Hi thanks for taking the time to read.
This is a Xiaomi smart tank 20L (5 gallon tank) that I got from a friend for free when he upgraded, which lead me to try out this hobby. Its 4-5 weeks in fully cycled, with 2 ottos, 2 horned nerites and 6 fire red shrimp. So far shrimp are molting and ottos are eating.
Low tech, no CO2
Substrate – Aqua-soil
Lighting – unsure of the power. 1h 20% -> 7h 100% growth lights -> 1h 10% -> off
Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate 0, hardness ~120, pH ~6.6, water temp ~27-28 degrees (82-83 farenheit; tropical country, hot and humid – best i can do with a fan and no air-conditioning)
Feeding small bits of wafers or boiled zucchini 3x per week
Water changes ~10% 3x per week usually 1 day after feeding
General liquid fertilizer 3x per week 1 mL (just started this 1 week ago)
Have a few questions on the tank.
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My rotala green seems to be abit leggy with black bands on the leaves. Are they just not in the right position to receive adequate light?
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Rotala blood red seem to get these weird sections of greenish yellow leaves – are they just early leaves or just segments where there was insufficient light? Shoulder i just cut them off?
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Christmas moss seems to be yellowing – might be because i didn't clear detritus and fertilize for first 3 weeks, which ive started doing now. Unsalvageable, or give it time. Im thinking of just taking out the whole thing and sticking on a new piece
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There's a little crevice on my driftwood, not sure if i can put anything in it – any suggestions?
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I'm keeping a small corale of red root floaters just to block light for my Bucephelendra – not the most aesthetically pleasing setup. Any suggestions how i can rearrange this? I'm just keeping the red root floaters around as a light and nutrient buffer and am more than happy to get rid of them if i can.
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Any other plants that would make this set up nicer? I think I could do with more moss/epiphytes on the wood and maybe some green bushy/grass like plants on the currently bare substrate?
Thank you.
Posted by Sad_Set_4056
3 Comments
I don’t have enough experience with plants to answer your questions, just came here to say your tank looks great!
I also dont know much about plants so cant help loads but for (2.) i know that yellow leaves cannot photosynthesise properly, possibly caused by lack of light – however im not sure if its helpful to trim them or not, I usually leave yellow leaves and they will either die and fall off or continue to grow. 3, how long has it been in there? I usually give dying plants a few weeks before removing as they can often resurrect themselves. 4, if you have any sponge you can stuff a small part of that in there or you could equally plant a small plant to grow out of the crevice
Good luck! It looks great so far 🙂
0 nitrates is not necessarily good for a planted tank. I’d rather have 5-10 ppm than 0.