# New planted tank - vacuuming etc



## carbonxxkidd (Oct 30, 2012)

Hi everyone, I just got my 29g planted yesterday. I planted with water in the tank, and today I notice quite a few pieces of plants (broken leaves/stems - I must not have rinsed my plants well enough before putting them in the tank) laying on my substrate (eco-complete) that I was unable to grab with the net yesterday. Should I remove those or leave them? I added Seachem Flourish Complete yesterday right after planting, and I am also not sure what I should do if I do a water change - add more or just wait a week? I don't want to overdose.

Another unrelated question - I put dwarf four leaf clover in the front of my tank and it came in a pot. I was unable to remove all of the rockwool so I just cut it where it is right beneath where most of the roots are (I think?), I was scared of destroying the plant. Is it okay that I have rockwool buried in my substrate or should I try again to remove it from the plant? Thanks!


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

Isn't eco-complete a nutrient rich plant substrate, if so, you may not need any ferts just yet or worry too much about it-The plants will tell you when they need it.

I would remove any dead/dieing leaves

I try to remove as much of the rockwool as I can-I usually will cut it away along with some roots if I need to. I have never planted a plant with very much of it still on the roots-but I wouldn't think it would be problematic-but I have never planted very much of it either.....So not 100% on that....

Look forward to some pic...


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## shellieca (Jul 12, 2012)

I vacuum up my decaying plant matter with my weekly water changes other than that I don't worry about it as I see it as part of the natural environment. Since your tank is brand new I'm assuming you know about cycling it.


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## carbonxxkidd (Oct 30, 2012)

Okay! I will do that. Someone else on here told me to add the Flourish right away, but I only added a little amount, 1ml when I should have added 3ml to fully dose the tank. I have read both that Eco-complete has nutrients and that it is a hoax, so not sure what to believe, lol. 

There is about maybe an inch of rockwool, probably less on the plant but I will take it out and try to remove more. I have also read mixed things about leaving it in the tank, if it's safe for fish, etc. Right now it's completely buried in the substrate.

Here are some photos of the tank:

























My plan was to make it a sorority tank, and I actually added my 7 girls today (all at the same time). They are all pretty small and different colors (photos in my albums), and they seem to like it. What a nice Xmas present for them, lol! Not too much aggression yet, a little, but from what I've read it's normal. as long as they are being watched. I have the next couple days off work so I will be keeping an eye on them closely. The tank was seeded with filter media from my mom's established tank (she actually gave me her entire piece of filter floss because she replaces hers once a month for some reason) so I'm hoping with it being pretty heavily planted that my cycle will not be too hard on the fish.


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## shellieca (Jul 12, 2012)

Beautiful tank! Your girls will be very happy in I'm sure.


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## twolovers101 (Sep 17, 2012)

Oh my!! That's beautiful! I LOVE the shape of the tank! It's very unique and seems to make it easier to view the scape and everything  

I'm sure the girls will love it, and as far as cycling goes, there shouldn't be too much of an issue, the plants will probably wind up doing most of the work anyway ^^


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## carbonxxkidd (Oct 30, 2012)

Thanks! That's kind of what I figure too. Yesterday after I planted I put my mom's old filter floss in my filter and she also dumped about 8 gallons of her tank water (some really dirty, some not so dirty) in my tank to top it off. I'm actually shocked I didn't have a huge bacteria bloom yet, but then again the plants are probably loving it! The girls seem happy, a little flaring and a little tail slapping but no nipping that I can see, and plenty of spots for them to go take a time out in the plants if they need to. My dog also has decided that he LOVES the girls, and has been watching them since I put them in the tank - super cute.


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## carbonxxkidd (Oct 30, 2012)

Another question - I have read multiple things on MTS - do I want them or not? I'm not sure if the Eco-complete gets gas pockets like sand does, but I've heard they also will eat decaying plant matter and algae. My local Petsmart said they would give me some for free if I need any.


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## MSG (May 8, 2012)

*Not sure how to prepare you for this, but practice with the siphoning.*

I killed so many plants in at least 50lbs of eco-complete. 


Do NOT make contact with the surface of eco-c. 
Be careful you don't uproot the plants when siphoning.
Plants get stressed when moved too often, hence the initial dying/browning of the leaves. 

You're supposed to create mini cyclones with your free hand & siphon the filth storm that appears. 

I haven't MASTERED this cycloning method yet, so that's why what's left of the 50lbs of eco-complete are still sitting in the 30G that I dismantled.

When I add "dirty" water into my tank for plant nutrients, I try not to use the really chunky stuff @ the bottom. That "bottom" material is way too gross for me. 

That type of "gold" is reserved for the tree/shrubs in front of the house by the sidewalk.


Even with MTS, the EC did form gas pockets though. I only kept 1.5" layer & still not really sure what I did wrong.
I've had 100's of MTS in the substate, not really pleased because they didn't really blend in well with the black once the shells started to erode, it would leave these whitish shells. 
The MTS you bring back from the petstore can harbor diseases & parasites, so keep that in mind. 

It's your tank, so you'll have to decide what to do.

Do you have any cats in your house?

It's amusing when dogs take an interest in other animals. I find doggies much less destructive around fishtanks than cats are.


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## carbonxxkidd (Oct 30, 2012)

Yes, I have two cats and two dogs. My cat would prefer to sit on the kitchen counter and watch my males in a 5g, the 29g is on a stand and is a bit too tall for him. Orion, the dog who likes the fish, is a lot taller than my other dog and cats so he has no problem. Kind of scared he's going to jump on the tank and cause damage though, lol. He also watched TV, very entertaining.

I have heard about the special way of vacuuming EC, I practiced a little before adding plants/fish so hopefully it won't be a huge deal. The MTS at Petsmart are in their plant tank, so not housed with fish...not sure if that makes a difference. Since you said gas pockets are possible in the EC, I'll probably look into getting some because I'd rather not have that problem if I can help it.


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

I find my plants grow very well in eco complete (may or may not be the fact that it's been used)

by dwarf 4 leaf clover, doyou mean marsilea minuta?


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## MSG (May 8, 2012)

Even with the 100's trumpet snails the eco-complete STILL formed gas pockets 1/2"-1" down. The MTS didn't APPEAR to do much of anything other than litter the bottom of the substrate with their dead bodies.

The petsmarts & petcos I've visited usually throw their pregnant livebearers & their fry in the "plant" tanks.


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

I didnt put any MTS in my recent new set up. maybe i missed it, but wht happened to your tank MSG?


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## carbonxxkidd (Oct 30, 2012)

aokashi said:


> I find my plants grow very well in eco complete (may or may not be the fact that it's been used)
> 
> by dwarf 4 leaf clover, doyou mean marsilea minuta?



No, Marsilea hirsuta. I thought I would give it a try but am kind of planning on it dying, lol.


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

give it some time to adapt. it took mine 2 months before it adapted to my water and sent out new shoots. lol


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## carbonxxkidd (Oct 30, 2012)

Good to know!  

I currently only have 1 20w T12 6500K light on top of my tank, so all the plants I bought are low light/beginner and I'm really hoping that they do okay. Super slow growth is fine by me as long as they all don't die, lol. I am looking into getting a second light though, which I will just have to remove to feed the fish. I think right now I only have like 0.7wpg, but I was told that isn't very accurate.


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

you can supplement lighting with a lamp and a 6500k cfl which you can pretty much find anywhere :3


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## carbonxxkidd (Oct 30, 2012)

I actually have a few of those clamp type lamps that I used for my snakes. Do the cfl bulbs get really hot or no? I'd be kind of nervous setting that on top of my tank otherwise.


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

The only bulb I have that gets hot-ish is my 200w equivilent 42w cfl. which... you should be fine with the 23w bulbs


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## carbonxxkidd (Oct 30, 2012)

Cool, thanks!  I am probably going to still buy a second light strip because it looks nicer, but until I get it I will set the clamp lamps up.


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## MSG (May 8, 2012)

*23W CFL's get nice & warm.*

About 125F-130F to be exact. If it's open air & not enclosed, it will run a bit cooler maybe 110F-115F

Wow, you have one of those 200W equivalent CFL's. How much did you get that for? 

This 200W CFL isn't 6500k thought, right?

Used standard light strip for a aquarium usually sell for $5-$10, but you have to HUNT for them. 

The tank I dismantled is the ACRYLIC 30G. 

Obvious signs of age & neglect. 
Multiple deep scratches from the previous owner. Of course I didn't notice them till AFTER I had the thing fully set up though. 
70%-80% of the photos of the tank, would show these beautiful scratches. Ruined all those photos.
Around the corners, you will see bits of "crazing" 
The top of the tank was warped due to the heat from the high end light fixtures
The back of the tank, the acrylic seal was no longer "intact"
Factory cut outs limited the type of equipment I could use. 
OEM cutouts also made it difficult to siphon without making a mess everywhere. 
OEM cutouts makes catching speedy fish even more of a hassle. 



Now that I switched back to GLASS tank, 85% of the photos turn out GREAT & 10-15% get deleted.

Oh yeah, how much do you find the 6500k CFL bulbs go for? I found a 4pack 100W eq for $10


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

I get my 23w locally for about $4 ea at the local 99c store.
The 42ws are 6500k from amazon  ran me about $11 ea + free 2 day shipping for students. I use that one primarily over my emmersed set ups. the emmersed plants dont really mind the extra heat and humidity. I did plan to have one over the aquarium, however i need to first find a clamp lamp to go over it...


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## MSG (May 8, 2012)

The privately owned $1 stores don't have anything GOOD like 6500K lights or those stone candle holders. 

The standard CFL's 2700K's 75W eq I can get for $0.30 new. 

I have about 6 or 7 of those reptile lamps 4 have clamps. 

Free 2 you if u were local. No point in shipping because used, they go for less than the S/H fee.


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## carbonxxkidd (Oct 30, 2012)

I just bought some 6500k mini cfls at Walmart, they are 40w replacement bulbs that use 10w, 3 in a pack for $4. Hope those are suitable, lol.

I also made a pit stop at Petsmart and got another CT female X). The girl working there likes me and gave me a free chunk of hornwort to float on top of my tank and 4-5 MTS for free also....so now I think I'm set, lol.


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

That's a spiffy looking tank ya got there. Where did you find it?


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## carbonxxkidd (Oct 30, 2012)

Tikibirds said:


> That's a spiffy looking tank ya got there. Where did you find it?


Thanks! My mom bought it a long time ago (over 10 years ago) from a LFS. It's an Oceanic, but they don't make that design anymore I guess. I've never seen one like it.


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## carbonxxkidd (Oct 30, 2012)

Well, I planted my stuff on Saturday. Today is Thursday (5 days later), and here's an update:

Crypts have pretty much melted into nothing. The crown/roots still feel healthy, so I'm assuming this is normal.

Bacopa caroliniana is also melting, from the bottom up. The tops seem nice and green, and looks like there is new growth, but the bottoms are totally rotting. I pulled some out today and trimmed off the melted parts and it really stunk, literally. They don't seem to be rooting, and I'm not sure why - I've spread them out a bit more and hopefully they will do better.

Everything else pretty much looks okay right now. Obvious growth on banana plant and anacharis. I added a second strip light - 18" T8, but it's only 15w. Any suggestions on keeping my bacopa happy? I really like it and hope it comes back, but the rotting smell really scares me!


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## lillyandquigly (Nov 24, 2011)

I love your tank, the shape especially! I'm not sure about the melting but someone with more knowledge can probably help you!


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## carbonxxkidd (Oct 30, 2012)

Does anyone have recommendations for a water change schedule? I was originally planning on doing 25-50% a week, but someone on this forum told me to wait a month before doing my first water change.

It's been 8 days since my tank was planted, and I am beginning to notice what I believe to be diatoms in the water/on the tank glass. If I put my arm in the tank and wipe it off with a paper towel afterwards, there are brown spots on the paper towel from the surface of the water. I was thinking about just going ahead and doing a water change tomorrow, making sure I vacuum out most of my dead plant matter, but wanted to get opinions first.

My tank is also starting to give off a slight odor when I open the lid, it's not terrible but enough that I notice it when I'm feeding the fish, I'm thinking it's probably due to the melted/decaying plant material. All my fish seem happy and healthy, but the water is a little hazy still and I'm a bit worried.

I've tested the water and everything (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate) is at 0, so the plants are doing their job, but the tank was also started using filter floss from an established tank (pretty sure the tank was basically instantly cycled). The piece of floss my mom gave me was pretty filthy when I put it in my filter so I plan on rinsing that with old tank water on my first water change.


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## babystarz (Aug 3, 2012)

Yay, glad to see you got that beautiful tank planted! 25% per week is fine, you have plenty of plants to help with filtration. I wouldn't wait a whole month to start given you have multiple fish creating waste, but 2 weeks should be fine. 

An initial plant die-off is normal, it's just the reaction the plants have to the new water parameters. You should see new growth in the next few weeks.

I am thinking you have a bacterial bloom from the decaying plants, your water change should help with that and the tank should sort itself out without much intervention on your part. 


If you decide you want some more MTS (or ramshorns) let me know and I'll just give you a bunch, you're close enough to meet up. Same for plant clippings.


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## carbonxxkidd (Oct 30, 2012)

I did get some MTS for free from Petsmart, only like 5 though and to be honest they don't seem to be very active! I check random hours at night and only see a couple not moving on top of the substrate so not sure what's going on with them. As fr clippings, I might take you up on that sometime! I need to wait and see how the plants I currently have are going to do first though, haha.

Thanks for the advice. Do you think I should do a water change tomorrow then or wait for Saturday (the two week mark)? I'm actually pretty impressed with the fact that all my levels are 0...I have 8 females, 3 otos and a baby betta (in breeder box) in the tank right now!


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## AK Fresh Water (Jun 23, 2012)

Where on earth did you get that awesome tank?
I'm very into its shape.


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## AK Fresh Water (Jun 23, 2012)

carbonxxkidd said:


> Does anyone have recommendations for a water change schedule? I was originally planning on doing 25-50% a week, but someone on this forum told me to wait a month before doing my first water change.
> 
> It's been 8 days since my tank was planted, and I am beginning to notice what I believe to be diatoms in the water/on the tank glass. If I put my arm in the tank and wipe it off with a paper towel afterwards, there are brown spots on the paper towel from the surface of the water. I was thinking about just going ahead and doing a water change tomorrow, making sure I vacuum out most of my dead plant matter, but wanted to get opinions first.
> 
> ...


Weekly water changes are perfectly fine! I have no idea why someone would recommend waiting an entire month.


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## carbonxxkidd (Oct 30, 2012)

That's what I figured too! The only reason I could think of was to give the plants a chance to root or something. I am hesitant to clean the tank though because I came home from work to find I finally have crystal clear water! It will be cleaned tomorrow, I have very bad lighting in the part of my house where the tank is and have been busy with my new rescue today :X

The tank was purchased by my mom at a LFS like 10 years ago, or more. They don't make this tank anymore, it's an Oceanic. Too bad, because it is an awesome tank! I feel like I have one of a kind now though, which is pretty awesome, haha.


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## OrangeAugust (Jul 23, 2012)

I'm just over here fangirling because you named your fish after characters from "Fringe". You'll see my excited comments on your pics from when I realized it. lol


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## carbonxxkidd (Oct 30, 2012)

OrangeAugust said:


> I'm just over here fangirling because you named your fish after characters from "Fringe". You'll see my excited comments on your pics from when I realized it. lol


FRINGE IS MY FAVORITE SHOW OF ALL TIME
omg.
I've cried every episode of season 5 so far.


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## OrangeAugust (Jul 23, 2012)

carbonxxkidd said:


> FRINGE IS MY FAVORITE SHOW OF ALL TIME
> omg.
> I've cried every episode of season 5 so far.


Season 5 has been a little too heavy for me, but still a great show.


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