So I ripped everything that is dying out and the tank looks rather bare. I will update with pictures later this week once the water and plant remains settle down and I remove some more decaying matter.

The temperature theory I had earlier hasn't been proven true or false. I assume it helped but not in an observable way. My new theory is the hardness of the water is hurting growth. I had some guppies which quickly died and I assume it is because Boston water is incredibly hard. I bought a pillow softener which I plan on using whenever I do a water change. It's turned the water a little brown but hopefully it will help.

Besides the hygrophila, the Anubias Nana has a new leaf which is growing quickly. Additionally although the Java Fern is struggling itself, it has two daughter plants which are growing well. I'll probably wait until after Christmas and then disconnect them and put them somewhere. Now for some pictures:

Entire Tank

Left side

Right Side

Center Close-up

One of the problems people are saying about Java Moss and planted aquariums in general is that higher temperatures (especially those about 80 degrees Fahrenheit) make for poor plant growth. Java Moss was specifically pointed out in some forum posts as doing poorly under higher temperatures.

For now I've turned down the heater and I'm going to try to keep the aquarium at around 75-76 degrees fahrenheit. We'll see how this does in the long-term. Hopefully the Java Moss starts to come back.

Left side of the tank where the Crypts should be.

I also bought some Pygmy Chain sword and some Hygrophila for the tank. I'm not sure what type of Hygrophila it is so if anybody has any ideas or suggestions feel free to let me know. The Hygrophila is growing like a weed now that it has been in the tank for a week or so. The Chain sword isn't doing as well, likely because of the light level. We'll see how it develops over the next several months.

The Hygrophila in the back and the rearranged right side

The whole tank

Crypt Wendtii Regrowing

Additionally I now have a heater and I'm keeping the water around 82 degrees Fahrenheit. I moved the java fern back in the tank more. I plan on going to Skipton's Pet Center this week sometime to get some more plants that will go in the front. Maybe some pygmy chain sword to go in the front. I also might have to get rid of the Java Moss because it's dying and I'm not sure why. I'll give it another week.

Entire Tank Picture

Here is a bonus picture of two of the remaining glowlight tetras playing in the Java Fern.

Glowlight Tetras and Java Fern

Usually when using live animals to cycle the aquarium you expect some difficulties and even fish death due to a rise in Nitrites and Ammonia. However I also was beginning to get some fuzz algae growth on plants and my driftwood. So after reading an article online I decided to overdose on Flourish Excel. Usually a 1-2x dose is good for removing algae but I wanted to push it. It was combination of hatred for algae and a desire to see my plants grow quickly that led me to overdose more than necessary. By my estimations I did a 3x dose. Now on the website I read this on it said 3x was ok, but it was running into risky territory in regards to fish health.

Clearly I hit that barrier and cause the death of one of my fish. Fortunately it was a $2.00 fish and not a very interesting one at that.

On a good note the fuzz algae is beginning to die off and I should do a water change tonight probably. Additionally the Crypt Wendtii that I cut back completely is starting to grow back. Not much, but the plant closer to the glass has grown by probably 2mm. Nothing but but definitely noticeable. Perhaps by Thanksgiving it will grow enough to start having leaves again.

Left side of the tank

I'm also getting a little bit of white/grey fuzz algae. I'm slightly overdosing on the Flourish Excel to attempt to get rid of this. Additionally I removed a decent amount and scrubbed some of the plant leaves to get it off. After this I did a 40% water change so things should improve, especially as the tank cycles.

Whole Tank

On the right side of the tank the Val in the back had some leaves that were cut when I got them. These leaves were deteriorating and although they were pearling it didn't look pleasant. So I pruned the leaves that were brown and all that is left is healthy, shorter, growing leaves. We'll see how that goes and whether it grows high. My only worry is that it is planted directly under the filter output so it may grow weirdly or be pushed into the tank and not grow straight up. We'll see how it goes.

Right Side with Trimmed Val

The aquarium is a 10g Aquatic Edge setup that I've been slowly tweaking as I go. I have Flourite Black Sand substrate, a small piece of driftwood, and a large rock from Chinatown in terms of decoration. For my flora I have a combination of plants that are listed on the aquarium page that I've recently added. I'm planning on dosing the tank with Flourish and Flourish Excel for plant nutrition. Right now in terms of fish I have five Glowlight Tetras just for the sake of cycling the tank and providing some entertainment. I hope none die but if they do I can replace them with more attractive and entertaining fish once the tank is cycled.

Once the tank is cycled I intend on putting either Neolamprologus Multifasciatus or German Blue Rams (Mikrogeophagus ramirezi) in the tank. They require different water qualities and I'm not quite sure which direction I would like to go yet.

I'll be taking pictures and uploading them to the blog, picture album, and aquarium page so if you want to follow the tank development feel free. Email me if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions.