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Low Tech 29 Gallon of Amazing Unamazement

13K views 118 replies 19 participants last post by  LetThereBeFish 
#1 · (Edited)
Hi everyone, this is my first journal attempt on my 29 gallon. I had this tank for around 5 years, but I am starting fresh. Being a 17 year old and having a minimum wage job, money is a little tight for me, so no high tech for me.

*Update* 3/6/12
Equipment: Coralife Aqualight Power Compact, Hydor Theo Heater, Aqueon 20 Power Filter(sometimes used), Eheim 2213, and Hydor Koralia Nano
Substrate: Eco-Complete
Fertilizer: Flourish, Flourish K, Flourish Root Tabs, and DIY CO2
Inhabitants: 10x Harlequin Rasporas, 2x Gold Barbs, 2x Black Skirt Tetras, 2x Common Hatchet Fish, 2x Bolivian Ram, 1x Albino Bristlenose Pleco, 4x Amano Shrimp,2x Nerites, and a WHOLE LOT OF MTS :hihi:
Plants: Crypt Wendtii, Crypt Spiralis, Crypt Blassii, Nesaea, Rotala Indica, Ludwigia Repens, Mayaca, Hygrophila Compact, Dwarf Sag, Wisteria, Ozelot Swords, Bocopa Caroliniana, Tiger Lotus, Italian Val.

Most recent pic (3/27/12)


Please ignore the crappy quality of these pics :wink:

Front View


Angular View


Another Angular View

I'm just going to let the plants grow and fill in and see what to do next. May go down to ThatPetPlace and see what plants they have.

Comments and criticism appreciated :)
 
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#3 ·
Welcome, LetThereBeFish! I think the knowledgeable folks may be asleep right now. They'll show up soon, don't worry -- the title of your tank journal will get somebody's attention. (It got mine, but I'm such a newbie that doesn't help you much.)

The tank looks nice. You said it's been running for five years. Can you give some info on how long the different components have been in?

Edit: No, wait. You said you had the tank. Does that mean all the plants, fish, etc. went in recently? How recently?
 
#4 ·
Hi Lutra, you can call me steve. Its saves on the typing ;). I guess people are still asleep haha. Didn't think of that.

I guess I should explain the situation more clearly.

06-08
Equipment: Everything that came with one of those cheap walmart aquarium kits except for the Aqueon 20 powerfilter.
Substrate Plain Gravel
Inhabitants: 3xBlackskirt Tetras, 3xGold Barbs 2xAustralian Rainbowfish, 1x Opaline Gourami
Plants: Moneywort, Java Fern, and Fakes


Then I decided to get a little more "natural". I ditched the lava rocks and replaced them with river rock and driftwood. The moneywort and java fern, which perished from my noob knowledge on plants, were taken out and replaced with some type of anubias. Then BBA took over and made the tank a mess.

08-09
Equipment: Aqueon powerfilter, Hydor Theo heater, lighting that came with the kit.
Substrate Plain Gravel
Inhabitants: 3xBlackskirt Tetras, 2xGold Barbs 2xAustralian Rainbowfish, 1x Opaline Gourami, 1x Bolivian Ram(which didn't last long)
Plants: Anubias and Fakes


There is a huge gap of progress during this time. But 2 years ago I got a Coralife Aqualight power compact for my birthday, and then a Eheim 2213 last year. I also bought some eco-complete and mixed it with the gravel. This was the first real attempt to grow plants. Sadly one of my rainbowfish and opaline gourami died during this time from some strange ulcers.

09-10
Equipment: Aqueon powerfilter, Eheim 2213, Hydor Theo heater, Coralife Aqualight power compact, Hydor Koralia Nano
Substrate Plain Gravel and Eco-Complete
Inhabitants: 6x Harlequin Rasporas, 2xBlackskirt Tetras, 2xGold Barbs 1xAustralian Rainbowfish, 1x Dwarf Gourami, 4x Cherry Barbs, 2x Amano Shrimp, 2x Nerites Plants: Rotala Indica, Ludwigia Repens, Hygro Compact, Crypt Wendtii, Wisteria, Bocopa, Dwarf Sag, Tiger Lotus


And here it is during 10-11


And now that how I ended up here. I recently just replaced the gravel mix with just eco-complete, so thats why some of the plants are melting and such. I thinking of adding some cories and a showcase fish (not sure what though). May take fish out and put some in, not sure right now.


Enjoy:D
 
#5 ·
Ah. Now I have a better idea of the tank, thanks. Steve. My only contribution is aesthetic -- I like the foreground rocks better off to one side or the other. If it were me doing it, I'd probably put the rocks on the side where the plants were lower-growing, to balance the "weight" of the composition. Your plants look like they've been growing very well for you; I'm envious!
 
#6 ·
Having said that, bear in mind that just because I happen to like arrangements of that style doesn't mean they're better, or "right," or anything like that. You should arrange everything in the way that you like best, since you're the one looking at it all the time! It's a beautiful tank no matter what, something you can be proud of.
 
#11 ·
Hi again, Steve. That's a cute little pleco, I like him/her. I see you've played with the rocks -- I feel guilty! (Power corrupts....) It looks good, though. I rearrange things all the time myself, I get bored otherwise. Plus there's that overwhelming urge to get it just a little better.

There's a plant in the back, 3/4 of the way to the right that I keep wondering about: straight up growth, strong alternate leaf pattern. What is that? I really like it.

BTW: Have you seen there's a really good DIY section here, with some ingenious ideas on how to do a lot with very little money? Money's a problem for a lot of us these days, if you're interested in going higher tech you might want to check it out.
 
#13 ·
There's a plant in the back, 3/4 of the way to the right that I keep wondering about: straight up growth, strong alternate leaf pattern. What is that? I really like it.
Thats Bacopa. Really easy plant to grow in my opinion.
 
#12 ·
Low Tech 29 Gallon of Amazing Unamazement *Update 12/9*

*UPDATE*
The scape wasn't looking so good in my view, so I rearranged most of the plants. Now I have more room in the left side for the future. All the specs are the same, except I now have some fissidens fontanus growing on the driftwood. Enjoy! :D











Im also planning on buying some driftwood and maybe some rocks soon from www.driftwoodstore.com.

This is what I had in mind.


 
#16 ·
OK. For a "noob" you have a pretty good handle on things. I would say you left the noob stage as soon as you did your research and started making adjustments to help the plants and fish flourish. Just one man's opinion though.:icon_wink

I am liking this tank. Very clean, simple, and natural looking. I am not a big proponent of the ADA style tanks. While they are works of art, they don't look natural to me, and that irritates me. Lol. Again, just one man's opinion. The driftwood you are looking at is a pretty good choice. I would suggest putting some moss on parts of it and maybe hiding a bit in the taller plants. It would keep up with the naturalistic look of your tank.

Keep up the good work man. You are on the right track.

Oh, a few questions. I am not sure if you covered this, but are you using CO2 at all or dosing ferts?
 
#18 ·
Lol. Noobatude. I think we all have that from time to time.:hihi:

DIY CO2 can get you a long way. I am running it on 2 tanks right now (took it off the shrimp tank as I am probably the only person in history to gas cherries with a yeast reactor) but it is still rockin on the other two. What are you going to do about ferts? Fish poop?
 
#19 ·
I did have diy co2 before, you could probably tell from my earlier 9-10 pic with the tiny tube connected to the koralia aka co2 diffuser. The only issue I had was that it seemed like it wasn't producing enough bubbles, like 1bp5s. pretty sure if it was because of the yeast to sugar ratio.

Oh, and I currently dose florish once or twice a week along with some root tabs...Though fish poop is a major factor in this tank.
 
#20 ·
For the yeast reactor, you may want to try a 2 bottle setup. 2 bottles of mixture and one small bottle as a bubble counter. I run that on my 10 and my 20 and it gives me about 1bps. I usually change both bottles out once a week 3 to 4 days apart.
 
#23 ·
So today I hooked up some diy co2 ( will probably add a 2nd bottle later this week). All the plants are doing well, apart from the minor crypt melt. The fissidens is also browning a bit, which is I believe is because its wild caught and is adjusting to the water temp, etc. Fish are happy and all that kind of jazz. :hihi:

Now I have a question on stocking. I want to add some more fish, either a small school of threadfins, 1 or 2 dwarf gouramis, or add more of the current fish I have. I wondering what your opinions are on what I should add to this tank, or maybe my stock limit is already filled.

BTW, this is my current fish list - 6x Harlequin rasporas, 4x Cherry barbs, 2x Gold barbs, 2x Black skirt tetras, 2x Emperor tetras,and 1x Bristlenose pleco.
 
#24 ·
Depends, does everyone get along? Is there enough tank space for them? Is there enough filtration? Those are all factors in this. 29 gallons is a decent amount of space. I think you could put a few more Tetras in there as long as they are small. Or you can add more rasboras. It is up to you really.
 
#29 ·
Made another diy co2 reactor...generator...thingamabob. So now there are 2. I also took a trip to petco to get some stuff for the co2 maker and saw some cardamine lyrata, vals,( which I never see at my petco) and some healthy looking java fern. They had a buy 2 get 1 free, so I couldn't resist. Noticed that my lotus seems to be still melting for some odd reason, so I popped a florish tab under it to see if that helps. Enjoy!! :icon_smil

I also have a question on co2. How long will it take for the co2 to make a difference in the growth of the plants? If thats even possible to answer.







 
#30 ·
Made another diy co2 reactor...generator...thingamabob. So now there are 2. I also took a trip to petco to get some stuff for the co2 maker and saw some cardamine lyrata, vals,( which I never see at my petco) and some healthy looking java fern. They had a buy 2 get 1 free, so I couldn't resist. Noticed that my lotus seems to be still melting for some odd reason, so I popped a florish tab under it to see if that helps. Enjoy!! :icon_smil

I also have a question on co2. How long will it take for the co2 to make a difference in the growth of the plants? If thats even possible to answer.
You should notice it fairly quickly. Especially if you keep up the the CO2.
 
#32 ·
Looking pretty nice! Now it's time to let it grow in, and start working on pruning techniques with the stems as they grow. :)
Thanks for the kind words laura. Now I have to go through the ever so loved torment of waiting for the plants to actually grow.
 
#33 ·
Today I noticed my emperor tetras were stressing out the other fish with there constant bickering. Sadly, Im probably going to be taking them out soon (they are my fav fish). :( Now I think I want to redo the fish list and make a SE Asia themed tank (fish wise), besides the bristlenose which I think is doing fine in the tank.

This is what fish I plan to have:
8x Harlequin Raspora
6x Threadfin Rainbowfish
2-4x Gold Barb
1x SAE
1x Bristlenose Pleco
2x Peacock Gudgeon ( hopefully!) or Dwarf Gourami

Im not sure if I should keep the cherry barbs. Im thinking there would be too many fish if I keep them. Let me know what you guys think.
 
#34 ·
Yeah unfortunately a 29gal is on the small side for Emperors. They're a bit better behaved when they are in bigger tanks where they can be kept in bigger schools. Not quite as territorial.

I don't know that I'd mix Threadfins with Barbs. I think the barbs would be too boisterous and likely nip at the threadfins. What about some Ember tetras instead? Similar overall shape and color, just much smaller and more peaceful.

You're getting awfully heavy on the bioload with both an SAE and a BNP. I'd probably pick one and go with a few Amano shrimp instead of the other.
 
#35 ·
hey steve!
sweet tank!
your plants seem very healthy.
im 17 too, is this your only tank?
if so that pretty impresive i have kept fish for little over a year now and have 2 2foot tanks my riperium and a fry tank!
the rocks and driftwood that you were thinking about look great!
cherry barb probably would be a good mix with thread fins and gourami as in my experience they finn nip.
 
#36 ·
Hi plecostomouse! Yeah its my only tank sadly haha. Well, I do have a pond, but yeah, only one tank. And I have funny aka bad news about that driftwood. Someone else got to the goods before me, so now I have to wait for the next ideal piece. :/

Im terrible when it comes to picking fish that "complement" each other, so Im open to suggestions. All I know is that I want to keep the two gold barbs (which have spawn numerous times and have grown on me) and the bristlenose pleco. I also want to keep the two black skirts (which actually dont fin nip at all), only because they have been in the tank since the beginning, and I dont think I could have the heart and get rid of them. :angel:In my case, I might aswell have a mix biotop community, so im open to suggestions...ANY SUGGESTIONS!! :help:
 
#45 · (Edited)
*UPDATE!!*
Last week I took out the emperor tetras and now I replaced them with a pair of bolivian rams. :biggrin:I didn't have good luck with them in the way past, but hopefully they will make the acclimation period this time. So far so good. In other news, I think I will be taking out the cherry barbs sooner than I thought. The one male is in breeding season over-drive and is terrorizing all the barbs and rasporas ( all which are in the cyprinidae family, hmmmmm). So after the holidays, those cherries are out!:mad:

Equipment: Coralife Power Compact, Aqueon Power Filter, Eheim 2213, Hydor Theo, Hydor Koralia.
Substrate: Eco Complete
Ferts: Flourish, Flourish Root Tabs, and DIY Co2
Inhabitants: 6x Harlequin Rasporas, 4x Cherry Barbs, 2x Gold Barbs, 2x Black Skirt Tetras, 2x Bolivian Rams, 4x Amano Shrimp, 2x Nerites
Plants:Bacopa sp, Ludwigia Repens, Ludwigia Palustris, Rotala Indica, Nesaea, Crypt Wendtii, Crypt Spiralis, Jungle Val, Cardamine Lyrata, Dwarf Sag, Hygrophila Compact, Wisteria, Tiger Lotus, and Melon Sword or Ozelot Sword.


Notice how all the fish are staying in the left side of the tank, while the lone cherry barb stays to the right of the tank.


Ram looking a little stress. Colors should come out soon.


BNP! Man I love this guy:biggrin:
 
#46 ·
Here are some pics from tonight. In just three days, the plants have noticeably grown. The lotus grew a couple of centimeters in just one day (thank you root tabs :hihi:). The melon swords ( which I now think are ozelot swords) are starting to produce some really nice looking leaves. On a fish related note, the rams are starting to adjust well with the tank. They seem to be spending time together most of the day. I'm not sure if they are a pair, but who knows. I did witness some lip-locking once, but I dont know what that means. Also, I want you guys opinion on what to feed these rams. They are kinda of picky and are not accepting the flakes (suck them in and then spit them out.) They seem to not be fans of freeze dried brine shrimp either. They do seem to be liking the algae wafers, but I know they need a little "meat" in their diet, so I would appreciate some info on what to feed these guys.



 
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