help!!!

[SuperRaY]

My newly planted tank 4ft by 1.5ft by 1.5ft (1 wk old), no fishes inside to prevent plants from being uprooted by fishes, the plants do not have algae growing on them , lighting period is 5+ hrs, using diy co2, canister filter. lights are 4 FL 37 watt with reflectors. The water colour some how turn reddish brown. my previous 2 feet tank does not have this problem the water onli turn slighty greenish. is this normal? btw what is "tank cycle"?

[Allen_1971]

What sort of substrate are you using? The only time my water turned reddish brown was when some of the laterite started leeching into the water column.

[vinz]

Reddish brown water...

1) Base fert escaping into your water... but unlikely.

2) Do you have wood in the tank? The leeching tannin will colour the water. It can be reduced but unlikely to go away.

3) Are you adding any kind of "black water" or water conditioners?

Tank cycling is the process where by you allow the bacteria that convert toxic NH3/4 to NO2 to NO3 to establish themselves in yout tank and filter. In planted tanks, this period is also the for the plants to establish themselves and adapt to your tank. (i.e. grow roots into the substrate, adapt to your tank pH, temperature, light levels etc.)

[SuperRaY]

i'm using jbl fert (green white colour packet)

[SuperRaY]

i never add any water conditioner, and yes there is a small piece of driftwood

[vinz]

Small piece only? How small is small?

How reddish brown? Like tea [:0] or is it slightly only?

Any particles floating around? What's in the filter?

[SuperRaY]

erm the driftwood is ard 18cm long by 10 width, 8cm tall,

when i look across from the side of my 4 foot, the colour is like tea like that but it's lighter

[Allen_1971]

most likely its your driftwood leeching tannins into the water then... theres not much you can do... you can change your water, but it will still leech... until your wood is seasoned... you can also try to boil your wood... this will make the thing leech faster...

[vinz]

Sounds a big too big to boil... your alternative is to soak it in just boiled water overnight. Repeat over several days. This will improve thigns slightly. Usually wood in the tank will turn the water yellowish, but regular water change will keep it from getting too dark.

[SuperRaY]

there already riccia and java moss on it, i got it from teo's

[Irn-Bru]

SuperRay, may i know where you get your 4ft tank from? how much is it? with cabinet?

[Irn-Bru]

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On 12/20/2002 1:09:06 PM

Tank cycling is the process where by you allow the bacteria that convert toxic NH3/4 to NO2 to NO3 to establish themselves in yout tank and filter. In planted tanks, this period is also the for the plants to establish themselves and adapt to your tank. (i.e. grow roots into the substrate, adapt to your tank pH, temperature, light levels etc.)
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how does one know if the cycling is completed?

[Simon]

when, most of yr tank parameter is at a constant level

[Irn-Bru]

how often should i take water parameters during this cycling period?

[Simon]

test shld be taken every few days, then compare to see

[Irn-Bru]

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On 12/21/2002 10:58:07 AM

test shld be taken every few days, then compare to see
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Simon, many thanks!

[vinz]

In particular, you should be looking at your NH4 and NO2 readings... when they are zero, you can consider cycling complete. If you only want to get one test kit, get the NO2 kit. You should see the values rise around the 2nd or 3rd week... then it'll start to drop.

Go search the web for "Nitrogen Cycle". There's a posting that list planted tank info websites in the Aquatic FAQ forum. Browse in those for more info about planted tanks and general aquarium concepts.