Tank journey: 10 gallon > new 20 gallon long build

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
Yah! Haha mine are in the moss after scuds. That star patch is proper sir.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Aquarium Advice mobile app
 
PerfectDepth said:
CALIBRATE your test kits, folks!! It turns out my API phospate kit is way off. I was skipping the phosphate dosing since my test showed 2.0. After borrowing a friend's kit I found out PO4 was bottoming out at the end of the week. The rotala was not happy but it's looking much better now.

photo update:
Tjq47xb.jpg
Click to expand...
Were you or are you involved in the salt water side?

sit in silence
 
Will dub that tank "The Planetarium" due to the number of stars I see. Serious case of tank envy from another 20L owner.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice
 
Thanks everyone.

Lol 'the planetarium', I love it! Fresh, I was just checking out your most recent photos and I could definitely say the same. Really nice flow to your scape right now!

Tiger, nope, I've never ventured into saltwater tanks. I'm dry dosing roughly 2/3 the standard EI dosage, twice a week, alternating macros and micros (4-day schedule). My tap water has around 8 ppm nitrates, so the weekly 50% change adds about 4 ppm. Because of this I skip the KNO3 the first time. I also dose Leaf Zone on micro days for extra iron.



Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice
 
Are you still running the Beamswork and DIY CO2? I remember you had that custom reactor that looked like a power head driven CO2 bell. I was thinking back in early 2015 this is one of the nicest tanks I've seen (DIY or pressurized).
Is the back of the tank painted? Super jet black look. Very clean.
My tank is overcrowded plant wise due to a lack of trimming and wanting too many types of plants in a 30x12 footprint. The style is Dutch+Lazy with helping of BBA.



Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice
 
Yep, all equipment is still the same except for the addition of a section of rgb strip to the underside of the beamswork. It was left over from another project. I also had the connectors and wiring, all I needed was a cheap remote controller. It doesn't add much PAR at all, just some color- I have it set with red at 100% plus a bit of blue.

The powerhead reactor has been working out great for DIY co2. It helps maintain a very steady co2 concentration.

The background is a piece of black foamboard.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice
 
I forgot to mention I also changed the orientation of the powerhead on the reactor. I took out the elbow and just turned the powerhead on its side, now it takes up less space plus the flow is less restricted.ImageUploadedByAquarium Advice1433345262.098526.jpg

I went from hi-tech to strictly low-tech, and now to medium-tech. I have too many expensive hobbies and not enough time or money lol.. I settled for cheap Chinese lighting and filtration, DIY co2, dollar-per-gallon sale tank, etc. I'm pretty sure the stand made up more than half the total cost. It's in the living room so I wanted a decent stand. My goal with this tank was to spend as little as possible, so I have to say I'm pleased with how well it turned out.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice
 
It's a jungle in there (it's been a busy summer)..

xgoZ0al.jpg


They're very hard to see in the photo, but I finally got some more CPDs! I ordered some from manzanita-driftwood.com, and I just moved the last two out of QT this weekend. So now the stock list is: 7 CPDs, 7 neons, 5 harlequin rasboras, 1 sparkling gourami, 1 otocinclus, 1 dwarf anchor catfish? (could be deceased or just hiding in a different spot- he's about 3 years old and I haven't seen him in a while), and a few dozen cherry shrimp. I'll add 1 or 2 more otos and that's it.

Plants are doing great.. except the a.r. is still getting crinkled leaves when it gets to a certain height.. I'm thinking it may be Mg deficiency. I haven't been adding Mg at all since the water here is moderately hard. This week I started adding some epsom salt to see if that helps.

I took out the drop checker a while ago- no need for it any longer. The reactor holds a steady concentration, and I've got the DIY CO2 bottle routine dialed in. This tank is 6 months along now.. it's time to change things up a bit so I have some new plants on the way. Fissidens fontanus to replace the java moss, also some stargrass and red ludwigia hybrid.
 
PerfectDepth said:
It's a jungle in there (it's been a busy summer)..

xgoZ0al.jpg


They're very hard to see in the photo, but I finally got some more CPDs! I ordered some from manzanita-driftwood.com, and I just moved the last two out of QT this weekend. So now the stock list is: 7 CPDs, 7 neons, 5 harlequin rasboras, 1 sparkling gourami, 1 otocinclus, 1 dwarf anchor catfish? (could be deceased or just hiding in a different spot- he's about 3 years old and I haven't seen him in a while), and a few dozen cherry shrimp. I'll add 1 or 2 more otos and that's it.

Plants are doing great.. except the a.r. is still getting crinkled leaves when it gets to a certain height.. I'm thinking it may be Mg deficiency. I haven't been adding Mg at all since the water here is moderately hard. This week I started adding some epsom salt to see if that helps.

I took out the drop checker a while ago- no need for it any longer. The reactor holds a steady concentration, and I've got the DIY CO2 bottle routine dialed in. This tank is 6 months along now.. it's time to change things up a bit so I have some new plants on the way. Fissidens fontanus to replace the java moss, also some stargrass and red ludwigia hybrid.
Click to expand...


The tank is looking great!


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice
 
Looking very nice!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Aquarium Advice mobile app
 
qFPF3s4.jpg


Looking very ragged right now, star repens is still in recovery mode since I mowed them all down- some of the stems in the back were over 6" tall. Also phosphates were running low for a bit, which really slowed down the recovery. I had to double the dose, I assume due to the addition of the stargrass which is growing super fast.

I sold enough of the star repens trimmings (somewhere around 200 stems) to pay for a few things- a bottle of flourish iron, a bottle of excel, and a Planted+ 24/7, which I love so far. It's been running in 24/7 mode for 6 full days now, no algae explosion yet! (fingers crossed) Here's my mini-review that I posted in tiger's 40b thread:
Also, WOW I love this light- Incredible color effects and good variation of colors on both the sunrise and sunset sequences without ever being too extreme or unnatural-looking. Deep greens, vibrant reds.. just stunning. That said, I don't particularly care for the 9 PM time setting, it's not bad just not my personal preference and a very minor gripe. I'm sure I'll get used to it. It's a bit too "reef-like" in my opinion.
Click to expand...
 
PerfectDepth said:
qFPF3s4.jpg


Looking very ragged right now, star repens is still in recovery mode since I mowed them all down- some of the stems in the back were over 6" tall. Also phosphates were running low for a bit, which really slowed down the recovery. I had to double the dose, I assume due to the addition of the stargrass which is growing super fast.

I sold enough of the star repens trimmings (somewhere around 200 stems) to pay for a few things- a bottle of flourish iron, a bottle of excel, and a Planted+ 24/7, which I love so far. It's been running in 24/7 mode for 6 full days now, no algae explosion yet! (fingers crossed) Here's my mini-review that I posted in tiger's 40b thread:
Click to expand...


Nice tank, and nice review! I'm going to be getting this fixture for a low-light build. Have you used the dimmer on it any?


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

KreativJustin
20 gallon long with no brace?
Replies
18
Views
1K
Andy Sager
Andy Sager
B
10 gallon tank
Replies
1
Views
465
Aiken Drum
Aiken Drum
S
Acara in 20 gallon long
Replies
1
Views
707
Andy Sager
Andy Sager
J
Advice needed to transfer live plant ecosystem to new tank
Replies
2
Views
125
af2018
af2018
S
Can I put a 75 gallon tank on hardwood floors?
Replies
3
Views
286
dcutl002
dcutl002

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom