JustOneMore20
Algae Fighter
The time has come when I want to redo my 20 long. With that includes changing out the substrate, which won't be an easy task in a tank full of RCS (red cherry shrimp). 
The substrate right now is ADA Aquasoil 2, which has been in the tank for over a year (maybe 2 years) and has pretty much turned to mud. I was aware that this could happen when I decided to use this substrate and while it grows plants very well, I cannot take the mud turned to dust whenever its disturbed...anymore.
This tank is on the bottom of a double stand and while they are good for people with limited space, I find it hard to maintain this tank as I have to pretty much lay in the floor to clean/scrape/ plant plants. I'm tired of this.
So I put my boyfriend to work (he's too good to me) and came up with a plan to build a stand (DIY style) and redo this tank. It was easier (in my mind) to buy a new 20 long, build the stand, then setup the new tank and move the shrimp/fish over after that...along with the established filters of course.
So here are the "pre-scape" pics to give you a hint as to what this journal might entail:
stand, almost completed (the stand build will be in its own DIY stand thread)
seiryu stones/rocks
substrate
pic of actual substrate (I don't buy that no water change stuff)
Specs:
Tank: 20g Long
Substrate: Azoo Plant Grower Bed dark
Lighting: 2x24w T5HO Nova Extreme with Giesemann Midday and Aquaflora Bulbs
Fish/Shrimp: CPDs (not sure how many are in there), numerous Red Cherry Shrimp, lone Boraras merah (will be adding more in the future)
Plants: Java ferns (narrow leaf, needle leaf, regulars), Anubias (nana, nana petite), Crypts (wendtii 'red', wendtii 'tropica', wendtii 'green', willisii), Staurogyne repens, Marsilea minuta, Weeping moss, and Vallisneria nana
Hardscape: Seiryu stones/rocks, Manzanita wood (in the current 20L tank)
So basically, I am waiting to put the doors and sides on the stand so that I can set the tank up. I will be getting some plants in the mail this week and plan on setting the tank up probably Wed.
The substrate right now is ADA Aquasoil 2, which has been in the tank for over a year (maybe 2 years) and has pretty much turned to mud. I was aware that this could happen when I decided to use this substrate and while it grows plants very well, I cannot take the mud turned to dust whenever its disturbed...anymore.
This tank is on the bottom of a double stand and while they are good for people with limited space, I find it hard to maintain this tank as I have to pretty much lay in the floor to clean/scrape/ plant plants. I'm tired of this.
So I put my boyfriend to work (he's too good to me) and came up with a plan to build a stand (DIY style) and redo this tank. It was easier (in my mind) to buy a new 20 long, build the stand, then setup the new tank and move the shrimp/fish over after that...along with the established filters of course.
So here are the "pre-scape" pics to give you a hint as to what this journal might entail:
stand, almost completed (the stand build will be in its own DIY stand thread)
seiryu stones/rocks
substrate
pic of actual substrate (I don't buy that no water change stuff)
Specs:
Tank: 20g Long
Substrate: Azoo Plant Grower Bed dark
Lighting: 2x24w T5HO Nova Extreme with Giesemann Midday and Aquaflora Bulbs
Fish/Shrimp: CPDs (not sure how many are in there), numerous Red Cherry Shrimp, lone Boraras merah (will be adding more in the future)
Plants: Java ferns (narrow leaf, needle leaf, regulars), Anubias (nana, nana petite), Crypts (wendtii 'red', wendtii 'tropica', wendtii 'green', willisii), Staurogyne repens, Marsilea minuta, Weeping moss, and Vallisneria nana
Hardscape: Seiryu stones/rocks, Manzanita wood (in the current 20L tank)
So basically, I am waiting to put the doors and sides on the stand so that I can set the tank up. I will be getting some plants in the mail this week and plan on setting the tank up probably Wed.
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