8 Month Progression Planted 20 Gallon Long

[Brenden Mitchell]

August 1, 2022

I had no idea what I wanted to do with this tank in the beginning, I placed fluval stratum underneath fluorite gravel and threw some plants in. 

September 22, 2022

The plants didn't grow very much in the first two months, I bought lots more and added a tree root that I found in a lake. I ended up hating the look of the fluorite gravel and I poured more fluval stratum on top. I'm more of a dirty mulm kind of guy, I don't like the clean look that much. Expensive mistake buying fancy gravel... 

March 22, 2023

After I added the top layer of fluval stratum the plants started to grow much better, the dwarf hair grass eventually took off. I added in some crypts, the foremost is doing well. The other two in the middle and on the right side are slowly growing. Java fern and Pogostemon stellatus did not do well, I have finally removed the Pogostemon because it refused to grow, replacing it with Elodea, which I don't necessarily like but it grows super fast and generally looks decent. It fills in empty space well. I added pearl weed in the middle, which has just been trimmed. It was reaching the top of the tank before the trim. Anubias nana petite is attached to the wood, and it has been growing very, very slowly. There is also some type of grass that is doing excellent, dwarf chain sword? I bought it at a LFS and it was unlabeled. 

There is a slight cloudiness to the tank that has persisted, coming and going, for a couple months now. 
I change 1/3 of the water every two weeks or so. I fertilize with two pumps of Easy Green and one capful of API leaf zone every Sunday. I test water before water changes and I never have Ammonia, Nitrites, or Nitrates. I don't vacuum the substrate, but sometimes I stir it up when I'm changing water to suck up a little of the algae growing between the grass. My PH is something like 7.8-8.2 usually. The tank is unheated and usually fluctuates from 68-72° F. That's about all the details I've got. I have 10 white cloud minnows and a handful of wild type cherry shrimp which I culled from my 10 gallon cherry shrimp tank. I want to keep the good colors in the 10 gallon and put the rest in here. 

I'm feeling good about this tank, it's had a lot of ups and downs but I think it's finally getting pretty solid. I will probably not use aquarium substrate again. I think that fluval stratum is not really worth the money, nor are the gravels - at least not for my uses. They do look very nice, and for certain styles they can work well. However, I prefer organic potting soil and gravel/sand from creeks. I have noticed a distinct difference in this tank and my other two tanks which had soil. This tank took much longer to show plant growth, the growth is less intense, and it has had many ups and downs in health, whereas my dirted tanks have always remained stable. 

Anyway, thanks for checking out my tank. If you have any thoughts or questions let me know.

Edited March 24, 2023 by Brenden Mitchell

[PineSong]

I think it looks great! 

[Solstice_Lacer]

Looking good. I'd speculate the cloudiness might be from the big root? If you're not seeing nitrite/nitrate/ammonia, maybe do smaller water changes. Nice white clouds 👍

[Brenden Mitchell]

On 3/24/2023 at 8:09 PM, Solstice_Lacer said:

Looking good. I'd speculate the cloudiness might be from the big root? If you're not seeing nitrite/nitrate/ammonia, maybe do smaller water changes. Nice white clouds 👍

It could be the wood. I have been assuming it must be a bacterial bloom of some kind. 

[nabokovfan87]

On 3/24/2023 at 12:08 PM, Brenden Mitchell said:

WOW......

Extremely nice work.  I am doing something similar in my tank, hoping for half as decent results as you have achieved.

[Afishionado]

Super cool looking tank. What are you doing for filtration? It’s impressively well hidden whatever it is.

[Brenden Mitchell]

On 3/24/2023 at 11:19 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

WOW......

Extremely nice work.  I am doing something similar in my tank, hoping for half as decent results as you have achieved.

Thanks a lot. I have never shown this tank to anyone except some family and friends and none of them are hobbyists. It's nice to hear that other people enjoy it.

 

On 3/25/2023 at 3:08 PM, Afishionado said:

Super cool looking tank. What are you doing for filtration? It’s impressively well hidden whatever it is.

I have a sponge filter in the back left corner. It's hidden behind the roots of some water lettuce, elodea, and the wood. But if you could look from above there is actually a lot of room back there. The pothos that's on top of the tank has grown its roots into the sponge filter, which I thought was pretty neat. 

[Miska]

Absolutely lovely. I love the way it looks like a complete and total underwater forest wonderland.

[brevilo99]

On 3/24/2023 at 2:08 PM, Brenden Mitchell said:

August 1, 2022

I had no idea what I wanted to do with this tank in the beginning, I placed fluval stratum underneath fluorite gravel and threw some plants in. 

September 22, 2022

The plants didn't grow very much in the first two months, I bought lots more and added a tree root that I found in a lake. I ended up hating the look of the fluorite gravel and I poured more fluval stratum on top. I'm more of a dirty mulm kind of guy, I don't like the clean look that much. Expensive mistake buying fancy gravel... 

March 22, 2023

After I added the top layer of fluval stratum the plants started to grow much better, the dwarf hair grass eventually took off. I added in some crypts, the foremost is doing well. The other two in the middle and on the right side are slowly growing. Java fern and Pogostemon stellatus did not do well, I have finally removed the Pogostemon because it refused to grow, replacing it with Elodea, which I don't necessarily like but it grows super fast and generally looks decent. It fills in empty space well. I added pearl weed in the middle, which has just been trimmed. It was reaching the top of the tank before the trim. Anubias nana petite is attached to the wood, and it has been growing very, very slowly. There is also some type of grass that is doing excellent, dwarf chain sword? I bought it at a LFS and it was unlabeled. 

There is a slight cloudiness to the tank that has persisted, coming and going, for a couple months now. 
I change 1/3 of the water every two weeks or so. I fertilize with two pumps of Easy Green and one capful of API leaf zone every Sunday. I test water before water changes and I never have Ammonia, Nitrites, or Nitrates. I don't vacuum the substrate, but sometimes I stir it up when I'm changing water to suck up a little of the algae growing between the grass. My PH is something like 7.8-8.2 usually. The tank is unheated and usually fluctuates from 68-72° F. That's about all the details I've got. I have 10 white cloud minnows and a handful of wild type cherry shrimp which I culled from my 10 gallon cherry shrimp tank. I want to keep the good colors in the 10 gallon and put the rest in here. 

I'm feeling good about this tank, it's had a lot of ups and downs but I think it's finally getting pretty solid. I will probably not use aquarium substrate again. I think that fluval stratum is not really worth the money, nor are the gravels - at least not for my uses. They do look very nice, and for certain styles they can work well. However, I prefer organic potting soil and gravel/sand from creeks. I have noticed a distinct difference in this tank and my other two tanks which had soil. This tank took much longer to show plant growth, the growth is less intense, and it has had many ups and downs in health, whereas my dirted tanks have always remained stable. 

Anyway, thanks for checking out my tank. If you have any thoughts or questions let me know.

Very nice!