first real tank - 30 gallon... set up and ready to cycle in the fishless fashion... initial ammonia was 3ppm fresh from lake and water was very soft.

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Wolf Windshadow
ʎɐq-ǝ uo ʎnq ןןıʍ ı ʇɐɥʇ pɹɐoqʎǝʞ ʇsɐן ǝɥʇ sı sıɥʇ

so you got the water from a lake?
I hate to be a gloomy gus but that are so many unknown factors there.

what microorganisms are native to that body of water that the tropical fish are not immune from.

Then there is the chemical aspect like runoff from parking lots ect ect.

water hardness is just the tip of the preverbal iceberg.

I would start with filtered tap water and water conditioners.
Run a air stone for a few days to gas out the extra ozone and other gases that some city water treatment plants use to purify the water.

water tested, and it's clean... also had it checked for microbial content by a friend with the equip and know-how... again, nothing special... matter of fact 2 people in my neighborhood, one with a 50 gallon tank, and one with an 800+ gallon setup both use water from this spot...

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Wolf Windshadow
ʎɐq-ǝ uo ʎnq ןןıʍ ı ʇɐɥʇ pɹɐoqʎǝʞ ʇsɐן ǝɥʇ sı sıɥʇ

Sounds good to me.
and a good start.

are you thinking about any plants.

attempting to start some from bulbs bought at good ole wally world... those failing, will order online......

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Wolf Windshadow
ʎɐq-ǝ uo ʎnq ןןıʍ ı ʇɐɥʇ pɹɐoqʎǝʞ ʇsɐן ǝɥʇ sı sıɥʇ

I bought a pack of "beta bulbs" from petsmart and they have almost taken over my 46g tank


The plants on each end are from bulbs,
the plans in the middle are sprouts from the one on the left.

I use flourish liquid fertilizer after each water change.

cool... can't wait for them to pop up

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Wolf Windshadow
ʎɐq-ǝ uo ʎnq ןןıʍ ı ʇɐɥʇ pɹɐoqʎǝʞ ʇsɐן ǝɥʇ sı sıɥʇ