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Alright so I was tally'ing the costs of a 40g planted tank and its way more than I'm willing to spend right now. I've got a 20g lying around. I will save a ton of money because I won't need a stand and the equipment will be significantly cheaper. It is going to rest on my desk. So, here's my plan.

Equipment
Filtration: Aquaclear 50
Heat: Jager 100w
CO2: none, Flourish Excel
Substrate: 20lbs Eco Complete

Fish
5x Otocinclus
1.1 Apistos
5x Rasbora Espei
12x Amano Shrimp

I'll post my questions as a reply.

Questions!!!!

1. I am adding a single 20lb bag of Eco Complete as a substrate. Is it alright if I use ordinary aquarium gravel to build up and heighten the rear of the tankan inch or so?

2. Fish. The Apistos are going to be the focal fish in the tank, but I want to avoid issues between tank mates. I've never kept these guys, so I don't know what their temperment is like. Will I run into territory issues come spawning time between the cichlids and rasboras?

3. I forgot to mention that lighting will come by way of an Aqualight 30" 2x65w power compact fixture. Now, I don't think they come with 6700k bulbs do they? I will obviously change out the stock ones and replace them with the correct spectrum lighting.

4. Will I be alright without CO2? Some plants I really want to keep are stargrass, a java fern, and that's about it. If I dose with Flourish Excel every other day, will I be okay? What other ferts and at what dosage should I use?

5. PLANTS!! I need recommendations!

6. Maintanence. I'm expecting to do a 50% water change every other week. Should I be alright if I feed sparingly?

Mike,



Patience, young grashopper



Seriously, with a planted tank you get into a differend complexity of the hobby then it was for you when all you had to worry about was a large enough filter for your supersized fishies.

Did you read the EI article link yet?

On to answer your questions of your second post:

1. As you probably know, I have a 20G Long as well
And as you may know, I refitted it on page 4 of its log with Eco and a base of gravel. So as such that is ok, but I added about 30 pounds, 20 is a little low.

2. For the Apistos you will have to provide hiding places, otherwise the tank will be too small for them. As much as I know, a male Apisto has a territory of about 3 square feet, aka the size of your tank. If the female breeds or if she wants to be left alone then there is no place for her. I suggest you read up on the fish before deciding to get them (a good idea in general). 5 Espei - not quite a school size. And I hope you don't speculate that they would breed, that only happens to me . If you get young shrimp then they may end up as Apisto food though. 5 Otos is a lot, 3 would do.

3. Once again, what is "Aqualight" - is that the Coralife Brand? As that one comes in a freshwater flavor with 6,700K bulb(s). But I will tell you now that you are asking for serious trouble with 130w over a 12 inch deep tank. 65 will do just fine.

4. and 5. You could do without CO2 and Excel, with a DIY CO2, and with CO2, but if you go 130w then you need pressurized CO2 and you need to know really what to do with it. Your margin of error is tiny in these dimensions. Java Fern would do just fine in 40W of light while the Star Grass needs some more. But - Star Grass grows way too fast and tall to be easily maintainable in this tank. I see a lot of trimming in your future. I suggest you start reading up on plants as well. Excel is not a fert at all, it is a carbon source for the plants. About what ferts to use, read my EI link in the other thread.

6. It all depends on what you do in the end with the tank. Your stocking list is filling the tank, so lots of poop. Plants may need trimming. With less light and no CO2 you may be fine with biweekly maintenance.

Hope this helps,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

I can always count on info from Ingo

1. One bag was a guesstimate. I have no problem adding 40lbs total. Is this the route to go?

2. I'm going to provide plenty of hiding spots and dense planting to break up the open tank. This SHOULD prevent aggressive male from stressing out the female too much. I may ditch the Espei all together and get a pair of swordtails or some other live bearer.

3. Ingo, yes I am talking about the Coralife brand lighting fixture. It hit my as I was driving what I was saying. 130w over 20g!!!! A recipe for disaster for sure! I will use a single 30" 65w unit with 6700k bulb.

4. Good call on the CO2. I'll definetly have to do some research before I bite the bullet and start ordering plants.

Which reminds me. Where do you recommend I order plants from? AF's stock is poor, IMO.

Mike,

Ok, on to the next round.

1. 40 pounds will be all right, 30 may be enough, in particular if you think about a gravel base of 1 inch.

2. Poop amount of 2 swords vs. 5 Espei: at least the same, if not more for the swords. And the Apisto male being aggressive: you should see how aggressive the female is when protecting fry .

3. The Coralife 30" is available as a freshwater unit you can buy. It has the 6,700K already in there. I just ordered that one for my 20G, more for the fun of it than that I would really need it. And - get the mounting legs as well. And - make sure you have a glass top for a double light fixture, this way the middle glass plate is wider.

4. Yup - do the research

5. AF and plants: From all the local fish stores I have seen so far (and this are quite a few), AF has the healthiest plants and the most variety on any normal day. Nevertheless, often they don't have either the quantity or the specific plant that I am looking for. So most of my plants come from online, my current favorite is Aquariumplants.com

Hope this helps,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

I'll have to have my friend at AF order me that light. It's beautiful how I quit months ago and still have all the benefits of working there . I'm going to source some Triple Reds from some of my friends. AF is nuts for what they charge for Apisto pairs!

In any way, get all hardware together first,
Then research what plants and fish will complete the tank,
Then get some hardscape for this arrangement (wood, rock),
Then order the plants,
Then set it all up, filled with plants,
Then add the fishies gradually.

So you are easily 1 to 2 months from even getting any Apistos

About the light: how much will you have to pay then for it?

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Ingo, where is this magical link you speak of? I'm painting my bedroom this weekend so things are getting nuts, but I am going to spend some time next week getting the tank running. At least I can get the filter jumpstarted on the cycle and add the Coralife lighting when it comes in.

Mike,

Which Link do you mean:

The one to Big Al's?

Or the one to aquariumplants.com?

Or did I speak of another one, I dont remember.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

What Mike,

You can't even go back to your other thread and find This Link?



Anyway, have fun reading it, it is very interesting and will create about 5000 new questions for you.

Have fun,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Alright so I've searched and found some plants I would like to add. THese are all ideas at this point. I think I'm going to keep 3-4 plant species max due to the small tank size and my intentions for hardscape. Anyway, here is the list.

Aponogentons longiplumulosus
Cryptocoryne ciliata
Lilaeopsis novae-zelandiae (Micro Sword)
Hemianthus micranthemoides
Anubias barteri v 'Nana'
Sagittaria subulata
Eleocharis monevidensis

http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp18369/si1383022/cl0/coralifefreshwateraqualightdeluxesingle30strip

Just so we're on the same page, that is the fixture I'm getting. Looking at it now, I think it might be cheaper to get it from Big Al's.

OK,

Some info to your plant selections:

Aponogentons longiplumulosus - (longiplumulosus) "recommended for large aquariums" means not quite a 20G Long
Cryptocoryne ciliata - looks almost like a Nana, but "It grows 40 - 50 cm tall" also not for a 20G Long
Lilaeopsis novae-zelandiae (Micro Sword) - Nice, I have it in my 40G, but maybe looks much better when planted in a smaller arrangement. Also, I think it is too high if you were planning to plant it all the way to the front glass
Hemianthus micranthemoides - Very nice, one or two small bushes make every tank look better and its small leaves make the tank look larger
Anubias barteri v 'Nana' - nice, 2 or 3 planted together should do
Sagittaria subulata - Will grow rather tall (for a 20G Long) suited for background
Eleocharis monevidensis - (montevidensis) Spike Rush? Used in ponds. Seems to grow at least mostly emersed. Never heard of it used submersed.

And the light:

Yup-that is it. And I would like to say : "I told you so"

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

I'm toying with the idea of having no glass tops on the tank and have a few driftwood branches sticking out. I think it will look really nice.

I think I'm going to have the micro swords in the front half of the tank in bunches on opposite sides and have the hemi.micranthemoides as a center plant. Star grass will make up 3/4 of the rear and I want to have a val or the anubias in the remaining section of the rear. Sound good? I'll draw it out in paint when I get a chance. It really comes down to finding driftwood I like, which is a project!

Mike,

If you read the instructions for this kind of lighting then you will find something like that:

"Use not above open water to avoid condensation damage"

About the plants: sounds too tall all around.

Gotta go home now,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Something like this. This doesn't take into account the hardscape/

Mike,

I don't think this would be feasible. Here is why:

- If you are not on top of water changes and fertilization and Excel addition then you Star Grass will not do too well. If you are, then it will outgrow the tank in no time and you will have to trim constantly.
- Micro Swords is, IMHO, too tall for the 20G Long as to be planted all the way to the front. I have it in the 40G, check out the log.
- Pearl Grass, (H.m.), looks best when only used in small groups, not as a carpet plant. You would have to constantly trim it to stay low.

And I assume that you mean Anubias Barteri var. Nana, right? A normal Barteri would be way too big for a 20G Long.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

One last question. SHould I run two sponges in the filter or one sponge and one pouch of Biomax?

SHould I run two sponges in the filter or one sponge and one pouch of Biomax?

I run sponges only in my AquaClear filters, but both tanks where I use them are considered low tech. At least until this weekend, that is, as I am going to up my 20QT to 65W, but I will have 2 AquaClear 50 on it with 2 sponges each.

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club