# First Betta-less tank up and running! :D



## BettaMummy87 (Jul 26, 2014)

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64Litre Tank:

Date Started: *9th Sept 2014*
Cycling Method:* Fishless. Seeded with media from larger tank. Ammonia dosed to 4ppm until Ammonia and Nitrites stable at 0pmm and Nitrates rising to over 100ppm (20th Sept 2014). 
*First Fish Added: *21st Sept 2014 after 75% Water Change and treatment with Safestart and Stress Coat. 
*Dimensions:* H 23" x W 14.5" x D 10"*
Litres: *64L*
Lights:* Interpet 15W Bright Day White (240V/50Hz) AND Interpet Cool Blue Moon 15W *
Plants: 
*

Cabomba caroliana (Approx 6)
Myrophyllum tuberculatum (4 of)
Fontinalis antipyretica (I Think. Sold as Christmas Moss)
*Fish:*


2 Dwarf Gourami; one red, one powder blue (from my other tank)
2 Dalmatian Mollies (1male, 1 Female)
2 Silver Mollies (2 Females, I think)
2 guppies (yellow tails)
3 zebra loaches (Still acclimating via drip acclimation)


*Stage One: Hardscaping*












*Stage Two: After Cycle, Before Fish*












*Stage Three: With Fish

*


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## Islandgaliam (Jan 27, 2014)

Love the hardscape, and of course the fish. I love watching these tanks fill in..each is unique. Be sure to post lots of pics


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## BettaMummy87 (Jul 26, 2014)

Thank you, it's my first go at hardscaping. My first tank was initially just gravel, three ornaments and some bogwood. >.>; Switching to soil/sand has been fun in that tank. At least this one I could do it all at once pretty much


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## n25philly (Dec 5, 2013)

Way overstocked. Even without the zebra loaches in there.

I would start by rehoming one of the dwarf gourami's. They typically don't get along when there is more than one. The size of the tank will make it much more likely

I'd also reconsider the molly's since they are brackish fish and likely won't be as healthy in your setup. They are also livebearers, so unless they are all males will add to the stocking problem very quickly.


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## BettaMummy87 (Jul 26, 2014)

Atm, I am testing levels daily, and doing daily partial water changes. However, I am not planning to stop this regular changes as the Loaches are intolerant to over 10ppm nitrates, so I was resigned to daily/every other day changes in this tank anyway. Live plants help too, right? and this tank is running a more than adequate filter (250litre capacity) and has aeration besides the spray bar. 

The gouramis have been together as a pair for a month, with no real issues. They squablle very litte, and only once since moving to this tank. By squabble, meaning buffeting each other this water in that little circley dance they do. 

Some friends are taking the first few molly babies, and what I cannot sell (and are not eaten by the gouramis) the LFS are happy to take back, as they are already going to take any bettas I cannot shift.

ETA: I was not aware of mollies being brackish, I admit, as I have only seen them in tropical, fresh tanks around here. I've had a read and it would mean a slow acclimitisation process, and then the spawn would be next to impossible to shift. Is it really worth getting them a new tank set up, and culling all the babies? o.o;

ETA Further: Apparently the salt is one, to reduce ich, and two, to increase hardness, but we are in a hard water area and have a ph of around 8.2 if its untampered with. The gouramis and loaches are locally bred, and so are used to this, though not ideal, they seem to be doing okay without RO water or PH buffering. But this PH is a part of why I am so keen on establishing my plants. Eventually My main tank should be a bio-tank. But it takes time. I will be adding more plants to this tank, but not as much as the main tank. I will be keeping an eye on PH in this tank and adding less carbon if the PH strays too far away and try and hold it level there.


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## BettaMummy87 (Jul 26, 2014)

May be useful ^-^ gotta love books. 

*Excerpted from*: Five _Almost_ Perfect Fishes; Great fish for the community aquarium, except for one little thing'¦ by Neale Monks 
1 Black mollies, _Poecilia_ hybrids 
*The good:*_ Hardy, friendly fish full of charm, they even eat algae!_
*The bad:*_ Needs hard, alkaline water_ 
Top of my list of almost perfect fish has to be the black molly. It's a spectacular fish when kept in a planted tank, the velvety black making a bold contrast with the green leaves. Even with more brightly coloured fish, it holds its own, and makes a superb companion for things like fancy platies and swordtails. Few other freshwater fish are as jet black as these mollies, and most of them are nocturnal. Even cichlids keepers -- usually spoiled for choice when it comes to colours -- don't have anything like the black molly; it's a truly unique fish. Like people, the physically most attractive fish aren't always the ones with the nicest personalities, but the black molly is every bit as friendly as it is beautiful. They won't even harm livebearer fry. Despite their peaceable natures mollies are remarkably bold, and will settle into a new aquarium almost at once, making them great dither fish for encouraging more nervous fish like cichlids and gouramis to come out from their hiding places. It gets even better -- mollies are very tolerant of nitrites, making them an excellent choice for maturing new tanks. Provided you don't overfeed them, they'll handle the entire filter maturation process without any problems; they are particularly valued in this regard by _marine_ aquarists who use them instead of more delicate (and expensive) reef species. The icing on the cake is that mollies are fond of algae, and will happily graze on any green and thread algae in the aquarium. While certainly not in the same league as plecs or Siamese algae eaters (_Crossocheilus siamensis_), they do have an impact, and are especially good at cleaning delicate leaves where the larger, clumsier species can't reach. 
Really, the only shortcoming to the black molly is its need for hard, alkaline water. Of course, this isn't really a problem for aquarists in the South East, and is in fact something of a plus. Unlike all those neons and dwarf cichlids that demand soft and acidic water to do well, here's one fish that just _loves_ standard issue London tap water. However, if you are keeping a soft water aquarium or have a planted tank with CO2 fertilisation, chances are the hardness and pH will be too low for the black molly. Ideally, this molly wants a pH of at least 7.5 and the water does need to be at least moderately hard. The addition of salt isn't strictly necessary, but many people have found that it does help to keep mollies healthy and free of diseases like fungus and fin-rot; in this case, raising the specific gravity to around 1.002-1.005 will do the trick nicely and allow you to mix in a few brackish water fish as well.


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## Tony2632 (Aug 30, 2013)

I love it, I can't wait til you fill it in more. Looks like your going for a moss tree.


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## BettaMummy87 (Jul 26, 2014)

I am indeed. Though apparently christmas moss can take months to root on  Better keep these fish fed, cos the Mollies keep looking to eat it by the time feeding time arrives! >.>;


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## kjg1029 (Jun 14, 2014)

oh wow! Your hardscape is awsome! It looks like a weaping willow to me lol, I love thoose trees! Lol


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## BettaMummy87 (Jul 26, 2014)

kjg1029 said:


> oh wow! Your hardscape is awsome! It looks like a weaping willow to me lol, I love thoose trees! Lol


Me too, they are gorgeous trees. I want one in my garden, if I ever have one big enough!  

Thank you. I just had to do it, cos that root looks so right that way up. I want to to a root system for my sorority eventually, too.


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## niQ (May 28, 2014)

Awesome piece of wood! I spy a heart (top left corner) thats so cute. Good luck with your moss tree


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## myexplodingcat (Apr 9, 2014)

Moss likes to collect things... they may be munching on diatoms or fuzz algae that's collecting on the plant, so don't freak unless you see the actual plant suffering. 

I saw some pretty cheap moss on theshrimptank.com, if you want to start off with more. They're supposed to be generous portions for like six or seven bucks, depending on what type you get.

If I were you, I'd find it a background... like sheer fabric cut to size and siliconed in place, maybe. That way, it'd hide your equipment in the back, and the silicone would be water resistant.

I'd also plant that sucker _heavily,_ both because the tank's pretty thoroughly stocked and doesn't appear to have a filter (?), and because your guppies will really want the cover: they're in with mollies, which become pretty nasty to smaller fish later on, and two dwarf gouramis. The two little guppies may not appreciate such aggressive company unless they have a place to hide.

The plants you have to start off with are great, but they won't be enough to provide adequate cover for a 16 gallon tank for quite a long time. I suggest heading over to the Classifieds, and keep an eye out for Umar's lower-tech sales.

Keep going! This is looking really nice


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## BettaMummy87 (Jul 26, 2014)

myexplodingcat said:


> Moss likes to collect things... they may be munching on diatoms or fuzz algae that's collecting on the plant, so don't freak unless you see the actual plant suffering.
> 
> I saw some pretty cheap moss on theshrimptank.com, if you want to start off with more. They're supposed to be generous portions for like six or seven bucks, depending on what type you get.
> 
> ...


I will be transferring some anubias when mine take in my main tank, and more cabomba as it grows in all three tanks. Gets nice and tall. I am planning on setting up a nice mossy cave for the loaches and guppies too. Unfortunately, I cannot buy most of the things in classified as I am not in the US. My LFS is pretty good though. 

Unfortunately, its my mother's fish tank she gets a say, and she doesn't want groundcover plants. So i am going for some floaters (probably salvia minima) if I can get it here, and some other mid-high level plants, probably some java ferns and some swords. 

It is filtered, its just got a massive external one, the Ehiem Classic 250 No idea why the previous owner had such a big filter for it tbh. Only like, 190litres bigger than needed! To the point that I am doing 12hrly tests on the water for nitrates and daily for nitrites and ammonia, and no readings with no w/c in three days...  

I just want to find out if I was going overkill with daily changes. Once I know how many days it takes for nitrates to hit 10ppm I can get a proper w/c schedule going for it. Til then, regullar tests, until I get three consecutive results that are the same.


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## Tony2632 (Aug 30, 2013)

I just ordered plants from The Green Machine, they are from the UK. Since I live in the US overnight air shipping cost me a lot of $$$$. Only reason I ordered from them is because they got me into aquascaping.


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## autojoy (Jun 16, 2014)

Amazing wood! I love intricate woods like this... I bet fish do too ^_^


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## BettaMummy87 (Jul 26, 2014)

Yeah they are always in and out of the 'branches'. Especially the loaches. All over it they are.


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