Returning Aquarist Freshwater Fun

[Sijansaur]

Hey there everyone, I'm Chris from Homestead, Florida. I'm starting my journey with a freshwater, planted tank and finally decided to dive in today. I'm returning to the aquarium world after time spent in saltwater tanks as a child. As an adult, I decided to get a setup of my own and join the community. I plan on going the safe, tetra school route; ornate and ruby's will populate my 20G long next to my bristlenose pleco. Your community articles have helped me so much and I'm glad to join such a passionate community. I plan to do weekly updates with pictures for everyone to see.

 

[ColoradoMollies]

very fun! I am just starting with adding plants as well. I will follow your progress.

 

[toolman]

Welcome to AA

 

[cadd]

Beautiful substrate! Mind me asking what size/brand/type you're using?

 

[Sijansaur]

Glofish gravel mixed with eco complete substrate. The gravel is seeded from an older tank though so it's a hodgepodge mixture but mainly the two I listed above.

 

[cadd]

Thanks!

 

[Sijansaur]

Update with pictures

So it's been about a week and I've had a bit of die off, a sick plant, some weird propagations, and all around mixed luck. My ammonia levels have gone up, mainly due to the addition of 8 ghost shrimp, and now I'm hoping the plants deal with some balancing and reducing of that so my nitrogen cycle can really start kicking off. I have about 3-4 ppm on Ammonia and low nitrites, no nitrates. I'll post pictures of what I've moved around and show you where I'm at. Any questions/suggestions will be fielded appropriately.

Things I have noticed: My main stalks of Anacharis are browning out but they are budding off extra stems that are green, leading me to believe they are dying back due to new conditions but their conditions are optimal for growth/propagation. My swords are dying/dead and their positioning is questionable. They will probably be removed and replaced with more anubias as they are better in my mid ground anyway. I apparently was given some ludwigia by the looks of it (or if someone can tell me what is growing in the middle of my tank i'd greatly appreciate it) in my assorted plant bunches. Not sure what the other plants are in the back corners of my tank, as they came in the assorted bunch too, because they sure aren't the java ferns I ordered. All in all, things seem to be progressing how I thought they would; in a totally random and hodgepodge manner as is the rest of my hobby/pet life. Either way, cheers to 7 days without major deaths/setbacks.