Need Help With Tankscape

[MarcJoshua]

Hello fellow forumers, just set up my apisto tank for my incoming lil buggers. Have partitioned the tank into 2 cos of difference in species. I need your opinions on whether I need an air pump and more cover, any advice on what I should add? Btw, where do you guys get those small flower pots? Was thinking daiso but then have yet to check it out. Oh and my apistos will only be coming in next week, tank has been running the whole day. Any advice on what I can do to make the water parameters more hospitable for them? And do i need fish in it to help the tank cycle faster? Was thinking of adding Ottos. I've already added probotic bacteria culture from waterlife bought from NKS.











All pics taken on a canon 400D, ISO 400 & 200, F8 & 11, EFS 18-55mm Lens.

[stormhawk]

Looking good Marc. I hope you'll consider plugging the gaps between the divider plate, and the back and front tank panels. The holes on the divider plate will need to be plugged too, to prevent fry and occasionally the small females, from going from one partition to the other. You might want to consider changing the divider to one with lesser holes in it, like the ones me and altezza used. There's only 9 holes so plugging them is easy.

You don't need to add any fish at the moment, until you are ready to purchase the Apistos. Get a bag of aquarium peat (either Sera or Eheim), put it in a filter bag and just leave it in the tank. Helps to acidify the water. If you used ketapang leaves, be prepared to deal with disintegrating leaves. Get a bottle of Tetra's Blackwater Extract if you can.

You can purchase the small ceramic caves from most LFS. I got all of my caves from C328. But apistos can make do with just the ferns and mosses tied to coconut husk pieces. Not a necessity to buy those caves.

[MarcJoshua]

Thanks stormhawk, hmmm the holes on the divider are really quite small but will try to plug them up anyways. Hmmm peat... will try to get my hand on some. Any idea on the price? Cave wise will try looking for more tomorrow when i'm getting the peat. btw, does java moss sink naturally or do i have to tie it to a weight?

[stormhawk]

I think they cost less than $20 per box. You don't need much. Get a box, and a filter bag. Fill up the filter bag, close it and just dump it in the tank. Less messier than using ketapang leaves. Once those leaves start to rot, they slowly turn into a slimy mush and can pretty much mess up a tank with detritus.

On the gaps, even the tiniest one may allow a small fry to pass through. Better not take the chance and just plug up everything to be safe.

Java Moss may float around initially. I usually just buy them already tied to a piece of wood or coconut husk. Sometimes I just buy a ball of moss and wedge them amongst my Java Fern in the Apisto tanks. So far so good.

[MarcJoshua]

Oh yeah.... forgot how small fries can get. Especially dwarves. LOL! Alright thanks for the great advice!

[stormhawk]

Another thing I forgot to add. Since you don't have fish to aid in the cycling, just drop a pinch of fish food in, so the bacteria have the nutrients for growth.

On the day you intend to place the Apistos in, test the water for pH, ammonia and nitrite. Target pH for most Apisto keepers is pH 5 to 6.5. There should not be any trace of ammonia or nitrite.

[MarcJoshua]

Alrighty. Thanks a million man!

[MarcJoshua]

Just did a pH test. Water is at pH 6.8. Is it still too high? I have bought some black water extract though. Hope it will help. Getting my peat moss on monday. my nitrite test is just finished. Its at 0.25 ppm or 0.25 mg/L. How do i get it down to 0?

[altezza_87]

pH 6.8 still not very ideal. but they will survive if you acclimatise them properly. If you want them to really show their colours and breed, give them lower pH.
anyone correct me if i am wrong.

[stormhawk]

It is normal for the tank to initially have a slight reading for nitrites. Once the bacteria responsible for breaking down nitrites have established themselves, it will go to zero.

As for the pH, at 6.8, some will breed and may successfully hatch and raise their fry. But for others, 6.8 may not make them breed or have any success in hatching their fry. Usually tank-bred fish from the farms should be fine with pH at 6.8.

[burpz]

Alternatively, you can seed beneficial bacteria with filter material from an established tank. You could also throw in a piece of market prawn and let it go through the rotting process.

[MarcJoshua]

Alright thanks! Hmmm MP... in my tank... eew. I haven't added my peat moss yet. Getting from NKS tomorrow when the stock comes in. Haha. Anyways, what do I feed them? Decap BSE? Frozen BWs? Pellet food?

[burpz]

Mp is very good bro... Cycled both my pass ARO and marine tanks with mp with no issues... IMHO... Don't get the fishes when they just arrive.. let them stabilize in the LFS a couple days... Recover from the trama of transportation...

Food wise, nls 1mm pellets, frozen bw? Mine seem to be doing well on frozen mysis.

[MarcJoshua]

Hmmm okay thanks! Will my adding peat moss help with lowering the pH any further?

[stormhawk]

Yes. But be careful with what type of peat you are using. I would just stick to aquarium-grade peat, or peat that you positively know, that has nothing else added to it.

On the market prawn bit, it's good, but don't use a whole prawn. All you need is a small piece. Even a small tab of fish food is enough to "power" the bacteria up. Seeding the tank, you have all sorts of methods, be it a squeezing of mulm from an old established filter or a handful of gravel from a mature and stable tank, or just a bacterial culture starter from the LFS.

I went with Waterlife BacterLife to seed my recent Eden 501, especially since I have a hair algae problem in the main tank. Did not want to spread the hair algae to my 2footer.

[MarcJoshua]

I'm using waterlife Bacterlife. Hmmm nitrites seem to be at 0 but my pH is still a tad too high at 6.8-7... Getting ocean free pro peat granules from NKS later. Quick question: can i just mix the granules with my substrate? Or should I use a filter bag? Is one bag weighing in at 500gms enough?

[stormhawk]

Use a filter bag, so you can remove it whenever you please. It's more for ease of maintenance than anything else, if you placed it in a filter bag. Think of it as a bag of Lipton tea.

500 grams should be sufficient for a 2ft tank. There should be some information on the amount required for a 2ft tank. I just use a handful in a small filter bag and dumped it into my breeding tank.

[burpz]

Use a filter bag, so you can remove it whenever you please. It's more for ease of maintenance than anything else, if you placed it in a filter bag. Think of it as a bag of Lipton tea.

500 grams should be sufficient for a 2ft tank. There should be some information on the amount required for a 2ft tank. I just use a handful in a small filter bag and dumped it into my breeding tank.

Hi bro, means you use a combination of peat and apple cider? Or could I use just apple cider alone?

[cory]

Hi storm,

Which one will be the preferred method to lower the pH? Peat moss or apple cider? Recently saw some peat moss at polyart, think the brand was azoo. Unsure whether to get some as from the box package the peat moss looked messy. Any good brand to recommend?

Was thinking of getting some to induce my agazzi red & amadeus pair to spawn.

Thanks.

[MarcJoshua]

Hi guys, just got my peat yesterday, today pH is down to roughly 6 to 6.2. Seem alright aye?