Newest attempt at apisto tank

[Cubeology]

I had my apistos is a thickly planted 20 gallon and had bad luck. I salvaged an adult female and about 4 fry and stuck them in a community where they aren't doing very well; food never reaches lower level of tank. So I'm starting over without all the plants, which made it impossible to look after the fry, or see them at all really.

So I have set up this 29 gallon tank with driftwood and cichlid caves. I intend to put leave litter in there, but I had to order IAL leaves from overseas and they are taking forever to get here. I ordered IAL tea bags from the same person and it took over a month. I use the tea bags for betta spawning.

What else should I add other than leaves. I may or may not add duckweed to the surface, not sure if there is any benefit.

BTW I intend to attach a sponge filter to the intake of the HOB and if necessary baffle the outflow like we do for bettas.

 

[Mol_PMB]

Floating plants (frogbit is a good one) will help keep the nitrate levels down, and provide a bit of shade.

I use IAL from Malaysia, but I also collect fallen leaves from the local woodland, rinse them clean and dry them in the oven on a low heat. They can be used in the same way. Oak leaves are the best in my experience and they don't rot as quickly as IAL.

 

[Cubeology]

Yeah, I've gone around in circles with this local leave thing before. I live in a city and I have no idea where to find an oak tree. I can get some nice looking magnolia leaves, which I might mix in with the IAL because they are pretty leaves and last almost indefinitely, but I don't know where to find anything with acidic humic properties. Actually I somehow doubt that a local oak tree would all be that great in that respect. Any water from around here, especially coming out of the water table is so hard it creates rock formations when it dries. But that is just theory, I have no idea what the properties of oak leaves growing here would be like. Well anyway, its just simpler for me to buy the leaves.

 

[Mol_PMB]

Leaves from a city tree are more likely to contain pollutants from the atmosphere/traffic etc, so you're probably better off buying the IAL then