My 20 gallon build thread

[mommytron]

So I finally got everything cleaned up and put back in the tank. The substrate is Quickrete PFS. The DW is mopani, the black rocks are polished river rocks and the white ones are these really light, porous rocks that the owner of the LFS I just discovered told me would absorb ammonia. Don't know about that but they look really cool. It still needs a background, we will most likely be using black. Next is plants. I haven't added any ammonia yet. Is it safe to add plants while the tank is cycling? Or should I wait until it cycles? I'd like a nice tall plant to hide the cord/air tube in the corner, some java moss to attach to the DW, and maybe some anubias. Comments? Suggestions? The tank feels a little crowded to me right now, please tell me your thoughts.

 

[CA_BroncoFan]

Very well done, are you planning on doing a background?

 

[mommytron]

yep, probably black.
oh, and thank you

 

[CA_BroncoFan]

Black would look very nice and contrast with the white rock and plants when you get them up.

 

[Crepe]

White rocks that absorb ammonia? You might want to take those out and drip some vinegar on them and see if they fizz. If they do, they are calciferous and shouldn't be kept if you have soft water fish. I can't really imagine any mineral that could absorb anions so you better double check. I think the guy at the LFS gypped you. Even if they don't you're gonna have to take em out to cycle if they really absorb ammonia, your tank needs that ammonia to cycle and in the end it should be naturally ammonia free.

Otherwise you're doing good.

 

[mommytron]

I got them because I liked that they were soft and the way they looked. What would happen if they were calciferous and I left them in there? I have hard water anyway. Even if they could absorb ammonia, do you think they could absorb enough to bring it to 0 from 4ppm?

 

[mommytron]

so I just did some googling, and I think the rocks are zeolites. if they are, i should probably take them out. which is a bummer, they were my favorite part of the tank. I will probably replace them with some shale i got and a little piece of rainbow rock. that makes me sad, though, i really like those rocks

 

[mellawson]

Tank looks really good, if you go with a black back ground and you want to "hide" the hose for the air pump, Lowes (and I'm sure any other store like Lowes) has black tubeing real cheap. It blends in really well I don't even notice it in my tank.

 

[Jgeezer1986]

what kind of fish are you going with?

 

[mommytron]

i'll do a school of tetras and a small group of cories (not sure what kind will be available yet). i kind of want a slightly bigger pair of fish, i like gouramis but haven't decided yet.

 

[Jgeezer1986]

You may have trouble with only two gouramis. Maybe dwarf gouramis? I never have luck with gouramis. They is always one dominant one and it usually stresses the other gourmais out so bad that i end up with one left. A pair of angels maybe?

 

[mommytron]

i think the tank may be too small for angels...i was thinking i may be able to get away with a pair of angels in my 27gal hex at some point though. everything i've heard about gouramis turns me off to them, although i love the looks of them.

 

[Jgeezer1986]

I love the look of the gourami... Thats why stupid me keeps trying them with no luck.. I was hoping to get the right pair or two pairs, but they end up back at the pet store.. I like the dwarf gourami better looks wise now though. I have two powder blues and am getting two red flames when i get my tank settled down. I think angels would work although they would probably max your tank out pretty fast. Two angels at full size would basically be about half of your tanks capacity(considering you are only going to stalk to 80% of your tank)

 

[Etunes]

I didnt get to read the thread so i might be missing something but i am gonna give my input.

#1 good job on the tank i like it.
#2 to get it cycling you dont need to BUY ammonia, just through some fish food in the tank and it will make ammonia.
#3 The rocks look fine but they will not absorb ammonia. I would do the vinegar test and see if they are ok.
#4 I would wait to add plants tell it is cycled as they will use up the ammonia, this dosent matter as you can add more fish food but it will slow down the cycle a little bit.

Looks good though and i think it looks nice. BTW i see that wii mote

 

[mommytron]

thanks ian . i have thought about using fish food because it seemed a little safer to me, no chemicals and everything. but won't it make the tank really dirty? my guess is i'd have to add a bunch to dose up to 4ppm and then when it drops i'd have to keep adding fish food. have you done it this way before? did the tank get really dirty?

 

[BigJim]

If you're fishless cycling, I'd definitely go with pure ammonia and skip the fish food. I think a gallon of ammonia cost me ~$1 at Walmart. Fish food would be a lot more expensive and, as you said, dirty. It gets all moldy when it sits.

Sorry to hear that your white rocks won't work. I looked up zeolite and I don't think I'd trust it in a tank long term. Check out white quartz or moonstones as replacements. My roommate in college had a polished moonstone in his tank and it was pretty sweet. Moonstone appears to glow from within.

 

[mommytron]

i'm gonna have to head back to the LFS and see what else they have for rocks. i will be going with ammonia as i don't want to have to clean up all the fish food. moonstone is one of my favorites but i'm guessing it's hard to find, and probably pricey. we'll see.

 

[BigJim]

Check out your local garden centers. They'll often have the same rocks for much cheaper. If they pass the vinegar test, wash them really well.

 

[mommytron]

i have, they don't seem to have ANYTHING for rocks. i was so disappointed, those are the first places i checked. all i found was a couple of containers of polished river rocks, which were cool but i was hoping for so much more.

 

[BigJim]

That's disappointing. I have a couple local landscaping places that sell all kinds of bulk rock. Generally they'll let you have stuff cheap because they don't really want to be bothered with little orders. Now if I could only find a place that sells driftwood in bulk.