window tank stuff

I put coleus cuttings across the back of my fish tank. Hoping the roots will make Tucker feet more sheltered, as I took off the background panel. We have over a week of rain predicted, the overcast skies already here. His colors are definitely less bold when the tank is brighter lit. But I don't want it so dim the plants lack enough light.

I also took more cuttings for the windowsill of my two favorites, just because.

This one has been looking great in its new spot (for the summer) just in front of the porch under those shrubs I cut back. Even though when I brought some pieces in, found tiny leafhoppers on them. Hope I didn't miss one or it will be an issue for my indoor plants.

There is more melt, all across the tank. I tested water parameters- ammonia is zero, nitrates between five and ten. I'm not going to do a water change this week- after so many on disaster day- but will dose the leaf zone again.

There's this piece of plastic I've always had on the back corner of the tank, to keep water splash from the sponge filter from dripping out and down the back of the tank. And getting all over the lip of the rim under the glass lid. It's not perfect, but it helps. This is the old one- really gunky. Usually I wipe it off periodically and replace after a few months when it gets too gross.

Today I cut a new piece of plastic to shield the corner, and held it just under the rim lip, with plastic bread bag clips. Should have done this long ago- it works so much better! I checked after ten, fifteen minutes and there was hardly any water creep.

But it was still coming up droplets and condensation through the hole for the filter tubing- so I just stuck a bit of (dry) filter sponge over that. Perfect now- hours later and the corner is still dry.

It's dry on the opposite end of tank because I turned the second filter off. I'd been watching a film clip of someone else's paradise fishes, how gorgeous and healthy they looked, and his tank has no tech at all. More plants than mine, though. And went back to my readings about paradise fishes, remembered that really they like very still water. No flow at all is often recommended. After seeing how much better my fish fared without companions, I wondered if I ought to follow this as well. 

I'm not quite bold enough to turn off both sponge filters, yet. Maybe after there's more plants grown out, and the water stays good quality. Should, with just one fish in here now. I bought a new mini siphon too, one that's a better size fit for this tank.

And I have these crypt balansae (with maybe a few spiralis or retrospiralis among them, can't recall) saved from the last angelfish tank. I couldn't bear to throw them in the compost with the rest of the discarded plants. They're in my taller vase- but of course cramped for space.

Looks like they're surviving okay, though. I want to plant them in the 33L, but worried about giving Tucker whatever disease the angelfishes died of. I think if I'm going to move the plants in there at all, I should wait several months to do so, hoping the pathogen will die by then.