Starting Over: New Fish & Plants

Here's a 10 gallon tank I set up about two weeks ago. I've been "cycling" the water and getting the nutrients up to convert it into a mini-system and grow some lettuce. Typically, the tank would be covered, to help prevent algae from growing, but with the sun beaming in from the left side, it makes for a better picture.

There are a half dozen fathead minnows in the tank, but they are all hiding. They are a hardy and reclusive fish. They like to hang out on the bottom of the tank and in the caves. They prefer slow moving water, so I set up the sponge filter (on the right) as they kept getting sucked into the water pump when I had them in one of the "T barrel" systems last winter. The sponge filter is much gentler for them. Live and learn, right?

They prefer schools of at least 5-6, water between 7.0-7.5 pH and temperature from 50-70 degrees F. So far, all the conditions seem just right for them to thrive in the small tank. Who knows? They might start breeding once the temperature gets warmer. It's around 60 degrees in that room now, so they are still below breeding temperature of 18C, or 64.4F.

Anyway, this what the fathead minnow looks like. Mine have turned much darker to blend in with the black backdrop of the tank, and are not as olive colored.

A couple of weeks ago, I planted a couple of trays of lettuce seeds from some left over seed packets. The High Mowing Organic Seed from Vermont sprouted in a week. Because all of my seeds were over a year old, I planted twice as much as I thought I'd need. This worked out well, since one of the trays hasn't sprouted anything yet. I'm going to re-seed that one by the end of the week if there is no growth.

The trays came with a plastic cover, just like a mini-greenhouse. After watering the seeds, I covered them with it and germinated them in the warmest part of the house (by the wood stove) where it's temperate, but dark. This kept them in a humid environment while the warm temperature sped up the germination rate.

Once they popped through the soil, I moved them to the office (where it's much cooler), took off the plastic cover, and put them under direct light. I can get the light twice as close (which is twice as strong) with the plastic cover off. Plus, they don't need the cover after they pop through the soil, anyhow.

Here they are under a new pair of cool white fluorescent bulbs which are covered by aluminum foil. The foil maximizes light reflection and also keeps in the heat.

Unfortunately, one of the two grow bulbs in the old ballast had burned out. I'm not sure when it happened, and only just noticed it today. You can see the stems of these greens really stretching toward the light. With the new bulbs overhead, their vertical growth should slow, and the leaves should start to develop at a faster rate than the stems. Otherwise, if they stretch too much and fall over, I'll have to start over again.