DuzMano's Leddy 60XL 72l

[DuzMano]

So it seems I have snails, guess a hitchhiker from the plants, though thought I did a good job of washing them... It's tiny about 3-4mm in size, no idea what flavour it is (possibly bladder?), it's not particularly welcome mid cycle but if it survives the cycling then I'm loathe to kill it/them...

[Andys temperate tank]

Pick them out with tweezers and bin them but don't crush them in the tank.

[plankton]

If you don't overfeed then they can be useful.
Bladders can get quite pretty shells.

[DuzMano]

Just surprised they're there and alive beings as I'm dosing raw ammonia almost daily....

[DuzMano]

Results after 24 hours of dosing 2ppm of ammonia: 0 ammonia, 0.5 nitrite... So still waiting to breed some more nitrite munchers before stocking, but it's only been 11 or so days, going to dose 4ppm ammonia before going away for the weekend and hopefully when I get back there'll be some more nitrite munchers bred and I can get some consecutive days of 0.

[DuzMano]

Second day of 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite after dosing ammonia to 2ppm 24 hours previously... I say zero, but there is the very faintest of hue in the nitrite test tube, but I've tested my plain old tap water and rainwater straight and that also registers this very feint hue, so I'm saying it's 0... It's certainly not as pronounced a hue as the lightest/lowest numbered square on the scale which denotes 0.25...

I've the day off tomorrow and I'm planning on giving stuff a good clean out. There's loads of scuzz around from melted plants a bit of algae growth on the plants and hardscape (I've had my lights on full for 10 hours a day to help the plants get established so I'll reduce that to 8 hours in the hope the algae diminishes) and a lot of fungal growth on the driftwood which is just plain gross. I've also a lot of melting plants that need trimming back but I've left them to rot as I guessed that's helping boost the ammonia for the cycling but again looking pretty grim. I'd also like to move a few things about ever so slightly and remove a few rocks, shunt a few plants an inch or less without uprooting them as I'd rather a little more sandy foreground than at present while also creating a couple of sandy paths from one side of the tank to the other for the intended kuhlis that will be stocked further down the line. After that I'll do a water change, clean the main filter as my water has lots of particulates in that's not getting removed anymore (I'll leave the nano sponge filter alone, it's just for aeration and seems good still) and also scrape down the glass on the viewing sides and maybe dose ammonia one more time and add another hit of bottle bacteria to boost what I might remove from my clean up job.

Sound reasonable or am I jeapordising my cycle by doing too much in one go?

Maybe, just maybe I can get my first inhabitants at the weekend... I'm leaning towards a half dozen wcmms to start, though tempted to establish the cherry shrimp first, but guessing the fish will be hardier if things don't go to plan. What's the consensus for the best first occupants with you guys?

I'll need to remind myself to drop the temps a couple of degrees as I've been running the tank hotter than I intend to keep it in the vain hope it would encourage the bacterial growths

[DuzMano]

Just also sound out my stocking plan:

My water parameters (other than cycling parameters) have been really consistent since it settled down after the first few days. 14dgh, 12dkh, pH 8, TDS 200ppm. I intend to keep the tank temp at 24c.

I'm looking at adding progressively up to a dozen wcmms, a small colony of cherries (say 6 and see how they get on) 4 kuhlis (I'd like more but don't think my tank is big enough) the freeloading, squatting snails that survived the cycling that likely were eggs on the plants, and a centerpiece fish, leaning to a male honey gourami, with possibly introducing a couple of females much later down the line when I'm more confident of managing the higher stocking level and the potential of breeding...

[plankton]

I wouldn't try keeping honeys or loaches in your hard water, I can't keep them long-term in 8dGH.
Also the minnows will want it much cooler than gourami and loaches.
I presume you mean cherry shimp and not cherry barbs, loaches will probably have a go at shrimp as well as snails.
Sorry...I would look at smaller rainbows instead of the minnows (gertrudae and furcata are lovely and reasonably available) with dwarf anchor cats for the bottom. They will all suit your water.

[DuzMano]

Hmm all the sites that list suitable parameters say that up to 15dgh for loaches and up to 20dgh for honeys. Temps say 24 is the upper for minnows and the lower for the loaches and gourami, I thought I'd done my research well and thoroughly and is why I went for the Asian biotope (guppy grass aside) with the plants for this stocking plan... Guess I should have asked sooner...

And yes I meant cherry shrimp. I was more worried about the gourami with the shrimp, kuhli loaches are listed on numerous shrimp sites as being ok with cherry shrimp whereas I couldn't find much if any about honey gourami, only about the larger anabantoids which are an avoid

The anchor cats look an interesting alternative to the kuhlis, and while the kuhlis look more cool and have dopey, funny little faces, the cats are more suitable and hadn't cropped up in my delving of suitable species so I'd not considered them, thanks for the heads up. Though on first research it's saying not really suitable for beginners...

So I guess now I'm looking for some centerpiece fish to replace the gourami. Needs to be of Asian origin, not mind cooler temps and be ok with shrimp... Any suggestions? The shrimp and the minnows were the two species I'd had it in my heart to keep as a newcomer to the hobby

[DuzMano]

Oh well I'll get on with the cleaning job I have planned for today and dwell on this and doublecheck my sources