29 Gallon Redo

[AllFishNoBrakes]

My 29 gallon was the first “big” tank that I ever set up, and #3 of the 14 I currently have running. I’ve always enjoyed it, it taught me a lot in those early days, but I’m currently itching to do something new with it. 
 

The Dwarf Neon Rainbows will be moved to the 55 gallon with the Angelfish. The Glowlight Tetras are getting up to the 3+ year old mark and will live out their days in this tank. Still have a couple Marbled Hatchets and those too will stay and live out their days. Albino Cory’s will stay as they’re currently what I enjoy most in the tank.
 

Hardscape definitely needs an update, as well. I love the piece of Spiderwood in there, but it could use an update overall. Knowing me, I’ll probably just use more DragonStone and more wood. I’m a sucker for that stuff. 
 

I’ve contemplated a second blackwater tank but I’m not sold on it. It’s literally right next to the current blackwater tank. Always an option, but I’m not sold on it yet. 
 

Basically, I’m not set on anything whatsoever, but I’m kicking around ideas. I’ve learned that I want to be 100% sure on what I want to do and build exactly what I want. I’m beyond the “let’s try that” stage of my hobby as I end up stuck with fish I’m not stoked on. So, I’m curious, what YOU would put with the Albino Cory’s in a 29 gallon? I’m in no rush to make a move, but just know I want to do something different. For once, I don’t want to breed in this tank. Just want a lovely planted community. Let me know your thoughts or what you would do if you had this tank!

Edited June 18, 2023 by AllFishNoBrakes

[Lennie]

U have many tanks I see. So do I ! Also I feel you. My 29g was getting too old so I took it down 5 months ago.

How about, you try something new just like I did last week. A bioactive vampire crab paludarium! You can utilise your wood, plants, rocks everything this way too.

29g is pretty good size. You can do a pretty good job with it. Also, something new is always exciting. And vampire crabs are adorable.

To the water part, I added some juvenile endlers. I used established shallow water filters that are made for turtle tanks. Angled it in a way it creates a nice surface agitation + it can turn over twater pretty well! Planning to cull some shrimp there too. Didn't add snails to not deal with extra poop. As a snail guy, I already clean enough snail poop in other tanks 🤣

To the land part (they approximately want %80 land to %20 water ratio) I added isopods and springtails. My tank is a shallow long custom made tank, so it is only 25cm high but 110cm long. Here, you should consider isopods that can handle high humidity and low ventilation. Because vampire crabs want around %80 humidity, and they can escape. So you will be using a lid to prevent that, and to keep it humid.

If you have any question you can always ask here or in dms. I'm pretty new in terms of practice, but I have been searching and watching about them very much.

Here are some examples online you can try for your tank size. Always use your imagination!

 

 

[AllFishNoBrakes]

@Lennie that’s a pretty rad set up, but paludariums aren’t really my jam. I want that box of water as full as it can be!

[nabokovfan87]

On 6/17/2023 at 11:13 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

I’ve contemplated a second blackwater tank but I’m not sold on it. It’s literally right next to the current blackwater tank. Always an option, but I’m not sold on it yet. 

Having two tanks side by side, my favorite thing I've seen is to treat them as one big tank. The constrast of blackwater in one sounds perfect to compliment the crystal clear nature of the 29 next to it. That's a unique setup....

My suggestion would be to start there. The blackwater. It might just be the way the piece of wood is placed or the general form of that tank. Once you get an idea of what that tank is, then try to compliment or continue that scape in the other tank. That's how I would start.

As far as stocking, I assume sandy bottom for the corydoras. Epiphytes make a lot of sense. Is there some you've not tried but want to? Hygro pinnatifida has a very good "feel" as if it was taken right out of blackwater setups. That's the one I would start with and follow that up with other things.

George Farmers rainbow fern/crypt tank is a pretty beautiful setup. Those plants could be a great focal, even if just in a small section to highlight. The contrast.

A 29 g is a bit of a fickle beast. It's tall enough to demand a certain setup and deep enough to eliminate a few other species of plants that could easily struggle.

My 29g with the shrimp is moss, dragon stone, anubias, and ferns. It's nowhere near where it should be with plant health, but the nice thing about that tank is that it just chuggs along without much fuss. It's a very easy one to maintain with all of the epiphytes.

Edited June 18, 2023 by nabokovfan87
added photos

[TheMosster]

hmmm...

Well another similar tetra species could work, i think black neons would have good contrast to the glowlights. Just the shiny and the orange compared to  the black, all around the same level of the tank that would look cool.

glowlights, albino cories, hatchetfish, thats top mid and bottom, maybe a centerpiece of some sort?

 

A 29 really gives you lots of options for things like dwarf cichlids, bettas, and smaller gouarmis.

Or maybe some shrimp of some sort? or snails, i like mysteries and nerites? IDK what you are really looking for.

Edited June 18, 2023 by Themosster

[AllFishNoBrakes]

On 6/18/2023 at 12:39 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

As far as stocking, I assume sandy bottom for the corydoras.

I’m a heathen and have my Cory’s on gravel. I know, I know… but I just really don’t like sand. I have sand in the 20L blackwater tank (started as a shrimp tank if you remember) and that’s fine, but I wish it was gravel. Used the leftover sand in my Pea Puffer tank, and I wish it was gravel there, too. It’s a smooth gravel, though.

On 6/18/2023 at 12:39 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Hygro pinnatifida has a very good "feel" as if it was taken right out of blackwater setups.

Might be fun to do a “crystal clear blackwater setup” in this one. Just wood with a few rocks, and a few epiphytes, but clear water. Could help take the actual blackwater setup next to it and help carry it over to the next tank, and contrast the extremely dark water next door. Might be onto something here… 

 

On 6/18/2023 at 12:42 PM, Themosster said:

IDK what you are really looking for.

That’s my problem, too! I don’t know exactly what I want to do, so figured I’d grab some ideas from the fellow Nerms and see if any of them sound fun. The Cory’s are staying for sure, the GlowLights are getting up there in age and won’t be around forever, and the same goes for the Hatchets. I’m seeing it as an opportunity to do something fresh with the 29. Used to be one of my favorite tanks, but now it’s just one of the tanks, so I think a refresh could help put it back on the favorite list. Black Neons could be fun!

Edited June 18, 2023 by AllFishNoBrakes

[Sora]

On 6/18/2023 at 5:40 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

I’m a heathen and have my Cory’s on gravel. I know, I know… but I just really don’t like sand

I have my corys on gravel too! They honestly seem fine, I’ve actually heard that Cory Dora catfish have been found naturally on places with sharper gravel, 🤔 the more you know

[TheMosster]

On 6/18/2023 at 5:40 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

Used to be one of my favorite tanks, but now it’s just one of the tanks

dude, i feel you, burn out is hard. I vaguely remember back when i was weeks old to fishkeeping, everything my fish did got me excited. I wish that was still the case...

On 6/18/2023 at 5:40 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

so I think a refresh could help put it back on the favorite list.

Well hopefully you think of something good! I think it'd be cool to see if you could get fry or juvinilles of a fish, that way instead of buying adults, breeding them, and getting bored, you could get the fun watching the fish grow up for a few months, it would give you something to be excited about, like. "I cant wait till these fish are at full coloration" or "I cant wait till these guys are big enough to breed". Just some suggestions.

I mean personally, ive done lots of beginner stuff, so now im moving on to a lot harder stuff to keep me stimulated in the hobby. You'd be surprised where inspiration can strike.

 

Edited June 18, 2023 by Themosster

[nabokovfan87]

On 6/18/2023 at 2:40 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

I’m a heathen and have my Cory’s on gravel. I know, I know… but I just really don’t like sand.

😂 There's a million ways to do it. There is very fine gravel too.

On 6/18/2023 at 2:40 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

Used the leftover sand in my Pea Puffer tank, and I wish it was gravel there, too. It’s a smooth gravel, though.

Is it the color or the issue of cleaning it a certain way and it always looks dirty?

[AllFishNoBrakes]

On 6/18/2023 at 5:12 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Is it the color or the issue of cleaning it a certain way and it always looks dirty?

I’ve found it way harder to grow plants in, and I’m not gonna be doing bags of aquasoil under the sand and things of that nature. Also way harder to gravel vac, and I don’t like that mulm sits on the top of it. 
 

Overall, just not for me. I simply prefer gravel

[nabokovfan87]

On 6/18/2023 at 3:16 PM, TheMosster said:

I mean personally, ive done lots of beginner stuff, so now im moving on to a lot harder stuff to keep me stimulated in the hobby. You'd be surprised where inspiration can strike.

Yeah.... For certain.

Maybe it's time for that aquascaping competition style of setup? something that detailed I mean.

Check this out:

This one was about little setup tricks. It was about the foundation for how to do something specific. Very interesting to see that side of things. There is also other videos that go into "how I made my...." Where some of the higher ranking tanks and winners talk about what they do.

You can also push yourself out of your comfort zone and try something that you've never done before.... Something that isn't just about the challenge, but is about the learning process and exploring a different way of doing things. (and nooooooo I don't just mean no filter stuff! 😂)

On 6/18/2023 at 4:16 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

I’ve found it way harder to grow plants in, and I’m not gonna be doing bags of aquasoil under the sand and things of that nature. Also way harder to gravel vac, and I don’t like that mulm sits on the top of it. 
 

Overall, just not for me. I simply prefer gravel

So a layered thing is out for you? I mean.... A cap on top of soil, is that an option for you or something you have currently?

I've also seen the tier method. The visual stuff up front, rocks in tiers, and then soil in behind the rocks. Visually you don't see the soil, plants hide it, but it's there for helping the plants to grow.

[TheMosster]

On 6/18/2023 at 7:21 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Maybe it's time for that aquascaping competition style of setup? something that detailed I mean.

that sounds pretty cool, ive got a shrimp tank im working on thats gonna be a blackwater scape , just not aquascaper level. I was talking about some complex breeding projects ill be trying over the summer, i just dont have the setups up yet...

Edited June 18, 2023 by TheMosster

[nabokovfan87]

On 6/18/2023 at 2:40 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

Might be fun to do a “crystal clear blackwater setup” in this one. Just wood with a few rocks, and a few epiphytes, but clear water. Could help take the actual blackwater setup next to it and help carry it over to the next tank, and contrast the extremely dark water next door. Might be onto something here… 

I found this as a bit of inspiration for you. Two very different setups and each is their own thing. They do compliment one another and the flow from one to the next is really cool.