Talontsiawd's 29 gallon Newbie tank :) Update 10/07/09-Can you say jungle??

[talontsiawd]

Newest Pictures:






Current equipment list:
-Aqueon 29 gallon tank
-Top Fin Stand
-Aqueon Heater
-Eheim 2215 filter
-Coarlife T5 36 watt light x3 (108 watts total)
-20lb Co2 Tank
-Regulator and needle valve from a weed growing setup given to me lol
-GLA 3000 Glass Diffusor
-CAL AQUA "Oracle" Drop Checker



Start of journal
I figured i'd throw my tank up to get some advice, feedback, etc. I am very new to this, as described below. I will update these lists as i go, and of course take pictures of my progress.

Tank and Accessories
Aqueon starter kit:
-29 gallon tank
-Filter
-Heater
-17 Watt Light

Upgrades:
-Coralife 30in t5 2x18 light
-Diy CO2
-Green Leaf Aquariums CO2 Diffuser 3000

Fish/Shrimp
-Red Eye Tetra x2
-Flame Tetra x3
-Serpae Tetra x5
-Otto x3
-Dwarf Gourami x1
-Amano Shrimp x3
-Ghost Shrimp x3

Substrate:
Red Florite-18lbs
Black Gravel-15lbs

Background
None. This is my first tank. I have never had any sort of aquarium before. Everything I have learned has been in the last month, the tank was started on 10/11/08.

Goals
Immediate-To learn how to take care of fish, get more fish after first cycle, acquire new plants and hardscape
Midrange-Learn more about aquascaping and find the direction i want to go. Be able to visualize what i want and how it works. Learn more about aquascaping in terms of theory, technique, style, materials, etc
Long Term-Tear down this tank and redo with aquired knowledge

In general, i'm trying to build slowly to avoid a finciancial drain. I have many hobbies that take my moneys away from me. I plan to collect as much of the hardscape as i can for now as well as any plants i can find that are attractive. I have been interested in getting a tank for years but never had a reason, i decided i didn't need one. I did justify it to myself as it will be a good addition for my home studio.


Cliffnotes-New to this entirely, have no clue what i'm doing, etc.

First pics









Sorry, i need to learn how to photograph this type of stuff.
Planed "upgrades" and changes on the agenda at some point
-Background
-Start messing with ferts
-Test kit
-Drop checker
-More fish
-Moss or HC carpeting
-Another light
-Build a stand (or make my dad do so if i can lol)
-Rescape x unknown amount

[Bk828]

not bad for a start..
Get rid of the Green Hedge plant that in the center.. its non aquatic

[Aquarist_Fist]

Great start! One thing though: it seems like you planted the plants in a way they look good now. Be aware that those things tend to grow, which means that very soon there will be a huge mess in the far right corner and with all those (what looks like) Cabomba caroliniana stems you planted in the foreground.

C. caroliniana can grow inches a day (!!) given the right circumstances. When it reaches the surface, it breaks to propagate; most annoying plant ever....

[talontsiawd]

Bk828-thanks for the info. Good to know.

Aquarist_Fist-As for the Cabomba caroliniana (thanks for letting me know what it is-i'm positive it is this by looking through pictures)....I already hate it with a passion lol.

As for taking into account for growth, etc. That's just something i have to learn. There is no way i could read something, follow another tank, etc, and actually KNOW what to do.

The main reason i even started this thread was to get opinions, learn, etc. I know it isn't the most beautiful tank in the world and i have a long road.

Thanks everyone.

[Christine T]

Originally Posted by talontsiawd

Bk828-thanks for the info. Good to know.

Aquarist_Fist-As for the Cabomba caroliniana (thanks for letting me know what it is-i'm positive it is this by looking through pictures)....I already hate it with a passion lol.

LOL I also have this plant and i too hate it. (I just started my first planted tank in Sept). Although I took it out and re-planted it in more of a bunch, so at least it "looks" better. Wait until it sends out these ridiculously long roots from random parts of the stem, they look horrible and tangle into everything (the main reason it took them out, so i could snip these off)

Your tank looks good so far. My only suggestion would be to search for low light plants on-line and then pick the ones you like. An easy stem plant for low light that will grow like a weed (b/c it is) and suck up tons of nutrients is Anacharis. I've also found that it stays planted better than the Cabomba.

[talontsiawd]

Yeah, mine are already growing roots that are pretty long. What's the best way to snip them before getting out of control? I was thinking just buy some nail clippers and sterilize them. I do that a lot with my small, non aquatic plants.

I am really trying to just chill on making changes to the tank right now. Every day i want to mess with something. It is a fish tank, i want to just cycle it and get some more fish (i think neon tetra's are next, not sure).

I pretty much wish i could start all over already. It's more important to get it establish to me right now though. I'm just going to continue looking at pictures, reading, and whatnot, find what i like and don't like. I will also look at my tank and see what i like about it and decide what i don't like (a lot right now lol).

I did buy 30lbs of rock today from a local rock supplier. It's "river tumbled flagstone", it seems somewhat common in tanks. $8, not bad. I need to break it up though.

Anyway, enough rambling, thanks everyone for being kind with my first tank that is less than a few weeks old.

[talontsiawd]

So, even though i said i wasn't going to change anything, i just wasn't liking what i had. I really wanted to deal with this before i got new fish as i don't have any holding tank or anything yet.

I'm not happy with this but i feel it's more "workable" for me to do what i want, make small changes more easily, etc.





I plan on some sort of moss or HC, not the whole bottom but some ground cover soon. I have to wait until i'm happy with the layout obviously.

[CL]

It looks better for sure. I read that you were into bonsai. There are great rocks at bonsai shops that you can use for aquascaping. I would check it out if there were any bonsai shops near you

[Tex Gal]

Even if you don't know about the plants growth habits you have a good eye. I really liked the 1st scape's look. Course it would not stay that way.

[talontsiawd]

Thanks everybody for taking the time.

My tank is cycled so i added 8 neon tetra's and got my co2 diffusor. Having a good day. Plants are showing growth instead of slowly dying before i got my new light.

One question, how important is it to have a drop checker? Obviously it would be nice to know how much is really getting diffused but for what i understand, it's almost impossible to over do it with DIY. So outside of just knowing what you have, can this benefit me much? I may make a DIY one or buy one later, i just am trying to stop spending money right now.

[CL]

Your fish will let you know when there's too much co2. Just watch your tank to see if you need more or less co2

[Tex Gal]

I use a drop checker. While I do think you can watch your fish I try to be consistent with the amount of CO2 The color of the drop checker lets me do that. If I try to maintain the same color with my DIY I do better. DIY is difficult enough without guessing how much is getting into the water. In a small tank you can OD with DIY if it's a new batch. I've had to unhook mine at night because of it.

[MikeP_123]

What do you mean exactly when you say "your fish will tell you"?

[wschalle]

Well, in extreme cases, they'll start gasping at the surface or showing other signs of stress, then die.

[talontsiawd]

I have an update, i got some driftwood off my friend for free and got some new plants:



Are these aquatic plants? The green leafy plant doesn't seem like it is doing as well as it should. The purple/green does fine, it just doesn't look "aquatic" to me. Even if not, i got more than i should for the price, just wondering if they will last:


Anyway, i think it's comming along much better. The right side needs to fill out a bit but it will happen in time. I don't think i'm going to mess with it until i get a stand, hopefully soon. I'm pretty happy at the moment, not near what i want but i think it's much better than it was.


Next plans:
More fish
Redo the background (doesn't look too good in person)
Stand
Another coralife light (maybe not)
Some "regular" plants
Some sort of carpeting, but in clumps, not the whole foreground (for now).