After a 2 year break, my new 20g Long tank!

[minicrazy592]

So basically I took some time, sold off my tanks, and moved away from the hobby. Some how I ended up back here.

Anyway here it goes....

Equipment:
20g Long de-rimmed
30.8 lbs of Fluval Stratum
6700k dual 23w CF bulbs in Ikea TERTIAL lamps
Ehiem 2213 Canister Filter
13mm Lily Pipes
5 lb CO2 tank
JBJ NanoZapp 3 Watt Inline UV Sterilizer
eBay CO2 diffuser, bubble counter, and check valve
eBay CO2 regulator

Plants:
Dwarf Baby Tears
Dwarf Hair Grass
more on plants later!


Setup pics:

















One pile of petrified rock





Modifying the lamps reflective capability:

Start by stripping the stickers off and cleaning with acetone




A can of this:




Before and After:




New painted reflector on the left and original on the right




Adding the scape:









Rocks kept falling, so I had to add some anchoring rocks






Plants are suppose to be in friday, so till then!

[Sd760]

Welcome. Looks like an amazing start to a great journal. Stocking?

[minicrazy592]

Haven't decided just yet.

[iadubber]

any updates?

[Sd760]

Look forward to updates. And do u mind telling us how much those fixtures were?

[minicrazy592]

Originally Posted by iadubber

any updates?

Originally Posted by Sd760

Look forward to updates. And do u mind telling us how much those fixtures were?

Update coming later tonight. I've been meaning to update for awhile now.

And the fixtures were $9/piece from Ikea.

[andrewss]

looking good

[mitchfish9]

looking amazing so far

[minicrazy592]

Sorry for the delay guys! Since starting the tank I bought a new camera as the old one took a crap in the middle of planting. So unfortunately I don't have any pics of the first few weeks. The tank was cycled after 8 days and I added fish on the 18th of October.

Flora:
10 Dwarf Hairgrass pots
20 Dwarf Baby Tears pots
6 Stems of Red Hornwort- soon to be gone

Livestock:
4 Licorice Gouramis
5 Micro Rasporas (Boraras Micros)
1 Unknown Tetra (he blends in with the gouramis and may think he is one)
4 Ghost Shrimp
2 Cory Cats
1 Horseface Loach


Bits came in from Amazon. The UV sterilizer was for this tank.






ADA Powder




Routing behind the tank




Different so no mixing up inflow and outflow



Sterilizer mounted up underneath





Plants









Solution for a bunch of tiny runners





Lily Pipes





Fast forward a couple of weeks













Plants have runners going





Did a trim the other night






Fish seem to love this





I've been fighting with the carpet. I think its a mixture of not enough light and not enough current. I'll be trying some experiments later this week to help.

[StraightAddicted]

Very nice setup, love the pictures of the difference of the reflective paint difference. Really shows what some people don't realize how much it may change the light output. Good luck with getting the current and light mix to figure it out.

[KenRC51]

Very nice, I love it!! Looks like the DHG are mixing in with the HC.

Is that a IKEA $20 coffee table you have your tank on?

I also feed me fish the Hakira Micro Pelets too and they love it.

[Matt1977]

That's great! Love that eheim filter too!

[sayurasem]

Wow I'm loving the light fixtures!

[minicrazy592]

Originally Posted by KenRC51

Very nice, I love it!! Looks like the DHG are mixing in with the HC.

Is that a IKEA $20 coffee table you have your tank on?

I also feed me fish the Hakira Micro Pelets too and they love it.

Indeed it is. Surprising sturdy once you put it together with some glue. This is my second 20g long using this table. Works great!

Originally Posted by Matt1977

That's great! Love that eheim filter too!

Me too. I do wish it was a bit stronger tho.

Originally Posted by sayurasem

Wow I'm loving the light fixtures!

Speaking of them, a little teaser of the next update.

[Animanganime]

Haha I have the same Ikea table, same two Ikea lamps (that I use when I do maintenance and what not) and same tank (but with the top rim taken off)