ashley
Wed Apr 25, 2007, 12:39 AM
Hi Everyone,
Its been 12 months since I setup my Aqua1 120 tank, and its been a year of changes from day one.
Since setup Ive decommissioned the trick fillter and added 2 cannisters, 1 x Aqua 1 1000 and a Jebo 809.
The original pool filter sand has been removed and replaced with a coarse river gravel, the reason I changed the sand was I believed that I was getting dead spots in the substrate thus causing higher than normal nitrate levels.
I dont know if that was the case as many people have great success with pool filter sand.
When I changed the sand I added a layer of Laterite to help the plants along as I had been useing JBL Cay balls for substrate fertaliser.
I removed the river rocks as they would get covered in algae and would become a pain to keep clean, I also removed the log I had in there for the same reason.
I setup a diy co2 system and it made a great improvment to the health of the plants.
Looking back I probably got a bit excited as to how I wanted the tank to look, and went in full bore instead of taking my time with setup.
At the moment the tank is probably the best its been since setup, as far as the general health and look of the tank goes, and Im quite pleased with the result so far.
Ive decided to keep things fairly simple for a while but would love to drop a nice big piece of wood back in the tank some time soon, as I just love the look of wood.
I now realise that I wasnt doing enough water changes and have doubled the amount I do weekly, and I think this has been the turnaround in the health of the tank.
I still have all of thr original Discus that I put in the tank after the first cycle, and they all seem very healthy, however Ive lost a few Corys and Algae eaters and Neons along the way, I think this shows how tough Discus really are.
Algae is still a small problem, however its not the problem it was 6 months ago, and Ive come to the conclusion that its just something that Aqua hobbyists have to deal with.
Im adding then and now pics and would love to hear any comments on what you think of what Ive done so far.
Cheers Ashley
Its been 12 months since I setup my Aqua1 120 tank, and its been a year of changes from day one.
Since setup Ive decommissioned the trick fillter and added 2 cannisters, 1 x Aqua 1 1000 and a Jebo 809.
The original pool filter sand has been removed and replaced with a coarse river gravel, the reason I changed the sand was I believed that I was getting dead spots in the substrate thus causing higher than normal nitrate levels.
I dont know if that was the case as many people have great success with pool filter sand.
When I changed the sand I added a layer of Laterite to help the plants along as I had been useing JBL Cay balls for substrate fertaliser.
I removed the river rocks as they would get covered in algae and would become a pain to keep clean, I also removed the log I had in there for the same reason.
I setup a diy co2 system and it made a great improvment to the health of the plants.
Looking back I probably got a bit excited as to how I wanted the tank to look, and went in full bore instead of taking my time with setup.
At the moment the tank is probably the best its been since setup, as far as the general health and look of the tank goes, and Im quite pleased with the result so far.
Ive decided to keep things fairly simple for a while but would love to drop a nice big piece of wood back in the tank some time soon, as I just love the look of wood.
I now realise that I wasnt doing enough water changes and have doubled the amount I do weekly, and I think this has been the turnaround in the health of the tank.
I still have all of thr original Discus that I put in the tank after the first cycle, and they all seem very healthy, however Ive lost a few Corys and Algae eaters and Neons along the way, I think this shows how tough Discus really are.
Algae is still a small problem, however its not the problem it was 6 months ago, and Ive come to the conclusion that its just something that Aqua hobbyists have to deal with.
Im adding then and now pics and would love to hear any comments on what you think of what Ive done so far.
Cheers Ashley