Stocking question

[anewbie]

This is the start of the setup - after i figure out the driftwood i'll add the leaves:

open to suggestions - i have about 8 more pieces of drift wood to pick from - also for some reason the Zoo Med Talawa Mangrove Root Medium float - not sure if it will ever sink or if i need to accept it as just floating.

 

[anewbie]

Last friday i added about 4x driftwood and some leaves but forgot to take a picture - this is what it looks like now:

--

This is 30 inches front to back and 48 inches wide (though the picture doesn't cover the full 48 inches). Suggestions ?

Also when is it safe to add some pencil and hatchet fishes - i know zip about cycling a blackwater tank - i should measure the tds - it was 2 when i put the water in but i'm sure the biotanicals have raised it a bit. Later this week i'll add some floating plants and maybe a few snails.

 

[anewbie]

Hum. I added my first live critter - a blue shrimp piggy back on the plants i brought over so i tossed it in along with some hornworth and floating plants. Good luck finding that blue shrimp in there.

Oh - bad news for me - sadly the tds is up to 25 - not sure why it is so high.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Oh - bad news for me - sadly the tds is up to 25 - not sure why it is so high.

It is still a tiny amount of extra ions.

Cheers Darrel

 

[anewbie]

Well maybe those ions will walk away with time? I'll add some peat in a day or so - i tried shinning a 100 watt LED flood light into the mess and couldln't see very far so it is a pretty dense soup. I was going to post the picture but decided another brown blob wasn't very helpful. I'll test ph in another week. Some people were recommendeding putting the peat directly under the substrate but i'm thinking i'll put it in a filter bag in the sump.

 

[MacZ]

Oh - bad news for me - sadly the tds is up to 25 - not sure why it is so high.

Honestly... not bad. I'm struggling keeping it at around this level, but with humic substances and plant fertilizers I barely get below that.

With all the stuff still visibly suspended in the water such values are not unexpected.