My tank setup so far + Beginner stocking?

[little red herring]

New to the forum, let me know if this wasn’t the best section to post this in :’)

For my first tank I’ve got a 20 gal long, so far planted with vallisneria, dwarf saggitaria, cardamine, java moss tied to driftwood, and one more type of plant that I originally thought to be moneywort but now looking at it I think it might be something else. All bought already submerged from a LFS, and now planted in SeaChem fluorite black gravel.

They do seem to be melting a bit which was expected for a new environment. Some of them, especially the Val, were already not looking too great in the store. I’m hoping I will have better luck starting with ones that were already living in water though. I want to plant more heavily, as I enjoy the look of it and am wanting to use it to block line of sight depending on the fish I decide on. Thinking some kind of floater and maybe water sprite? I’ve yet to fertilize or start cycling, but have Dr. Tim’s ammonium chloride on hand and easy green fert + root tabs on the way. Tank pictured here:

I wasn’t too keen on using a ton of water to rinse my notoriously dusty substrate, so I ended up putting it in unrinsed, planted, and then filling up and letting the dust settle. Like I saw with many others who used it, after 48 hours the water was crystal clear. It was an anxious wait but now I’m feeling very happy about how it’s looking. Filter seemed to help. Using a Fluval HOB for 20-50 gal as suggested by my uncle, who although unfamiliar with freshwater, has had experience in the past with reef tanks. Not sure if I should maybe add a sponge eventually.

The big piece of driftwood has been wanting to float, I didn’t have a bucket large enough to water-log it so I’ve used some aquarium rocks and a net to keep it down. The one with the arch is just fine and has started developing some biofilm, which I’m hoping to take as a good sign?  It’s certainly been interesting to watch with all of the pearl-like bubbles underneath it. Very cool. I plan on starting the cycle soon.

Anyway, I want to use the time I am cycling to carefully deliberate stocking choices. So far I’ve really been drawn to mystery snails and bettas, so I got a glass lid. I’ve tested PH which is at about 7.6, and from what I’ve read is good for the snails but maybe on the higher end for a betta. I’ve yet to test some other parameters. To my understanding hitting that exact number is less important than keeping it consistent, though. Correct me if I’m wrong. The reason I have yet to add a heater is because during the summer months my tap runs very hot. Like 90 degrees Fahrenheit straight out. Tried leaving buckets out with an ice pack in a plastic bag with minimal change. My plan for this that has worked out so far is keeping multiple gallon jugs that would have ordinarily been thrown out and filling them with tap water and storing them in the pantry until I needed to use them. I’ve yet to measure the temps again, but last I checked it was 78F, which was only shortly after adding it to the tank. My room is probably the coldest in the house and just by touch it feels decently colder than it was.

I can see the possibility for nipping at snail stalks if I don’t find a chill betta, and a need for a backup plan. I do have some extra aquarium supplies suitable for at least a 5 gallon, probably more if that doesn’t work out. If that seems like a decent plan, would it be a possibility to have some other fish in my 20 gal too? A friend of mine recommended rosy loaches, but I’m afraid they will kick up too much dust with faster digging than snails. He told me that they shouldn’t try to eat mysteries. Looking for some suitable tank mates suggestions for what I’ve had in mind or different suggestions altogether :]

Edited June 19 by little red herring

[mynameisnobody]

You’re probably going to get a ton of answers to all your questions. My input is that a 20 long is a low tank, while Val grows very, very long. I’d stick with the dwarf sag and remove the Val so it doesn’t eat up excess nutrients. Just for example, I attached a photo of my 180 gallon with Val, it’s somewhere around 8’-10’.

Edit: Of course, it won’t let me post a photo. 

[EricksonAquatics]

A 20g gives you plenty of options for tankmates. I don't foresee the Rosy Loaches causing any problems! You can have those as a bottom dweller crew, pick a midwater schooling fish for the middle of the tank, and the betta for the centerpiece. 

Kudos for thinking ahead about having a backup plan for your betta. You can increase your chances of it working out by adding the betta very last. And if possible and if you'll be buying it locally, you can try to hold the betta up to your stores other tanks to see how they react (if they flare like crazy, probably not the best choice lol).

Also, bettas are pretty dang forgiving when it comes to water parameters. My pH is around 8.2-8.4 and my betta does quite well, so don't worry about your pH 🙂

The biofilm on the wood is a good sign. And plus, shrimp and snails love to eat that stuff. I don't see any problem not running a heater, too! Lucky you for having such nice water temperature all the time! 

Best of luck

[doktor zhivago]

Just fertilize the plants and they'll start taking off in a couple weeks and the cycle will take care of itself. That being said many people have used the Dr Tims approach successfully.

 

My valisneria does ok-ish in gravel but it's not really tall. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

Your betta will be fine with your ph. Those numbers are mostly meaningless unless you're breeding or at the extremes.

 

Most snails will more than handle themselves from fish aggression but larger loaches can suck them out of the shell. I don't think rosy loaches get big enough to bother mysteries

[mynameisnobody]

There you go, that’s what Val will look like if it’s healthy. It will block the light to your whole setup once established. 

[little red herring]

What a beautiful tank! Thank you for the advice, I’ll keep that in mind. If I take it out is there anything I can do with it, or should I just throw it out?

[Lennie]

On 6/20/2024 at 12:46 AM, mynameisnobody said:

There you go, that’s what Val will look like if it’s healthy. It will block the light to your whole setup once established. 

I used giant val in my shallow tank. 110x40x25cmh. It looks clumped but I love that look too. they gradually grew more and more. I just found the first setup day pic in my gallery. They still looked good to me when they grow more leaves

From left all the way to right. Rather than going directly up, it grew in terms on the tank length of 110cm which looked nice to me

[mynameisnobody]

@Lennie that looks awesome when it’s the only plant. Shallow tank with other plants and Val is asking for trouble. At the very least you’d be working against what they said the goal was. 

@little red herring I wouldn’t toss it. Use it as an excuse to buy another deeper aquarium. 

Edited June 19 by mynameisnobody

[EricksonAquatics]

If you like the look of the Val folded over, there’s no problem keeping it in there. You can also trim it every so often to make sure it doesn’t block the light from the over plants!

[mynameisnobody]

@EricksonAquatics then you basically have dwarf sag. And if you like the folded over look but are trimming due to it covering the light for other plants then it wouldn’t be folded over. I’m not saying this can’t be done, obviously it can. But as someone that’s done this for a really long time, I’ve learned to use things to my advantage, not make things work because I want them to.