20g long build: "JJ&J's Seafood Buffet"

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Barliman

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Feb 20, 2016
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Howdy!
I finally got my 20g long tank set up and cycling Sunday night, so I thought I'd share some pics. Right now it's just water, rock, and wood (and one tacky ornament). Plants should be going in next week. The specs are these:

Coralife 65 watts 6700k CFL light
Aquaclear 50 HOB filter, with sponge, biomedia, and carbon
40 lbs of black Eco-complete
100w Visi-therm submersible heater set to 76-77.
Three pieces of Malaysian driftwood

And, with that, here are the photos.

First, the general tank view:

JJJ%20Buffet%2001.jpg


I'm probably going to move the two pieces of wood on the left around. This'll do for now, though.

Close up of those same two pieces. Sorry for the glare:
JJJ%20Buffet%2002.jpg


I plan to fill in that big divot, but the two together make for some nice hiding places for small fish, plus I love the upswept branch. I'd like to hang some moss from it, but it's right in the filter outflow.

Next on the right:
JJJ%20Buffet%2003.jpg


I love this piece of wood for the natural "cave," and the tacky wall ornament just seemed to fit.

Now we turn to the left side, the far end of the two logs:
JJJ%20Buffet%2004.jpg


The glare washes out a bit, but the interaction of the two pieces again creates some interesting spaces. (I really like Malaysian driftwood, but, boy, even after a good long boil, it's still putting out lots of tannin.)

This is a view of the area behind the two pieces of driftwood, and the main reason I'm thinking of rearranging them:
JJJ%20Buffet%2007.jpg


I think too much is hidden toward the rear, so I may angle the lower piece toward the back, creating a roughly triangular open space with the wall. Or does anyone have any good aquascaping ideas for that space?

Finally, just for the heck of it, the Aquaclear 50:
JJJ%20Buffet%2006.jpg


I really like Aquaclears, but I'm not so sure about the enclosed media. I might experiment with different material in a few weeks. Also, I've yet to find one that doesn't make an annoying buzz or rattle with the lid on.

That's it for now. I hope to add some plants next weekend. Fish and shrimp will come in a few weeks, as I'm doing a fishless cycle with ammonia (my first, and the subject of a later post). I'm also thinking of replacing the light: I bought a Coralife 65w several years ago, but I'm not happy with the distribution of light over the tank. You can probably tell in the pics that the left gets rather dark not only from the driftwood's shadow, but also from the shortness of the bulb: only 21" in a 30" fixture. Plus, the fixture and bulb, though new out of the box, were bought several years ago. Not sure if age has taken a toll. Anyway, I've very tempted to replace it with the Finnex Planted+ LED.

That's it for now. I'll update with new developments as warranted. Suggestions for aquascaping and appropriate plants are welcome.

It's nice to have an aquarium underway again. :dance:

PS: If the pix don't show, please let me know. I've been having trouble with Dropbox. As a backup, here's a link to the same photos in a Flickr gallery: https://flic.kr/s/aHskrtW7vx

PP: Oh, yeah -- about "JJ&J Seafood Buffet." JJ&J are Jasper, Jersey, and Juno, the cats who own my writing partner and his wife. They're already demanding a menu and want to know if I deliver. :eek:
 
Looks good so far. What are you planning plant and fish wise?

That's a darned fine question. :confused:

For livestock it could be almost anything, though I want fewer species so I can have a larger school, such as 8-10 rasboras or serpae tetras. If I "go South American," then there'd be corys (pandas or another small species) and some sort of small centerpiece fish (haven't figured out what, though). Asian might be rasboras or zebra danios with a pair of dwarf gouramis, but I'm not sure what bottom-dwellers would work here. And, in either case, shrimp. :brows:

If I understand the PAR system right, this new fixture really amped up my light intensity, so I'm looking at species listed medium to medium-high. Some crypts and marimo balls, micro-sword, dwarf hair grass, or even the dreaded baby tears. For background maybe chilensis and water sprite. There are a lot of choices and, frankly, it's hard to choose. :blink:

Still got time to figure this out, though, as the cycle runs. :)
 
Plants on order

This thread went dormant because, well, there wasn't much new to report about the tank as it went through its cycle, even though we all know how exciting daily test kit readings are. (You can read about mine, here. ) I'm happy to say the cycle is almost done, and I'm pretty sure Seachem Stability helped speed things along.

But, wait! There's new news! :eek:

I hadn't put any plants in it, yet, because, moving into a high-light environment with the Finnex Planted+, the options were kind of overwhelming, plus I needed to learn if I need pressurized CO2. (I probably do)

Well, having checked out my LFSs, I wasn't happy with the selection I saw, so I decided to order online. I settled on "Planted Aquariums Central" (We're allowed to mention vendors, aren't we?), which had good reviews in fora and on YouTube, and which had the best selection.

Enough intro. Here's what I bought :popcorn: :

1x Ludwigia repens, Broadleaf, bunch
1x Hygrophila Corymbosa Stricta, bunch
1x Pigmy Chain Sword, Echinodorus tenellus, Narrow Leaf, potted
1x Cardamine lyrata, bunch
1x Alternanthera reineckii roseafolia, bunch
2x Dwarf Four Leaf clover, Marsilea hirsuta, potted

That should be enough to get me started. :brows:

Question: I suspect these will arrive during the middle of the week, but I won't have a full day off until Saturday. The bunch plants I can plant quickly, but the potted ones will take time to unpack, separate, and plant. Can they sit in their pots in my tank for a few days after arrival?

Also, do you trim your stem plants before planting them? :confused:

Hopefully the next post will have pics of a newly-planted tank. (y) :D
 
You can float them until you are ready to plant. As for the stems, if they are too long then I trim. Otherwise plant as is; you can always trim it later.
I've ordered from APC before. I still have two of the three plants from my original order in 2014 (pogo erectus and Downoi doing fine; Rotala wallichii eventually succumbed to a grayish-black algae). I did get a few pond snails with the plants but it took maybe 6 months before I saw more than 2-3 at a time. Their numbers are still low; I suspect they don't do well in my tank.


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At last we have plants. And a couple of pics

Will wonders never cease? An actual update with something other than readings for ammonia, nitrite, &c. :eek:

I finally added plants this weekend and rescaped it a bit. First the full-tank shot:

JJJ%20Buffet%20009.jpg


I bought them from Planted Aquariums Central. You can read about my experience here. Short form: it was very positive. (y)

Starting at the rear from right to left we have:

Ludwigia repens
Alternanthera reineckii roseafolia
More repens
Hygrophila Corymbosa Stricta (behind the wood, kind of hidden)
Cardamine lyrata

Along the front from left to right:
Enchinodorus tenellus
Marsilea hirsuta

Here's a close-up of the Marsilea:

JJJ%20Buffet%20010.jpg


As you can see, some leaves have started to yellow, but I'm putting this to transplant shock. I think I've spotted new growth.

The Marsilea was a pain to plant: my tweezers kept getting caught in the leaves and pulling the plant out again. Argh. :banghead:

Other plants, such as the cardamine, are also showing melt, but I'm hopeful they'll pull through. Definitely saw new growth here.

I took out one large piece of driftwood, as you can see by comparing the full-tank shot in this post to the first one in this thread. It was just taking up too much room for all the plants I bought. (I can always use it in another tank) Also I swapped the heater and the filter: the outflow from the filter was blowing the Alternanthera like a windstorm.

Question: Now that I've moved the filter, there's not much flow on the right of the tank. Is this a potential problem?

That's it for now. I'm going to give the plants a couple of weeks to establish themselves before adding fish. if I can get better pictures of the other plants, I'll post them. :dance:
 
20g long build: "JJ&J's Seafood Buffet"

Looks nice! I understand the large DW removal.
Flow is important in a planted tank. Is the problem with the downward current produced by the filter? If so, I have a mod that was created for the same reason and also for noise reduction. See post #3 in the following thread:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/showthread.php?t=236365
This is basically a plastic lip that diverts the flow along the surface. The flow will hit the front wall, travel downward and sideways, and should reach both sides of the tank if the filter is centered. This will allow plants to grow pretty undisturbed.


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Looks nice!

:thanks:

Flow is important in a planted tank. Is the problem with the downward current produced by the filter? If so, I have a mod that was created for the same reason and also for noise reduction.

Yeah, it was blowing the alternanthera like reeds in a windstorm. I'm sure that wasn't good for them.

Thanks for the link! I'll have to check that mod out. My alternative is to set up a small airstone on the right side, just to create some flow.
 
Brief update: new growth!

Just a quick update: plants have been in for a week, now, and I'm really pleased to see more new growth than I expected. Here are a couple of pics, apologies for the blurriness.

Marsilea Hirsuta:

JJJ%20Buffet%20011.jpg


That runner in the foreground was not there a few days ago.

Cardamine lyrata:

JJJ%20Buffet%20012.jpg


You can see where the old leaves are yellowing/melting, but the main plants are sending out new runners and leaves.

(Question: what's the best way to handle new Marsilea? Just press the rhizomes back into the substrate? Can I snip off portions to place elsewhere?)

Dosing begins next week, and I've decided to do DIY CO2 with the citric acid method. Seems the best way to get my feet wet, pardon the pun.

Also, next week may finally see the first new fish. At. Last. :fish1: :dance:
 
Regarding the runners, you can press them into the substrate or leave them as is. The roots will eventually reach the substrate. Then again, viewing less roots looks more pleasing, but that is a personal preference.
Hair algae? Ugh. Good luck. I have that running rampant in my shrimp tank. I use a toothbrush to pull out what I can but I know it's not enough. I have shrimp and moss in there so I am hesitant to try anything drastic.


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Regarding the runners, you can press them into the substrate or leave them as is. The roots will eventually reach the substrate. Then again, viewing less roots looks more pleasing, but that is a personal preference.

Yeah, I'm going to give the leaves some more time to grow out and then trim the old and dying leaves.

Also, both my echinodorus tenellus have sprouted runners. So far, I do not have a black thumb. :)

Hair algae? Ugh. Good luck. I have that running rampant in my shrimp tank. I use a toothbrush to pull out what I can but I know it's not enough. I have shrimp and moss in there so I am hesitant to try anything drastic.

I plan to have shrimp, too. This is just another indication I need to set up CO2 for this tank and get the fertilizer regime figured out. Last night I broke out the "toothbrush of doom." :whistle:
 
Looking nice! I had that problem to with hair algae ? jus snipped the leaves that had it an not got little green algae on my repens

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Nice progress. Plants are looking healthy. It should fill in shortly.


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Nice progress. Plants are looking healthy. It should fill in shortly.

Thanks. Yeah, both E. Tenellus are throwing out runners. Newbie me: I first thought one was a broken leaf, until I tugged on it and realized it was putting out roots! :lol:

The Marsilea Hirsuta on the other side is putting out loads of new runners, while the old leaves are mostly brown and dying. I need to trim those out.
 
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