AhVy's first planted tank

[AhVy]

Hihi bros/sis...

After reading so much on iwagumi style, planted tanks..etc...
I decided to start a small low tech tank.

I'm totally new to this..so need all the advice I can get!

And this is Day 4 photo. Water becoming cloudy since yesterday and I've since done 2 water changes of about 20%.

Here are some more info:

Tank Dimensions: 30x17x20 cm

Lighting Intensity(No of Watts) : LED - Aquazonic double bright lights at 6.72 watts
No. of hours your lights are on : 8-10hrs a day

CO2 Injection Rate (bps) : I didn't use C02 system, but I used Seachem Excel (I read from somewhere that for small tanks...this is okay? I was initially using C02 tablets, but I heard it doesn't work.)
Type of CO2 (DIY/Cylinder) : Nil
Method of Injection (e.g. Diffusor/Reactor) : Nil

Liquid fertilisers Used (Product name. E.g. Seachem Flourish) : Waterplant Fertiliser (see photo)
Fertilization regime (Frequency and amount per dose) : 1ml per day

Other fertilisers (Product name. E.g. Root Monster) : Oceanfree Iron Supplement (see photo)

Other additives (Product name. E.g. Seachem Prime) :

Type of Filter (overhead/internal/canister, Product name/model if possible) : internal
When was the filter last washed : Nil
Filter media used : Sponge + Odyssea Nitrate remover sponge (cut out a small piece from my existing cycled fish tank.)
When was the media last changed : Nil
What was changed : Nil

Age of setup (i.e. since initial setup or last major re-do ) : 4 days

Water change frequency : daily
Amount changed : 20%

Water surface movement (None/gentle/turbulent) : gentle (internal filter with rainbar)
Circulation (None/gentle/turbulent) : gentle

Tank Temperature :

Chemical Properties (Fill what you can)
-------------------------------------
KH (dKH): 3
GH (dGH): 4
pH : <7.4
NH4 (ppm): <0.25
NO2 (ppm): 4
NO3 (ppm): 100

Bioload (Number and type of fish and plants)
------------------------------------------
4 x lamp-eyed tetra
2 x sakura shrimps
1 x yamato shrimps
Plants - Hairgrass only
Substrate - Planta Soil

My questions are....
Am I planting my hairgrass correctly spaced out?
Are my lights adequate?
My nitrite and nitrate readings are very high...should I do water change on a daily basis?
Since I'm not using any C02 injection/system, is using the Seachem Excel enough?
Am I overdosing for a small tank?
Cloudly water is okay?

[felix_fx2]

IMHO, well done on planting.
the rocks or are they slates? their pointy like my 1.5 feet.

Am I planting my hairgrass correctly spaced out? - Yes, but you can do even better with practice
Are my lights adequate? - no comments, good leds normally are those CREE based, will need other people who have better in depth knowledge to advise.
My nitrite and nitrate readings are very high...should I do water change on a daily basis? - do a small WC daily, if your seeded bb builds it should go down to safe levels faster.
Since I'm not using any C02 injection/system, is using the Seachem Excel enough? - Excel is supplement to Co2, but surface to air exchange also dissolve co2
Am I overdosing for a small tank? - whats the recommended dosage ratio like? you can guage based on the recommended as reference. but adjust along the way slowly.
Cloudly water is okay? - it will clear with time.

[AhVy]

Thks felix! Yea I think they are slates....haha
I still got a long waaay to go....

[tanclancy]

Hi!
I'm a newbie too.. But I read somewhere that some people use fast growing water plants like hornworts to keep the nitrates levels down.. Dont know if it is in line with your current design, but it might be a rather cost effective alternative in my opinion? also, very pretty tank!

[stormhawk]

Your tank has not undergone the full cycling phase, hence the reason why you have a nitrite and nitrate spike. Did you measure for ammonia? In such conditions, shrimps and fish will be highly stressed. You have not given ample time for the filter bacteria to mature the filter before adding fish and shrimp. Cloudy water is normal for newly set up tanks, even with a seeding of filter bacteria from an existing tank, and it usually disappears after a few days. 4 days is too short to add in your livestock.

Just to be safe, I'd advise you to move your livestock to your existing tank, and let the tank mature before placing them back in. This is for their well-being and for you to avoid a sudden die-off if the ammonia spikes.