Aquarium Update

September 12—How is your bottle/aquarium progressing?  Refer to your observations and BE SPECIFIC.  What were your water quality test results?  What do these results mean?  What changes have you made to your aquarium as a result? 

Since my last update, I have completely started a new tank. The old tank was having about a 1.0 -2.0 ammonia reading that would kill anything I put in it, I figured it was probably because the filtration system was effected due to the sand so I wanted to start all over. My new tank has been set up for a while, when I tested the water the temperature was 75 Fahrenheit, 25 degrees Celsius, a very safe temperature for fish to live in. There is a working light overhead to supply for the plants as well. The ammonia reading was 0 and the Nitrate was about a 10. These results mean that the tank is stable enough to support aquatic life. With the new tank, I added in multiple new plants that had their roots intact and were freshly green to help with the nitrate levels. I then added in all of my new fish after making sure the water samples came out reasonably. I added in 3 African dwarf frogs, and 7 fish. The fish are different types but 2 are guppies, 2 are sword tails, 2 are platys and 1 is some unknown breed. They are all community fish, none of them are schooling because I didn't have enough space to do a huge group of the same type. They are all tropical and stay fairly small with adult age. They are mixed genders as well so I may possibly have babies expected from them in the future. I immediately put them into the water because the temperature of their water and the tank's water were very similar. They immediately all swam around, exploring the new tank. After they settled they seemed to stay towards the back of the tank, towards the top besides the frogs which are bottom swimmers only going up to breathe air. The plants are staying fairly healthy but keeping a close eye on the grass in the back which has a little bit of the right side turning yellow. Water is clear. I am possibly wanting to add in a light bulb to help the plants grow correctly and produce more vibrant fish colors but that may be just an idea. I fed the fish on Friday and hopefully they will all still be alive on Monday when I can check on them again. There was no aggressive behavior in any of them, they seemed to stay either in pairs or as a small group or individually. The frogs appreciate the plants and decorations and stay close by or inside of them.