7 entries · Page 1 of 1
Finally swapped out my old CO2 diffuser situation, the ceramic disc I had wedged near the ADA solar rgb mount was clogging constantly and I was cleaning it like every three days just to get decent mist. Bubbles kept getting bigger and bigger until it basically stopped diffusing at all. New one's been running clean for a few days now with way finer mist and way less maintenance. Annoyed I didn't just replace it sooner instead of babying the old one along.
Nothing really to report this week. Fish are fine, plants are doing their normal thing, no algae outbreaks, no dead anything. Kind of a boring stretch honestly.
Did the weekly change and a light trim on the pinnatifida since a couple leaves were getting leggy. Took way longer than it should have, almost an hour total between vacuuming the bare substrate spots carefully so I don't uproot the monte carlo and trimming around the moss without shredding it. Worth it though, water's crystal clear now and the trimmed pinnatifida already looks tidier.
Added the first neons today, letting the bag float in the tank to acclimate for a bit before I let them out. Only got six to start, wanted to make sure the tank was stable before going bigger with the rummynose later. I ended up wasting way too much time trying to name them individually which is impossible with neons since they all look the same, gave up and just started calling the whole group "the squad." carpet still has bare patches and everything's small still but seeing fish actually moving through the scape makes it feel like an actual tank now instead of just planted soil.
Noticed a thin oily looking film on the surface this morning, classic new tank stuff from the soil breaking in. Water column itself is clear at least, no green haze or anything. Dosed a little excel and knocked the film down with a paper towel skim, mostly out of impatience more than necessity. No diatoms on the glass yet but I'm expecting the brown dusting any day now given the timeline. Carpet is still just small separate patches, hasn't started spreading. Moss looks the same, thin and stringy. Just waiting this stage out.
Filled her today and got the filter running. Water's hazy from the amazonia, expected that. Dosed prime before adding water since I filled straight from the tap this time, didn't want to risk it with fresh substrate leaching stuff. Planted monte carlo in small clumps up front, still a lot of bare soil showing between them. Moss is barely tied on, looks thin wrapped around the wood right now. Pinnatifida and anubias just wedged into the crevices for now until they root in. No fish yet, just letting it run.
Put the wood and stone in dry today, no water yet. Moved the main branch around probably six times before it sat right. Showed my partner and she just said "it's a bunch of sticks in a box" lol. Fair enough, hard to picture it filled in. Gonna let it sit like this a day or two before I commit.