My first build (Picture Heavy)

I never started a build journal for my first 20 Gallon, so here are a few pictures over the past four months. I've re-scaped it a few times. Usually just moving certain things around. I did another adjustment to it today which I think I like..for now.

The beginning!



Cholla wood sunk and added slate.



Javer Fern added to Cholla wood and some more slate work.



Went a bit crazy with the slate......



Took a lot of the slate out, moved the spider would to the left and positioned upright. I wanted to take advantage of the height in the tank. Also cornered the Cholla wood.



Pretty much the same except all the baby Java Fern!



Now to today's work. Unfortunately you can't really see what I did in the photos. I made a slope on the back right side, buried the Cholla more, put the slate rocks behind the Cholla to act as a wall to prevent too much substrate from spilling over, made a smaller slope on the left back side, moved the spider wood slightly to the right and a bit towards the back, and finally replanted the three swords on the slopes.




Left side



Right side



And trying for a better angle....



It's a shame...it looks pretty decent in person but I can't seem to capture the slopes in a head on photo. It gives it just a bit more flow to it all. The water is also still cloudy from all the movement.

I'll be adding some S. Repens and Vallisneria soon. Open to suggestions on placement. Also may add more substrate later on for better slopeness when I get better at scaping.

That's it for now!

 

Nice tank!

 

Lookin good

“stay fishy “

 

Thanks! Would adding some plant life to the spider wood look OK, or would it be overkill? Maybe some moss on the "Branch's" or maybe them small ferns? Or something way cooler..

 

Nice Start!
Just my.02 ... I would put some of the slate pieces back in front of the cholla. And then give it some time to grow.

Learning all the Time.

 

No such thing as overkill lol , as the plants start to flourish you can cut them back or weed them out , there is no wrong way when it comes to your own personal taste

“stay fishy “

 

Nice Start!
Just my.02 ... I would put some of the slate pieces back in front of the cholla. And then give it some time to grow.

Learning all the Time.

Will do. I'll mess with it more tomorrow and get some slate back up front. Hopefully the water clears up by then and I'll have a better photo

No such thing as overkill lol , as the plants start to flourish you can cut them back or weed them out , there is no wrong way when it comes to your own personal taste

“stay fishy “

Awesome! I was thinking of putting some repens under the spider wood and in front of the cholla/ and slate. Guess I'll have to research some other plants for the actual driftwood....I've been spending too much on aquariums.

 

Definitely time consuming when you get Biten by this hobby bug lol ,but very rewarding if you do your homework and research and not impatient

“stay fishy “

 

So I added some slate back in. Not sure if I keep it like this or bury half of it so it looks like it's coming from under the cholla. Thoughts?

Repens will be planted around the slate regardless of position.

 

 

I never started a build journal for my first 20 Gallon, so here are a few pictures over the past four months. I've re-scaped it a few times. Usually just moving certain things around. I did another adjustment to it today which I think I like..for now.

The beginning!
View attachment 687121

Cholla wood sunk and added slate.
View attachment 687124

Javer Fern added to Cholla wood and some more slate work.
View attachment 687125

Went a bit crazy with the slate......
View attachment 687128

Took a lot of the slate out, moved the spider would to the left and positioned upright. I wanted to take advantage of the height in the tank. Also cornered the Cholla wood.
View attachment 687126

Pretty much the same except all the baby Java Fern!
View attachment 687130

Now to today's work. Unfortunately you can't really see what I did in the photos. I made a slope on the back right side, buried the Cholla more, put the slate rocks behind the Cholla to act as a wall to prevent too much substrate from spilling over, made a smaller slope on the left back side, moved the spider wood slightly to the right and a bit towards the back, and finally replanted the three swords on the slopes.

View attachment 687132

Left side
View attachment 687133

Right side
View attachment 687134

And trying for a better angle....
View attachment 687135

It's a shame...it looks pretty decent in person but I can't seem to capture the slopes in a head on photo. It gives it just a bit more flow to it all. The water is also still cloudy from all the movement.

I'll be adding some S. Repens and Vallisneria soon. Open to suggestions on placement. Also may add more substrate later on for better slopeness when I get better at scaping.

That's it for now!

Looks great for sure. I'm copying!

 

Looks great for sure. I'm copying!

Thanks!

 

View attachment 687304View attachment 687305

I love the tank. Are those ember tetras?

 

Nice!

 

Looks great, I kind of like the partial buried look for the slate pieces. If you do add some Vallisneria, it will get pretty yum large so you’ll want it towards the back.

 

I love the tank. Are those ember tetras?

Thanks! And yes! A few have yet to shine that beautiful orange, but hopefully they'll settle in soon.

 

Looks great, I kind of like the partial buried look for the slate pieces. If you do add some Vallisneria, it will get pretty yum large so you’ll want it towards the back.

Thanks! I was thinking of putting the Vallisneria between the heater and that small Java fern on the right. I'll try the more buried look with the slate as well. More photos to come.

 

New plants should be here by Friday but I did find this awesome little spider wood piece while I was at Petco picking up some air stones for my two 10 gallon builds.

I just glued it to a piece of slate after I scrubbed it in hot water. Will upload another picture after I place it in the tank.

 

View attachment 687304View attachment 687305

That looks so good! I really like how the slate looks.

 

View attachment 687130

Love the tank. Elmo adds a nice aesthetic look.

 

That looks so good! I really like how the slate looks.

Thanks! I adjusted the slate a bit and added that new driftwood. Picture soon!

 

Love the tank. Elmo adds a nice aesthetic look.

Lol thanks!

 

Feel like I'm spamming my own thread. Sorry everyone! Just pretty excited. I love the way this build is coming along. So here is that new spider wood in it's most probable final position.

I wanted to spare the fibers so I didn't boil it for that almost instant sinking so I am holding it down with that glued slate piece and two other hefty pieces are acting as weights on the base of the wood.

I think it brings the whole scene together and it'll look much better once the color darkens. Let me know your thoughts!

 

Alright. Last update on this build for a while. Hopefully I get some good growth on the Vallisneria and S.Repens. the repens were larger than expected so I trimmed the top layers off some of them. Not sure if I did it properly. I noticed that even at the top levels there were small roots so I then replanted those. I just cut through the stem. If I screwed up I would appreciate a correction. I should have done more research on those. Anyhow, here is the final product. For now.


Little closer.

 

Looks Good!
Now the hardest part, stop fiddling with it and "Patience". Just tank maitenance and water changes. Let it grow.
Believe me it's the toughest part, but hopefully in a few weeks you'll have a jungle.

Good Luck!

Learning all the Time.

 

Looks Good!
Now the hardest part, stop fiddling with it and "Patience". Just tank maitenance and water changes. Let it grow.
Believe me it's the toughest part, but hopefully in a few weeks you'll have a jungle.

Good Luck!

Learning all the Time.

Haha..yeah I told myself that I had to be finished with it! I'm super happy with it now so it will be easier to stop moving things around. I think I'll even skip the light gravel vac for a week or two. Just water changes and testing.

Thanks!

 

I know I said it would be a while for an update but my fish seem to be destroying the repens and Val's. Chunks are missing from multiple plants and leaves completely torn off. Very unfortunate. If they don't survive maybe I'll try dwarf hairgrass and some other background plant.

 

*snip
Been there,
The fish helping with the gardening. Some do not like plants, others will nibble on them and I have had Bolivians and EBAs uproot them when breeding.

Good Luck!

Learning all the Time.

 

Been there,
The fish helping with the gardening. Some do not like plants, others will nibble on them and I have had Bolivians and EBAs uproot them when breeding.

Good Luck!

Learning all the Time.

It's so odd. No issues with the swords. And they did uproot one of the large repens as well. I grabbed some plant weights for the Vals but there are just too many repens for that. More leaves torn off today. I sort of want to buy an underwater go pro so I can catch the culprit(s).

 

..yeah..the Repens are pretty much dead. The Vals have sent out runners which is great. Probably terrified that they'll be destroyed. I mentioned dwarf hairgrass earlier, but is there something similar to repens that I could try?

This is disapointing.

 

Quick update. The repens are hanging in there. I've noticed new leaf growth but I am still finding some floating once in a while. I was so close to just taking them out but I decided to give it a little longer. Let's hope this takes off.

 

glad your fish are at least having fun!
just a word of advice - java fern is an epiphyte, so if the roots are buried it'll get unhappy. you want to tie to to stones or dirftwood and let it attach itself to them, or just leave them sitting atop the gravel and let it grab on eventually.

 

glad your fish are at least having fun!
just a word of advice - java fern is an epiphyte, so if the roots are buried it'll get unhappy. you want to tie to to stones or dirftwood and let it attach itself to them, or just leave them sitting atop the gravel and let it grab on eventually.

Thanks! The Java Fern is attached to driftwood above the substrate. The fish never bothered the fern or swords, but as soon as I added the Repens they began attacking it. It has seemed to let up though! Good news!

 

Great Tank!

 

Looking good...I have an issue with my Rotala rotundofolia where someone is eating. I thought it was the BN plecos, but it might now be. I feed them algae wafers twice a day. All the leaves came off. Maybe it is a disease

 

Great Tank!

Thanks!

 

Looking good...I have an issue with my Rotala rotundofolia where someone is eating. I thought it was the BN plecos, but it might now be. I feed them algae wafers twice a day. All the leaves came off. Maybe it is a disease

It just started happening again to my repens. I think I might just pull them up and plant something else. It has just been a hassle. The Vals are thriving though. Have you thought about replacing the totals with something else?

 

This tank is looking so good!

I also second earlier comments on having Elmo as the tank's supervisor. Perfectly appropriate.

 

This tank is looking so good!

I also second earlier comments on having Elmo as the tank's supervisor. Perfectly appropriate.

Lol. Thanks. I mentioned in another thread..or maybe it's this one? Anyway, I mentioned that this started as a tank for my son. I sorta took it over but it remains in his room. I feel like Elmo is super appropriate as well. He is in fact feeding his goldfish, Dorothy in the photo. Unfortunately, Dorothy is a goldfish that lives her life out in a bowl.

 

That's it....I am re-scaping this tank. Might keep some of the plants. We'll..I'll have to because my fiance will have my head if I wasted all that money. I'm just not happy with it. It could look a lot better. **** inner battles!