29G Planted build thread

[NCStateFisher]

Finally got in all the bits and pieces for my 29G planted tank build! I've got quite a few plants in my 75G that are doing well (actually have one Anubias I've had for 6 years and moved tanks a couple of times) but I'm planning to gear this more towards the plants being the overall focus of the tank for the first time.

NiCrew Sky LED
Eheim 100W Heater (still have to add, going to get a new powerstrip tomorrow)
AC50 (Will upgrade to a small canister or internal filter that doesn't disturb the surface at a later date)
Fluval Stratum substrate (2.5" in the front, 3.5" in the back)
Seachem Fluorish Root tabs dispersed in areas that will be more heavily planted
Small diameter gravel cap in the middle & rear of the tank

Plan is to go with a traditional look with heights from back to foreground tall to short - going to make an honest attempt at some form of carpeting plant in the exposed stratum. I may add Co2 to the equation, but initially I'm going to start out Low Tech.

Fish stock will eventually be a school of sterbai cory's, a few ottos, a single black angel (know its not ideal, girlfriend wanted it and it causes extreme aggression between the two females in the 75) and a small school of cardinals or black neons.

Will add more pics as it moves along! Will add enough filter media from the FX4 on the 75 to jump the cycle.

 

[Deadeye]

Looking forward to it!

 

[robmcd]

Looks good. Just my 2 cents..... get C02, as it will enable you to really grow a dense carpet like monte carlo. Without C02 carpeting plants tend to struggle. Also, get that canister ASAP. HOB filters are awesome and it's great to use them to cycle a tank, but with planted tanks they just tend to agitate the surface too much and prevent growth of floating plants, which are key in the early stages to help combat algae growth.

 

[NCStateFisher]

Looks good. Just my 2 cents..... get C02, as it will enable you to really grow a dense carpet like monte carlo. Without C02 carpeting plants tend to struggle. Also, get that canister ASAP. HOB filters are awesome and it's great to use them to cycle a tank, but with planted tanks they just tend to agitate the surface too much and prevent growth of floating plants, which are key in the early stages to help combat algae growth.

Yep going through and doing the research on Co2 in the early stages for sure. Considering rooting down some water sprite to offset the early algae that i'll remove later in the process once things are more established.

Considering Helanthium Tenellum for the forward carpet, really like the "lawn" look and the little bit of height it gives

 

[FJB]

Looks good, good luck. It will be fun. 29g's are a great size tank for many things.

HOB filters can be tamed (without changing output volume) to allow custom landscaping. From a raging outflow to a gentle roll.
You already have an HOB?, custom tame it for the new project, unless you really want to buy another filter (canister). CO2 or not? One has to decide how much work one wants to invest and go from there.
Altogether, it comes down to - All filters can be adapted to work for the job, but some are easier to service so invariably are serviced better. CO2 is not needed unless one wants to achieve very specific (and not majority) goals.
Below is a standard 75g with an AquaClear 110 (500), and much reduced surface agitation (but not eliminated, on purpose), by using the soda bottle taming trick (photo below, on one of its many possible configurations)). Underneath the outflow, a fairly decent carpet of Cryptocoryne wendtii ('bronze') which could not be achieved without 'taming' the flow. It is covering almost half of the bottom, and it is fairly thick, despite my frequent cutting into it, and clearing portions for other plants. There are 2 AC110s in the tank (either side on back).

 

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

Didn't see this thread till now. Here's my $0.02 based on what I have read and my own experience with my 110 liter:

-Try to ensure as few plants as possible are directly underneath the bulbs of the lights. Speaking from experience when I say those that are will melt/wilt/die because of the very intense lighting directly under the bulb that makes the surrounding areas it indirectly lights up look pitch dark.

-Be mindful of how much swimming space for the fish the wood takes up. Also speaking from experience when I say this.
The previous owner of my 110 liter had a piece of driftwood in there, and when I experimented with the aquascaping by taking it out at times, the neon tetras I got with the tank eagerly used the space the wood had taken up when it was in the tank. Unfortunately the neons have since been claimed by neon disease, and replaced with cardinals who I haven't used that wood with, but the point stands that large pieces of wood can take a surprising amount of space.

-The angelfish is probably going to be a real threat to the black neons/cardinals and Otocinclus. Can't speak from experience as I have never had angelfish, but a number of cases exist (from a google search) of them eating fish in the size range of the black neons/cardinals, which a modestly sized 110 liter would increase the odds of due to less space for the black neons/cardinals to get away.
It's mostly the same for the Otocinclus, with the exception that I have yet to hear of angelfish eating them. However I have heard of far more placid and less predatory discus eating them, which doesn't speak volumes for the capacity of the angelfish to leave them alone.

Now, I notice that you already knew the angelfish wasn't an ideal resident for this tank. Some things you could do that would avert it causing the above problems is to show your girlfriend this, and to add some more angelfish to the 284 liter as space permits to spread the aggression out, which would hopefully mean you could leave it in the 284 liter.
But if this isn't feasible, just keep an eye on the 110 liter and don't skimp on feeding the angelfish. I'd be interested to see how it turns out if you go that route.

Good luck!

 

[Deadeye]

Didn't see this thread till now. Here's my $0.02 based on what I have read and my own experience with my 110 liter:

-Try to ensure as few plants as possible are directly underneath the bulbs of the lights. Speaking from experience when I say those that are will melt/wilt/die because of the very intense lighting directly under the bulb that makes the surrounding areas it indirectly lights up look pitch dark.

-Be mindful of how much swimming space for the fish the wood takes up. Also speaking from experience when I say this.
The previous owner of my 110 liter had a piece of driftwood in there, and when I experimented with the aquascaping by taking it out at times, the neon tetras I got with the tank eagerly used the space the wood had taken up when it was in the tank. Unfortunately the neons have since been claimed by neon disease, and replaced with cardinals who I haven't used that wood with, but the point stands that large pieces of wood can take a surprising amount of space.

-The angelfish is probably going to be a real threat to the black neons/cardinals and Otocinclus. Can't speak from experience as I have never had angelfish, but a number of cases exist (from a google search) of them eating fish in the size range of the black neons/cardinals, which a modestly sized 110 liter would increase the odds of due to less space for the black neons/cardinals to get away.
It's mostly the same for the Otocinclus, with the exception that I have yet to hear of angelfish eating them. However I have heard of far more placid and less predatory discus eating them, which doesn't speak volumes for the capacity of the angelfish to leave them alone.

Now, I notice that you already knew the angelfish wasn't an ideal resident for this tank. Some things you could do that would avert it causing the above problems is to show your girlfriend this, and to add some more angelfish to the 284 liter as space permits to spread the aggression out, which would hopefully mean you could leave it in the 284 liter.
But if this isn't feasible, just keep an eye on the 110 liter and don't skimp on feeding the angelfish. I'd be interested to see how it turns out if you go that route.

Good luck!

I really wouldn’t count on an angel eating tetras. They have pretty small mouths. Any case is likely with very small tetras and very large angels.

 

[NCStateFisher]

Didn't see this thread till now. Here's my $0.02 based on what I have read and my own experience with my 110 liter:

-Try to ensure as few plants as possible are directly underneath the bulbs of the lights. Speaking from experience when I say those that are will melt/wilt/die because of the very intense lighting directly under the bulb that makes the surrounding areas it indirectly lights up look pitch dark.

-Be mindful of how much swimming space for the fish the wood takes up. Also speaking from experience when I say this.
The previous owner of my 110 liter had a piece of driftwood in there, and when I experimented with the aquascaping by taking it out at times, the neon tetras I got with the tank eagerly used the space the wood had taken up when it was in the tank. Unfortunately the neons have since been claimed by neon disease, and replaced with cardinals who I haven't used that wood with, but the point stands that large pieces of wood can take a surprising amount of space.

-The angelfish is probably going to be a real threat to the black neons/cardinals and Otocinclus. Can't speak from experience as I have never had angelfish, but a number of cases exist (from a google search) of them eating fish in the size range of the black neons/cardinals, which a modestly sized 110 liter would increase the odds of due to less space for the black neons/cardinals to get away.
It's mostly the same for the Otocinclus, with the exception that I have yet to hear of angelfish eating them. However I have heard of far more placid and less predatory discus eating them, which doesn't speak volumes for the capacity of the angelfish to leave them alone.

Now, I notice that you already knew the angelfish wasn't an ideal resident for this tank. Some things you could do that would avert it causing the above problems is to show your girlfriend this, and to add some more angelfish to the 284 liter as space permits to spread the aggression out, which would hopefully mean you could leave it in the 284 liter.
But if this isn't feasible, just keep an eye on the 110 liter and don't skimp on feeding the angelfish. I'd be interested to see how it turns out if you go that route.

Good luck!

I'd be pretty surprised if the angel got ahold of an otto, but if so at least they're cheap, haha. Standard neon I could definitely see vs a full grown angel but the black neons are a little taller bodied I'd be a bit surprised.. Either way I've been doing this long enough to keep an eye on things if it starts looking like a hairy situation I'll act appropriately!

The good thing is he's not but about 3"x3" long/tall right now, most likely end game is that I end up grabbing about 3 more similarly sized angels a few months from now and re-introduce all 4 to the 75G for a total of 6 to disperse aggression. I'm not a huge fan of having the same species in multiple tanks anyways, feels like a wasted opportunity to experience different fish. It's probably my fault for adding 4 and not 6 initially. (Or my fault for letting her pick one, that ended up being this one lol).

____

First plants went in to the tank today, pulled two Anubias Nangi and about a dozen stems of Hygrophila Araguia out of the main tank!

Will be placing an order with Buce plants next week to get in Helanthium Tenellum, Super Red Ludwigia, and I'm going back and forth on Hygrophila Angustifolia. I want another species of tall background plant to pair with the ludwigia, but a little bit concerned the Angustifolia may be too aggressive of a grower for a tank this size. Once I get a little more put in place I'll add update pics!

 

[NCStateFisher]

Buce order came in today! Initial planting pics / 1st update attached. And a 75G snapshot for fun

New Plants:
Helanthium Tenellum foreground
Crypt Wendtii Gecko (small plants) Foreground and Mid
Crypt Affinis Red (middle, thinking with some light this one will perk up a bit)
Staurogyne Repens (Middle left, saw a video treating them more as a traditional stem plant and think they look great around 3-4")
Bacopa Caroliniana (Back right)
Ludwigia Super Red (Back middle, only plant that came in less than great condition, hoping it will perk up)

Plants pulled from the 75:
Hygrophila Araguaia
Anubias Congensis

Tank was quick cycled with filter media out of the 75G's FX4

 

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

When everything is set up, do you have any way to get a ballpark guess of how many ppm of NO3 the plants eat? Always one of my biggest interests in a planted tank thread.