[Pena1359]

I am just about ready to start planting in my 20 gallon tank. The tank was given to me by a friend and is completely custom. The back is all foam with dirt and there is driftwood coming out of the back wall. I just put eco-complete black substrate into the tank.

You will find pictures of the tank attached. As far as planting goes I really wanted some kind of carpet plant in the forground... i was leaning towards DHG and something colorful in the back... maybe limnophila hippuroides? Any other suggestions? I will continue to post pics as the tank progresses. Wish me luck and thank you so much ahead of time for your feedback.

 

[Whiskey]

That is different! I bet some driftwood on the ground, under but touching what is coming out of the back will really tie it all together, and remove the floating driftwood look.

I like Glosso and HC as carpet plants too, how much light are you planning? Are you going to use CO2? This info will help with the suggestions.

Whiskey

 

[Pena1359]

I probably should have included that info in the beginning. My light is a Marineland Aquatic Plant LED Aquarium Lighting System with Timer. It contains 1 watt 6,500K white LEDs with 3 watt RGB LEDs that offers 460nm blue, 660nm red and green accent lights. I do not know anything about CO2 or if it will hurt any fish I may get so I am undecided on that as of yet.

 

[Whiskey]

I'm not sure how much light that lamp puts out but without CO2 I would go with easier foreground plants, like Chain sword, microsord, Crypt (parva if you want something really low).

HC, Glosso, UG, etc really do best with med/high light and CO2.

Whiskey

 

[Pena1359]

The light is very good... puts out a lot of light and it reaches the bottom easily. As for Co2 do you have any recommendations for a beginner?

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[Whiskey]

The light is very good... puts out a lot of light and it reaches the bottom easily. As for Co2 do you have any recommendations for a beginner?

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There are lots of threads around here about it, I would first read a few of those and decide if this is something you want to do.

If it is, my recommendation is to start with a full size system,.. 5lb CO2 tank, real regulator, make sure it has a silonoid, and probably a diffuser to start since they are easier to hook up. The place you want to spend your money is on the silonoid (cheap ones tend to fail faster) and the Needle Valve (cheap ones are finicky to adjust). If you get a good system to start with it won't be cheap, but it will ensure you only have to buy this stuff once.

Whiskey

 

[Pena1359]

Will do. Without Co2 are there many plants i could get? Maybe something with color?

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[Whiskey]

There are many interesting plants, and without CO2 the tank is much simpler, but some of the really striking plants won't do well for you.

Whiskey

 

[Pena1359]

I spent most of my morning at work not working and researching some CO2 kits. It appears that a DIY kit for my size tank could work and it appears to be very easy to make one. I am very much considering doing this as I want some really striking plants in this tank. I don't know if this matters but my tank is way over filtered, I use a Penn Plaxx 700 canister filter that is rated for a 65 gallon tank. I am able to control the flow into the tank though so I do not know if that will be an issue or not.

 

[Whiskey]

I did diy at first, it was a great introduction to c02. I also had a 20 g tank at the time.

 

[Pena1359]

I did diy at first, it was a great introduction to c02. I also had a 20 g tank at the time.

And did you have a positive experience?

 

[Whiskey]

And did you have a positive experience?

I did! I later decided I wanted more control, and less effort so I went to Pressurized, but the DIY was quite effective.

Whiskey

 

[Pena1359]

I think I will try the diy system. I am getting excited!!! Stay tuned for updates!!!

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[Hilde]

i was leaning towards DHG and something colorful in the back... maybe limnophila hippuroides?

Your light is like my 29G tank with T5NO light strip, which I can only grow medium light plants like Alternanthera reineckii. It need Co2 Additive.

I think I will try the diy system.

Here is an interesting DIY CO2 system.

 

[Pena1359]

I am confused. Are you saying you need co2 but dont have it or are you saying that even with co2 you can only grow medium light plants?

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[Hilde]

I am confused. Are you saying you need co2 but dont have it or are you saying that even with co2 you can only grow medium light plants?

Red plants like Alternanthera reineckii need Co2. Most green plants don't need Co2. Exceptions are Blyxa japonica, Pogostemon helfer. Possibly there are a few more. Research plants at sites like plant finder, aquascaping world.

I think your tank looks similar to mine that has medium light and low Co2.

 

[Whiskey]

It's too bad I don't have my photobucket account anymore - I was able to grow glosso, and a couple of the easier red plants with DIY Co2.

My advice is to start easy, once you have the basics down and a stable tank try a few of the red plants you like and see how they do. If you have issues you can make adjustments once you have a handle on things.

Whiskey

 

[Pena1359]

So it has been a while since I last posted. Since I last posted I have planted some anacharis, a sword, some DHG, and what I think is an anubias in the tank.

Also added some fish. I added a Honey Gourami which I named Jaguar Paw. That fish has quite a story behind it. My sister moved to a new place recently and had a 10 gallon tank. Anyways she moved the tank into her garage, and basicly forgot about it there. I visited her a few weeks ago and asked her about her tank, which had a Honey Gourami in it. She told me it was in the garage but since she was so busy, she forgot about it and hadn't fed the fish, changed the water, done anything for nearly 2 months!!! I went to check on the tank and all the fish were dead, except for the gourami, it was swimming in maybe 4 inches of gross water. So I took it home and added it to my tank! Ill be adding some pictures to shiw you guys what I have.

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[Pena1359]

So here is a shot of the tank as of yesterday.

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[Pena1359]

Here is a picture of the immortal gourami who I named jaguar paw (Apocalypto).

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