Hey all! I wanted to share my first tank with you all. Today is 5 days in so still really new. Plants seem to be acclimating well (especially the tiger lotus)

This is a 7g cube I got off amazon. I chose to do the Walstad Method with this and have miracle gro organic choice capped with sand and gravel as the substrate. I havent done any water changes since setting it up.

The water got pretty cloudy over the first 3 days and has since cleared up quite a bit. You can see in the pics from bottom to top the progression: https://imgur.com/a/W7VBk4J

I tested the water for the first time after 24 hours and then once more yesterday. First test was ~6.8 pH with 0 NH3, 0 NO2, and 0 NO3. Yesterday’s test showed the same pH and Nitrate / Nitrite levels but had about 0.5ppm for ammonia. I will start testing daily today to observe how these levels fluctuate.

The only thing I am unhappy with this tank is my moss placement. I submurged the tank fully before placing the moss anywhere and then panicked and hamfisted the placement by supergluing a clump to my driftwood.

I think when I do a water change I will drain low enough to trim the moss and stick it on properly so it isn’t just a clump there.

Overall I am really excited to be doing this. Let me know if you have any tips / suggestions / insights. All guidance and feedback is appreciated :)

  • Wahots@pawb.socialEnglish
    2·
    8 months ago

    How’s it been going? Mine is about two weeks old and very tannin-y from the spiderwood!

    • Irulebabey@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      2·
      7 months ago

      Hey sorry for the lag in response! Its been going really well :) i wish the tannins stuck around but after a few weekly water changes they have completely disappeared. The plants all have grown really consistently and I am not dosing ferts or anything. After I think six weeks I added shrimp and sparrow rasboras. Both have had babies so the tank is teeming with life. I love it!

      I hope yours is still going well!

      • Wahots@pawb.socialEnglish
        2·
        7 months ago

        Mine is going well too! Still full of tannins, but my tank is pretty small. I got a bunch of pygmy Coreys and an Otto catfish, and one assasin snail to take care of a pest snail problem. Caved and I’m getting a HOB as I think this tank is too small to really support a filterless setup. I quite enjoy watching the fish though :)

        • Irulebabey@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
          2·
          7 months ago

          I actually caved as well and went with a canister filter. I picked up a secondhand Oase Filtosmart Thermo 100 which has an integrated heater which really cleared up a bunch of visual clutter on mine. No more wires and just clear tubing now! I also added an airstone which I really think has helped the tank a ton. After adding it in the fish and shrimp just took off and haven’t looked back since. It’s been super fun but is a slippery slope LOL I am heavily considering setting up a 15-20g tank so I can transfer everything over and build out a new scape. My only obstacle is space…

          • Wahots@pawb.socialEnglish
            1·
            7 months ago

            Those look cool! I just don’t want a bunch of stuff visibly out below the aquarium. If I could hide it behind some furniture or something though, maybe I would x3