Tank journey: 10 gallon > new 20 gallon long build

[PerfectDepth]

Tank journey: 10 gallon > new 20 gallon long build

This started out about a year and a half ago as not exactly a planted tank but more of a "fish tank with some plants": gravel substrate, stock leds, very low-tech and low maintenance.

A bit later:

I eventually stepped it up with DIY CO2 and some additional led strips that I attached to the hood.

This is how it looked just before I took it down:

I picked up a new 20g long during the dollar-per-gallon sale, then headed over to the competing chain for some FloraMax Midnight (also on sale!), then finally to the LFS for a new Marineland cabinet, some rocks, and a few plants.

Moving day!

I moved all the fish and shrimp, most of the plants, and the driftwood from the 10 gallon to their new home:

This was done quickly and it looks a bit ragged still. I'm not quite finished, but I'm forced to leave it alone for now since I accidentally injured myself... The black plastic hinge on the glass top was casting a shadow, so I took it apart and cut off two small sections of the hinge to put on either end instead of having one long hinge across the whole length of the lid. While doing this, the utility knife slipped and I accidentally sliced a piece of skin off my index finger. yOuch!!

Funny, I can wash my hands or shower without getting the bandage wet, no problem.. but as soon as I start trying to work on the tank, my hand just wants to dive right into the water and get busy. Oh well, at least I managed to get everything planted first, plus the fish will have some time to get settled into their new home before I start invading their space to tweak things.

Some details:

Lighting: 30" BeamsWork, 57 X 0.5W, 6500K LED fixture
Filtration: SunSun hw-402b canister
Substrate: Floramax mignight (with some osmocote plus)
DIY CO2 with DIY internal reactor on a timer (big ugly bottle on the right side)

Current Stock (I'll be slowly adding to these numbers):
5 harlequin rasboras
5 neon tetras
1 otocinclus
1 dwarf anchor catfish
around two dozen red cherry shrimp

Plants:
bacopa monnieri
rotala rotundifolia
java fern
java moss
anubias nana petite
crypt species (unsure)
staurogyne repens
alternanthera reineckii
amazon sword
aponogeton species

Now, I wait... for the water to clear up and the plants to fill in (and my poor finger to heal). Stay tuned for updates.

 

[joebro3333]

What kind of lights did you have on your 10 gallon?


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[Thumper828]

Looking good...

 

[PerfectDepth]

Tank journey: 10 gallon > new 20 gallon long build

Thanks

Joe- on the 10g I just had the LEDs that came with the marineland hood, plus some water-resistant 6500K LED strips that I attached in front.



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[PerfectDepth]

1 week's progress:

I still haven't touched anything except for trimming a few dying leaves from the swords. The crypts melted a bit (of course), and the swords are showing deficiencies, but hopefully just due to transplant shock. The star repens is off to a great start, and the a.r. is finally doing something! It's from a petsmart tc gel pack and it sat in the 10 gallon for a full month without any noticable growth at all, but now finally has some steady growth. The rotala is still looking wild but the new growth is very healthy. I'll probably try to tame it a bit this weekend.

I haven't had to dose any N or P yet, just K via a weekly double-dose of leaf zone. Since we have almost 9 ppm in the tap water right now, the weekly water change is actually adding rather than removing nitrates. (Great for the tank, but not so great for drinking and cooking. ) I'm also dosing Flourish comprehensive twice weekly, and Excel- just 2 mL daily right now but I might increase dosage if needed.

 

[PerfectDepth]

I added some new plants earlier this week, and yesterday I moved 2 neons out of QT for a total of 7 in the tank now. New plants: cyperus helferi (petsmart TC pack), ludwigia repens and bacopa caroliniana to mingle with the other stems on the left side.

So far so good.. starting to see a bit of GSA on the driftwood, but I don't mind it. The star repens is starting to carpet nicely. It's almost due for some trimming. I removed the larger leaves from the java fern. I'll probably take it out, though. I'm not liking the huge 6"+ leaves it keeps producing.

I'm considering getting 10 or 12 CPDs for this tank. Would they do alright with my neons and harlequins? I've read conflicting opinions... What do you think?

 

[ImACoolguy]

Beautiful tank! Very nicely done. Not sure on CPDs


Caleb

~10g ghost shrimp
~45g ick is fixed! White skirt tetras.
~75g NEW! dojo loach, 5 black Skirt Tetras, 5 cherry barbs, live plants

 

[PerfectDepth]

Thanks!! Well, I couldn't resist. The lfs finally got more so I bought 11 CPDs today. If it doesn't end up working out I'll just set up a 10 gallon for them.


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[Brookster123]

Where's your temp at? They're kind of shy and I feel they may hide a bit until the tank fills in. You'll have to get creative with feedings because they'll get out competed big time by the Harleys and neons. Tank looks Great by the way!!! Sorry about your fingy.. i have open wounds on my hands more often than not, try to.use tongs as much as possible but I'm elbow deep a few times a week anyways.. just wash with antibacterial soap extremely well asap prior to tank work.. i know I'm risking it every time but it's just the way it is.

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[PerfectDepth]

Tank journey: 10 gallon > new 20 gallon long build

Thanks Brookster. My finger's much better now.. still slowly healing. It's awkward using the planting tongs left-handed, but I manage.

Temp's at 76. For now they're in QT with lots of floating plants. They were shy at first but now they're all over the tank. I'll wait a good 4 weeks before moving them so hopefully there will be enough plant cover by then.

The neons and harlequins are always right at the top at feeding time, so I'll make sure to sink some micro pellets or crushed flake at the opposite end. I hope they can get enough that way. Plus, feeding frozen baby brine shrimp when the filter's on should help since it just goes everywhere. I might have to overfeed slightly, but I have plenty of shrimp for cleanup.




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[PerfectDepth]

FTS from a few days ago:

Ten days ago I added cyperus helferi from a tc pack. There were 2 in the package, but one of them looked like it might be 2 plants that had grown together. I didn't try to get them apart, just planted them as is. They all seemed to be taking off at first, but now the one that could be two plants is turning yellowish and starting to get some light brown spots. Seems like maybe phosphate deficiency? I don't know.. the other one is still doing great. It's hard to see the brown spots in the photo, but you can see the difference in color compared to the other one:

Is c. helferi a heavy root feeder? The roots seemed kinda weak out of the package. Any ideas on what's causing it?

 

[PerfectDepth]

Before & After - 4 weeks

One of the cyperus helferi is still doing great, the other has almost fully melted.. still not sure why.

 

[pittbully13]

Awesome 10 to 20 progression. Great looking tank. How do you like that sunsun canister?

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[hjsvt]

Very beautiful and impressive!

 

[PerfectDepth]

Thanks pittbully & hjsvt. The sunsun is great so far, especially for the price. It seems just as quiet as the marineland canisters I've used before. I've heard complaints about the cheap plastic plumbing parts included with these canisters, but they seem sturdy enough- better than I expected. The original plan was to use dual AquaClear 50 HOBs, but for under $40 I thought it couldn't hurt to give the sunsun a try. I'm glad I did.

 

[Brookster123]

Looks very very nice#! Where'd you get the cyperus again?

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[PerfectDepth]

Looks very very nice#! Where'd you get the cyperus again?

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Thanks Brookster! It was a tc pack I got at petsmart.

 

[Brookster123]

Thanks Brookster! It was a tc pack I got at petsmart.

Thought so, mine was 50/50 too.

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[PerfectDepth]

Thought so, mine was 50/50 too.

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Did the original leaves all die off even on the one that survived? Now it looks like my other one is starting to turn yellow, too. That one has some strong new growth on it, so it should be fine.


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[Slavo]

Before & After - 4 weeks

One of the cyperus helferi is still doing great, the other has almost fully melted.. still not sure why.

Great progress PerfectDepth, following! Sorry to hear about the helferi