Moss'
• Bucephalandra sp. Kedagang

I've probably gone a little overboard with the plants but I'll deal with that at a later stage. If i feel the tank is too over crowded I guess I'll have no choice but to start looking for tank number 2

Livestock wise, I'll be gradually adding things as the tank starts to establish itself. The plan may change along the way but my idea is:

1. Shrimp (likely Red Rili)
2. Rabbit snails
3. Otocinclus
4. Either Threadfin Rainbows or Forktail blue eye rainbow fish
5. A fancy pleco. I'm leaning towards a blue phantom but I'll see what is available at the time.

And now comes the hardest part...... the wait.

​

 

[Koan]

Welcome! We have a few Canucks on board paging @*Ci*

I know Big Al's is a big aquarium supply distributor in Canada

Big Al's - Aquarium, Reptile, Pond and Small Animal Specialists

Big Al's - Aquarium, Reptile, Pond and Small Animal Specialists. Visit one of our 13 stores across Canada and we can help you with all aspects of taking care of your animals, reptiles and aquatic pets.

bigals.ca

Ci you can give you some others!

 

[Count Krunk]

Check out the yugang reactor . You can build the reactor part of it for a relatively small amount. The one I'm building for my 20g long is under $30 usd.

 

[MrPugface]

Welcome! We have a few Canucks on board paging @*Ci*

I know Big Al's is a big aquarium supply distributor in Canada

Big Al's - Aquarium, Reptile, Pond and Small Animal Specialists

Big Al's - Aquarium, Reptile, Pond and Small Animal Specialists. Visit one of our 13 stores across Canada and we can help you with all aspects of taking care of your animals, reptiles and aquatic pets.

bigals.ca

Ci you can give you some others!

I'll definitely have to check out big Als. think the closest one to me is 3 hours away but will have to stop by when I'm in the area.

Check out the yugang reactor. You can build the reactor part of it for a relatively small amount. The one I'm building for my 20g long is under $30 usd.

I've had a look through the concept, but with all my filtration being packed inside the tank it will take a bit of plumbing work to actually make it work. its doable but maybe a project for a later stage or maybe the next tank. I do enjoy the DIY projects though.

 

[Koan]

think the closest one to me is 3 hours away

Well shoot, years ago they shipped online even to the States! Didn't realize they're not doing an online business now?

 

[BenB]

Welcome to the forum and to North America. I'm glad the move is settling down enough to have time for a tank.

Starting the hobby from scratch has its drawbacks. For example, not having pipes to fill and drain the tank. I'm pretty sure filling this thing by pouring water straight from the bucket gave me a few extra grey hairs. Needless to say i went past the LFS (only one freshwater shop in my city) the next day.

Just as I was thinking I need to do more water changes, I've ended up in a similar frustration. The bathroom where my water goes out and comes from is being remodeled. So I will be pouring from buckets for a few weeks also. It comes out easier than it goes in. I might try to find a colander like George Farmer uses.

 

[MrPugface]

So an update to the progress. Not too much has changed. The CO² has been added and seems to be running well. I have been playing around and fine tuning things like the CO² flow rate (the valve that comes with the system is not great. Its either full flow or off with an extremely fine margin of just right), lighting and filter outlet directions. I'm pretty happy with where its at. I am surprised the Crypt hasn't melted and i am also seeing new growth on the Cabomba and Java Fern.

The plants should arrive today which is exciting. It does however mean draining a large portion of the water, AKA 3 or 4 buckets to empty and the same to fill and a flight of stairs between each load. Who needs a gym membership when you keep fish.

 

[Koan]

think the closest one to me is 3 hours away

OK pardon my American brain freeze Amazon.ca has about everything you could need

Very cool rocks, are they local to where you are?

 

[MrPugface]

OK pardon my American brain freeze Amazon.ca has about everything you could need

Very cool rocks, are they local to where you are?

Yeah Amazon is definitely handy. I've been slowly adding things to a cart as i think of them.

The rocks are indeed local. I have a forest on my back yard with a few hiking trails. So always looking out for some nice looking ones while i'm out there. Just gave them an overnight soak in hot water and vinegar then popped them in the tank

 

[MrPugface]

So I may or may not have gone a bit overboard when i ordered the plants. Either way I've managed to chuck them all in the tank.

I'll just keep an eye on things over the next few days but I am pretty confident the tank is stable...ish. So i should be able to add the first shrimp and snails.

 

[Mr.Shenanagins]

Overboard? Not at all! If anything you could add a few more clumps of that foreground cover (Cuba? Monte Carlo? Can’t tell lol).

 

[MrPugface]

Overboard? Not at all! If anything you could add a few more clumps of that foreground cover (Cuba? Monte Carlo? Can’t tell lol).

Monte Carlo.
Yeah fair enough. It is super patchy. all the other plants arrived really healthy but the Monte Carlo i think had been in the tub a little long. So my thinking was I'd do slightly larger clumps of it to try get it to survive. It'll spread out eventually so I'm not too stressed

 

[Burr740]

There is a better faster way to start the monte carlo, by using clumps a fraction of that size. The absolute smallest clumps you have the patience to work with. It will spread and fill in quicker, and grow evenly instead of lumpy

 

[techman81]

Now that would definitely take patience!

 

[Burr740]

Now that would definitely take patience!

On one hand yeah it really is painstaking. But on the other hand, whats an extra 30 minutes on something thats so front and center? Thats about what it amounts to, an extra 30 minutes or so. Literally nothing in the grand scheme of things

 

[MrPugface]

On one hand yeah it really is painstaking. But on the other hand, whats an extra 30 minutes on something thats so front and center? Thats about what it amounts to, an extra 30 minutes or so. Literally nothing in the grand scheme of things

Yeah you are not wrong. I'll probably pull it out and replant it tonight or over the weekend. Definitely worth the extra effort. and at least i dont need to drain the tank again to do it.

 

[MrPugface]

I replanted the Monte Carlo as suggested which was definitely the right move. Its taken some time for it to recover but it didn't come in in the best of shape to begin with. The other plants seem to be thriving. I haven't gotten much melting at all and am seeing new growth on everything.

Shrimp have been added and have settled. I had to add some filter floss to the filter intake to stop them ending up in there which is also nice for catching any free floating bits before they go into my sponge. Unfortunately this also reduces the amount of surface skimming that happens which leads to a film forming on the surface of the water. So every few days a remove the floss for a few minutes till the film has been cleared then put the floss back. I'll have to come up with a solution eventually but for now it works.

 

[MrPugface]

Alot has changed over the month since i last posted. Plants have been growing in nicely.

(Ignore the abortion that is the sand/aquasoil mix. I'll need to dig that out when i get a gap.)

Tank mates I've added so far:

• Bloody Mary and Red Rili Shrimp
• Kuhli Loaches
• Galaxy Rasbora
• Otocinclus
• Bladded snails that hitched a rid on one of the plants

The Shrimp are carrying eggs and the Galaxy Rasbora are throwing eggs in the moss already which is normally a really good sign of healthy water parameters.


I found that the original pump for the Waterbox is too strong (1000 l/h) so I've swapped that out for a 600 l/h pump which is far better. The shrimp come out more, the Otos happily swim together instead of being scattered around the tank and i still get consistent flow throughout the tank.
Also as a Major bonus, the new pump came with a mesh sponge that the pump is supposed to fit in. But it also works as a great pre-filter sock that I've put on my AIO filter intake. So now it skims the surface really well without the risk of having to fish out stragglers from the very narrow filter.

I initially tried to grow Monte Carlo in the back corner but it wasn't getting enough light so i pulled that out and built a little cave for more java fern to grow on.


The hardest part is being patient. I keep wanting to change things around and add different fish. So i have to take a step back and appreciate what it is i have created and what it will become. Maybe setting up a new tank will help with the desire to tinker too much.

 

[MrPugface]

I started mixing my own Macro Ferts and seem to be getting pretty noticeable growth. A great upside as well is a spent less that $60 and I've probably got enough to last over 5 years... unless the MTS starts kicking in.


I have a question for those who've succeeded with Mote Carlo. Should i cut it back to encourage carpeting or is it better to leave it and let it spread by itself?