New Inhabitants Arrived!

The new additions ordered from LiveAquaria.com arrived this morning via Federal Express. I ordered one freshwater clam (corbicual sp.), two japanese trapdoor snails (viviparus malleattus), two japonica amano shrimps (caridina japonica) and a breeding pair of golden lyretail panchax killifish (aphyosemion australe). However, only one of the shrimps arrived alive. One guarantee that I really like about LiveAquaria.com versus any local fish shop is the "10-Day Guarantee". I simply called LiveAquaria.com to inform them that one of the shrimps did not survive the shipping process and they told me that my account had been credited - no questions asked. (I could have had my credit card credited, but I'm probably going to order more specimens later, so I'll just leave the credit.) I didn't even have to return the specimen.



I proceeded to acclimate the animals using the acclimation guide found at LiveAquaria.com. It took me almost two full hours to fully acclimate all of the live animals, and I used up almost 2.0 gallons of aquarium water in the process. I went back to work and when I returned home around 6:00PM, I performed my weekly water change - removing an additional 3.0 gallons of water and adding back 5.5 gallons of replacement water.

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Aquarium Picture Post As Promised

As the title above states, here are two of the four pictures I took today:



2004-04-28 Aquarium

Ella, the elephant nose fish, seems to enjoy the extra plants and the *protection* they give her.

2004-04-28 Aquarium





The rest of the pictures can be found in the Pictures of Aquarium link to the right.

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Water Testing...

I tested the two water samples thatI had collected - the water sample gather before the water change and the sample gathered tonight. Here are the results:

Pre-Water Change Sample (2004-04-23)

Test	Results
NH3 (ammonia)	0 mg/L
NO2 (nitrite)	0 mg/L
NO3 (nitrate)	10 mg/L
CA (calcium)	2 drops = 2*20 = 40 mg/L
PO4 (phosphate)	0 mg/L
FE #1 (toxic iron)	0 mg/L
FE #2 (chelated iron)	0 mg/L
GH (general hardness)	5 drops = 5*20 = 100 ppm = 5.60 dH
KH (carbonate hardness)	6 drops = 6*10 = 60 ppm = 3.36 dCH
pH (low test)	7.4 pH

Of course, this is the water before the new plant additions and the 50% or greater water change, so everything looks ok (well, the hardness numbers are lower than I would like.)

"48 Hour" Water Sample

Test	Results
NH3 (ammonia)	0 mg/L
NO2 (nitrite)	0 mg/L
NO3 (nitrate)	0-5 mg/L
CA (calcium)	2 drops = 2*20 = 40 mg/L
PO4 (phosphate)	0.25 mg/L
FE #1 (toxic iron)	0 mg/L
FE #2 (chelated iron)	0 mg/L
GH (general hardness)	5 drops = 5*20 = 100 ppm = 5.60 dH
KH (carbonate hardness)	7 drops = 7*10 = 70 ppm = 3.92 dCH
pH (high test)	7.8 pH

Wow! The water is already experiencing a pH increase due to CO2 consumption in the aquarium. I need to try to keep that total hardness a little higher and that carbonate hardness is exactly where I want it to be.

I'm going to try to get a picture post of the aquarium in the next few days, so be looking for it!

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A Very Informative New Friend

Tonight, Christy and I went to a "Meet & Greet" for the new members of the Service Guild of which my wife is a member. While there, I met Hugh Hammer, the professor who oversees the Aquatic Science Department at Gadsden State Community College. We talked extensively about my aquarium. I expressed my concerns about not having enough nitrous wastes resources. He told me that my tank should be in excellent condition (I'm not so sure).



Since I am looking at getting a freshwater clam, some japanese trapdoor snails, and some japonica amano shrimps, I want to make sure that the general hardness and carbonate hardness of the aquarium is suitable for these new inhabitants. Hugh recommended that one of the easiest ways to increase hardness was by adding one teaspoon of baking soda when doing water changes. By doing this, I would be increasing the carbonate hardness and it should make the tank more suitable for the anticipated new inhabitants.

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Sneaked A Picture of My Wife with My Son....

I love both my wife and my son. Tonight, I caught them taking an after-dinner nap...

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Live Plants

Today, I received my plant order from LiveAquaria.com. I ordered one java fern, one micro sword, one temple - narrow leaf, and one water wisteria. I performed a partial water change - removing 5.5 gallons, then planting the received plants (I received two of the temple - narrow leaf), and then added back 6.0 gallons of replacement water.



The following tables lists the live plants in the aquarium:

Live Plants and Recommended Environments

	Temp Range			pH Range			dH Range
	Low	High		Low	High		Low	High
Amazon Sword Plant (echinodorus amazonicus)	72°	82°		6.5	7.2		2	12
Java Fern (microsorum pteropus)	68°	82°		5.5	7.5		2	12
Micro Sword (lilaeopsis novae-zelandiae)	64°	77°		6.8	7.5		8	15
Temple - Narrow Leaf (hygrophila corymbosa)	72°	82°		6.5	7.5		5	12
Water Wisteria (hygrophila difformis)	74°	82°		6.5	7.5		2	12

Based on the recommendations, my tank to be optimally set for these plants should be between 74° and 77° Fahrenheit, between 6.8 and 7.2 pH, and between 8 and 12 dH.

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More Boring Aquarium Stuff

Again, I dosed the tank with 1.0 ml of SeaChem Flourish Excel. At least I am following the directions on the bottle of the Flourish Excel.

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