My new Planted 20 gal setup

[Taboojen]

Thanks for the advice and information from everyone in my earlier thread. I finally found a bit of time during this holiday weekend to set up and plant my 20 gal.

As advised, I removed the AC filter, and there is no filter running at the moment. What kind of filter if any, should i add if I wanted to keep a 2-4 small cory cats eventually. Also - at the moment there isnt much water movement, is that going to be ok?

Anyhow, any comments and advice would be appreciated.

Setup:
20 Gal Acrylic Clear for Life tank w/ Black Back
About 30 lbs of Seachem Black Fluorite Sand
JBJ PC Lights (2 x 55w) 10,000k bulbs (I'm still looking to swap one out w/ a 6700k)
A Generic CO2 Regulator w/ 20 oz Paintball Bottle. (Need to find a bubble counter and diffuser in the next day or two). Nothing fancy though.

I just completed the set up last night, and thus had my plants overnight for one-two days in another container before I planted it. Some of my dwarf hair grass has turned yellow since 2 days ago. Is there anything i can do to turn it around?

Else - The other plants seem to be doing fine. In fact, they are letting off little streams of bubbles from theirs leaves. (which is a good thing right?)

 

[arowana man]

i think it should fill in nice. the little bubbles mean that your plants were ''pearling''. thats good. 6700k will definetly help. i have a question for you though. how messy was the black flourite?? i had the regular stuff and it was really bad. worked out good though.

are you dosing any fertilizers??

i would just use an hob filter. i like the marineland bio wheels . also water movement is importiant.

 

[Taboojen]

The black fluorite sand wasn't too bad. It literally was like working with wet sand (even though it was made of the same stuff the regular fluorite is made of, except in the form of finer grains). I pretty much put it in a bucket and rinsed about 8-10 times, until the foamy water pretty much disappeared. Even then, there are lots of fine particulars and the water remained cloudy. (I washed and washed - but it didnt clear).

Once in the tank, the water was milky for about 12-14 hours or so, but I ran my AC70 on the tank w/ some fine filter floss/media, and it cleared away the up quite nicely. After the water cleared I planted the tank. Planting got the water a little cloudy again, but nowhere as bad as before.

Otherwise, the substrate was pretty easy to plant in, esp. the hair grass, since it was nice and soft. My tank was small, so it wasn't too much of a hassle. I dunno how different it would be if i tried setting up a larger tank w/ the black fluorite sand.

As for fertilizers, I just put in a little of the SeaChem Flourish that I had.

i think it should fill in nice. the little bubbles mean that your plants were ''pearling''. thats good. 6700k will definetly help. i have a question for you though. how messy was the black flourite?? i had the regular stuff and it was really bad. worked out good though.

 

[evercl92]

If you are just going to keep a few cories, you won't really need a HOB filter. It'll end up wasting the CO2 you are injecting (or will be). Either go el natural - very light fish load, lots of plants, no real ferts and such, or I'd probably suggest a small powerhead, just to have a little water movement in the mid-column.

Un-bunch the (I assume) ludwigia you have in the back right corner. Make it more of a forest.

For scaping purpose, I would suggest a little more hardscape (rock or driftwood) that complements the height of your 20H. The rock you have in there contrasts nicely with the fluorite, maybe just a slightly taller piece to go with it...?

 

[Taboojen]

If you are just going to keep a few cories, you won't really need a HOB filter. It'll end up wasting the CO2 you are injecting (or will be). Either go el natural - very light fish load, lots of plants, no real ferts and such, or I'd probably suggest a small powerhead, just to have a little water movement in the mid-column.

Un-bunch the (I assume) ludwigia you have in the back right corner. Make it more of a forest.

For scaping purpose, I would suggest a little more hardscape (rock or driftwood) that complements the height of your 20H. The rock you have in there contrasts nicely with the fluorite, maybe just a slightly taller piece to go with it...?

Got it. Thanks for the suggestion. I picked up a small power head for some circulation, placed in the mid-height in the tank.

As for the plant in the back corner, i'll take your suggestion and partition it out a bit more. Is there a reason they should be spread out more like forest, rather than planted in close together? waterflow? Just curious, as I'm still new to the planted tank concepts and trying to learn I appreciate everyone's suggestions!

I'm still looking for some branch-like wood to add to the hardscape- which non of the LFS carry. The closest thing was the branches used for birds and reptiles, but I wasn't 100% sure if it was safe for aqua use.

 

[evercl92]

Is there a reason they should be spread out more like forest, rather than planted in close together? waterflow?

Leaves that don't get light will die and fall off. Spreading the stems out allows light to get to (hopefully) all of the leaves.

I'm still looking for some branch-like wood to add to the hardscape- which non of the LFS carry. The closest thing was the branches used for birds and reptiles, but I wasn't 100% sure if it was safe for aqua use.

PM sent...

 

[amehel0]

swith both bulbs to 6700k. make sure you dont use any hob filters that cause surface agitation. also if you intend to have a heap if fish use a internal power filter. it will also cause movement in the water with out causeing surface agitation.

 

[WyldFya]

swith both bulbs to 6700k. make sure you dont use any hob filters that cause surface agitation. also if you intend to have a heap if fish use a internal power filter. it will also cause movement in the water with out causeing surface agitation.

10,000K is fine for plant growth.

 

[marcello]

great start looks good the eleocharis is slow but with time it will create for you a cool green layer on the bottom of the tank

 

[Taboojen]

great start looks good the eleocharis is slow but with time it will create for you a cool green layer on the bottom of the tank

Thanks! that is what I am hoping for. My goal is to have an underwater lawn. lol.