20 gallon long dirt tank

[tryank]

RWaters - Wasn't planning on CO2. But if it speeds up the HC growth, maybe...
Indeed, Hula Lady Lamp is a classic lamp. I'm a classy guy.

loucas6290 - I snagged those two rocks from a ditch!

TheBigSleep - I'm pumped that you like my paperclip method (and the tomahawk). Take some pics when you do it; it'd be cool to see how it works on other plants.

[caykuu]

Woah. That HC growth! Was that under low light, or the T5HO bulb?

Did you just use mainly plain sand as the substrate, besides the dirt?

I got so frustrated with trying to keep my HC to stay in eco-complete... the small things kept floating away. LOL

Good job, and can't wait to see growth in a few months.

[wkndracer]

Awesome write up on the tank start

Kept it simple, common sense ideas (wire weights) and the details are great with all the pictures.
Hope you keep posting updates.

[tryank]

wkndracer - Thanks for the thumbs up! Means a lot coming from a "Planted Tank Guru."

caykuu - I know that frustration! Try this paperclip thing next time. It "stakes" them down if your substrate is deep enough for whatever wire-v thing you make. Staples might even work... straighten out one side so it's even with the top of the staple, basically making it look like a checkmark. ?
And speaking of substrate, here's the sand I used:

Think it was $8 from Lowes?
I made sure to rinse it really well - it was really dusty, which I think is why my tank has a bit of a haze to it right now. I filled a 5 gallon bucket half full of sand, got the hose and filled it up with water, kept the hose in the bottom so it agitated the sand and whirl pooled. I let the hose run so cloudy water spilled over the brim for 15 or so minutes. When it got so the water was clear enough for me (coulda/mighta shoulda gone longer) I poured out the water and was left with wet clumpy sand.



Here you can see how much I put on top of the dirt.

[wkndracer]

Originally Posted by tryank

wkndracer - Thanks for the thumbs up! Means a lot coming from a "Planted Tank Guru."

Bwahaha! Thanx but "Planted Tank Guru" translated to reality means being on the site toooo much and posting in like fashion (but I am a dirty tanker)

[caykuu]

Thanks for the detailed info! I might just set up another tank with specs like yours word-for-word.. for another try at that darn HC. Using the paperclips is really a clever idea.

[tryank]

It's been about a week since I set up the tank. Pretty sure I don't have to worry about "cycling" the tank since I'm using the filter I had in my last very established tank.

The HC seems to be doing fine. Some leaves (like 1 or 2%) have turned a little yellow, but that's to be expected right after a transplant. I sound like a surgeon... TRANSPLANT THE HC. Anywho, there are other areas with nice bright green leaves that seem to be reaching out a little.

Other than that, the only negative would be a slight hint of diatom algae on my white sand. It happened last time I set up that 10 gallon. Not really a bad thing, just not as pretty as white sand. It's not really obvious right now, and hopefully my 2 ottos and Amano shrimp will take care of it. They eat brown diatom algae, right?

Pictures on the way!
(I don't even look at a thread unless there are tempting pictures, so I apologize for the lack thereof)

[tryank]

It's been a month! Here's the progress so far:

Day 1



Today (day 30-ish)

[starrlamia]

Wow! Looks great

Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk 2

[tryank]

Better comparison shots:

9/7


10/7

[golfer_d]

Looks great!

I want to try and find some HC as well...such a cool plant!

[BoxxerBoyDrew]

WOW!!!

That is some good growth in a months time!!!

What kind of fish are the little orange buggers in there, and where did Ya find them?

VERY GOOD SCAPE TOO!!!

Can't wait to see it grow in more! I have never tried HC, but I might have to after seeing your tank!

Keep it up!
Drew

[Indian fern]

Originally Posted by BoxxerBoyDrew

WOW!!!

That is some good growth in a months time!!!

What kind of fish are the little orange buggers in there, and where did Ya find them?

VERY GOOD SCAPE TOO!!!

Can't wait to see it grow in more! I have never tried HC, but I might have to after seeing your tank!

Keep it up!
Drew

The orange like fish is like platy. I guess.
How many watts do you use. Does your bulb is pinkish in color? I wish i can grow HC in low light.

[tryank]

Originally Posted by BoxxerBoyDrew

What kind of fish are the little orange buggers in there, and where did Ya find them?
Drew

Those little orange buggers are red platys. The shop I got them at called them "dwarf coral platys." Don't know how legit that name is. They're just small, really red/orange platys. I had two, then the female got preggo and popped out 30-40 of these guys.

[tryank]

Originally Posted by Indian fern

The orange like fish is like platy. I guess.
How many watts do you use. Does your bulb is pinkish in color? I wish i can grow HC in low light.

Right- the orange dudes are platys. Good guess!

I'm using 24 watts right now, 6500K. My bulb is a T5 HO "FloraSun" by ZooMed. Yeah, it's a little pinkish. Sometimes I like it because the colors of the green plants and red fish/shrimp seem to be intensified by it. But then again it doesn't really look like natural sunlight. My light has room for another bulb, and I would love to put an "UltraSun" in along with what I have now.

I'll post a little video clip of my tank tonight...