BK's 15g Tall Dirt Tank

[BJK]

Hey all,

I recently sold the contents of my nano-reef that was in my 15 gallon tank to start a planted aquarium. I've been lurking on here for quite a while and recently started posting. I would like to say thank you to all those who post on here as you have been the inspiration and knowledge base that helped make this tank come together!

Equipment:
-15 Gallon Tall All-Glass Aquarium (I won this tank when I was in high school through a photo contest in Tropical Fish Hobbyist)
-Aqueon 10 QuieFlow 10 Hang on back filter
-LED Reef Quality PAR38 Lighting (grew SPS and LPS corals, so it should support plant life)
-All-Glass Aquarium Submersible heater
-DIY Stand I built a few years back

Substrate:
- Miracle Grow Organic Choice Potting Mix
-Carib Sea FloraMax Planted Tank Substrate as a cap over the DIRT

Flora:
-Telanthera (Alternanthera reinekii)
-Hygrophilia 'Kompakt' (Hygrophilia cornymbosa 'kompakt')
-Narrow Leaf Java Fern (Microsorium pteropus)
-Windelov Java Fern (Microsorium pteropus)
-Amazon Compacta (Echinodorus bleheri)
-Dwarf Hairgrass (Eleocharis parvula)

Fauna:
-1 Male Fancy Guppy
-3 Female Fancy Guppies
-Assorted Guppy fry

And some pictures:

Stand:


Empty:


Edging the tank:


Hardscape:


Building the terrace:


Completed MGOCPS:






Time for some planting:
-Hygrophilia 'Kompakt'


-Java Ferns and Hygrophilia (Narrow leaf java fern eventually gets moved to the right)


-Dwarf Hairgrass




FTS before filling it up:




FTS after it has been filled:




Planning on doing a DIY CO2 set up this week once my diffuser comes in and I find some yeast.

I am also looking into getting a canister filter for this tank sometime down the road. The Aqueon 10 was a quick buy today after my 15ish year old giant hang on back decided to start leaking all down the back of the tank and onto my stand. It's too bad because that filter held 4 liters of water, which really helps add to the total volume when working with small tanks.

[TonyK]

That is a nice looking tank and the setup looks really good. What are the measurements of the tank?

[BJK]

Originally Posted by TonyK

That is a nice looking tank and the setup looks really good. What are the measurements of the tank?

Thanks Tony! The dimensions of the tank are 20 1/4 x 10 1/2 x 18 3/4. It basically is the same footprint of at 10 gallon but 50% taller. Where in Chicago are you at? I grew up in the suburbs there.

[TonyK]

I live on the Northwest side of Chicago but, work in Deerfield. Where did you live?

I have a 20L that I am dry starting. I wish I would have edged the front and sides like you did. The tank would look so much better without seeing the dirt. I wish I would have seen your tank before I set mine up.

[wkndracer]

GREAT looking start!

[BJK]

Originally Posted by TonyK

I live on the Northwest side of Chicago but, work in Deerfield. Where did you live?

I have a 20L that I am dry starting. I wish I would have edged the front and sides like you did. The tank would look so much better without seeing the dirt. I wish I would have seen your tank before I set mine up.

I grew up in Western Springs (right by LaGrange and Hinsdale) in the near western suburbs. I would think you could edge it in if you are doing a dry start using some sort of flat edge like a large scraper or maybe a cutting board to push the dirt in towards the center and put a little gravel between it and the glass?

Originally Posted by wkndracer

GREAT looking start!

Thanks wkndracer!

[TonyK]

Thanks for the tip. I will give that a try. Now, I won't jack your thread anymore.

[BJK]

No problem TonyK! Hope my idea helped?!

[BJK]

1.5 week update. Got my DIY CO2 started last night.

[jimmytruong87]

I suggest you can tie some x- moss on your driftwood. It will look like tree
I like your dw

[BJK]

Originally Posted by jimmytruong87

I suggest you can tie some x- moss on your driftwood. It will look like tree
I like your dw

Thanks Jimmy! I'll have to look into where to get some x-mas moss.

[BJK]

Fish update:
Acquired 2 Otos and 3 pygmy cories today! Also, the guppies have already started having offspring...

[GMYukonon24s]

Nice stand. Good start.

[TonyK]

How are you diffusing the CO2 into your tank?

[BJK]

Tony,
Here is the diffuser I am using for my DIY CO2. I picked it up on Ebay for a few bucks.


Neat picture of the cories and an oto: