Starting New 20 Gallon Long, Need Questions Answered.

Hello, my name is Liam and I am semI experienced in the fish tank world, as I have a healthy 10 gallon tank with Dwarf Gouramis and White Mountain Minnows. That is a very basic tank that has fake plants and gravel substrate, but I am planning on making a 20 Gallon Long planted tank in the IwagumI Style. I have bought some items and know the others I am going to buy but here is a list of my setup and after that I have a few questions I was hoping more experienced aquarists could answer.

20 Gallon Long Tank:
- Substrate: ADA Amazonia
- Filter: Hydor Canister Filter - 250
- Light: 30 Inch Finnex FugeRay Planted+ Aquarium LED
- Heater: Aqueon 100 Watt Pro Heater
- CO2 System: CO2 Regulator with Solenoid
CO2 Tubing - 10 Feet
Bubble Counter with Check Valve
Atomic Inline Co2 Diffuser 12/16mm

I am planning on housing a school of 14-16 Cardinal Tetras. It will be planted with a carpet of Dwarf Baby Tears and occasional spots of Dwarf Hairgrass around the rocks.

Questions:

1. Will the Hydor Canister Filter - 250 provide enough flow in the tank or should I invest in 240 GPH Hydor Koralia Nano Aquarium Circulation Pump?

2. Will the ADA Amazonia soil start the cycle without having to add fish?

3. Would I be able to house Crystal and Amano shrimp with the cardinals or will they be eaten?

4. Are there any dry ferts I should add to the tank under the substratre?

5. Will Mountain Minnows eat Crystal and Amano shrimp (Thinking of putting some in my other tank once I redo it with live plants and better equipment)?


I hope that I can get some answers for these questions as I want to have a really nice tank and make a good environment for the fish I get. Have a wonderful day everyone and I hope to hear back soon!
- Liam

 

Actually, the 250 gallons per hour will do. It may be a little too much. Either filter is fine. The amazonia soil will not start the cycle, but it will be a home for bacteria. Just add Seachem stability. You should add a few ferts to the substrate if the plants are already there. Mountain minnows are not going to be able to eat the shrimp.

 

Actually, the 250 gallons per hour will do. It may be a little too much.

The filter does come with a possible spray bar attachment which creates less current and I could them buy the circulation pump listed above to create a smoother flow. Opinions?

Also for you or anyone I am in need of a way to cover my intake to my filter without slowing the flowrate of the filter a whole lot (to help keep shrimp from getting sucked in). I saw some people used a little sponge thing over the intake but they said it drastically decreased their flow rate into the filter.

 

Try to add a little more media in it. It is almost a win win due to the amount of biological media, which can contribute to more fish. Preferably ceramics. Is there a reason why you need the intake covered?

 

Try to add a little more media in it. It is almost a win win due to the amount of biological media, which can contribute to more fish. Preferably ceramics. Is there a reason why you need the intake covered?

I would need the intake covered because I want to house shrimp in the tank as well!

 

250 gph should give you plenty of turnover even with an intake sponge. Canisters only need 3-4x turnover per hour if I remember correctly.

 

Try covering it with pantyhose. It does not reduce the water flow by a lot. But it does keep almost everything out.