20g Tank Log

[black hills tj]

20g is still on hold

need to build a stand for it still, and i'm waiting for a healthy set of cherry barbs to pop up at a LFS.


AC 50 still running on back of 29g

Filled 20g with tap water so i can adjust the heater to the correct settings.

 

[black hills tj]

okay guys...building a stand for my 20g this evening. Now it will soon be time move the filter over to the new tank. The problem...i have yet to find a decent group of cherry barbs to start in the tank. i did pick up a small pleco and throw it in the 29g for the time being. Will a single pleco provide enough junk to keep the new tank running alright until I add more fish?

Also..what's the easiest way to wash black gravel? Can i just use a window screen and put some gravel on there, then rinse it off?

 

[severum mama]

The pleco produces lots of waste relative to its size, so it will definitely get your cycle going! But remember, you won't have any algae at first, so supplementing his diet is a must. Since the tank will be new, I suggest dropping in an algae wafer or a veggie every other day- be sure you clean up the leftovers the next morning. Grab some driftwood also, as plecos like to rasp on it.

In all honesty, a pleco would not be the fish I would choose to start a tank with... however, if you really keep an eye on things, it is doable.

As far as rinsing your gravel, I haven't used a window screen before. I just put a bit of gravel at a time in a bucket, take it to the bathtub, and rinse, rinse, rinse until the water is clear in the bucket.

 

[black hills tj]

Right now the pleco is in the 29 attempting to clean up all the green spots/circles of algae. The 2 golden algae eaters in the 29 seem to be lazy!

Also...i'd love to get a nice piece of driftwood for the 20g, but i haven't seen anything decent aroudn town for a decent price. I've seen some places where you can buy online, but it looks like they send you a random sample of a relative size of your choosing?

 

[severum mama]

How about Ebay?

 

[black hills tj]

could give that a shot. thanks severum.

Also...if I can't get my hands on some cherry barbs, what if i pulled the lonely albino pristella tetra out of the 29, and schooled it with 5 new ones in the new tank? How do you think it'd look with the other fish i play on going with? Any other suggestions maybe? I'd really like cherry barbs, but at this time I'm having trouble finding any cherry barbs locally, let alone healthy ones. Any ideas for small, bright, colorful(red/orange preferably) fish to put in place of the cherry barbs?

 

[severum mama]

What about serpae tetras (aka red minor tetras)? They are really pretty, and you can sometimes find a long-finned variety if you prefer. Or, pristellas would do fine, they are easy to keep. Glowlight tetras rock too, that bright orange stripe may interest you, and they stay nice and small. If you want a challenge, you can try rummy-nose tetras, but they are difficult to acclimate and best added to a more established tank.

 

[black hills tj]

Don't you think rummy nose's would be a little too big for the 20g tall? They are beautiful(have some at a LFS). I'llhav eto look for some red serpae's. Are there any red rasboras? How would rasboras do with cories and rams?


How fast would a pair of dime sized black and white speckled angels outgrow the 20g tank?

 

[severum mama]

Nah, rummys stay smaller than serpaes. I've kept rummies in a 29 easily.. same footprint as a 20L.

Harlequin rasboras are orange-ish. They are super peaceful and would do GREAT with your stock list. Very cool fish.

 

[black hills tj]

what about the angels i mentioned?

 

[severum mama]

Oh, I didn't see that you had mentioned angels. I wouldn't do it, they like a taller tank. IMO 29 gallons is bare minimum for just one angel, but others disagree. I really think a dwarf gourami is a much better choice for a centerpiece fish, or a pair of GBRs or apistogramma, if you can find them.

 

[black hills tj]

alright, i'll just stick with the gbrs. I'll check out the red serpae's as fish to replace the cherry barbs and see what i can come up with. Will red serpaes handle a new tank alright or are they real sensitive to water conditions?

 

[black hills tj]

Almost ready, would filling the tank with 10-15g of water from the 29g help with the bacteria since the pleco will most likely be the only inhabitant right now?

 

[rich311k]

Water contains little or no helpful bacteria, You would just be adding dirty water.

 

[black hills tj]

Thanks for the tip, hopefully severum's nylon trick will do the trick

 

[black hills tj]

Setup the tank on the stand my dad and I built today. Filled with water, etc. Tested.

Results:

PH: 8.2
NITRITE: 0
Nitrate: 5
Ammonia: 0
temp: 79*

Added 6 von rio tetras and 2 gold barbs that my dad really liked so I threw them in. They seem to have calmed down and are doing fine. I will upload pics after i get home.

update

just got home...everything seems to be getting along fine. They ate just fine and seem to be active, not hiding in the caves i provided them with or anything. The von rios and gold barbs have definately schooled together already. They were in different tanks at the LFS.

update

everyone's favorite part...pictures!

tank on the stand my dad helped me build...thanks dad

before fish

after fish

the fish

gold barb

 

[black hills tj]

Water test

Nitrite: 0
Ammonia: 0
PH: 8.2
Nitrate: 5-10
Temp: 75* F

 

[rich311k]

Very nice tank. Your off to a nice start.

 

[black hills tj]

Thanks Rich. The fish seem to all get along very well. An LFS told me that they should have some Julii cories and maybe even the GBR's I've been searching for.

 

[black hills tj]

Spoke to the owner of a LFS yesterday, and she said they should have gbr's and julii cories next friday.