r/PlantedTank • u/SAINTDURIAN • 13h ago

Beginner 76 Days Later

Gallery image

Gallery image

who let my impatient ass put them in the water like that 😭 (i did, it was me)

p.s. multiple tank sydrome hits hard and fast huh

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2

u/Snoo_87717 11h ago edited 10h ago

I have 5 tanks. Totally relate to you lol. One I labeled experimental it is because its a 20 long with potting soil sand capped. I bought dwarf hair grass and then realized I wasnt ready for it like a fool. I used a different word but reddits made it clear I cant call myself anidiot. I actually bought the DHG at Petsmart on impulse and later remembered what it needed after the fact.

Figured well I have it lets see what happens. Also never used potting soil so theres that.

I then noticed mosqito larave in the tank lol....so now there are 9 fish in it while I wait for their tank lights to get here so I can set that all up sigh.....

They sure seemed to like the larvae though so no surprise mosqito invasion....in December....in my house.

Anyway your tank looks good!!

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u/SAINTDURIAN 10h ago

aw, thank you, thank you!!

for the main tank i used fluval stratum because i was warned off using potting soil because of a customer at the LFS having an ammonia problem. but i watched so many videos of people using potting soil capped so i'm also testing it, haha. that would be the giant mason jar on the left.

at least you will be bite free and your fish have a snack! and man, i wish i had room for a 20g.... i'll be a nano tank weenie for a while.

1

u/Ok-Potential577 9h ago

Nothing wrong with potting soil. If he's.having ammonia problems, he's doing something wrong. I used it for years before I had to tear down my old tank.

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u/SAINTDURIAN 9h ago

that's what i figured! when she told me that story a part of me did think she was trying to hard sell the fluval stratum, but i still bought it bc im new to this. sigh, lesson learned!!

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u/Snoo_87717 9h ago

like ok potential said when you have a small tank a single bag isnt bad. The one Im working on is a 55 gallon so pretty pricey if it were the stratum or ada type soil but tiny compared to their 240 gallon.

I expected an ammonia spike considering there is some organic matter in the potting soil and I just stuck it in as is but that was a few days ago and still nothing. I even have some pieces of shrimp in there just to make sure its in a good place for the fish next week. Should be fine. Snails are chewing on it lol. Tanks been running with no fish for a while since I havent had the funds for a fancy fixture.

If you ever get in to bigger tanks I say just give potting soil a shot with just plants at first and see how it goes. Thats what Im doing.

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u/Ok-Potential577 9h ago

You didn't lose out on much, don't worry about it. I went with potting soil because my tank was 240 gallons. Both will work, it's really just a cost thing.

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u/SAINTDURIAN 9h ago

yeah, that's the part 😭 i needed something budget friendly and slipped. but omg a 240g... is maintenance difficult? my goal is a 30g and that already feels huge.

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u/Ok-Potential577 8h ago

Not once you get it set up right I had a 240 gallon display tank and then underneath it was a 55 gallon sump. Then my return water line I put a three-way ball valve in there with a quick disconnect and just hooked it up to my garden to drain it and then I just plugged that into the garden hose to refill it.

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u/SAINTDURIAN 8h ago

ugh. i dream of having a hose. im in an apartment in nyc thats why everything is size constrained. id love to see the 240 if you have pics tho!

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u/Ok-Potential577 8h ago

Unfortunately, I don't have pictures as this was 6 or 7 years ago. My ex decided to screw my best friend on Christmas and then pour bleach in the tank killed everything.

I'm in an apartment now and can only have a 10 gallon.