Pictures!

From the right side...  which is kinda the front..

Notch

from the "front" side

The Move...

I won't be getting my new plants until next Friday..  I'm always impatient with these things.

I pulled out the HC and found why it likely wasn't a success...  looks like there was some salt particles still attached to the roots and settled under it in the substrate..  I didn't rinse it enough clearly...  At least I think it was salt.  Hopefully, the Glossostigma will do better.

The snails are already gorging themselves on the algae that has developed throughout the time the tank was cycling.  And Notch, my beta is settling in.

Wo0t! Nearly cycled...

Did a testing of the water - Nitrites have finally dropped!  5ppm to .25ppm ^.^  Soon enough, I'll be able to move the rest of the tank inhabitants over!

WOOOHOOO!

In other news, I am planning of pulling up the HC and getting glossostigma, some dwarf sag and some barcopa.

Pearling!

I was excited to see some pearling - evidence of plant exhalation which is a great sign.  It's not excessive, and so in photos it may not show unless I had a super crazy good camera..  but it's pearling none the less...  tiny bubble of oxygen are being released from the leaves of the plants - specifically the HC leaves and the Hygros..

 So, you can see the browned out dead old portions of the plant...  these were the emersed growth from when I first got the plant...  Despite the die back, there are little tiny new leaves and steams starting to grow through...  so, give it some time and it will begin to carpet...  They were certainly pearling as well.

To the left, you can see the regrowth on the Vals that died back...  I've also seen new shoots from the swords both amazon and argentine..  and the Dwarf lilies are just amazing as always.  The most surprise I have had is with the Hygros...  they very rarely have shed any leaves..  and usually they are the worst in replanting.  They've been growing fantastically, and the interesting part is how the new leaves are growing in on top almost in a swirly way...

I'm not sold on the Pennywart still - maybe I didn't plant them correctly, but I'll keep them in for now.

The Lace Javafern has new growth as well as the Anubia I propagated.  If only the tank would finish it's cycle so I could move in the fish/snails and the final anubia...

A few days..

So...  been a few days since I've provided an update on the tank.  I'm still showing high nitrite - and the ammonia I add each day is getting consumed.  I'm still getting nitrate readings, but they fluctuate based on plant consumption...  I'll do another water change tomorrow...  The nitrites and nitrates are showing little to no effect on the pond snails..  they've began to grow - I'm about to surrender, at least until I can get an assassin snail...

Speaking of snails - I've been able to keep track of one Nerite in my 3gallon waiting tank...  the second one is MIA - I've looked everywhere, but it likes to burrow in the sand..  just hoping it didn't happen to die..  I'll keep an eye out.

The oto unfortunately did not make it - likely due to starvation, my attempts to feed him were unsuccessful as the beta decided it really likes anything I put in the tank be it algea wafer or zucchini.  At a later time I may consider another attempt with otos.  The beta however has sustained some tail damage - either biting or harassment of the other inhabitants resulting in biting..  I'm thinking it's likely boredom to be honest - yes beta's can get bored...  The water in the 3 gallon is pristine by the testing, and I'm diligently keeping it that way to promote healthy regrowth and prevent any bacterial infections like fin rot.

A bit of algae is growing on the new tank walls - I'm okay with this as it will provide good nourishment for the nerites once they are re-homed..  but that does signify that I need more CO2..

I'm not liking the pennywort and I will be removing it in place for another stem plant - surprisingly the Hygros are growing like CRAZY!  I'm so shocked by this as they usually drop leaves when replanted due to stress and regrow - I've not seen any leave shedding at all...  They'll make for a nice mid-plant and I may end up getting some other hygros to replace the pennywort.  Maybe some Water Sprite - Also looking at finding a floating plant - not duckweed though..  maybe some water lettuce..   I just want to make sure the HC gets enough light..  I may have to anchor the floating plants to a specific area...  depends on how well the Vals grow back in...

Super Excited!

I recently purchased an additional Fluval light for the tank.  Each light is 13w a piece for a total of 26w of light into the tank.

How much light is good light?

So, 2w per gallon is generally okay...  I have a 7.9 gallon tank, so that would be a requirement of 15w by minimum standards and that's more than a single 13w...  Maybe okay for low light plants, but I have some high light starved plants in there.  As the article mentions, 3-4w is best with added CO2..  26w should be a nice middle ground of 3-4w per gallon of water.

I've also started to see some new growth from the HC that was dying back.  Likely due to acclimation and adjusting to the new conditions.  (submerged vs emmersed)

I'll be doing a 50% water change today, the nitrites are high and have been for the past few days with no reprieve.  Though I have sky high Nitrates so that is evidence that the nitrite is being converted to Nitrate...  so the bacteria are there..  just might be more bacteria producing the nitrite than can be consumed...

Week One Complete

Week 1 comes to a close.  Ammonia is still setting at about 2ppm.  Nitrites are off the charts at above 5ppm and Nitrates at sitting at 80ppm.

The plants are getting established.  More growth is seen on the HC and the Vals are begining to regrow.  This is good news!  With the nitrates high, the plants will be sucking up that up and I hope to see some nice growth. I've got some new buds on the pennywart and a new growth on the java lace...  the star right now is the dwarf lily..  5 leaves have grown huge and tall..  I'll be cutting those back soon so they don't shade the HC.

I'll have more pictures soon...