30 Gallon Tank From Rags to Riches... A 30g journey

[SterSter]

Before I indulge you all in the plans currently let me tell you from the beginning the story of my 30g aquarium...

Prologue: A new Beginning

I was a young lad at the time (I still am) when I acquired this 30g. The year was 2016 I was 11 at the time. I was visiting my mom’s friend with my mom.

My mom’s friend loved to dumpster dive (“free cycling” as he called it). He would pick up apparent garbage, refurbish it, and sell it. Most of his furniture and things in his house were from the garbage.

Yes you guessed it...

I got my tank from the trash...

He took me to his garage and showed me IT...

A dirty old crusty 30g tank...

(You thought it would be a gem huh)

The tank at the time had standard river gravel, a lid, the light that came with the tank, and a planted tank background.

I was overjoyed.

I had kept fish with my dad in a large 40g tank before but I have never had an aquarium that I would be able to see always (my parents were divorced so the aquarium was at his place), be responsible for, and such a big tank that would be all mine.

I convinced my mom to let me keep it. But at the cost of all the smaller 2-10 gallons that I had at the time which was about 5 of them

The next day I set it up. All by my 11 year old self.

I had to do some moving around in my room but I did it.

Now I would say loved keeping fish at the time but l had terrible habits due to having a bad example to how fish should be treated). My dad.

Here are some of the things he did...

1. stick 7 giant danios in a 10g with a fire belly toad... the fire belly toad only had a turtle dock about 8in or so long to stand on.

2. Overstocked all of the tanks (if you couldn’t tell from the danios)
He put 1 of 40 different species of fish in a 30 g and probably put double the amount in the 40g.

3. Ran fish with ick under scalding hot water from the sink (the fish actually survive but fainted!)

4. Never did water changes

5. Had a fish die on him nearly every day and didn’t change anything just kept getting more fish.

So yeah...

I was pretty much him for a bit to a lesser extent.

I would go stock the 30g with all the fish I liked and fish that I had currently. Giving them bare minimum amounts of proper water parameters fish, proper fish amounts per species (schooling, shoaling), and putting them in right away to the tank when I got them.

I would overstock but not overstock as much as my old man did. I would still rarely ever do water changes (maybe about once every 3 months or more).

In short they were not very happy fish.

I made various rookie mistakes and kept many different species of fish, even a turtle!

However, even through all this I didn’t really learn anything.

Chapter 1: INSPIRATION

It was when I was 15 when I was inspired.

I was browsing through YouTube when I saw a video of this guy aquascaping. He was putting plants, rocks, substrate, driftwood in a such an arrangement in the tank that I couldn’t stop gasping in amazement.

It was wonderfully beautiful.

I had found my calling.

I rehomed some of the fish I had at the time (a pangasius catfish, and a goldfish) I also had a pleco that I regimes later cause he was pooping too much for my tastes.

I switched out the drab old river gravel for my old Amazon soil from my shrimp tank and pool filter sand.

I got live plants, fertilizer, driftwood, and rocks.

I got proper lighting for the tank (the old lighting was old and at that time I was using a desk lamp to replace it).

And I stocked it with the proper number of fish (I was even worried that I had overstocked when in reality I had understocked!)

My fish tank was starting to look like an actual aquarium and not just a container with water. From being drab to just a bit more wonderful.

I have more plants I want to add, rocks I want to change, driftwood that I want to add more of, even Co2...

But that is in time.

I spent over 120$ of my money for this tank with my mom helping with 50$. It was a huge investment.

I am going to get a job soon so I can make my tank even more beautiful.

But again I have to patient for that too.

I am breeding my medaka rice fish so hopefully I can get some extra money from those guys.

My mom already let me have another 5g because for the babies (the babies were actually a surprise so I had shrimp in there already).

The great thing about it is that my mom said that we are going to find another 5G for the babies since the first one is shrimpified. She is also considering allowing me to set up a 15g for the grow out tank.

Again all in time until I get the funds.

Well that’s enough backstory so let’s cut to the chase...

Chapter 2: The Plan

I had sketched a drawing of my aquarium and what it would look like.

For the plants it would have...

Green Ludwigia var.
Red Ludwigia
Hydrophilia Polysperma
Moneywort
Java Fern
Cryptocoryne Wendii
Cryptocoryne Undulata
Marimo Moss Ball
Staurogyne Repens
Valisneria
Small Anubius sp. (had a leaf think it was anubius that grew some runners)

This list may change in time but this is an overall of what I want in my tank.

Now for the stocking I have already decided...

11 CPD
2 Honey Gourami
8 medaka rice fish
10 Pygmy cory
5 Nerite snails
6 Amano Shrimp

I have everything but the 5 cpd, 4 of the nerites and 4 of the amanos.

Based on what others on this fish forum told me my tank is not overstocked. (Based off a thread I made regarding the concern). If you can find it through my profile you can look at it if you would like.

Through this journey I will post the progress and additions of new things to my fish tank. Adding new chapters to this story and to my life.

I may also give updates on other tanks I have and what I do with them.

Follow this enduring journey with me as I aquascape the aquarium of my dreams! Thanks all!!

Below is a picture of the tank when we first moved into this new house, a present day photo (there are a lot of snails for now just did a water change so hope they die down bit), and my concept art for the future tank.

 

[TheFISH12]

Lol your title sounds like it could be a song name or album especially for a rapper or something. ( Minus the "A 30g journey part) Also the tank looks great!

 

[SterSter]

Thanks I try my best!
Oh yeah there is staurogyne reopens in there too

 

[Biz]

your mom sounds really cool, I hope you both the best of luck! I have a feeling your tank is going to look fantastic

 

[N13]

Try to add vallisneria if you can! Tank will look great with a background plant, stocking options are nice, keep it up!

 

[SterSter]

Try to add vallisneria if you can! Tank will look great with a background plant, stocking options are nice, keep it up!

Oops yeah I was planning on adding valisneria.

Forgot to put that in the plant list heh.

 

[SterSter]

2/14/2021

Happy Valentines day everyone!

Today I am planning on getting the cryptocoryne wendtii and valsineria.

I found a guy on craigslist near me with some stupid low prices. 3 crypts and 2 valisneria for 11$!


I am considering replacing java fern for amazon sword (meaning amazon sword would be on both sides instead of one side). Also considering replacing the marimo moss for more crypt. wendtii.


Tell me what you think!

Will post photos and summary of what I did around 2pm (which should be a little after when I get them). (Unless plans suddenly change and I can't get them today)


Cheers! See you then!

 

[StarGirl]

Very nice. I read the whole thing because you spaced it nicely. Good job! Your tanks look really good.

 

[N13]

2/14/2021

Happy Valentines day everyone!

Today I am planning on getting the cryptocoryne wendtii and valsineria.

I found a guy on craigslist near me with some stupid low prices. 3 crypts and 2 valisneria for 11$!


I am considering replacing java fern for amazon sword (meaning amazon sword would be on both sides instead of one side). Also considering replacing the marimo moss for more crypt. wendtii.


Tell me what you think!

Will post photos and summary of what I did around 2pm (which should be a little after when I get them). (Unless plans suddenly change and I can't get them today)


Cheers! See you then!

Yessss nice!

 

[SterSter]

2/14/2021 Part 2

Hello again everyone! Apologies for the late response.

I got a ton of aquarium info from Jason, the man I bought the plants from. He is very nice and sells these plants on craigslist. He is trying to grow new plants to sell too.
Very nice man! Everyone should check him out!

This is the least I can do for him!


Anyways he said nutritious substrate is key and he mixes all his substrate for a nice balance of nutrients.

That is why I am planning on buying some new substrate tomorrow.

I also found another good deal on it.

A 20lbs bag for 10$!

Man I am so blessed right now haha!

I have planted all the valisneria on either side and plated the crypts on the left side.

However, I planted them very loosely since I am getting the substrate and will be perhaps moving them around a bunch. The tank is also a bit dirty and the water level is lower because I took out some of my substrate in preparation for tomorrow so there was a lot of debris flying around.

I did the water change after all the gunk had settled to the bottom.

I decided to take out the marimo since it was covering viable nutrients and was trapping all the gunk underneath it.

I will be planting the crypts there to fill up the gap and get some more symmetry in the tank.

I also removed the java fern temporarily because it was getti ng in the way of my cleaning and planting.

I will put it back in the tank once I have put the gravel in and will keep it there until I get an Amazon sword to replace it.


Can't wait to fill you in on the plans tomorrow tye tank will look a lot better for sure! Stay tuned!

Cheers!

P.S. The quality may be a bit bad because I left my good phone at school heh. Will get it back on Wednesday hopefully

 

[SterSter]

2/16/2021

Just finished installing the new substrate...

Eco-complete carib-sea substrate that is...


It was such a process...


I wanted to put it under the amazon soil I have now because the eco-complete has sharp edges and I don't want my pygmy corys to get their whiskers damged.


So I had to catch all my fish and shrimp, take out all the plants, take out all the hardscape separate the soil from the sand using a strainer, take all the gravel and sand out, do a 15% water change once the gunk has settled, put the new gravel in, waited more for the gunk to settle so I could see where to move the new gravel and put the old sand back, put the old gravel in, put the plants back in their respective areas, and wait some more until the gunk clears up.

9.5 hours in total of work.

Maybe 7 hours cause I took a food break and water break...

I am running a HOB filter right now along with the sponge filter to speed up the cleaning process.

Without the HOB this would have taken FOREVER to do...


I am so grateful for it heh.


Right now I am drip acclimating the fish and shrimp to the tank.

They all seem to be doing fine in the acclimation tank...


Everyone is calm and not moving erratically.



Maybe I should keep them in there forever since they are doing ok...



Nah JK

They're back in the tank now hopefully nothing happens to them...


I dosed the tank with prime and fluval biological booster just to be safe.

For all those concerned of the fish being in this container for almost 10 hours don't worry!

I separated the shrimp and the fish into two different containers to prevent aggression.

I had all my plants distributed between both containers proportionally to make them a bit more comfy.

I had my eye on them the whole time and have been acclimating them for over an hour...

It was a long night for them so I thank them for hanging in there!

And I thank God for keeping them all peachy keen in acclimation.

I know he will protect their well being as long as I do my part as well.

Thanks again all for being on this journey with me!

I will post a picture of a cleaner tank tomorrow but for now here is a picture of my fish in acclimation, my cloudy fish tank, and my messy room.


Later today I should say when the tank clears up a bit I'll snap a pick and explain the changes I made and the plans I have...

With HARDSCAPE!


SYL


Cheers!





Look what I saw lol...


"That must be the greatest pirate I've ever seen!"

"So it may seem..."

"Pirates of the Carribean music"

 

[SterSter]

2/17/2021

The tank is all clear now and no fish or shrimp have been lost! (thank goodness)


I will now explain what I did to the tank...

I removed most of the sand (since most were mixed in with the gravel) and put in the carib-sea eco soil stuff underneath the old gravel (in consideration for my cory's).

The fossilized coral chunks are now lined up as a pathway border between the sand and the substrate temporarily.

All the plants I planted will stay where I planted them; no more moving around!

I will let them all grow out and will add more plants gradually over time.

The only plant I will most likely move is the Java Fern because I want to add it to some hardscape i'm going to get.

Which leads me to my next point...

On the left where the driftwood base will be I will cover it with some medium sized light greyish stones.

Where the big rock on the right was I will add two identical, large, light greyish stones. (I don't know what they are called but that's what I want).

The other end of the driftwood will be situated there and I will plant the javafern in the crevices of the rocks.

I'll put the rock somewhat near the back right corner so I will have to put some more midground plants as well with the red ludwigia.

When I get the hardscape I am plannig on making the sand path more winded and flatter so I can have depth to the tank.

Lining the sand path will be the same light greyish stones and some smooth riverstones. The stone size will increase as the path gets closer to the end of the tank.

This will not be until a while though...

It will happen when my baby medakas are saleable or tradeable age.

My church pastor has a fish store so I can get good deals from him tee hee.

Until then I will keep you all updated on not just the 30g but my 5g shrimp tank (cause you guys need content) every Saturday starting this Saturday.

Here is a picture of the tank now and a simplified concept art showcasing what i want to do (there will still be plants on the tank this just shows the new changes to come) and a bonus shrimp pic!

Thanks for looking!

I will see you all later!





Also I got found my the iPhone that I left at school so I will be able to take better pictures now teehee

 

[SterSter]

2/20/2021

Update on the 30g:

Not much has happened since then (its only been like 3 days).

Cryptocorynes have started to melt a bit but they'll bounce back sooner or later.

All plants and fish seem to have adapted well to their new environment...

They have all found their favorite spots to be.



The Amanos stay to the back of the driftwood, the CPDs stay under the driftwood and near the java moss, each gourami has its own territory on either sides of the tank, the corydoras chill under the java fern, and the medakas just do whatever (they are free spirits lol.

The medakas have started laying chunky egg batches with around 10 in each again nearly every day so i'll be having a new batch of babies soon.

Overall 30g is doing good.




Update on the 5g:

Shrimp and baby medakas are all healthy and eating well.

The shrimps are constantly pregnant and when they are not I see eggs developing in their ovaries.

I see baby shrimps everywhere (last I counted there were 20 just around the glass of the tank!


Baby medakas are eating all the little infusoria in the tank (excluding baby shrimp for now since they are too small) and accepting crushed up protein flakes.

They are also getting paramecium supplements from my culture as well.

They have grown really fast in a week and are now about 1/2-3/4 cm long.

Plants in the tank are also doing well.

The guppy grass in the tank isn't pearling as much but once I add fertilizer they should start back up.

Overall also doing pretty good.



If you have any questions and concerns let me know and I will respond.


See you next week!

 

[KribensisLover1]

Great job(s)!

 

[StarGirl]

Looking good! Is that Java moss or Moss balls on the left side of the 5g?

 

[SterSter]

Looking good! Is that Java moss or Moss balls on the left side of the 5g?

It is mossball.

I moved all the Marimo moss from the 30g so now there is a thick blanket of them in the 5g.

I thought it would be ok since the shrimp don’t poop as much so less gunk would get stuck under the moss.

Great job(s)!

Thanks!


Just wanted to share this I believe it is a shramp mating ritual.

 

[StarGirl]

I can't get Java moss to live in my shrimp tank. I may try that!

 

[SterSter]

2/27/2021

Update on the 30g:

The plants have all started showing new growth.

The crypts showing the most with new leaves shooting out.


Algae has gone down considerably.

Reducing light duration from around 12 hours to 6 hours reduced the growth of the algae and the amanos and nerite get rid of the algae.

Seems to be working for me.


My female medaka carried more eggs so I put her in a breeder box and let her deposit her eggs on some guppy grass and java moss that was in the box.

There are about 8 eggs in there.

I put the sponge filter nozzle near the edge of the breeder box so I can get water circulation around the eggs.

Before I used just the air tube connected to a control valve and but it in a container with no holes.

This worked well for me but I had to sacrifice one of my sponge filters for it.

This way I can get water flow while filtering my aquarium at the same time!

We'll see how it goes...


On March 4th I will be siphoning out the eggs and then putting them in a setup like the one I used before.

That way they can hatch safely.

All plants and fish in the 30g are doing great!


Update on the 5g:


Plants and moss do not seem to have new growth.

Shrimps and baby fish have been doing ok.


However, at the beginning of the week I noticed less baby shrimp out and the amount of baby fish have decreased as well.

I then noticed a little hydra in the tank!

I siphoned it out and disposed of it in the toilet, thinking it was the only one...


A few days later I see the sponge filter and plants surrounding the sponge filter covered with hydra.

The hydra didn't cover all the filter and plants in that area but it covered most.

I estimate there were at least 10-15 hydra in that area.


So I did my research and dosed the tank with 3% H2O2 (Hydrogen Peroxide) since I had some lying around.

I went on this website here and after doing the math found that for 5g I had to dose 6 3/10 ml of H202.

Knowing this I spot dosed the hydra.

They shriveled up but they never really died out.

They would always bounce back in an hour or two.

I then decided that I would "manually" remove them.

I took out both sponges for my sponge filters and drenched it in a container with H2O2.

There was a weird smell and a bubbling noise (kinda like carbonation in soda).

After letting the sponges sit in there for about 10 min I rinsed them out with water and put them back on the filter.


I also removed all leaves I could see with hydra and put them in H2O2 too.

(I know I could have just disposed of them but I wanted to see them wither and die MUAHAHHAHA!) It was fun

I then reduced the amount of food given to the fish and shrimp to reduce the amount of copepods and other small things that the hydra would eat.

I added a little pot saucer as well to contain the food.

I'm pleased to say that for now I haven't seen any Hydra anywhere after doing these treatments but I will be sure to remove any I see from the tank.

The H2O2 was mostly to reduce their population.

Starving them is the finisher.

Hopefully it will work...


I have also seen more baby shrimp out then before which for me is a sign that things are better.

The amount of babies i've seen hasn't really gone up.

Some may have got outcompeted for food from the more bigger babies, were weak, were eaten by hydra, or all of them.

Personally though I haven't seen an engorged hydra or a hydra with a baby shrimp or fish so I doubt they were able to catch them since there were so little.

But they did sting some of my shrimp and do pose a risk of predation so I did what I had to do.

Overall everyone in the 5g seems more comfortable than before and are doing just fine.


I will be doing a water change this week and dosing some ferts for the plants.

Hopefully my plants will start growing more heh.


See you next week all questions and concerns will be answered!











Bonus:

Can't get a picture of it because I keep scaring them.

I think Golden Experience my Honey Gourami is interested in boys?

Pretty much sometimes he would display for my other male Honey gourami Giorno by pointing his face up towards his bubble nest and getting in front of him and displaying his side.

He then just runs away after displaying once; probably realizing that he is displaying for a boy and not a girl gourami.

It may not be that he is interested in boy gouramis but it sure is interesting.

 

[SterSter]

3/6/2021

Update on the 30g:

Plants have been growing more as usual with the most noticeable growth on the Java Fern and Crypts.

Fish and Shrimp are all doing great too! Although the Rice Fish have stopped breeding and CPDs have stopped showing breeding behavior.

This does not concern me since I read that Rice Fish take a break after breeding a lot and the male Rice Fish seem to still want to breed with the female I am just not seeing any eggs.

For the CPDs I took out their favorite spawning material (Marimo Moss) a few weeks ago so I feel that is why they have stopped. They could be trying to breed on the Java Moss but it may be not dense enough for them.

In the future if I ever try breeding these guys I’ll use Round Pelia (Subwassertang) as a breeding medium.

The breeding experiment setup that I did failed. I believe the eggs got flushed out when I did a water change and got eaten or they hatched early, swam out and got eaten. Next I’ll try using a breeding tank or another container next time since there are less things that could go wrong. This was a good experience!

Algae is still going down as well in the tank. The long hair algae that I used to dread has now shortened considerably and brown algae is starting to take its place.

I saw a Blue Ramshorn snail in the tank which was probably a hitchhiker from when I got the Crypts and Valisneria (Jason also breeds Blue Ramshorn in his tanks).

I’ve noticed that the Ramshorn cleans up the algae similar to my nerite so I’ve decided to leave him/her in there.

Everything still doing good!


Update on the 5g:

Plants have stayed neutral in the sense that they haven’t grown or died back at all.

Shrimp population is booming!

Last I counted there were 20 babies in the tank! Double the amount that I originally bought! That isn’t even counting all the babies that could be hiding under the moss.

Baby Rice Fish are growing bigger. When I counted them there was 13. One or two may have been hiding under the moss but I know that at least 3 of them died due to not being able to eat, were weak, outcompeted, deformities etc.

Once I get the baby tank for them hopefully I can get the survival rates up a bit and get increased batches of eggs.

I saw only one sad hydra in the tank that I quickly siphoned and H2O2d just for the heck of it. I have seen none near the sponge filter or on anywhere else where they could get food.

I think starvation is working...

There are also baby Ramshorns in the 5g that are also probably hitch hikers from when I got the plants. I put a cut Valisneria leaf in the tank for the shrimp to eat biofilm on which is most likely how the Ramshorns got there.

I don’t mind their presence though they are ok. They’re not harming anyone and like I said in the 30g update they eat the algae pretty well so I’ll just leave em in there for now.

Overall fish, shrimp, and snails are doing great as well!


Since the baby Rice Fish are growing I estimate that in 2-3 weeks they will be salable. When that happens I will be able to get the driftwood and rocks I want for the tank!

Hopefully my LFC can get what I want though...
We’ll see!

Below are the pictures for the 30g and the 5g

 

[SterSter]

3/21/2021

Not much has changed since the last entry.

Will post the next entry when I get the Garda cape which will be in about a month.
Apologies for the wait

 

[SterSter]

Apologies I didn't realize it until now. "Garda cape" should be Aquascape. Dang autocorrect fuhu
3/28/2021


Have not gotten the aquascape yet but I had started trying to spawn my CPD a few days ago. I put java moss in a container with a rock in the bottom to weigh it down and put it in the 30g.

A few days later there was a bunch of snails in the container so I assumed that all the eggs were eaten if there even were any to begin with. I flipped the container and started dumping the snails back in the tank when I saw a few little orbs float down to the gravel. I was perplexed at first what they were because they were pretty big, about half the size of a cpd's head. I then realized that it had to be a cpd egg.

I siphoned up all the eggs that fell and all the eggs that were still in the container. I then put the java moss and eggs n a small rectangular container along with tank water and floated it in my 5g where I then put an airline tube with an air valve attached to it to control the aeration rate. I then restarted my infusoria culture I used for my medaka babies. I counted 5 eggs. I am predicting that they will hatch around Tuesday and will start to deplete their egg sacs around Thursday. Since they will hatch super tiny I want them to have food available right when they need it so I will start putting infusoria in the container on Wednesday. This is my first time dealing with cpd babies or any fish baby that will be this small. Lets hope I can raise most of them to adulthood.

 

[SterSter]

4/2/2021

I’ll be putting some baby updates every week or so on the CPD until the 30g rescape.

Currently I have the females separated so they can become ripe with eggs.

I have counted 7 babies and they are all doing well.

 

[SterSter]

4/5/2021

The babies from my first batch are free swimming now. I expect the rest of the babies to start free swimming in 1-2 days.

I got another 5g that I am going to use as a breeding setup for my CPDs and Rice Fish. The filter in there is temporary for cycling and I will replace it with a sponge filter when I am ready. Since I plan to keep it bare bottom depending on the circumstances I can change the purpose of the tank from breeding to grow out to quarantine etc.

I wish I could have a whole bunch of aquariums for breeding and grow out but since I am limited to my tiny room I will need to have some tanks multipurpose. I plan on having my shrimp tank being a baby fish grow out and my 30g for the juvie fish grow out. If I start spawning a bunch of babies I plan on setting up a 16g storage bin as a “Rice Fish grow out pond”.

My current Rice Fish babies are growing up fast. Pretty soon I’ll be able to get the hard scape and rescape my 30g!

Hope you’re all as excited as I am!


As always if you have any questions or concerns please put in chat I’ll be happy to answer to all of them.

 

[flopperfrog]

whats the floating plant in the 5g?

 

[SterSter]

whats the floating plant in the 5g?

I don’t have any floating plants in the 5G for now. Most of my duckweed died off after some time.

If you’re talking about the plants on the left on the surface of the water it is a reflection of some Java fern from my 30g.

 

[flopperfrog]

I don’t have any floating plants in the 5G for now. Most of my duckweed died off after some time.

If you’re talking about the plants on the left on the surface of the water it is a reflection of some Java fern from my 30g.

my bad, i thought the ones im talking about were floating. i mean the sort of spiky planted thin big one

 

[SterSter]

my bad, i thought the ones im talking about were floating. i mean the sort of spiky planted thin big one

No problem!

If you are talking about the mass of plants on the right then that would be guppy grass.

It’s kinda messy right now since I’ve started changing the layout of the 5G more often but tomorrow I’m planning to rescape the tank a bit so it should look a little better.

 

[SterSter]

4/11/2021

Update on the 5g:

Finally got around to rescaping it! It looks a lot cleaner now. The rescape has a driftwood piece that I took out from my 30g. Most of the guppy grass and moss that were in the tank I took out and put in my "multipurpose 5g". I also made a little sand path because sand paths are dope.


Update on CPD breeding:

I've started feeding heavily to my CPDs for a few days before I put in the breeding container. From this I've got around 25 eggs from both my females.

It still is kinda a struggle to keep them alive but i'm managing.

I think some of the babies died while I was rescaping because I wasn't able to put an airtube on them. Its alright though I just gotta learn from my mistakes.


The "multipurpose 5g" will become a fry grow out for now since I put all the extra plants from the 5g shrimp tank into it. I'm planning on adding a few assassin snails in there as well to take care of any pest snails. I don't want any snails in there if I ever want to make it a dedicated breeding tank
Here is a before and after of the shrimp tank, a CPD fry, and all the plants in the multi 5g














I