Cooley's 29 Gallon

Well here is my progress post for my first aquarium setup since 1995!

Hopefully you guys will enjoy this thread as much as I will setting up the tank and feel free to give me suggestions and tips! I'm no expert and would be very appreciative of any feedback.

So here is the plan, I've got an empty 29 gallon aquarium I'd like to plant and have a nice colorful family of fish live in it. The budget is $400 (maybe don't tell my wife?). Timeline wise I'd like to be fully stocked by maybe April.

For plants I'm leaning towards these:
African Water Fern
Tiger Lotus
Pogostemon Helferi
Anubias Nana
Marilea Minuta
Java Moss
Glossostigma

Those are going to depend greatly on if I can find a source for all of them but I think those will fit nicely in the aquascape.

For fish I'm not 100% set yet but I'm leaning towards Guppies, probably all males as I'm not sure I want to take on the added load of raising fish babies right now, I have a newly arrived one of my own. Maybe something like this: (names may be a little off, this is just what my LFS calls them)
Yellow Snakeskin Endler Guppy
Red Tiger Endler Guppy
Blue Sapphire Guppy
Sterba's Cory Cat
Otocinclus

Maybe I also add some Cherry shrimp not sure. That can all develop as the build progresses. Maybe there is some room for rams, maybe something else. Goal here is nice color or markings, something eye catching. Suggestions welcome.

For equipment I already have the 29 gallon tank. It also has a Marineland Penguin 200 Bio-Wheel filter but I'm replacing that filter for sure, and selling it cheap if anyone is interested. I've never seen anyone have a lot of luck keeping those wheels turning. For my additions I'm planning on the following:
AquaClear 50 filter
I'll need a heater, probably a 100-watt, maybe even a preset fully submersible
A bubble diffuser of some sort, maybe a Pawfly disc diffuser
A DIY Co2 setup using citric acid and sodium bicarbonate (not 100% sure I need the Co2 but it should hurt)

For my substrate I am planning on using Floramax gravel, it seems to be basically Eco Complete without the bacteria so I'll just grow my own bacteria and use the cheaper product, I plan on a plenty long cycle time to grow a nice bacteria colony.

I'll have some hardscaping in the tank with some larger rocks, possibly some driftwood if I find a piece that catches my eye. I was originally thinking of a moss bonsaI tree but I think I'll leave that for another build in a little larger tank.

Bear with me as I take this one a bit slow but I'll keep it updated as things progress. I'll probably start sourcing some rocks in the next few days so I can get a feel for how the lay of the land will be inside the tank.

Here is the tank now with the Bio-Wheel filter I intent to replace with an AquaClear 50



It has this light feature, I guess like a night time light. Not sure if I'll use this setting or not.



That's it for today. Hopefully I'll have some more updates over the next week or so. Right now I think plants will go in towards the end of January but the next step will be the substrate layout so stay tuned for that and feel free to give me some feedback!

 

Cool tank! Looking forward to seeing it when it's fully stocked!!

 

Tank builds are always fun! Only suggestion I have is to maybe use a little larger heater so it doesn’t have to work as hard. But a 100W may work. I had a 150 in my 38, never built a 29.
Looking forward to progress!

 

Tank builds are always fun! Only suggestion I have is to maybe use a little larger heater so it doesn’t have to work as hard. But a 100W may work. I had a 150 in my 38, never built a 29.
Looking forward to progress!

I actually had been toying with the idea of running two heaters to help with the load. I suppose one larger heater may be better, and less stuff to hide. The tank is currently set to be against an exterior wall so more heat probably wouldn't be a bad idea our winters get pretty cold here.

 

Not a huge update today. Picked up some rocks and checked some fish/plant stock at the LFS. I know I'm a ways out from fish and plants but who goes without looking!
I am also considering starting a cycle in a 10gal tank while I work on this one, still up in the air on that.
Should be getting the substrate soon then I can start the layout for the aquascape.
So we are $50 down on the budget, $350 remaining. Date goal for first fish is still around the end of February and fully stocked by April.

Probably should have added something for scale, but the one on the bottom right is about 7 inches long by 4 inches tall to give you a perspective of sizes.

 

Nice rocks!
I would suggest a sand being preferable over gravel for corydoras as they tend to scrape themselves up on gravel.
I think you want a black substrate correct? A way to do that on the cheap is to go to a Tractor Supply store and get a bag of BDBS - black diamond blasting sand. This works much better for bottom dwellers and you can still plant it just fine. If you want extra nutrition just pick up some osmocote root tabs - you can get a hundred off ebay for like eight bucks? And that will last you for years. Just put one under a heavy root feeding plant in the substrate every couple months.

 

Nice rocks!
I would suggest a sand being preferable over gravel for corydoras as they tend to scrape themselves up on gravel.
I think you want a black substrate correct? A way to do that on the cheap is to go to a Tractor Supply store and get a bag of BDBS - black diamond blasting sand. This works much better for bottom dwellers and you can still plant it just fine. If you want extra nutrition just pick up some osmocote root tabs - you can get a hundred off ebay for like eight bucks? And that will last you for years. Just put one under a heavy root feeding plant in the substrate every couple months.

Sorry for throwing my question in here, but I didnt wanted to make a ndw thread for this.
So, I am planning to buy 4 bronze cory when I buy my other 30 gallon tank. I m kinda confused if I should get sand coz I heard that sad is a lot hard tI maintain and u lose a lot of it when u do pwc. Should I just get gravel, or should I get sand for corys? Also, will corys do fine with danios (my danios aren't too nippy / aggro umless its feeding time)

Thanks

 

Nice rocks!
I would suggest a sand being preferable over gravel for corydoras as they tend to scrape themselves up on gravel.
I think you want a black substrate correct? A way to do that on the cheap is to go to a Tractor Supply store and get a bag of BDBS - black diamond blasting sand. This works much better for bottom dwellers and you can still plant it just fine. If you want extra nutrition just pick up some osmocote root tabs - you can get a hundred off ebay for like eight bucks? And that will last you for years. Just put one under a heavy root feeding plant in the substrate every couple months.

I'm not opposed to sand at all, I was even considering it for a bit. Have you had any experience with it in aquascaped tanks with it being used to make hills and such? Will it hold shape well or does it tend to flow back to level. I have seen several posts of people having no issue with corydoras and Floramax but there is always a chance for injury I suppose. If blasting sand would work in the aquascape setting its a hands down winner for me so any feedback on that front would be great.

 

Sorry for throwing my question in here, but I didnt wanted to make a ndw thread for this.
So, I am planning to buy 4 bronze cory when I buy my other 30 gallon tank. I m kinda confused if I should get sand coz I heard that sad is a lot hard tI maintain and u lose a lot of it when u do pwc. Should I just get gravel, or should I get sand for corys? Also, will corys do fine with danios (my danios aren't too nippy / aggro umless its feeding time)

Thanks

In the past I have had corys with a rounded gravel which obviously will work fine. Also sand is acceptable for corys. You can still do a pwc with sand without losing a ton of it just by changing the way you siphon. You'll need to hold the siphon as such to where you just agitate and suck the surface as opposed to gravel where you can really get down into it. Some siphons may also be gentle enough not to remove much from the tank, would really depend on the equipment you have, but in short sanded aquariums can be kept as clean as any other with proper techniques.
Corys can also be kept with danios, give them some hiding places to rest when they need it but overall they will mesh together in the tank.

 

In the past I have had corys with a rounded gravel which obviously will work fine. Also sand is acceptable for corys. You can still do a pwc with sand without losing a ton of it just by changing the way you siphon. You'll need to hold the siphon as such to where you just agitate and suck the surface as opposed to gravel where you can really get down into it. Some siphons may also be gentle enough not to remove much from the tank, would really depend on the equipment you have, but in short sanded aquariums can be kept as clean as any other with proper techniques.
Corys can also be kept with danios, give them some hiding places to rest when they need it but overall they will mesh together in the tank.

Aight, thx for the help!

 

Sorry for throwing my question in here, but I didnt wanted to make a ndw thread for this.
So, I am planning to buy 4 bronze cory when I buy my other 30 gallon tank. I m kinda confused if I should get sand coz I heard that sad is a lot hard tI maintain and u lose a lot of it when u do pwc. Should I just get gravel, or should I get sand for corys? Also, will corys do fine with danios (my danios aren't too nippy / aggro umless its feeding time)

Thanks

I don't use sand in any of my freshwater tanks, but I use it in my large saltwater tank, for ease of cleaning, it's no different than gravel really, the only time I've ever sucked it up through the siphon is if I push the siphon too deep into the sand bed, which you really don't have to do anyways, I've only done it on mistake. Sorry Cooley I hope you don't mind the thread being derailed for a second there also the rocks you picked up will look really nice, good score for $50!

 

I'm not opposed to sand at all, I was even considering it for a bit. Have you had any experience with it in aquascaped tanks with it being used to make hills and such? Will it hold shape well or does it tend to flow back to level. I have seen several posts of people having no issue with corydoras and Floramax but there is always a chance for injury I suppose. If blasting sand would work in the aquascape setting its a hands down winner for me so any feedback on that front would be great.

I use blasting sand in 3 moderately planted tanks, two have cories, all doing very well. I use root tabs for my plants and the cories love sifting through it. I usually slope my sand a little higher in the back, but not much. I can’t really tell if it’s leveled back out, but cories will even out small dips and bumps.

 

Today I was talking to one of my suppliers at work and discovered that they carry blasting sand. I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted as they carry two different sizes, a "fine" and a "medium". He generously donated 100 pounds of each. So I'll have plenty to play around with over the next few days and see if I can use it while still creating the vision I have for the tank. I also picked up some parts for a little side project that will tie into this tank build so when I get home tonight I'll have a nice update post and we will actually get to see things starting to come to live over the next few days.

 

Today I was talking to one of my suppliers at work and discovered that they carry blasting sand. I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted as they carry two different sizes, a "fine" and a "medium". He generously donated 100 pounds of each. So I'll have plenty to play around with over the next few days and see if I can use it while still creating the vision I have for the tank. I also picked up some parts for a little side project that will tie into this tank build so when I get home tonight I'll have a nice update post and we will actually get to see things starting to come to live over the next few days.

Awesome! The one issue I encounter in my tank with sand, is when it's too light, it'll get blown around, so that's something to watch out for, although I doubt it will be an issue in a freshwater tank, as there will be far less flow than what's in a reef tank.

 

I take a plastic card (like those fake credit cards you get in the mail) to scrape algae on the side of my tanks, but I also use it to make sweeping motions and hills in my BDBS. I'm terrible about changing little things in my tank though so I don't really leave the hills I make for too terribly long before I move a hill to somewhere else the next time I'm messing with the tank.
Will BDBS form super sharp hills with cliffs? No, but you can certainly move it up into a hill shape. And you could always build some understructure to help give the BDBS support to hold on. I've used egg crate as well as thin sheets of plastic or plexiglass heated up and warped into a shape I want to make a terraced effect in a tank.

Also, how cool of them to give you that much to work with! The medium grit is better in tanks usually. The fine is arguably too fine. It's very easily disturbed.

 

^ that's a really good idea to use a plastic card for scraping algae, I might just have to try that! I'm always nervous about using the blades they sell because I don't want to scratch my glass.

 

^ that's a really good idea to use a plastic card for scraping algae, I might just have to try that! I'm always nervous about using the blades they sell because I don't want to scratch my glass.

The plastic cards are great for scraping algae! They don't scratch the glass, you never have to worry about rust or accidentally cutting yourself or a fish. And they're free. XD

 

The plastic cards are great for scraping algae! They don't scratch the glass, you never have to worry about rust or accidentally cutting yourself or a fish. And they're free. XD

I'm sure I have a random plastic card somewhere around here, my only tank that really needs to be scrubbed is my saltwater tank, and the coralline algae that I would get on the glass would not come off easy with the brush I have, thanks for the idea! I will give it a try soon.

 

Time for official update! So as I mentioned earlier I was the lucky recipient of 100 pounds of medium grit black blasting sand, and 100 pounds of fine grit black blasting sand. The brand is Black Beauty.



I'm leaning towards the fine just because the medium grit seems to be very close to the Floramax I was originally going to use.
This is a comparison of the girt with both pictures being taken approximately the same distance from the camera.



I'm still not 100% convinced the medium grit is enough to cause harm to a fish but it is nearly double the size and not quite what I would call sand.
On the plus side I think I can achieve my tank design with either of them.

A few other developments today, I stopped for lunch today at a small town pizza shop and they had tons of food grade buckets set out free for the taking. I grabbed 15. Will be useful for water changes

I also had an old sump pump laying around and gathered up a few components to to make a switched extension cord with a wet location switch. This is what I will use to fill my tanks as I am not close enough to a water source to use a python, and this way I can pre-treat water in my new food grade buckets and add it to the tank with the pump!

Parts



Finished contraption.




Now it's time to wash wash wash, this sand is very dirty so I'll most likely be washing for the next few days.
Maybe by the end of the weekend if I'm not super busy I can get some substrate and rocks into the tank. Probably going to pick my new filter up tomorrow as well, if I do I'll start cycling it... in a new food grade bucket!

I'm excited about the buckets... it's the little things.

 

I prefer the look of the fine grain better, but I would just make sure it'll be heavy enough to not get blown around, and also make sure it's not too dusty, I think it will be fine though. Dang! I wish I had 15 buckets, I have 5 tanks and well over 100 gallons of water between them all, and only 3 buckets, but with all the saltwater I mix, I wouldn't mind having 15 laying around for rinsing the sand, I would just take it outside, put the sand in a bucket, and push the hose all the way down to the bottom of the bucket, and just let it overflow for a while, stir it around, and repeat, I've always found that to be the easiest way to rinse substrate.

 

I prefer the look of the fine grain better, but I would just make sure it'll be heavy enough to not get blown around, and also make sure it's not too dusty, I think it will be fine though. Dang! I wish I had 15 buckets, I have 5 tanks and well over 100 gallons of water between them all, and only 3 buckets, but with all the saltwater I mix, I wouldn't mind having 15 laying around for rinsing the sand, I would just take it outside, put the sand in a bucket, and push the hose all the way down to the bottom of the bucket, and just let it overflow for a while, stir it around, and repeat, I've always found that to be the easiest way to rinse substrate.

Unfortunately I'll be stuck cleaning sand inside unless I wait until things thaw out outside, and I'm slightly impatient lol.

 

Ahh gotcha, I keep forgetting it's winter and that some places actually have snow on the ground right now… mid 70s and even up in the 80s some days where I live, it's basically summer all year round now that it's been "unseasonably warm" here, summers over 100, and winter is like a summer, but with nice temperatures.

 

Well while it does hinder washing my sand I do prefer the harsher winter over a harsh summer. Iv'e washed quite a bit so far, both fine and medium, now I'm leaning more towards the medium. Still plenty of time to decide that.

 

Well while it does hinder washing my sand I do prefer the harsher winter over a harsh summer. Iv'e washed quite a bit so far, both fine and medium, now I'm leaning more towards the medium. Still plenty of time to decide that.

Yeah, I will say the days when it got up to near 120 were brutal, unfortunately most of the summer is somewhere in the 105-115 range… it's nasty. I was reading a bit about the blasting sand, lots of people said fine grain was too dusty, makes sense, in that case I may go with the medium… I hate dusty sand with a passion, it's just a pain.

 

Update time! My second favorite part of the day after working on the tank of course.
So today I got my filter, the AquaClear 50. I had debated on just sticking it out with the Bio-Wheel 200 to save some money on the budget but knew that I didn't like that filter and really wanted the features on the AquaClear like the adjustable flow, even at high flow the return force is 10 times less than the Bio-Wheel. It also has a biological media design which I think is great. It is now setup in a bucket with my dragon stone to start cycling.

New AquaClear 50 and backup media.




Filter in action to start that cycle! This will make my tank much more stable faster when it is finished and allow me to add fish quicker. As you can see the dragon stone is in there as well because it will benefit from the cycle and collect plenty of much needed bacteria on it as well as the filter media.



Also before I put my dragon stone in to cycle I played around a bit with some layout options and think I found one I like pretty good.

Keep in mind that it won't be flat like this in the tank, there will be some elevated components and some slopes that should make the tank flow pretty nicely. The white paper is the same dimensions as the tank. The taller rock in the top left of the picture will be up on a slope, the foreground in front of all the rocks will be level, then another hill behind the rocks on the right side.



I'm still looking for a nice piece of driftwood to incorporate into there but I'm really wanting to add something self found and it just isn't the right time of year to go collect driftwood so that element may have to wait unless I come across a piece for sale before then that just fits in perfectly.

One last addition I made tonight was installing the black vinyl background onto the tank, looks like I missed a spot cleaning it before the install so I'll have to do that tomorrow.



Iv'e also done some more thinking on the tank stock, new update:
4 SterbaI Cory
2-3 Oto Cats
5 Emerald Eye Rasbora
5-7 Yellow Snakeskin Endler Guppy (male)
5 GardnerI Killifish
3-5 Red Cherry Shrimp

Does anyone have experience with the emerald eye rasboras? Iv'e heard they are not very bright if the water isn't rich in tannin. Not sure I'd want my water discolored like that.
The Corys, Otos, and Guppies are pretty well set in stone, the others I'm still tossing around a bit.
The substrate will for sure be the medium grit sand, which I am still washing.
*Edit* Just wanted to update the budget (mainly because it's easier for me to track it here, and maybe someone else would be interested to see as well. Today's purchase was $60 with the filter, extra media, and tank background. Leaving our remaining budget at $290.

That's it for tonight's update. We'll see what progresses tomorrow!

 

Good choice with the aquaclear, I love those filters! It looks like your tank is coming along nicely, I can't wait to see the pics as you start setting it up!

 

Update time! My second favorite part of the day after working on the tank of course.
So today I got my filter, the AquaClear 50. I had debated on just sticking it out with the Bio-Wheel 200 to save some money on the budget but knew that I didn't like that filter and really wanted the features on the AquaClear like the adjustable flow, even at high flow the return force is 10 times less than the Bio-Wheel. It also has a biological media design which I think is great. It is now setup in a bucket with my dragon stone to start cycling.

New AquaClear 50 and backup media.
View attachment 397377


Filter in action to start that cycle! This will make my tank much more stable faster when it is finished and allow me to add fish quicker. As you can see the dragon stone is in there as well because it will benefit from the cycle and collect plenty of much needed bacteria on it as well as the filter media.
View attachment 397378

Also before I put my dragon stone in to cycle I played around a bit with some layout options and think I found one I like pretty good.

Keep in mind that it won't be flat like this in the tank, there will be some elevated components and some slopes that should make the tank flow pretty nicely. The white paper is the same dimensions as the tank. The taller rock in the top left of the picture will be up on a slope, the foreground in front of all the rocks will be level, then another hill behind the rocks on the right side.
View attachment 397379

I'm still looking for a nice piece of driftwood to incorporate into there but I'm really wanting to add something self found and it just isn't the right time of year to go collect driftwood so that element may have to wait unless I come across a piece for sale before then that just fits in perfectly.

One last addition I made tonight was installing the black vinyl background onto the tank, looks like I missed a spot cleaning it before the install so I'll have to do that tomorrow.
View attachment 397380

Iv'e also done some more thinking on the tank stock, new update:
4 SterbaI Cory
2-3 Oto Cats
5 Emerald Eye Rasbora
5-7 Yellow Snakeskin Endler Guppy (male)
5 GardnerI Killifish
3-5 Red Cherry Shrimp

Does anyone have experience with the emerald eye rasboras? Iv'e heard they are not very bright if the water isn't rich in tannin. Not sure I'd want my water discolored like that.
The Corys, Otos, and Guppies are pretty well set in stone, the others I'm still tossing around a bit.
The substrate will for sure be the medium grit sand, which I am still washing.
*Edit* Just wanted to update the budget (mainly because it's easier for me to track it here, and maybe someone else would be interested to see as well. Today's purchase was $60 with the filter, extra media, and tank background. Leaving our remaining budget at $290.

That's it for tonight's update. We'll see what progresses tomorrow!

Hi,
Just a quick comment on your stock. SterbaI cory require warmer water than the rest of your planned stocking. I would suggest Panda's instead or other cooler cory.

 

Hi,
Just a quick comment on your stock. SterbaI cory require warmer water than the rest of your planned stocking. I would suggest Panda's instead or other cooler cory.

SterbaI cory are generally hardy in 75-82 degrees for farm raised specimen. (wild caught sterbaI do come from much much warmer waters but most LFS will carry farm raised)
Oto cats need 70-78
Emerald Eye Rasbora are kinda on the cool end at 68-77
Guppies are happy between 70-80
GardnerI Killifish like it 72-78
and the shrimp will be fine in anything from 60-85 with the warmer end giving the best growth

That leaves me 75-77 degrees to keep my tank and everything in it happy unless I'm missing some unseen detail.

If I take out the Rasbora I can go from 75-78 and keep everyone happy but one degree probably won't make it or break it.

This does mean that I will need to find another option for a heater because the one I had been planning on in nonadjustable set at 78, and that won't work if I keep the Rasbora. Still up in the air on that one.

 

So it's been awhile, I get pretty busy at work any time it snows. But I have a few updates!

First, all the sand has been washed and the tank is scaped!



The blasting sand was pretty dirty, I had to wash it several times but once I filled the tank the water remained crystal clear.

I also got a few plants, and some pre-cycled filter media and a few adopted tank guests. Right now it's home to 8 shrimp, not sure the exact variety of all of them, at least 4 of them are red cherry shrimp, the others are blackish/blueish and very hard to spot against the black substrate. There are also 3 male yellow guppies in there as well.



Still have a little planting to do, hopefully the grass grows in quickly, no plans to add more fish until the planting is done, the ones that are in there now were just in need of a home.

I still need a different heater as the one in there now is not very accurate and on the lowest setting it heats the tank to 78-80. I'm looking more in the range of 75-77.

I'm still not sure about the un-planted area in front, should I leave that substrate bare of plant a low foreground plant in that space? I do plan on adding a few taller plants in the back areas behind the taller rocks. Let me know what you guys think.

 

Looks really nice so far! I don't know much about planted tanks, but I would put some taller plants in the back like you said, and then put smaller plants, or even do some kind of plants that would fill in to make like a "carpet" in the front.