A little background: I used to be pretty into planted tanks, though only ever low-tech, but when my husband and I bought a house and I suddenly had room for more tanks, the hobby has taken a new direction for me, and I have been going bigger, and bigger. I find I am more attracted to some of the bigger fish with bigger personality, so I am in the process of building a 700g monster tank for some giant cichlids and oddballs. I am up to 7 tanks right now, smallest 40g, largest 155g, most are 75g, and I have found I am getting over whelmed with the number of tanks, so I will be reducing the number by half when I get the big tank up and going. I'll have three tanks over 100g (including the 700g). One tank I was torn on what to do with was my Saltwater tank. I liked that it was different than my other tanks, and since I'm growing macro algae it was bright and pretty, plus the fish are different. But it is just a lot of hassle compared to FW, especially how important but difficult it is to quarantine in SW. Well my lone SW fish just died, so that has decided it - I got rid of my SW. But, I still want a tank that is smaller that I can mess with some kind of plants (can't in my big tanks because of the fish, and amount of lighting needed - I just have pothos on those) and I do have few smaller fish I like a lot, but that I was going to get rid of because they would be eaten in my large tanks. So I thought why not keep one small tank with a few of my favorite small fish, and make it planted. Then I get the best of both worlds.
So here is my plan,
Equipment:
20g long tank - I also have a 10g, normal 20g, or 29g I could use, but I think 20g long may be best. Thoughts?
2ft Coralife Compact florescent light (from my SW tank)
Powerhead sponge filter
Substrate?? (suggestions? not expensive please! or I'll just do potting soil and kitty litter, which is what I have done in the past.)
Id rather not do CO2 , but with this strong of a light...
Hardscape will be some large natural black rocks, and maybe some gnarly driftwood.
Stock:
4 Kuhli loaches (already have, and was going to get rid of)
1 Circumcintus eel (already have, only gets 6 inches - about 3.5 currently)
3 Otos (already have)
5 African Dwarf Frogs (going to add - love these guys, but haven't had a compatible tank for them in awhile)
I'll probably add some harlequin rasboras as a schooling fish, because they are my favorite small schooler - but I am open to suggestions.
Probably put my betta in there too and/or a dwarf cichlid or two if it can't compete in my bigger tanks.
Would love any other suggestion for small fish with lots of personality!
Plants:
I want to keep it simple, not too many varieties. I want plants that grow fast enough to keep the algae at bay, but not so fast I constantly have to maintain them.
I am thinking:
Some kind of moss (maybe? suggestions?)
A foreground plant (suggestions?)
Dwarf sag and/or some crypts
Some type of red Ludwiga or Rotala (suggestions?)
Something like Cabomba (suggestions?)
Maybe a tiger lotus or some pennywort?
Any other comments or suggestions?
So here is my plan,
Equipment:
20g long tank - I also have a 10g, normal 20g, or 29g I could use, but I think 20g long may be best. Thoughts?
2ft Coralife Compact florescent light (from my SW tank)
Powerhead sponge filter
Substrate?? (suggestions? not expensive please! or I'll just do potting soil and kitty litter, which is what I have done in the past.)
Id rather not do CO2 , but with this strong of a light...
Hardscape will be some large natural black rocks, and maybe some gnarly driftwood.
Stock:
4 Kuhli loaches (already have, and was going to get rid of)
1 Circumcintus eel (already have, only gets 6 inches - about 3.5 currently)
3 Otos (already have)
5 African Dwarf Frogs (going to add - love these guys, but haven't had a compatible tank for them in awhile)
I'll probably add some harlequin rasboras as a schooling fish, because they are my favorite small schooler - but I am open to suggestions.
Probably put my betta in there too and/or a dwarf cichlid or two if it can't compete in my bigger tanks.
Would love any other suggestion for small fish with lots of personality!
Plants:
I want to keep it simple, not too many varieties. I want plants that grow fast enough to keep the algae at bay, but not so fast I constantly have to maintain them.
I am thinking:
Some kind of moss (maybe? suggestions?)
A foreground plant (suggestions?)
Dwarf sag and/or some crypts
Some type of red Ludwiga or Rotala (suggestions?)
Something like Cabomba (suggestions?)
Maybe a tiger lotus or some pennywort?
Any other comments or suggestions?
