20g Long Freshwater Build

I just picked up a 20 gallon long from petco dollar per gallon sale! I’ll keep you updated and show the entire build! Going to let it cycle for a month or two and then add the fish. I’ve already selected them

 

Cool! What fish are you going to add?

 

I'm followng this . How much did you pay for the tank?

 

Cool! What fish are you going to add?

I’ve decided on this:

1 dwarf gourami
8-10 neon tetras
6-8 panda cories

I'm followng this . How much did you pay for the tank?

Thanks! I’m excited to update! I paid $20 for the tank and $22.10 for the filter! I’m either buying a stand for $40 or making one

 

It would be way cheaper building the stand but also some time/effort but I'd pick building it.

 

It would be way cheaper building the stand but also some time/effort but I'd pick building it.

Thanks! I think I’ll try building one

I just finished filling the tank. I put it under my desk for now until I make the stand. I filled it with fish-safe water and turned on the filter. I’m using the aqueon quiet flow 20 and I’m a little disappointed about the water flow. It extremely weak. I’ll add a pic excuse the table leg

 

What plants are you thinking of adding

 

What plants are you thinking of adding

I’m thinking of adding some super basic plants such as java fern and anubias I don’t want to spend a lot of money on a high tech light

 

I’m thinking of adding some super basic plants such as java fern and anubias I don’t want to spend a lot of money on a high tech light

This is my 55, I started it on June 30th. The light is a $50 Current USA LED. It might have been on sale but the point is you don't need high light to have a decently planted tank. Of course you aren't going to want to use coarse gravel like I used if you're going to have cory cats but it does allow good fertilizer circulation to the roots of my plants.

 

I just add some of the aqueon tropical fish flakes and it going to add them once every 2 days

This is my 55, I started it on June 30th. The light is a $50 Current USA LED. It might have been on sale but the point is you don't need high light to have a decently planted tank. Of course you aren't going to want to use coarse gravel like I used if you're going to have cory cats but it does allow good fertilizer circulation to the roots of my plants.
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Your tank is so beautiful! I think after I finish the stand I’ll look into buying a light and I’ll go with some more plants. I wanted to go full planted at first but I was drawn away by the difficulty. Now that I think of it I might go planted and just take my time so I leant the basics. There’s a lot of potential in this tank and I want to make it something special

 

Rhizomes and stem plants will be your friends. Both will feed from the water column and don't require much light at all. You can use a clamp on light like you might use under the hood while working on the car and a 6500K compact fluorescent bulb. LED's use much less power but if being economical with the initial purchase is a big consideration you can light a tank for less than $15.

 

Rhizomes and stem plants will be your friends. Both will feed from the water column and don't require much light at all. You can use a clamp on light like you might use under the hood while working on the car and a 6500K compact fluorescent bulb. LED's use much less power but if being economical with the initial purchase is a big consideration you can light a tank for less than $15.

I’ll have to look into those! Thank you so much

Would you guys recommend adding driftwood? If I add some I’ll be buying it off amazon for cheap

I just ordered some driftwood off of dr fosters and smith. I got Malaysian driftwood in the size medium/large

 

That will be good. I bought some from them also and it is nice stuff. Very dense. You'll want to boil it for a bit to release some of the tannins before you put it in your tank unless you like tea colored water, some people do like that. You won't have to worry about soaking it to get it to sink though, it drops right to the bottom. I bought 7 pieces and every one of them had nice sized worm holes and assorted nooks and crannies where I was able to stuff the rhizomes from the Anubias and Java fern. No gluing or tying needed. Easy!

 

That will be good. I bought some from them also and it is nice stuff. Very dense. You'll want to boil it for a bit to release some of the tannins before you put it in your tank unless you like tea colored water, some people do like that. You won't have to worry about soaking it to get it to sink though, it drops right to the bottom. I bought 7 pieces and every one of them had nice sized worm holes and assorted nooks and crannies where I was able to stuff the rhizomes from the Anubias and Java fern. No gluing or tying needed. Easy!

Perfect! I was nervous that it wouldn’t be what I wanted. This is my first driftwood/planted tank! So I’m super excited! Any tips are great

 

How are you planning on cycling your tank? Do you have a water test kit? Have you thought about a substrate yet?

 

How are you planning on cycling your tank? Do you have a water test kit? Have you thought about a substrate yet?

I’m going to get some ammonia very soon and use that. I have strips now since I haven’t gotten around to getting a test kit yet. I’ve chosen caribsea eco-complete Black substrate. I ordered driftwood and I’m going to get the plants in a week or two

 

The API Master Test Kit is pretty popular, it's the one I use and the results are good as long as you follow the directions. Do you know your current water parameters? pH? Temperature?
It was told to me that fishkeepers don't really keep fish so much as they keep water. You keep good water and your fish will thrive.

 

The API Master Test Kit is pretty popular, it's the one I use and the results are good as long as you follow the directions. Do you know your current water parameters? pH? Temperature?
It was told to me that fishkeepers don't really keep fish so much as they keep water. You keep good water and your fish will thrive.

I just got the tank yesterday and I have the filter running now with some flakes in the water. I’m assuming the tank is at around 74 but I haven’t bought a thermometer. I plan on letting it run completely empty while I buy all of the materials. I am going to buy the apI master test kit since everyone seems to really love it. I’m not getting fish for a while since the tank has to cycle. School starts in two days and I’m a little busy to I haven’t been able to buy the necessities, but I would never put fish in the tank without all of the things it needs.

Here’s the reading I got from my test strips:

Nitrates- 0
Nitrites- 0
Hardness- 150 (hard)
Alkalinity- 80
pH- 7.2

Thanks for following along! It makes me even more excited to see someone else following to see how it turns out!

I just bought some of the Caribsea eco-complete planted aquarium substrate

 

The drift wood from dr Foster and smith got here a couple days ago and I’m finally getting around to boiling it!

How long should I boil it?

 

30 minutes or so was long enough for mine to release most of the tannins.

 

30 minutes or so was long enough for mine to release most of the tannins.

I boiled mine for 20 minutes and I’m going to let it soak for a couple hours! (I was afraid everyone has forgotten about this thread lol)

 

That's pretty much what I did, I wasn't ready to use it right away so I let it soak. It won't hurt anything, that's for sure. I used a long pair of stainless steel BBQ tongs to flip the wood and pick it up when it was still steaming hot.

 

Tannins can take a long time to fully leave the wood, depending on what type of wood it is.
MopanI holds insane amounts of tannins and takes quite a while to remove them all.

 

Tannins can take a long time to fully leave the wood, depending on what type of wood it is.
MopanI holds insane amounts of tannins and takes quite a while to remove them all.

It’s Malaysian driftwood

That's pretty much what I did, I wasn't ready to use it right away so I let it soak. It won't hurt anything, that's for sure. I used a long pair of stainless steel BBQ tongs to flip the wood and pick it up when it was still steaming hot.

I did the same thing!!

 

That's dope keep us updated w/ pics

 

I used a piece yesterday while I was building the new 10 gallon for one of my Bettas. I boiled it sometime this past week, don't recall the exact day but I let it cool in the water and took it out the next day. It was steaming the kitchen up quite a bit while boiling so I didn't let it go terribly long, though it was sticking out so I had to flip it once. It's been in the 10 gallon for a day now and I don't see any change at all in the color of the water.
That's one thing I think I do like about the Malaysian, it actually IS driftwood that has been collected. It's not like MopanI which starts out as a tree and is then sold for the aquarium hobby due to its dense structure and suitability. MopanI still has a lot of tannins whereas the wood that has actually been floating around for who knows how long has had a lot already taken out long before it reaches a fishkeeper.

 

I used a piece yesterday while I was building the new 10 gallon for one of my Bettas. I boiled it sometime this past week, don't recall the exact day but I let it cool in the water and took it out the next day. It was steaming the kitchen up quite a bit while boiling so I didn't let it go terribly long, though it was sticking out so I had to flip it once. It's been in the 10 gallon for a day now and I don't see any change at all in the color of the water.
That's one thing I think I do like about the Malaysian, it actually IS driftwood that has been collected. It's not like MopanI which starts out as a tree and is then sold for the aquarium hobby due to its dense structure and suitability. MopanI still has a lot of tannins whereas the wood that has actually been floating around for who knows how long has had a lot already taken out long before it reaches a fishkeeper.

I never knew that about the different woods! I think that's really cool that the wood is actual driftwood. I love how they make a tank look though.

I’ll post a pic tomorrow morning I’m too lazy to get up and take a pic lol

 

I never knew that about the different woods! I think that's really cool that the wood is actual driftwood. I love how they make a tank look though.

Mopani,Manzanita, Cholla, maybe Spiderwood too. All are used as aquarium decorations but aren't actually found driftwood.

 

HI guys! I’m very excited to say that I’m ready to start adding plants and in a couple weeks when I’m done adding plants I’ll be adding the fish! Would you guys recommend some amano too?

 

HI guys! I’m very excited to say that I’m ready to start adding plants and in a couple weeks when I’m done adding plants I’ll be adding the fish! Would you guys recommend some amano too?

Amano shrimp are great little scavengers, they also clean up algae and uneaten waste too.

 

HI guys! I’m very excited to say that I’m ready to start adding plants and in a couple weeks when I’m done adding plants I’ll be adding the fish! Would you guys recommend some amano too?

My computer must be broken, the pictures aren't showing up for me.

 

Hey guys! It’s been a while! I’ve been saving up money while the tank cycled and I went on a shopping trip today! The light came in the mail yesterday and it’s super nice! I bought a stand, two plants (just the start), some more water conditioner, and my newest addition, 5 neon tetras!! This is only the first round of fish out of 5

I’ll upload pics once I’m done setting everything up

 

Ok that's nice. The build is progressing .

 

Wasn’t able to setup the stand today but I got everything else done!

 

It's really cool. You know you could add some have moss in there. But it looks great how it is. Just wait till all the plants have grown out. Then you will see the perfection of your handiwork.

 

Hey Marissa.knuf. Any updates on your tank?