6 day checkin on first planted tank

[Somethingsmellsfishy]

Here are a few pics of my tank.
My tank is a 20L, pool filter sand, starter kit of basic plants, I have been running the old 10G filter and media as well as a new Aqueon 30, Finnex Stingray (4 on, 6 off, 4 on), I rolled the dice and put in 6

I filled the tank on Saturday April 10th, installed old filter and media.
I .
Added
I got impatient and bought 5 ghost shrimp on Saturday April 16th. I noticed 2 were pregnant.
On Sunday, I added a tetra hoping to control the shrimp population. I found one ghost shrimp dead.
T

I am seeing some rot and some new growth. Does this look about normal? I have also spotted just a few pieces of white fuzz. Anything I need to do about this?

Can I run my light more hours?
Thanks!
John

 

[TexasDomer]

Yes, you can try leaving the light on a bit longer, just watch for algae. It may be that the light isn't strong enough to grow the plants you have (in that case, leaving the light on longer won't help), or maybe they're still adjusting to the new tank.

If you added seeded media on the 10th but didn't add livestock until April 16th, your beneficial bacteria died and you need to re-cycle the tank.

Also, ghost shrimp don't reproduce well unless they're in a specialized setup, so no need for fish to control the population.

Is this a 20 gal long or a 20 liter tank?

How many tetra did you add?

 

[Somethingsmellsfishy]

Yes, you can try leaving the light on a bit longer, just watch for algae. It may be that the light isn't strong enough to grow the plants you have (in that case, leaving the light on longer won't help), or maybe they're still adjusting to the new tank.

I will try for 5 on, 5 off, 5 on. The plants are: Microsword, Anubias Nana, Java Fern, Water Sprite, Hornwort

If you added seeded media on the 10th but didn't add livestock until April 16th, your beneficial bacteria died and you need to re-cycle the tank.

Thanks. Maybe that explains why the filter media turned to mush? I don't think I have seen it do that. It is a Tetra Whisper 10.

Also, ghost shrimp don't reproduce well unless they're in a specialized setup, so no need for fish to control the population.

Good. I don't want 20 shrimp that I can't net out.

Is this a 20 gal long or a 20 liter tank?

20 Long

How many tetra did you add?

I added 1 Tetra. It is probably twice the size of a neon but I forgot the breed.
My old 10 gallon is still running on another Tetra Whisper 10 with 3 Ember Tetras, a ghost shrimp, and a Dwarf Crawfish. I was thinking I needed to give more time before moving everything over and shutting it down. I could move it's current filter over again if that would make sense.

 

[TexasDomer]

I will try for 5 on, 5 off, 5 on. The plants are: Microsword, Anubias Nana, Java Fern, Water Sprite, Hornwort

Which ones aren't doing well?

Thanks. Maybe that explains why the filter media turned to mush? I don't think I have seen it do that. It is a Tetra Whisper 10.

It shouldn't turn to mush. Have you rinsed it in dechlorinated water to clean it?

Good. I don't want 20 shrimp that I can't net out.
20 Long
I added 1 Tetra. It is probably twice the size of a neon but I forgot the breed.
My old 10 gallon is still running on another Tetra Whisper 10 with 3 Ember Tetras, a ghost shrimp, and a Dwarf Crawfish. I was thinking I needed to give more time before moving everything over and shutting it down. I could move it's current filter over again if that would make sense.

You need to add more of the same species. They're schooling fish, and should be in groups of 6+. Same with the ember tetra.

I'm not quite sure what you mean. How much media do you have in the 10 gal? You can move some of it over to the 20 gal to get the cycle started in the 20 gal, or you can do a fish in cycle, then add more of the same species.

 

[Somethingsmellsfishy]

The Anubias is dropping some leaves in the foreground. Is that to be expected? On the back of the driftwood, the whole piece I tied on didn't make it.
The Microsword has several that didn't make it. I guess maybe you lose a lot of those?

Regarding the filter media that melted, I just moved it to the new tank. No rinsing. Maybe it was just old.

You need to add more of the same species. They're schooling fish, and should be in groups of 6+. Same with the ember tetra.

I'm not quite sure what you mean. How much media do you have in the 10 gal? You can move some of it over to the 20 gal to get the cycle started in the 20 gal, or you can do a fish in cycle, then add more of the same species.

I just have the premade filter with carbon inside on the 10 gallon. Since it is cycled, I thought maybe that would help the new tank?

I plan to add more Ember Tetras and other species once I get the tank stable. When I was at my LFS on Saturday, they were out.