29s are a nice choice for planted. 20 longs are easier to get light to the bottom and the same footprint as 29s. Here's a pic of my 29 with plants..
Help With Plants
- Thread starter Davidiator
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29s are a nice choice for planted. 20 longs are easier to get light to the bottom and the same footprint as 29s. Here's a pic of my 29 with plants..
The tank I got a few years back during one of Petco's $1/gal sale. The stand is a cheapo TopFin particle board stand I bought 5-6yrs ago that's designed for 20L, 29, 37g tanks.
- Hinged glass lid
- Odyssea 30" twin tube T5HO light with 6500K color/temp lamps. The lamps are actually 24". I got it cheap off eBay as an open box item. Like $25 shipped. What sucks with T5HO is you need to replace the lamps every 6-12 months for maximum effectiveness.
- Sunsun 302 canister and a small sponge bubbler filter
- Marineland 100watt heater I believe
- Fine grained natural gravel. National Geographic brand from Petsmart.
As far as fish, it's a mish-mash in there:
6 silver hatchets
4 tiger barbs
1 kissing gourami
2-3 celestial pearl danios
countless Malaysian trumpet snails. The hatchets and CPDs are 4-5yrs/old.
Plants are some small variety of anubia, java fern and java moss.
I add no ferts or CO2 and do not gravel vac. Weekly 50-75% water changes.
I don't sample my water often once my tanks are established, but nitrates never exceed ~20ppm. My tap pH is 7.6, KH/Gh are in the low 100 range.
Hope this helps!
The problem with planted tanks is there is honestly no one method fits all deal, its comes down to trial and error based on the water you are using...
Lighting schedule / ferts used etc will also be dictated by the types of plants you go with...
Thats why its good to start out low tech and get a feel for it to see if you enjoy it, coz it does take patience and when it all goes wrong it can be seriously frustrating...
I myswlf have torn down and rebuilt my planted tanks a few times over the years...
Lighting schedule / ferts used etc will also be dictated by the types of plants you go with...
Thats why its good to start out low tech and get a feel for it to see if you enjoy it, coz it does take patience and when it all goes wrong it can be seriously frustrating...
I myswlf have torn down and rebuilt my planted tanks a few times over the years...
I think anyone thats stuck with planted tanks for over 2-3 years straight will have been through the tear down and rebuild due to one reason or another...
Algae for me was one reason why i had to tear down two separate tanks on separte occasions after battles that lasted months...
I also forgot to mention tanks chemistry with age also changes which adds to both the challenge and fun of keeping them lush
For me, all of the above, plus I get bored easily.I think anyone thats stuck with planted tanks for over 2-3 years straight will have been through the tear down and rebuild due to one reason or another...
Algae for me was one reason why i had to tear down two separate tanks on separte occasions after battles that lasted months...
I also forgot to mention tanks chemistry with age also changes which adds to both the challenge and fun of keeping them lush
Absolutely true. Subtle differences in source water, your lighting, the way you have your lighting set. So many variables go into it.
Also, with my particular planted tanks, my 55 shown a few posts above hasn't been changed in 4+ years. My 29 is about a year old. Point is, you have to be patient. Nothing happens overnight with most plants, especially anubia and java fern. They grow slowwwww.
If you get bored easily, it's not for you.
Well,
Change of plans... My youngest brother has wanted a tank for years and so my parents have decided to let him have one but because he knows NOTHING about fish we are going to own it 50/50. We are allowed to get a 55 but I think I am going to stretch it to 75/150 because there are a bunch on Craigslist... We will not be going with a planted tank because he will barely afford the tank. So we are going to try breeding some sort of fish... Would Cockatoo Dwarf Cichlids work? I am thinking 1 male and 3 females with a group of neon Tetras if we do 55 and if we do 75 I would add 2 more females.. now if we went to a 150 I think I would possibly just go with like some huge good looking aquarium...
Change of plans... My youngest brother has wanted a tank for years and so my parents have decided to let him have one but because he knows NOTHING about fish we are going to own it 50/50. We are allowed to get a 55 but I think I am going to stretch it to 75/150 because there are a bunch on Craigslist... We will not be going with a planted tank because he will barely afford the tank. So we are going to try breeding some sort of fish... Would Cockatoo Dwarf Cichlids work? I am thinking 1 male and 3 females with a group of neon Tetras if we do 55 and if we do 75 I would add 2 more females.. now if we went to a 150 I think I would possibly just go with like some huge good looking aquarium...
