[Fyr]

Tank: Bow front 36 gallons, 30” long x 18” wide x 22” tall
Kit here
Media: 1-1.5” of Miracle Grow Organic gardening mix; 2-3” Black Diamond Blasting Sand Medium coarseness 20-40
Plants: Staurogyne repens for carpet; had wanted Hemianthus callitrichoides but couldn’t find any; no idea about mid or background plants
Fertilizer: Osmocote ice cubes shoved into the soil; Seachem liquid fertilizer
Stock: Rubbernose Pleco, Mollies, Swordtails, my heart says angels….
Water Quality: water comes from a tap treated with chlorine and a water softener; I treat it with a water conditioner that has one of those “does it all” labels, I don’t remember the name right now but can look it up when I get home
Temperature: 74-78º
Background/Décor: DIY Styrofoam and concrete
Filtration: DIY overhead sump; has mechanical, biological and plant based filtration; if anyone wants more details let me know, I can include pictures
Hood: I only use the light fixture part because of the overhead sump
Lighting: Kit bulb 24" 17-Watt T8 Full Spectrum Fluorescent Lamp
Currently I’m experiencing one heck of an algae bloom in this tank

Tank: Standard 20 gal
Media: 2” gravel
Plants: I have no idea…
Fertilizer: none
Stock: Guppies, Platys, Corys, Tetras
Water quality: last time I tested it was darned near perfect
Water Temperature: 72-73º
Background/Décor: Styrofoam and concrete background
Filtration: DIY overhead sump with mechanical, physical and plant based filtration
Hood: screen
Lighting: none currently, eventually it will have my old hidden LED system

Tank: Standard 10 gal
Media: 1” of Miracle Grow Organic gardening mix; 1-2” Black Diamond Blasting Sand Medium coarseness 20-40
Plants: Staurogyne repens; java moss
Fertilizer: Osmocote ice cubes shoved into the soil; Seachem liquid fertilizer
Stock: shrimp; trumpet snails; maybe ottos
Water Quality: haven’t tested again since setup but the trumpet snail hasn’t died yet (LOL)
Water Temperature: 72-74º
Background/Décor: might do a thin Styrofoam and concrete background but main focus is a tree with the java moss
Filtration: Hamburg Matt Filter
Hood: full hood
Lighting: I’ll need to check but there are two bulbs about 4” each; claimed full spectrum with white daylight and blue light; florescent I believe

 

[Hoppy]

Water from a water softener is not good for a planted tank. It will have lots of sodium in it, which has replaced the calcium that was in it. Lots of sodium is a bad idea. Even if you use KCl instead of NaCl in the softener the water is still not good for a planted tank. Can you get unsoftened water? From a hose bib outdoors, or perhaps from the cold water tap?

 

[Fyr]

Where I live we tend to have very "hard" water so my LFS told me a water softener would be beneficial for fish but I know that my terrestrial plants have a severe issue with it. There is one faucet in the house that if run with cold water, the water is not pulled through the water softener but the residue from the water softener is still in those pipes. Is that okay?