Upgrade From 20g To 38g

I thought I would share my build from a 20 gallon to 38g since I got lots of great ideas from this forum. I am running an AquaClear 50 which I had some trouble setting up because the internal motor was someo how removed but I was able to put it back in. I went with an Aqueon LED hood that came with a day white light and then I bought a Colormax which I can see really enhances the overall tank. I am waiting for my Aqueon Pro heater to be delivered.

I went with black National Geographic sand and a black background plus Seiryu Stone and some driftwood. I am in the middle of adding some low tech plants but am taking the time to figure out where to put them. For stocking, I am going to be going mainly with dwarf neon rainbowfish, a Gold Ram, GBR and maybe an Apisto. But I still have time to figure that out.

I welcome any thoughts on how to make things even better.

 

Oh, nice! Maybe some tall plants in the background to fill it in a little? I think the fish you’re planning will be stunning against the black!

 

That black sand w/ black background looks great!

Was it easy to wash the Nat Geo brand of sand? It took forever to wash the pool filter sand I had used.

The rocks toward the right of the tank, have you tried to see how they look upright instead of laying flat,

 

That black sand w/ black background looks great!

Was it easy to wash the Nat Geo brand of sand? It took forever to wash the pool filter sand I had used.

The rocks toward the right of the tank, have you tried to see how they look upright instead of laying flat,

That's a brilliant idea on the rocks standing up right. Check it out now.

Yes, with the sand it definitely took some washing but I should have mentioned that I got half Nat Geo and half Top Fin since they didn't have another bag of Nat Geo at my PetSmart. I assumed they were the same since they were both distributed by Pacifica Coast Distributing. But interestingly, the Top Fin was clean after 3 tries and it took about 5 cleanings for the Nat Geo sand. Some sand rose to the top of the water but I netted it out. There seem to be lots of air pockets so I have been moving the sand around to get rid of them.

 

Here's the latest on my 38g upgrade. I added some amazon swords, crypts, java fern and annubias plants. I added in root tabs for the swords and crypts but so far it is hard to tell any progress on them yet. Next, I will be getting a digital light timer to get the plants enough light.

 

It's been another month and I am having some ups and downs with my 38g upgrade. Most plants like my crypts, java fern, annubias and pogostemon stellus are growing BUT very slowly. I can't wait till they fill out the tank. I bought a Red Robin Sword as my centerpiece plant but it has been wilting away and this week was the first time I saw some green shoots. I am thinking of adding large swords to get some height quickly. Also, I really want to get a Madagascar Lace but I don't know if I want to deal with the it's perennial nature.

I bought a Century 7-day timer on Amazon and I have the lights running for 6hrs a day. It was super easy to set up.

Stocking
1 Gold Ram
8 Rummy Nose Tetras
6 Zebra danios
2 Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish

I had a total of 8 Dwarf Neon Rainbowfish but two weeks ago, I lost 6 of them one by one, each day. I also had a GBR but he didn't last for a week with the Gold Ram taking the entire tank as his territory. For temp, I am running the tank at 81 degrees. I know it's too hot for the danios and tetras and could be a tad warmer for the Ram but all seems to be OK. I've had the danios and most of the tetras for 2 years already. I am deliberating whether to add more rummy nose for a larger school or add something else. I will make that decision in Jan.

I welcome any thoughts from anyone.