Achieving stable water conditions in small aquariums

[angler_1]

He's headed back to my 75 gallon once I get that tank sorted. I got him when he was tiny, and he did great in there at first - lots of hiding spots and all that. Problem was, I had a ton of water wisteria in that tank, and those african cichlids just tore him up. They were all juveniles, but they still managed to rip his fins to shreds. I found him hiding near the surface, barely clinging to life. So I tossed him in a 5 gallon hospital tank for a bit, and once he was good to go, I set up the 10 gallon and moved him in. He's been chillin' in there for a while now, but he's gonna get too big for that tank eventually. The african cichlids all died off except for my Jewel Cichlid, Kribensis, and peacock - they're all pretty timid, so once I get the tank stable, he'll be moving back in. Then I'm turning the 10 gallon into a shrimp tank - thinking of getting some cherry shrimp, ghost shrimp, and a few amanos. Sounds like a solid plan to me.

[whetu]

I've found that once you hit that sweet spot of 30-50% live plant coverage, your small tank will start to thrive. It's like a switch flips and your water parameters become way more stable. I've seen it time and time again, folks struggling to keep their small tanks in check, but once they add some serious plant life, their problems just melt away.

[burglar_4]

My 10-gallon was a nightmare to keep stable when it was unplanted. Upgrading to my 38-gallon was a game-changer. Recently, I busted out the 10-gallon again - about 6 months ago - for my electric blue Jack Dempsey. Poor guy got beat up in the 75-gallon, so I set up the smaller tank as a recovery space. I added sand, planted dwarf grass, a few ferns, some other plants, and some roots. Now, I barely do water changes - just top it off as needed. The parameters stay spot on, and the water's crystal clear. The plants are the key. My Jack Dempsey's happy and healthy in there, fins all grown back after his rough patch.

I'm curious to know what kind of tankmates you'll have for your Electric Blue Jack Dempsey in the 75 gallon. I've been thinking about my own future setup, and I'm considering what I can pair with an EBJD when I finally get a bigger tank.

[angler_1]

There's a Jewel Cichlid, Kribensis, Peacock Cichlid, Convict Cichlid, Common Pleco and a Rainbow Shark in the 75 gallon. I'm hoping they'll all get along, but we'll see. The Dempsey's still small, so he'll grow up with these other fish. They won't have a choice, and there are plenty of hiding places in there for the other fish, so it should be fine.

From what I've read, it seems like it should work out. In reality, they got their name for a reason, right? Plus, fish like that, if they can fit it in their mouth, they'll eat it. But so far, this one's had mollie fry around him and he shows no interest in eating them. Just chasing them, that's all.

[shakinStevens]

I've got a 5-gallon tank that's been running smoothly. I use RO water and maintain a stable pH of 7, give or take 0.2. The GH is controlled with my GH booster, and the KH is basically zero. I do a 50% water change every week and fertilize the tank during that time. Occasionally, I've gone two weeks without a water change, but the lighting is medium, and I only run the lights for 7 hours a day, except on weekends when I might leave them on for 10 to 12 hours.

One thing that's worked for me is switching to a sand substrate. Initially, I had coarse gravel, but over time, organics built up between the stones, and it became a nightmare to clean. Eventually, black beard algae took over, and I had to do a full reset. I removed the substrate, did several large water changes to clean the tank, and then replaced the gravel with Black Diamond medium blasting sand. I replanted the plants I had recovered, and I'm happy to say that there's very little BBA in the tank a year later. The snails can keep up with it, and there's not enough space between the grains of sand for significant organic buildup.

I've also found that using a GH booster helps maintain a stable pH. I've determined that the plants were consuming calcium and magnesium, which caused the pH to drop. To combat this, I added a snail shell to my filter, which reacts with the excess sulfide and chloride to create pH-neutral calcium and magnesium salts. This has kept the pH stable at around 7.

Another issue I faced was finding the right fertilizer. If I was deficient in any nutrients, algae would grow out of control. I tried various commercial fertilizers, but they all assumed I was getting some nutrients from my tap water or substrate. Since I use RO water and inert sand, I had to make my own fertilizer. I created a custom mix using potassium nitrate, potassium phosphate, calcium chloride, and magnesium sulfate. This ensured I had enough calcium, magnesium, sulfide, and chloride. I also had to create my own micronutrient mix using iron DTPA, manganese sulfate, boric acid, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, sodium molybdate, and nickel sulfate.

With this custom fertilizer mix, I've been able to maintain minimal algae growth. My two Nerite snails keep the glass clean, and my small pond snails and shrimp take care of the plants and hard-to-reach areas. Maintenance is relatively easy – I do a 50% water change, refertilize, and remove excess floating plants every week. About once a month, I clean the filter, and stirring the water helps lift any debris off the substrate, which then gets filtered out.

Overall, I've found that using a sand substrate, a GH booster, and a custom fertilizer mix has been the key to maintaining a stable and healthy 5-gallon tank.