PerfectDepth
Aquarium Advice FINatic
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2013
- Messages
- 607
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.
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.