That was a standard Aqueon 14 gallon tank kit, filled with black gravel and a couple of decorations and plants.
And now the tank looks like this. It is, obviously, a larger (And better) 46 gallon Marineland Bowfront, with a Marineland Penguin 200 model Filter (And a heater, of course). Note to self, it loads "C"-Sized filter cartridges. I personally love the dragon, and the aeration it provides to the tank. Maybe I should buy another one for the other side? I'll think about it.
As of right now, I believe two plants have died (or... More like are in the process of dying). The Wisteria plants and the Amazon Sword didn't do well at all (This is perhaps because I didn't inherit my grandfather's green thumb), so they're going to have to be replaced. Mr. Java Fern and Mr. Bamboo Stalk are just fine though, if a little hairy (I'm hoping that whatever algae eaters I get actually eat hair algae... It's not very pretty to look at and I seem to be growing quite a bit of it.) Pictures to follow.
As of 9/9/1o, the Ammonia (At well over 8 PPM on said date) in the tank has been slowly deteriorating, replaced slowly with Nitrite and Nitrate levels. The most recent test shows:
We're sitting on:
pH: 7.8 (Bad)
Ammonia: .25 PPM (Though, I added more Ammonia to further feed the bacteria that I'm sure is starving within the tank without fish waste, so more pictures to follow)
Nitrite: 0 PPM (WOOP WOOP)
Nitrate: 5 PPM
This is good. Except for the pH, I'm really quite sure that I should be able to add fish to the tank whenever I want (Provided I get the money and add a couple more plants for coverage and less stress). I confess, I haven't really been keeping up with Nitrite/Nitrate tests as well as I should (I couldn't afford those tests at the time and was running on crappy Mardel test strips, which aren't very accurate at all), but it's been about a month. I'll run more tests throughout the week and if the pH stabilizes itself, I'll be happy. If not... I'm going to have to figure out how to fix that.
12:10 AM: Have retaken the Ammonia test and readjusted the pH test accordingly. The new results, after adding around 3/4tsp of Ammonia:
pH: 8.2 (BAAAAAD. But, I've learned that it's mostly an imbalance of Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide levels. Easily fixed, being as the pH is very high mostly because my tank is being heavily aerated)
Ammonia: 4 PPM (Now the fun begins. I'll test the whole thing over tomorrow night and see how much has changed!)
Nitrite: 0 PPM (WOOP WOOP)
Nitrate: 5 PPM
Small updates, during this crucial time (Cycling) will follow, and I'll have (hopefully) large weekly updates scheduled every Friday. Hope you guys enjoy this blog... I'm going to have an adventure writing it.
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