How's my water

[mnemenoi]

I could be wrong, but I think the Fluval Edge HOB is the same as the Aquaclear 20.

Pantyhose is cheaper than the Purigen bags, thanks for that tip!

The cloudiness is very, very faint. It's just not crystal clear, like it was before I changed the bio media. It is nothing like the photos above. I didn't even see that much cloudiness during my initial cycle.

I've been replacing 5 quarts of water every week (20%).

Not sure what is in the Fluval Edge...

Pantyhose is the way to go and you can get exactly how much you want for the filter compartment.

My guess is a small bacterial bloom or possibly some trace of dust on the bio-media. Purigen should help or a water polisher pad in your filter. My water was never as nice and crystal clear without the purigen. Its magic beans

20% water change is decent with a low bioload, just depends on what you have in the tank. If I remember correctly you have microrasbora and shrimp? Can't remember the type of shrimp, but they do well with smaller water changes. What are your parameters on the tank?

[Parzival]

5 boraras merah, about .5 inch
2 spotted blue-eye, about .8 inch
2 amano shrimp, about .8 inch
3 blueberry shrimp, about .25 inch
3 zebra nerites, about .3 inch

[mnemenoi]

I saw your thread about the merah or bridgette earlier and my bridgette did not color up until they were in soft low Ph water (>6.0 and low TDS) so yours might be bridgette. They get mixed up all the time and there seems to be a half dozen species that look nearly identical.

We have a pair of spotted blue eyes and they are awesome, just need a devoted tank for more.

Are your blueberry shrimp the Sulawesi type or the bee type? these common names always get crazy.

I am assuming you are going with tap water? Ph of 7-8ish? If so let me know how your boraras do, I have seen some mixed results on keeping them in hard water and would like to hear your opinion. I'm sure your blue eyes will love it.

With that sort of bioload your schedule should be fine. I might go twice a week, but I always notice my fish love water changes.

[Parzival]

I saw your thread about the merah or bridgette earlier and my bridgette did not color up until they were in soft low Ph water (>6.0 and low TDS) so yours might be bridgette. They get mixed up all the time and there seems to be a half dozen species that look nearly identical.

I agree it's hard to know for sure what they are. I'm using tap water and a very basic de-chlorinator. I have an RO machine but I was advised against using it. I can also filter tap water through a coconut carbon block filter. My aquarium pH seems to stay around 7.6.

Are your blueberry shrimp the Sulawesi type or the bee type? these common names always get crazy.

I've no idea; They are so small I can hardly ever find them, and they don't have much pigment yet. I got 'em from Armthehomeless last Saturday.

I am assuming you are going with tap water? Ph of 7-8ish? If so let me know how your boraras do, I have seen some mixed results on keeping them in hard water and would like to hear your opinion. I'm sure your blue eyes will love it.

The boraras seem fine to me so far, but I'm about as novice as they come. In the last few days one of my blue-eyes has been spending most of his time hanging out near the HOB; I think he likes the current.

I have 5 CPD's on the way (aquabid) and at that point I'm afraid I'll be maxing the bioload on this thing. And then I'll want some plants. Nobody warned me how addictive this is, sigh ... anyone taking bets on whether I'll go pick up a hospital tank tomorrow? lol

[mnemenoi]

We know you pain, lol. We are up to 10 aquariums and 3 vivariums and have 3 tanks in the garage just waiting.

Those Blueberries are Sulawesi, we got the same type from Tim. They are much harder to locate elsewhere and have little mentioned on the net about them. You can look over other shrimp from the region for a good idea about their behaviors. Try looking up Cardinal shrimp and it should be a good start.

Ph and water parameters are best left until later, they can get way out of whack quickly if you are new to the hobby. Out of all my tanks I have one 6 gallon that is soft water and its a royal pain. It is fun and great for understanding water parameters, but if it tanks and crashes I knew what I was getting into. First and solitary tanks should not be headaches.

There are a lot of good folks on here that have plants when you start looking. Keep with low light and you should be golden. I have seen some lighting upgrades on the planted tank and around online when you decide to go that route. Hit me up if you can't locate the links and I'd be happy to help out if your having trouble with something. We all started somewhere and I now know when to ask for advice.

[Parzival]

This seems like the easiest lighting upgrade for the edge: http://www.partsandmedia.com/a13926.html

[mistahoo]

This seems like the easiest lighting upgrade for the edge: http://www.partsandmedia.com/a13926.html

A bit pricey though. You could DIY a lighting upgrade

[Parzival]

I've seen some DIY kits for 300-400$ ... Could probably do a true DIY cheaply with parts from digikey, but I have too many projects right now. But yeah, that light costs almost what I paid for my edge :)

[mistahoo]

I've seen some DIY kits for 300-400$ ... Could probably do a true DIY cheaply with parts from digikey, but I have too many projects right now. But yeah, that light costs almost what I paid for my edge :)

Not the DIY kits, those are too expensive. I meant to go out and buy stuff to DIY

[mnemenoi]

The 10,000K LED lamp replacement seemed very reasonable, I would stick with low tech (no CO2) and you should be great with low-medium plants. Mosses, crypts, Anubias, would all be minimal maintanance and not require constantly getting into the tank to trim

[mistahoo]

The 10,000K LED lamp replacement seemed very reasonable, I would stick with low tech (no CO2) and you should be great with low-medium plants. Mosses, crypts, Anubias, would all be minimal maintanance and not require constantly getting into the tank to trim

Not to thread jack, but are those the only low-medium plants? I wanted to make the 100gal a partially planted and didn't want anything that requires CO2 or any extra equipment. I'm not too worried about maintenance on the plants as I could do that.

[mnemenoi]

Those are just what I would do in a Fluval and be minimally invasive for pruning. In larger tanks I would recommend vals, Crinium, swords, and some stems. I had Wisteria as an Nitrate export in my bicher tank. Just depends on what you are wanting appearance-wise. With Silver Dollars I would go with Crinium, Java Fern, and mosses as they are the only thing they avoided eating or at least ate little of it.

[mistahoo]

Those are just what I would do in a Fluval and be minimally invasive for pruning. In larger tanks I would recommend vals, Crinium, swords, and some stems. I had Wisteria as an Nitrate export in my bicher tank. Just depends on what you are wanting appearance-wise. With Silver Dollars I would go with Crinium, Java Fern, and mosses as they are the only thing they avoided eating or at least ate little of it.

Silver dollars are going since I've found new dithers to take their place and thanks for the info!

[Totenkampf]

i dont much care for low wattage LEDs for plants, i think that they are lacking in their color spectrum because i get better growth from spiral compacts than these things. its a shame that there isnt a better inexpensive option for nano tanks. the low light stuff mentioned might be okay and some stem plants could work too although they wont get reds coming out and they may get leggy. if someone were to come out with a sub-100$ clip on fixture that features 3 x 3W Cree emitters they would probably make some cash.

[Parzival]

That sounds like a kickstarter project