Common mistakes made by beginners

[rwalker]

It is quite a pain to see the common questions being raised in the forum repeatedly and see the same mistakes being made again and again by the beginners. The objective of this post is to help you jump start and avoid some common mistakes make by the novice.

To start off with, I am not an expert, at least not yet, and was a novice once too - but I can safely say I am no longer a rookie in planted tank. In driving parlance, I have a 2B license and legally can drive a family car, but not qualify to drive a F1 racing car or a bus. But that doesn’t mean I do not know the traffic rules.

All right, so much about the disclaimer and rant, let’s get started. The common mistakes are (if I can think of more and have more time, I may add):

• Do not read enough
• Plant sparsely at the beginning
• Only sand or pea gravel is used as substrate
• No cycling of tank
• High tech is the only way?

Do not read enough
Most beginners rush to the local fish shop and splurge a good amount money on tank, filter, lights, flora, fauna, etc after mesmerizing by the display tank in front of the local fish shop or a beautify Amano’s planted tank picture on the internet. It is one thing to setup an Amano look alike tank by buying a few “ready made” blog wood with mosses, ADA stone, etc, and make a quick copy cat. But to maintain the same good look with healthy looking plants, algae free tank and happy fishes day in and day out is quite another story. Slowly, the Amana look alike tank breaks down, fishes die, plants turn yellow and tanks infested with algae. This is because basic knowledge on how to grow healthy plant, what is ammonia cycle, relationship between lights/CO2/nutrients uptake, and algae control is lacking.

The agony can be avoided if you do your due diligent homework. There are many good books, and information on the web is abundant, for example:
http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...ad.php?t=16813
In short, read before you buy....…. and then read again

It is not my intention to tell you exactly what to do for all the listed common mistake, eg how to cycle a tank, what substrate to use, etc. I am here to tell you some common pitfalls. Remember, you are supposed to read and do your homework. Goggle and AQ forum search will be a good start. If all else fail, ask.


Plant sparsely at the beginning
One mistake leads to another. As most of the beginners do not do enough research, they are scared and skeptical, and usually use only a few so called hardy, slow grow and beginner plant to test water when started. Big mistake! You have to plant the tank relatively heavy at the beginning. Reason? One of the best ways to counter algae is to build up a sizeable plant mass in the tank at the very beginning. Healthy plants and big plant mass will trump our little and uninvited friend - algae. Don’t give them a chance to gain a foot hold in your tank. Use some fast grower plants e.g. hornwort, frog bits, higro difformis, etc at the beginning to soak up excess nutrients release by the substrate or fertilizer when the tank is first setup. You can slowly reduce them later when other plants grow. You need to have a good mix of plant to achieve a good balance and counter algae. In is much better sitting in front of your tank drooling over your gorgeous fishes and admiring your scape and plants than spending time controlling algae.


Only sand or pea gravel is used as substrate
Unless you intent to use only floating plants, moss or ferns, otherwise you need a good base-fertilizer for heavy root-feeder plants eg lotus, crypts, just to name a few, to grow well. I have not used Ada or Gex soil before, they may contain some nutrients and you have to check it out yourself. Btw, I am using soil as base. Generally, a layer of fertilizer with a layer of pea gravel on top will be sufficient for most cases. Most plants are able to absorb nutrients via leaves and shots, and thus liquid fertilizer is helpful, but not for heavy root-feeder though. Thus, liquid fertilizer is no substitute for a good fertilizer based in this case.

Cycling of tank
While ammonia and nitrite are harmless to plant, it is detrimental to fishes and shrimps. Beneficial bacterial (BB) need to be built up in your tank, e.g. in gravel, and filter sufficiently before more live stocks can be introduced. BB breaks down ammonia to nitrite and then nitrite to nitrate. Plants use ammonia and nitrate as food. Without enough BB in a not properly cycled new tank, most live stocks will perish.

High Tech is the only way?
If you do a quick glance at the discussion forum, it gives you an impression that high lights, CO2 injection, dosing is a must in setting up a planted tank, or what we call high-tech tank. But do you have the stomach, skill sets, time to go high tech? Do you know what the maintenance routine is like?

There are more than one way in setting up a planted thank. Have you ever heard of low tech tank? People shun low tech may be due to ignorance or impatience (or the name itself does not sound cool, or a tank without those CO2 cylinder and O2 pearling are not impressive?). If you don’t have much time for maintenance, or lazy (like me), or budget constraints, low tech is the way to go. By “strict” definition, low tech generally means no-CO2 injection tank and runs on 1.5-2.5 wpg. Maintenance is a breeze as no water change, only occasional dosing, and minimal trimming. You can go for a week off without dosing and water change and your tank is still perfectly fine and in good shape. Btw, most plant can grow well and healthy in a non CO2 injection tank, although slower. Don’t believe me?
Here is Tom Bar’s discussion thread on low tech tank:
http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...ad.php?t=13623

Low tech tank picture in AQ:
http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...ad.php?t=11044

Here is my low tech planted tank journal:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pfloke/...7602958184282/

Conclusion
Well, I hope I haven't scared you off, or I can assume you are not since you care to read till this line ? It is not that hard, really. But then if it is without challenge, what is the fun, right? Probably a tank with plastic plants will do then. But, wait a minute, algae will grow on them too

[dnsfpl]

excellent information...

as a newbie, i can't advice much but surely i can share my failed experience

planting - start with hardy plants eg moss & fern. for a start, try to fill up at least 25%.
lighting - 3w per gallon, on 5 hrs, then slowly increase an hour every week to max 9 hrs.
filter - got money get a good canister, if not get a 5 x gallon of tank/hour flow rate filter.
cycling - wait at least a week before adding fish, if possible buy test kit to check ammonia and nitrite level.
adding fish - buy 1 or 2 hardy fish to test first before purchasing the fish you want to rear. slowly add batch by batch.
water change - use aged water, at least a day with anti chlorine. only change when necessary, at most 25% each time
overcrowding - 1 liter of water for every 1 cm of adult fish, unless you have very good filter/canister.
feeding - max twice a day, make sure they finish the food in less than a min. No tubifex worm for me, they may contain harmful bacteria.

[WaterH2O]

dnsfpl

Bro, some points for you
Planting - you are not wrong to start with hardy plants like ferns and moss it is just that your plants are not enough and do not have much fast grower plants plants to start up.
Lighting - If you only have moss and fern do you really need 3wpg? My java fern I throw into my tank that does not even has a white light (those tank for fish viewing) and it survived and even proprogates.
Overcrowding - Even if you get the most ex filter or so called best filter available in the market, it is still not advisable to overstock. You want more fish get more tank if possible.

[dnsfpl]

dnsfpl

Bro, some points for you
Planting - you are not wrong to start with hardy plants like ferns and moss it is just that your plants are not enough and do not have much fast grower plants plants to start up.
Lighting - If you only have moss and fern do you really need 3wpg? My java fern I throw into my tank that does not even has a white light (those tank for fish viewing) and it survived and even proprogates.
Overcrowding - Even if you get the most ex filter or so called best filter available in the market, it is still not advisable to overstock. You want more fish get more tank if possible.

learn something new again...thanks bro

[torque6]

Some important stuff you pointed out which may help beginners.

[rwalker]

Some important stuff you pointed out which may help beginners.

Ya, provided they.............read

[Quixotic]

cycling - wait at least a week before adding fish, if possible buy test kit to check ammonia and nitrite level.

The best practice for cycling time is actually 4 to 6 weeks. This can be shortened by introducing beneficial bacteria in powder/liquid form, planting heavily and ensuring that plants are growing well, using old unwashed filter material, and so on.

However, you will need a nitrogen source in order to kick start the cycling. This can be done by either introducing 2 or 3 hardy fish, or by using fishless cycling methods.

Always try to test for ammonia/nitrite if possible before deciding to introduce the main fishes. If that is not possible, be conservative and try to cycle for the longest period possible (no less than 4 weeks).

When introducing the main fishes, don't add too many fishes at once. Split up in batches to probably around a dozen fishes per week, maximum. As the numbers of fishes gets larger, more waste will be generated. This will enable more beneficial bacteria to colonise due to the availability of food (ammonia from the waste).

With this method, the bioload will always be manageable and not be stretching the limits at any one time, which will put your fishes at risk if there is a sudden significant increase in ammonia/nitrite.

Remember that the nitrogen cycle is actually an ongoing process throughout the operation of the tank, it doesn't end after the initial cycling and introduction of the main fishes.

[rwalker]

I am just doing my bits to give back to the community and do not deserve such high praises.

Your suggested topics are not really for the beginner, and yes, it will scare them off before they even start . Hmm... may be I am the one should be scared about the dark secrets? Apistonitis? pleconitis? never heard off, lol.

I guess just apply common sense and hygiene practises in what ever you do.

How about coming up with a list like, “Dangers of fishkeeping newbies ought to know that they usually don’t know.” The so-called dark secrets of the hobby such as fire hazards, tank glass bursting, electrocution, mycobacterium marinum infection of the aquarist hand, apistonitis and pleconitis etc. And also, at the risk of scare-mongering… CO2 tank/ valve pins shooting off like stray bullets.

[quote]
Quixotic
[quote/]
Thanks Quixotic who gives a good suggestion on how to cycle the tank and make this discussion more complete.


Feel free to chip in.