Best Schooling Fish: Platinum Rummynose Tetras

As many new hobbyists, I also wish to have a great shoaling / schooling of fishes in the planted tank. After some research, I decided to have Platinum Rummynose Tetras (Hermigrammus rhodostomus) for my 2ft tank. And that is an excellent choice! The rummynoses were really discipline in moving as a school, especially when they were first introduced into the tank. I thought they were a bit stressed but even after a few months keeping them, I still can see that great schooling behaviour.

Platinum Rummynose Tetras are a bit different from the normal Rummynose Tetras since they got very shiny sparkling bodies. The coloration of the "rummy" head and "cross" tail would be getting nicer when they get use to the tank environment.

These guys looked so pale when I first introduced them to the tank 

However, the colouration got much better over time :)

Overall, I am very happy seeing them schooling everyday. You can consider them for the next purchase. ;)

I had a chance to record their schooling in the video below for your reference.

"64.8L Passionately Curious": Fishless Cycling Process

As any other newbies in this hobby, I was very excited waiting for the tank to be fully cycled. I did water test very frequently during this first stage and nervous sometimes seeing the water test results. The tank has been fully cycled finally after 32 days. 

Since I do not want to see the fish "suffering" from high level of toxic substances such as Ammonia, Nitrite or Nitrate at the cycling period, I chose "fishless cycling" method that use ADA Aquasoil. 9L of ADA Aquasoil New Amazonia Powder was utilized for my 2ft tank. This substrate after setting up would leech out Ammonia to the water column for beneficial bacteria to feed on. Hence, there is not necessary to add in additional Ammonia daily as stated in some online "fishless cycling" methods. 

ADA Aquasoil New Amazonia Powder (9L)

In addition, with the wish to speed up the cycling process, "WaterLife BacterLife: Digest Ammonia &Nitrite" was dosed in according to manufacture recommendation. 

WaterLife BacterLife: Digest Ammonia & Nitrite

As expected, Ammonia peak appeared right away after flooding the tank at very high level (i.e. 4ppm). It could be seen Nitrite level was very high at 2ppm for the first five days and gradually reduced to 0ppm by Day 15 whereas, Ammonia level was unchanged at 4ppm until Day 18. 

It can be seen that WaterLife BacterLife does affect the nature process by developing beneficial bacteria to convert Nitrite to Nitrate, whereas, beneficial bacteria to convert Ammonia to Nitrite in the tank was developing slower. Hence, whatever Nitrite was produced, it was quickly converted to Nitrate and Nitrate was removed by partial water change every 2-3 days in the first 3 weeks. On the other hands, I also think that too much Ammonia leached out from ADA Aquasoil constantly would make the bacteria overloaded and could not convert Ammonia to Nitrite in a short time. 

The first 5 weeks of "fishless cycling" (click for enlarged picture)

After Day 18, Ammonia Level gradually reduced and reached 0ppm on Day 32 and it completed the whole cycle. 

During the cycling time, anxiety visited me regularly :). Most importantly, we, new hobbyist must keep our patience. The tank will naturally go through the process and it takes time for beneficial bacteria to develop in the filter. Sometimes, all the Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate levels might not follow exactly what indicated in text books. That is OK. Every tank is different and the speed of beneficial bacteria developing is differently, too. If you are too anxious about the high ammonia or nitrite levels, just do water change. There is no harm doing water change up to 30% for every 2-3 days at the first 3-4 weeks after setting up the tank. 

The first 30 days for me was enjoyable as well since I can watch the plants growing day by day. I can test and tweak all the lighting, CO2 injection rate and fertilizer regime to make sure the plants grow well and become stable before fauna is introduced to the tank. And do remember not to introduce any fauna in the tank until you are really sure that Ammonia and Nitrite Levels are 0ppm. At the end of the cycling process, Nitrate Level would be very high, and 50% water change before introducing fauna to the tank is recommended. 

In conclusion, my first lesson in this hobby are:

"Be patient."

"Stay curious and plan well ahead".

Thanks for being patient :)

"64.8L Passionately Curious": Week 4 Updates

It has been four weeks since the tank was setup. Plants have grown very well with lush green all the time. There was very minimal algae issue happened in the tank. Since the tank has no fauna yet, I increased the CO2 injection rate to 2bps for 8 hours a day. Lighting time also increased to 8 hours a day, started one hour after CO2 injection and ended one hour after CO2 stops.    

First trimming for the right background of Heteranthera zosterifolia (aka Star Grass) was done since the branches grew very fast and even touched the surface water. I trimmed them until quite short to make them become busier. 

Heteranthera zosterifolia before trimming.

Heteranthera zosterifolia after trimming

Star Grass leaves were very soft and gentle, yet the colour was lush green. Star Grass is one of the fast-growing plants recommended for planted tank at initial stage since it would be able to absorb and consume excessive nutrient in the tank, thus prevent algae outbreak. 

Heteranthera zosterifolia (Star Grass) leaves

Eleocharis acicularis 'Mini' has been growing beautifully, too. Their roots started to spread in wider area and slowly covered more space on the foreground. I used 2 tubs of 1-2 Grows! Eleocharis sp. 'Mini' for my 2ft tank at the beginning, so the covering speed was also faster. 

Eleocharis sp. 'Mini' started spreading roots to bare area on the tank

By end of Week 4, the tank was quite close to be fully cycled where Nitrite level is 0ppm, Ammonia is 0.5ppm and Nitrate is quite high at 80ppm. It can be seen that beneficial bacteria have been working hard to transfer all Ammonia to Nitrite and Nitrite to Nitrate. Once the tank is fully cycled, I will jot down my experience on "fishless" cycling method with ADA Amazonia soil.  For now, stay tuned and enjoy watching the plants grow. :)