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20g long, first planted tank

2K views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  Econde 
#1 ·
Hi all, my first planted tank AND my first post :help:
i've been lurking around just gathering info for a while but now I'm ready to actually begin

so I already have a 1 yr old 10g tank (gravel, plastic plants, etc) with 4 male platies. I somehow stumbled across this site and fell in love with planted tanks, so I went out and bought a 20g long and a hinged glass lid. Im trying to gather ALL my information before I just go out and spend a ton of money on unnecessary things.

So I was planning on definitely going low tech, low light to med light plants I guess (haven't even picked out plants yet, want to make sure everything else is set first). I have a few very noobish questions, bear with me :smile2:
1. will the "Aqueon Modular LED Aquarium light" be enough? or should I look at getting something like a Finnex or Current Satellite? (I've read countless posts about lights, decided it would be easiest for me to get something like these instead of trying to "make" my own)
2. EcoComplete? Will this be adequate for low tech? I saw that it lacks nutrients, so should I add ferts? and if so what kind?
3. As far as moving my existing fish, I planned on running my filter from the 10g alongside the new one to help get the cycle along, how soon is it okay to move the fish to the new setup after adding new plants and such?

thanks!

Bump: OH! and no C02 diffuser, I have seen API brand CO2 booster but haven't seen many people mention it, so if anyone has any advice on that Id greatly appreciate it as well :)
 
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#2 ·
Well I am not one to listen too.....lol
I had a 10 gal low tech. Ecco complete substrate and a cheap led light from ebay .
Java fern took over the tank with no ferts or co2....just fish.
So depends on what you intend on growing.
I would go with the finnex light just my 2 cents.
 
#3 ·
Hey Dan, I have the same tank as you. I went with the Finnex stingray 30". My tank is low tech, i only dose with Seachem Flourish Comprehensive a couple times a week and Seachem FLourish Excel daily. Ecocomplete is pretty good, you can also go the cheaper route and go organic potting soil with sand on top of it. i spent about $40+ on substrate alone to get a couple inches in the front and 3-4 inches in the back.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/100-low-tech-forum/950186-20g-long-planted.html#post8499370
 
#4 ·
Hey Danid,

I just started my own 20 Long too! Moving up from my 5 gallon "low tech" fail. My 20 long is currently scaped, planted, and cycling!

I guess you can say it is a "high tech" tank. Pumping Co2, will be fertilizing with Seachem Iron and idk what else yet. I used a few substrate as the bed.

For height in the back I used Eco-complete then I covered with a semi-course sand substrate from caribsea for some cover and height to add little mountain like slopes. I then used ADA Aquasoil to top it all off.

Why all three? They all have different nutrients and work in different ways, In nature there is no one perfect substrate, but a misxture of sand soil and gravel. ADA is one of the most, if not the most nutrient dense substrate out there and is softer than eco-complete and can house pretty much any plant with different roots. Eco-complete is much more coarse and is good for plants with long strong roots, but not the best for plants with finer roots like carpets but has a good amount of nutrients. Sand, the least dense in nutrients is so that my plants with finer roots have a finer grain substrate to latch on to.

Specs:
Substrate: ADA Aquasoil, Eco-Complete, CaribSea Substarte Sand.

Lights: Finnex Planted plus, Love it and totally recommend it! gives you the option of putting in plants that need more lighting if you wish to have a mix of low light and high light plants to change it up.

Filter: Eheim Ecco Pro 2236 (yes totally over filtering, courtesy of my dad who had it in his 55 gallon African Chiclid tank ).

Co2: 5lb Pressurized Co2 with Milwaukee sms122 ph meter. (also courtesy of my dad who once had a 55 gallon planted discus tank)

Heater: Eheim Jager heater 100W


I will post up pictures of my tank soon, and start a journal about it. Looking forward to seeing what you do!
 
#5 ·
1. I suggest the beamswork 24" 0.5w LED fixture. I purchased it for my low tech 20g shrimp tank and have been nothing but pleased. Check out my thread in my signature for a quick unboxing and set up of the light.

2. It will be fine. I suggest a bag of black diamond blasting sand though. I use just sand in my 20g and I have had no issues with my plants. They are just a handful of crypts and dwarf sag. The dwarf sag doesn't mind the minimalist nature of blasting sand, so you should be ifne.

3. If you move the filter on the 10g to the 20g and run the 20g filter, you can move the fish immediately. You should be fine running them in the new tank with the existing filter.
 
#6 ·
Wow thank you all!! I was planning on going out to start buying my stuff in a couple hours, perfect timing :)

I've been leaning towards the finnex all day, good reviews and decently priced. If they carry it in my LFS I'll grab that as well as substrate and plants and get started. If not I'll have to order it, so substrate and plants will be delayed.

Going to also start looking into the seacham products you Guys mentioned , excel etc, that stuff is fine to use with no c02?
 
#7 ·
You can also go read up on EI dosing. I am by no means no expert and am fairly new myself to the planted tank world. From what I've read, you can go to DIY EI Liquid Fertilizer - NilocG Aquatics and save a ton of money for ferts. Seachem is nice, but it can get pretty pricey after a while. Now there is nothing wrong with using Seachem products either. Also for your substrate, you can use Black Diamond Blasting sand. Its like 8 bucks for a 50LB bag. I have no experience with this, but there are discussions on how well it works for planted tanks and how much more cost effective it is than other subtrates. Black Diamond Medium Blasting Abrasives - For Life Out Here
 
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