starting a new tank

[davescube]

Here is my 2 feet tank, my test kit, and so on..
Please dont bother the pipe in the tank, I will remove them and replace the water in there...

For the time being, help is needed, I make a threat here..


http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...ad.php?t=43584

[Verminator]

Hey, i advise getting the other Flourish products to supplement Flourish excel. Theres nitrogen and phosphate too, i reccomend atleast these two of the 3 you havnt got yet.

[davescube]

yeah.. the excel that I bought today is actually for the other tank,
U can say that I have not got any plant nutrient for this current tank yet..
I probably will be getting plant and their nutrient on the same day,maybe a week later?

[davescube]

have just added the first layer.. it is sand..

there's dirt everywhere, I should have washed them at the first place..
I think I have to do 100% WC everyday until it is not so dirty and I will continue to add the second layer of soil..

Should I keep my filter running?
Basically I use powerhead combine with sponge

[Verminator]

Haha, did you add water first? Or literally let water spray into the tank when you added sand?

Letting the water trickle onto a small rock will reduce the amount of sand disturbed in the fill-up process.

If you let it just stand undisturbed for 2-3 days it'll still settle. But you've shot yourself in the foot by filling it up before you've finished adding the substrate.

I fill it up once i've added the substrate, rocks, wood and all my plants except stem plants. Then i fill it

[naturalmystic]

Hi davescube,

I guess this is the kind of thing that happened to some newbies, me included. Assuming that the sand is clean is a no-no, lesson learnt after much cleaning.
Looking at the water quality, I do not think the particles will settle down soon enough. I left mine for 3 days and after the daily heartache, decided to clean it and admit my mistake.
I would advise to turn off your filter as this is a new tank and the filter media is going to get clogged soon with all those dirt. You can remove the water and if possible, the sand too. Else, you can clean the sand in the tank with repetitive back-breaking work of filling in a bit of water, stirring the sand and removing the water.
All the best.

[naturalmystic]

Hi davescube,

My apologies, just read your other thread.
The first layer sand you are referring to is not pure sand but the Aquabasis? If it is the latter, then I would second what James had advised.
From your other thread, Salphur did recommend to add the Aquabasis with the ADA soil on top of it. Did you add the ADA soil before ading the water? Aquabasis cloud the water while ADA soil will do so minimally. So putting the ADA soil on top of the Aquabasis will sort of form a protective layer against clouding the water.
Apologies again for jumping the gun.

[davescube]

At first, I add the sand into the tank, Then I use plastic tube to transfer the water into the tank. There is a sponge at the outlet, but still the water get cloudy, I think the water flow is too fast..

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So far, I have not touched the ADA soil.. only aquabasis in the tank..

Hmm.. I have just emptied the water in the tank,
and slowly put the sand to the seperated bucket and wash them..
they just keep making the water dirty, I wont be washing them anymore..
Now they are in the tank now with a very little amount of water...

Should I just add the ADA soil on top of the aquabasis now?
Do i have to wash ADA soil?

[naturalmystic]

Hi davescube,

It's good that you had stopped washing the Aquabasis sand. Being base fertiliser, some fertiliser will surely be lost during the washing process.
Try as much as possible to remove the water in your tank and you can proceed to add your ADA soil. And no, you do not need to wash it first.
If the water turns cloudy, let it rest over the weekend and spare some time for your other hobbies.

[davescube]

Maybe I can just give them a quick clean?
There's many small pieces of wood in them..

[Salphur]

Hi Davescube,
i think a quick rinse to get rid of the small scraps of wood is fine in my humble opinion, however repeated washing will not be good for the ADA aquasoil.

I think the key here would be retaining as much of the nutrients in the Aquabasis base fert and ADA aqua soil for the cultivation of plants rather than losing the nutrients via pre-washing.

Anyway, if i were you, the next step i would probably take is, i will let the Aquabasis in the tank water settle down over some time and drain out the water(as much as possible)and leaving only the layer of Aquabasis in there. After some period whereby it looks reasonably dry, i will then pour in the ADA soil on top and model the soil slopes if required.

Lastly then i would fill in water with the help of a saucer laid on the soil, to prevent splashing and disturbing the soil. This method will likely keep your tank cloudiness to the minimum after set up.

I have also seen some bros here fill up a little amount of water above the soil and proceed on with the planting of plants and then fill up the whole tank.

Maybe other bros can contribute their ideas as well.

Cheers!

[Verminator]

The small wood will surely float when added, so after you can scoop them out. If not, it adds to the natural look of the substrate.

Try not to wash substrates with ferts in at all or if so, very little. Your only weakening the overal power of them and thus reducing the effect they'll have on your plants.

I'd let it be and jsut see how things settle down.

[Shadow]

Why don't you just drain the water as much as possible, and the ADA aquasoil II, plant all your plants and fill the water. I never use Aquabasis before, is it base fert? As far as I know base fert need gravel on top of it, other wise it will dirty the water.

[blue33]

Oh no...! You have just wasted the nutrients of Aquabasis. For using Aquabasis you will put it as first layer, pack abit into position you want follow by ADA Aquasoil on top to prevent Aquabasis from escaping to the top causing cloudy water. Then sprinkle water on top of Aquasoil till moist, let it settle down for approximately 1hr before adding slow water to the tank by using hose on cup or plate to prevent water disturb the gravel. Why let it settle down for 1hr is dust of Aquasoil will settle and harden it at later stage so that it will have less cloudy water column. Infact using Aquasoil you dont need Aquabasis as the base fert anymore as Aquasoil have enough of nutrients itself. I add Aquabasis under my Gex soil to prolong the lifecycle of nutrients longer for my mass stem plant i intend to plant, i believe Gex soil have a shorter nutrient lifecycle than Aquasoil.

What you can do now is dryup the water and let the Aquabasis dry up abit, wait for next day then add Aquasoil on top. Hope it helps to minimize the cloudy water.

Do read more to enhance your knowledge! Take it easy and you will enjoy the hobby!

[blue33]

You dont really need alot of stuff that you bought. Anyway use it since you got it.

[Salphur]

I add Aquabasis under my Gex soil to prolong the lifecycle of nutrients longer for my mass stem plant i intend to plant, i believe Gex soil have a shorter nutrient lifecycle than Aquasoil.

I think aquabasis is a value for money base fert and a combi of Gex/ ADA with this fert makes a great substrate for those who want the best of both worlds.

I do have this feeling that gex seems to be drained of nutrient quite fast though.. gotta run some experiments on this.

Cheers!

[davescube]

An update..
The picture shows how I do water change..
One inlet and one outlet at the same time..
The tank is almost clear now..
Should I start with planting now?
Or I just keep doing water change for a few days first?

[davescube]

Yeah, I dont think that I need gH test kit..
Nah.. i forgot to get NH3 test kit..

[Shadow]

you should actually planting before you fully filled the tank otherwise your water will be cloudy again.

[blue33]

you should actally planting before you fully filled the tank otherwise your water will be cloudy again.

At least he dont have to clear the dust on the leafs. ...