journal DemonCat and his Tank

[DemonCat]

Thanks @neo-2FX and @OzShrimp. I will put up some photos tonight. 

 

Hi @Bill88 - Thanks for the comments. What tank are you planning? 
I am not using co2 - I want to keep my tank as low/mid tech as possible so I do not have to spend time worrying about it, checking co2 levels etc. As it is, all I do is add some ferts etc twice a week and change the water every one to two weeks. I was surprised I can see pearling without co2 as well.

[DemonCat]

Update of the tank itself:

 

 

15 hours ago, OzShrimp said:

You got a really nice lookin tank. Would love to see some more photos of your inhabitants

Here you go - Had the afternoon of work sick so took the opportunity to take some snaps. They are on my mobile phone so excuse the quality:

 

 

 

 

 

[OzShrimp]

Sometimes i wish i had a tank for fish that was nicely planted and had lots of tetras in it

[Bill88]

Still great photos :)

I've got a 4ft x 2 x 2 but I'm girlfriend won't allow me to bring it home until I finish renovating the master bedroom :P

I'll be planting and re scaping the crap out of it! That and a 4 ft tank I want to divide up for shrimp! I can't wait after seeing your photos!

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[DemonCat]

Awesome man. I went small to start with and wasted a heap of money... then decided to getthe three footer and have never looked back! Larger tanks also have more table water parameters too which is helpful s I want it to be a stress free tank without a continual need to watch it.

Looking forward to see how you go, keep me posted.

 

My advice - plan carefully!! Scape scape and rescape with rocks and wood till you get it right and are happy, cause it's much more difficult once the water is in. In no time your girlfriend will be wanting to play around with the dry scape too.

[DemonCat]

Noticing that some java fern leaves are turning yellow and white. 

 

Something is wrong in the tank...

[jayc]

2 hours ago, DemonCat said:

Something is wrong in the tank...

Temperature?

Java fern is hardy as nails(at least mine are). Something must be wrong.

 

Can you take it out and dose it with lot of Potassium (K)? 

It might be K deficiency. You can add it to the tank, but the idea of taking it out is that you can dose higher levels of K while it's in a bucket. 

 

It might also be Nitrogen deficiency.

In which case removing the plant for separate dosing is a good idea. Don't want to add too much Nitrogen in a shrimp tank.

Edited July 6, 2016 by jayc

[DemonCat]

Yeah - it is a bit odd. Plus all other plants are not showing any signs - so unsure whether it can be someone big as it not a tank-wide problem. 

 

The temp in the tank does fluctuate - from 15 to 20. If I leave the heater on constantly the tank temp keeps going up, even if I set the temp to 18. Therfore, I only have the heater on when the tank temp drops to 15, and turn it off once the tank temp hits 20. If i leave it overnight, the tank temp can go up to 25.

I dose K as it is but will continue to monitor. Thanks @jayc

Edited July 7, 2016 by DemonCat

[jayc]

More worrying is that heater of yours 

 

Clearly the thermostat is dead. Shouldn't you replace it?

[DemonCat]

I will get around to it - Has been broken since day 1, but unfortunately I bought it just before summer started so never used it - and now I have no idea where the receipt is to take it back. 

[DemonCat]

Update - 01/08 - I started a new dosing regime about three weeks ago and I am really noticing the difference - the plants are happier and have grown a heap in that time. I have set a timetable up and follow it closely -before I was dosing here and there but not keeping track. I have really noticed the results and will post some pics soon.

[NoGi]

Look forward to the pics. Your glass is so nice and clean compared to my tank. lol

[DemonCat]

5 minutes ago, NoGi said:

Look forward to the pics. Your glass is so nice and clean compared to my tank. lol

It's a bit manky at the moment... was actually going to ask for some tips to remove algae from the front glass!

[neo-2FX]

On 01/08/2016 at 3:13 PM, DemonCat said:

It's a bit manky at the moment... was actually going to ask for some tips to remove algae from the front glass!

I use cloth wipes (the ones that are in a roll and are usually green or blue pattern) and they clean the glass beautifully and don't leave any scratches (that I can see). I'll take one sheet off the roll and use that over and over on my tanks. Even gets rid of green spot algae.

Downside to this is you have to stick your hand in the tank. I make sure I wash my hands thoroughly (with just water) before putting them in the tank and have had no issues so far.

I'm yet to try an algae scraper (the stainless steel ones) but hoping to get one soon - not sure how well they work though or if they scratch glass.

Edited August 2, 2016 by neo-2FX

[DemonCat]

4 hours ago, neo-2FX said:

I use cloth wipes (the ones that are in a roll and are usually green or blue pattern) and they clean the glass beautifully and don't leave any scratches (that I can see). I'll take one sheet off the roll and use that over and over on my tanks. Even gets rid of green spot algae.

Downside to this is you have to stick your hand in the tank. I make sure I wash my hands thoroughly (with just water) before putting them in the tank and have had no issues so far.

I'm yet to try an algae scraper (the stainless steel ones) but hoping to get one soon - not sure how well they work though or if they scratch glass.

Are the wipes you get special, to make sure there are no chemicals in them?

[neo-2FX]

11 minutes ago, DemonCat said:

Are the wipes you get special, to make sure there are no chemicals in them?

It did cross my mind before I first used it and I didn't believe it would. Risky move in hindsight haha. Have had absolutely no issues when I do use it though as I rinsed it well before use and even squeeze the excess water back into the tank. I'd assume if there were chemicals in it all my shrimp would be dead ?

The roll looks like the attached - I think may have been purchased from a hardware store? Just be careful before buying any roll from the stores. Someone else may be able to chime in here as I'm not 100% sure.

Edited August 2, 2016 by neo-2FX

[DemonCat]

10 hours ago, neo-2FX said:

It did cross my mind before I first used it and I didn't believe it would. Risky move in hindsight haha. Have had absolutely no issues when I do use it though as I rinsed it well before use and even squeeze the excess water back into the tank. I'd assume if there were chemicals in it all my shrimp would be dead 

The roll looks like the attached - I think may have been purchased from a hardware store? Just be careful before buying any roll from the stores. Someone else may be able to chime in here as I'm not 100% sure.

Yeah, I will avoid scented ones etc like the plague. 

 

I have a little foam scrubber for the glass, but it does nothing!

[neo-2FX]

1 hour ago, DemonCat said:

Yeah, I will avoid scented ones etc like the plague. 

 

I have a little foam scrubber for the glass, but it does nothing!

Haha, me too and it also does nothing that's why I now use the cloth above and it leaves the glass crystal clear.

Mines definitely dry and I'm pretty sure it's not scented etc.

[DemonCat]

Just got home from a 5 day holiday to find that my timer on the light broke... Light was on for 5 days straight :( the house/cat sitter thought it was supposed to be on so didn't worry.

 

Algae has gone NUTS :( :( I hope the shrimp and fish are not too stressed.

[jayc]

4 minutes ago, DemonCat said:

Light was on for 5 days straight

Ouch!

You could follow this up with a blackout for another 5 days.

The fish and shrimp will be totally confused, but at least the algae might die back.

[NoGi]

Embrace the algae I know I do now lol

[DemonCat]

1 hour ago, jayc said:

Ouch!

You could follow this up with a blackout for another 5 days.

The fish and shrimp will be totally confused, but at least the algae might die back.

I was thinking of doing a black out for a few days... Or reduce the light drastically to just an hour in the evening when I feed them.

[DemonCat]

I feel like throwing in the towel. Over the last week now almost every java fern has died - I can't put my finger on the issue. 

 

From the tank looking the best it ever has about three weeks ago to now, its been a HUGE slump. 

[NoGi]

Hang in there, can only get better right?

[DemonCat]

I hope so. Might try get Subscape Aquarium or someone to come do a big clean and stuff.