29 Gallon easy planted tank

1 week, how I got here. About a month ago, I decided I wanted to get a second fish tank, and I knew I wanted a 20 gallon. However, after browsing facebook marketplace, I found a man a few towns over with a 29 gallon tank, stand, aquaclear filter and heater for $60. Considering that this would have been close to $200 to buy, I jumped at the offer, however I still did not know what I wanted to do with it. Eventually I decided on a planted community tank (roughly 3 weeks ago) and I purchased everything I needed from my LFS and the aquarium co-op website. On the 20th, I was ready to scape the tank, and to buy plants, but there was one hurdle. My light, which I ordered from aquarium co-op was estimated to arrive on the 18th, and it seemed as though it was lost in shipping and I couldn't plant until after the holidays were over. Then I got lucky, on Thursday the 23rd, my light arrived, and just later that day I headed down to the LFS and bought some live plants. I got to my house, set the tank up and began the cycle. By day 2 my floaters were already thriving, and I saw the first roots, some of which are now 4 or 5 inches long. Around day 5 or 6 I saw my first growth with my Amazon swords and Anubias, so I decided it was time to dose the first fertilizer. On day 6 I added some pothos into the tank and no changes have been made today. No algae has grown, and parameters are looking good. I plan to add the first fauna around Early february,

 

Do you know what kind of fauna you'll be getting yet? Why are you planning to wait for February to start stocking? In my experience you can expect to be done with cycling mid-January.

 

Nice setup and nice price for the equipment… if your other tank is cycled you can take some media from that tanks filter and add it to your AC on the 29… we have a 29 with 11 Tiger barb’s and 4 albino corys. Good luck with whatever u decide to add!!

 

Do you know what kind of fauna you'll be getting yet? Why are you planning to wait for February to start stocking? In my experience you can expect to be done with cycling mid-January.

I want to allow the pothos to grow big roots before I add fish so I'll have a jungleish look to the tank. I'm thinking some sort of tetra, probably ember and cockatoo cichlids. Then some bottom dweller, but I don't know what yet
Edit: I know I can add fish earlier, I am choosing not to

Nice setup and nice price for the equipment… if your other tank is cycled you can take some media from that tanks filter and add it to your AC on the 29… we have a 29 with 11 Tiger barb’s and 4 albino corys. Good luck with whatever u decide to add!!

Oh wow your tank is beautiful, I love that driftwood.

 

Edit: I know I can add fish earlier, I am choosing not to

The patience you have... I had enough patience to choose fishless cycling over fish-in, but that's as far as it goes .

 

Some small updates today, no photos as it is the same as yesterday. This morning I realized the I had buried the rhizomes of some anubias, so I fixed that, and slightly adjusted my hardscape too. Later, I installed an air stone into the sponge filter, so it is more effective, and the bubbles are much smaller

 

Like that scape and plant selection. Already looks very nice and will look even better as everything grows in. Excited to see how this turns out!

 

I love this! Yes you got a sweet deal on your set up, what a great start! As kallililly1973 said, if you move media from your other tank to your AC, you will have an instant cycle.
Beautiful plants, you're well on your way with this tank, and you're more patient than most of us!
I read an article once with stocking suggestions for a 29, with top, mid and bottom swimmers to enhance the tank. I've learned so much on Fishlore, but also from hours of watching their videos on YouTube.
I don't know how to add airstones to sponge filters, but would like to learn and try it in the 6 I run!

I look forward to more of your posts!

 

Like that scape and plant selection. Already looks very nice and will look even better as everything grows in. Excited to see how this turns out!

Thank you so much! If you watch this thread I will keep you updated

I love this! Yes you got a sweet deal on your set up, what a great start! As kallililly1973 said, if you move media from your other tank to your AC, you will have an instant cycle.
Beautiful plants, you're well on your way with this tank, and you're more patient than most of us!
I read an article once with stocking suggestions for a 29, with top, mid and bottom swimmers to enhance the tank. I've learned so much on Fishlore, but also from hours of watching videos on YouTube.
I don't know how to add airstones to sponge filters, but would like to learn and try it in the 6 I run!

I look forward to more of your posts!

Sadly I can't move filter media, as I run a tiny sponge filter in my 5 gallon

 

I have finally finalized my stocking for this tank, but I am conflicted between a few options. Anyway, here is the planned stocking:

Idea 1:
1 Gold Ram or GBR
15 Cardinal Tetras
6 Sterbai Corys

Idea 2
3 Honey Gourami (1M/2F)
20 Celestial Pearl Danio
9 Pygmy Corys

Idea 3
1 Female Betta
15 Ember Tetras
1 Bristlenose Pleco

 

I like your second idea. Just my.02

 

I like your second idea. Just my.02

I think it would look really awesome, and I love both honey gouramis and celestial pearl danios. The only drawback is that my lfs sells their celestial pearl danios for around 6 or 7 dollars apiece so it would be expensive to have a large school

 

Your tank looks great with just the aquascaping, so I can't wait to see the finished product after you get it fully stocked with whichever stocking plan you decide to go with.

 

Update! I have some interesting plant stuff. First of all, some of my floaters are dying, while others are thriving, I don't know why, if anyone has ideas why please let me know. Also I have seen the first algae, so that's a good sign things are growing. One of my Amazons swords is actually an inch above the water now at the top, so it is just soaking in nutrients right now, and my pothos is growing roots. I also added a wandering Jew at some point, but it has not grown roots yet. Lastly, my Java fern will be ready to propagate soon, and I have seen the beginnings of new rhizomes on the end of leaves. Photos are of, dead and living floaters, Amazon sword out of water and Java Fern new rhizomes

 

First Update of 2022! The aquarium has been set up for a little over 2 weeks now, and the cycle is going well. I have 2 ppm Ammonia, 10 ppm nitrite and 5 ppm nitrate. Once I have 0 ppm nitrite and ammonia and around 20 ppm nitrate I will start stocking, or I might just wait for my plants to grow more, as a lot of them are still very small. I'm going to my lfs later today so if I see any fish I like I will update my stocking ideas.

 

After going to my LFS I spent a lot of time thinking, and I made my decision for what I'll stock it with.
1 Ram Cichlid (Either Gold or German Blue)
15 Ember Tetras
6 Sterbai Cories
Temp: 83 Fahrenheit
Hoping that I can stock it soon, but I dont want to make any changes for the rest of the cycle so I might not update for a while.

 

I have a stocking related question. If I do the honey gourami tank, could I replace the pygmy corys with cherry shrimp and what plants could I add to make cover for the shrimp?

 

I'm only asking out of curiosity, but why is your water temp so high at 83? I know nothing about Cichlids but Tetras and Cories would do great at 78 or lower.

 

I'm only asking out of curiosity, but why is your water temp so high at 83? I know nothing about Cichlids but Tetras and Cories would do great at 78 or lower.

cardinals and rams are fine at 83.
-
How hard is your water; and your level of experience. GBR are rather sensitive fishes during water changes et all. I've become a big fan of borelli apisto; they are small and colourful with a decent personality. In a 29 i'd have 1m and 2 or 3 f; with kubotai rasbora or guppies as dithers. However the temp should be a bit lower - around 77. Borelli are pretty robust and can handle wide range of temp and water condition (hard/soft).

 

Thank you for your advice. I sadly do not own a kh test but my gh is around 50. I'll definitely look into Apistogramma borelli, and I like guppies too

 

I presume 50ppm which is quite low - suitable for most south american dwarf cichlid. If your kh is low (~0-1) your ph is probably mid 6 and you could try something like nijennsi apisto. With these you would just want a pair and only get dither fishes that stay near the top like pencil fishes and some rasbora. If your kh is higher then borelli or even hongsloi - of course if you don't want frys then drop the female and avoid the drama. hongsloi are harem breeders but larger fish so you could get 2 female but 1 is safer in a 29; borelli are a lot more passive and much smaller so easily 2 or 3 females.

 

As I often do, I am indecisive and have changed my mind once again. Could I keep a group of clown killifish (1 male and 1-3 females) with cherry shrimp and densely plant it, can both species breed?
Edit: assuming I lower the temperature to 76 or 77

 

I have a problem that I need help with. I have these little white worms or something hanging out on my glass near some brown diatom algae. They are definitely alive, and are flirting around. They are tiny, maybe a millimeter long. I included a picture but they are definitely alive and are moving around. Should I be concerned?
Edit: the only chnage I've recently made was doing a water change, and there is also a larger worm that slithers around instead of flitting around, and is about double the size, also on the glass.

 

Ok. My tank is cycled! It has been 4 weeks, I have been using Dr. Tims ammonium chloride , my parameters are 0, 0, 20. I can start stocking (once my quarantine tank is set up, which I'll do this weekend. So here are my final two choices, say what you think now.

Tank 1:
-1 betta (I can move him to a cycled 5 gallon if I need to)
-15 Ember Tetras
-6 Kuhli Loaches (or if I acquire pearlweed and can create adequate cover, cherry shrimp)

Tank 2:
-1 German Blue Ram
-12 Cardinal Tetras
-6 Sterbai Corys

Tell me your thoughts before I start buying fish!!!.

Edit: about the last post, I did my own researh and ther little guys that flitted around are freshwater copeopods, and the worms weren't one of the dangerous ones (I forget the name, they might have been demitrius though), but definietly not planaria.

 

Ok. My tank is cycled! It has been 4 weeks, I have been using Dr. Tims ammonium chloride , my parameters are 0, 0, 20. I can start stocking (once my quarantine tank is set up, which I'll do this weekend. So here are my final two choices, say what you think now.

Tank 1:
-1 betta (I can move him to a cycled 5 gallon if I need to)
-15 Ember Tetras
-6 Kuhli Loaches (or if I acquire pearlweed and can create adequate cover, cherry shrimp)

Tank 2:
-1 German Blue Ram
-12 Cardinal Tetras
-6 Sterbai Corys

Tell me your thoughts before I start buying fish!!!.

Edit: about the last post, I did my own researh and ther little guys that flitted around are freshwater copeopods, and the worms weren't one of the dangerous ones (I forget the name, they might have been demitrius though), but definietly not planaria.

I like Tank 2 idea. If you go with Tank 1 though, definitely put the betta in last. I found that keeps the betta from being aggressive towards what's in the tank if it's in there before it. Trying to add fish after a betta is in seems to make them act more aggressive because it's new fish entering its space and not the betta entering their space. Haven't tried a betta with loaches either. Mine is aggressive (the stinker) and I can only get away with snails or amano shrimp (if they're in first), but he doesn't like anything that moves a lot and I feel loaches would be problematic unless there's good ground cover or you get a super chill betta.

 

I like Tank 2 idea. If you go with Tank 1 though, definitely put the betta in last. I found that keeps the betta from being aggressive towards what's in the tank if it's in there before it. Trying to add fish after a betta is in seems to make them act more aggressive because it's new fish entering its space and not the betta entering their space. Haven't tried a betta with loaches either. Mine is aggressive (the stinker) and I can only get away with snails or amano shrimp (if they're in first), but he doesn't like anything that moves a lot and I feel loaches would be problematic unless there's good ground cover or you get a super chill betta.

I don't know, I feel like what's most important to me is ember tetras, but I don't know if ember tetras would be compatible with rams

 

I don't know, I feel like what's most important to me is ember tetras, but I don't know if ember tetras would be compatible with rams

I checked a few sites as I'm not familiar with rams and people are saying it's fine to have rams and tetra together so long as the rams are not spawning. given you wanted just a single ram, you should be okay. I'm not an expert on this, but a few other aquarium forums have people saying they've had tetra with rams without issue.

 

Okay. My final stocking looks like this. I am going to try not to change it, but I probably will.
15 Ember Tetra
Maybe 1 Betta, if not, a honey gourami
A colony of cherry shrimp.
I will introduce the tetras first, then test the betta, if the betta doesn't work, the gourami. Finally I will add the cherry shrimp once I have a dense enough mat of pearlweed the fry can hide. I will try to feed frozen at least twice a week, live microworms at least once every two weeks and for my prepared foods, I will do an equal mix of: hikari mini wafers and hikari shrimp cuisine for the shrimp and xtreme micro pellets, repashy community plus and xtreme krill flakes (crushed so the tetras can eat them). I may also do fluval bug bites, I don't know yet. Will this diet work well?
Edit: I assume the answer is no but is there any difference besides color in different neocaradinia shrimp. Like can blue rili shrimp live in the same parameters as orange pumpkin shrimp, or is there a difference?

 

My understanding is that water parameters are usually about the same for neocaridinia shrimp (*edit: based on both of our failed attempts at spelling 'neocaridina', I nominate this infuriatingly/surprisingly difficult-to-spell word for the next national spelling bee!). I seem to recall watching a 'Secret History Living in Your Aquarium' livestream in which he stated that some of the color morphs actually include ancestry from other species as well though, so perhaps there is some variation.

For my heavily planted 29 gallon, I only put shrimp-specific food in once or twice a week (and sometimes less); the shrimp seem to do well grazing on spirulina flakes that fall to the bottom and whatever else is in the tank. So definitely be careful re overfeeding so as to avoid algae and snail issues. You might want to think about getting the cherry shrimp in there first, both to discourage predation from the betta especially, but also to increase confidence and hopefully have them come out more. Good luck, and look forward to pics soon!

 

My understanding is that water parameters are usually about the same for neocaridinia shrimp (*edit: based on both of our failed attempts at spelling 'neocaridina', I nominate this infuriatingly/surprisingly difficult-to-spell word for the next national spelling bee!). I seem to recall watching a 'Secret History Living in Your Aquarium' livestream in which he stated that some of the color morphs actually include ancestry from other species as well though, so perhaps there is some variation.

For my heavily planted 29 gallon, I only put shrimp-specific food in once or twice a week (and sometimes less); the shrimp seem to do well grazing on spirulina flakes that fall to the bottom and whatever else is in the tank. So definitely be careful re overfeeding so as to avoid algae and snail issues. You might want to think about getting the cherry shrimp in there first, both to discourage predation from the betta especially, but also to increase confidence and hopefully have them come out more. Good luck, and look forward to pics soon!

Ok. Thank you for the advice!

 

Put your journal for the 29 on watch. I hitched my fishy wagon to goldfish so I live vicariously through others’ community tanks. Lol. Especially the shrimp!

 

Put your journal for the 29 on watch. I hitched my fishy wagon to goldfish so I live vicariously through others’ community tanks. Lol. Especially the shrimp!

I appreciate it, but I wouldn't hold your breath! My lfs sells low quality cherry shrimp for $10 each (ridiculous), and it's way too cold to ship right now

 

Zoinks! Well wait on those scrimps then. Better to order online and at a better price.

 

I plan to add the first fauna around Early february,

Yeah, a lot has changed since I made that post. Early March seems more likely now. Lol!

 

Small update: my cycle is well underway. I dosed pure ammonia on Friday, and my parameters are 0, 0.25, 0. Not done, but close

 

Anybody know any small schooling fish that can live in 7.4 ph and won't bother shrimp? Most schoolers prefer more acidic or neutral water

 

I have a school of white cloud mountain minnows with my shrimp.

 

Anybody know any small schooling fish that can live in 7.4 ph and won't bother shrimp? Most schoolers prefer more acidic or neutral water

look into rasboras. I've got emerald dwarf rasboras in my large bowl with cherry shrimp. they're about the same size as the large female cherry shrimp I have and leave them alone. I was originally going for chili rasboras but found these ones easier. I know tetra, minnow, and rasboras are all typically shrimp friendly. My sister has ember tetra that do well with her amano shrimp and a betta she had. I'm not sure if the ph will bother them. I've got tanks ranging from ph of 6.8 to 7.9 and all my fish are fine. I find plants care more about ph than fish do.

 

Update: I was at the fishstore the other day, and somebody had dropped off a bunch of dwarf sagitaria, and the fish store didn't have room for it, so they gave me some for free. There was duckweed in it, so I had to thoroughly quarantine the plants, but i added them into my tank yesterday, and they look awesome. I also gained pest snails a couple weeks ago, not sure from where, but i honestly don't mind them. They have removed most of the algae in the tank and don't touch the plants at all. I've also changed my mind about stocking once again, and I now am tunking about this plan. Stocking is listed in order they will be added, should I not change my mind once again

10-20 Neo Shrimp, either blue or yellow ones
6 clown plecos (once I can sex them, I will return all but a pair)
MAYBE 10 cpds

 

OK, I have gotten my first nitrate readings! My tank is truly cycled, so I am now seriously looking for fish, checking out aquabid and waiting for good weather.
Edit: My exact parameters are 0, 0, 10