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My 10 gal, 20gal to 55 gal low light tank progression! 56K 10/9/11 LOTS of new pics

13K views 125 replies 14 participants last post by  CKJ 
#1 · (Edited)
This has taken me forever to get a tank journal going!

My son Matthew and I started this tank 1 year ago on christmas!

Heres what it looked like several months ago with all the fake plastic plants! My son is 7 1/2 and loves pirates of the caribbean!


And these photos still with fake plants were taken in june I think!







A very nice lady on a different forum was so very sweet and sent me some very tiny starts back in sept and she sent me:

1 Anubias nana which has several new leaves on it now

2 Java fern Wendelov which both are still pretty small and i've just left them to float cause I didn't know where to put them!

2 Oakleaf Watersprites, one was very small with only two brown leaves and I thought it wouldn't make it at all and it's doing just fine but still small and the other one was about the size of a half dollar and it is now bigger than my hand with my fingers all spread out! So fat i've just left both of those ase floaters!

4 Java ferns I think! She didn't say which kind those were but I'm pretty sure they have new leaves on them and they look much better and a bit bigger now than when they arrived!

And then I ordered some java moss off of ebay! Which I now know that that can be risky! The lady lives up around chicago so same state at least and she has great feedback and said she had no snails!!! Thank goodness!!

She also sent me some pennywort which i'm absolutely LOVING!! And it seems to get a new leaf every two days!

And some E. Tenellus(not sure of the spelling) which is not doing so hot and it's in my 10 gal with some molly fry!

And so far on my own where I live the only decent looking plants i've been able to find are some Anubias plants at petsmart by Top Fin. I have 3 of those in the 20 gal and one in my sons 5 gal. Those are doing excellent!

Also I some thing called Water wysteria by top fin at petsmart too but it liiked nothing like the pics i've seen here or at at plantgeek and it promptly rotted away within a few weeks!

The plants i've seen at petco are totally alea ridden and in awfull shape and not always labeled so I passed on those completely!

Our only one other place is called the Fish Man Pet Center and they specialize in fish! And that's where I have had the best luck getting fish from that survive! But their plants don't look very good at all either!

Do any of you buy plants that have brown leaves and algea all over them? I just can't seem to make myself buy them that way already!

I just got a new cannon power shot camera and the pics are taking forever to load on photobucket! I think what would help is making sure to resize to a smaller size in the camera first and with the old one it was much easier to do that!

I mainly tried to takes of one of my mollies cause I think she's pregnant again and I don't have any males! I got her at least 2 months and I knew she was already pregnant and promptly had babies a few days later, they are in my 10 gal fry tank!:icon_smil Now she's huge again! And she's been pretty big for like a month at least and I'd love to put her in the breeder net but I thought she was ready to pop like 3 weeks ago and still nothing! So i'm sure when she has them it'll take forever to find them and catch them!

Currently in the 20 gal we have just a hang on the back filter and the lighting that came with the tank. So i'm pretty sure it's low light! I bought it from a very good friend!

The inhabitants are 2 gold dust female mollies, 1 clown pleco, 1 otto cat, and 8 neons, and not sure how many ghost shrimp but maybe 6!

So here's the pics from a few days ago! Oh and excuse the finger prints!!! Matthew is 7 1/2 and so i've just learned to live with them! And excuse the mess on the desk as that's usually the first place everything gets dumped when you walk in the front door sadly:mad:! I usually try to get that cleaned up once a week!







Does that molly look preggers to you?

Any advice would be appreciated! I'd actually love to plant that big water sprite but don't know where to put it cause it's gotten so big and I do like it floating but it has just gotten so big and I don't want it to interfere with the other plants getting light. I guess I could pull off a baby plant or two to leave floating.

And then there's the two java fern wendelov's that I need to put somewhere. Are those real slow growers? There's still real green but still about the same size as when I got them! I mainly had just plantes stuf to get it planted so that it wouldn't all be floating all over.

And I love my pennywort and I think the lady sent me like 4 or 5 six inch stems of it and I have it planted in the back right corner and it's is up to the top now and one stem is growing all the way over to the front left corner now! I will probably trim that piece and plant it in the 10 gal as mainly theres just some java moss in that one!

Thanks in advance everyone and I look forward to all your input!

lol

Cindy
 
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#27 ·
Here's some updated pics of the 10gal shrimp tank that I just took!!

Here's a pic of a baby shrimp! Not the best but I was surprised I got one at all!


munching on an algea wafer piece



The whole tank! I think the java moss has really grown!


Since i've torn down the 20 gal and started a 55 gal should I start a new tank journal for it or just add it to this thread?

Thanks!!

Cindy
 
#28 ·
OMG it's been a very long time since I updated this. I did set up the 55 gal finally. I'll post pics of how it's been so you can see how it changed and then i'll post about how it is now and come current pics and what i'm wanting to do to it. Guess I didn't take too many pics.

Starting with the oldest pics:






Now the newest pics:




For a good long while the tank has been empty of inhabitants :eek:( But I kept the filter going and all and then a friend was taking his tank down and gave me all his fish which 4 of them are pretty big I thought compared to what we always used to have.
1-4in golden gourami
2-3 1/2in rainbows
2-3 in buenos aries tetras
1 small bloodfin tetra
1 small unknown tetra?
1 molly
1 loach of some kind
1 albino cory
1 other kind of cory
1 otto cat
1-4in common pleco

The only one that didn't survive was the molly. And do youthink in the future we might be able to ad a school of neon or cardinal tetras? If so how many is a good school?

But dang my java moss took over BIG TIME!!!! Still have some java ferns and anubias and anubias petite and the java moss?

Finally my son and I are looking for a more natural decor! So no more ship, skull, urn, roman columns, shell, or spongebob pineapplehouse either!!!!

We harvested a piece of wood from the burn pile in the back yard from a damaged and finally fallen branch from one of our oak trees! Right now it's in the tub still soaking in hopes that will make the bark a little easier to get off even though the branch has been off the tree for at least 6 mos.

Here's a pic of the piece we'll be looking to add to the tank!


I will have to trim off about 3 inches from those two smallest branches otherwise it's gonna be too wide for the tank.

We already have 2 smaller pieces of mopani wood in there about 5-6 inches long but they've been over taken by the java moss like everyting else in there. I'll be looking to get some more bigger anubias to put in their as well someday after the wood finally goes in.

We really miss our shrimpies but with the free fishies and the low budget we'll have to take small steps. There's tons of places to hide the way it is now but I don't think they'd last with th current habitants that we have right now. lol But i'd like to get rid of the blue rock as well someday! lol

Oh and since the new decor will consist of just wood and plants should I have any other decor for the loach that we never see and the pleco that we seldom see? Really not wanting to add that big sea shell but in his previous tank I guess he used to hide in there.

Tried growing swords before, probably that was in the 20 gal, and a few other plants but just can't seem to grow anything but the java moss, java ferns and anubias. Used to have some pennywort that did ok for a good while but never did get it to root and had a floater but never could get that to root either can't remember what that was.

So i'm open for some sugestion for some other easy almost no care low light plants. lol

I do have some flourish excel from a bba outbreak when we had the 20 gal and some seachem flourish root tabs that I never used.

Just hoping to make this as natural as we can with what we have with some suggestions to slowly add to the tank in the future.

Thanks for reading guys!
 
#31 ·
I was just thinking of you the other day. I am setting up a non-tradition planted tank and as I was preparing it, I was wondering if you were still in the hobby. And here your tank pops up. How cool is that?

I would suggest crypts next. Look up tanks from Karackle and Lauraleelbp for some low light inspiration. I know Kara has like the minimum of light and grows crypts very well. She has some other plants, too.
 
#32 ·
OMG So good to hear from you! Yep we're back! lol Was so glad when a friend of mine gave me his fish cause that meant we had to get the tank really going again. Just been so broke.

Can't wait to see the tank your talking about doing!

I like the ones from Lauraleebp ALOT! I'll have to check out Karackle for sure too.

Right now the light bulb in this is 55 gal is a 40w. I would love to have at least one more type pf plant other that the kinds I already have. So i'll read up on crypts! Thank you!

Wonder how much a new bulb with a little bit higher of a light that we currently have would cost. We just have one really long 40w bulb. 48in I think? I don't wanna have to do daily fertilizing and Co2 and stuff but root tabs don't sound too bad to do.

Really wanting to find a new substrate and I don't really want to do sand but I want a neutral tan/ brown colors if I can get it for a VERY inexpensive price. Maybe some small gravel from a home improvement store would be cheaper than from a pet store?

And I wonder how much i'll need. Guess I should measure the tank.

I kinda cringe at changing the substrate cause I really don't want to see all the crap flying around afterwards. lol But I figure if i'm gonna pull out all the plants and old decor it'd be easier to do the gravel at the same time than to have to pull out all the plants and stuff again to change the gravel too.

Was able to get most of the bark off the oak and it's back in the tub soaking again. Need to find something to scrub it with tomorrow. And i'll have to work on getting the rest of the bark off but finding it hard not to carve into the wood a little in my attempt to get that bark off.

 
#34 ·
OMG So good to hear from you! Yep we're back! lol Was so glad when a friend of mine gave me his fish cause that meant we had to get the tank really going again. Just been so broke.
It's great to hear from you, too! I was glad to see you are still around in the hobby. And trust me, I understand broke. We are down to a one income household and it's been challenging in this hobby.

Cryptocorynes is the full name of the plant if you are looking for it, but everyone understands crypts. Sagittaria plants might work for you as well (dwarf sag is one I am thinking of) and also vals (Vallisneria).

40 watts is definitely doable, that's what I started out with. I just left my lights on longer. I wouldn't get a T5HO bulb at all if you are wanting to stay low tech, stick with T8s (what you have) or regular T5 (just not High Outputs!). I shopped around on auction sights and even craigslist and found some great lights. Also, since you have a 55, you can get two 24 inch lights to save money. And look at homedepot. Karackle just rewired her light with a light fixture from there and saved a bunch of money. I am sure when she gets back from vacation, she'd be glad to help out.

Slate tile from lowes, a stainless steel screw and you are in business (countersink the screw a bit). Put it under the gravel. You should look into something called "Turface" and do a search on kitty litter (Special Kitty unscented brand). Yes, I just said kitty litter. Both are great substrates on a budget. I've personally used turface and love it, others hate it, just like every other substrate/gravel. Kitty litter is similar to turface. A little lightweight, but I like that.

Learned this from Frank on ADA - a quick way to remove gravel is to use a shop vac (if you have one or can borrow one). Makes it easier (remove fish and water first, ha!)

Love the golden gourami, by the way! Very adorable.

And welcome back. You've been missed. :D
 
#35 ·
I actually don't mind just taking some water out and using my fish net to get the gravel out. lol Is the special kitty a tan color? Was thinking I could get that if it's tan and mix with a bag of just a natural color of aquarium gravel to give it a few neutral colors?

If the kitty litter doesn't work I can always dry it out and let my two persian cats use it. I micht buy a small bag of it and see what it looks like in water. Can also use it in the winter to put on the ice on the porch too.

As far as lighting i'm hoping that maybe just keep this 1 bulb or just change that one bulb to something a little better but if the 40w is good than i'll be happy to just stick with it. But I have a T8? And if so then I have the highest T8 then right?

As far as rewiring I really wanna stay away from having to do that. Trust me I can screw up anything. lol And I usually do!

Sadly I just don't get to town very often. I try to do the monthly shopping at the beginning of the month so I don't have to go back intown much during the rest of the month. I hate shopping.

We usually leave the lights on from around 10am till midnight. Is that too long? Or not long enough? Guess I should know more about that?

I was surprised that my friend Michaels fish were so big actually. Hadn't seen his tank in a year and a half. We love them but would love to add something with a little more color. Wonder if there's room for a school of neons someday? That gourami is my favorite too.

Thanks for all the help missed you too!
 
#36 ·
If you try kitty litter it is the Red Bag at Wal-mart that many use. Just check for any chemical on the label. It is a white gray color. River sand is brown. I love it for it doesn't get dirty like other sand.

Here is a 10 G tank by Rhaethe with river sand


Here is the substrate calculator

What brand is the bulb and what is the kelvin rating?
 
#37 ·
Not sure about the bulb. Bought the tank at a garage sale. I'll have to go look.

Love that tank of yours Hilde!

Well I guess the kitty litter is out. I'm still just so not sure about sand. Would rather have gravel still. I'll probably end up pulling the plants out and and adding the wood and then eventually changing the sutstrate as it'll be next month before I could afford to anyway or maybe just have to wait till fall when I go back to work. I love having a seasonal job but sometimes it's a pain.
 
#38 ·
Not sure about the bulb. Bought the tank at a garage sale. I'll have to go look.

Love that tank of yours Hilde!

Changing the substrate next month
Thanks but not my tank.

Try Sand-Stone supply company.

For substrate could put 1.5 in of Scott's top soil ($2) then .5 in of sand ($3) and then gravel from a hardware store.

When you change the substrate is good to leave the mulm in the tank. Something I heard from lauraleellbp.

Seems you got the bug, for went from 10g to 55 g. Looks like you found a good stand. That is the hardest thing to find for bigger tanks.
 
#39 ·
Went from a 10 gal to a 20 gal and added a 1.5 and then found the 55gal at a garage sale and the filter still worked and have ver sturdy hood and even the light still worked. Gotta have a sturdy hood as Blackberry one of my persians likes to go fishing. Bad girl! Thankfully she's never been able to catch one!

Oh I should have plenty of mulm in my tank. lol

That stand is an old wooden desk that we've had since I was little. The desk is too tall to really use and the gal asked if I wanted the stand too and I said no cause I didn't need it and it was ugly, not well taken care of.

Just fed the fish and turned off their lights but took some pics. I'll load those to photobucked and post after I tuck my son into bed.

Thanks Hilde!
 
#41 ·
55 gal lowlight

Thanks Lauraleebp! Good to be back!

Got lots of pics to post!

There's what my light bulb says on it. It's what came with the tank.


Here's the tank as it is now. I removed a little more java moss from around the ship is all.

Sorry for all the crap sitting in front of the tank. The tank is right after you walk in the hour\se and catches the keys and crap.


Left side


Right side:


Some of the inhabatants!

These next to pics are of a fish that i'm not sure what it is so if you know let me know.



Let me know if I don't have what they are correctly.

Albino cory


Another cory of some sort?


Blood fin tetra


Buenos Aries tetra


Rainbows


Golden gourami


My little otto
 
#44 ·
Your loach sounds like my betta. It just lurks 99.9% in the background. Yeah, kitty litter is gray and the turface is a tanish brown.

I am really loving the golden gourami even more now. I love gouramis, I don't know why I never bought any.

For that type of bulb, there is no need not to leave it on longer, it helps in my experience. Looks like a T8 bulb. It's basically just the size of the bulb in circumference. With many crypts, and lower light plants you can keep the one bulb and don't even need to upgrade. I see plenty of great examples out there on TPT with just that light.

I'm much like you, other than the monthly trips to the store and visits to my mom's, I don't get out much lately.
 
#45 ·
For that type of bulb, there is no need not to leave it on longer, it helps in my experience. Looks like a T8 bulb. It's basically just the size of the bulb in circumference. With many crypts, and lower light plants you can keep the one bulb and don't even need to upgrade. I see plenty of great examples out there on TPT with just that light.

I'm much like you, other than the monthly trips to the store and visits to my mom's, I don't get out much lately.
I believe that is a 4' fixture? and a T12 bulb would be 40 watt at 4'.
I can get away with 10-12hrs on those on a 55g without too much trouble.
Box stores like Home Depot or Lowes carry several types if needing to change it. Ours here (Lowes) even carry the GE plant bulbs. Long time no update and welcome back :smile:

This tank would be big enough for several moss columns doing that rope trick.

That golden gourami looks like a tiger (very cool looking fish)
 
#46 ·
I think you should change the title of your thread. You can do that by going to edit > go advanced.

If you are planning to replace the gravel without starting over, why not get some pea gravel from hardware store (Lowe's or Home Depot). May be possible to do if a little at a time was done. Think it best to turn the filter off when doing this so that the mulch will settle down. Then vacuum the gravel. Of course you also want to rinse the new gravel before you start.

For most fine scratches a little 3000 grit diamond powder mixed with olive oil will do the trick.

The fish unidentified may be a long finned Danio.
If you are planning to replace the gravel without starting over, why not just get pea gravel from a hardware store. It might be possible to do if a little at a time is done.

The bulb is a standard house T12 bulb. Replacing it with a T8 Power-glo would make the tank appear brighter.

Got a lot of moss growing. I think some improvement on scaping could be done by wraping some around the wood. Where is it?
Example by MrAl
 
#48 ·
Not certain how changing the gravel without breaking the tank will work out. If there is a lot of mulm under the gravel may be a problem. Possibly will need a water change afterwards. Tis just an idea from how some move a lot of plants in tank not broken down.

Here is tank by MrAl after grow out.
 
#49 ·
Well I had to go to the store anyway and I found these:


These were .69cents for a pack of 4. And OMG after soaking the wood the last time all the remaining bark came off extremely EASY with these. And these are bendable so you can get into small spaces. There is no soap in them so they worked out pretty well.

Pretty weird to be able to see where bugs had got in under the bark and left marks on the wood.

Dads a plummer so our hot water heater is set pretty hot so i'm hoping that after soaking for several days in that super hot water will be good enough? Tannins weren't too bad this last soak.

Here's what the wood looks like now.

 
#50 ·
Wkndracer, what's the rope trick?

Yay Hilde it's a long finned blue danio!!!! Thank you!!!!

I think it is probably a good idea to probably take the fish out I guess. lol

Should I put some of the old gravel in a piece of panty hose and stick in the back of the tank for awhile?

Beautiful tank Hilde!!!! I definatley plan to put some of that java moss on there!

Well a friend of mine and my son and I went out to the river looking for sand and rocks and found some rocks that I need to get cleaned and test them with vinegar and we found what is most likely and HOPEFULLY what we thought was a skeleton of a deer while we were wearching for rocks. We were wondering for awhile.

Also my friend has a bag of sand. She's gonna hopefully bring it by tomorrow. Think it's play sand though. Might stop at ace tomorrow since I have to go p'berg. And see if they have anything. Wondering if they might have some small gravel or larger sand to maybe mix with the sand cause I read that the play sand really compacts?

My town has one small store, 1 resteraunt, 2 gas stations, a funeral home and 2 bars and some churches. Oops almost forgot. We just got a dollar general! We're movin up in the world! The next town is a little bigger with a subway, ace and a dq! WooHoo. lol Otherwise it's a half hour drive to springfield and I don't really want to go in town for one thing.

Hoping that I can take out just enough water and actually still keep the filter going while I change stuff over? That old thing is a real pain to get primed and going so I really hate to turn it off. Should I leave the filter pad in there whle I do this?

Thanks for the help guys!
 
#52 ·
I think it is probably a good idea to probably take the fish out I guess. lol

Should I put some of the old gravel in a piece of panty hose and stick in the back of the tank for awhile?

Hoping that I can take out just enough water and actually still keep the filter going while I change stuff over?
If you just do a little at a time should be okay to leave the fish in.

Yes, leaving some old gravel helps decrease the cycle. Most of the bacteria should be in the filter though. If you rinse the pads rinse them in the old aquarium water or treated tap water. What pads do you have in the filter?

Think it best to turn the filter off for pulling the gravel up will cause some mulm to come up. It is best the mulm settles down before putting more gravel down. It can settle down if the filter is on.
 
#54 ·
YAY! Found some all purpose sand at lowes for $2.98 a 55lb bag so that I can afford not $12.99 a 50lb bag for pool filter sand. My friend is still gonna bring her bag of play sand over and I may mix just a little together.

Now begins the task of cleaning it. Think i'll load everything on the dolly and go find a shady spot in the back yard since the hose is back there for the pool already instead of dragging it around to the front of the house where it's sunny. lol
 
#55 ·
OMG 3 hours later, 1 blister, one broken long nail and 1 muddy 10 year old boy and we are done cleaning the all purpose sand! So glad that is done! Now if my friend brings over her play sand I may be cleaning a little more if I need it.

Was gonna take pics but having the camera out there with a WET 10yr old is a bad idea! lol
 
#68 ·
OMG 3 hours later, 1 blister, one broken long nail and 1 muddy 10 year old boy and we are done cleaning the all purpose sand!
Was gonna take pics but having the camera out there with a WET 10yr old is a bad idea! lol
Bwahahaha I bet he Loved it! Mud and kids go together like peanut butter and jelly!

I did let my son toss spongebob and gary in the tank cause I got tired of saying no. Wanted to keep this tank pretty nautural but looks like we may end up with a touch of bikini bottom in it.
Family tank so sharing make it work LOL
Oh and further up on this page is a picture of a loach. Anyone have any idea what kind of loach he is?
Saw it and it looked like a young weather loach http://www.loaches.com/species-index/weather-loach-misgurnis-anguillicaudatus
or a brown kuhli loach http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/loaches/JavaLoach.php
It's hard with a picture to guess size.
And scape ideas would me much appreciated!
Thanks
I like the wood and rock but think it would work better toward the back of the tank as far as you can get it. When its filled with plants it will look great.
MTS help with keeping the sand loose if you like them enough to put them in your tank.
http://www.planetinverts.com/malaysian_trumpet_snail.html

Looks like a great re-start.
 
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