My First Attempt at at Planted Aquarium (30 gallon)

[hernandez.j91]

So this is my first attempt at aquascaping. (Not even sure if thats how its spelt). lol. Well here is my 30 gallon freshwater planted tank. It currently only houses 12 small black bar endlers. Most of the plants I purchased on ebay and the rest at petsmart. So far they are doing good, just put them all in a few days ago. Going to start using co2 this weekend. With the sugar and yeast. If you have any suggestions on the tank let me know. Thanks for looking.

 

[calpoly12]

doesnt look bad i like it
best of luck

 

[studd muffin]

Looks clean! What kind of lighting and substrate are you currently using?

 

[benzjamin13]

Nice. Be careful with the Hornwort when you do water changes and/or trim them...the needles fall off so easily and go everywhere.

 

[studd muffin]

Nice. Be careful with the Hornwort when you do water changes and/or trim them...the needles fall off so easily and go everywhere.

IMO Hornwort are awesome looking plants, but they can be an absolute pain to clean!

 

[benzjamin13]

Had Hornwort in my tank as well...I think they look great too, but it was a PITA. Every water change, the needles would fall off and make a mess of the tank. I usually had some just growing in my water containers outside. They grow so fast, I would actually throw my the Hornwort out of my tank and just replant new ones.

 

[Laticauda]

Be aware that the hornwort and anacharis will probably wilt/die in the substrate, and that can spoil your water.

I keep my hornwort and anacharis free floating, but this can hinder the plants that are on the ground from getting sufficient light.

Is that sand substrate? I've read that sand chokes out even the hardiest of stem plants.

It looks really nice though! Maybe you can do some research on the individual plants you bought and see if anything else needs to be addressed.

 

[hernandez.j91]

I'm using sand as the substrate. And the lighting is just a standard 15 Watt bulb. I might need brighter light huh? Yes iv noticed that with the hornwort once I put it in the tank, needles came off. Iv never heard of that with sand. I bought plants that were easier to grow. (Well at least that was what I was told). Thanks for. The advise, everyone.
Just noticed that I had some small, smaller than the ones I had(black bar endlers) on my tank. Two of my females did look fat. I think they had some babies. Their really cute.

 

[Bonzo]

I think you are off to a very good start. I think you can improve the look of the tank by adding some more hard scape. Some rock and drift wood to add more depth and kind of plant the plants around them so the plants do not look like they are just side by side. But this is your tank so definitely go with what you like. Oh and please keep us updated.