20 GAL High-Tech Planted Tank Build

Hey all. New to the forums and F/W planted aquariums. Have kept reef tanks of different sizes and set-ups on and off for the last 15 years. With a youngster running around, I haven’t had a tank running for the last 5 years. Now she’s a little older and I got the itch again, so I wanted to try a planted F/W tank.

Figured I’d start a little journal to track the progress, and share my journey. As a beginner, I’m sure there will be some ups and downs. I’ll try to keep this thread updated regularly, and share both my triumphs and struggles.

On to the build...

Hardware:

Wayfair “Ester” 20 GAL Stand
UNS 60U 20 GAL
Twinstar 600e
Way2Top Led Dimmable Controller
Oase Biomaster Thermo 250
Pressurized CO2
Aquatek Regulator w/ cool touch solenoid
Aquario Neo Diffuser




Here’s the little controller. Was only 20$, and has 8 different data set points. It slowly ramps up and down, to simulate sunrise/sunset. Creates a super cool effect.




Got some plants and substrate on order from my LFS, so hopefully will get this all planted in the next week or two.

Still not sure if I want to try DSM, or just plant and fill. Need to do a little more research on that.

 

Looking forward to this build! Good luck!

 

Following!

 

Small Update...

Got the substrate and hardscape in. Might add a couple more rocks, but for now I’m liking this traditional 3 stone “Iwagumi” style. Probably going to do a bit more variety of plants and livestock than a Iwagumi, but I like the simplicity of those hardscapes.

ADA Aquasand
ADA Amazonia
ADA Amazonia Powder

Tested my tap, to get a baseline.

pH 7.6
High Range pH 8.2
Ammonia .5
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5
kH 7
GH 9
Phosphate 0

Plants are still another week out... Hopefully will be planted and flooded next weekend. Decided against DSM, as I’ll be running CO2 and EI dosing from day 1.




Also got my filter and CO2 stuff. Filter is an Oase Biomaster Thermo 250. I’ve been watching a lot of George Farmer and Jurijs Jutjajves YT videos, as some of you might have guessed.

 

Why did you decide against dry start? I'm a fan of dry start.

 

I’m going to plant pretty heavily, so I’d rather just start cycle and be able to introduce fish in a month.

 

Looks like your tank is headed in an awesome direction. I’ll be following for sure!

 

I’m going to plant pretty heavily, so I’d rather just start cycle and be able to introduce fish in a month.

LoL yeah I'm impatient too.

At least plant it before you add the water, it's sooooo much easier. If you can afford a few days cover it and let em root a little.

 

I can't wait to see it with plants! It already looks so good! Which fish are you planning on adding?

 

Following

 

Looks awesome so far, look forward to seeing your progress!

 

I can't wait to see it with plants! It already looks so good! Which fish are you planning on adding?

Some sort of Tetra or Rasbora. Probably Cardinal Tetra and/or Galaxy Rasbora. Something small that I can keep a school of 10-12.

Planted and filled with water this morning. The rotala in the middle will be pulled in a few weeks. Just added it to help control algae during cycle. Also added a couple more rocks.

After reading more about dosing, I decided to go lean instead of EI. Think it will be a bit better method, since a lot of tank will be a MC carpet.

Micranthemum Monte Carlo
Eleocharis Acicularis
Eleocharis Parvula
Rotala Vietnam H’ra
Rotala Rotundifolia Green

So, I said I’d share the good and the bad...

A lot of the MC is melting. Also a small part of the Rotala Bonsai. I was a little careless on the first water change and floated 4 or 5 MC patches.

I’ve read that some melt is normal when switching between emersed and submersed form. Seeing some new sprouts popping out of the substrate, so that encouraging. Also seeing really good growth of the Rotala.

Not sure if I should trim the dead stuff? I’m not the most graceful with the scissors. Don’t want to do more harm than good.

Doing my daily water changes and dosing ADA Brighty Neutral K and Mineral as directed. Reminding myself it’s only been 5 days and keeping my fingers crossed.

GH 7
KH 5
PH 6.7
Ammonia 6
Nitrite .5

 

Two week update. Added the cleanup crew. Couple snails and a handful of Amano Shrimp. The MC is coming back and the rest of the plants are settling in.

Glad I started the tank when I did. Has given me something to do with all the craziness going on. Also working remotely has made the frequent water changes much easier.

GH 7
KH 5
PH 6.6
Ammonia .25
Nitrite 2
Nitrate 40+

 

1 month update. Cyano clearing up. MC starting to fill in. Going to add some Cardinal Tertras this week.

 

Hi! This sounds really cool, and I will be following. I'm not sure if this is true, but apparently cardinal tetras require a pH of below 7.0, and yours is 8.2. I'm not sure if this will be a problem, but you may want to do some more research before adding them. Good luck!

 

May I suggest getting some Amano shrimp?

 

Hi! This sounds really cool, and I will be following. I'm not sure if this is true, but apparently cardinal tetras require a pH of below 7.0, and yours is 8.2. I'm not sure if this will be a problem, but you may want to do some more research before adding them. Good luck!

I have Cardinals in 8.2. They adjust.

 

Hi! This sounds really cool, and I will be following. I'm not sure if this is true, but apparently cardinal tetras require a pH of below 7.0, and yours is 8.2. I'm not sure if this will be a problem, but you may want to do some more research before adding them. Good luck!

Hi. Thanks. My current PH is generally around 6.6, depending on when CO2 is running. The levels in the OP were from the tap.

GH 7
KH 5
PH 6.6
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 10-15

May I suggest getting some Amano shrimp?

I have 4-5 in there and a oto. Added those a week back when nitrites were below 1.

 

Hey there! I am experimenting with a CO2 tank myself, albeit less sophisticated (using a yeast reactor, the light is a 3000K LED undercabinet light...), and will be interested in seeing this progress.

PS...KH is much more important to most freshwater fish than PH...most freshwater fish can tolerate significant PH shifts over the course of a day, such as from a CO2 system, but a sudden shift of 2-3 degrees KH will stress out most species and can kill some species. Shrimp are even less fond of KH shifts...even some plants (Tonina fluvitalis, for example) are much more concerned with KH than PH.

 

I have Cardinals in 8.2. They adjust.

Oh! So you are blessed with the West Michigan ph! Mine is 8.4.

 

Nice to see a fellow Oase filter. What do you think of the internal pre filter?

 

I love it. The pre-filter and internal heater is what sold me on it. So easy to just clean the pre-filter every couple weeks without having to disconnect the hose and remove all the trays.

The only change I made was an adapter to run 12/16 hoses and lily pipes, instead of the larger (16/18?) hoses that came with it. Still more than enough flow for a 20 gal.

 

Oh! So you are blessed with the West Michigan ph! Mine is 8.4.

Of course.......mine is sometimes that too.

 

6ish week update. Everything filling in and starting to look good.

Shop was out of Cardinals so I bought 8 neons a couple weeks back. Everyone was doing fine and tank was stable, so I added 6 Galaxy Rasbora this afternoon. That’s going to do it for the livestock.

Also added a couple cherry shrimp back when I added the Amanos and had no idea they would breed. I knew the Amano wouldn’t, so just assumed the same on the Cherry. Now I have about 8-10 babies cruising around and what I assume is the mom doing a bit of landscaping at night, because I’ve been waking up to a few MC stems floating every morning. Not sure if the Cherry breeding will become a nuisance? They sure are cute, but not sure if I want 20 of them...

NOTE: The outflow is raised because I’ve been raising it at night to exchange gasses. I bought some little suction clamps I can slide the outflow up and down on, instead of having to remove the suction cups over and over. Which was especially problematic for me, since I bite my nails!