Cabomba purple (really purple) and green; hornwort (a bit the worse for wear, but anyone who has shipped this plant knows to expect this); three varieties of java fern, with the regular M. pteropus, the lace windelov, and then a third variety that I can't for the life of me remember the name of - the leaves are large and long with a single split on each leaf, like the thumb on a mitten; two Crypt species, the wendtii and spiralis; several pots of anubias, coffeefolia and I don't know what else, valisneria (at least 10 separate plants) and several of those large and clumsy-looking jungle vals. All of the plants are very healthy so I'm thrilled.
I put the cabomba and hornwort in the snail tank (I removed the Gambusia from this tank previously - definitely eating the snails!) and put some extra valisneria in there as well, along with a pot of Anubias for safekeeping until I know what to do with them. I'll definitely have too much so I'll share with friends.
I have had only a thin layer of sand in the 45 because I had plans to put Geos in there, so I needed more sand for the rooted plants. The 150 has too much sand, though the geos really do enjoy digging around in it and when they are larger they'll move more of it around. However, I could spare about 4-6 cups out of there no problem, and it is the same type of sand in both tanks. I scooped it out and gently poured it into target areas of the 45 where the plants would be placed, along the back and left side, and in the middle in a hollow made by a driftwood branch. I planted the jungle vals and the regular valisneria along the back, where tall narrow plants are needed, and the spiralis crypt on the left next to the C. walkeri that I brought home from Rufus' tank (the red betta) at work. I planted the C. wendti in the middle of the tank where the driftwood branch splits. That piece of driftwood is just a narrow split branch so it frames the plant beautifully.
I placed the java fern and Anubias pieces around here and there and got things like I wanted. The fish were out and absolutely loving the plants, poking around in them and enjoying the cover they provide. I stayed up to 2:00 am watching the tank. It was a tiny bit cloudy initially from adding that fine dusty sand (I rinsed it outside on the deck prior to putting it in since it had not been properly rinsed when it went into the 150 originally) but cleared by the time I went to bed. I got video for my YouTube channel.
This morning the angelfish looked odd, not acting ill or gasping at the surface but all clustered around the driftwood in a way they don't usually do. The rams were begging for food and the single cardinal and the bentosi tetras were skittering around like they do when they know I'm going to feed them. I decided to test the water and found low levels of NITRITE! Yikes. The tank is cycling. Lawd-a-Mercy.
The key to this mystery, however, is something I found when I planted the new plants: anaerobic pockets in the existing sand. I could not believe it. I could smell the rotten egg smell and saw that the old sand was darker when I planted. WHAT??? There was scarcely a 1/4" of it in that tank! Most of the bottom had rocks on it anyway, and the underside of the rocks were black. No actual bubbles came up when I did the planting, so I didn't think it was too bad.
I did a very large water change last night after that discovery but I'm sure that is why the tank cycled, or I'm guessing so. I had not messed with the filters or removed anything from the tank - only added heavily rinsed sand and a ton of plants. I also put 2wpg on the tank to get the plants going - I have a pair of Coralife double-bulb strips from the 40-gallon I recently took down, with each strip having 2 21-watt T5 bulbs, and that is very nice lighting, so I'm hopeful the plants will be able to get rolling and oxygenate the water. I left the lights on all night to give the plants a boost, since the lights are off all day.
This morning after discovering the issue (no ammonia and low nitrate) I cranked up the bubbles big time, since I had cut them back to a mere trickle and may eliminate them altogether if the plants suffer from it, and added SafeStart, that Biospira additive from Tetra that I've kept on hand for emergencies. I started using BioSpira when it first came out as a Marineland product, one that had to be kept refrigerated, and it gradually became unavailable. It was sold to Tetra, and either Marineland developed it into a bottled additive that could be stored at room temperature on the shelf, or Tetra did after buying it. At any rate, I saw it advertised and have been pleased with how it helps to cycle a new tank.
I also went over to the 150 and scrounged around for some trumpet snails, and added them to the sand in the 45. I know the rooted plants are going to travel through the sand but I have zero problems with anaerobic sand in the 150, since I stir that pretty vigorously once every couple of weeks and never find any discoloration at all - looks pristine. The geos are too small right now to really get all through the sand that's there and I know the snails help. I will just deal with any overpopulation in the 45 by picking them out by hand - that is better than anaerobic pockets. The 45 hasn't even been set up for that long! I'm baffled as to why such a thin layer of sand in the tank for only a few months would go anaerobic on me.
The angels are very young, still dime to nickel sized, and I'm hoping they'll get through this okay, especially since it has not been like this for long, and I've taken action. I may add a bit of Otis' marine saltwater solution if they look to be suffering. I'm sure by tonight this will be resolved, but YIKES.
The annoying thing is that I was due to take a Panaque changae from a club member who wants to rehome it, and that would mean catching the bristlenose Ancistrus from the 45 and move her out to the 150 with the other BNs I have there. This Panaque is territorial and would really appreciate having this little woodpile all to himself. Now I think it will be a bad idea to tear up the tank to catch the BN, and also a bad idea to add this Panaque to an unstable tank. We'll shelve that for now, and I'll see if the guy in my club is willing to hold onto the catfish a bit longer for me. Here are pics of the tank this morning when I discovered the nitrite, after planting everything last night:
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