Posted my welcome post on Tuesday, then got planting... as promised, here is a little log of my progress and plans
The Tank
So the tank was initially used for a reef tank closed down around a year ago. Its been cleaned out thoroughly and I was tempted to sell the full setup and buy a new cheaper unit, but I really love the look of it.
It is a Fluval M90, 90 x 42 x 40cm, comprising of 4 rear compartments which will house my filter (Eheim pickup 200), heater (150w Aqueal platinum) and circulation pump (600lph, but I mistakenly initiially put in my 2500lph pump... lets just say there would have been a shrimp tornado had I left it!)
I replaced my Razor reef lighting for a Fluval Aquasky led 2, which has a nice Bluetooth controller.
The only other adjustment I really needed to make was to cover the overflow as the gaps were pretty big and I don't want anyone sneaking in, for now I have just weaved some plastic mesh but I may change this, open to ideas!
Hardscape
20kg fine black gravel, Driftwood / Cholla wood, Dragon stone, Indian Almond leaves, Banana leaves (still floating in bucket), Alder cones (if they ever arrive...)
Plants
Wisteria (Hygrophilia difformis)
Ludwiga repens
Bacopa caroliniana
Water Trumpet (Cryptocoryne beckettii)
Narrow leaf eelgrass (Vallisneria nana)
Java moss
Brazilian micro sword (Lilaeopsis brasiliensis)
Red root floater (Phyllanthus fluitans) had to made a ring for these so that they don't get pulled up to the overflow, thought I may eventually corner it off and let them take over
Water conditions
The water from my tap is very hard, after adding dechlorinator and leaving for 24hrs, here are the params:
PH: Using NH labs test kit, it looks a lot less than 8, but definitely over 7. Using my API test kit it is maxed at 7.6... so I'm guessing its around 7.7ish
Ammonia/Nitrites/Nitates: 0
KH: 11
GH: 16
TDS: 450
Tank Params today
Temperature: 23.5 celcius
PH: 7.5 (was 7.2 but I done a small waterchange to see how it would affect, so I'm expecting this to drop back down)
Ammonia/Nitrites/Nitates: 0
KH: 8
GH: 15
TDS: 380
Planned stock!
Nothing in there at the moment obviously, planning on something like this
Red Rili Shrimp
Tangerine Tiger Shrimp
Sparking Gouramis
Forktail Rainbows
Chilli Rasbora's (Always wanted to keep these but my tank mates have always been too big, they do prefer soft water though...)
Anyway, that's where I currently sit, plan on getting the Rili's first and letting them own the tank for a few months and then go from there.
I am going to be doing a silent cycle for the first time after seeing a friend successfully do so, my bioload is going to be minimal and I'm currently out of work so have plenty of time to spy on the tank! The plants have all already grown nicely since planting, I have not yet used any liquid carbon or ferts, just a couple of root tabs when they were planted. Going to give it another week or so to build up more biofilm and ensure the PH is stable.
Here's my FTS
