5 entries · Page 1 of 1
Things are looking way better now, monte carlo finally spreading between the rocks instead of just sitting in clumps. Had an issue with the canister losing a bit of flow, turned out the intake was half clogged with plant bits so I pulled it out and gave it a good rinse, flow's back to normal. Still a little sparse in spots but way better than a month ago.
Added a small group of harlequin rasboras today, cycle finally read where I wanted it. They were pretty skittish first hour, hid behind the wood and barely moved. By evening a couple of them came out and started schooling loosely near the moss. No losses so far which is a relief. Going to hold off on the shrimp and chili rasboras for a bit longer.
Two weeks into cycling and the plants look rough honestly. Monte carlo is just these sad little clumps with tons of bare substrate between them, moss is thin and stringy looking. Water's clear at least which is nice. No fish yet, just waiting on the cycle. Trying not to worry about the plants, I know this stage always looks worse than it is.
Filter's running now, water's in. Set the heater to 76 for now since the rasboras and chili rasboras don't need it too warm, might bump it a degree once everything's actually living in there. No livestock at all yet, just letting the filter and heater do their thing while it cycles.
Got the hardscape placed today, no water yet. The rock is actually leftover from my parents' old pond they tore out years ago, been sitting in my garage forever waiting for a tank worth using it in. Wood is just a piece I picked up at the fish store, nothing special, just liked the shape of it for this size cube. Substrate is down, bag of the rest sitting next to the tank still. My kid kept asking why there's no fish in it yet, had to explain the whole dry start thing again.
