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33K views 142 replies 51 participants last post by  vvDO 
#1 ·
This is my first tank journal. The only other planted tank I have had is a 10gallon, which was also "dirted" (for those of you reading who are noobs like me, "dirted" means having dirt as your main substrate so plants will grow better). For this 10g, I had a 24W "daylight" bulb in a reflector I got from walmart. I bought some HC (also known as dwarf baby tears) from PetCo, thinking they'd die after reading how hard they can be to grow, low and behold they grew even with that crappy little light. No CO2, only a little fert. dosing (Seachem Flourish I think). So 6 months later, my wife let me buy a 20g long tank, and for my birthday she upgraded my lighting situation a bit with a T5 HO fixture (it was on sale at PetCo). Starting this tank new, I thought I'd record my experiences for those like me who glean anything they can from tank journals. Here goes...
 
#33 ·
Nice Video!

The tank and everything in it look GREAT!

Man those Platys are small! I am not up on all of the live bearers, so I didn't know they had a dwarf platy! I will have to look to see if I can find some!

The HC is looking really good! Do you trim it very often, or is it just growing that short?

Thanks for the info, and keep up the great work on the tank!
Drew
 
#41 ·
Subscribed! That look on your face getting that tank reminds me getting my first tank in college. . . (and the 8 other tanks that followed) :) Man you give me hope in doing more with plants without doing all the high tech stuff. I have 2 20l sitting here and I want to try that ground cover carpet plant you've got for sure. Thanks for sharing!

jeander
 
#44 ·
Total newb here myself...really enjoy seeing the progress on your 20 long, which is what I have (slowly adding more plants). HC is cool stuff...

Is the light you're using the ZooMed 30" Dual T5? If so, how do you like it? I've been looking into getting one, but have been researching my options extensively.

Will be checking back for sure.
 
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#48 ·
You are not doing anything for my case of MTS (multiple tank syndrome) at least now that we have a house and I can hide tanks in the basement my wife wont know I have relapsed until its too late!

Good job man. Hopefully you have restored the drive to do carpet plants low-tech. I blame it on the dirt.
 
#53 ·
You might notice a clump of HC gone in the December picture between the two rocks. I pulled up a chunk and gave it to a buddy who is starting his first planted tank.

And speaking of the two rocks, that one is totally falling over! I just stuck it there and it's slowly, but surely, leaned off to the side. I might replace those two rocks anyways if the tank survives the move this weekend.
 
#55 ·
Moving the tank was a success! One man job - I emptied it out, picked it up very carefully ('twas a little heavy but not bad), drove slowly with it in the hatchback of my car, and set it up in our new pad.

This let me get some more comparison shots as well...
 
#67 ·
I want to start dosing a little Seachem "Flourish." In fact, it's tempting to try my hand at DIY (or DIMyself?) CO2 to see how much of a difference it can make. If I do, I'll start another thread in the DIY forum or something and put a link to it in this journal. We'll see though... And as for water changes, I do them MAYBE once a month, 5 gallons at a time (25% of a 20g). But with the recent move, that's all new H2O!

Send me those rocks! They are beautiful:)

Great progress. I love the paper clip idea.

I have flourite & mixed plain gravel & always have trouble keeping new plants anchored.
The rocks: from the side of the road that I stuck straight up in the substrate!

Try the paper clip thing and let me know how it works. It worked GREAT for me, obviously.
 
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