???s - water quality & driftwood

dwayne

dwayne

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Jul 12, 2001
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Boston, MA
Tomorrow is my "tank redecorating" day... adding live driftwood and maybe some plants!! In preparation, I tested my water last night (for the first time in a looooong time). The reason I stopped testing was because for like 7 months I'd get exactly the same readings all the time. Last night's readings were the same as they always were!

Ammonia 0
NitrItes 0
NitrAtes 20-40 (hard to tell for sure)
ph 6.5
temp ~78

Filter Info:
Top Fin 30 - Black Diamond carbon
Tetra Whisper 30 - Ammo chips (can't remember brand)

My water is always crystal clear (except right after a vacuum). I've never had a foul smell, and like I said, my test readings are always the same.

sidebar: Why ammo chips? About 2 years ago I had a lot of problems with my water quality (ammonia specifically, it spiked big time even tho I hadn't added any new fish in eons, we assume it was something w/ the tap water, because the city would never return my inquiries!) My uncle recommended using ammo chips in one of my filters, along with water changes (he said it's better on the fish than ammo-lock liquid, he's been keeping fish for years, so I totally trusted him). I just continue to use them, why mess with what works?!

My questions:

1. Will the driftwood lower my already kinda low ph? It's been soaking for over a week now and the water it's soaking in is clear (the tinting is gone)

2. I'll be adding some java fern and moss and maybe anubies (sp??) if I can find some anywhere in the state of Massachusetts... will my filter media be harmful to the plants?

3. I don't have the money right now to invest in new lighting. I currently have whatever came with the tank... but from what I've been told and what I've read, the java moss and fern will grow pretty well no matter the lighting... is this true?

OK, that's about it :D
TIA for any advice/help you can offer!

~Tara

edited for spelling.
 
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1. It might. It will depend on the tannins--if it's not leaching many, it shouldn't cause too big a change. Still worth monitoring, just to be safe.

2. It shouldn't. The plants will use ammonia and nitrates, which since you still have, means you have lots of bacteria functioning or are importing nitrates with your water. Either way, the plants will still have a food source. You'll want to watch the nitrates--if they drop significantly, you'll want to look into supplemental fertilizing.

3. Can't say this about java moss, but java ferns, yes. My java ferns have less then 1 wpg, and are thriving. Java moss, I've never been able to get it to grow without high light and CO2. But, that's me--others have great success with it in low light tanks.
 
1. Depending on your KH, the driftwood may lower your pH a tad but not much. I have very low KH and my driftwood only lowered my pH by .1-.2 If you have a decent KH and the driftwood has been soaking you shouldn't have a big problem. That being said, you should monitor it.

2. With Java Fern and Java Moss its hard to imagine the carbon in your filter would cause much of a problem. When you really get into it and start adding ferts and growing different plants it may be something to look at. Forget Anubias. Its not so easy to find around here, needs a fair amount of light (I'm guessing you have a 20w bulb on the 29g) and grows slow. Instead try crypts. They're more tolerant of the lower light and will grow quickly in higher light. You might also be able to try some sword plants but they generally like a little more light.

3. All those plants should do okay in a 29 with a 20w bulb. Unfortunately there really isn't a cheap, bright light solution for a 29g tank. I went the AH Supply route with mine and have been happy but it cost me $70. If you can find a twin bulb flourescent set up that would give you 40w of light which would put you at almost 1.4 WPG. It would be better but not worth more than $20 IMO. Better to save the pennies for a Power Compact kit from AH.

Where are you going for plants?

Tom

EDIT: Number 3 is complete opinion and personal experience. Your results may vary ;)
 
OG ~ Thanks!!

Tom ~ I tested the hardness of my water, but didn't do the 'math' to figure it out... the carbon hardness I only had to add 1 drop, the general hardness was 3 drops... hey, it was late... but I think that's soft water. Crypts, I'll check those out. As for where to buy the plants, I have no idea! I looked at a few PetSmarts and PetCos around here and none of them carry any java moss or ferns. I called Lovey Pets in Quincy last weekend and they had ferns. I may make a trek down there Saturday. Boston Tropical fish/retpile has a TON of plants, but they appear to have a major snail infestation in all their plant tanks, so I will not buy from them. I have to call the store in Framingham to see what they have in stock.

~Tara
 
If you have the Hagen KH/GH test kit then you have EXTREMELY low KH. One drop would be 10mg/l I think IIRC. that's pretty low. I still don't think you'll have a crash from the Driftwood but you definitely want to monitor it.

Check in the Aquatic Plants forum. If snails bother you that much you can give them a bleach dip to kill them and the eggs off. I forget the bleach to water ratio and the time you're supposed to dip them for which is why I say check the AP forum :)

Tropic Isle in Framingham always has a tank marked as java moss and java fern it always has java fern in it but I have never seen java moss in there. They usually have crypts and some sword plants too. They have giant Amazon Swords there if you're ever looking for one. Instant background plant :D

Tom
 
Tom ~ thanks! I'm very hesitant about doing a bleach dip, even though it's safe if you do it right... but I'll drop in to Tropic Isle tomorrow and see what they have. I'd much rather drive to Framingham than Quincy, kwim?! Oooh, actually I think we're getting out of here at 3 today, I may be able to go before I pick Ray up at daycare :)

~Tara
 
I am having mixed success with java moss in my low light tank, it grows and stays green but doesn't grow rapidly and takes forever to attach itself to anything. in the higher light tank, it grows much better.
Although I certainly understand many peoples desire for a snail free tank, Depending on your fish this may not be a problem. Although puffers and clown loaches are always listed as the snail killers, there are many. including most South and central american cichlids, and beatta's. Snails are something I always avoided (I always avoided live plants as well ) but I am finding that they are very interesting, a great help with algea and a good indicator of feeding practices. Snails will let you know if your maintenance and feeding need adjustments. They breed to the available food source so a clean tank that isn't overfed will never have a population explosion of snails. In my big tank with the baby dempsy and firemouth. I cannot keep snails at all those two hunt relentlessly and eat anything that moves and fits in their mouths. In the guppy tank, the snails don't seem to reproduce well, but the guppies literally eat everything including any algea that tries to grow, and believe it or not they pick at my java moss pretty frequently. After 4 weeks of trying to overfeed I still have no baby snails. The existing stock is growing well and stays busy, but they aren't reproducing well at all. Just some thought for your consideration, HTH
Dave
 
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