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Goob's 20L Riparium+planted HOB

11K views 26 replies 11 participants last post by  hydrophyte 
#1 ·
I couldn't help it. I NEEDED another tank. So I broke down my 10g that was acting as my nursery tank. Strangely enough, it was very good-looking and I wanted to expand it and add some marginal plants in riparium planters, and my HOB filter. One evening I splurged at PetSmart, got a 20L and de-rimmed it right away.

I'm having a great time with my 30g tall but now I'm going to try a low-humidity setup.

Specs:

20g Long 30x12x12
AquaClear 70 + Aqueon quietflow 10 (until bacteria colonies multiply)
Pool Filter Sand
Lighting: 4 CFL bulbs in the most ghetto setup possible using aluminum foil to direct the Horrible reflection. It's aesthetically atrocious.
100watt heater (eventually).
Gro soil tabs from Hydrophyte.

Pics:

de-rimmed and silicone scraped off.


gro soil tabs


staged


Sand & planted




Filled it up! Half of the water was from my 10g





Long shot alongside my 20gV2. I love my bedroom!


I'm currently still waiting on a package from Hydrophyte. In the meantime:

Plants:
HOB filter: Spathiphylum golden glow + Mondo Grass
Creeping Jenny

Wisteria
Amazon Sword
Rotala Rotundifolia
Rotala Singapore
Ludwigia Red
Alternatha Reinicki
Anubias Nana
Dwarf Sag
Narrow Leaf Microsword (back left corner, letting it do whatever)
Crypt Wendtii Tropica
Crypt Wendtii Green
Bacopa Carolina
Blyxa Japonica

Upcoming Rimparium plants:
Aluminum plant
Umbrella Sedge
Mexican Milkweed
Sweet Flag or Strawberries & creme ribbon grass (Phalaris arundinacea)

Fauna:
3 RCS
3 Harlequin Rasboras
4 Neon Tetras
1 Otto

All of the above fauna was transferred from my 10g. They all look really happy except the otto who is freaking out but I'll watch carefully. I'm going to add more of all of the above, plus some cory cats and amano shrimp.

This tank is not finished yet. I still want to add more crypts, fish and hardscape (river rocks). I may invest in a more pleasant looking CFL fixture but I probably won't for a while. Feel free to comment and suggest anything!
 
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#3 ·
Hmm interesting idea. Any pics of it?

I will does excel probably on a daily basis.

There's no way I'm spending money on a new light fixture right now. I just bought a marineland LED aquatic plant light fixture for my 20gV2. I can live with my tin foil CFL fixture for the time being lol.
 
#4 ·
Today, I went on a 1 mile run away from my house through my neighborhood. I walked back, collecting rocks. I carefully picked out each rock, rinsed and brushed them clean and placed them in the tank. I borrowed my dad's camera and took pics:











Sorry for all the reflections. I'm trying to get better at photography of my tanks lol.

I'm still waiting for my order from riparium supply. Stay tuned.
 
#6 ·
Thanks!


Update time! I came back from vacation with packages waiting for me! I received my riparium plants & planters!

-Cyperus Dwarf Umbrella
- Tall Bulebell (Ruellia brittoniana)
- Oplismenus

I ordered aluminum plant, but it looks like it was substituted for Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia). Which was already there from the beginning. Oh well now I have extra!

I also added sweet flag (Acorus camus) from my 30g riparium and Hypoestis from my backyard.

I need to remember not to wear white when I take pics:










My planted HOB, Spathiphylum golden glow & Mondo Grass


I also added more Crypt Wendtii Green underwater






I also added more fish, so now my fauna is at:

-7 neons, 5 Harlequin Rasboras, 1 Otto, & 3 RCS.

I plan on adding a small school (5ish) of cory cats. I'm leaning heavily towards Salt & Pepper or Peppered cories.
I also am going to add CO2 injection in the lower part. I'm splitting it from my current tank, so I'll let you all know when that happens. I also will make a black background for behind the tank. Although I kind of like my blue bedroom walls.

I'll take more pics of the riparium plants in a couple days when they perk up towards the light. That's all for now!
 
#7 ·
Quick update:

The riparium plants have perked up and have adjusted to their new environment. I bought a black poster board, cut it up and placed it as a background.

I did a 25% water change today. The tank was showing signs that it needed it. I have some thread or string algae but I'm not too worried about it. Perhaps maybe I'll get some amanos or a SAE to help.

Oh and I got some peppered cory cats (Corydoras paleatus). 3 now, 3 more will come later.









I'll get better photos later... Seems like I'm apologizing for photo quality in most of my posts in my journals lol
 
#17 ·
Okay here's an update, pertaining to my Asclepias curassivica (Mexican Milkweed). IT'S BLOOMING!!

Note: Don't make fun of my ghetto CFL light fixture. I used it for aquaponics and thought it would be a good fit for this tank instead of sitting and doing nothing. It works great it just looks bad lol. This tank is in my bedroom.










I snapped on my macro lens and could not stay steady or focussed. This was my best shot of it close up.



I'll update the rest of this tank soon.
 
#19 ·
Whoa, awesome, Goob!!
Was just wondering though; With the asclepias that tall, how does the taller/upper portion get light??? Or is if fine with the fixture set like that?
I have no idea. There's nothing shining on it. It stands in the dark corner in my bedroom. I guess the light in the mid section is enough for it. Seems to be doing fine.

This plant propagates really easily I'm going to try and keep it short.
 
#21 ·
Ya know what, I never got around to smelling them. They're almost to the ceiling so it would have been difficult to get a wiff.

Okay so instead of pictures, I have a video update. If you have nothing better to do in the next 4 minutes, give it a watch.

http://youtu.be/tkXhi6aN0nY


The hypoestis did not make it for some reason. So I replaced it with a stem of joseph's coat. The creeping Jenny I believe has died back for the winter. I didn't know it could do that indoors. I've cleaned out the submerged area of struggling stem plants.
 
#25 ·
Time for an update. With LOTS of pictures. I got a GoPro Hero 3+ Black edition so I've been going crazy with my aquarium photography.

Also I replaced the unsightly CFL fixture, with my Marineland planted LED. It looks much better!


















^This picture was from another day (old lights). Thanks for viewing!
 
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