[TriniTank]

Been Lurking a few weeks now...Attempted a tank 2 weeks ago. Lost a few fish to mini cycle and a electric blue cray(that i gave away-he uprooted/ate some plants too).
Yesterday decided to do complete rebuild. In Trinidad the hobby is not that popular, plants are hard to find(but managed to find some a guy with large outdoor tanks-so i bought some java moss and java fern from him. WIll upload some B4 and After Pics.

Equipment
29G Aqueon Kit
Changed hood to Boyu (1X24inch 17 Watt full spectrum and 1 Boyu 15 Watt White - I hv to upgrade bulbs-but in time)
Have heater-don't need it tank(tropics)
Substrate-api first layer pure laterite, sand and gravel

Plants
Hornwort
Local Horwart i think
Cabomba (Red i Think- bought some scraps at lfs)
Wisteria
Unidentified Crypt?(Bought dying in dif lfs with 1-2 leaves)
Java Moss
Java Fern
Rangeri Swords
A few types of Vallisneria Long,short and swirl

Fish
9 Neon tetra
8 Zebra
2 Corys
1 glo Fish
1 Rainbow
3 Guppies
3 Snails
1 Hillary

 

[marioman72]

sounds like a good start, lets see some pictures!

 

[TriniTank]

Pics

These are b4 and after Pics.
B4- Got the Tank, bought all sorts of plants from lfs,
Found Driftwood and rocks at a small stream and planted tank.

Got some Java Moss and Fern, got new rocks at the beach(boiled it just in case). Removed fish to bucket with air stone and tore down tank. Complete rebuild. Added some black gravel after. I replanted the top of the wisteria only. Tied java moss and ferns with cotton thread. Added fish. One day has passed everyone still alive and happy. Hoping my tree looks like a tree and carpet grows out nicely.

 

[wootlaws]

Is the first picture the after pic?

 

[TriniTank]

That's the before. I planted and it was grown for two weeks. I tore it down and that's the new tank with the java moss tree and carpet.

On another note
Added three otos
One spotted Cory
And some snails
And a plant I got for free at the lfs(not sure what it is jus thought I'd attempt to save it) post pics at lights on.

 

[zzrguy]

Looks good. My 29 just had a big melt but is coming back. Good luck.

 

[TriniTank]

Pics

Uploading some pics of the occupants of the tank. Really busy and long day at work today, came home and just got time to take some pics.
In the first and second Pics I need some help identifying plant- 1st pic long leaf plant with 2 leaves and 2nd pic the background plant resembling a lotus? Trying to save them both, they look like good plants.
The java Moss seems to adjusting already, there is a little bright green growth?

 

[TriniTank]

Thought I'd update my journal. Been busy;
-So i bought 5 spotted corys and two of my otos got bloated and died, only one left, hope he lives.
-I changed the bulbs 2 days ago to 2X18 watt 6500K T8.
-The dying plant i got for free at the lfs turned out to be a lotus and it has three new red leaves-back of rangeri swords in pic.
-The java moss was quite stagnant, but i did two water changes in the pass week and today i noticed some new growth-see pics. Really wanna see if the carpet and tree actually comes out like the some of pics I've seen online.
-The hornworth has reached the top and the wisteria is coming out of some melting and starting to shape up.

Really thinking bout adding a DIY co2 system, but not sure if I can without causing probs in the tank or if I need it at all. Any suggestions?

 

[TriniTank]

Update time:
Everything in the tanks is growing except the vals. The tank is really coming in to shape and the fish seem really happy. I took out the guppies and swordtail and lost 4 zebras because of a hasty water change without conditioner. I also added some stuff so here it goes:

-6 Rummy nose Tetras
-4 more neon tetras
-6 Black tetras
-1 Betta
-4 very small albino bristle nose pleco(less than 1")

-I also added a DIY co2 diffuser using a chopstick

 

[TriniTank]

Total Rebuild

OK here it goes:
Been busy - the tank has suffered...tonnes and tonnes of melt, rotting driftwood and a huge trumpet snail invasion that has eaten all the softer plants including anubias and lotus.
Gonna re-design- i'm adding a DIY retaining wall to add some depth and height with a terraced effect.

Tried a few prototypes that failed but this last build was a success- I was even able to add a tunnel, using 1 1/2 pvc elbows, in the wall for my albino plecos. I used 1/2 inch pvc for the frame and a thick piece of black plastic/rubber(came at the bottom of a pallet of cement) for the facing securing it with cable ties. I glued some black stones to the front with silicone(took hours) and used black sand to cover the silcone. Its curing till Tuesday and then i will submerged it for a day before i start the rebuild.

I am also preparing a piece of ocean driftwood i found-soaked it for weeks, boiled it for hours today-gonna soak some more.

Will update as i go along.