Howdy!
I finally got my 20g long tank set up and cycling last night, so I thought I'd share some pics. Right now it's just water, rock, and wood (and one tacky ornament). Plants should be going in next week. The specs are these:
Coralife 65 watts 6700k CFL light
Aquaclear 50 HOB filter, with sponge, biomedia, and carbon
40 lbs of black Eco-complete
100w Visi-therm submersible heater set to 76-77.
Three pieces of Malaysian driftwood
And, with that, here are the photos.
First, the general tank view:
I'm probably going to move the two pieces of wood on the left around. This'll do for now, though.
Close up of those same two pieces. Sorry for the glare:
I plan to fill in that big divot, but the two together make for some nice hiding place for small fish, plus I love the upswept branch. I'd like to hang some moss from it, but it's right in the filter outflow.
Next on the right:
I love this piece of wood for the natural "cave," and the tacky wall ornament just seemed to fit.
Now we turn to the left side, the far end of the two logs:
The glare washes out a bit, but the interaction of the two pieces again creates some interesting spaces. (I really like Malaysian driftwood, but, boy, even after a good long boil, it's still putting out lots of tannin.)
This is a view of the area behind the two pieces of driftwood, and the main reason I'm thinking of rearranging them:
I think too much is hidden toward the rear, so I may angle the lower piece toward the back, creating a roughly triangular open space with the wall.
Finally, just for the heck of it, the Aquaclear 50:
I really like Aquaclears, but I'm not so sure about the enclosed media. I might experiment with different material in a few weeks. Also, I've yet to find one that doesn't make an annoying buzz or rattle with the lid on.
That's it for now. I hope to add some plants next weekend. Fish and shrimp will come in a few weeks, as I'm doing a fishless cycle with ammonia (my first). I'm also thinking of replacing the light: I bought a Coralife 65w several years ago, but I'm not happy with the distribution of light over the tank. You can probably tell in the pics that the left gets rather dark not only from the driftwood's shadow, but also from the shortness of the bulb: only 21" in a 30" fixture. Plus, the fixture and bulb, though new out of the box, were bought several years ago. Not sure if age has taken a toll. Anyway, I've very tempted to replace it with the Finnex Planted+ LED.
That's it for now. I'll update with new developments as warranted. Suggestions for aquascaping and appropriate plants are welcome.
It's nice to have an aquarium underway again.
I finally got my 20g long tank set up and cycling last night, so I thought I'd share some pics. Right now it's just water, rock, and wood (and one tacky ornament). Plants should be going in next week. The specs are these:
Coralife 65 watts 6700k CFL light
Aquaclear 50 HOB filter, with sponge, biomedia, and carbon
40 lbs of black Eco-complete
100w Visi-therm submersible heater set to 76-77.
Three pieces of Malaysian driftwood
And, with that, here are the photos.
First, the general tank view:
I'm probably going to move the two pieces of wood on the left around. This'll do for now, though.
Close up of those same two pieces. Sorry for the glare:
I plan to fill in that big divot, but the two together make for some nice hiding place for small fish, plus I love the upswept branch. I'd like to hang some moss from it, but it's right in the filter outflow.
Next on the right:
I love this piece of wood for the natural "cave," and the tacky wall ornament just seemed to fit.
Now we turn to the left side, the far end of the two logs:
The glare washes out a bit, but the interaction of the two pieces again creates some interesting spaces. (I really like Malaysian driftwood, but, boy, even after a good long boil, it's still putting out lots of tannin.)
This is a view of the area behind the two pieces of driftwood, and the main reason I'm thinking of rearranging them:
I think too much is hidden toward the rear, so I may angle the lower piece toward the back, creating a roughly triangular open space with the wall.
Finally, just for the heck of it, the Aquaclear 50:
I really like Aquaclears, but I'm not so sure about the enclosed media. I might experiment with different material in a few weeks. Also, I've yet to find one that doesn't make an annoying buzz or rattle with the lid on.
That's it for now. I hope to add some plants next weekend. Fish and shrimp will come in a few weeks, as I'm doing a fishless cycle with ammonia (my first). I'm also thinking of replacing the light: I bought a Coralife 65w several years ago, but I'm not happy with the distribution of light over the tank. You can probably tell in the pics that the left gets rather dark not only from the driftwood's shadow, but also from the shortness of the bulb: only 21" in a 30" fixture. Plus, the fixture and bulb, though new out of the box, were bought several years ago. Not sure if age has taken a toll. Anyway, I've very tempted to replace it with the Finnex Planted+ LED.
That's it for now. I'll update with new developments as warranted. Suggestions for aquascaping and appropriate plants are welcome.
It's nice to have an aquarium underway again.
