20 Gallon Long Planted

2312 Views 7 Replies 4 Participants Last post by TankPlanter, Mar 20, 2017

FLOutlander

Discussion Starter · Mar 14, 2017

Greetings All,

I rescued a used 20 gallon long yesterday from the curb and plan on cleaning and resealing it since the silicone looks kind of rough. There are no leaks but better safe than sorry, right?

Anyway I plan on using Miracle Grow capped with Black Diamond sand. For lighting I will use clip-on desk lamps with 6500k CFL bulbs. Filter will be a HOB, maybe an AC50 or similar.

What would you all recommend for plants? The tank is only 12 or so inches tall. Would love to be able to grow a carpet but not sure if I can do that without CO2. I'd be willing to dose Excel if needed. I will also add a piece of Spiderwood so will likely tie or glue on some type of moss. Any advice is appretiated. Livestock will consist of a school of Neons and either Ottos or Coreys. How many of each in a 20 long? Will be heavily planted per your recommendations so I'll be able to be at the higher end of the bio load. Lots of bio media in the filter and a few lava rocks with Anubius Nana glued on.

Save

1 - 8 of 8 Posts

doug105!

· #2 · Mar 14, 2017

I would be tempted to fill it up with water and observe it and see if it holds water. (In your garage or porch or similar place). I did the same thing, my wife was out jogging , came back and said...there's an aquarium by someone's garbage can. I immediately retrieved it and it was rough! Top rim cracked, so I removed it. Lots of scratches, who cares, use it for grow out.

I put 2 x 23 watt cfls over it (plus co2 and mts). It is plenty of light. For non CO2, I would probly recommend 3 x 13 watts for a better spread, as a starting point.

As for Cories(?), I had a Corydoras only 40 long (12 x 48 footprint), and with good filtration (Eheim canister). 20 cories, sand bottom, and they seemed to "happy" to me! Always laying eggs. Seeing the way they school in larger groups is awesome!

DougN

Save

FLOutlander

Discussion Starter · #3 · Mar 14, 2017

Yeah I filled it with water this morning. So far no leaks.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

Save

maustin2346

· #4 · Mar 15, 2017

like this 😁 my 20 gallon long planted. Not done, get paid Friday hopefully I'll upload some more

Sent from my HTC One M9 using Tapatalk

See less See more

Save

maustin2346

· #5 · Mar 15, 2017

In other words, do it. You won't be sorry as long as you add fish first and let some bacteria grow with some marimo balls and some driftwood you should be fine, I started just with anacharis and marimos and it's been amazing so far

Sent from my HTC One M9 using Tapatalk

Save

TankPlanter

· #6 · Mar 20, 2017

I have a 20 long with the same substrate. Low tech. Dwarf sag carpeted nicely, took awhile though. I highly recommend weighting down the wood. My spider wood keeps moving when I bump it and that's no fun with dirt. I am playing with small-leaved bucephalandra on the driftwood. It's working much better than Anubias or moss did.

Save

FLOutlander

Discussion Starter · #7 · Mar 20, 2017

TankPlanter said:
I have a 20 long with the same substrate. Low tech. Dwarf sag carpeted nicely, took awhile though. I highly recommend weighting down the wood. My spider wood keeps moving when I bump it and that's no fun with dirt. I am playing with small-leaved bucephalandra on the driftwood. It's working much better than Anubias or moss did.

What kind of lighting are you using?

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

Save

TankPlanter

· #8 · Mar 20, 2017

Finnex Stingray, pretty basic. I've had a zillion problems and learning lessons, but the light has been great. Plants don't seem light-limited at all (after a year, I do need root tabs to keep swords alive). Also, Indian red sword stays small and is a nice color and size for the tank.

Save

Reactions: 1

1 - 8 of 8 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.

Top Contributors this Month