My 20G Planted Tank

[callisto9]

I swear I could siphon for days. I can actually see it under/in the Eco Complete if you look at it from the side. Blech.

 

[CorallineAlgae]

Keep in mind that if you're severing any roots under the sand they will break down and greatly increase the total amount of black gunk in the substrate while healthy undamaged roots will make use of the sludge. It can be a man made cycle of organic buildup that will only get worse the more you siphon if you're damaging any plant roots. The best option may be to let it be and only clean it during a major rescape after taking the plants out. It truly took me over a decade to come to that realization. haha

 

[callisto9]

Thank you for the advice! I will definitely keep that in mind. If I could put that Eco Complete through the laundry, I would. I hate gunk!

I think the fish are appreciating the extra swimming room with that branch out of there for the time being.

 

[callisto9]

Lost the red fancy guppy some time yesterday (I think). Found him today while doing a WC. No signs of illness or anything. No clue what happened there. I do *not* have good luck with guppies! This now makes about eight guppies that have come and gone in less than six months. However the glowlight tetras I got are really some hardy fish!

I did a major overhaul today. Uprooted and moved just about every plant I had. It released so much gunk into the water though. I have SO MUCH gunk in my substrate. I'm going to test parameters here in a moment.

I'm getting tired of my hornwort and Brazilian pennywort. The hornworst just sinks down too much into the tank, reducing free space to swim. And the Brazilian pennywort just never thrived. I'm wondering if some water lettuce might be fun.

The background started peeling off, so I just removed it. I have plans to paint it. Can I just paint it with some acrylic craft paint? I'm thinking light blue.

So here's where I am tonight. I'm really not digging the floating stuff right now. And I really need a background. Otherwise, I kinda like it.

 

[CorallineAlgae]

Sometimes having a lot of floaters in a low light tank just doesn't work out. You can swap them out for other plants but I'm not sure water lettuce would be the best option. Maybe some stem plants or even moss for the wood?

I've never tried that type of paint but nearly everything seems to work out on the back of a tank.

 

[callisto9]

The hornwort grows fine, but it just hangs too low in the tank. The Brazilian pennywort has just never done well, period.

I do have some moss I need to put in this tank, but with all the commotion yesterday, I opted not to stress out the fish more.

Background painting in progress! I am using acrylic paint - two colors mixed together; Behr indoor paint and some dark blue craft paint. So far, so good!

 

[callisto9]

Almost done. Just need to paint where the filter is...

Kinda wish I went dark blue. LOL Oh well! It's this color FOREVER now!

 

[DanTheGuppyMan]

Wow it looks great I saw that piece of DW you got on eBay a few weeks ago lol I got mine from the same seller so sorry to hear about those guppies...I love fancy guppies

 

[callisto9]

Wow it looks great I saw that piece of DW you got on eBay a few weeks ago lol I got mine from the same seller so sorry to hear about those guppies...I love fancy guppies

Thanks Dan!

That eBay seller had lots of good DW at decent prices. The piece is a little short. Even though they tell sizes, they should put a Coke can or something next to it. LOL

I love fancy guppies, too, but I've had such horrible luck with them. The last one that died... there were no warning signs. I have some Japan blue guppies that bred and I'm keeping a few of the males for this tank. The rest (30+) are getting sold this Tuesday.

I think I'm just going to let the tank be for awhile. No more fish. No more plants. Just enjoy what I have.

 

[DanTheGuppyMan]

Thanks Dan!

That eBay seller had lots of good DW at decent prices. The piece is a little short. Even though they tell sizes, they should put a Coke can or something next to it. LOL

I love fancy guppies, too, but I've had such horrible luck with them. The last one that died... there were no warning signs. I have some Japan blue guppies that bred and I'm keeping a few of the males for this tank. The rest (30+) are getting sold this Tuesday.

I think I'm just going to let the tank be for awhile. No more fish. No more plants. Just enjoy what I have.

Lol right about the coke can hmmm well I have nothing but luck with guppies...could it be something in your water? And sign me up for those Japan blues! Or did you already sell them all? I love letting my tank grow out and just relaxing and watching it all happen...i need to trim mine up before it gets too crazy lol

 

[callisto9]

Dan, I'd be too afraid to ship fish. How would you go about doing that?

I am getting rid of ALL of the Japan blues, whice are about 30+ at this point. I just wanted a couple of males, LFS wouldn't sell me just males, so you know how it goes.

I don't know why guppies do so poorly here. The Japan blues are fine, but all the other ones I've bought from a bigbox retailer haven't lasted. Same with the one red one from my LFS. I also lost two kuhli loaches a week or so ago, but everything else is doing fine.

I test my parameters regularly and do WCs once a week (about 50% lately), so I'm just not sure.

 

[CorallineAlgae]

I like the color. It it gives the tank a forest like effect. now, painting a tank is east to change. It's just like when you paint a window frame and get paint all over the glass. It comes off easily with a window scraper that's fitted with a single sided safety razor. Just scrapes right off with no harm to the glass at all. I'd keep the color but since you aren't a big fan... you really can change it.

 

[callisto9]

I don't hate it, I just miss the dark blue. LOL I'll keep this for a while.

And duh! Yes, I didn't even think about scraping it off. Happy to have a glass tank. I want to paint the back of my little 6.6, too. That's acrylic though.

 

[callisto9]

Bleh. I'm not happy with my tank. A lot of my plants continue to look crappy. There's this orange/brown crap on them. I feel like my plants are just a magnet for this stuff. There's just so much gunk everywhere.

Rivercats, I'm ready to throw in the towel... please help. I'm ready and willing to buy the stuff you recommended. My plants don't grow for the most part, they just stay the same or slowly die.

Help. Me.

 

[callisto9]

I also can't get my siphon in tight places to get all the gunk/poo out. Any recommendations anyone?

 

[callisto9]

Another pic.

 

[DanTheGuppyMan]

Don't give up!!! I came close to giving up lots with my 60g. However, keep with it and eventually you will get awesome results and that sense of pride in yourself I can say that lol. But, I am not sure what's up with your plants...I have not been on this thread in a while so I can't say. For getting in the small places with a siphon, I used to just get the tube of the water changer and suck on the end until the siphon started and used te small tube as the vacuum so I could get into the small places. Now I just got myself a small 5g vacuum tho lol. Good luck!

 

[callisto9]

Oh, I'm not giving up... I meant throw in the towel... and get some proper ferts! Dan, do you use ferts in your tanks? If so, what kinds?

Thanks for the encouragement Dan.

 

[DanTheGuppyMan]

Oh, I'm not giving up... I meant throw in the towel... and get some proper ferts! Dan, do you use ferts in your tanks? If so, what kinds?

Thanks for the encouragement Dan.

Oh. Phew. Lol. And yes, I do I think using dry ferts and root tabs are a kind of necessity to get a beautiful planted tank, and I dose PPS-Pro and AquariumPlants.com 's total, phosphate, and iron root tabs as does Rivercats. Listen to her advice lol, I got everything she suggested me too and I can't say I'm not impressed

 

[callisto9]

I do use root tabs, but that's about it. Most times, I forget to dose the Excel Comprehensive.

Yes, PPS Pro is what she recommended and I'm going to order tonight as soon as I make sure I'm ordering the right thing.

I believe this is what she wanted me to get:
Micro & Macro | Aquarium Fertilizer | Green Leaf Aquariums