My project

[irdajoh]

20 gallon tall
Aquaeon quite flow filter
Aquaeon hood lamp 24"
50 watt Hester
Black gravel and sand substrate
4 airstones
Undergravle filter (to be removed)
Two adult molly one fry

My dream tank is around the cornor! But I have some questions first.

I bought Seiryu stones and they just arrived! They are dirty and I started to soak them in warm water. I've read they can cause ph problems but I'm not worried this moment about it. I also bought a bonsi tree for the tank. Can't rotate pic sorry .

The website I bought the tree from said I need to soak it for 7 days to prevent discoloration in the tank water, and to water log as well. I've read that driftwood needed to be boiled for some time in order to remove tannis and prevent the staining. Since its soaking would it just be better to boil the tree.

I've been thinking of what type of plants I want but after much consideration I think moss. Xmas moss for the tree, and I'm thinking of just java moss or flame for the stones. Since the moss dosent root in substrate I see no need for firt in the substrate itself but a liquid firt should do fine?

Rocks were bought off eBay and the tree was bo bonsidriftwood.com

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[LeviRH]

Why so many airstones? I'd probably swap them out for a 6" air stone, and upgrade to a 125 watt heater, and add a prefilter sponge to that Aqueon filter. Is that hood a T5 or T8? What bulb have you got in it?

Are you planning on any Swords or stem plants? Crypts?

Also, love the rock and tree. Would love to see the hardscape after you get it laid out.

& I would probably let it boil for a bit, and soak it 2-3 days and check the ph of the water before and afterwards, same with the rock -boiling.

As for liquid ferts, I would suggest FlorinMulti. I dose about 2-3 ml per week, and it works pretty great.

 

[FishCr8zy]

Don't boil the rocks. I had seiryu stones and only needed a quick rinse. Ph was stable after I put them in. For the wood though, I would definitely boil it. It gets rid of the tannins and allows it to stay at the bottom by itself. Like the other person said, what are the 4 airstones for? If it's just for bubbles, get a single large air stone. But IMO, a bubble wall will ruin the more natural view of the dw and seiryu stone.


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[FishCr8zy]

I would also switch out the filter. Having a canister will make the tank look better than having hob filter. Fluval, sunsun, marineland, and api are a few of the companies with good canister filters. Make sure it is not too powerful for your tank.
I wouldn't cover the rocks in moss because the rocks by themselves look amazing. I would get some background and mid ground plants. Then maybe a small carpet. With the rocks sitting in the middle of the tank. Some stem plants go on the side of the tank. The carpet is in the middle with the rocks sticking out. Then he background plants in the back making a lush forest.


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[Brian_Nano12g]

Nice hardscape material.

 

[irdajoh]

The air stones are for the undergravle filter, ia there a real reason I would need to switch filters, I put some foam filters in there to keep the biological cycle going.im boiling the tree now for 8 hours. I think I only want moss, xmas, or flame for the tree, and Java for some rocks. I'm still playing with the ideas and going to have trouble finding the moss.

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[irdajoh]

Waiting on the moss but look at this.. I'm in love with it!

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