My First Tank in Over a Decade

[Scott P.]

It's been awhile since I had a tank set up so I decided a few months ago that it was time to jump back in.

Tank is a 20 gallon that I set up the first week of July. This was after months of reading and studying on the internet.

I have had fair luck in the past but I wanted to be better at it.

As stated tank is a 20g. 

Filtration is a Seachem Tidal 55 HOB and a slow moving under gravel with one lift tube. About 3 inches gravel over the UGF.

Lighting is a Fluval Aquasky. I'm not a big fan of trying to rush things but this time I did use some ammonia starter.

Used Fritz Fishless fuel. Followed the directions and dosed it up to 2 PPM ammonia. About a week later I started ghost feeding the tank so it would have a steady supply of waste. It wasn't much. 

A week or so after I set it up i planted most of the plants on the right side. About a week later I planted the left side. Of course along with the plants came at least one snail. I figured that was coming. No problem. I have been checking water every other day. About a week or so ago the ammonia went away and I started showing a bit of nitrite. Nice, I see progress here. I tested on Friday and it looked like nitrites were going down but was hard to tell. So this morning I check again and ammonia still at 0, and good news, nitrites are also a zero. Nitrates showing about 20-25 ppm. Nitrates did get up to around 40 ppm the other day, likely due to me getting heavy handed with the ferts. I did a small water change to bring it back down. Backed off the ferts also. 

The last plants I added were the frogbit. At first I let it just go where it wanted but last night it got stuck in a corner without much light. That's when I made a small fence to keep it under the lights. I don't know how much light frogbit requires but if someone wants to chime in on that feel free to do so.

Any way it looks like the tank is coming along nicely. I'm going to give it another few days to a week, do a partial water change and add a few fish.

Now lets see if I can add a picture without making a fool of myself.

 

 

[CalmedByFish]

Great start! Looks good too! 

[lefty o]

off to a good start.

[Scott P.]

Plants in the tank so far.

3 Amazon Swords. About 20ish S repens. 4 Bacopa caroliniana.  2 Green Crytocoryne Wendti.

! Red Crytocoryne Wendti. 1 Bronze Crytocoryne.  1 Red Flame Sword. 1 Red Melon Sword. 1 Tiger Lotus bulb.

Also the Frogbit mentioned in the first post.

Also at the moment there is no heater. The tank stays at 77-78 degrees. I keep it a bit warm in the house.

[CalmedByFish]

On 8/1/2021 at 1:43 PM, Scott P. said:

3 Amazon Swords. 

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't even 1 sword eventually swallow a 20 gallon? (I have 1, so I'm particularly curious.)

[Taco Playz]

That looks good.😍

[Scott P.]

On 8/1/2021 at 2:46 PM, CalmedByFish said:

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't even 1 sword eventually swallow a 20 gallon? (I have 1, so I'm particularly curious.)

I am going to find out. LOL

[CalmedByFish]

On 8/1/2021 at 2:06 PM, Scott P. said:

I am going to find out. LOL

Well, since it's usually healthiest to have more plant bulk than critter bulk, you're probably set! *Impressively* set. LOL

[Scott P.]

On 8/1/2021 at 3:25 PM, CalmedByFish said:

Well, since it's usually healthiest to have more plant bulk than critter bulk, you're probably set! *Impressively* set. LOL

If they turn out to be a problem I have sharp scissors.

[CalmedByFish]

On 8/1/2021 at 2:27 PM, Scott P. said:

If they turn out to be a problem I have sharp scissors.

If all goes well, you'll need a chainsaw. (Or you'll need to mail me one! 😛 )

[PineSong]

Scott P, I admire your patience and your tank looks great. What kinds of fish are you planning?

 

[Odd Duck]

@Scott P. Looking good!  Frogbit doesn’t need tons of light but does appreciate and do better with moderate light.  It can get scorched with very high light but I haven’t gotten it there, yet, with moderate lighting.

Your Amazon swords may swallow you whole if they decide they like where they’re at.  My largest I’ve grown up myself started at about 8” tall and are now about 16” tall in 4.5 months.  I just recently bought some that came at about 20” tall right from the supplier.

[Scott P.]

On 8/1/2021 at 10:22 PM, PineSong said:

Scott P, I admire your patience and your tank looks great. What kinds of fish are you planning?

 

My plan is a small group of Harlequin Rasboras 6 or so. Maybe 4-5 Panda Cory cats and a pair of Bolivian Rams.

I am open to suggestions though. As far as the plants go, I really want them to dominate the tank.

[Scott P.]

On 8/2/2021 at 12:42 AM, Odd Duck said:

@Scott P. Looking good!  Frogbit doesn’t need tons of light but does appreciate and do better with moderate light.  It can get scorched with very high light but I haven’t gotten it there, yet, with moderate lighting.

Right now they are directly under my light. Do you think that will be too much? I tried letting them roam but they get caught up in the right front corner. Not much light going on there. The light is a Fluval Aquasky which isn't an overly strong light to start with.

[Odd Duck]

On 8/2/2021 at 7:05 AM, Scott P. said:

Right now they are directly under my light. Do you think that will be too much? I tried letting them roam but they get caught up in the right front corner. Not much light going on there. The light is a Fluval Aquasky which isn't an overly strong light to start with.

I have mine directly under lights, so unless you have super strong lighting you should be OK.  Just watch them.  They will get obviously dry, brown edges.  If they like where they are, they will get larger leaves under good light and may even bloom for you!  I don’t think my lights are strong enough to trigger blooming, at least they haven’t yet.  I haven’t used a Fluval, so I can’t compare.  I’ve mostly got Beamsworks and some secondhand Marineland.

I make floating corrals out of 3/8” silicone tubing and end to end connectors for my floaters, usually.  They aren’t too fond of surface current and being constantly “stirred”.  I’ve even attached suction cups by cutting up the floating, suction cup feeding rings (I bought cheap ones and modified - look at my pics of my “6G Volcano” tank in my sig).  I also recently got some suction cups with zip ties attached and have used those to create the same type of effect as a hinged gizmo by doing a zip tie around the tubing ring, then attaching to the zip tie on the suction cup.  It’s a bit of a pain to glue the modified feeding ring piece to the silicone tubing since glue doesn’t like to stick to silicone.

I have noticed that if the floaters get dense enough, they will make their own mat that keeps them from stirring around and they’re perfectly happy that way.  It takes time for them to build that dense mat, though, unless you start with a really good sized bunch.

[Scott P.]

On 8/2/2021 at 10:34 AM, Odd Duck said:

 

I make floating corrals out of 3/8” silicone tubing and end to end connectors for my floaters, usually.  They aren’t too fond of surface current and being constantly “stirred”.  I’ve even attached suction cups by cutting up the floating, suction cup feeding rings (I bought cheap ones and modified - look at my pics of my “6G Volcano” tank in my sig).  I also recently got some suction cups with zip ties attached and have used those to create the same type of effect as a hinged gizmo by doing a zip tie around the tubing ring, then attaching to the zip tie on the suction cup.  It’s a bit of a pain to glue the modified feeding ring piece to the silicone tubing since glue doesn’t like to stick to silicone.

I have noticed that if the floaters get dense enough, they will make their own mat that keeps them from stirring around and they’re perfectly happy that way.  It takes time for them to build that dense mat, though, unless you start with a really good sized bunch.

@Odd Duck the corral thingy is what I did for mine.  Mine is about six inches across as all I am corralling at the moment is about 7 small plants, did the suction cup thing also.

Thanks for the reply as I was a bit concerned about the lighting.

[Odd Duck]

@Scott P. You can also corral floaters out of an area, for instance to leave an area of more light for certain submerse plants or to reduce surface agitation from a sponge filter.

Edited August 2, 2021 by Odd Duck
Fix typos. Why does autocorrect think I’m obsessed with fir trees?

[Scott P.]

Just went out window shopping for fish this morning. Talk about slim pickings.

The only place that had any kind of stock had sick signs all over the tanks. I know a few weeks ago they were battling a major Ick outbreak. They did have some beautiful Rams in there though.

Petsmart didn't have much stock at all and what they did have had some crazy prices.

It's looking more like AquaHuna every day.

[Scott P.]

Well my tank now has inhabitants. Ten Harlequin Rasbora. Ordered from AquaHuna.

First time I ever even considered ordering fish online. Went very smooth and no dead fish.

They were funny when I put them in the tank. They all hid behind the Amazon Sword, all except for one. He never hid. He just went straight into explore mode. The rest came out one at a time to join him. He may be a leader in the making. They are super little but I like that. I get to watch them grow up.

[Scott P.]

Added 10 red cherry shrimp to the tank today.

Now each of my Rasboras has their own pet shrimp. LOL

Just like the Harlequins they are very small, but at least they are not old. I get to watch them grow.

[Scott P.]

I found my first shrimp molt carcass this morning.

I'm guessing that's a good sign.

[Tihshho]

You will find them periodically. Sometime you won't find them as the populations in the tank grow since they will eat the molts to regain trace elements.

[lefty o]

On 9/5/2021 at 3:15 PM, Scott P. said:

I found my first shrimp molt carcass this morning.

I'm guessing that's a good sign.

its an excellent sign. it shows they are growing, and doing well.

[mommygourami]

On 8/1/2021 at 12:06 PM, Scott P. said:

I am going to find out. LOL

Mine took over my 20 gallon long pretty quick, but they look great in my 55 gallon now.  Just a great excuse for Scott to upgrade to a bigger tank someday. 😉 

[Scott P.]

On 9/6/2021 at 10:12 PM, mommygourami said:

Mine took over my 20 gallon long pretty quick, but they look great in my 55 gallon now.  Just a great excuse for Scott to upgrade to a bigger tank someday. 😉 

I have had a second thought or two about putting three in that corner. I have grown them before and should have known better. I may end up taking the middle one out.