Notes, failures, and minor successes of an underwater gardener
It's been three weeks since I set up the new 20-gallon long tank in the home office. The ammonia levels finally dropped to zero yesterday, and the nitrites are spiking just like they should. I used some ceramic filter media from the main display tank to seed the new sponge filter, which definitely sped up the nitrogen cycle. I'm hoping to add the first school of ember tetras by next weekend if the water parameters hold steady.
Nobody likes talking about their failures, but the Black Beard Algae (BBA) has returned with a vengeance in the 40-gallon breeder. I think I let the CO2 levels fluctuate too much when the cylinder ran out while I was on vacation last month. I've started spot treating the hardscape with liquid carbon using a syringe and reduced the photoperiod on the LED light down to 6 hours. Let's just hope the Anubias recovers before the leaves are completely smothered.
Just a brief update on the 10-gallon Neocaridina tank. The colony is absolutely thriving right now! I spotted at least three berried (pregnant) females hiding out in the thick patch of java moss this morning. Dropping an algae wafer into the glass feeding dish turns into an absolute feeding frenzy within minutes. I might need to start selling some culls to the local fish store soon before they completely overpopulate the tank.